Unlike later editions of Warhammer 40K, many armies of the second edition era were locked into a single choice for its army commander. A few are lucky enough to have multiple choices. In second edition, Space Orks must choose a Warboss as the army general. All in all, this isn't bad. The base character choice is low in points cost, and the boss has a fairly good profile. It's a character that can go in a few directions.
Here are my thoughts on kitting up your Warboss, and where I ultimately stand on the most effective use of the character in your second edition Ork army.
Killy Warboss
Second edition 40K and fourth edition Warhammer Fantasy are both known for being part of the "herohammer" era of tabletop games. Basically, properly tooled characters would wreck shop on the battlefield, often capable of decimating entire units through a smart selection of equipment, Wargear and so forth.
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| Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka |
At first glance, a Warboss seems well suited for getting stuck in, and maybe they should! With a Weapon Skill of 6 and Strength 4 and Toughness 5, as well as 3 Attacks, your Warboss is a capable close combatant.
Here is where things get complicated for you. First, the most popular armies are the various types of Space Marines. Another popular choice are Eldar. For Ork players, higher initiative opponents can turn indecisive combats into wars of attrition.
What do I mean by this? Consider the following: Space Marines and Eldar Aspect Warriors both fight about as well as an Ork Boy, with similar Weapon Skill. Marines also have a similar Strength and Toughness, where Eldar do not. What this means, is when you fight the same, you will tie more often in close combat. And in second edition, Initiative is the tiebreaker.
So, a Warboss who's stuck in with the ladz is going to often be fighting an uphill battle against the opponents you're likely to face down each time to take to the tabletop. Why? The Warboss has an Initiative of 5. Pretty good against regular infantry, but not great when facing down opposing characters.
So, if you're going to prepare your boss for melee, tearing up opposing infantry is going to be a better choice than dueling enemy characters.
Another part of the equation is cost. A Warboss starts at 65 points. Unless a mission states otherwise, your Warboss is only worth one victory point until you've spent 100 points on the character in total. That means you can spend 35 points on equipment and Wargear before they are worth one victory point. At 200 points they are worth 2 victory points, 300 points 3 victory points, and so on.
For an Ork player, this is a crucial consideration, as most armies are going to be composed of many, many units. Often, they are fragile, and many of them can be eliminated over one or two turns from concentrated effort on the part of your opponent. A more expensive character is going to give away more victory points when killed. You will need to decide if that's worth the risk.
Finally, the third major consideration is deployment. Space Ork infantry is slow and foot slogging by and large. Some units have upgrades available to make them faster, like Snakebites and Evil Sunz. Transports are also an option, though there is risk involved, since Ork vehicles are typically very light. An Ork Warboss can choose a Nob bike as a choice, but of course bikes are even more fragile!
Likely you'll want him with the ladz so that his high Leadership can be used. This makes personal transport options like a bike, boar or jumppack unattractive. A boss can ride a Trukk, but that's risking focused fire that will likely waste the Trukk and result in the passengers getting killed. If I'm going to transport a boss, I think a Battlewagon is the best choice. It's got high enough armor to survive most fire; only dedicating heavy weaponry is going to take it down.
You'll be removing leadership from the horde though, but having Nobz riding with your Warboss will give him the extra punch to give you a good, killy unit that will let you tactically deploy and hunt the targets you wish.
Personally, the cost involved makes it too rich for my blood. Good armor, Wargear and equipment is going to place the Warboss between 200-300 points. And that's a lot of victory points to give up if he's killed.
Shooty Warboss
Along with a Weapon Skill of 6, a Warboss also has a 6 in his Ballistic Skill. This makes him a very competent shooter. His base 'to hit' roll is 1+ before modifiers apply. Not bad!
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| Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub |
From the base equipment list, a Warbosss can choose special weapons like the plasma gun; a very good and killy weapon in its own right. The main downside is needing to recharge between shots, so you only will get off 2-3 in a single game if you can shoot it each time it's ready to fire.
On the other hand, Space Orks have some attractive options with their Wargear. The Kustom Blasta and Kustom Shoota are two options worth consideration. The major downside is that both use the Artillery Die for determining the strength of the shot each time you fire. The Blasta gives you a D3" template, making it good for shooting infantry. The Shoota gives you two Sustained Fire Dice, also good for infantry.
Between the two, I prefer the Kustom Shoota for its slight edge in killing potential. Two Sustained Fire Dice are just a little more dependable when it comes to terms of raw firepower; and the math tends to favor them. One downside is that the Shoota loses a few inches of range when compared to the Blasta (32 vs. 36").
The Shoota is also 20 points, meaning you can give this to your Warboss and leaving space for you to add some 'Eavy Armour and a Refractor Field, keeping him under 100 points and denying any additional victory points should be get removed from the table.
You can also stick him in a unit for extra protection, and backfield units can benefit from his Leadership. Also, neither the Kustom Shoota or Kustom Blasta is a heavy weapon, so you can freely choose your targets when shooting!
How I Use My Warboss
In my opinion, Orks are a fun but challenging army in second edition. Unlike Space Marines or Eldar, where your elite status, battleline options, and superior psychic phase make the game easier because your army is more effective, Orks are weak or average in comparison. This means a kunnin' Warboss is going to need to make the most of each and every unit, trick and tactic at their disposal.
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| Da Kolonel |
To this end, I equip my boss light. Kolonel Krump gets a power axe (7 points), frag stikkbombz (2 points), a Refractor Field (5 points), and a Buzzer Squig Stikkbomb (5 points), bringing his total cost to 84 points. So, unless the mission says otherwise, I'm only giving up a single victory point if he's killed.
With maybe the exception of Imperial Guard, most other 40k armies don't need to rely on characters as much as Orks do for maintaining morale. Da Kolonel spends games entrenched with da ladz, and will be placed in a unit, and within 12" of 3-4 units total at most times, so that I can leverage his high leadership. It's super important since everyone will be getting shot to pieces while high tailing it across the battlefield.
The power axe gives him some punch in close combat, either gaining an attack when used one handed, or extra strength when wielded with both hands. The 'Eavy Armour and Refractor Field offer some light protection for most situations, and I don't expect him to survive for long if my opponent wants him dead. But if we meet enemy infantry or a light vehicle, he's likely to carry the day (along with da ladz, of course).
The Buzzer Squig Stikkbomb is a bit of a Hail Mary, and is there to deploy against elite units or a character, if I'm lucky. Like most Ork technology, it's swingy so I'm not sweating it should I miss. The template persists, so I might get lucky for a comeback. For five points, it's a bit of mindless fun, and suitably Orky.
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