Space McQuirk

Space: Work on the Feral Ork army list actually started last year and was the result of a collaboration between Andy Chambers and myself. Andy knew from my initial interview at Games Workshop that I was a massive Ork fan and our conversation on that day had veered towards the subject of all things green. It was with this in mind that he gave me the Feral Orks project. Andy had meant to create an army list for what were once the Snakebites, but with his busy work constraints had not found the time to do so. Hence, for the sake of Ork kind, he handed over the task to a fellow Greenskin lover.

The one thing we knew we wanted was to bring back some of those old popular Ork troop types that had disappeared with the release of the 3rd edition Warhammer 40,000 rules. They had gone with good reason, many were comical and brought down the nature of what are essentially a brutal and savage race into the level of clowns. My task was to reintroduce those troops but more in line with the new theme and feel.

Now before I begin, let me defend myself against those inevitable attacks that will come my way, by saying a Feral Ork army is designed for fun over competitiveness. It is a concept that most Ork players should understand well. This isn't to say we created an army that was destined to lose every game it fights, but more one where the player should really care. The fight and fun of the battle is more important than the victory. The first consideration to bringing back retro Orky feel was to bring back the old BS3. A controversial decision but one that harked back to an older age. Of course we had to do this carefully and it was with this in mind that the theme of the Huntas was decided. The Gorkamorka range of figures gave us the ideal opportunity to design a brand new Ork type. One which was less powerful in close combat but still retained the Ork Toughness and Mob rules.

We decided to steer away from the Snakebite clan and move towards a more general feral type of Ork. They could be from any wilderness regions, the rugged mountains, the thick forests or the desert plains. The Armageddon campaign lent itself perfectly to the idea that following the third war and Ghazghkull's gigantic invasion, all over Armageddon spores would be sprouting up into new tribes.

Of course I would have to make my own army too if we were to playtest this new list. I was almost tempted into creating a tribe of jungle Orks, but it was when I found an old favourite model in the Mail Order archives that I lost all sanity and began creating a Warboss mounted on a Super Cyboar. After watching an old western that night I decided a plains tribe themed on the Apache was to be my big chief.

One thing we have tried to achieve on the list is the option for players to create all manner of tribes. Hence the variety of troop types such as the Trappas or the Boar Boyz. No retro Ork list would be complete without the inclusion of the Wyrdboyz and the Madboyz and, whilst we wanted to try to make the reams of rules less complex, we still wanted to keep that fun element for those players who enjoy moments of Ork madness in their games.

The personal coup de grace was the addition of the Squiggoth, which until now had been left to the Epic battlefields. It was too good an opportunity to miss out on and when Pete and I came up with the stat line based on size of the model I knew that we were heading on the right tracks.

The Feral Ork army list is not meant to be an all powerful game winning combination but a characterful revisit of the evolution of the Ork. It encompasses all the elements that have made the Orks what they are today. Hints of Gorkamorka meet with Epic 40,000 which in turn meet with Snakebites.

Pete helped me wrap up the knitty gritty points values and rules mechanics, Andy made sure I didn't stray too far off the path of Orkyness and bring the Feral Orks into a bunch of laughable loons. I'm very happy with the overall feel of the list and after playing with the Feral Orks am even happier with the results. Cyboars can certainly pack a punch and the Huntas when used properly are devastating. The look on an opponent's face when Orks actually hit their target made the process more than worthwhile.

As for my first really big game with the Feral Orks, it had to be against Andy Chamber's Boyz. He grabbed Alex Boyd for reinforcements and I found an ally in Adi Wood, who had been a great help in the playtesting stages of putting the army together. Whilst the battle for reasons beyond our control never actually reached a conclusion, the Feral Orks looked like they could hold their own against their more kultured cousins.

The highlight was watching the Hunta's Rokkit Launchas take out all of Andy's Trukks and then seeing My Warboss and Cyboar retinue devastate the Skarboyz. Of course the Cyborks ripped apart the Huntas and we were set for a great battle. Alas getting four gamers together to finish a game is never an easy process, we ended up fighting about four turns before we had to stop due to holidays! Next time Mr Chambers my Boyz will show your so called advanced race a trick or two.

Personally I think the trick to collecting and playing with Feral Orks is to theme your army and have fun. Make the most outrageous Squiggoth conversion you possibly can. Use combinations of old models, Fantasy models and Gorkamorka - this for me is what collecting a Feral Ork army is all about. First and foremost it should be a fun thing to do and one which will absorb you in hours of conversion.

I hope you enjoy collecting Feral Orks as much as I did.

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Adrian Wood's Feral Orks