Detachment Focus: War Horde (Updated December 30, 2025)

In this series of articles we take a deep dive into a specific detachment for a faction, covering the faction’s rules and upgrades and talking about how to build around that faction for competitive play. In this article, we’re covering the War Horde Detachment from Codex: Orks.

The Tenth Edition release of Codex: Orks gave the faction six Detachments to work with and while some of the other option were newer and flashier, there's still a lot to be said for the updated version of the Index Detachment, War Horde. Its versatile army rule and Stratagems make it worth consideration, even with newer options available. Once again we'd like to thank "Warboss" Ben Jurek for stopping by to help write this and provide guidance.

Changelog

• Update (Current): 2025-12-30 with new lists
• Update: 2024-08-03 for the Q2 Balance updates and a new list
• Published: 2024-05-11

Detachment Overview

The War Horde Detachment was originally the Waaagh! Tribe in the Tenth Edition Index, and received a small update when it was ported to the Codex as the War Horde, with one solid buff and a slight debuff. Since then the Detachment has remained a solid, reliable way to take the faction, even when it wasn't the most competitive option. That changed in late 2025 however, when changes to Battlewagons and Ghazghkull dropped and made the faction much more viable.

Detachment Rule: Get Stuck In!

Melee weapons equipped by ORKS models from your army have the [SUSTAINED HITS 1] ability.

This is as simple as rules get but it's more powerful than it looks at first glance. Sure it's not as flashy as the Bully Boyz or Green Tide abilities, but it's plenty powerful in an army with a lot of attacks and unlike those abilities it's both always on and applicable to any Ork unit. In general, that's a big advantage of the War Horde - you have a lot of flexibility, with rules and Stratagems which work on nearly any model in the army. And there are a few areas where the ability combos nicely with specific units, most notably Ghazghkull. A War Horde answers many of the questions posed to an Ork army with the obvious answer of "just do more damage."

Goff Ork Meganobz mob Manteara. Credit: Charlie Brassley

Enhancements

These are uncomplicated but effective buffs for various options. Two of these support your units, either Fall Back and Shoot/Charge from Kunnin’ But Brutal, maybe useful on a Big Mek leading some Mek Gunz, or Follow Me Ladz, providing +2” Movement.

• Follow Me Ladz (25 points) – While the bearer is leading a unit, they get +2" to their Move characteristic. Simple, but effective and great on Nobz to make them extra fast or something like a unit of Meganobz who otherwise move pretty slowly. Putting this on a disembarking boss or a Boss on a Squigosaur can mean they can close the distance pretty quickly.
• Headwoppa's Killchoppa (20 points) – Melee weapons equipped by the bearer (excluding Extra Attacks weapons) have the [DEVASTATING WOUNDS] ability. This is neat but without a reliable way to re-roll wounds it's pretty limited and variable in its output. Unlike the Beastboss' datasheet ability (which requires a charge), you can rely on this any time you're stuck in combat. This can be useful on Squigosaur bosses when you combine it with their ANTI-VEHICLE 4+ and ANTI-MONSTER 4+ melee attacks.
• Kunnin' But Brutal (15 points) – While the bearer is leading a unit that unit is eligible to shoot and charge in a turn in which it Fell Back. Obviously doing a Fall Back and Shoot isn't high on your list of priorities, but falling back and charging is, and that's great for re-activating abilities like the Beastboss' Devastating Wounds or just getting to fight first against a unit you've been stuck in combat with. A relatively tempting play is to pair this with the Big Mek's Shokk-Boosta ability to move through models and terrain.
• Supa-Cybork Body (15 points) – The bearer has the Feel No Pain 4+ ability. Another simple one but often worth it at 15 points. Statistically doubles your wounds total - very solid on something like a Deffkilla Wartrike.

These are all more nice-to-haves than build-arounds, save maybe Follow Me Ladz, which does lend itself to creating one particularly nasty unit of fast killers.

Sky Kaptin Snodgrin, Goff stormboy nob (plus wingboyz & Tattlegit Bommsnik). Credit: Charlie Brassley

Stratagems

The War Horde Stratagems offer support for a mix of different units, from Vehicles to Mobs, giving you a little bit of support for most of the units you'd want to bring.

• Careen! (Epic Dead, 1 CP) – Used in any phase on an Orks Vehicle with the Deadly Demise rule that was just destroyed and rolled a 6 for its ability. Your unit can make a Normal or Fall Back move before its Deadly Demise ability is resolved, and before any embarked units perform an Emergency Disembarkation. While you make that move you can move over enemy units (except MONSTERS and VEHICLES) as though they weren't there. This is a fun little way to punish your opponents when they blow up one of your vehicles and while it's waaaay too random to count on, it's a good way to do some one-sided mortal wounds to the opponent when you can suddenly move 12"+ to crash into their lines. Good for taking a big swing in those 1 in 6 games in which your Battlewagon explodes.
• Orks is Never Beaten (Epic Deed, 2 CP) – Used in the Fight phase on an Ork unit picked as the target of an attack. Until the end of the phase, models in the destroyed unit can fight on death. It's rare you see an ability that gives you a straight-up automatic fight on death, making it more powerful than most... but that power comes with an additional CP cost. This is great on Nobz and Meganobz as a way to really punish an opponent for trying to take the fight to you. In addition to the built-in army rule this makes it punishing to engage the army's heavier-hitting units. It's absolutely brutal against elite melee armies like Blood Angels and World Eaters.
• Unbridled Carnage (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used in the Fight phase to give an Orks unit Critical Hits on 5+. This is very good for triggering your War Horde Sustained Hits, and combos nicely with Makari's [LETHAL HITS] aura during a Waaagh! When you pair this with any re-roll abilities such as the Monster Hunters ability on the Beast Snagga boyz you can produce some crazy results with this.
• 'Ard as Nails (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used in your opponent's Shooting phase or the Fight phase on an Orks unit (but not a GROTS, MONSTER, or VEHICLE unit) that was selected as a target of an attack. Until the end of the phase, the attacking unit subtracts one from its wound rolls. This is just solid protection, and it's great for keeping your more durable units on the table so they can krump. Note that this no longer works on MONSTERS so you can't drop it on a Gargantuan Squiggoth. Meganobz and Squighot Riders are the preferred targets here, but this is generally useful overall.
• Mob Rule (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used at the end of your Command phase on a MOB unit that has 10+ models and isn't below Half-Strength. Pick a friendly Battle-shocked INFANTRY unit within 6" of them and it's no longer Battle-shocked. This is niche - it requires a big unit to still be alive near a decimated one, but it can be crucial in a pinch for holding an objective or turning on a unit's ability to use Stratagems. It's a useful trick to keep in mind, and another good reason to have at least one unit of basic Boyz kicking around to provide coverage.
• 'Ere We Go (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used at the start of your Movement phase to give an INFANTRY unit +2 to Advance and Charge rolls until the end of the turn. This is just solid fun and can combine with a Big Mek's re-rolls to let you rocket across the table. The only downside is that it has to be used before Reinforcements arrive, so you can't use it on a unit arriving from Reserves. But otherwise this is crucial to setting up your big Waaagh! turn and getting +4" when you Advance and Charge in the same turn is huge.

These are pretty solid, and they give you some good tools for getting the most out of your units. They don't have the raw power some of the other Detachments' Stratagems have, but they're much more generally good. And unlike other Detachments these work on most units and don't rely on the Army rule.

Warbiker Mob. Credit: Rockfish

Playing This Detachment

The plan here is pretty simple: Krump your opponents in melee by burying them in attacks, facilitated in part by SUSTAINED HITS 1. In order to get the most out of this, you need Ghazghkull, who, during a Waaagh! gives his unit Crits on a 5+ and through Makari gives Ork units within 12" [LETHAL HITS]. This creates a situation where, during your Waaagh! turn, your Nobz are putting out 4 attacks each and, with the help of Unbridled Carnage, delivering Sustained and Lethal hits on rolls of 5+. Ghaz will want company, and that usually means putting him with another unit in a Battlewagon (now with 'Ard Case!), but he can also join Boyz now as well, giving you a wider array of options. Ghaz with a unit of 20 Boyz is pretty common but you'll also see him attached to Breaka Boyz or Nobz as well. Meganobz don't currently show up in a ton of War Horde lists, in part because they're better in Bully Boyz.

As for the rest of the army well, having a unit of Boyz or Beast Snagga Boyz is a good idea - you need some cheaper OC 2 holders, and the latter tend to be a better option since you can pair them with a Beastboss while you're likely going to be taking three Warbosses and putting them elsewhere. And that elsewhere is specifically Nobz, who you'll deck out with Power Klaws, attach to a Warboss, and put in Trukks. Nobz hit like a freight train in War Horde, and you can get a lot of value out of them without having to take a hundred models. This of course frees you up to spend points on other things like Stormboyz who can move around the table and do actions, or Flash Kitz, who can give you actual ranged firepower while not being bad in melee.

One of the big questions you'll want to ask when building your list is "How many Battlewagons?" - successful competitive lists have run zero, one, or two, so you have multiple options and each one of those plays differently.

Strengths

• Simple. No hoops to jump through, no crazy units to build around. Just Sustained Hits 1 on your melee attacks. You aren't gonna forget this rule and it applies to everything in the army.
• Melee. You hit things better. Plus you can fight on death, score crits on 5+, and get +2 to your Advance and Charge rolls.
• Versatile. While the core identity here is hitting things, you have a lot of interesting versatility with stratagems like Careen!, 'Ere We Go, 'Ard as Nails, and Mob Rule.

Weaknesses

• Shooting. This Detachment doesn't do much for your shooting units, so Lootas, FLash Gitz, and Tankbustas will often feel a bit anemic here.
• Vehicles. This doesn't do much for your Transports and non-melee vehicles, either. It's not explicitly an infantry detachment, but there's not
• Simple. Your opponent knows exactly what your strategy is going to be and if they can fight better you're going to be in trouble.

Tankbustas. Credit: Rockfish

Keaton Marschman's List

Keaton took this list to a 5-0, first place finish at the Jingle Bombz 5 event in mid-December 2025, beating Tyranids twice, Necrons, Leagues of Votann, and Aeldari to claim the top spot. This list runs Ghaz and a pair of Battlewagons.



The standout feature here is the pair of 'Ard Case Battlewagons, which give the army a ton of moving cover for Ghaz and the Nobz. One holds a unit of 20 Boyz while the other holds Ghaz, the Nobz, and the Breaka Boyz. If there's a downside here it's that the list likely wants a trukk or two for its Beastsnagga Boyz, but they can walk as needed. Double Battlewagons is a pretty established format for these lists now.

Battlewagon - Deathrolla and Kannon. Credit: Rockfish

Edwin Cho's List

If you want a list running zero Battlewagons, try Edwin's list, which he piloted to a 6-0, 2nd place finish in early November at the Mad Alpacalypse Major in California.



Edwin's list runs most of the hits - you have Ghaz, Snikrot, and Zodgrod here, with three trucks to hold Beast Snaggas, Breaka Boyz, Flash Gitz, and Tankbustas. Ghaz pairs with the 20-man Boyz unit on foot, while Kommandos and Storm boyz give you some faster forward pressure. It's not a first-turn charge list but rather a first turn setup into second turn charge kind of list in most matchups.

Final Thoughts

The more things change, the more they stay the same. While the War Horde is the oldest Ork Detachment in tenth edition, it's still got plenty of power for brutal yet kunnin' warlords looking to run it. It's the only Detachment where Ghazghkull is a must-take, and one of the most flexible when it comes to running whatever units you want to run. When the Q3 2025 balance update dropped a bunch of point drops on the faction and Ghaz gained the ability to ride in a Battlewagon with an 'Ard case or join a unit of Boyz and Nobz, War Horde made a solid comeback. It's currently the preferred way to run the faction competitively.

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