The Orks are one of the best factions in Warhammer 40,000, and everybody has a soft spot for these big green boys. Everyone in the setting is a bad guy of one stripe or another, and the Orks are no exceptions — they kill, maim, and loot with reckless abandon. But they’re also really funny while they do these terrible acts. Most 40K cultures are built off fear and misery, but the Orks are having a great time in the grim dark future of only war. Their fortunes brightened even more with a recent change to their rules, and now competitive 40K fans are quaking before a green tide of Ork victories.
In Warhammer 40,000, players each build an army using a rulebook called a codex and a bunch of models. Each faction has their own flavor, of course. Space Marines have drop pods that let them “deep strike” into opposing player’s backfields, for instance, and the T’au are known for their long range sniping. Meanwhile, the Imperial Guard focus on masses of troops backed up by reliable tanks, and the Necron just blink back into existence right after you kill them.
The Orks, on the other hand, have detachment rules based around how much they love being in battle and causing problems for everyone else. A WAAAAAAAGH, for instance, is an Orc battlecry and the name for a massive gathering of Orks storming a given section of the galaxy. One Detachment rule in particular has led to an Ork ascendancy: More Dakka. Dakka, for the uninitiated, is how an Ork would cheerfully imitate the sound of gunfire.
The Orks are balanced around the spray-and-pray philosophy; they’re not patient enough to be master marksmen. More Dakka gives them a huge jump in damage, and the results are immediately apparent. If you check the recorded result of competitive matches, the Orks have come out in force, picking up tons of wins in separate circuits. There are still strong factions competing for the top spot; the Aeldari and World Eaters both enjoyed good showings.
The T’au, Necrons, and Custodes, on the other hand, all suffered some serious losses. Based off the competitive circuit, it looks like it’s an Ork galaxy, and we’re all just living in it. Games Workshop will likely step in and adjust the rules to match, but not before this weekend’s big AdeptiCon, an annual wargaming convention that plays host to some of the year’s biggest competitive matches. The Warhammer 40,000 tournament will play out from March 27 through to March 30, and unless players can figure out a counter to all that Dakka, we’ll see the Ork’s WAAAAAAAGH continue unchecked.
