Here’s how to play Orks from their 9th edition Warhammer 40k Codex including their latest rules and models.
Let’s start off by looking at the new releases for the Orks and then dive into how to play all the new codex rules for Warhammer 40k.
Orks Combat Patrol: $150
Get your Orks combat patrol for less on Amazon or eBay
This is honestly a pretty fun box because you get Deffkoptas, a Dread, 20 of the new Boyz, and the new Warboss. So whether you’ve played for a while, or are just starting an army, it is a good smattering of mostly new units. Plus, the value, though might be the highest yet, now that we’ve seen how much prices will be on similar unit kits sold separately.
How to Play Orks In Warhammer 40k & Rules Review
These unique faction rules are collected from all the following reviews on YouTube, and Warhammer Community alike, so be sure to watch your favorite presenters talk about their take on the book at the links below:
Orks Army Box
Similar to the Sisters of Battle and Lumineth Realmlords rollout, this codex was first available inside a new Army Box. But now it’s out in the world for everyone.
Our Favorite & Most Powerful 40k Orks Unit Rules For 9th Edition: Episode 301
Podcast Table of Contents:
- 00:00 Opening Jokes
- 02:22 Wyatt’s Cave Of Wonders
- 6:28 Rob Baer Memorial News Desk
- 33:03 Orks
Orks 9th Edition 40k Rules & How To Play
Starting off, we’ve got the good ‘ol base Ork Warlord Traits. Of the six options, two look a little bit stronger than the rest. Big Gob adds a 3″ range to the Warlord’s aura abilities, which Orks have a decent amount of, making this a fantastic option. ‘Ard As Nails forces opponents to subtract one from wound rolls against your warlord. Assuming the Warlord of your choice has decent toughness, this might be a guaranteed 5+ roll for the majority of the opposing weapons!
As for the Beast Snaggas, they have three options, and the best is most likely Half-Chewed. Getting a 4+ FNP is nuts if it’s on a model that will spend most of its time in melee anyways. If you are taking a Boss on Squig, this might be a fantastic option, making him incredibly tough to take down.
Speed Freeks also have three options, with the best being Roadkilla. Many of the Warlord options have decent saves and some invulvns, meaning extra damage might be nice to have. A 66% chance to deal D3 Mortals is not bad at all, especially if you get around three charges in a game; that’s just free damage!
Psychic Powers: WAAGH Discipline
Moving onto psychic powers, The WAAGH discipline has some good options, especially Da Jump, which is known far and wide as a fantastic power. It might be a returning power, but that’s a good thing as it’s often one of the strongest options they had in the past.
Another great option is Fists of Gork, which has the potential to superpower your melee units for a turn. Adding two to Strength and Attacks is no small feat; if you roll high enough on the test, you get a whopping three bonus. Assuming this is placed on a melee unit, they’ll go from a melee threat to a melee machine that opponents can’t allow getting into combat.
Psychic Powers: Beast Head Discipline
Moving onto their second discipline Beast Head. Frazzle looks pretty good as a shorter-range smite that can hit multiple enemy units. This power can deal a ton of damage if there are multiple units.
Squiggly Curse serves as another good AoE option. If you target a large blob unit, you should on average deal mortal wounds equal to half the number of models. Furthermore, if any models die, each enemy within 6″ of the targetted unit also takes a mortal wound, getting in some free chip damage!
Orks 9th Edition Rules & Relics
Moving onto the Ork relics, Da Krushin’ Armor looks like a great choice for added durability. Getting a 4+ invulvn and +1 to armor saves is a great boon. If those weren’t enough, the model also dishes out mortal wounds on a 2+ after charging in.
Beasthide Mantle looks pretty nice, giving a melee-focused character an extra Attack might be enough to push him over the edge. The addition of a 5+ FNP is also fantastic, making the model even harder to kill, while also more deadly in melee. Combine this with Fists of Gork and you’ll have an unstoppable melee machine, at least after they get into CQC.
That does it for all of the Traits, Psychics, & Relics!
If you have trouble reading our screencaps, you can see the full images below. Be sure to check out all the other new 9th Edition Ork rules from our previous articles as well!
Check out all these new rules for the Orks Here
New 40k Orks: Specialist Mobs & Detachment Rules
This is a way to upgrade a single unit in each detachment to have a specialty. They lose the clan keyword, but gains other abilities, the cool thing is, you can upgrade one unit in every detachment. So, it might be worthwhile to take a few to get a bunch of these.
Pyromaniacs is pretty sweet for a big unit because they can never get less than 3 attacks, meaning they can really pile up! Boom Boyz can really help you punch through that armor with the extra AP. Madboyz can be insanely strong for your bikers and riders if you happen to roll the right D3 right when you need it! It has three different random options with some being better for different aspects of the turn.
Just remember you lose the <Clan> tag when you use these so the juice better be worth the squeeze as far as Kulture’s go!
Detachment Rules
You can include all the special characters without losing your clan keyword, which only makes sense. Unfortunately, Gretchin aren’t ObSec, but they should be because everyone loves Gretchin!
I’m Da Boss means you can only have one Warboss or Deffkilla Wartrike in each detachment. Lastly, you can check out all the warlord traits for the special characters and the Kill Rig.
You can see the full images below if you have trouble reading our screencaps.
All the New Detachment & Specialist Rules for the Orks
New 40k Orks & Beast Snaggas: Points & Wargear Stats
It’s always really sweet to have a reference! Instead of flipping through everything, just go check this page out and see everything. We’ve covered most of these before, but check them out if need a quick rundown of the rules.
Orks Points
We’ve seen some points already, but it’s nice to see the Boyz come in at 9 points as we expected and the Beast Snagga Boyz to come in at 11 points.
Zodgrod comes in as the cheapest HQ and since he buffs your Grots, we expect every Ork army ever played to run him, well, maybe. The big guy Ghazghkull comes in at 300 points, and he’s a character we can actually see more lists running.
The Hunta/Kill Rigs come in at 160 and 190 points respectively, so fairly pricey, but not terrible. Whereas the Squighog Boyz are coming in at 25 points each, which again, is pretty decent, just keep them alive till they get in CC!
Orks Weapons
Just like with the points we’ve seen a lot of weapon profiles already. The Stompa can get an insane amount of shots with 30 when in Dakka range, it’s only -AP and 1 Damage, but that shouldn’t matter too much when you have 30 shots!
The ‘Eavy Lobba is still decent with Blast and the ability to target units that it can’t see.
They have a ton of great CC weapons to choose from, but we wouldn’t have it any other way for Orks! A Big Choppa is now a serious weapon to take out 2 wound models, with +2 Strength, -1 AP, and D2. The Kan Klaw is also a pretty heavy weapon, giving them +3 Strength, -3 Ap, and 3D especially when they only come in at 40 points per model!
If you have trouble reading our screencaps, you can see the full images below.
Check Out All the New Orks 9th Edition rules Here
New Orks & Beast Snagga 40k Rules: Stratagems
Out of these first three, Careen! looks good. The best part about this stratagem is that it doesn’t say “6 inches towards enemies”. That means if you’ve got a vehicle that exploded in your backline, you can force them to move 6 inches to the side and save some of your troops.
Another great thing is you choose this stratagem after you know it’s going to blow up, meaning you don’t have to waste a CP if it won’t even blow up.
Rounding out the first page, Tough As Squig-Hide looks like an option with a lot of potentials. If you have a large unit, being able to force fail wound rolls can be very strong. Whether it’s a high-strength weapon, or maybe one with special rules against the target, 1-3 will auto fail! The bigger the unit, the better this gets as they are probably getting shot at by more rounds.
Breakin’ Heads is also pretty good as you can essentially save half a squad of boys if they are at risk to flee.
On the second page, Big Boss is great. We’ve seen this style of rule for most factions now and if they have decent warlord traits, then this option is definitely worth it. Buffing up a character for the entire game, or gaining a new aura is very strong for only 1 CP.
After finishing the second page, there are a few more worthy options. Lumbering Strides seems pretty niche, although good at ensuring your Stompa and -Kanauts can make it into melee consistently. This stratagem makes it much easier to get a 9″ charge off.
Tellyporta is also strong, allowing you to deep strike a unit in later with a rating of 20 or less instead of setting them up normally at the start of the game.
Monster Hunterz is pretty sweet, considering you get to affect 3 of your units for only 2 CP! While you have to select a single enemy, this will really let you bring down whatever big target you’re going after, and bringing down a big monster or vehicle for 2 CP is almost always worth it.
More Dakka! is also a great option, essentially letting you fire Dakka Rapid Fire weapons at full range, doubling your damage threat for that turn from that unit.
If you have trouble reading our screencaps, you can see the full images below.
Check out all the new Stratagems for the Orks Here
Orks WAAAGH! 40k Rules
For your Warlord’s galvanising warcry to be heard, they need to be on the battlefield during the Command phase – or at the very least, embarked on a Transport that’s on the battlefield. In the latter case, we assume he shoves his head out of a window before starting the shouting.
A Waaagh! or Speedwaaagh! can be called once per battle, and they both work in two stages. Stage 1 lasts until the start of your next Command phase. Then Stage 2 kicks in, which lasts until the beginning of your subsequent Command phase.
There will be three in the book, but they only previewed two today. Only Ghazghkull Thraka can call the third one, called the Great WAAAGH!, so we’ll have to wait to see what that one does.
Still, when they first call the WAAAGH! your Orks will be more enraged, then as the second turn rolls around, they are still better, just not quite as intense. This one is really sweet and will get you a ton of extra attacks and let you advance and charge, which is just super strong.
Orks SPEEDWAAAGH! 40k Rules
This one is all about shooting, and man it really gives you a ton of extra power. With extra attacks and AP!
Dakka
Dakka weapons generate solid damage output overall, but particularly reward Orks that gamble and get in real close before pulling the trigger – even Orks with guns want to get as close to a good scrap as they possibly can. Dakka gets even scarier when you look at really big guns.
This is kind of like Rapid Fire, but most times the attacks don’t double, just go up by a different ratio.
Mork’s Roar
For instance, Ghazghkull’s already-spectacular Mork’s Roar goes from Assault 12 to Dakka 16/12 – a significant uptick. Likewise, the Gorkanaut’s deffstorm mega-shoota moves from a Heavy 18 to a frankly alarming Dakka 30/20. Yes, that’s 30 Strength-6 shots within 18” – considerably more than most Orks can be bothered to count.
Getting 16 shots is nice, but the Gorkanaut getting 30 shots is really insane!
New Weapon Profiles
Even the humble Boyz get a considerable boost, with big shootaz moving from a perfectly decent Assault 3 to Dakka 5/3, and regular shootaz switching from Assault 2 to Dakka 3/2, making them significantly more lethal at close range.
The Big Shootaz going up to 5 shots at 18″ will give a unit with a few of them some crazy number of shots, as we said, you’ll have to have a ton of dice to play with these new rules!
The weapon upgrades don’t end there – Ork ranged weaponry has improved almost across the board, but new-style rokkits really shine. Rokkit launchas, rokkit kannons and kustom mega-blastas get more shots and that all-important Blast keyword.
You will be getting more shots on these, but moving them all to heavy basically guarantees you’ll be hitting on 6’s most of the time. Still, you could get lucky and get way more shots when standing still.
Kustom Mega Blasta and Bubblechukka
This is just a straight upgrade to get more shots, meaning you’ll actually be able to hit more with this super powerful weapon!
So now instead of rolling a D6 for shots, Strength, AP, and damage and hoping for the best, you simply roll a D3 to get one of three intensely painful weapon profiles. Our tactical recommendation is this: do everything in your power to stay out of the way of the dense bubble.
This really simplifies the gun, instead of rolling everything random, you just roll one die. To us, rolling the 2 seems like the most consistent way to deal heavy damage, but if you get lucky with the 3, it deals insane single target damage.
Boyz Rules
That’s right, Toughness 5. In fact, many varieties of Ork throughout the codex are seeing an extra point of Toughness added to their profile (yes, even Gretchin). It looks like the greenskins are finally living up to the terrifying reputation they have for charging headlong into clouds of gunfire and coming hollering out the other side.
That is a nice change for the Boyz, considering their awful save, this may help them survive that small arms fire all the better. They also mention everything will be getting an additional toughness, so that’s honestly huge! Looks like that Gretchin army is looking better and better…
The dream of Primaris Orks is dead in a sense. But the Beast Snagga version will have strength 5, meaning their efficiency against the always common T4 will be way higher.
All of the scar tissue and crude bioniks an average Beast Snagga accumulates over the course of their (usually quite short) life have their upsides too, as the chances of an incoming bullet or chainsword hitting something the Ork needs to function are even lower than usual.
Not only will they be stronger, but they will also be hitting vehicles or monsters on a 2+ in CC and 4+ in the shooting phase. On top of that, they will all have a 6+ invuln, meaning you will have a chance to save them even from pesky weapons with AP.
Regular Choppas will have an AP which is pretty sweet, and the bigger you go, the more effective they get! You may even be able to mob some vehicles now effectively with just the Best Snagga Boyz as they will be hitting on 2’s and wounding most things, even T8 on 5’s base with -1 AP.
New Kulturs
If your army is Battle-forged, it can take advantage of this updated Snakebites Clan Kultur. Da Old Ways will dial that already ’ard-as-nails Beast Snagga survivability up to 11, while also lending further credibility to that most ancient Orkish adage, ‘squigs iz good for bitin’ fings’. Though, as we’ve already learned, squigs can also do so much more.
Basically, this makes your Orks much harder to wound, which is a good thing considering their save! Especially because it says irrespective of any ability, meaning if something isn’t S8, it’s never wounding on better than a 4. On top of that adding one to all the Squig wound rolls is really sweet as well.
Zodgrod Wortsnagga
Through a combination of shiny objects, enticing fungal treats, and a few vials of the Painboys’ ‘special brew’, Zodgrod succeeded in creating a new breed of ‘super runt’, possessed of greater strength, intelligence, and frankly alarming levels of problem-solving ability.
Adding one to all attack rolls is pretty cool, but being able to perform actions and still shoot is really a great rule! Just sit your super runts where you need them, have them do actions all game, and bam! You’ve won the game… Not really, but still, it’s fun.
The Squigstoppa can hopefully let you kill the monster you are fighting before it gets to strike back. This is actually really powerful and can basically spell doom for most monsters in combat with your big units. Da Grabzappa is a decent weapon with +2 S, -3 AP, and D2. He will be able to dish out some serious punishment on his own.
Squighog Boyz
Tough, determined, and armed to the teef, these living battering rams comprise a fast-moving cavalry unit designed to get up close and personal. Armed with an arsenal of weaponry, including stikkas, Bomb Squigs, and their mounts themselves, Squighog Boyz and their red friends are unleashing relentless flurries of attacks, and they’re perfect for dealing with light Vehicles.
On the topic of Squighog Boyz, the Army Set includes three of these mounted warriors, who race across the battlefield and pin down their prey with crude rocket-propelled spears they call ‘stikkas’. Each model is packed with character and detail, from the motorcycle wheels attached in place of one squighog’s legs to the unusually brave Gretchin hitching a ride.
With a 10″ move, 5 Strength, 6 Toughness, 3 Wounds, and a 4+ save, these are going to hit hard and be very hard to kill! Small arms fire will have a very hard time taking them out, hopefully letting you get off a serious charge with them before they meet their end!
Bomb Squig and Smasha ‘Ead
On paper this seems great, although we don’t know how targeting will work, opponents might be able to just kill the Bomb Squigs first, which might be good or bad for the Ork player. Assuming you get to use the ability, these look a little like a non-psychic power smite with a 12″ range and a bonus to hit against vehicles. A 2+ to deal d3 mortals to a vehicle is pretty good.
That is, assuming it’s not at a high price during list construction.
Their thick skulls (and remarkable resistance to concussions) make them excellent candidates for smashing headlong into enemy troops, augmented by the thick sheets of metal that are often crudely bolted to their heads.
This is pretty similar to some of the AoS mortals on charge rules, although these guys also get it on heroic interventions which seems great! Not only can you protect your characters behind a wall of bodies, but with careful layouts, you can also more or less guarantee to set off this ability for a chance at some extra mortal wounds!
It almost looks like the squig has been left to aim and fire the gun itself, doesn’t it? It must take a particularly important kind of Beast Snagga to secure such a complex device, and you’ll find out exactly who they are very soon.
While they don’t outright say it, this strongly suggests he might just be the head Ork of the Beast Snaggas. If he is, we sure won’t complain!.
Ramshackle Rules
First up, the Ramshackle rule is changing. Under the previous rules, it allowed Trukks to shrug off a bit of damage every so often as shots ricochet off useless bits the Orks bolted to make the rig look more killy – a handy rule in a pinch. Now pretty much every Ork vehicle now counts as Ramshackle, which means that any shot of Strength 7 or less does one less damage. That’s a major boost to survivability all around, and it even applies to Killa Kans and Mek Gunz.
This helps a lot with D2 weaponry and other smaller arms fire that isn’t S8 because statistically before you only saved 1 in 6 damage, where this just reduces every time. It is worse obviously against things like Lascannons and Dark Lances, but overall a really nice buff to keep your vehicles alive. For Killa Kans and Mek Gunz, this is also pretty awesome, because more often than not, they can be taken out by S7 guns or less.
Killa Rig Rules
Effectively Wurrboy pulpits bristling with heavy weaponry and able to transport a mob of ornery boyz, Rigs pulled by gigantic, slavering Tramplasquigs are the Beast Snaggas’ preferred runaround – even though there are clearly bits falling off all the time.
With 16 wounds, 8 toughness, and a 3+ save, this thing should be pretty hard to kill! If they also get the Rmashackle rule, they will be even tougher. It has plenty of weaponry on it as well with a bunch of guns, a decent amount of CC, and whatever the Wurrtower does. We imagine it will just make the psychic power that much more potent, so maybe it will just turn everyone in the enemy army into squigs!
Check out More Orks 9th Edition rules Below!
- All the New 40k Orks Rules: Rumored & Revealed
- New Orks & Beast Snagga 40k Rules: Stratagems
- Weapons & Wargear
- Specialist Mobs and Detachments
What are your thoughts on all these rules? Which is your favorite option?
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
Socials: Facebook
About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
