Another set of Planetary Empire games with the Orks. Making big gains for Orks on the main map, though honestly it’s in large part due to our other player in the Campaign Enrico (whose Bad Moonz have some serious territory). My Goffs in red are at least foot-holding two asteroids and the big planet.

I think we are going to make our goal the asteroid belt and the main planet. See if we can’t get those two things conquered fully.

Game Four

Hrukgrog and Gagrak were, in the Ork tribe, Minderz. Their job was to help their Warboss, Drozgurk, win scraps with the green energy of the Waaagh. Problem was, their Goffs clan didn’t have any Weirdboyz. The last one they had watched over blew himself up with a particularly strong discharge of energy that came out of his cranium rather than his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth–the right paths for the energy(Gagrak nearly lost his arm to the shrapnel of skull). So they took a page out of the Deathskullz playbook, and just looted themselves a Weirdboy. Amidst the chaos of the invasion of the planets, the allied Bad Moonz force that was fighting alongside them showed that they had more Weirdboyz (multiple towers full!). So Hrukgog and Gagrak just went and snatched one for themselves.

Unfortunately, their scurry across the battlefields of Scylla Prime after abducting their Weirdboy attracted the attention of a scouting Imperial Armiger. Hrukgrog and Gagrak were watching for pursuing Bad Moonz, but entirely missed the Knight’s sighting of them. Which meant that their trail back to the encampment that the Goffs had established on the planet was noted, tracked, and followed by a force of Knights. The deadly war machines of the Imperium struck in a rush, their scouting Armiger Warglaives reaching the Orks first. As Knights cannot be entirely stealthy, the Orks managed to mobilize their forces and rushed to resist the attack’s spearhead: with Meganobz and their drill-laden Battlewagon leading the charge.

The larger Knights followed the smaller, and that’s where the Ork lines simply broke. Scores of foot troops and the elite Meganobz both suffered under their fire and titanic assault. Big Mek Ursatz tried to support the forces, only to watch wave after wave torn apart by one of the Knights. He took a swat from the thing’s massive powerfirst, which knocked him clear across the ruins where they fought to collapse in a heap under the rubble.

Painboy ‘Eadfragg Muzritt also battled the massive knight, fighting in the shadow of it as the remaining boyz were crushed underfoot and via massive fist. His power claw had ample cutters, but they were for bone and flesh not the reinforced armor of the massive knights. While he severed a few cables, otherwise the mighty war machine was unharmed. Thus, when it moved away (to pursue more sizable targets) ‘Eadfragg celebrated. No doubt the pilot of the massive suit was afraid of him, that his warlike prowess was too much for the titan.

Unfortunately for ‘Eadfragg he didn’t quite grasp the tactical situation, nor did he see the Armiger Helverin approaching him from behind and ranging in its twin autocannons on his form. With a blast of rapid shells, ‘Eadfragg’s celebration quickly became a situation where his grot orderly was dragging his shattered body away from the smoking crater that remained.

The remaining Orks had to flee–mounting up in their vehicles, gathering their casualties, and making escapes–in the face of the onslaught of the Imperial Knights. Warboss Drozgurk stewed inside the cabin of his Battlewagon, entirely oblivious to his enterprising Minderz whose actions lured the Knights to attack him. His force was attacked by Knights. And that meant Knights would need to pay. Drozgurk got on his shouter to the Rok supporting the force, where Big Mek Ursatz’ fellows were keeping up the production of weapons. He demanded they use their sighting tools to find him where the Knights were. Knights were going to get krumped, he pledged.

Game Five

The call came two days later. Knights were on the plains of Scylla Prime. The shouter reported how far away and what direction (“many many many seven miles toward the mountains”) Knights were spotted by his Rok-based spotterz. And so with a roar, Warboss Drozgurk directed his forces to make for the mountains. Some of the nuances were lost on the Orks, that this was a household of Chaos-aligned Knights that were themselves hunting the same Imperial Knights that had attacked Drozgurk’s enclave. They were Knights, and that was what the Orks intended to krump.

Waves of Gretchin were summoned from the crews of vehicles and sent forward to be a picket screen against the big warsuits. While the Gretchin were cut down in droves, the main line of Drozgurk’s forces–hard units like Meganobz and Battlewagons–prepared to strike. His main Meganobz mob, now with a few new Nobz who had looted mega armor during the last battle, unloaded salvos of rokkits that started to detonate into the massive Knights. While the armor could take some assault, the sheer volume of explosives started to make a dent.

Such was the vengeance-fueled fury of Warboss Drozgurk that his forces actually cooperated effectively, and timed their assault into the Knights in concert. Wave after wave of Meganobz, the massive battlewagons, and Beast Snagga Boyz all took their choppas, saws, and claws to the assembled Knight forces. Two Knights and an Armiger all fell in the same wave, the catastrophic damage taking even a few Ork casualties as they exploded upon being torn apart.

Only the leader of the Knights, which had a strange flail-like set of weapons on its arm, managed to survive the push. It took strikes back, and despite the power emanating from its massive cannon arm, just could not crack the armor of the Battlewagon that opposed it.

With four other Knights wrecked, the fifth–the leader–limped away to not be destroyed as well. The Orks paused their assault, happy to take all of the scrap that was left from all the fallen knights. Big Mek Ursatz started dispatching his cutting crews immediately, carving up the Knights’ armor and hydraulic systems both to help manufacture even more suits of mega armor. Warboss Drozgurk was pleased. The Knights had changed their colors and brought other weapons, but he still gave them a better krump than they’d given him before. This planet was a good one. Plenty of fights to be had. He called up to the Rok in his shouter again. “Spottaz spot us some moar targets, ya filthy gitz. It’s time ta krump!”

Game Six

The portents were constantly shifting for the Thousand Sons, those ancient warriors of Tzeentch who walked in suits of hollow, dust-filled armor. So many forces were vying for the Scylla system the fates continued to flux–sometimes something that was the right move would suddenly be something to be avoided at all costs when casting their divinations. Their chief sorcerer had even summoned a group of pink horrors to help advise him in where their force should strike next. For the moment, it showed that the Orks were a particular threat: they had attacked and dealt a serious blow to the allied Chaos Knights that were supporting operations in the system. The Orks were indeed a perpetual nuisance, their very chaotic behavior was the antithesis of Tzeentch’s careful planning and decades of schemes. Stopping their random behavior would mean a more predictable system, which meant more of the great Changer of Ways’ plans coming to fruition.

The Thousand Sons struck when the Orks were re-arming themselves in a small abandoned research facility in the plains of Scylla Prime. Ancient Thunderhawks landed groups of their warriors at range, who immediately started the barrage of their deadly fire. Initial fire inflicted some casualties, but it was the Battlewagons that drew a great deal of their fire–and while the great war machines were damaged, they kept rumbling forward. One of them reached the Thousand Sons lines, where its massive Deff Rolla crushed more than a few of the slow-moving ancient suits.

Scarab terminators teleported down onto the battlefield to support the approach, only to find themselves amid the assault of Killsaw-armed Meganobz. The saws proved to be absurdly deadly to the ancient warriors, cutting off limbs and into the central armor itself. Where there had been a full team of ten terminators, only three lived to strike back at the Orks. They managed to kill one, but the remaining two managed to slice the rest of them to pieces.

The psychic onslaught of the Thousand Sons was the only thing that kept their force reasonably in the battle. Slowly but surely they started getting Ork after Ork to fall, their brains burning with the psychic energy. A group of Beast Snagga Boyz was cut down to a man by the psychic onslaught. Arcs of energy ran from the Sorcerers to the Orks, bursting their heads or lighting their whole body on fire.

However, the Orks were too aggressive in grabbing control of key portions of the battlefield, so while their numbers thinned–and the heavy hitters of the Thousand Sons were too easily slain. Meganobz cut down a Deamon Prince, while Warboss Drazgurk himself tore apart a rampaging Maulerfiend himself. Too many losses meant a need for retreat, and the Thousand Sons took discretion as the better part of valor. Soon enough the time would be right for stopping the Orks. Just not this day.

Painting Progress

Finished up the angry Painboy, just in time for him to have his moment of failure hah. Still pretty pleased with how he turned out. I kind of like the survivability it provides the big gang of Meganobz, but man it comes at a higher cost that I’d like so I’m unsure how useful it is. But the model looks great, I think.

Next, finished a unit of ten Beast Snagga Boyz. Really showed me how the red colors will look balanced with more natural colors and skin tones for the orks. There’s always the danger of the Christmas curse with this color scheme: green and red and white accents. But I think I dodge it really well with these.

Finally, first of the Battlewagons–this one a Bonebreaka style. Had fun doing this one, and it took a ton of time to get sorted and highlighted. Finding the balance of black plates with red plates was the biggest challenge of this one, and I think future ones will also have to work to strike that same balance. Needs to be a bit of black, but still the bulk being red, to really look right in my view. So far so good.

I’ve got another Battlewagon in-progress, a buggy, and some bikes, so should be a good next set of completed models with my next update.

Painting Challenge 2022 Progress

Warhammer 40k Orks Power Level Painted: 91/365