Have you seen this unit? part 20

I’ll keep with the Ork codex and jump into the elite section for a quick look. I see a unit which I would love to try, but nobody else seems to like…Burna Boyz.

These are Orks that either work as welders/mechanics or are a group that just loves to play with fire. As a child I was quite the pyro, so one can see why these guys peak my interest. The opening movie to the original Dawn of War had a great Burna boy sequence! That image still jumps to the front of my tiny brain when I see the Burna Boy codex entry.

I AM THE LORD OF HELLFIRE AND I BRING YOU............

The Burna Boy is no different than a typical Ork, when it comes to stats: WS 4, BS 2, strength 3, toughness 4, 1 wound, attacks and initiative of 2, leadership 7, and 6+ save. They are armed with a Burna. There squad size is 5-10 and up to three of these can be upgraded to Meks. This is a free upgrade, which is always cool. A Mek has the same stats, but can take some different weapons; a Kustom Mega Blasta (which they have standard as a Mek), a slugga/choppa for free (why take this option?), a big shoota for free (not bad if you like moving inaccurate ½ range heavy bolters), or a rokkit launcha for +5 (not worth the points). Each Mek can also take a grot oiler +5 points. All Burna Boyz cost the same as a basic Grey Hunter, so a base squad will run 75 points to start. They also have all the usual Ork rules as well.

Burna- is a S4 AP 5 template weapon. A flamethrower, duh! However, it can also be used as a power weapon in close combat. It cannot do both in the same player turn, so choices must be made. Do I light you on fire or hit you with a burny metal pole?

Kustom Mega Blasta- is sort of the Ork melta gun. It is 12” S 8 AP 2 assault 1 and “Gets Hot!” A gun with AP 2 is pretty rare in the Ork army, so is the ballistic skill needed to hit with it as well. Sure the squad can take three of these for free, and if you are lucky at least one will hit.

Alright, so a unit full of flamer templates sounds great. They auto hit and negate the terrible Ork ballistic skill. Plus they can always be used as a power weapon instead, which isn’t a terrible proposition either. Having two base attacks with a power weapon is good. If they can get the charge then that will be three strength 4 power weapon attacks.  They aren’t overpriced and have a great weapon, so why no love?

First they compete with the two Ork favorites, Nobz and Lootas. They can’t hold a candle to the multi-wound in your face killing power of Nobz. They also can’t put out the long range damage that Lootas can either.

Then there is the lack of a transport option. These guys either need to steal a ride or have a heavy slot used for a ride. A unit of Burnas walking is pretty useless, well unless your opponent deploys or moves badly.  They need to get up to flamer range to be effective and can be really hard to do on foot.

Then there is the small squad size, well for Orks. A full squad is ten guys and it isn’t too hard to get rid of ten Orks. Hell, if you get rid of three or four, there is a good chance they’ll run and; depending on rolls, might not regroup. The mob rule is great, if you have a mob. A squad of ten Orks is hardly a mob is it?

Are they fixable? Well I don’t think they are broke (the bad way). There are just better choices in the force organization slot. If the squad size was 5-20 and one burna for every two Orks was available would people use them? How would you the remaining guys be armed? Maybe give them the option for a damn transport! If these guys could drive themselves, then it would make them a bit easier to use. They could also just do away with them. They could give the regular Boyz squad the option to take burnas. Why not? They could take them like shootas and rokkit launchas. Then you would probably see too many squads with power weapon burnas and power klaws. It would probably be too good or something.  

It is a shame these guys are under used. They have a lot of potential; it is just unrealized and unwieldy. Then again, I have a soft spot for fire and a unit that can use a lot of it!