The new Ghazghkull datasheet turns the Prophet of the Waaagh into a Primarch-tier beast with Lone Operative, a nasty aura, and a much scarier profile.
Ghazghkull isn’t hanging around inside a Boyz mob anymore. GW kicked off its first look at the upcoming Orks Codex today, and the Beast of Armageddon is leading the whole thing. After years of operating as a very ‘ard leader tucked into an Infantry unit, Warhammer 40k 11th Edition finally lets him stomp around on his own as a proper monster.
We’ve been waiting for something like this since Nazdreg’s rules showed up, and plenty of Ork players wondered how a Bad Moon warboss had somehow wound up tougher than the Prophet of the Waaagh himself. The new Codex answers that pretty clearly as Ghazghkull gets the durability bump you’d expect from the guy’s lore.
GW didn’t stop with one datasheet either; five of them landed in this preview.
- Ghazghkull goes solo: Lone Operative, an army-wide aura, and a much nastier profile pull him clean out of the Boyz mob.
- Boyz get more useful: the new Boyz datasheet lets them fight while handling objectives, while shootas pick up Lethal Hits.
- New weapon tech arrives: Hunter profiles and consolidated Killa Kan guns show where 11th Edition weapon rules are headed.
Ghazghkull Now Plays Like a Primarch
Updated on August 23, 2026, by Rob Baer with the latest rules.
The biggest change is everything Ghazghkull doesn’t have to do anymore becasue he’s not hiding inside a unit and babysitting a mob.
- Lone Operative near friendly units, so he protects himself instead of needing to hide inside a squad.
- Prophet of da Great Waaagh! pushes his buff out to the units around him.
- Mork’s Roar gains a Torrent profile, so it hits automatically.
- A once-per-game riling-up ability, with the actual rules still being held back until tomorrow.
That’s a big change from a character you park inside a unit to the centerpiece your army plays around. Anyone used to stuffing the old Ghaz into a big Boyz brick is going to have to rethink the setup now, but that’s not that bad, honestly.
Ork Boyz Can Finally Fight and Score at the Same Time
Ghaz can only smash one enemy unit at a time, so the Boyz still have work to do. Never Too Busy to Fight lets a mob sit on a forward objective, throw punches, and handle mission actions in the same turn, which is especially useful with action-heavy Force Dispositions.
Shootas and similar guns also gain Lethal Hits against anything that isn’t a Monster or Vehicle.
- Never Too Busy to Fight: fight and run actions on a forward objective at the same time.
- Lethal Hits on shootas against non-Monster, non-Vehicle targets, spread across most shoota-style guns in the Codex.
Tankbustas Bring 40k’s New Hunter Weapon Profiles
The Tankbustas mostly show off a mechanic we’re apparently going to see a lot more of in 11th Edition. Their busta rokkit launchas have a Hunter profile, which only turns on against a specific target type.
The Beast Snaggas use the same idea with a Hunter: Monster/Vehicle option in melee. It lets specialist units stay nasty against the targets they’re supposed to hunt without also making them absurdly efficient against everything else.
Nobz Get Their Kustom Krumpas Sorted Out
The new Nobz kit raised plenty of questions about what all those different weapons were actually going to do, and this datasheet finally clears that up. Kustom Krumpas sit roughly where power klaws used to, which makes sense considering klaws were the default Nobz choice for years.
Now one profile covers the various powered blades and bludgeons in the kit, and it’s simpler to build and easier to explain across the table.
Killa Kans Get a Buff
The Kans might be one of the quieter winners in this preview. Their mismatched guns fold into new profiles you choose each time they shoot, so you’re not stuck watching a grotzooka bounce uselessly off a battle tank because that’s what the model happened to bring.
They’re also a little faster and tougher, and GW hinted that other units in the new Orks Codex are getting similar weapon flexibility.
Final Thoughts on the New Ghazghkull Datasheet
Taken together, this preview looks like GW is rebuilding how Orks function from the top down. Ghazghkull is running around outside the squad, Boyz can fight while doing useful mission work, and specialist weapons are getting rules that better match what they’re supposed to kill.
Points are still unknown, and the WAAAGH! rules arrive tomorrow, with GW teasing a berserk charge that can stretch across several turns. That’s probably what will tell us whether all these moving parts actually fit together on the table.
For now, Ghaz finally looks like the biggest, ‘ardest git in the room again, which is exactly where he should be.
🔗 Related Reads:
- All the New Orks Codex Rules
- Warhammer 40k 11th Edition Rules
- Ghazghkull’s Full 40k Rules
- The New Ork Boyz Da Jump Combo
- The New Armageddon Ork Character Datasheets
- New Ork Tankbustas Rules
- New Ork Nobz and Warbikes
What do you think of the new Ghazghkull datasheet and his jump to Primarch-tier power?
