Big Trakk Skorcha Loadout: Viable or Points Sink?

[Kaldoth]

So, as I am one to do when I am bored, I take a look at various units we have access to that I don't ever use and I look at what they can bring to the table.  I was looking at the entry for the Big Trakk and I saw something that I hadn't noticed before: the ability to take additional Skorchas beyond the two you can get from replacing the Big Shootas.  I don't know how I didn't notice that before, but it got me thinking about whether or not a Big Trakk loaded up with Skorchas and a Supa Skorcha would be worth its points? 

Taking four Skorchas and a Supa Skorcha on a Big Trakk would be 231 points all said and done.  What with Ork shooting being as abysmal as it is currently, maybe this wouldn't be a bad option to give us a little punch in the shooting phase.  If you got in range for each one, you could see a maximum of 36 auto hit shots, though if my math is correct, you'd actually average around 20 per shooting phase.  This is before shooting with an embarked unit of Burnas, of course.  

So, lets throw in a unit of 5 Burnas with a Spanner.  That's another 84 points, bringing a maximum of 15 auto hits to the table, actual average of 10.  So for a grand total of 315 points, you get 30 auto hit shots on a 15 wound platform.  

The downsides to this are the low toughness and moderate speed at which the Big Trakk moves.  With only T6 and a 4+ save, I don't see the Big Trakk making any kind of impact in the first turn, as it is highly unlikely you'll be able to get it within range of anything and fire with all of its burny goodness.  You'll probably have to stick it in cover.  Also, with the Grot Riggers and Spanner, you can possibly recover two wounds per turn, but on a 6+ for the riggers you will likely only get one per turn.  I suppose you could run four Burnas with a Spanner and  a Mek to regen 2-3 wounds per turn (which is nothing to sniff at) but your point cost now increases to 323 and you lose some shooting. 

So, what do you all think?  315/323 points is quite a lot.  Any situations where you might think it would be worth its points?  Against flyers, I could see it being worth its weight in gold, and possibly against nids/'umies/fish'ead if you can close the gap.

 

-Kal

 

[toaae]

Against flyers, I could see it being worth its weight in gold

 

 

Skorchas and burns aren't any good against flyers. I've seen it thrown around on other communities that it may be what we have for anti-Air, but the truth is, we just don't have anything for anti air. Against T7, Sv3+ air units, a Skorcha wounds on a 5 and the enemy takes a single point of damage if they fail a 4+. The fact is, each skorcha will not even average a single wound against flyers a turn. I don't know the profile of the Supa-Skorcha, but I can't imagine it's so much better that it would flip that. Burnas are of course worse, with no AP.

 

In all, I don't see any reason to invest heavily into our auto-hit weapons. They do ignore our greatest weakness, Ballistic Skill, but they often cost too much, come on too fragile a platform, and don't pack enough punch for the investment.

[MrBadweed]

If i remember correctly, the Supa-Skorcha replaces the basic 2 big shootas. So max on the Trakk you get the Supa Skorcha and 2 Skorchas.

 

In a recent couple of games i fielded one with 6 kombi-Skorcha Nobz Inside it. Veeeery Pricey, it was very effective during the first game, driving around burning MEQ like there is no tomorrow. Got blown up turn 1 in the second game, my opponent had wised up to it.

 

My 2 cents, it's fun and orky, but severely overpriced.  You can bring a :cussload of boyz for the same amount of points. 

[Master Antaeus]

I run 2 basic trakks with supa skorchas and 6 tankbustas each. They're comparable to a taxiwagon in points but a lot has a lot more offensive value in the 1500-1850 points range.

 

That said, I prefer the extra utility and speed but you need the durability of wagons at higher points. Still a great unit. Absolutely devastates harlequins.