Orks: Ghazghkull Thraka

War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! But a WAAAGH! on the other hand is fantastic. Well, if you’re an Ork they are. Orks love fighting and are always looking for a good ruck, the bigger and bloodier the better, and there’s no Ork in the universe that knows how to inspire Orks and start a proper WAAAGH! more than the mighty warlord and Prophet of Gork & Mork himself – Ghazghkull Thraka.

Much like Kelis’ milkshakes, Ghazghkull’s WAAAGHs bring all the boyz to the yard. They come from the farthest reaches of the galaxy just to join in the fun of Ghaz’s fights. They’re brutal, bloody, absolutely huge and, don’t forget, the krumpiest around. For an Ork as legendary as Ghazghkull he must have an epic miniature, and Games Workshop have not disappointed.

Third time’s a charm

This is the third iteration of Ghaz and it shows just how far Games Workshop models have come in terms of craftsmanship. Ghaz is a stunning model – huge and incredibly detailed. His power armour is an imposing sight to behold, and not just because of the enormous power claw (which he calls Gork’s Klaw) that can cut a Space Marine to bits with very little effort, or his four-barrelled gun (called Mork’s Roar). The whole suit is riddled with bullet holes and has a vast amount of battle damage. Exposed wires poke out from most places and almost everything us, in true Ork fashion, held in place with either poor welding and/or old rags tied in knots. Every inch of the model illustrates just how old Ghaz’s power suit is. In fact, his power armour is so old that the battle damage has battle damage. But fear not, even though there’s a huge amount of detail on the model, Games Workshop have been sure to leave enough space for Ork painters to chuck some checkerboard patterns on the armour.

A lick of paint

Painting Ghazghkull (and his little lucky Gretchin mate – Makari) may seem intimidating at first, but you just have to remember – he’s an Ork and Orks are, by far, the most fun models to paint out of the entire Warhammer 40K range. You can be haphazard with your brushstrokes and you can use any colours you like – it will all feel like part of the Ork aesthetic. You don’t have to worry about clean, crisp edge highlights if you don’t want to and nothing has to be uniformed or neat like those Space Marine nerds.

Orks are messy, dirty scavengers, their weapons and armour have seen plenty of combat, usually more than their current owners as Orks tend to pick stuff up from fallen comrades, and your models should reflect that. Checkerboard doesn’t need to be precise as they would’ve been painted by an Ork (or a Gretchin runt in exchange for the Ork currency of choice – teeth). And always remember the Ork golden rule – Nuln Oil is your friend.

The heat of battle

Ghaz isn’t just on imposing model for your collection, he’s an absolute beast on the battlefield too. In the 9th edition rules he was a force to be reckoned with and easily went toe-to-toe with the best of them. He also was a dab hand, or should that be power claw, at taking on vehicles. His main weakness came from being easily overrun by whole squads of enemies, which is definitely not in keeping with his lore or the overall Ork way of loving a good bit of close combat. Yes, sadly if a squad of enemies were able to get past

Ghaz’s barrage of bullets and dodge his power claw they could swamp the big man and bring him down. Luckily, 10th edition recently came out (at the time of writing) and, rather than having Ghaz receive a nerf as many Ork fans thought, he got a buff in the form of a sweep attack. Which allows him to damage and knock down up to twelve enemies in close proximity. Which is the least an Ork who once headbutted a chaos portal until it closed should get!

Conclusion

In case I haven’t made it clear enough – Ghazghkull Thraka (or Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka to use his full name) is an absolute must for any fan of 40K. Whether you paint Orks, battle with them or like to collect amazing miniatures to put on display. Ghaz ticks every box and far exceeds any and all expectations. From the incredible detail on the model to how he performs on the battlefield, Ghazghkull is a standout in every department and truly the prophet of Gork & Mork. For the WAAAGH!

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