It’s Like Tactics: Mek Gunz Review

Warning

It’s Like Tactics is rated theory hammer because these are general observations and assumptions based on only few tested games.

Art of Illery

The unit formally known as Big Gunz is now the sorta not fitting Mek Gunz. I mean I get Meks made them, but don’t you think it would make sense for Meks to man them, instead they continue to leave a Grot to do a big boy Ork’s job. Alas, the IP department doesn’t care about that kind of minutia. The Mek Gunz are a great example of a new kit, new rules, multiple options, all done right.

Before we start dissecting, lets take a quick look at the past and present Mek Gunz rules.

(Click to Enlarge)

Mek Gunz Rules 2007

Fast Attack: Mek Gunz – 20

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Sv
2	3	2	2	1	2	1	5	–

Mek Gunz Rules 2014

Fast Attack: Mek Gunz – 18

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
2	3	2	7	2	2	1	5	3+

UNIT TYPE:
Artillery.
UNIT COMPOSITION:
1 Mek Gun
2 Gretchin
WARGEAR:
Gretchin:
• Close combat weapon
Mek Gun:
• Kannon
OPTIONS:
• May include up to four additional Mek Gunz (each including two Gretchin)…18 pts/model
• Each Mek Gun can include up to two additional Gretchin…3 pts/model
• Each Mek Gun can include one ammo runt…3 pts/model
• Any Mek Gun can replace its kannon with one of the following:
– Lobba…free
– Zzap gun…5 pts/model
– Bubblechukka…12 pts/model
– Kustom mega-kannon…12 pts/model
– Smasha gun…12 pts/model
– Traktor kannon…12 pts/model

[show-rjqc id=”22″] Readers of my previous tactics will notice a few changes to how these reviews are presented. Now you will find is a break down each unit into five broad categories.

Utility

Mek Gunz are gap list fillers, the variety of weapons are amazing and decent BS means you have a pretty good shot of hitting your marks. You can mix and match certain weapons, so you don’t have to put everything into one type, and with a large unit size means you can bring devastation with ease. Plus, high toughness to make them difficult to destroy.

Speed

Mek Gunz as Artillery are very slow. Positioning them very important, making sure they get a clear to most of the battlefield, otherwise you will severely weaken their potential.

Assaulty

Artillery dies when charged and with Gretchin manning them don’t expect any miracles.

Shooty

Mek Gunz contain some of the best ballistic weapons Orks have to offer. You get these weapons at a low cost as well, with the range on all the weapons being superb. Understanding the holes in your list is key to knowing what weapons best to use.

The Mek Gunz are a great example of a new kit, new rules, multiple options, all done right

So many Toys!

Lobba – 18pts

The tried and true Lobba, this long range barrage weapon really takes advantage of the increased unit size of Mek Gunz. You can hide them from most enemy units and still touch most of the board. As the cheapest option too, you cannot go wrong in trying to destroying the world of cover saves.

Zzap gun – 23pts

The venerable Zzap gun has always been a confusing weapon with GW changing it every codex. The random elements are still present, but with the new Gunz options there really isn’t a good role of the Zzap Gun. Luckily, it is cheaper than the most options, so if you want to mix them in other Gunz it isn’t that bad.

Bubblechukka – 30pts

The most random happens to be (I know) the worst! The Bubblechukka is really unjustifiable because of the cost being equal to the good choices. You are left with a weapon only advantage being a large blast, but without Barrage why not just take Lobbas for cheaper?

Kustom mega-kannon – 30pts

The advantage of the mega-kannon is being blast, but also has the potential to get hot and cause other problems. This weapon suffers by being equal in cost to better choices, but if you need reliable low AP and high Strength this is the best answer.

Smasha gun – 30pts

One of the best Mek Gunz, the Smasha Gun is the rare AP1, with some manageable Ork randomness you can count on. It does suffer by being a single shot, so taking Ammo runts is key if you have to destroy a certain target.

Traktor kannon – 30pts

The best choice and one you see in almost all my Ork lists. The Traktor kannon is the best anti-FMC gun in the game and not too bad against Flyers as well. It has everything long range, high strength, and a decent AP.

Putting it all Together…

Mek Gunz are a must have for many Ork armies, especially if you are trying to create a balanced Ork army. In most situations you will only need one unit and in low point games you can even mix and match different Gunz for various needs. Typically though the sweet spot for Mek Gunz is units of three or four along with ammo runts. Everything starts with the Traktor Gun, especially for designing an all comers list you just have to have them, they are that good. At most you are going to spent 165 points for a full size unit of Mek Gunz, this is nothing in an Ork list.

If you are stuck with the old kits you can take advantage of Mek Gunz. The Kannon and Lobba are both great for the cheap price. Kannons for transport vehicles killing, at full unit size are 40 points cheaper than an equivalent Space Marine Devastator squad with four Missiles Launchers. At the same amount of points you can take Lobbas for 90 points for five barrage blasts probably hiding behind a hill.

The real boost to Mek Gunz is being artillery this gives the unit T7, W2, and 3+ saves. It doesn’t mean you can play them dangerously, beyond being assault Mek Gunz do have some challenges. Their is the problem of having a LD 5, so positing your crew to never be the closest target is critical. It also means certain psychic powers delete Mek Gunz easily. A way around this is adding Meks to your Gunz, for a Leadership boost.

One snazzy trick though, but it will cost you is taking a Mega-armour Big Mek and joining him to the Mek Gunz. You get the high LD, along with being able to move and shoot since he is Slow & Purposeful. If your list doesn’t rely on strong HQ choices this is a good option for a Warlord to just hide in the backfield behind a wall of T7 artillery.

Mek Gunz can also be spammed, being cheap and varied helps quite a bit. You can take one unit of Traktor Gunz along with Smasha Gunz, and Lobbas for good measure and still spend less than 500 points. It gives you tools for every situation. As mentioned before you can also mix the units up within, take three Lobbas, along with two Bubblechakka for the fun of it.

Mek Gunz work well in tandem with other Heavy Support units as well, like Lootas or Killerkans as complementary pieces. Mek Gunz primarily will than very good backfield support, so forcing your opponent to deal with the rest of your Ork army is key in any situation where you are secretly relying on Mek Gunz to do a ton of the work.

— Mek Gunz Army Templates–

Mek Gunz Great Waaagh! Detachment List

Mek Gunz Allied Detachment List

Mek Gunz Combined Arms Detachment List

Mek Gunz Ork Horde Detachment List

Formations Sadly, Mek Gunz have no dedicated Formation.

Detachments

Ork Horde Detachment: If you are using this Detachment for a HQ heavy smash mouth list Mek Gunz fit right in. The great point cost makes it an easy choice to fill a gap in your army. As your opponent will have more pressing problems, your Mek Gunz can do some damage, especially if you need to thin out a large unit or destroy transports.

Great Waaagh! Detachment: Taking this Detachment is a great opportunity to use Mega-armour Big Meks and hope for Deep Striking Mek Gunz to show up out of no where! Otherwise, you are just as fine taking Mek Gunz as they work in even the worse of Detachments.

Final Thoughts…

Overall, Mek Gunz are a great Ork unit, you need them most of the time, and when you don’t have them you wish you did. They are a lot like Lootas in 5th edition, why we still don’t see many of them though is GW outrageous price point for the new kits. You get only one gun, lots of cute crew, but it is not worth it if your primary goal is to actually field them.

For tactical articles feel free to email me to continue the discussion or if you discover an inaccurate interpretations of the rules– edits will be made accordingly. Also check out other articles in this series…