Battlefleet Gothic: The Point of Ork Kroozers

So, I had this idea to write a series of tactical analysis articles about a dead game I've hardly played, and am not likely to play for the foreseeable future. Why? Well, its something to do. I'm building some Ork Ships, so why not use the creative energy that's there?

I must have rewrote this one 3 or 4 times, as it topic you kind of have to address to you want to armchair-admiral some orks, but I was struggling for an angle. Capital ships are the bread and butter of Battlefleet Gothic, with your average fleet built around them. With Orkish Kroozers its a bit different. While there is some variation, Orks usually have a limitation on how many capitals they can field, often 6, with larger ships unlocking based on the number of the basic Kroozers. In practice, its not something you necessarily struggle against, but you will find that Ork Fleets tend towards Escorts, if only because Kroozers don't have the same immediate appeal. In fact, a well-known fleet build back in the day was to field 2 Terror Ships with Warlords on them, and then every single Ramship you could afford. I know this because that's how my fleet started, but by more modern standards its kinda reductionist. Later ships like the Hammer shifted the balance of power, while later rulesets did stuff to expand/modify the Warlord Upgrades you can give them. Overall, Kroozers have thick armour and lots of gun upfront, less on the side, and a weak back end vulnerable to Bomber tokens. There's some similarity to Imperial ships in overall characteristics, loosing a shield and turret in exchange for 10 hull points. Both the Kill Kroozer and Terrorship are relatively inexpensive for capital ships, but are characterised by both short-ranged/randomised weaponry and mediocre leadership. As all that makes them unwieldy & inconsistent when not going in a straight line, you may ask what the point is?

I'm gonna flip the format a little, and just tell you the point upfront: Kroozers are good at Ramming and Boarding. This is why I called them Battlewagons, what gunz they have are for supporting fire, before their passengers jump out and axe something, or you commit an act of vehicular murder. A Kill Kroozer aims to do this exclusively, while a Terror Ship holds off a bit to launch attack craft, before doing the same. If you aren't trying to have them reach out and touch the enemy, and you aren't dealing with something like holofields or an obviously suicidal match up, you are doing it wrong. Seriously, put a Warlord on it if you can, and then get in something's face. A case can be made for using them in paired Squadrons, as this maximises their dakka and minimises leadership problems, but you loose flexibility. But basically, you want to have in these situations where the high number of hull points are an asset and Ork faction bonuses are used. You have modifiers for boarding actions, and can go All Ahead Full automatically, use these abilities. We will now go through the lesser functions of a Kroozer, and in the process talk about the common Ork weaponry.

 

Secondary function: Gunz Batteries

On a Kroozer, Gunz batteries fluctuate between good and mundane given facing or dice roll, but otherwise function as generic weapon batteries. On the prow, these have 45cm range and average about strength 6, which is useful given how Ork ships like to charge at things. On the flanks, these perform like a solo Onslaught, but this ends up something quite forgettable by cruiser standards. Reliability can be increased via Maniak Gunners, bringing up the average by 1 point of FP, which can be worth the cost against some foes. That said, randomness can be just as frustrating to a foe as it is you, as BFG is often a game of careful planning and risk management. The above means that these weapons offer only modest covering fire at a distance, but have synergy with Heavy Gunz. One factor however easily overlooked however is that these weapons do not have overlapping arcs, so to fire at full effectiveness, you have to be surrounded by targets. I.e after a ram.

Secondary Function: Heavy Gunz

I find Heavy Gunz to be in an odd place, tactically speaking. It's not that they are actually bad, because if ya Kroozer is doing its job right, it's gonna make good use of them. It's just that if an option is present to swap them out, it's more gonna be immediately useful. There is something to be said here for the Kill Kroozer and its broadsides. If it gets into an enemy formation, it won't struggle to find good targets with its HGs but there's quirks. While Heavy Gunz function much like Gunz batteries, and weapon batteries too, but is not as simple as just doubling damage. Heavy Gunz operate only within 15cm, and without the left shift, meaning they don't fire often, and don't gain as much as you may think. It's also very easy to make the mistake of equating these to Lances, given their position in the armoury. No, these are far more general in application, and while they technically usable against 6+ due to the doubling, they work better versus escorts and Panzees than Lances do. Also, people forget that these are the rare ork weapon without random strength. 

 

Secondary Function: Launch Bays

I've already written at length about the Orky bomber issue, but to summarise: you do need Attack Craft to compensate for Ork weaknesses there. This makes the Terror Ship more immediately valuable than the Kill Kroozer, as while you pay more, you do swap the sometimes Heavy Gunz for the always Launch Bays. However, an issue here is that is you have to devote time to Reload orders, which can be a complication even if you pass. A Terror Ship has to do two jobs, but a Kill Kroozer has just one.

Secondary Function: Torpedoes

A huge part of Humie Fleet tactics, torpedoes are a rabbithole of a topic. At a basic level, their ability to ignore Shields and then just keep on going to hit the ship behind as well is a big thing. Entire fleets can be given second thoughts by a well-placed volley. Kroozer tubes have the same randomness as Gunz Batteries but have the rather useful option for Boarding Torpedoes. These are great for minimising enemy fire by breaking stuff. Opting for torpedoes over heavy Gunz then is very easy to justify, if only for the fact they can effect the game far sooner. But some foes are going to be much more resistant to this than others.

A Word On Warlord Upgrades

In the absence of bigger ships, Kroozers inevitably become the personal ships of Warlords, whom unlike other factions other a variety of performance improvements, and rerolls, but never improved Leadership. The main selling point here is the significant buff to Boarding Actions, and frequently, you see people going straight for the extra Shield, and maybe a few rerolls. If you are using the Clans list that I keep bloody mentioning though, you've got more interesting options available. There's several of direct application to boarding, ramming and so on, but plonking Looted Lances on a Kill Kroozer is appealing.

Wrapping things up

Kroozers are perhaps the least interesting aspect of the assorted Ork fleets, but are an important part of things. They take the hits your escorts cannot, and hit harder under specific circumstances. Like I said before, think of them as Battlewagons, ork delivery systems, and distractions.