WarriorFish's Sunder CSM

[WarriorFish]

Hah, yeah it seems that way sometimes - but especially so here! It's my first time batch painting Sons (if you can call six batch painting) so it's still all very new to me, and I made the mistake of underestimating how detailed the work left was. The tiny banding on the arms was hard work and didn't turn out that great

 

That's the extent of my painting time for the moment though, I may get some time over the weekend for the basic gold wash and highlight on the remaining bits but probably not any more. This may be a good thing to give me a little break, and there's still plenty of time left before the deadline so I shouldn't be rushed

[WarriorFish]

Finally finished, ready for their Patrol detachment tomorrow:

Now that they're done we can say goodbye to them here as they graduate to their own topic in the Thousand Sons section Next on my list is the Rhino... probably. I know I've said that before so I don't want to commit fully

[WarriorFish]

Left, only to return again so soon - fresh from the battlefield here is the batrep, I dubbed his list "the Unholy Trinity" as it features for the first time all three of my Chaos armies Also the first games for two of them in case this wasn't enough firsts.

Secure and Control @ 1500pts

Secure objectives (2pts), with a major (4pts) and minor (1pt)

Dawn of War deployment (40k classic)

The Sunder (with Daemonic aid) and Akhenaten's Thrallband

Hidden Content

++ Battalion Detachment (Chaos - FW Heretic Astartes) [175pts] ++

+ Elites +

Hellforged Contemptor Dreadnought [175pts]: Slaanesh
Left Arm: Butcher cannon
Right Arm: Combi-bolter, Hellforged deathclaw

++ Patrol Detachment (Chaos - Thousand Sons) [241pts] ++

+ HQ +

Exalted Sorcerer [121pts]: Doombolt, Force stave, Glamour of Tzeentch, Inferno Bolt Pistol

+ Troops +

Rubric Marines [120pts]
Aspiring Sorcerer: Force stave, Inferno Bolt Pistol, Weaver of Fates
3x Rubric Marine w/ Inferno Boltgun: 3x Inferno boltgun
Rubric Marine w/ Warpflamer: Warpflamer

++ Battalion Detachment (Chaos - Daemons) [80pts] ++

Chaos Allegiance: Slaanesh

+ Troops +

Daemonettes [80pts]: Alluress, 9x Daemonette, Instrument of Chaos

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Chaos - Chaos Space Marines) [1004pts] ++

Gametype: Matched

Legion: Emperor's Children

+ HQ +

Dark Apostle [76pts]: Bolt pistol, Mark of Slaanesh, Power maul

Exalted Champion [82pts]: 6. Exalted Champion, Intoxicating Elixir, 2x Lightning Claw, Mark of Slaanesh, Warlord

+ Troops +

Chaos Space Marines [158pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Aspiring Champion: Bolt pistol, Power sword
7x Marine w/ Chainsword
Marine w/ Plasma pistol: Chainsword, Plasma pistol
Marine w/ special weapon: Meltagun

Chaos Space Marines [158pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Aspiring Champion: Bolt pistol, Power sword
7x Marine w/ Chainsword
Marine w/ Plasma pistol: Chainsword, Plasma pistol
Marine w/ special weapon: Meltagun

Chaos Space Marines [158pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Aspiring Champion: Chainaxe, Combi-bolter
7x Marine w/ Boltgun
Marine w/ heavy weapon: Heavy bolter
Marine w/ heavy weapon: Autocannon

+ Elites +

Chaos Terminators [220pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Chaos Terminator Champion: 2x Lightning Claw
Terminator: Combi-bolter, Lightning Claw
Terminator: Combi-bolter, Lightning Claw
Terminator: Combi-melta, Lightning Claw
Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power sword

+ Heavy Support +

Maulerfiend [9 PL, 152pts]: Lasher tendrils, Mark of Slaanesh

Deployment is not particularly cunning, but against the horde of nids opposite I'm keen to keep my forces consolidated for support. This does mean that I soon run out of decent spots so some compromise is required.

I lose the first turn and fail to seize so the nids advance quickly, a single Rubic is knocked down but they manage to hold against the other fire directed against them. As usual there's only one turn to make count before the inevitable melee but I'm a bit short of firepower. I do have a plan however...

The Termies and Sons advance with the Maulershrimp, with Zhang following. Some gaunts are dropped and a couple of wounds put on a fex but nothing inspiring. Fortunately the shrimp makes it into combat with the gaunts and stealers and kills a few off.

Unfortunately this does not go to plan, as the number of attacks and special bonus damage means the shrimp is no more This enables my opponent to move up and pick his targets in his next turn. The Rubric squad holds to a single model, but the flamer's 6 attacks on overwatch do nothing The gaunts have no trouble closing in on the Terminators and things are starting to look grim, especially as Zhang takes several hits from the fex's and tyrant

I'm in a bit of a pickle now as my Termies are stuck in combat and the stealers at my doorstep. It feels too soon to advance my CSM as I'll just get counter charged so I place my hopes on some good shooting. Before this I peel off the right squad to try and hold off the flying thing, they can inflict a few wounds on the way into combat which is good news. I sent Zhang in to help the Termies against the gaunts, partly to try and clear them up as I know he'll be good for it but also to keep him safer from a charge and hopefully glean some regeneration from kills...

This works quite well! Zhang regenerates a few wounds and the gaunt horde is reduced to two models keeping him and the Termies safe from shooting. Dedicated fire from the rest of my forces barely manages to remove the stealers so I managed to squeak by there - things are looking up especially as my Apostle summoned some Daemon support (though they're stuck a bit back due to space, and not wanting to get them killed before they can do anything).

I've got some breathing space now, but I'm still going uphill. My opponent has some gargoyles and rippers sitting on the major objective on my right side which is worth 4 points - enough to win the game easily so I need to capture a second mid-tier objective which is behind the fexes. A lot easier said than done... with the tyrant charging the Termies and the fexes moving up to shoot the pressure is on so I need to make things count.

Then Termies do well to reduce the tyrant down to a single wound over a couple of fight phases, but a stratagem sees him regenerate up to 4 again. My right squad slowly drags the flying nid down but it's hard going. A single gaunt locks Zhang in to combat and the Exalted fails to smite him free Things manage to improve though, as the Termies slowly cut the tyrant down again and my shooting and charging CSM with character support take down one of the fexes and consolidate into the others.

The Apostle is killed by a fex, but fortunately my Warlord in the Exalted Champ is fine. The right hand squad cuts down the flying nid and advances on the major objective, and with Zhang moving up the centre is looking to be winnable for me.

The tyrant refuses to die though, even sending in Aharon and the Daemonettes it clings on!

It's not a fight it can win though, after causing more damage it's eventually brought down by a Daemonette's claw. With my Champ securing the upper objective and Zhang charging in to aid the CSM squad the centre is all but mine especially with the victorious left flank moving to assist.

However most important of all (and saved for last ) is the right CSM flank. Moving up, shooting and charging the goyles saw them badly reduced and fleeing the field letting me not only stop my opponent claiming it...

... but claim it myself!

With my forces ascendant my opponent concedes, a hard fought victory! Very hard indeed as my opponent was doing well early game, but it seems Tzeentch had a plan all along and his dice turned on him, letting me start my path to the win It certainly wasn't easy, when the shrimp went down I realised that things could easily go very wrong but I managed to hold on.

The Daemonettes did ok, didn't have much chance to shine or find a good opponent. The Thousand Sons didn't have a great start, and I didn't get a great deal of use from psychic powers either. Doom Bolt is really hard to cast and even more so against Shadow in the Warp. I did get a good Glamour of Tzeentch off, but otherwise powers fell flat badly. At least they did quite well denying powers which is something.

The Apostle helped out, but I didn't get to use him best due to how the game went but I can see him being more useful in other games. Special mention saved for last in Zhang - he truly lived up to his lion moniker! After getting slapped with 5 wounds before he got to do anything of note I feared for the worst, but a few tasty morsels (in particular the Brood Lord - don't remember reading about him in the above? that's because he bounced off Zhang ) perked him up and he got stuck in leaving a trail of ichor and limbs behind him.

A bit more long ranged fire power would go a long way, so I think it's time I got back to those heavy weapon Marines. At the moment games seem to be getting a kicking for the first turn or two before getting stuck in to combat where I have to hope and plan for always striking first to slowly build an advantage up. That can work against other armies that want some combat with a bit of luck, but comes apart badly against armies that don't...

[Panzer]

That can work against other armies that want some combat with a bit of luck, but comes apart badly against armies that don't...

 

That's exactly what I'm thinking whenever I read one of your batreps here. :D

[Arkaniss]

That's a lovely battle report with nice pictures too :tu: Sounds like Tzeentch had your back with the ol' "just as planned" after you took a beating first couple of turns! Weathering the charge of 'nids is half the battle with them I think. You got lucky with the Broodlord for sure, maybe Zhang has earned a new kind of pelt :P

[WarriorFish]

Yep, it's not easy being a combat army these days! At least most of my opponents like a bit of a scrap too :) I will grab CA as soon as I can to fully digest all the changes and see where I go from there, it could alter my list of additions a bit. For example daemon engines get a points drop so perhaps that second shrimp is needed sooner. So far he mostly dies quickly so some extra support might mean a more effective block can be performed to let the rest of my army close in for some optimal charges.

 

This is where the Sons can come in handy too, as they're more about the shooting so could be a good way to help force my opponents to get into chopping range :P Or at the least let me have some decent shooting on the way in. There's the Cultists to finish too who can act as a meat shield as well which should help, but with Daemonettes dropping to 6pts I might be better off going all in with them, and keep my Marine count high?

[Arkaniss]

Well, Cultists would be more expendable than Daemonettes so it depends on what exactly you want - a screening unit or a meat shield? The Daemonettes will put the hurt on something on the charge... cultists not so much :P

[Panzer]

Considering that Cultists are now 5ppm and Daemonettes 6ppm I'd say the difference is barely worth mentioning. :D

[WarriorFish]

Not painting weather today but I'm not in the mood anyway. So I thought time to get some CA change balls rolling, got most of a Helbrute built

I probably won't be able to finish him soon as I need to source some more bits to complete the model, but he'll help shore up my armoured elements so those I have aren't subjected to quite so much attention.

[WarriorFish]

I decided to prime the Helbrute even without the arm so I can start painting. In the meantime I've been playing with the CA changes and made a Marine horde list I quite like:

 

Hidden Content

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Chaos - Chaos Space Marines) [92 PL, 1500pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Gametype: Matched

Legion: Emperor's Children

+ HQ +

Chaos Lord [5 PL, 86pts]: 2x Lightning Claw, Mark of Slaanesh

Daemon Prince with Wings [9 PL, 180pts]: 2. Flames of Spite, Intoxicating Elixir, Malefic talon, Warlord
Slaanesh: Warptime

Dark Apostle [5 PL, 76pts]: Bolt pistol, Mark of Slaanesh, Power maul

+ Troops +

Chaos Space Marines [9 PL, 158pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Aspiring Champion: Plasma pistol, Power sword
7x Marine w/ Chainsword
Marine w/ Plasma pistol: Boltgun, Plasma pistol
Marine w/ special weapon: Meltagun

Chaos Space Marines [9 PL, 158pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Aspiring Champion: Plasma pistol, Power sword
7x Marine w/ Chainsword
Marine w/ Plasma pistol: Boltgun, Plasma pistol
Marine w/ special weapon: Meltagun

Chaos Space Marines [9 PL, 153pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Aspiring Champion: Chainaxe, Combi-bolter
7x Marine w/ Boltgun
Marine w/ heavy weapon: Heavy bolter
Marine w/ heavy weapon: Autocannon

+ Elites +

Chaos Terminators [14 PL, 214pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Chaos Terminator Champion: Combi-bolter, Power sword
Terminator: Combi-bolter, Lightning Claw
Terminator: Combi-bolter, Lightning Claw
Terminator: Combi-melta, Lightning Claw
Terminator w/ Heavy Weapon: Chainfist, Heavy flamer

Chosen [11 PL, 184pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen Champion: 2x Lightning Claw
Chosen w/ Combi or Special weapon: Chainsword, Plasma gun
Chosen w/ Plasma pistol: Chainsword, Plasma pistol
Chosen w/ Plasma pistol: Chainsword, Plasma pistol
Chosen w/ special weapon: Chainsword, Plasma gun

Chosen [11 PL, 184pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen: Chainsword
Chosen Champion: 2x Lightning Claw
Chosen w/ Combi or Special weapon: Chainsword, Plasma gun
Chosen w/ Plasma pistol: Chainsword, Plasma pistol
Chosen w/ Plasma pistol: Chainsword, Plasma pistol
Chosen w/ special weapon: Chainsword, Plasma gun

+ Fast Attack +

Raptors [10 PL, 107pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
4x Raptor
Raptor Champion: 2x Lightning Claw
Raptor w/ plasma pistol: Plasma pistol

 

I'm 26 models short... which is most of the list CA2017 attracted me to Chosen initially but with further decreases I've taken the hint Something to aim for though I'll need to come up with ideas to make them stand out a little and may keep me busy until GW shows us what's coming for Noise Marines

[Tallarn Commander]

I like the list.

 

It's a wee bit slow, but you still have a modicum of mobility with raptors, deepstriking termies, winged DP, and possibly warp time. Plus, judging by your batreps, this infantry-heavy force nicely matches your meta.

 

Good luck with the list!

[WarriorFish]

I don't need to worry too much about speed generally, as the majority of the time my opponents are also coming for me :lol: I was thinking of using the death masks for Chosen as something cool, but I only have 10 currently so that would only solve one squad (assuming I wanted to define squads, which I prefer to avoid). Perhaps time to break out those Chaos backpacks? They might look a bit too different by comparison so I'll need to see how it looks.

[Panzer]

Surprised you aren't going for more potent weapons than Chainswords on the Chosen but I guess that's just your style and it apparently works for you in your local meta so no complains from my side. :D

[Arkaniss]

How about sprinkling in some helmet-less heads? You should be able to spread out the death masks that way. That said I can see how all Chosen having a death mask would be pretty awesome. As an alternative to different backpacks how about a different paint job somewhere/how?

 

No concrete ideas from me this early on I'm afraid, but maybe something worth exploring :)

[Panzer]

About making them visually distinct from your regular dudes, how about painting one half of their armour gold instead of the regular white/red? Not sure which half would work best there tho.

I'm a fan of veterans having a different yet similar colour scheme than the regular dudes. ^^

Edited December 19, 2018 by sfPanzer

[WarriorFish]

I thought about some power weaponry, but didn't want to invest too many points in them. I am likely to revise the list later though so some fancy toys may make the cut - I've yet to build the models after all! I do like the death mask idea, and it would be better than backpacks or changes to the colours I reckon but I think it should be an all or nothing affair. Maybe I can find someone with spares but for now I've enough for a squad

[Panzer]

For what its worth I found that several bitz shops/ebay had plenty death masks to sell (thankfully since I use them for my Reivers) ... unlike many other bitz I'd like to get my hands on. 

[WarriorFish]

I've checked my usual bits site and it looks like he can help me out, I've had a few Daemonette bits lined up for a while looks like I'm ready to collate an order...

[WarriorFish]

I've put in an order for the bits I need, hopefully they can arrive this year :) I can start work with what I have though, I was thinking that while cool and fitting my theme maybe dual lightning claws isn't the best idea for the Chosen Champs. Since they're going to get stuck in, perhaps a power fist is a better idea? Give them more punch and threat in combat especially on the Champ's A3.

[Panzer]

Some high-strength multi-damage weapon on the champ sounds like a good idea considering you already get lots of attacks against more numerous enemies from the rest of the unit. My only concern would be hitting on 4+ with only three attacks. It could be worse tho and you can kinda counter it with Prescience if you have to.

[WarriorFish]

Yeah a buff does a lot with the 4+, but I expect I'll have at least a Lord nearby to help out. Dark Apostle would help more of course, but his Leadership buff would be useful with the line CSM so he may not be close enough (though I expect them to operate in close proximity always best to remember that games are not usually so convenient...). A full 10 man squad with a Champ hidden inside always striking first should help the PF deliver over a game

 

This does remind me I should build that Lord/Exalted Champ with a fist, because his base stats are far more agreeable for it :D Perhaps another holidays project (because apparently you can't have enough characters in a Chaos army?).

[Panzer]

Ah yeah ... holiday projects. I just decided that I want to play a list between christmas and new year I have to at least semi-build 16 more infantry models and half a tank for. :D

[WarriorFish]

I've got a game later this month too, what I can get done dictates my list :P

[WarriorFish]

Quick kitbash for Chosen:

A gold mask/helmet should help them stand out nicely compared to the rank and file, I've got their lore coalescing too Might try to assemble some basic billies and the Champ tomorrow if I can scrounge the time. I'm starting to think that while some decent guns and variety there would be useful, it's much cooler and more Slaaneshi to get up close and stabby... so I will probably be revising their upgrades!

[Panzer]

The Blood Angels approve of the gold masks/helmets for Veteran Marines. :tu: