Deff Dred

"Boyz, wez kan rebild 'im. Wez gotz da teknowlogee. Wez gotz the gubbins ta build da wurld's first bionik ork. Skeevin Ashtin be dat ork. Betta dan befor. Betta, stronga, fasta..."

– Da Six Dozen Toof Ork

20% moar choppier, 40% moar dakka, 100% moar killy!

Orks are dead 'ard and dead killy. They are huge, hulking creatures whose only purpose in life is to fight and kill whatever is within their reach. Whether it be Shootas, Choppas, Rokkit Launchas, or even the dreaded Power Klaw, your average Ork Boy has a lot of options available to him.

However, to some Orks, a life as an ordinary footslogging Boy isn't enough. Some may try and fail to rise in the ranks, while others may dimly realize that they are only cannon fodder for some Marine's Bolter. Although Orks don't generally fear death, they do fear not being able to kill stuff anymore - to an Ork, that is the greatest fear of all.

Long had the Oddboys been discussing this matter, trying to solve this grave problem. Experiments ensued, all without success. In the end, it all seemed futile, until one enterprising Mek had a brilliant idea, inspired by the bluddy Humies no less. He had been fighting some Space Marines like usual, looting destroyed and cast-off equipment along the way. Suddenly, he saw the most beautiful contraption he had ever seen. Boxy, heavily armoured and loud as all hell, the bipedal death machine tore through the Ork Boyz at an alarming rate, laying waste everything and anyone, bellowing with a metallic, reverberating voice: "EVEN IN DEATH I STILL SERVE." The machine was a Dreadnought, a walker with a barely-living Space Marine within its shell.

Seeing the Dreadnought had gifted the Mek with inspiration. He went home and began feverishly building a mechanical walker, arming it with rockets, ripping blades, guns and swords, and equipping it with a cockpit just big enough to house an average-sized Ork. Soon he found such a specimen, a rather young and undersized Boy on the verge of death. The Mek had a Painboy hardwire some cables into the Boy's brain, whereafter he interred the Ork into the machine. When the Ork came to and realized what has been done to him, he was filled with Rage and rushed out to show off to the clan his new, mechanical body by showing their internal organs to them instead.

The proud Mek dubbed his creation a "Deff Dred", meaning a Dreadnought that is somehow killy even by the extreme standards of the Orks.

Since that fateful day, many other Orks have found themselves bolted into a Deff Dred- some willingly, some not. Those who are willing typically do so with the intent of securing a place of high status in the their clan by leapfrogging past even the biggest and toughest 'Boss by being in control of an enormous metal machine that is armed to the teeth with the killiest of weaponry. Unfortunately, they often realized too late that the biggest drawback of being permanently wired into a giant metal shell is, well, being permanently wired into a giant metal shell. While Deff Dreds are undoubtedly important assets to any warband, the Dred pilots themselves almost never attain a high position within the simple hierarchy of Ork kulture. Once the interred pilot reaches this conclusion, his main option to vent his anger is to brutally eviscerate whomever the warband happens to be fighting at that moment. This is, admittedly, something that Deff Dreds do quite well.

Being bolted to such a huge frame means that the Ork Boy could carry multiple weapons that is too huge or ungainly to haul around for even a Nob. This includes weapons such as Dread Klaw, Buzz Saws, Drillas, Crushas, Big Shootas, Rokkit Launchas, Kustom Mega-Blastas and Skorchas.

On the Tabletop

Unsurprisingly, Deff Dreds are roughly comparable to standard Space Marine Dreadnoughts: in 8th edition they are T7 with 8 wounds and a 3+ save. Their combat ability does not decrease when they take wound damage and by default they come with two Dread Klaws and two Big Shootas. However, they can replace any of these weapons with a Rokkit Launcha, Kustom Mega-Blasta, Skorcha, or Dread Saw on a one-for-one basis. It is therefore possible to construct an all-melee or even an all-gun Dred, but just keep in mind that by the strict wording of these options it is not possible to use either 4 Klaws or 4 Big Shootas (although you could, for example, run a Dred with 2 Klaws and 2 Saws, which is still more than enough to scrag almost anything short of a super-heavy or a Knight).

Dreds do have some considerable disadvantages, however. They are rather slow with a speed of only 6", and they are also towering, conspicuous, and meaty targets. For these reasons, in 8th edition there has been some debate about just how effective they are. Supporters of the Deff Dred argue that it is reasonably costed at around 100 points for most loadouts, and you shouldn't ever be taking just one anyway- take two or three at least. For maximum hilarity, take a mob of 3 Dreds optimized for melee and then use the Tellyporta stratagem to plonk them down to within charge distance of the most important and/or vulnerable part of your opponent's army.

In 9th Edition Dreds now start with 3 attacks, and their melee weapons have all been unified into the Dread Klaw profile. Shooty Dreds are certainly still possible, and the 4-shoota Dred is now legal again. However, melee has always been the Deff Dred's true forte (with the possible exception of pure KMB Bad Moon builds in 8th), and that remains true in this edition. A four-Klaw Dred will cost you merely 85 points, giving you seven base melee attacks at S10, AP -3, 3 damage each. Give a mob of up to 3 of these brutes the Big Krumpaz specialist mob upgrade, and now those attacks hit on 2+. Tellyport in as you did in 8th, immediately split up due to the benefit of Dread Mob, and charge everything. Be sure to call a WAAAGH! at the same time to gain an extra attack. Optionally, take as Goffs for the potential to add even more attacks as you go. As a final bonus, Dreds now benefit from the Ramshackle rule which helps to mitigate damage.

Gallery

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  Deff Treds

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  BIG IZ BEST! An diz one iz bigger than most. Stompas doez not kount!

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  A Bad Moon Dred in a hybrid melee/shooty configuration.