How to play Orks

An aggressive horde-and-vehicle brawler that overwhelms with mass, mob-rule resilience, and a once-or-twice-per-game alpha-strike turn. Shooting is short-ranged; melee is the payoff.

Army rule: Waaagh!: in 11th, calling the Waaagh! lets Ork units Advance and still charge that turn, with detachment buffs (such as Sustained Hits under More Dakka!) stacking on top. The core skill is timing, calling it the turn you can reach the most high-value targets and survive the counter-punch.

Strengths

Bodies and wounds for days; strong at flooding the board, screening, and contesting objectives by numbers
The Waaagh! turn produces a genuine board-crossing alpha strike few armies can absorb
Excellent transports and walkers (Battlewagons, Kill/Hunta Rigs, Gorkanauts) that deliver, tank, and damage

Weaknesses

Low individual accuracy (BS/WS often 5+); folds to efficient chaff-clearing
Short threat range outside the Waaagh! turn; easy to kite by mobile shooting
Battle-shock bites a body-count army harder, and the -1-to-hit cover rule blunts shaky shooting

Signature combos

Battlewagons or Kill Rigs in Rollin' Deff for a wagon-delivered assault bomb with re-roll charges and +1 on disembark
Boyz, Stormboyz, and Kommandos in Taktikal Brigade for action-after-Advance secondaries
Infantry gunlines in More Dakka! gaining Assault and Sustained Hits on the Waaagh! turn
Meganobz as the elite hammer riding a transport into the line

Gameplan

Trade aggressively, screen the board, and bank early objective points while feeding chaff to soak damage. Pick the one turn where Waaagh! plus advance-and-charge breaks the enemy line, then grind out late-game scoring with mob-rule bodies.

Playing against Orks

Screen your backline and bait or absorb the Waaagh! turn so you're not in optimal charge range, bring volume anti-infantry and indirect fire to remove Boyz and transports, and out-range and reposition since Orks barely threaten you on non-Waaagh! turns.

Next steps

Browse all Orks datasheets → · What to buy → · General tactics →