[Army Lists] From Incursion to Strike Force and Beyond...
I haven't posted much about army lists so far. Partly that's because I think there's more to the game than just "bring good stuff" - I try to focus on the things that work or don't work in deployment, movement and objective play rather than build optimisation.
Mostly, though, it's because I don't always have a great deal of choice. To an extent I treat the "old" and "new" halves of my Chaos collection as two separate 1000 point armies with a few extra bits, and both were built around eBay rescues and trades rather than going out and picking units that would be good together.
Put those two factors together and the general composition of my army - two out of three from Lord, Sorcerer and Exalted Champion, then Chosen, then two Cultist units, either five or ten Legionaries, two or occasionally three Raptor squads, and the Helbrute: there's some variance there but by and large I'm rolling with monopose models and the gear that's visibly on them. My Raptors were expanded with a boxed set but the focus there was on making legal units, not necessarily good ones, although I stand by the triple-plasma-pistol combination as Not Bad, Actually.
The only unit I bought from new and had the opportunity to equip were the Legionaries, and I still regret not buying the Kill Team box instead and giving them all bolters, but... it was ninth edition, and Daemon Shells had a powerful grip on my psyche, and they're not horrendous, they just... don't get out there and do much.
However, with the army now pretty stable, I'm starting to think about... bigger games. Not because they're the tournament standard, hell no: at the start of this year I'd booked for the Warhammer Fest casual tournament, the little one-day three-round job on the Sunday, but it became clear I was never going to get 1000 point games of ninth edition done in two hours. (I might do it next year, since tenth has a lot less cruft for me to manage... but I digress.) Just because there are still things I'd like to own.
More Legionaries, for one thing: a Kill Team box, and if I can get hold of them, the Shadowspear/Start Collecting ones. I did actually have a squad of these a while ago and sold them because I hadn't done anything with them. Rookie mistake: now they're out of production and are going to fa lot more. I just like regular guys, and I don't particularly like tanks.
It's not all quixotic picks, though. I am after another five Chosen, so I can split the Dark Vengeance lads up into a "shooty" and "choppy" minimum size squad, or bundle them all together to make a lil' death star, just a small one, maybe more of a super star destroyer. I'd like a Forgefiend, having always liked the model and hearing that they're quite good nowadays.
However, the main thing I want is Knights.
I don't talk about it much, but Chaos Knights were actually what beckoned me back to playing contemporary 40K. Last summer, I was bored and curious and someone linked me to a Goonhammer article and it was all around the time of the Chaos Knights release, and I thought: hey, these look fun, and they do a Morale Bit like the Night Lords do, and if I only have ten or so models on the board I'll probably play a lot better...
(This is something I learned about myself a decade ago when I was playing competitive Warmachine on the reg: the more individual models I have to work with, the more blundering a fool I become. I could win battlebox leagues and Tooth and Claw events no problem, and put up a decent showing in Hardcore, but give me the infantry-heavy style of play favoured by Steamroller scenarios and I came to bits every time.)
The logic goes that sinking somewhere from 450 to 500 points of a 2000 point Strike Force into three big, simple models with the same profile will take a lot of cognitive load out for me. If I similarly embiggen my Chosen unit that's close to another 200. And at that point I don't need much more stuff... say breaking my Plaguebearers out of the sin bin since tenth edition makes allies so much easier to wrangle, and that Forgefiend I had my eye on... and I have a lead on a copy of Eldritch Omens...
Essentially, I might have my first 2000 point list kicking around. It looks a little bit like this:
Skallagrim's Lifestealing Crusade (1995 points)
Chaos Space Marines
Strike Force (2000 points)
Slaves to Darkness
CHARACTER
Chaos Lord (95 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Khorne
• Warlord
• 1x Daemon hammer
1x Plasma pistol
• Enhancement: Talisman of Burning Blood
Sorcerer (90 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Force weapon
1x Infernal Gaze
• Enhancement: Eye of Tzeentch
Warpsmith (95 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Exalted weapon
1x Flamer tendril
1x Melta tendril
1x Plasma pistol
• Enhancement: Orbs of Unlife
BATTLELINE
Cultist Mob (55 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Khorne
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Autopistol
1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 8x Autopistol
8x Brutal assault weapon
1x Close combat weapon
1x Flamer
Cultist Mob (55 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist firearm
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 8x Close combat weapon
1x Close combat weapon
8x Cultist firearm
1x Heavy stubber
Legionaries (180 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
• 1x Aspiring Champion
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Boltgun
1x Chaos Icon
1x Close combat weapon
• 9x Legionary
• 9x Bolt pistol
7x Boltgun
9x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy bolter
1x Missile launcher
OTHER DATASHEETS
Chosen (220 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Khorne
• 1x Chosen Champion
• 1x Accursed weapon
1x Bolt pistol
1x Boltgun
1x Chaos Icon
• 9x Chosen
• 5x Accursed weapon
5x Bolt pistol
3x Boltgun
4x Combi-weapon
2x Paired accursed weapons
4x Plasma pistol
2x Power fist
Forgefiend (180 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Armoured limbs
1x Ectoplasma cannon
2x Ectoplasma cannon
Helbrute (140 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy flamer
1x Helbrute fist
1x Multi-melta
Raptors (90 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Khorne
• 1x Raptor Champion
• 1x Astartes chainsword
1x Plasma pistol
• 4x Raptor
• 4x Astartes chainsword
2x Bolt pistol
2x Plasma pistol
Raptors (90 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Khorne
• 1x Raptor Champion
• 1x Astartes chainsword
1x Plasma pistol
• 4x Raptor
• 4x Astartes chainsword
2x Bolt pistol
2x Plasma pistol
Warp Talons (100 points)
• Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh
• 1x Warp Talon Champion
• 1x Warp claws
• 4x Warp Talon
• 4x Warp claws
ALLIED UNITS
Plaguebearers (125 points)
• 1x Plagueridden
• 1x Plaguesword
• 9x Plaguebearer
• 9x Plaguesword
War Dog Brigand (160 points)
• 1x Armoured feet
1x Avenger chaincannon
1x Daemonbreath spear
1x Havoc multi-launcher
War Dog Brigand (160 points)
• 1x Armoured feet
1x Avenger chaincannon
1x Daemonbreath spear
1x Havoc multi-launcher
War Dog Brigand (160 points)
• 1x Armoured feet
1x Avenger chaincannon
1x Daemonbreath spear
1x Havoc multi-launcher
My recent experiences with 2004hammer suggest I might have the opposite problem - my foolish blunders seem to noticeably increase the FEWER individual models I have to work with, and I seem to be a lot more competent in larger scale engagements, especially if past experience with Warhammer and Battlefleet Gothic is anything to go by (assuming that a Battlefleet Gothic spaceship is equivalent to around 5-12 individual Warhammer models, which they usually are in terms of game scope, a cruiser having roughly the same presence and mental workload as a tooled up 40k squad).
ReplyDeleteThis is of course complicated by my general displeasure when playing horde armies. There seems to be a sweet spot where I have enough models to avoid the blundering fool effect, but those models are still capable enough of providing me with the interesting options and lack of fishing for 5s and 6s that I so crave.
But I digress. The immediate thing I notice about that list is that it still has 5 points spare that are currently doing nothing. I ran the math, and unless points costs are wildly different in 10th that 5 points should be enough for a solid feed of Kebabs or Fish And Chips for the army (though to feed 71 on just 5 points you'll likely have to drop any extras like crabsticks or squid rings), depending on what the local combo options on offer are.
With a bit of stretching it might even be able to just squeeze in a bare-bones feast at a small-scale curry house post-battle, or a round of Full Breakfasts pre-battle. If there's a local market on the weekends it might also be possible to spend the last 5 points on a stall there to try and scrape up a few extra on the side, but you'll probably have to secure the means to produce marketable products there first. I'm also assuming that 10th edition still has the option of investing in market and expo stalls like the 40k rules I'm more familiar with.
Regardless of exactly which option, spending the last 5 points on some extra comforts for the warriors is also likely to smooth over the political tensions that come from Slaaneshi units serving under a Khornate warlord, for even the most fanatically devoted cult follower would not make an attempt on the leadership so long as the crispy fried treats keep flowing.
That's my immediate take on possible ways to improve the list at least, just going by the local British Isles meta. There's also probably some logistical options to work out too, especially for supplying three Knights at once, but that's probably a bridge to cross later.
You're not wrong, those Knight pilots need their pep pills and fried breakfasts if they're to keep up performance. I might conceivably drop the third Brigand in favour of something a little less logistically demanding, and free up points... in fact, if I lost the Orbs of Unlife too, I could fit a second Foragefiend in there, improving self-sufficiency and synergy across the board. At the moment, though, the culinary budget is more likely to go on three set meals, a hot platter combo and a large helping off egg foo yung: that'll last the lads until the next Crusade engagement comes along.
DeleteYour observations on the complexity of cruiser management make sense: regular firepower, special weapons, perhaps something fancy like a nova cannon or launch bay to consider. I suppose with me it's less "models" and more "actors" that are the issue - with the caveat that 40K in many incarnations is weird about whether an individual model or a collective squad is an actor. The current iteration's "draw lines of sight for cover modifiers by individual model" approach doesn't really spark joy in that regard, which is another reason I'm favouring the smaller Incursion size game for infantry-heavy armies...
The complication I can see with swapping a Knight out with another Forgefiend is balancing the logistical opportunities with the political challenges. Keeping two daemon engines places a lot of power in the hands of the Warpsmith, and might provide him with the solid power base he needs to ferment a takeover. Three individual Knight pilots with their corresponding egos are easier to play off against one another than a pair of heavily armed monstrosities slaved to the will of one machinist. The Khornate element might be able to act as a deterrent, but they may not be enough in the event that it comes to blows, especially if the Slaaneshi followers throw their weight in with the Warpsmith.
DeleteOn the other hand, a daemon engine does not require nearly as much conventional upkeep as a manned War Machine. I suppose you could split the difference and simply have one or more of the Knights possessed with daemons bound to your will, but that will need to be carried out in secret without the Warpsmith's knowledge and there'll be hell to pay if word gets out.