Weather it be in the Dawn of War video games, conversions on the table top or just the lore GW has put out there in one form or another, I feel that Orks have lost any hope of being a serious enemy.

Don't get me wrong here, I love Orks and I might even pick them up for 8th Edition as my main army, but I am concerned about their lore. When did a savage, barbaric, mongol horde of spore-born space-orcs who are many times stronger than humans, many times more numerous, incredibly resilient to all but the most severe injuries and perhaps the most warlike race in the galaxy (besides warp-spawn) turn into... well, a joke?

They went from being a serious grimdark sci-fi force of billions of murderous roaring monsters raiding around the galaxy, slaughtering men and aliens alike with crude but effective technology to soccer hooligans with severe speech impediments and an overwhelming presence of goofiness. And worst of all, seen as "tools" to slow the enemies of the Eldar and Imperium alike.

When did it go wrong? Is Dawn of War to blame or did GW orchestrate this for the kiddos? I'd like to think that Orks are a truly MAJOR faction in the 40K galaxy, not just another xenos race relegated to mediocre "existence" like Eldar, Dark Eldar and Tyranids. These guys were the original Tyranids, the original horde army to oppose the Imperial Guard regiments. They spread like a plague, conquered, enslaved and murdered entire worlds, and they didn't need mutations and warpspawn to do it.

While I realize that I can see them how I want in my own mind, it won't change the fact that in the lore which we base our imaginations on, has been changed to make them more accessible or something to new and younger players. Back when "WAAAGH!!!" meant that your world was about to be overrun by millions of barbarian hordes intent on pillage, enslavement and murder. Now it means "Oh boy! Here comes the comical cannon fodder to shoot at! Ready for target practice men!"

... ugh...