An 'Ardboy (pl. 'Ardboyz or 'Ard Boyz) is an elite specialist Ork Boy who is better armoured and more skilled in combat due to his long experience compared to a standard Greenskin. These Ork warriors have survived many battles and equip themselves with a Karapace, the Ork version of Carapace Armour. These well-protected warriors often form the centre of an Ork army, boldly striding forward through hails of enemy fire to come to grips with the foe in close combat.
Role[]
The life of an Ork is one of constant combat. Fortunately for all of the other sentient species of the Milky Way Galaxy, Orks most often fight amongst themselves. Battle between Orks always devolves into brutal bouts of close quarter fighting. This has always been and will always be the Ork way; for Greenskins, the most enjoyable fighting is close and personal and involves chopping the foe to bits. When an Ork faces most of the other intelligent races of the galaxy in combat for the first time, he will be surprised that his opponents will do everything possible to avoid combat at close quarters, and remain at a safe distance shooting at him with their ranged weapons. This "un-Orky" behaviour will infuriate the Ork, and he will search for a way to come to grips with his opponents. This leads to the appearance of many "specialised" warbands of Orks, each with their own inventive solution to the problem of getting into close combat range with their opponents; be it through the use of a fast transport vehicle, warbikes, Deffkoptaz, being "kunning as Mork" and infiltrating the enemy's positions or the use of crude Jump Packs.
'Ardboyz take the most straightforward approach to the problem, deciding that if the enemy fires at them from range, they must simply be able to withstand it. They will thus bully, barter or scavenge for plates of metal and ceramite, and have these bolted directly to their bodies by one of the Painboyz. Combined to an Ork's natural tolerance for pain and wounds, this crude form of armour is surprisingly effective against small arms fire, such as the Lasguns of the Imperial Guard.
On the battlefield, 'Ardboyz will congregate together in warbands, and simply charge forwards, trusting in their heavy armour to keep them alive long enough to reach their targets and chop the enemy to bits. Other Orks quickly see the merit of their heavily armoured comrades, and often the 'Ardboyz will spearhead the assault with the other warbands of Greenskins close behind, both providing support and using the 'Ardboyz as living shields.
Wargear[]
A typical warband of 'Ardboyz is composed of between half a dozen and a score of Orks, more often than not lead by an 'Ardboy Nob. All of them are equipped with their Karapace, and each 'Ardboy wields either a Shoota or a combination of Slugga and Choppa. 'Ardboyz are often equipped with Stikkbombz and a couple of them will wield either a Big Shoota, Rokkit Launcher or Burna to add more punch to their warband's firepower. The 'Ardboy Nob will have his own personal wargear, often a large Power Klaw that can rip through anything that tries to resist his Boyz.
Sources[]
- Codex: Orks (3rd Edition) pp. 10; 33-37