Dawn of War Codex

Just played 10 games as Orks today. Here are 10 random observations/questions about the "meta" (obviously there really isn't one yet).

1. There is a larger timing window for the Ork player to get more than just Sluggas or Shootas than for SM or Eldar to get access to more than two units. So far I haven't quite figured out a good early game strategy except defensive play until the truk is available.

2. Zapnoggin seems good but you definitely need to spot for him. He's also one of the easiest elites to kill. I haven't quite figured out how to prioritize scrapping him vs. other units.

3. Scrap timing/tower placement is something I'm learning. Without 'Ard Boyz or Stikkbombs it seems difficult to engage early SM/Eldar compositions. Who to scrap first?

4. I would have thought that early aggression harassing your opponents natural points would be a good idea. Capping the entire middle of the 1v1 map and my side is actually something I consistently accomplish (double or triple Gretchin start -> two Boyz/forward BH). But if I try to harass their naturals I usually lose a squad. Not sure how to time that.

5. Your opponent can siege your towers or forward bases with snipers/HW's (devs/reaps) which is a bit tricky. Countering seems to require Truk/Boyz. But your opponent is already charging your shootas with ASM/shees. A paradox...

6. Is it better to wait for Gorgutz or forego Zap for the Mek? Zap seems to need something to peel for him and boyz don't do it for me in most cases.

7. Is a busta/truk combo the only mobile AV you can go for? I've never used it. Harassing landspeeders and vypers can be tricky.

8. No idea how to use the Big Trak. The delay on its shots is pretty weird. Your opponent will move out of the way before they trigger. "Tank" mode makes it into a decent anti-infantry/light vehicle unit but it struggled against an SM dreadnought. It's also so expensive that I pretty much rely on scrap to get them.

9. Kans are somewhat cheap but still have a hefty power cost. I do go for the Kan buffing doctrine which turns them into artillery. They are your only anti-vehicle vehicle and they are not tanky enough to stand up to Annihilators/fire prisms. However they also have effective damage against every target. Overall I have no idea what their main use is.

10. Finally, the kopta. I tried to use them as spotters and to harass a whirlwind. DPS is pitiful, but they are so cheap you can build a little mob of them. I'm assuming they are intended to be used en masse? One useful thing about them is they force your opponent to LP natural points because they have the DPS to quickly wipe upgrades.

Anyone else's thoughts on the Ork meta/responses to my questions?

I changed the title to avoid confusion for people here.

I think, strangely enough, Orks are probably going to be the most apm intensive race to play. The scrap mechanic is really neat, but requires you to really stay on top of your units and builders which you can get away with ignoring workers in SM/Eldar.

You don't really need more than 1/2 Gretchin until mid game when scrap starts to really flow and vehicles come into more serious play. Consider adding a couple shoota/loota squads to the sluggas in order to not get completely zoned out by gens.

SM/Eldar are basically forced to get at least 2/3 squads of ASM/Shees to deal with your Sluggas, so take advantage of that. Zapnoggin can erase setups if they think they can just sit and gun you down and trukks also give Sluggas assault capabilities. In other words, you can do both! There's no real paradox there atm.

Yeah, Speeders and Vypers are pretty good but you can tractor them iirc with both Gorgutz and the Doctrine for Trukks. Other than that, Bustas can zone them out. The bigger issue is that they're mobile enough to run circles around you and harass points almost with impunity. Alternatively, a Killa Kan or two will do a lot to dissuade them from incoming.

Zap > Gorgtutz > Mek atm. The WB can basically just delete squads atm and your opponent is going to prioritize him whenever they can. Which suits your Sluggas just fine. Gorgutz is just pure and unadulterated beef that can push ranged armies without losing a bunch of models otherwise. Mek is good support, but doesn't have the same immediate impact the other two do.

The rest of it I'm not THAT familiar with. I've usually won my games before it gets too late in the game so I just haven't seen those units as much.

Shoota and deff dread + the doctrines for both (nades and shield) combined with waaagh and warboss Who buffs waaagh is insane army compesition