Highlights
- Orks are the most warlike Xenos in Warhammer 40K, with a collective strength that can overwhelm any resistance.
- The Ork race is ancient and diverse, with different clans showcasing unique traits and personalities in battle.
- Freebooterz, Deathskulls, Snakebites, Blood Axes, Evil Sunz, Bad Moons, and Goffs each have distinct characteristics and strategies.
Of all the many Xenos races within the Warhammer 40K setting, the Orks are the most warlike of all. Their entire reason for being is to fight. As they descend onto a planet in a devastating Waaagh! Their collective strength can smash any resistance in waves of pure aggression and firepower. While often being depicted as the comedic relief of the franchise, within the 40K setting, they are no joke. They are one of the most numerous species and have spread to every sector of the galaxy. If they were to ever unite under one banner, the entire Ork faction would quickly overwhelm most others.
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While the Orks are the largest of their kind, the faction is made up of several subspecies, including the Snotlings, Gretchens, and Squigs, who each act as either slaves or even food for the Orks. Once a planet has been infected with the Ork spores, it is next to impossible to rid it of the infestation. New Orks will regularly emerge over time and bring fresh destruction to the local populations. The Ork race is ancient and over time has devolved into thuggish brutes that live only for battle, but this doesn’t mean they are all the same. The different clans represent the Ork’s varied personality traits, with each Ork instinctively knowing which clan they should be a part of. Each of these clans has distinctive preferences regarding how they look, act, and wage their endless wars.
7 Freebooterz
Clan Traits: Muscle For Hire, Piracy, Looting
- Notable Leaders: Kaptin Badrukk, Kaptin Blackgit, Kaptin Bluddflagg
- Associated Colors: Assorted Colors
In Ork society, where the vast majority of Orks find themselves drawn to a particular clan, some Orks find they just don’t fit in. They may be a little too mean, or a little too obsessed with loot, or just be a bit of an “un-orky weirdo.” These outcasts will often find themselves in Freebooter warbands.
Any Ork can become a Freebooter and join a roaming pirate warband. These roguish Orks often work as mercenaries for whoever pays the most. Unlike the other Ork clans, the Freebooterz fight mainly for the reward and are led by powerful Ork bosses, dubbed “Kaptins.” The most notorious of these is Kaptin Badrukk, who leads his Flash Gitz in daring and bloody raids around the galaxy, gaining as much loot as he can.
6 Deathskulls
Clan Traits: Superstitious, Love Of Looting, Robbing, Trading With Other Orks
- Notable Leaders: Arch-Maniac of Calverna, Fragrak da Planetsmasha
- Associated Colors: Blue
Deathskull Orks are equally loved as they are hated among the other clans. For Deathskulls, fighting is simply the first step in looting. Much like the Bad Moons, Deathskulls have a fixation on loot. Before they have even begun a battle, they’ll be eyeing up the best weapons, vehicles, or parts that will get them the most "Teef." To many of the other Orks, the Deathskulls are nothing but a bunch of “Thieving Gitz,” as they loot their enemies, as well as fellow Orks.
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For the Painboys and Meks, the Deathskulls are by far their favorite of the clans. These light-fingered Orks supply a constant stream of parts and gear, allowing the Meks to continue to tinker on their various contraptions and the Painboys to continue their Orky medical experiments. Like many of the other clans, the Deathskulls have an affinity for a color, in their case the color blue. To Orks, blue brings good luck, which allows them to miraculously find the best loot in any bombed-out ruin or smoldering battlefield.
5 Snakebites
Clan Traits: Weirdboys, Hate Fiddly Things, High Use Of Squigs, Grumpy
- Notable Leaders: Mozrog Skragbad, Zodgrod Wortsnagga
- Associated Colors: None
Even within Ork society, some prefer the older, traditional ways. Orks who are part of the Snakebite clan will use technology only grudgingly. Much like the Goff clan, they have a no-nonsense attitude that stretches to every part of their lives, and even to their weapons of choice. From the simple clubs they use to bash their enemy’s heads in, to their basic “shootas,” Snakebite’s method of war is simple brutality. They don’t wear any particular color, opting to wear the pelts and skins of the beasts they’ve hunted.
While Snakebites do have Painboys and Meks in their clans, they have a higher concentration of weirdboys, who are Orks with a skill in warp magic. They will choose to ride a giant squig into war over a complicated vehicle. Because of these traits, many Snakebite clans have numerous “Beast Snaggas.” These are Orks who love to hunt and live nomadic lives, forever searching for the biggest and baddest prey on the planet.
4 Blood Axes
Clan Traits: Sneakiness, Surprise Attacks, Camouflage
- Notable Leaders: Boss Snikrot, Baddfrag the Tank Boss
- Associated Colors: Camouflage Patterns of Varying Colors
According to every other Ork clan, the Blood Axes are the most un-orky of all the Orks. But for Blood Axes, victory is their main goal. They will employ various tactics and strategies, surprising their enemies with stealth and "kunnin." While most Orks see an enemy and run immediately to where the fighting is thickest, the Blood Axes will find the weakest point and attack without the enemy ever realizing they are there. This trait has dubbed them cowards to many other Orks.
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Blood Axes will use Deffkoptas to spy on enemy positions and use camouflage to hide themselves until the last moment. For many humans, the idea of a strategic Ork is absurd. That is until their lines have been infiltrated, and they are being charged by a screaming Blood Axe Kommando. Where most Orks have an affinity to one color, the Blood Axes have none but will adorn themselves in all manner of strange patterns that they consider camo. The most famous of all the Blood Axes is “Da Green Ghost,” Boss Snikrot. This highly “Kunnin” Ork is, to the people of Armageddon, one of the most feared of its kind. He can move unseen through enemy lines, mercilessly slitting hapless throats as he goes.
3 Evil Sunz
Clan Traits: Love Of Going Fast, Large Number Of Vehicles, Hit & Run Tactics, Outflanking Their Enemies
- Notable Leaders: Warboss Zhardsnark, "da Rippa", Wazdakka Gutsmek
- Associated Colors: Red
All Orks love to get stuck in when it comes to a good fight, but none do it faster than the Evil Sunz clan. These “speed freeks” have a natural affinity to all things fast. They use more trukks, warbikes, and speedwagons than any other clan. When not engaging in all-out war, they spend their time racing each other in their highly customized vehicles, much to the entertainment of the other Ork Clans. Evil Sunz paint all their gear a bright red, because for Orks, red makes them go faster. Bizarrely, this becomes true with Orks, as much of their technology is cobbled together with whatever they find lying around. It is only their belief that makes it work. This strange collective power means no other race can use Ork tech.
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Meks are a big part of the Evil Sunz clan, as they are the only ones capable of creating and fixing the various vehicles they use to ride into war. Due to their fast natures, most Evil Sunz warbands are highly nomadic, as they rarely have the patience to stay in one place. In war, their unpredictable and lightning-fast attacks can leave many enemies in shock as powerful vehicles hurtle toward them at breakneck speeds, shooting all manner of mounted weaponry.
2 Bad Moons
Clan Traits: Brightly Colored, Love Of Showing Off, Biggest War Machines, Most Powerful Guns
- Notable Leaders: Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub, Gashrakk Da Flash
- Associated Colors: Yellow
The most ostentatious of Orks are the Bad Moons. To Orks, different colors mean different things, and yellow means wealth. Bad Moons paint all their war gear bright yellow to show off their power and status. They have a deep love of looting. The Bad Moons will destroy their enemy and take everything they consider the best gear. They then adorn their great war machines and armor with these trophies, further showing off their wealth.
In Ork society, “Teef” is the currency, and Bad Moons have more than any other clan. Their naturally quick-growing “Teef” means the Bad Moons are always well supplied with “Dakka,” the Ork term for anything gun-related. These brightly colored Orks always have the biggest war machines and the most powerful guns. Their high-tech weaponry has been plaguing humanity for thousands of years. The most notable and dangerous of the Bad Moon Orks is Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub. Even among the Bad Moons, Nazdreg is particularly gaudy and rich. He has a permanent kill order on his head but continues to evade humanity's efforts to put him down.
1 Goffs
Clan Traits: Close Combat, Aggression, Large Numbers, No Nonsense
- Notable Leaders: Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka
- Associated Colors: Black
The Goffs are the largest of the clans and make up the vast majority of any Waaagh! They prefer a no-nonsense style of war, favoring direct assaults with maximum aggression and savagery. They wear basic black painted armor often with simple white checkered patterns adorning it. They are by far the most aggressive of the clans, needing little reason to start a brawl, even among themselves. They love close combat and will happily charge headlong into the enemy if it means a good scrap.
The most famous of all the Goffs is the most famous Ork of all, The Prophet of Waaagh! Ghazghkull Thraka, also known as the Beast of Armageddon. Ghazghkull started his rise to dominance when a bolt round mortally wounded him in the head. Undeterred, the painboy named Mad Dok Grotsnik saved Thraka, who awoke from the operating table believing he was in contact with the Ork god's Gork and Mork. He saw a vision of the Great Waaagh! A grand campaign that would unite the Orks and smash everything in its path.
