Imotehk the Stormlord - actually pretty dull?

[Freefall945]

Slammed my Craftworld into the new Necrons for the first time today, and found myself reading the fluff for Imotehk.

Disregarding his monumental demolition of the Alaitoc forces lead by Farseer HerpDerpLetsChargeAfterThemIntoATombWhatCouldPossi blyGoWrong, I was surprised to see the codex fluff suggest that Orks are a constant thorn in his side - a blind spot in his galaxy spanning strategic acumen because the only way to get a meaningful advantage over Imotehk is to "abandon all sense" which apparently Orks do.

Really, though?

I mean, I get that Orks are dumb, and not tactical geniuses by and large, but they're not a -random force- on the battle field. They're simple. Want fight, want noise, want loot. Orks given an opportunity to have a good scrap they're reasonably likely to win will dive right into it in almost every case. We have copious amounts of established fluff of Space Marines and Imperial Guard deflecting otherwise overwhelming Ork forces precisely BECAUSE they are tactically predictable. Eldar and Dark Eldar take this to a whole new level by routinely aggroing orks on to folks they don't like, because Orks are dumb and easilly manipulated in most cases.

Apparently Imotehk scratches his robo-dome and shrugs at this?

Am I missing something? Is this just a poorly thought out attempt to give a flaw and some texture to Imotehk who is otherwise "The Best General"?

Or does Matt Ward really believe that, presented with a target to attack and an opportunity to attack it, Orks are as likely to charge as they are to fall back, break into dance or write dirty limericks in the mud and ash?

[eldargal]

I've not read the fluff myself yet but it does seem bizarre that the Imperium, Dark Eldar and Eldar all routinely manipulate Orks into infighting or fighting for them etc. but a highly experienced Necron lord can't manage it. I would assume it was just ill thought, 'hey lets make Orks a thorn in his isde, wouldn't that be cool?'. The Eldar bit is a tad irritating, but a common enough mistake (which doesn't make it less irritating).

[wittdooley]

Orks are much more disorganized. I read it that the lack of tactical organization was what perplexed him.

[lattd]

Maybe its the sheer fact that they don't use tactics that perplexes him? I mean maybe he expects something to happen so he plans for that outcome be in reality the orks just carry on towards the gun line?

[Wildeybeast]

Orks do use tactics, they are just brutally simple. A combination of a)shoot/stomp it with the biggest, noisest thing you can build and b)charge at the enemy very loudly and quickly and hit them over the head until they stop moving. Not exactly Sun Tzu, but it works. There are three ways to counter this. 1) Have bigger/better/more numerous shooty/stompy/hitty stuff. 2) Kill the leader and let them bash each other instead of you. 3) Hope/make them go fight someone else. None of this requires much in the way of tactics, so his problem doesn't make much sense. Until we remember that the Necron personality flaws are due to glitches in their programming and as such don't need any rational explanation, they are just broken.

[Baron Spikey]

The Imotehk fluff does state that he achieves victories against Orks, just not the crushing ones he intends.

The Stormlord spins his plans relying completely on logic, a concept the Orks have little time for- so whilst it's possible to occasionally guess what the greenskins will do the inherent anarchy of their nature means you can't rely on that all the time.

[wittdooley]

The Imotehk fluff does state that he achieves victories against Orks, just not the crushing ones he intends.

The Stormlord spins his plans relying completely on logic, a concept the Orks have little time for- so whilst it's possible to occasionally guess what the greenskins will do the inherent anarchy of their nature means you can't rely on that all the time.

This. Personally my fave lord fluff at this point is nemesor zahndrekh & obyron.

[DarkLink]

This is a game in which the fluff pretty much consists of "[unit] is teh awezomez, and is best at [tactics/fighting/everything]". No wonder it doesn't make much sense sometimes.

[Freefall945]

According to the entry (infront of me now), Imotehk "rarely wins lasting victories over the rabblesome greenskins" because they are able to "abandon all logic" as easily as breathing.

I hear the response, that he's just not as good at outmaneuvering them because they don't have complex strategies to exploit, but I feel that's insufficient.

It is very difficult to say that ork tactics are "illogical" since put-sword-in-man is pretty much the zenith of logic in warfare. To paraphrase Brian Klevinger,

...An opponent too shot and chopped to move is an opponent defeated.

Orks aren't "illogical" on the battlefield, they're just dopey. They might be illogical if you were to engage them in a philosophical throwdown, but when you're seeing whose little mans can kill the other little mans, ork plans are perfectly logical; they're just not complex. And easier to predict.

And they DO use tactics. In fact, part of the Ork's unique threat is that they possess a -genetic disposition- toward small unit tactics without needing to be drilled or taught. They understand ambushes, flanking, overwhelming force, and the crown jewel of strategy, -morale-. They know these things the same way they know how to shoot guns, how to do what they're told, how to build trukks - instinctively, by the terrible genetic legacy written into their fabric by the very beings who set out to destroy the Necrons.

Ultimately, it's not a "huge" deal. It's not a seismic lore-fail, I just thought it was funny, and kinda weird.

Oh, and Eldargal, unless you want your blood boiled in your veins, don't read the Necron codex.

Necrons are invading the webway now. Somewhere in a corner of the Eye of Terror, Ahriman rips out his hair.

[rws]

Perhaps you are seeing it the wrong way: on the battlefield the Orks may be straightforward hack, slash and shoot everything not green, but on a campaign wide scale Orks are much less predictable: they don't pick their battles logically, but in a more instinctive manner.

Though it is possible to lure Orks somewhere if you're sneaky enough, this doesn't mean it's a sure way of dealing with the Orks, Especially if you take into account that the Boss steers his host of Orks with somewhat of a rather odd plan, while most Orks just want to be where the fighting is. This creates a tension in directionality, and it is fairly unpredictable where the Ork host will end up.

I think this is more in line with Wards intentions, especially if you take into account that the Stormlord is a tactical genius on a campaign wide scale.