Kommando strategies

[Interdiction]

Any good bo's that incorporate them in the current version? I've yet to use them recently.

[Crewfinity]

usually build orders are focused on T1, as a lot of your T2 and T3 purchases will be in reaction to what your enemy is doing.

That said, here are some basics on kommados and their usage.

Stats: they have very high piercing dps, with 87.5 out of the gate. for comparison, shoot boyz have 35 piercing dps to start with, and with nob and big shootas have 68 piercing dps. So from the start kommandos put out more damage than even level 4 fully upgraded shoota boyz (78.88 piercing dps). They also are much more durable, at 250 health per model (shootas have 120) and infiltration, which can give an additional damage resistance of 20% when there are no detectors around. They also move faster than shootas with speed 5.5 and can cap at twice normal speed, same as Tactical Marines.

The nob adds some additional durability with 350 health, the same detection as shoota boyz, and also brings a toned down version of the Knob's rokkit launcher (10 explosive dps instead of 16.25). very good as supplementary AV since you can get into a good position through infiltration and then get some juicy rear armor hits in. if your opponent isn't fielding any vehicles, you're probably better off skipping this leader since he doesnt give any abilities and his anti-infantry damage is lackluster.

Abilities:
As a support/utility unit they have several awesome abilities. their smoke bomb is identical to the razorback version(-90% suppression and 80% reduction in outgoing/incoming ranged fire), and lets you stay in an otherwise disadvantageous position, for example finishing a critical VP capture under fire. It also lets you approach enemy positions much more securely, throwing down a smoke bomb as your nobz/sluggas run up can be huge at disrupting the enemy counterplay
luv da dakka does weapon knockback and very light courage damage in an area, much like Aiming Wots Dat? it is a control ability that can set up pretty much anything you're creative enough to combo into it. their infiltration lets them surprise the enemy with knockback, which can be invaluable at disrupting setup teams or linking into roks/foot of gork/stikkbombz/burna bomb
the burna bomb. an awesome grenade, does 15 flame dps in radius 10 for 15 seconds (150 flame damage total). for comparison, hellfury strikes do 20 up front flame damage and 3 flame dps for 5 seconds(35 flame damage total). this grenade is a huge damage dealer if the enemy isn't paying attention, and serves extremely well as area denial (will also completely destroy a full health generator). burna bomb into luv da dakka can be devastating out of infiltration, and is a great ambush tactic if your opponent isn't quite on his micro. make sure you throw the burna bomb first and throw it a bit behind the enemy squad, so that when you use luv da dakka it knocks them back into it.

Usage

So when should you get Kommandos? if you feel lacking on ranged dps and/or map presence, Kommando's are a great choice. they can perform equally well at setting up pushes with luv da dakka and burna bombs, capping up the enemy's backfield while contesting enemy backcappers, or supporting your army with their high dps and smoke bomb. unless you're fighting an engagement, you should always be sending your kommandos out to either disrupt your opponent's economy though backcapping or bashing gens, scouting out his unit positions and ambushing isolated targets (or backline vehicles like manticores/whirlwinds), or applying VP pressure by capping their natural VP under infiltration.

Much like Kasrkins, they can be considered as an elite infantry role, but with more emphasis on utility and support abilities instead of pure damage dealing, although their guns really should not be underestimated. oftentimes you'll probably want to get a tank out as your first t3 purchase, but if you ever lose your shoota boyz this unit is a great replacement. with proper usage of these guys you can gain the initiative in T3 even without winning engagements, through increasing your map pressure and playing the hit and run game.


Lemme know if you have any other specific questions, hope this helped!

[Interdiction]

That actually helped a lot, but it seems many Ork players get Flash Gitz instead, due to their insane dps. Is it profitable if I went for both? Normally I go nobz for the massive pressure they create, then get a tank or Flash Gitz if they have a lot of AV.

[Crewfinity]

That's fair, with the addition of flash gitz it can be tough to know which one is appropriate for the situation. lets take a look:


flash gitz cost 450/60, put out 97.5 piercing dps, and have 1200 health with heavy infantry armor and 3 models. they also have above-standard range at 45. They can switch to blastas for 75/25, which do psychic AOE damage with range 40. they also have gitfindas for 65/20 which give a range boost of 6.


So as far as pure ranged damage flash gitz are king. they can get range 51 with their snazzguns which is a huge deal, since it actually outranges setup teams. if you absolutely need as much piercing damage on the field as possible then these are your go-to unit. they are also going to be extremely good at countering HI or SHI with their blastas, almost functioning as short range artillery units. however, they are more vulnerable to melee and premium damage types than kommando's are, and in particular are very weak against jump units and the like, which is why they should stay protected on the backline. flash gitz are a great backline fire support squad, and can be particularly punishing to units like warp spiders or scouts with their massive range.

Kommando's have the downsides of less damage and much less range, but come with a wealth of other utility options. they are also much cheaper, and have less upkeep and bleed costs. kommandos have a much higher skill cap since they're much less of a 'point and click' unit, and when microed well they can be much more of a force-multiplier than flash gitz through the use of their abilities. kommando's are much more independent than flash gitz, and are infinitely more useful on the periphery of the map, disrupting enemy plans before coming in to contribute to an engagement, whereas flash gitz are usually going to be staying with your main army.

I definitely wouldn't get both, since you want more varied units, but they do each have situations where they will shine.

also flash gitz dont provide any AV at all. kommandos are going to be more useful if you're fighting vehicles, but they're also not a hard counter, more of a supplementary source or a finisher/ambusher

[Interdiction]

Wow, just checked the codex for a fuller picture, and I guess kommandos are just seriously underused sometimes?! That price for what they do is insane!O_O I mean, before I knew their capacities vaguely from maining Orks but damn! They are the anti-scout weapon I NEED!

[Crewfinity]

yeah they're a great T3 infantry unit
can fill so many roles with their high damage, control and support abilities, general sneakiness and utility, as well as their soft AV.

happy sneaking

[Aguxyz]

Kommandos are beast at flanking, decapping and destroying set up teams

[Batpimp]

so good vs blobs.

especially tac/TCSM spam

[Interdiction]

I take it trukks synergize REALLY well with these guys?

[egewithin]

Flash gitz are for crazy late game fire powaa for 3v3. Kommadoz are fitting more for 1v1 and 2v2 because of their abilitys.

[Tex]

buy them to actually win a T3 fire fight.

weirdboy + 2 shoota squads has a hard time against ranged deathballz in T3. With kommandos, you can win the ranged fight by using luv da dakka to disrupt your enemy's deathball.

Other than that, they are fantastic open space units. Use them to prevent back capping, perform back capping, and DPS down heros (cant charge against a cloaked unit)

[Crewfinity]

weirdboy + 2 shoota squads has a hard time against ranged deathballz in T3. With kommandos, you can win the ranged fight by using luv da dakka to disrupt your enemy's deathball.


Other than that, they are fantastic open space units. Use them to prevent back capping, perform back capping, and DPS down heros (cant charge against a cloaked unit)

you can also do burna bomb into warp vomit, that's my favorite >:D

also i didn't know that you can't charge against cloaked unit! good info to know

[Interdiction]

Wait, is that shootas dps before or after bs upgrade? I'm determining whether sacrificing shootas is worth it or not for a heavy t3, then again nobz aren't favored right now form what I hear so maybe forgo them? That would cost me t3 melee though, and as anyone but wb I need that.