It's a Grots Life

Gretchin

WS 2  BS 3  S 2  T 2  W 1  I 2  A 1  Ld 5  Sv -

                                                                             

Now we discuss the other Ork troop, Grots. They get all the crap jobs in Ork society for a couple of reasons 1.They're smaller and 2.They're sniveling cowards. In other words they suck but there are a few reasons why they work in almost any Ork army making those little guys awesome!

Grots (as the name is interchangeable with Gretchin) are the only official troop in the codex other than Ork Boyz. They don't have any upgrades, only one special ability (which in all my years of 40K have never seen used once), are weaker then most anything else in the game, and have no armour save whatsoever. But coming in at half the price of an Ork Boy and able to bring from 10 to 30 in a unit, they are a steal for what they do and that's score.

     Almost nothing is harder to shoot of an objective than a crap load of Grots that went to ground in cover. with a model half the size of a Space Marine (easy to hide) and when gone to ground in/behind cover have the save of a Storm Shield Terminator most people ignore them for the other immediate threats in your army. They are almost the best backfield objective holders there is except for their extreme aversion to close combat (but they have surprised me).

  On the plus side they have the best ballistic skill in the army but it is better served in the Killa Kans they pilot or the Grot Big Gun batteries as the Grot Blasta (12" Str3 AP- Assault 1) they carry makes their chances at killing even out with all the other orks even with the better BS. Even though the chances are low for a kill always shoot, you never know.

Special ability's:

Its a Grots Life- If a Grot mob moves on to a minefield marker remove 3D6 grots and the minefield. Pretty handy if you ever used mines in a regular game of 40K.

And that brings us to the

Runtherds

      Runtherds are the slavers that keep the grots in line and force the cowardly gits to stay in the fight. They come with an Ork Boy stat line and ability's. For every 10 Gretchin in the unit you must take 1 Runtherd and you can take up to 3 for 10pts each. You can mitigate your need for the extra herders by using 1 Runtherds for 19 Grots (not quite 20) or using 2 Runtherders for 29 Grots (not quite 30).

     Runtherds come with a Slugga and a Grabba stikk (which makes them choppy and gives 4 attacks on the charge). A Grabba Stikk is a CC weapon that causes a model in base to base to lose one attack. You can upgrade it to a Grot Prod for 5pts making it a 4+ poison weapon. This upgrade in my opinion is not worth the points as it usually only helps in subsequent rounds of combat and with no saves for the grots your more than likely going to lose combat even with the extra help.

    A Squig hound is a beast the Runtherder keeps with him that allows you to re roll failed leadership rolls by letting him eat 1D3 Grots (got to love Orky rules). while the image is novel this rule is great as it has saved me several times. Don't ever kill off the Herder first as then you'll have to use the Grots 5 Ld with no re roll.

Competitive Uses:

30 Grots and 3 Runtherds as a screen across your entire front line giving all infantry a 4+cover

19 Grots and 1 Runtherd in Reserve for late game objective grab

One 10 Grot and 1 Runtherd unit in Reserve for late game objective grab.

As many 10 Grot and 1 Runtherd units in reserve as you have Troop slots left.

Overview:

Pros:

Scoring

Small and easy to hide

Not worth shooting at with 3+ cover save (when gone to ground)

Cheep

Best BS in army

Can bubble wrap back field units you don't want assaulted

Who doesn't like Grots?

Cons:

No armour saves

S 2

T 2

WS 2

wont kill anything (when they do its awesome though).

Will die in most assaults

They're stinking Grots

        Like I said Grots can have a spot in most competitive armies. They have great utility; they can be used as Bubble Wrap for important back field units, used for late turn Objective grabbers, Or even give all your infantry a 4+ cover save. They perform for their points almost every game and I always include them in my lists. They're goofy, fun, and every once in awhile they do something amazing that keeps me telling the story for months. Bottom line they are great for what they do, Score and they do it on the cheep.