"We iz strong an’ tough. Da strong onez win, an’ then eat the weak. Some of dem Gobboes is awright to keep for slaves or ter catch Humie cannonballs in the heads, but most is best fer the pot. One day we eats all of youse. One day soon"
- —Galnash, Orc Boss.[2a]
A hulking brutish Warboss of magnificent size.
An Orc Warboss is the biggest, meanest, and strongest Orcish warrior within a tribe, being both a supreme iron-fisted tyrant and a hulking behemoth that is considered by himself to be the greatest Greenskin warrior around.
Overview
"Pure muscle and rage, Warbosses devastate enemies with their brutal melee attacks."
- —The Orc Warbosses.[3]
Orcs are led by the biggest and brawniest of their kind. These hulking individuals have pummelled their way to the top in a culture where only the strongest survive. Equipped with powerful weapons and armour, they are near unstoppable upon the battlefield.[1a][3]
Since Orc culture is based on the idea that it is the right and indeed duty of the strong to oppressively rule the weak, larger, stronger Orcs such as the Warboss himself are accorded higher status within society. In more practical words: Orc Warbosses literally live to fight. The sophistication of their tactics varies enormously according to who is in command of them and how effectively a given Boss is able to communicate with his troops. Orcs become Bosses through being bigger and tougher than other Orcs, not necessarily through being more intelligent, and many an Orc Warlord or Boss simply sends his troops at the enemy with little thought for tactics, trusting to their innate strength and ferocity to win the day.[2a]
That being said, those Orc Bosses who are either naturally smarter than the rest, or who simply have the kind of low cunning that can observe another race’s tactics and borrow from them, will often be the Orc Bosses whose tribes survive and prosper. So, it is certainly possible to see quite sophisticated Orc tactics at work, with Bosses using the various forces they have available as optimally as possible. Yet due to infighting, no plan ever survives contact with the enemy, and for an Orc Boss few plans survive contact with his own troops either. Yet it has been proven many times that it isn't the tactics that prove the decisive victory for a Greenskin army, but rather the brutality and intimidating sight of their leader on the field of battle.[2a]
Notable Orc Warbosses
- Grimgor Ironhide - The greatest Black Orc Warboss to have ever lived.
- Morglum Necksnapper - The infamous Black Orc Warboss of the Necksnapper Tribe.
- Drilla Gitsmash - King of the Dark Lands' Black Orcs.
- Gorfang Rotgut - The hulking Troll-eater and King of Black Crag.
- Gorbad Ironclaw - One of the greatest Orc Warbosses.
- Azhag the Slaughterer - An unnaturally cunning Orc Warboss who wore a sorcerous crown.
- Grokka Goreaxe - The fearsome Savage Orc Warboss of the Drakwald Forest.
