The Warhammer 40k Orks Codex pulled some power out of the 15 detachments and stuffed it straight into the datasheets, dropping with 178 massive pages and new Trukk, Mek, and Nobz rules.
Late 10th Edition Ork detachments were doing a ton of work, while most of these fifteen are much smaller packages. The units themselves went the other way. Almost everything picked up a keyword, nastier melee numbers, better weapons, or some new trick it didn’t have before.
If you play Orks, that’s probably the side of any new rules update you’d rather have. Detachment rules can get shaved down in a balance update. A better datasheet gives the army a stronger starting point before any of that happens.
It’s been a long road getting here, too. The 11th Edition Ork rumors were pointing at an early codex months ago, the Siege of Death Mire kicked the release wave along, and the 11th Edition codex release schedule finally has its first book.
You’re getting fifty-four datasheets and fifteen detachments for forty bucks (even after all the Grotmas Detachments and such), with pre-orders already live. So now we can finally get into what GW actually put in the thing now that the 11th Edition codex release schedule finally has its first hard release date!
Orks Are Bringing Back More of the Stuff Codexes Used to Do Well
Updated on August 24th 2026, by Rob Baer with the full Ork Codex rules review, datasheet changes, and Legends cuts.
- The power went to the units: the detachments got smaller, while Boyz, Nobz, Meganobz, Tankbustas, Killa Kans, and the big walkers all walked away with meaningful profile upgrades.
- 15 detachments, 54 datasheets: War Horde is the big flexible option, while the other fourteen are smaller one-point packages tied to specific keywords.
- What’s missing is wild: there are no points, Force Dispositions, character attachment rules, or Crusade section here, so the codex alone still isn’t enough to build a complete army list.
The new Codex: Orks has already gotten plenty of attention for its rules, but the actual book is doing a few things longtime 40k players will probably appreciate just as much. Unfortunately, according to this, some models are going to Legends for the Orks.
For starters, the lore section is getting a serious upgrade. Games Workshop says it’s grown from roughly 40 pages in the 2024 Orks Codex to nearly 100 pages this time around, with proper bestiary-style coverage for the units in the army. That’s much closer to the older Codex format where half the fun was reading why your models were the way they were before throwing them onto the table.
There’s also a hardback Collector’s Edition for anyone who still wants their Codex to look fancy on the shelf, rather than just another book getting tossed into a gaming bag.
The important digital change is that Orks Legends rules are finally being added directly to the Warhammer 40,000 app. That puts older fan-favorite units in the same place as the current army rules instead of making players bounce between the app and separate Legends documents every time they want to drag an old model back onto the table, which we love!
Codex: Orks Drops 15 Detachments and a New WAAAGH! 
New Ork Codex Price & Release Date:
- Ork Codex Release Date: September 5th, 2026
- Pre-Order Date: August 22nd, 2026
- Retail Price (MSRP/RRP): $40(USD). Regional pricing is listed below.
Codex: Orks is now confirmed to be the first book of the new edition, and GW is using it to set expectations for what 11th Edition codexes are supposed to look like, along with a lower price point.
The physical book will come in a slipcase, clocks in at 178 pages, and includes more lore than current codexes, which is a welcome change after 10th Edition books often felt a little light on the proper faction flavor.
The book also has a Collecting section that breaks Ork armies into four archetypes for newer players, bestiary entries for every unit, and painting tips running through the back half. The codex code unlocks the rules in the 40k App and acts as a passport for quarterly rules and lore drops during the edition.
That’s a big change from buying a book and knowing almost everything added afterward will live somewhere else.
The lower price also comes with a cheaper format. This is a softcover in a cardboard slipcase, closer to the campaign books than the 10th Edition hardbacks, with slightly smaller pages. It’s forty dollars and twenty-five pounds compared with sixty dollars and thirty-eight pounds for a 10th Edition codex. So, you’re giving up the chunky hardback, but you’re also paying noticeably less to get the army rules.
The passport idea is the bit we’re still watching. GW says those quarterly updates can include new detachments, datasheets, lore, and short stories. That sounds useful, but it also implies you’ll need the codex code to access them, while extra detachments and datasheets used to turn up for free. If that’s how the system works, GW has basically put some of the edition’s future rules behind book ownership, which may irritate some players as well.
All 15 Ork Detachments in 11th Edition
Codex: Orks launches with fifteen detachments covering Grots, Boyz, Nobz, walkers, bikes, aircraft, Beast Snaggas, Meks, and plenty more. The important bit isn’t just the number. Ork players can combine these smaller packages instead of choosing one giant detachment and letting it dictate the whole army.
Runt Swarm makes Gretchin Battleline and can recycle a destroyed grot mob. Shoota Boyz adds Assault to infantry ranged weapons. Brute Bosses drops stratagems altogether and gives you extra enhancements instead. GW is also planning more detachments through those codex-linked app updates, so the list of options isn’t supposed to stop at the book’s launch.
Three of these were previewed months early, and only one survived under the same name; we broke down the first Ork detachments for 11th Edition when GW showed them off in July.
War Horde is deliberately bigger than the rest. It comes with four enhancements and six stratagems, while the other fourteen usually give you a core rule, two enhancements, and three stratagems. War Horde’s army-wide rule is Sustained Hits 1 in melee, so it’s the easy starting point if you don’t want to build around one specific keyword.
The full list is War Horde, Da Big Hunt, Brute Bosses, Taktikal Brigade, Wreckas, Madcap Meks, Wurrband, Blitz Brigade, Flyboyz, Dread Mob, Green Tide, Runt Swarm, Bully Boyz, Shoota Boyz, and Kult of Speed
Fifteen detachments sound like a lot on paper, but combining them is what makes that number pretty useful. You can see how all 15 options work in our full Codex Orks detachments breakdown.
The New Ork WAAAGH! Keeps Coming Back
The 11th Edition Waaagh! isn’t one giant turn where the whole army goes berserk and then goes back to normal. Orks re-roll Advances all game, while characters and other rules can hand out Riled Up, which gives a unit Advance-and-charge, Assault on its guns, and a 5+ invulnerable save.
That makes the army harder to shut down once the initial charge is over. Meganobz get extra bonuses while Riled Up, Shoota Boyz can turn it into more shooting, and the Stompa is permanently Riled Up.
Every Ork datasheet in the book has Waaagh!, so that Advance re-roll is always there. Just getting the army where it needs to go has been one of the oldest problems Orks have had, and this helps before you even call the big turn.
Once per game, at the start of your command phase, you can call the Waaagh! and make everything in range Riled Up until the end of the next turn. You can call it during either player’s turn, which gives you a lot more control over when that window actually matters.
The old melee spike took a hit, though. The 10th Edition Waaagh! handed out plus one Strength and plus one Attack during the big turn. Those bonuses are gone. A lot of that damage has been pushed into the datasheets instead, with things like Boyz choppas sitting at Strength 5 all game. You’re losing some of the giant one-turn punch in exchange for an army that doesn’t fall as far once that turn is finished.
There are two other core rules worth keeping in your head too.
- Da Boss gives you one command point per battle round if a Warboss is your warlord, and you get it at the start of the battle round rather than your command phase. If you’re going second, that timing can matter. Just don’t get the boss killed.
- Unstable Energies is basically 40k opening the door to psychic powers again. Psykers have levels, and you spend those levels on powers each battle round. A level three psyker could use a two-point power and a one-point power, or three one-point powers.
Orks aren’t suddenly becoming the psychic army, though. Their psykers normally top out at level one, and level two inside one detachment. You roll when using a power, and on a one the psyker becomes Battle-shocked while the power still works. Weirdboyz and Kill Rigs are the two Ork datasheets using the system. It’s a neat rule, but you can tell it was built with other codexes in mind.
For the complete rundown, check out our full breakdown of the new Codex Orks army rules.
How to Play Orks in 11th Edition
Orks still want to be in your face by turn two. They just have a few more ways to make sure they actually get there now.
Advance with those re-rolls, use transports and Kult of Speed-style mobility to close the distance, then call the Waaagh! when the board is set up for it. Riled Up helps the charge happen and gives the mob a 5+ invulnerable save so it has a better shot at surviving the trip.
You’ve still got loads of bodies and attacks, only now the basic melee profiles hit harder. The familiar problems haven’t disappeared, either. Ballistic Skill 5+ means most Ork shooting still needs help, AP can get thin outside the specialists, and every list has to figure out how its Boyz are crossing the table without getting blown apart.
2000’s Era Plastic Trukk Next To New Models
That’s why the transports are much more important now. The new Trukk and the Big Mek handing vehicles plus one to hit aren’t just fun extras for the model range. They’re part of the solution to the delivery problem.
So, if you’re starting your first Ork army out of this codex, a Warboss warlord, a big mob of Boyz, something to carry them, and War Horde gives you a straightforward place to begin. Once you’ve played some games, you can start layering in one of the smaller detachments that fits what your army actually needs.
Ork Datasheets Are Where This Codex Puts Its Power
If there’s one pattern running through all fifty-four datasheets, it’s that GW seems much happier putting the army’s muscle directly on the units this time.
Boyz are a perfect example. They’re on three attacks each at Strength 5, AP1, damage 1, with Lethal Hits on the charge. In a twenty-model mob with choppas, that’s already a mountain of dice.
They also get two Nobz per mob at three wounds apiece, plus a free burna, big shoota, and rokkit. Ammo Run gives them +1 to hit at range once per game, and they can take actions while engaged. Being able to fight over an objective without shutting off the mission stuff is probably one of the most useful changes on the entire sheet.
Our full Ork Boyz datasheet breakdown has the rest.
- Nobz themselves had their pile of melee weapon profiles rolled together into Kustom Krumpas at three attacks, Strength 10, damage 2, and they’re sitting on three wounds per model now. You aren’t fussing over which Nob bought which weapon just to get the output you wanted.
- Meganobz might have picked up the rule that gets the most complaints across the table. They still have the 2+ save, and attacks hitting them now suffer minus one AP. That’s basically Armor of Contempt wearing an Ork helmet. Their kustom shootas can also fire point-blank for D3 plus three Torrent shots at six inches, giving them an answer when a horde gets right in their face.
- Tankbustas finally look like they’re built to bust tanks. They hit on fours natively, and the Hunter profile on the buster rokkit only targets Monsters and Vehicles but gets three attacks at Strength 12, AP2, damage 3. Losing Blast hurts them into medium infantry, but at least they’re much better at the job written on the box.
- Killa Kans move eight inches now instead of six, have five wounds, a 3+ save, and Toughness 7. They also get plus one to hit against anything below Toughness 7. They’re apparently happiest picking on anything smaller than they are, which feels exactly right.
- The Battlewagon has split back into two datasheets. The regular Battlewagon is Toughness 11 and keeps the big transport capacity, while the Gun Wagon jumps to Toughness 12 with four big shootas, a lobba, and a choice of kannon, killkannon, or zzap gun. It also re-rolls hit rolls of one naturally, giving Orks another actual ranged vehicle instead of asking everything with wheels to drive straight at the enemy.
- The Gorkanaut and Morkanaut both got serious attention. The Gorkanaut swings six times at Strength 18, damage 6, with Cleave 3. The Morkanaut gives up some of that melee punch for a 5+ invulnerable force field and shooting re-rolls of one. Both can deliver a unit with an assault disembark, so they’re no longer just giant walkers lumbering toward the fight by themselves.
- Then there’s the Stompa. Toughness 14, thirty wounds, a 2+ save, twelve Strength 14, AP3, damage D6 plus 2 shots, and six melee attacks at Strength 24, AP4, damage 10 with Cleave 4. It’s also permanently Riled Up, so it can Advance, shoot, charge, and keep a 5+ invulnerable save without needing the Waaagh! to turn any of that on.
- Even the aircraft got some attention. The Dakkajet can put out thirty-six Strength 6, AP1 shots inside eighteen inches and gets plus one to hit against targets that can’t Fly. If you ever wanted the Ork plane to solve a problem by dumping an irresponsible number of dice onto the table, there you go.
Ghazghkull’s New 40k Rules Are a Serious Upgrade
Ghaz Finally Goes Solo
Ghaz gets Lone Operative-style protection while he’s near friendly units, and Prophet of da Great Waaagh! pushes his buffs outward instead of tying him to one squad. Mork’s Roar picks up Torrent as well, so it starts throwing automatic hits around before Ghaz gets close enough to solve the rest of the problem himself.
Nazdreg Brings the Shooting
Nazdreg is the other mega-armored centerpiece, but he isn’t trying to be a second Ghaz. His unit ignores cover on ranged attacks; he has Deep Strike, and once per battle round he can pick an Ork unit within six inches, clear its Battle-shock, and make it Riled Up.
That last ability is the one to watch. Getting another unit Riled Up outside the army’s once-per-game Waaagh! is a big deal, and dropping Nazdreg in with a Meganobz brick is an obvious place to start. Our full Nazdreg rules breakdown covers the rest.
Warbosses Hit Harder Without the Waaagh!
The regular Warboss is Toughness 6 now and gets plus three attacks and plus two Strength on the charge, whether he’s Riled Up or not. With a power klaw, that’s nine attacks at Strength 14 whenever he makes the charge. You don’t have to save his good turn for the Waaagh! anymore.
The mega-armored Warboss goes to Toughness 7 and gets a huge choppa with five attacks at Strength 12, damage 3. He can also join Warbikers now, which is not a pairing we had on the bingo card but is absolutely one we want to see somebody put on the table.
The Support Characters Got Rearranged
Some support characters changed jobs more than they got stronger.
The Painboy is basically a straight healer now, restoring three wounds each battle round with another D3 available once from the Grot Orderly. The Weirdboy is a level one psyker choosing between Da Jump and Warpath.
Boss Snikrot did better out of the reshuffle. He can head back into reserves whenever he’s hidden and not engaged, plus he gets an ingress move from the first battle round. That gives him an actual utility role with Kommandos instead of leaving him as a neat character you struggle to justify. The Armageddon character datasheets cover the rest of the crew.
What the Ork Codex Leaves Out, and What It Cuts
This is where the new codex format gets a little awkward.
The book has no points, plus there are no Force Dispositions, detachment point costs, or rules telling you which leaders can attach to which units. Combat Patrol is app only, and there’s no Crusade section because 11th Edition is handling the narrative rules separately. The missing army-building pieces are going into the digital mustering field manual instead.
Keeping those numbers digital makes it easier for GW to change them. It also means you can buy a codex, open it up, and still not have everything you need to build an army, which is a weird spot for an army book to be in.
The unit cuts are a different problem. Lootas and Burnas are gone and appear headed for Legends, while their fifth edition kit disappearing from sale right before the codex certainly doesn’t make that feel temporary. The Wurrboy is out as well.
The warbuggies got rolled into one datasheet with wargear choices, although the Squigbuggy keeps its own entry. The Mega Trakk Scrapjet and Shokkjump Dragsta went off sale, and the codex pictures don’t exactly give us much reason to expect them back. Several Warboss entries were also consolidated.
We covered the Ork Legends situation when the rumors first started, and the finished book looks pretty close to what people were worried about.
At least new entries are coming in from the other direction. Nazdreg is here, and the Armageddon wave adds the Wartrakk, Big Dakka Rig, Bannernob, and Bigboss as proper units.
Grots quietly took a hit, too. They’re down to a 6+ save, and OC1 instead of OC2, plus Downtrodden makes two Grots occupy one transport slot. They’re still cheap little objective squatters, but just worse at pretending they’re anything more than that.
New Ork Trukk in 40k: A Brand New Kit With More Dakka
The new Trukk finally replaces a kit Ork players have been staring at for a very long time, and GW packed quite a few build options into it.
You can put a grabbin’ klaw or buzzsaw up front, add big shootas or rokkit launchas in the bed, and stick either a spiked ram or dozer blade on the nose. It’s exactly the kind of pile-it-on customization an Ork vehicle kit should have.
The front axles can be posed at different angles as well, so one Trukk can be leaning through a turn while another looks like it’s bouncing straight over whatever was unlucky enough to be in front of it. If you’re running several of these things, having them actually look different matters.
The new rules are giving the Trukk a little more personality, too.
Being able to unload Orks as an enemy unit gets close turns the transport into something your opponent has to think about before the Boyz are even standing on the table. That’s much more interesting than treating it like a cardboard delivery box with wheels.
Mek: Crane Boy Buffs Vehicle Hit Rolls
The new Mek has a literal crane strapped to his back because apparently just carrying tools wasn’t Orky enough.
He can patch up nearby vehicles, while his know-wotz hand plus one to hit to friendly Ork vehicles in range. That’s a pretty meaningful buff in an army where hitting things with guns has never exactly been the reliable part of the plan.
He’s also packing a kustom mega-slugga for anything that wanders over while he’s fixing the important stuff. Between this guy and the new Trukk, vehicle-heavy Ork armies are getting actual support pieces instead of being asked to run entirely on smoke, confidence, and favorable dice.
Warboss: Sixteen Heads, One Boss
The Warboss got teased a few months back, but GW saved the full kit reveal for the Big Summer Preview. The head is built from four upper pieces and four jaws, giving you sixteen combinations.
That includes the bionic eye and horned helmet we’d already seen, a hair squig topknot in the Abaddon style, an Orky Commissar cap, and a cigar-chomping lower jaw for anyone trying to get the full Blood Axe Lord Castellan look.
That amount of head swapping makes a lot more sense for an Ork Warboss than another single-pose character you build once and then see copied across everybody else’s army. Half the appeal of Orks is making your mob look like your mob, and this kit seems built around that.
Standalone Armageddon Units: Weirdboyz, Dakkarigs, and the Kommand Krew
Everything from the Armageddon box is getting a standalone release too. The new Weirdboyz, Dakkarigs, and Wartrakks will be available separately for anyone who wants more than the one that came in the starter, while the Bigboss, Bannernob, and Painboy with Grot Orderly are being bundled together as the Armageddon Kommand Krew.
Command Pack and Orks Dice for the Detachment Sprawl
With 15 detachments to keep straight at launch, the new Command Pack might actually earn its spot on the table.
It has ninety-four reference cards covering detachments, stratagems, and enhancements, along with double-sided tokens for stat penalties and abilities that have already gone off. That’s a lot easier than trying to remember which little once-per-game rule you already burned three turns ago.
There are faction dice coming as well, cast in green with red pips and an Ork logo replacing the six.
Final Thoughts on the Warhammer 40k Orks Codex
There’s a lot to like in this book before anyone has even played a serious game with it.
GW pushed more of the army’s strength onto the datasheets, made the Waaagh! useful beyond one giant turn, opened up the detachment system, put a pile of actual faction material back into the book, and knocked twenty dollars off the standard codex price. That’s a pretty different starting point for 11th Edition, especially with Orks getting the first crack at it instead of the usual poster boys.
What we still can’t tell you is whether the army is actually good.
Fourteen of these fifteen detachments depend heavily on keyworded units, and their value changes fast depending on what those units cost. Killa Kans can have a fantastic detachment stapled to them, but if the points are wrong, nobody’s going to care. The same goes for Meganobz, Boyz, bikes, walkers, and pretty much everything else people are already theorycrafting around.
So the next important Ork release isn’t another miniature or another codex preview. It’s the digital points and mustering details.
Once those numbers are live in the app, we’ll know whether all these improved datasheets add up to a genuinely strong army or just a really fun-looking pile of expensive green models. We’ll also find out whether this new codex format is something GW can actually make work for the rest of 11th Edition, because Orks are the first army getting sent out there to test it.
Where To Buy The New Orks Codex
11th Edition Orks Release
Pricing varies by item and region; for the complete lineup and regional prices, check our 11th Edition Orks pre-order coverage.
If you’re looking for Warhammer discounts or just trying to dodge the usual out-of-stock scramble, our retailer guide has options broken out by region below.
🔗 Related Reads:
- All the New 40k Orks Rules and Miniatures (So Far)
- 11th Edition Ork Rumors That Called This Drop Early
- 11th Edition Codex Release Schedule and 2026 Roadmap
- What We Wanted To See From the Big Summer Preview
- The Siege of Death Mire Campaign Now Underway
- New Ork Boyz Kit Builds Twenty Different Models
- Updated 2026 40k Roadmap
What do you think about the new Warhammer 40k Orks Codex being the first 11th Edition release?
