Da Metulheadz

Blue Deathskulls icons, usually made of polished metal.

An Ork of Da Metalheadz Ork Warband.

### **Size**

Exact number unknown, estimated between 8-10,000 Orks and Gretchin, unknown number of Battlewagons, walkers and Squigs

### **Specialty**

Mechanized and armored warfare, looting and salvage

### **War Cry**

"Da more we skrap, da more skrap we get!"

### **Leader**

Deezul'ead

**Da Metulheadz** are an Ork Warband that are an offshoot of the Deathskulls. Ordos Xenos Inquisitors following their activities believe the warband operates as an offshoot of WAAGH! Ghazghkull from their operations taking them to similar areas from Armageddon to the Octarius Sector. They appear to be more organized than average Deathskull warbands, being more tactically minded to the point other Orks believed them to be Blood Axes who didn't know they were wearing the wrong colors.

## History

First mention of this warband came in the late 41st Millenium from an Imperium scout force's report of a Deathskulls salvage fleet operating near False Hope in the galactic south. They were not engaged as the Imperium scouts were waiting on a fleet large enough to attack them, but surprisingly, the Orks fled the system before the Human's reinforcements arrived.

This warband reappeared in the Armageddon subsector looting scrap from the Second War of Armageddon, and stayed in the sector. It is believed they mostly kept to themselves, only engaging with any Rouge Traders or Freebootaz that came into their territory. They didn't seem to dare take any offensive movements as at the time, Imperium fortress worlds were reinforcing themselves following the Second War for Armageddon. Leading into the Third War for Armageddon, a Goff Nob was sent to this warband and given an ultimatum: fall in with WAAAGh! Ghazghkull and engage da hoomiez, or stand by as the greenskin tide washes over and crushes them. The warboss of this tribe at the time, Skrapjaw, initially declined before a Big Mek going by Deezul'ead shouted up, calling the Ork out for his cowardice and challenging him to single combat for the title of new Warboss. The battle was bloody and short, and almost looked over when Deezul'ead's eyes were slashed out by a slash from Skrapjaw's blade, but the Mek was able to charge the boss and bash his brains across the floor, taking command of the warband and agreeing to join the Goff's WAAAGH!, all while still gushing blood from his eyes.

Deezul'ead recovered as Mad Doks surgically restored his sight with a bionic construct, being placed into a larger mek suit with sharper claws and a large kombi-shoota befitting of an Ork Warboss. Deezul'ead instructed his boys to use as much salvage as they could give to outfit an army worthy of this WAAAGH!. While never connecting with Ghazghkull directly, Da Metulheadz, as Deezul'ead began calling them, rallied a substantial armored force of Deff Dreads and Killa Kans, their centerpiece being a Gorkanaut dubbed "Da Ledblasta". As they campaigned in the northern hemisphere of Armageddon against the Hive Cities garrisons of Imperial Guardsmen and Space Marines, they were noted for their quick salvaging skills to manufacture entire battlewagons in the salvage gathered from the active battlefield. By the time the Third War for Armageddon came to its end by attrition, Deezul'ead's armored detatchment boasted over 20 Battlewagons and dozens of Dreads and Kans. One wagon they built from a looted Predator was converted into a mobile concert stage for a group of Meks that had formed a literal "war band" calling themselved 'Eadbangas.

As Ghazghkull was pulled away from Armageddon by his visions, Deezul'ead, reveling in the mountains of scrap he and his band could gather, was eager to follow the great Warboss on his next campaign, siezing a Kill Kroozer for his boys to follow along. However, they were separated from the Ork flotilla when an Imperium fleet gave chase into the Haunted Gulf, and a volley of cannonfire somehow activated the warp drives, leading the Kroozer to make a random warp jump away from the fleet and into the unknown.

Da Metulheadz were thought lost until they reappeared in the fringes of the Octarius Sector weeks later. They were found on a jungle moon of a gas giant, subjugating a group of Snakebites on the moon they came across while searching for resources to get their Kroozer spaceworthy again. This Snakebite tribe was lead by a Nob named Gruzgod Throtslasha, who submitted to the Deathskull. Promising his forces and their Squig armor, Deezul'ead's host grew to twice its size just in time for a Tau expeditionary force to arrive on the moon. After they were dispatched, the Orks harvested the remains of their forces to get them back into space. Since then as the 42nd Millenium dawned, Da Metulheadz have been pillaging a number of systems in the Octarius sector and slightly outside of it that have put them against Imperium forces, forces of Chaos, and the Hive fleets of the Tyranids, and pulling vast amounts of scrap to build bigger war machines to take all three on.

## Notable Campaigns

**Third War for Armageddon [998.M41]:** Da Metulheadz joined Ghazghkull in the Third War for Armageddon immediately following Deezul'ead's ascension to Warboss. They served as mechanized troops and combat engineers for the main forces of Orks and their Gargants. They fought on a number of fronts and against a variety of Space Marine chapters during the war, from defending the Gargant repair yard at Mannheim Gap from the Celestial Lions' initial assault to fighting against the Salamanders along the Hemlock River. They stayed with the campaign until the departure of Ghazghkull from Armageddon's surface where they attempted to follow him along his WAAAGH! to the next battlefield.

**Various minor engagements across the Octarius Sector [Unknown Dates M42]:** Following his unintended break from WAAAGH! Ghazghkull, Deezul'ead and his mob have planet-hopped between various systems, waging short campaigns and raids on a variety of worlds too various to count accurately. They have seen combat on deserted wastelands, icy glaciers, thick jungles, and planets that house some of the biggest metropolises in the sector. They've fought everything including Imperial Guardsmen and Space Marines, the craftworld fleets of the Aeldari, expeditonary forces of the Tau Empire, swarms of Tyranids, and the demonic forces of Chaos. Despite the number of systems they've traveled to, they have yet to rejoin WAAAGH! Ghazghkull and revel in the greatest battles they've ever fought. Also, despite picking up a multitude of new Boys to add to his crew, Da Metulheadz numbers are not yet enough to be considered a new WAAAGH!, and Deezul'ead still considers his victories those for the Great WAAAGH! .

## Combat Doctrine

Da Metul'eadz operate as an offshoot of the main Deathskulls clan, and as such, have a multitude of similar beliefs and kultur as their mainstream counterparts. Metulheadz Boys will more often than not still wear blue facepaint and trinkets that they believe bring them luck. They use a variety of weapons from the common Choppas and Shootas to looted Bolters, Lazguns, Pulse Rifles or whatever else they can scavenge. They'll use shreds of metal or ripped rubber from their tires as armor and padding, sometimes ripping it from enemy vehicles to apply to their own equipment in the middle of battle.

What differentiates them from normal Deathskulls is their use of "taktiks" which they've applied to their style of fighting since the Third War for Armageddon. Like Blood Axes, Metulheadz actually plan out their attack or defense strategies, making them more prepared and more dangerous. Because of this, many Orks have believed them to be Blood Axes that don't realize they're wearing the wrong colors, and only add to their confusion when they start looting and stealing from them whether at camp or on the battlegrounds.

Metulheadz, being mostly made up of Meks, use "Mekanized Waaaaghfare" as Deezul'ead puts it. Their Boys usually ride into battle on vehicles, then fight on foot with heavy support from Battlewagons and Dread Mobs, later adding Squig riders into their mix when a band of Snakebites Beast Snaggas came into their warband. These ground troops are split into "skwadz" of around ten Boys, at least one member of each skwad toting a heavy weapon such as Big Shootas or Rokkit Launchas. Each skwad is put under the command of a "Skwad Leeduh", who acts as a sort of lesser Nob that keeps the Boyz in line, but won't cause morale to suffer if one falls as a Nob killed in battle would. Two skwads are under the control of an actual Nob in the position of a junior officer. Mixed in with all of this are your common specialized Orks such as Lootas, Pain Boys, Runtherdz, Tankbustas, Stormboys, Burnas, and Weird Boys that all serve their basic purposes. Above all is the Warboss and his inner circle. This is made up of the leader of the warband and his retinue of Meganobz and other highly important greenskins that hold high levels of authority in the warband.

## Notable Members

"*You fink I'm gonna take da word of a zoggin Goff takin' ordahs from some git with a metal kup for a 'ead? Yooz gotta be more nuts dan a Weird Boy! Now, git outta 'ere before I give you a good krumpin!*"
— Skrapjaw to one of Ghazghkull's Nobs
**Skrapjaw**: The first known Warboss of this warband was known as Skrapjaw. For a Deathskull, he was more focused on salvage operations and wasn't as interested in warring with other powers in the galaxy as many of his greenskin brothers were. While he was open to trade, Skrapjaw is said to have his own stash of more substantial salvage treasures. Some Orks that have laid eyes on it say he's collected everything from a World Eater's helmet (complete with the Butcher's Nails ripped out of the helmet's owner's skull) to the Omnisian Axe of an Adeptus Mechanicus Magos. Whether or not he obtained these through battle, salvage, or trade has always changed from every time Skrapjaw told the story. He was so protective of this treasure trove of his, he'd order retreats the second he sensed a non-Ork presence nearby, no matter how small the force was.

His lies, cowardice, and self-centered personality soon got the better of him leading into the Third War for Armageddon. Skrapjaw had gotten a bold streak after salvaging a damaged Battle Barge and turning it into the warband's new base of operations, his boys killing any remaining survivors on board while he was rearranging his treasures in the captain's quarters. His activity so near to what would soon be a battleground reborn caught the eye of the Goff Warlord, Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, who ordered one of his Nobs to intercept the scrappers and demand they fell in with the forming WAAAGH! . When the Goff emissary arrived, Skrapjaw originally wanted to kill the force for muscling in on his territory. He even laughed and told them to shove off before one of his Big Mek's spoke up. The one known as Deezul'ead had finally reached a boiling point with Skrapjaw's cowardice and lack of ambition, and challenged the Boss to single combat for the title of Warboss. Skrapjaw, somewhat nervous but wanting to save face in front of a Goff, accepted, taking out a Big Choppa and taking position across from Deezul'ead.

Although Skrapjaw was known to be more of a salvage hoarder than a fighter, he was still a large Ork and a tough one to boot. Deezul'ead, even in Mega Armor, still stood a head shorter than him. Despite this, the battle was fairly even, the tide only turning as Skrapjaw took a good punch to the head and getting knocked to the ground. While Deezul'ead gloated over him, Skrapjaw, pulled a Catachan knife from his boot and slashed across Deezul'ead's eyes, blinding him. The battle looked like it was going to end in Skrapjaw's victory as he started cutting into the armor of his opponent until a lucky, flailing grab from the Mek caught his blade, then crushed the hand holding it in a vice grip. As Skrapjaw tried to break free of his grip, Deezul'ead swung his free hand around, smashing into the side of Skrapjaw's face and knocking the iron gob off his jaw. The Mek continued to pummel the warboss, each blow spattering more blood, brain matter, and skull fragments across the floor. The Mek didn't stop until one of his fellow Nobs pulled him off Skrapjaw's body, telling him that he won and putting an end to Skrapjaw's reign as Warboss.

"*You know wot? Dat's a catchy name! We'z ain't just called Dethskullz no more. Now, we'z Da Metulheadz!!*"
— Warboss Deezul'ead
**Deezul'ead:** The current Warboss of Da Metulheadz, Deezul'ead started out as a simple Mek under Skrapjaw's roving salvage operation. Every day, he'd go out to whatever battlefield remnants or junk planet the warband had stopped at and getting whatever loot he could get his hands on. As they traveled between salvage spots, he would spent time putting the scrap he gathered to better use with his fellow Meks, using it to build equipment and patch up their space-faring craft as they traveled along. Eventually, he had enough time and salvage to build his own set of Mega Armor, equipped with vice grip hands and a helmet made from the motor of a Trukk. This earned him his moniker of Deezul'ead and the top spot as Skrapjaw's top Mek for his engineering skills. Deezul'ead was the greatest designer of war machines in their war band, favoring building walkers such as Deff Dreads and Killa Kans. What he didn't favor was how Skrapjaw preferred selling his creations rather use them for their own fights. He, like many Orks, were itching for a fight while their so-called Warboss wasn't as interested.

They finally got their chance when a Goff Nob came to their new base of operations aboard a looted Battle Barge demanding them to fall in with a growing WAAAGH!. When Skrapjaw declined, Deezul'ead had enough, and demanded the Warboss fight him in single combat for the title of leader. Their fight was evenly matched until Deezul'ead landed a hit on Skrapjaw, knocking him down. While he stood over Skrapjaw to gloat, Deezul'ead was suddenly blinded as the Boss used a knife to slash out his eyes. Unable to see, Deezul'ead seemed helpless as Skrapjaw lept onto him and drove the knife into multiple weak points in his armor until the flailing of the Mek landed one of his vice grips onto the knife. He squeezed, crushing the blade and Skrapjaw's hand holding it. With his free arm, Deezul'ead used it to pummel his Boss, landing multiple blows on his head. Unbeknowst to him, Skrapjaw had been killed by the sixth blow when his head was caved in by the heavy blows of his armored hand, but Deezul'ead, blinded, couldn't tell until one of Skrapjaw's Nobs pulled him off and informed him he won. Reveling in his victory immediately, Deezul'ead walked up to the Goff Nob, promising his boyz would join their WAAAGH! .

Before mobilizing his forces, Deezul'ead had his Pain Boys restore his sight, fitting a bionik construction on his head made of metal bits and a viewfinder from a looted tank. Liking the term "metal head", the new warboss renamed his band, Da Metulheadz, and ordered his boys to prepare to join the oncoming WAAAGH! En route to Armageddon to join Ghazghkull's forces, Deezul'ead ordered his Meks to begin crafting as many weapons and vehicles as they can. By the time they joined the main Ork fleet, they boasted multiple detatchments of Dreads, Kans and a various amount of trukks and tanks. The crown jewel of their work was a Gorkanaut crafted from the remnants of Imperium gunships and tanks left in their looted Battle Barge which Deezul'ead christened "Da Ledblasta". As the Third War for Armageddon began, Deezul'ead landed his forces in dropships, joining to enforce a Rok that had landed off course and landed in the northern hemisphere of the planet when it was intended to fall upon the Hive city of Helsreach. Instead, they landed near an Imperial military installation and began their war there. With the Goff forces aboard the Rok that landed with them, the base was taken easily, and Deezul'ead had his Meks begin building battlewagons and transports to carry his slower walkers towards a greater fight that would turn out to be Mannheim Gap. This put him temporarily in charge of the Ork encampment as they set up a staging area to build and repair Gargants, a position he reveled in as he managed the repair and rearmament of these massive war machines while also getting into good scraps with both Imperial guardsmen regiments and various Space Marine chapters.

The fighting took Deezul'ead and his Metulheadz from this canyon to various battlefields across the planet as his warband were essentially tasked as combat engineers for their know-how to scavenge, repair, and build walkers, and with much of the Hive Cities being sieged by massive Gargants, Deezul'ead's band proved invaluable. Deezul'ead also keenly observed how the Humans marshalled their troops, noting how they could hold out in formations while his boys were gunned down as they charged in blindly. As the campaign continued, he promoted a number of Boys to new postions he called "Skwad Leeduhs", giving them the command over a multitude of Boys and enforcing them the know-how to use basic "taktiks" such as "Take covah when da hoomiez point dere dakkas at you" or "shoot while steppin bakwurdz when youz da only boy and need to group back up with da other boys". These taktiks worked, giving Skwad Leeduhs a sense of importance, but still keeping them in line under Nobs. This strategem lead Deezul'ead's band to not only gain favor with the Goffs for being great mechanics, but for krumpin hoomiez just as good as them.

Deezul'ead continued using this strategy as his band left Armageddon. Like many orks, Deezul'ead and his band left the planet to continue the WAAAGH! elsewhere as Ghazghkull's visions took him off planet. While Deezul'ead still hadn't met directly with the greater Warboss, he liked the fights this greenskin led them into, and returned to his starship with his growing force to follow them onto the next battlefield. Unfortunately, so did the humans, and with a massive fleet with hundreds of warships. The Deathskulls fought admirably, but a shot from an Imperium ship somehow triggered their warp drive, sending Deezul'ead and his host flying into the warp with no telling where they ended up.

While many greenskins who survived the battle witnessed Deezul'ead's ship disappear assumed him and his warband dead, their trip was in actuality somewhat short. Luckily, their Gellar fields, that were somehow still active from the hulk's previous life as an Imperial vessel, held just enough for their warship to escape the warp and crash into a jungle moon in a small system at the edges of the Octarius Sector. After taking stock of their damage and survivors, Deezul'ead began having his boys see if there was anything they could scavenge to repair the ship so they could get back to that WAAAGH! again. Instead, the boys found two things: A Tau encampment set up by an expedtionary force, and a band of Snakebites that were on the verge of being beaten back by the blueskins. When word reached Deezul'ead of this discovery, he found the Snakebite camp and suggested they join forces to decimate the Tau together. Initially, the old Snakebite boss disagreed, an elder Ork who disliked the Deathskull's rejection of "da old ways", but much like Deezul'ead once had, a Nob spoke up and rallied the rest of the Snakebites to his side before killing the boss before he had a chance to reach for his choppa. This Nob, Gruzgod Throtslasha, agreed to the alliance, and the two joined forces to utterly destroy the Tau force. With the scrap this fight produced, this not only produced enough salvage for Da Metulheadz to repair their ship, but build secondary craft to house their new additions to the growing warband. With his force now doubled in size, Deezul'ead continues to fight minor engagements across the Octarius Sector, looking to rejoin Ghazghkull's forces on their legendary campaign and gathering a hulk-load of scrap and greenskins to add to it.

**Gruzgod Throtslasha:** Gruzgod Throtslasha is a Nob for Da Metulheadz and their liaison between their original group and the Beast Snaggas that came to his host following a fight against the Tau. He started out as a simple Snakebite, working his way through their tribe's ranks through cunning manipulation. This led him to become a Nob, and the right-hand man of their warboss, and older Ork beyond his years that Gruzgod found clinging to "da old ways" too tightly. When a Tau expeditionary force came upon their planet, Gruzgod saw the potential for a great fight against these other worldly beings, but their first few engagements showed how seriously outmatched his tribal Orks with spears and Squig mounts were to a technologically advanced race.

"*Deez Old Ways are good and all, but da way deez 'Metul'eads' krump is way bettah!*"
—Gruzgod Throtslasha
Their tribe seemed doomed until their boys watched a massive ship crash outside of their camp. They were amazed to see a number of Orks, just like them, but sporting blue colors and lots of shiny, metal gubbins that looked like they could go toe to toe with the Tau's weapons. When their Warboss rolled into their camp, demanding their help fighting the Tau so their ship could be repaired, Gruzgod became enraged when his boss refused their help. Done with his Boss' rejection of the way of the future, Gruzgod lived up to his name, and slit the Boss' throat with the sharp ends of his power-klaw. After doing so, he rallied the other Snakebites to Deezul'ead's side, promising their forces to join his warband. Together, the combined Ork force decimated the Tau, and Gruzgod was able to retain his positon under his new boss, fully casting off his Snakebite leathers for lucky blue paint and metal armor.

**Gorsawh:**

"*Look, you gits need to learn how to krump da hoomiz roight, and I gots ta be da one to teech ya!*"
—Gorsawh
Gorsawh is a Metulheadz Nob that's their main tactician and a close consultant with Deezul'ead. He started out his tenure as Gorgrak, a Mek that was close with Deezul'ead, and gained power under his friend after his ascension to Warboss. During the Third War for Armageddon, Gorgrak was on the front lines when his left arm and face were blown off by Space Marines. He survived, and a Mad Dok put him back together with a metal plate for a face and a massive sawblade for a new hand. It's unknown if his brain was altered from the bolter round he took to the face or the Eatin Squig crumbs that fell into his skull while in surgery, but he awoke a more reserved and smarter Ork. While getting used to his new state of being, he and Deezul'ead created the strategy to split their force into "skwadz" as the hoomiez did so they could fight better. He started drilling these new skwad leeduhs in basic formations, trying to get them to understand the basics of "shoot when we tell you to" or "order your boys to attack that bunker". It eventually was tried out on the battlefield, with Gorgrak leading two skwadz of boys into an Imperial outpost. Their taktiks won them the day, and Gorgrak got revenge on the Space Marine that took his face and arm with the saw that earned him his new name: Gorsawh.

**Big Mek Steelchompa:** With Deezul'ead as the new Warboss and Gorsawh becoming one of his Nobs, someork had to fill the role of the chief Mek in their warband. The position wasn't filled immediately as Da Metulheadz were quickly whisked into the Third War for Armageddon, but they quickly found their replacement while in the Gargant repair yards at Mannheim Gap. Steelchompa was a Mek working at the time for another warband absorbed by the Goffs to act as Meks for their massive machines. When most of his fellow Boyz were killed in the first few waves of Space Marines that charged the Gap, Steelchompa had most of his face mangled by a Bolter round. He was dragged back to the camp where Dok Metulstitcha reconstructed his face with steel and shards of Space Marine armor the other Metulheadz scavenged. Whatever the Dok did, it put Steelchompa's creativity into overdrive, as he immediately stood up and got to putting himself together a Mega Dredd with enough dakka to completely decimate a platoon of Space Marines, and he did it all within 20 minutes. Upon witnessing this, Deezul'ead approached him with the offer to become his main Mekboy, to which Steelchompa agreed for the price of his own Meka armor. Deezul'ead agreed, and supplied him with his old set from before his ascention to warboss, and after a few tweaks to it, Steelchompa was a full fledged member of Da Metulheadz.

**Morkgrad and Gorkgrad:** An inseparable pair of musclebound Ork brutes, Morkgrad and Gorkgrad are the largest warriors in Da Metulheadz that aren’t in mega-armor. They joined the warband as a set of Goffs that happened to wander onto the wrong lander and ship when Deezul’ead and his forces began leaving Armageddon to follow Ghazghkull on his journey. They didn’t even seem to notice their mixup as the Deathskulls noticed the two of them were as one put it “a few bullets short of a Shoota”. A lobotomized squig has equal to more cognitive power than the two of them combined. Despite this, they both now serve as bodyguards and enforcers for the Nobs that can count higher than two.

**Dok Metulstitcha:**

"*"Roight, so you're gonna feel a little pinch, den feel loik ya 'ead's gonna 'splode on ya, then....'opefully, fingz'll work out, and dat metul eye starts workin!"*"
—Dok Metulstitcha to one of his patients
One of the oldest Orks in the warband, Metulstitcha is the chief Pain Boy of Da Metulheadz. He was once a Freebootaz, becoming a privateer for them after the Bad Moons put a price on his head for trying to recreate the famous Mad Dok Grotsnik's surgery he performed on Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka on one of their warbosses, only for the ork's head to explode upon awakening. When his Freebootaz were shot down in a space battle by an Imperial Navy cruiser, Metulstitcha was the only survivor as most of his crewmates died in the fighting or the crash. He spent years camping out in the wreckage on a wasteland of a moon until Skrapjaw found the Pain Boy half alive and surrounded by robotic drones he made to protect himself out of scrap and his dead crewmates. Skrapjaw took him in, and put him to work stitching these drones of his into Deff Dreads and Killa Kans, seeing as them having more circuits than brains anymore, it was the best option to put them to use. This continued on after Deezul'ead became the new Warboss, and Metulstitcha was the one to restore the boss' sight through his surgical talents and inspire him to rename the warband "Da Metulheadz". While he mostly excels at creating Cybork constructs and working with Meks to install Orks into Deff Dreads, he has proven himself a capable medic...80% of the time.

**Da 'Eadbangas:** A set of Metulheadz Meks that believe they can make noise that can make their fellow Boys fight harder, these Orks formed a band that go by Da 'Eadbangas. With blasting guitar solos and pounding drums, they ride into battle on a looted Predator they converted into their personal rock stage. To be both flashy and functional, many of their instruments serve a dual purpose as their weapons from stitching guns onto their guitars or using grenades as drumsticks. By the Ork power of belief, their heavy metal music serves as a boost to their fellow Boys aggression and turns any battlefield they roll up to into the greatest moshpit in the universe.

* Rokstompa da Shouta - Vokulz
* Zapmasta - Shokka Guhtar
* Rusklaw - Shoota Guhtar
* Da Bonemelta - Burna Bass
* Burnabeard - Keyflamma
* Ringo da Pounda - Drumz