Kultur Breakdown: Deathskulls

The Deathskullz are known for their looting, their luck, and their looting. If you want to keep something, you had better chain it to your wrist, but that doesn't guarantee the Deathskulls won't just hack your arm off too. When a Deathskull wants something, a Deathskull TAKES it.

Today we will look at the "Clan Fokus: Deathskulls" article from the Warhammer Community and speculate a little bit about what these spoilers will mean for Orks in the future, specifically related to the Deathskulls.

First, we will look at the new Clan Kultur for Deathskulls which really showcases the incredible luck of the boyz in blue.

First and foremost, the entire clan of Deathskulls receives a 6++ invulnerable save. This is pretty incredible considering invuls are few and far between in Index: Orks (Let's hope they fix cybork bodies!!!). While there has been some online scoffing at this new rule, I would like to point out that this guarantees a save against EVERYTHING with an AP. 16.666% of the time, your lil' git is going to keep on trukkin'. If you've ever played against a Sisters of Battle army (who has the same army wide ability of a 6++), you'll know exactly how frustrating it is to see that 6 when you need them to fail it most. Mark my words, the Deathskulls 6++ may not save many, but it WILL save when it matters. Whether on an HQ, a Battlewagon, or even the loneliest ork boy, the 6++ will show your opponents just how damn lucky you are!

The second part of the Lucky Blue Gitz rule might be the shining star of the kultur overall. Re-rolling a single Hit, Wound, AND Damage role for each unit in either the shooting or fight phase. WOW! At first glance, it doesn't seem that great, right? ONE hit/wound/damage? But let's break down some great combos that really make this rule shine!

LUCKY BLUE GITZ KOMBOZ

Multiple Rokkit Mobz
Rokkit Mobz consists of multiple small units (MSU) of Ork boyz, each with one Rokkit Launcha. Each Rokkit boy will be a certified sniper with his rokkit re-rolling to-hit and to wound! The damage of a rokkit is always 3, so no need to roll the damage here. You can save that re-roll for Power Klaw damage should you find yourself in combat the same turn!

Kannnonwagons
If you plan on bringing Battlewagons in your Deathskullz list, you're definitely going to love that 6++, but while you're at it, go ahead and purchase a Kannon! With a BS of 5+, the Kannon has always been a bit of a disappointment or "waste of points" on a Battlewagon, but not for Deathskulls. The battlewagon itself is a single unit, which means it applies Lucy Blue Gitz to one of it's weapons! Firing your Kannon as a shell shot just got a lot deadlier!

Zzapwagons
Much like the Kannonwagons before, the Zzap Gun looks pretty good on a battlewagon! Even with random strength, the ability to re-roll to hit AND wound with this single shot AP3, 3 Damage weapon will be sure to fry the battlefield!

Rokkit Trukks
Trukks are notorious for their lackluster shooting, much like a Drop Pod. Unlike a Drop Pod, the Trukk can replace its Big Shoota with a Rokkit Launcha! Similar to the Rokkit Mobz and Kannonwagon combo mentions above, the Trukk itself is a single unit allowing that single rokkit to dominate the battlefield. One might even stick those MSU rokkit mobz in the rokkit trukks! :O

Itz not blue, but it still goze bang!

Warboss with a Kombi-Rokkit
Remmeber the days of old when Kombi-weapons were one use? Remember when a one-use single shot that required a 5+ to hit was considered the biggest waste of points in the game??!! Kombi-skorcha 4 life!!! Wait... what? Kombi-weapons aren't one-use in 8th edition? I can re-roll to-hit and to-wound with my Kombi-rokkit?! YES PLEASE!!!

Rokkit Dread
I think we're starting to see a trend here! Rokkits works well Lucky Blue Gitz! They even work well on those choppy dread boyz! The key here is to only take one Rokkit though! We don't want to take TOO much choppy out of the equation! Note: While Rokkits are amazing, there is something to be said for Kustom-Mega Blastas on a Deathskulls Deff Dread too! 

The Shokk Attack Gun
HOLY MORK AND GORK! This might be the ultimate use of the rule! A classicly twin-linked Shokk Attack Gun! OH BABY! This is a super good combo and SHOULD be utilized in Death Skulls armies! Trust me! I'm a painboy!

Traktor Kannons
If your meta runs a lot of fliers or keyword fly, the Traktor Kannon might be an attractive option for your army. Plus, using this kultur rule with BS 4+ is super gnarly!

Smasha Gun
The Smasha Gun has been one of those, "looks cool on paper" gunz, but never really pans out the way you want it too. Perhaps Lucky Blue Gitz will help make those Smasha Gun dreams a reality? You won't be able to re-roll a wound because of the Smasha Gunz unique wounding system, but at least your To-hit and Damage roll is re-rollable.

Mega-Dread with Shunta
The Shunta isn't necessarily the greatest weapon the Orks have, but the ability to stop a vehicle from advancing onto an objective could prove useful, especially if it's dem pesky pointy ear'd gitz!



The last part of the Lucky Blue Gitz doesn't sound entirely all that exciting but actually carries quite a lot of weight in the Taktics department. Every Deathskull unit has the "Dis Iz Mine! Zog Off!" special rule which is the new Orks version of Objective secure! No longer do you need to rely on your troop choices to hold down the objective! Now you can drive up on an objective, next turn let your boyz loose in some asinine direction and still claim the objective over your opponents non-troops units with your wimpy trukk! HUZZAH!

So I would say overall, this is a pretty deep and useful rule! However, the community post gave us more than just a Clan Kultur! We even got a few stratagem teasers! Up first we have WRECKERS.

Wreckers! For 2Cp you get to re-roll to wound against any VEHICLE? Daaaaang... That's pretty gnarly. Naturally, the community paired this up with Tankbustas who already get to re-roll to hit against any VEHICLE. However, the stratagem is not limited to Tankbustas. This can be applied to any DEATHSKULLS unit during ANY phase! The only caveat here is that you must announce you are using this at the beginning of a phase, which means you can't see how things are going before you use it. Regardless, it's a great strategy, even at it's 2Cp cost. Imperial Knights, watch out!

Okay, this is a pretty neat stratagem if used correctly. Typically a unit may only nominate one model to throw a grenade. However, Extra Stikkbombs allows up to 10 to chunk 'nades! If you're unfamiliar with Stikkbombs in 8th edition, they are d6 shots at S3. Kinda wimpy against Spess Muhreenz, but against wimpy pointy ear'd aeldari, it looks pretty tasty! 10d3 shots! Not ony that, it's not limited to Stikkbombs! You can use this stratagem on Tankbusta Bombs too! Holy moley! Kiss your Land Raider or Knight goodbye! Don't forget to re-roll one of those damage outcomes with your Lucky Blue Gitz rule!!!

The last stratagem leaked with the Deathskulls article today is "Loot it". Orks love looting. Deathskulls LOOOOVE looting. Naturally, this is true to form stratagem for your orky smurfs. The article linked it to Lootas, but Lootas typically don't fire their weapons 3" away from enemy VEHICLES. However, the stratagem doesn't say ENEMY vehicle. It just says "vehicle", which means your own vehicles work too. 

Still not ideal for Lootas as you don't really care so much about boosting their armor from a 6+ to a 5+, though they do have a 50% chance of refunding the stratagem. So what then? Who benefits? Well, a unit embarked in a transport COULD benefit IF they are on the table at the time of the explosion. If they aren't embarked, they technically aren't within 3", so they don't benefit... Hmm... this is a really tricky stratagem to wrap my head around. I suppose it could be pretty useful next to a unit of Nobz, boosting their 4+ to a 3+. Not bad, but good luck making the stars align.

Overall, this seems like a very niche stratagem that may only come up once in 4 or 5 games if that. Not my favorite, but still neat.

-Couchatron