Xenos Incursion: The Gorkanaut and the Morkanaut

Alright, this is a bit late of a review for these two but 'ere we go. So lets start off by explaining what these two vehicles are and what they can bring to the battlefield. They are both fairly large models by normal standards, standing taller than a Deff Dread but a little bit smaller than a Knight. Both carry a variety of armaments that please the dakkaness in me and my Green Tide. The Gork and Mork have the same stat line with an AV of 13/13/12 with a hull of 5, which makes this beauty and tough nut to crack in most occasions. Along with being a walker, this unit is simply a great addition to any Orky Mek army. They are both transports with a capacity of 6 with its only access point on the front.  Now onto the details.


Gorkanaut:
Being brutal and kunnin, this walker means business when its on the battlefield. Equipped with a Deffstorm Mega Shoota, Two Twin-Linked Big Shootas, Two Rokkit Launchas, a Skorcha, and finally a Klaw of Gork, this monstrosity can deal out some damage. The Deffstorm Mega Shoota has a range of 36" but can fire 3D6 shots at Strength 6 AP 4, this weapon has the ability to be pretty damn powerful infantry and lower armored vehicles alike. Now with the current Codex, a Rokkit Launcha can be pretty good as well. With a strength of 8 and an AP of 3, it has the power to penetrate vehicles, but the downside of this weapon is its range of 24" and not having and option to switch between different rounds of ammo or having blast, like the Missile Launcher of the Imperial Forces. Now the two TL Big Shootas are very nice to have, but its nothing too much to worry about. With a range of 36", it is a strength 5 AP 5 weapon with 3 shots. Their Strength is high enough to lay down some pain for infantry units and with an AP of 5, it works really well against Imperial Guard and Eldar, along with other Orks. The skorcha can be pretty powerful, but with the new walker rules for 7th and with the skorcha being directly on the center front of the model, you should always think about where to face your Naut. The skorcha is a Template weapon with a Strength of 5 and an AP of 4, but being center front and since it can no longer fire in a 360 degree arc, you should always be aware of where this is facing. Now onto the Klaw of Gork. KoG is a very powerful melee weapon with it being Strength 10 and AP 1 and also Concussive with a base of 4 attacks with a Weapon Skill of 4. This is a very formidable weapon when dealing with vehicles of any kind, even Lord of War. The Gorkanaut has only two upgrades it can take, which are the Extra Armor and the Grot Riggers, which now gives a vehicle It Will Not Die. With the model itself already at 245, its hard to add more onto it, but giving it IWND and making a crew stunned into crew shaken can make this model very hard to kill.

Morkanaut:
 Now this vehicle is definitely the prime choice for most Ork players as it has the best support option for their armies. The Morkanaut is equipped with a Kustom Mega Blasta, a Kustom Mega Kannon, two TL Big Shootas, two Rokkit Launchas, and a Klaw of Mork. The Kustom Mega Kannon has a range of 36" with S8 AP2, Heavy 1, Blast, and it has Gets Hot. This can be dangerous to both vehicles and especially infantry, my only worry is that with a low BS, the scatter can be notoriously unreliable at times. Now the Kustom Mega Blasta is a range 24" weapon, with S8 AP2 Assault 1, and it Gets Hot as well. While it has a couple GH weapons, this should not sway you away from using them as the new 7th editions rules make it harder to harm your vehicle as you have to make another additional roll for a glancing hit. Beyond these two weapons, everything else listed is the same as above. The Klaw of Mork is the exact same stat line as the Klaw of Gork. Now the upgrades are only slightly different, but its big. The Morkanaut can still take the same upgrades as the Gork, but it can also take a Kustom Force Field. The KFF is a 6" bubble from the emanating from the Morkanaut that grants and modal within its range a 5+ Invulnerable save. This is a huge upgrade for something like this as it is a large model so it can cover for ground in its 6" than the Big Mek can, and it being an Invulnerable save instead of a cover save is a big change. The Mork is slightly cheaper than the Gork, being 230 points at base.

Overall, I will bet that you will see the Morkanaut on the field far more often than you will see the Gorkanaut. It has a little more power to its weapons and that KFF is just really hard to pass on with an army of mainly 6+ armor saves. Despite most of the communities gripes with how this model looks, I personally think that it is a very Orky looking model and am very glad that my brother bought me one for my birthday. I will be fielding thing with my army to see how it goes but I have high hopes for the Nauts. Once I use it a few times, I will put out a tactica on it on how to use it and how to fight against it.

-BK