Is It Viable To Form A Dread Mob With The New Ork Codex?

Hi there, I’m Ben, and I’m a mech nerd. Mek Boy, is that correct? Orks are just another kind of mech that I adore, along with Imperial Knights and BT-7274. Similar to how Legions Imperialis allowed me to eventually build an army of Imperial Dreadnoughts, my designs for my Ork army always included a large amount of armor.

For the Warhammer 40,000 army, I converted hundreds of miniatures, including spellcasting Ork Weirdboyz inspired by well-known wizards such as Dumbledork, Jaf-Waaaagh, and Gandork! (He gets powers from the genie in his magic slugga). However, I thought the cars were the best modifications. I constructed Battlewagons from Necron Ghost Arks, Mek Gunz from T’au pieces, and Trukks from Genestealer Cult Goliaths.


Then the mechs arrived. Deff Dreads and Killa Kans were made from stolen models, including T’au Crisis Suits and Contemptor Dreadnoughts. While I worked on a looted Knight that I never got around to painting, I never made it as far as converting any form of looted Stompa.

Thus, I headed straight to the Dread Mob to check out the new Ork Codex, which is available for pre-order starting today and will be released after the customary two-week wait. Although the Warhammer Community teased us with what to expect from the stomps, the facts present a far different picture.


To begin with, the points. Deff Dreads are now worth 155 points instead of 130, while Killa Kanz is now 20 points more expensive—145 for three. The good news for Deff Dreads is that their Dread Klaws are now Strength 12, while the situation with Killa Kanz is more uneven. A little nerf to Grotzooka’s AP has resulted in a boost to Shooty Power Trip.


Even now, the 800-point monster Stompa is only worth roughly half of that. The Codex no longer lists the Big Mek with the Kustom Force Field, but a Big Mek with Mega Armour can still use one. This is a far more expensive model, at 100 points, and it only gives the invulnerable save to a unit it has joined; hence, unless you intend to add some Meganobz, it is worthless for a Dread Mob.


It’s surprising that the Big Mek with the Shokk Attack Gun wasn’t eliminated as well, but it’s still there. But since normal Meks are the only characters that can enhance the vehicles in your Ork army, you should primarily use them. Big Meks are part of the army’s rearguard, coupled to Mek Gunz units that have had their weaponry slightly enhanced and their point totals lowered to 40 per model. They also acquire the Mek keyword, which gives them advantage over more aggressive Boyz squads.

You should apply any improvements here as well. Hurry Up! (35 points) and Gitfinder Gogglez (10 points; the rulebook’s points section hilariously misspells Gitfinder Googlez) are reasonable additions for a Big Mek paired with a group of Mek Gunz. The former activates two Try Dat Button button effects! the latter only grants Ignores Cover and the former applies the detachment rule (albeit two rolls of the same result don’t count twice).

Sadly, the Gretchin is arguably the greatest unit in a Dread Mob army. They are Battleline because to the Dread Mob detachment, yet they are still ideal for camping on objectives, obtaining secondaries, and farming CP due to their Theivin’ Scavengers ability.


Still, hardly much CP can be spent on a Dread Mob detachment. Although a little situational, all of the novel strategies work well. It doesn’t seem cost-effective to use a CP to reroll Advance dice, give your weapons the Assault ability (Superfuelled Boiler), or deduct 1 from the Damage of an impending assault (Extra Gubbinz). There is a drawback to half of the stratagems as well: you can “push it” to increase the effectiveness of the buff, but your weapons will then have the negative Hazardous ability. Although they are robust, they have a shooty nature, thus I don’t see my wall of Dreads holding their metal fingers on imaginary triggers for very long before they make base contact and get krumped.

In 10th edition, there won’t be a Dread Mob anywhere close to the competitive scene. In terms of detachment, it appears that instead of embracing the frivolity of the older models, Games Workshop is pushing players toward green hordes (Boyz are extremely good) or the new Beast-Snagga range (I wonder why). I enjoy the unpredictability that goes into creating a Dread Mob, but even with Gretchin and Mek Gunz packed into an army list and a ton of Ork dreads stacked forward, I don’t see how you could really inflict much damage. It wasn’t like anyone was playing Orks to win against others.

The Ork Codex appears to be a lot of fun, which is the main takeaway. It is aware of the Boyz, it is passionate about fungal warfare, and you can probably start a riot with whichever army you choose to use. They may not rank well in tournament rankings, but they may be a lot of fun to play. All that matters when you’re a greenskin covered in crimson paint.

For this article, a PDF of the 10th Edition Ork Codex was given by Games Workshop.