Some Warboss reveals get a polite nod. This one deserves a full-throated, teef-rattling WAAAGH! from across the shop floor. Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub – the flashiest, snazziest, most obscenely over-gunned Bad Moon in the galaxy – is back, and he has not come quietly. He’s brought a brand-new miniature, a slot in the upcoming Codex: Orks, and, just to be thoroughly greedy about it, a starring role in Total War: Warhammer 40,000. Second best Warboss in the universe? He’d probably shoot you for saying it out loud – but only after Ghazghkull left the room.
Who on Mork’s green earth is Nazdreg?
If you started the hobby this side of the millennium, you’d be forgiven for asking. Nazdreg hasn’t had a model since the 2nd edition days, which in Ork years is roughly a geological age. But while the miniature gathered dust, the legend didn’t. Nazdreg is a Bad Moons Warboss – the clan with the most teef, and therefore the most guns, because in Ork economics those are the same thing – and he’s spent decades of lore being an absolute menace.
He’s repeatedly thrown his lot in with Ghazghkull Thraka, first at the fighting on Piscina IV and later amid the meat-grinder of Armageddon. He’s tangled with more Imperial forces than anyone can be bothered to count, and – in a personal highlight – once got into a proper shootout with the Farsight Enclaves. The T’au like to think they invented dakka. Nazdreg was happy to correct them.
A glow-up worthy of a Bad Moon
“Glow-up” is a phrase that gets flung about far too freely these days, but for once it fits. The new sculpt takes that beloved old 2nd edition model and updates every single element, while keeping just enough nostalgic flourishes to make a gnarly old runtherd go misty-eyed. Look closely and the nods to the original are all there – the kneepads, the gutplate, the banner. It’s the same git, just enormously, gloriously bigger.
The dakka is where he really shows off. His right mega-armoured arm now sports the Kustom Blasta X, the current pride of his personal collection of high-dakka, super-killy kannons. The banner on his back flies the Bad Moon proudly, festooned with glyphs of conquest and kunnin’ – because if you’re going to be the second best Warboss in the galaxy, you may as well advertise it in three-foot lettering.
On the tabletop: shooty, choppy, and thoroughly unfair
Here’s the part that’ll have Ork players cackling and everyone else quietly checking their army lists. Nazdreg is a powerhouse in shooting and combat, with a toolbox of tricks that punches well above the usual green weight.
- Kustom Blasta X: three separate shooting profiles – and unlike most combi-weapons, he fires all three at once. Incredibly for an Ork, he hits on a 4+. And yes, he can shoot it in melee.
- Moonchewa: his claw of choice, with Cleave and Damage 3 – ideal for carving through elite infantry. Chaos Chosen and Custodes, consider this your notice.
- Battlefield toolkit: lets his unit Deep Strike, makes nearby units auto-pass Battle-shock, has a reactive move, ignores cover, and can rile a unit up so it acts as though the Waaagh! has been called that turn.
Put plainly: he’s brilliant. If you’re building a green tide ready for the new codex, he’s exactly the kind of centrepiece that earns his points and then some. Getting an army together? Our Warhammer 40,000 range and Ork miniatures are the place to start, and a fresh warboss always deserves a fresh set of Citadel paints to get that Bad Moons yellow properly obnoxious.
And now he’s in the video game too
As if a new model and a codex slot weren’t enough, Nazdreg is muscling into your PC as well. Games Workshop has confirmed he’ll be one of the key characters you can fight with – and against – in the hugely anticipated Total War: Warhammer 40,000. He features heavily in the early in-game narrative, tied into those pivotal battles raging around Armageddon (a planet Nazdreg clearly considers his second home).
Word from the studio is he’s in his element – which, for Nazdreg, means happily pulling apart some luckless ’umies. You can add Total War: Warhammer 40,000 to your Steam wishlist now if you fancy commanding him yourself.
When can I get him?
The Nazdreg miniature launches alongside Codex: Orks in a few weeks’ time – so now is the moment to sort your paints, clear a spot on the painting desk, and start practising your Waaagh!. If you’d rather have a natter about Ork lists, the new codex, or which yellow is the correct yellow, the kettle’s on – come and visit us in store.
Final thought: Nazdreg has spent a quarter of a century being talked about but never seen. Now he’s back with more guns, a bigger banner and a swagger to match – the second best Warboss in the galaxy, and unquestionably the best-dressed. Get your teef ready.
Further reading: chasing the new codex? Read our guide to building and painting your first Warhammer 40k army, and get the full lowdown on the greenskins in our Orks army analysis.
