How to Beat Orks with Space Wolves

Need to know how to beat Orks with Space Wolves? We explain how to fend off an Ork horde and deal with the dreaded Ork Battlewagon army.

Actually, I feel really sorry for all the Ork players out there. One minute they got given this awesome new Codex and the next minute they got stomped on by all the army books that followed. It sure isn't easy being green, but that doesn't mean the Orks can't give your Space Wolves a good kickin' if you don't know what you're doing.

Beating Orks with Space Wolves is much like beating Tyranids (link). You need to make every shot count in order to minimise their numbers before charging in when things are more in your favour so that you can beat them to a pulp in close combat.

Take out the Deff Dreads and Killa Kans with Krak Missiles from your Long Fangs, target the side armour of their Battlewagons and once their armour is all gone, then it's time to charge in and mop up the rest of them.

So this is one of the times when the Space Wolves need to rely on their shooting and only charge into close combat to clean up or when the conditions are absolutely right.

Based on my gaming experience, I'm going to explain how to beat a typical Ork horde with Space Wolves, while explaining what to look out for and how to best utilise your units to deal with each threat.


ORK ARMY STRENGTHS

Numbers
If the Ork player isnt' going for the 4 Battlewagon army, then chances are they're going to swamp you with as many models as possible!

The Orks can become incredibly numerous, allowing them to claim lots of objectives while simply taking loads of punishment. A savvy Ork player will always spread his models out to minimise the effects of your blast weapons too.

The plan is to tie your units up in close combat with loads of Orks, before the bigger, harder hitting stuff can get stuck in and do the real damage. So target priorities are incredibly important.

Close Combat
Orks have lots of attacks in close combat and they get Strength 4 on the charge thanks to Furious Charge. Although the real cause for concern is the once-per-game Waaaagh!!! which gives almost every unit Fleet Of Foot. If a whole mob of Orks makes it into close combat, expect to take heavy casualties from a huge number of dice being rolled...unless you can inflict enough wounds before they strike to prevent that from happening of course.

However, it's not all the basic Ork Boyz attacks that should be cause for concern for anything in Power Armour, it's the Ork Nob with a Power Klaw that sits in every Ork squad. With more attacks than your Wolf Guard and with more models around him to take the hits, it's this squad leader upgrade that will really wittle down your Grey Hunter packs. And of course, you can't get rid of him until the whole Ork mob is wiped out or sent packing.

Battle Wagons
Armour 14 on the front and always fitted with a Deff Rolla, Ork Battlewagons are the bane of many Warhammer 40K players unless they are familiar with the 4 Battlewagon army and know to get around the flanks and hit them in the Armour 12 sides.

Ghazghkull Thraka
Ghazghkull, or 'Gaz' to his mates, is almost a default choice for any Ork army. Not only is he 'ard as nails, his Super Waaagh!!! ensures that all the Orks get to Fleet Of Foot a full 6" once per game instead of the usual D6". This makes him a real game changer, because you're going to get jumped on by a lot of angry Orks given half a chance.


ORK ARMY WEAKNESSES

Shooting
With a BS of 2 and some fairly weak weapons, Orks really aren't known for their shooting. But what they lack in accuracy they make up in numbers. So watch out for masses of Rokkits blowing up your tanks or simply hammering into your Space Wolves. Tank Bustas are an increasingly popular choice simply because they can field so many Rokkits to make short work of your transports and any Grey Hunter packs.

Poor Quality Troops
The basic Space Ork isn't a great warrior. But they're cheap and plentiful. So in order to be successful they need to work together to overwhelm their enemy.

However, the flip side of this is that the Ork army has to stay together, a bit like the Tyranids. So if you can force the Orks to divide or just go after one half of your army, then you can bait them away from the objectives. If they don't take the bait, they sort of sit in the middle and get shot.


TYPICAL ORK ARMY LIST
The only really competitive Ork list is the one with 4 Battlewagons. Everything else is really straightforward to deal with because you can take it out in a straight up fight. Just make sure you shoot it lots before you charge in. But the Battlewagons list is always a challenge for people who don't know how to deal with it. And it goes a little something like this...

Ghazghkull Thraka
Big Mek with Kustom Force Field
5 Mega Nobs with 4 Combi Shootas
Battle Wagon - Armour, Big Shoota, Red Paint, Grabbing Claws, Boarding Planks, Deff Rolla
12 Orks - Nob with Power Claw, Heavy Armour, Boss Pole, Rokkit
12 Orks - Nob with Power Claw, Heavy Armour, Boss Pole, Rokkit
12 Orks - Nob with Power Claw, Heavy Armour, Boss Pole, Rokkit
Battle Wagon - Armour, Big Shoota, Red Paint, Grabbing Claws, Boarding Planks, Deff Rolla
Battle Wagon - Armour, Big Shoota, Red Paint, Grabbing Claws, Boarding Planks, Deff Rolla
Battle Wagon - Armour, Big Shoota, Red Paint, Grabbing Claws, Boarding Planks, Deff Rolla


Orks Strategy VS Space Wolves
The Orks are going to drive at the Space Wolves as quickly as possible in a big blocky Battle Wagon formation with Gaz and the Big Mek with Kustom Force Field in the centre to ensure that Gaz's wagon keeps rollin' while the Kustom Force Field gives all the wagons a cover save to help them get across the board.

The Ork player will also be praying for the first turn. Because then the Space Wolves will likely only have 1 Turn of shooting before the Ork are upon them!

Remember that the Battlewagons deploy 12" on and move 13" on Turn 1. That leaves the Space Wolves with 23" left of a 48" deep board. On Turn 2 the Battlwagons move 13", the Orks disembark with 2" to the back of the base and the Nobz leading each unit will likely have a 2" base, so that's a 17" move, followed by a 6" Fleet Of Foot move as Gaz calls his Super Waaaagh!!! and finally a 6" charge. So that's a 29" move.

This means the Orks can cover 52" across a 72" by 48" board in just 2 Turns.

Then total carnage will ensue as the Orks pile into close combat while the Battlewagons are free to drive about and mow down whatever they like with their Deff Rollas.


Space Wolves Strategy VS Orks
If you've got the first turn, things aren't going to be too bad. If you've got the second turn, then you could be in for a spot of bother, because you have 1 Turn of firing that really has to count.

Firing everything at the front Armour 14 of the Battlewagons isn't going to work, so you need to target the sides.

Remember that the Ork army has to stick together in order to be effective, so place your Long Fangs and Razorbacks on the flanks to get some shots at the side armour.

If you've got Land Speeders, fly them up the flanks with the intention of hitting the Battlwagons in the side with their Multi-Meltas.

Meanwhile any Grey Hunters packs should be kept in Reserve in order to arrive from the board edge and blast apart those Battlewagons with their Melta Guns if they make it across the board.

This strategy seems to work for all armies and I've had it work well for both Space Wolves and Tau in the past. However, it still relies on the success of your heavy weapons shooting the Battlewagons in the sides.

Statistically you should be able to immobilise or wreck 2 of the 4 Battlewagons in this way. Then the other two can be taken care of with relative ease. The Orks can't sit tight or they'll simply get shot to peices, so they have to keep coming at you.

Basically, if you can take down half of the Battlewagons it's pretty much all over for the Ork player, because your reserves can strategically arrive wherever you want them. Also, you just split your forces into two halves, so driving straight down the middle won't help the Orks, going for one flank is no good for them and splitting their army is just as bad. Then all you need is standard good tactics to finish them off.


CONCLUSION
This is the only time I ever keep some of my Space Wolves in Reserve, but when you consider that the Grey Hunters can't do anything to the Battlewagons, it's better to keep them off the board until they're needed.

Unfortunately, even the best played tactics can't always beat an Ork Battlewagon army if your opponent seems incapable of failing a single Kustom Force Field cover save.

And the real shame is that once you know how to beat it, the Ork Battlwagon army only seems to win because of luck, which is probably why you don't see so many of these armies nowadays. But it's always best to be aware of how to deal with this.