The Unofficial Alpha Legionaire's Tactical Primer

[Zaltys]

I was thinking, as the least popular legion, why don't we at least band together and do something no other legion has. Produce a tried and tested guide to every handy Alpha Legion tactic, Troop option, Modelling tip, and army idea we can think of and put it together into a guide to encourage new AL players and increase legion victories (should be pretty handy the next time they have one of those global campaigns and each legion has to work their hardest).

 

Anybody volunteering?

 

P-22.

 

What also might be interesting is a fluff collection thing, see if we can find every scrap of fluff about the AL to get a full picture.

[General Malaise]

hello?.............HELLO?......[echo "Hello"]?

 

you can count me in but I am not volunteering.

 

be happy to help though.

[evil_blue_tau]

While not in the near furture,i will eventually play a Alpha Legion list. I would love to do some research.

[Md Larkin]

Well Ive played 2 games well, 3 but that wasnt a game I got 2k vps in a 1k game. Anyway Ive played 2 real games with my soon to be AL army. My IW are still soaking up the easy off. One thing Ive run into is my marines arent doing to much damage. This may jsut be my list but my suqad of raptors oblitz lorsd and havocs do all the work. Heck my cultists have done more then my grunt marines

 

Here is my list.

 

HQ

Lord-darkblade, pistol, mutation, str, aura, flight, infiltrate, FC, MOCU, frags, spiky, teleport homer=187

 

Elites

2 obliteraotrs-140

 

Troops

9(10) Marines- 2 melat guns, ccw&pistol, infiltrate, FC, MOCU

Champ- power fist, spiky, mutation, teleport homer-259

 

9 marines- 2 plasma, bolters, MOCU, infiltrate-164

 

19 (20) cultists- Scouts, mocu

Champ- power weapon-155

 

19(20) cultists- assassins, MOCU

champ- power weapon-155

 

Fast Attack

6(7) raptors- 2 flamers, infiltrate, FC, MOCU

Champ- power weapon, str, mutation, spiky-303

 

Heavy Support

6 Havocs- infiltrate, tank hunters, MOCU, 4 auto cannons-194

6 Havocs- infailtrate, TH, MOCU, 4 missile launchers-194

 

What do you guys think? As a new AL player what are units that fit the fluff (besides the cultists) ie I chose the raptors because they are hard hitters and have the hit and run ability.

 

Ive been thinging about this on the trip back and forth from school. Make a few lists and then let your opponent roll a dice to see which one you use. This contributes to the idea that the AL can do anything. Of course it works even better when the armies are completly different. thoughts?

 

One more thing... not to sound to egar but what about pics of models. I have only seen the models of the guy from the warmongers club.

[princeofchaos]

I'm thinking of playing alpha legion, but it might be a while before I can make the army.

 

One thing, a comment on your army list, I'm not sure how fluffy a decked out lord and oblits are. Alpha legion is very... masochistic?. My lt. has like a bolt pistol and a power weapon, and meltas. The craziest I ever heard of was a lt. with a bolt pistol. Now that's some masochism right there!

 

Anyway, that's just my take on the fluff. You should concentrate on more regular troops though, since you seem to be relying on elites top get the job done. Chosen are one thing, but oblits, I'm not sure about.

[Md Larkin]

I think my obliterator obsession is coming from my IW days, also the model has grown on me. I think the next time I play I will drop one of the havocs and take another marine squad. On the Lord issue, this is the most effective combo Ive come up with. It is mainly to kill other independent characters and big ugly things. Mentaly I have been playing with the idea of an Lt armed with a Kai gun and flight, but that my be more points then it would be effective.

 

What does masochistic mean Prince? If I were to change my HQ I want it to remain effective, but it would be nice to not spend an arm and a leg on my HQ.

 

What are peoples thoughts on deamons?

[princeofchaos]

This is masochistic. It means you love causing pain to yourself, and you ask for it. The cheapest thing it the HQ, just as I think an Alpha Legion HQ should be. So what do you guys think? This list was very on the seat-of-my-pants, but its meant to be very toned down. The lt. originally had only a bp, amrk, and infiltrate. I might trade the Saboteus for another trait if I need to, the costs are the same.

 

2x Lt.: 62 pts.

Bolter, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Move through cover

 

3x 5 Chosen: 105 pts.

Bolt pistols and ccw

[Cash3w]

Cultists are the key. Large squads of cultists, along with blood letters. The Cultists ability to infiltrate and their ability to summon deamons is awesome. Not only are they half-way decent in close combat (with furious charge they are equal to a marine) they are excellent for getting deamons in close to tie up the enemy.

[IhateSpaceMarines]

I prefer Marines rather than cultists.....cause if ya got alot of good blast-marker weaponry then they get fried really quick.....And i shall help out with this guide :drool:

 

Most important thing : GIVE EVERYTHING INFILTRATE !!!!

[Inquisitor Kravin]

Isn't it unfluffy to make an Alpha Legion background and tactics guide which is publicly accessible? I guess it's okay so long as we put lots of misinformation in! :drool:

 

I am interested to see how this project goes. One of the reasons I chose the Alpha Legion is their obscurity. I like the fact that my opponents aren't thinking, "Not another Iron Warriors army!"

 

As for character options. I don't think the AL are masochistic (that's the Emperor's Children). They do what is necessary to win. Whilst the legion emphasises the importance of squads over individuals it doesn't mean that individuals cannot become powerful. My lt is an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor who was corrupted and turned to Chaos by the AL.

[Zaltys]

OK. We should probbably compile it as so:

 

1. :drool: Tactics:

Please send your personal favourite tactics and why they worked. Basically a list of dirty tricks to do with an AL army.

 

2. :P Units:

One of the best features of the Chaos Tactics post on IndexAstartes.com was the guide to every unit in the codex and how to use them. As AL are a fairly different army from the vanilla force, a guide to units would be good.

 

3. :cuss Fluff references. Is the AL IA article the only worthwhile piece of AL fluff? I'm looking for references to other mentions of the legion to compile a list of accomplishments. I know, unfluffy. Consider it a project to track down the elusive legion.

 

4. :ph34r: Modelling. Tips on cool conversion ideas.

 

5. ::cuss: Army Building, Dos and Don'ts for Units, Wargear, and Heavy Weapons. General advice on what to take against who.

 

Basically, the idea is to get something up online that would help people play AL and help out AL players as a whole by disseminating tactics. Maybe even transfer some of this info to the GRAVIS section when the guide is complete.

 

btw, Ihatespacemarines, in army I'm planning to take Obliterators because under the new rules, if you infiltrate, you can also deep strike.

 

P-22

[IhateSpaceMarines]

oh nice sweet ! i still haven't got the new rule book but i'll get it.....soon.....once i get the cash....

 

1. Tactics - During deployment try to get those meltas and plasma squads as close to the vehicles as possible .....just imagine....frying a rhino on turn 1 or 2 before they have the chance to desembark so then get some lucky dice rollz and hope the squad inside gets fried too :P so then thats like 200-300 points down the drain

[Ezeckial]

i'll help, after several months of using alpha legio i am pretty good at using them but my number one tip that i can put down now is simple

DO NOT UNDER ESTIMATE CULTISTS :P

 

they are really good and i have seen them, take down daemon princes and carnifexs, if you give them melta bombs beware fro a good fireworks display....

[Inquisitor Kravin]

Earlier today I saw a guy somewhere on this site talking about beating different legions and he basically said that AL were nothing special and the Black Legion, Word Bearers and Iron Warriors were far more powerful. He said cultists were fluffy but easily slaughtered in game! I wonder how many times he had actually fought them?!

[Md Larkin]

My cultists are one of the most valuable units I have. They are so easy to throw away, but when you do this they seem to crush their target. So while we are talking about the cultsters what config do you guys take. I like a 20 man unit with a power weapon and the assassins combo.

 

Also how do you guys feel about raptors. I love my unit of 7, last night they toar appart 2 units of necrons.

[IhateSpaceMarines]

I just prefer using marines as they can stand up against any situation .....in my 1000pt army i got 3 squads of normal CSM , 1 havoc ,1 pred, 1 dreadnought and a lieu.....and it rox !!! shooty armies ?! No problem just get into CC .... any other sort ...well i just see what happens...anyway

[Ezeckial]

i usaslly feild a sqaud of havocs, 2 sqaud of normal marines, a sqaud of possessed, a sqaud of havocs and 3 sqauds of culistis in 1000 points

[Chronophague]

Jsut take the maximum number of plasmaguns and a few meltaguns, and infiltrate it all.

 

Like, 6x6 csm squads, with plasma+plasma

and 3x 6 csm havocs,with plasma.

Infiltrate, walk, and rapid fire. 48 plasmashots later... :P

You can squeeze in some more guys, a liutenant or two etc..

That is if you want to do something broken.

 

cheers

[azial]

From my persepctive there seems to be three ways that Alpha Legion is played. To be tactically flexible, I personally will play all three depending on the type of fight I will be facing. To me the are:

 

Alpha Legion w/No cultists

 

Alpha Legion w/1~2 squads of cultists

 

Alpha Legion w/2~5 squads of cultists

 

Personally, I am not in favor of the third option and rarely use it. I find option #2 to be the most tactically flexible and truer to Alpha Legion Fluff.

 

What I mean is this, The LaTD list is perfect for the cultist heavy Alpha Legion force. It gives lots of troops backed up by a small contigent of Alpha Legion marines, exactly in line with some of their tactics. To me personally, and only in my own opinion, I won't play a cultist heavy (3~5 squads) army because then I am starting to approach a LaTD army or CC oriented guard type army. To me, I picked Alpha Legion because I love Chaos Marines.

 

However all of the three above are tactically sound. I find a heavy cultists (I WILL take 3~4 squads) excellant when facing Necro troops or Tau troops. I make them 20 man strong and they can tie up enemy shooting troops extremely well. This situation is ideal for this type of list.

 

For tournaments I will usualy field either 1 large or 2 medium cultist squads. Rarely do I take demons but sometimes I will depending on the nature of my enemy.

 

Normally for Marine fights I will drop to no cultists or one squad of cultists. More often then not the only thing I am doing is throwing the cultists at my opponant in the hope that they will equal their points or tie them up until I can bring something to bear on my enemy. I personally find his tactic highly suspect. In almost all instances I can find another squad that will perform the same job, better or with more result. I figure if I need a squad to tie up the enemy so I can bring in better troopers, I probably should have bought that more powerful squad in the first place.. For example.. I don't see the sense of spending 150+ points on a squad that is laregly going to be torn up in a delaying action when I can spend 150+ points on a squad that is half the size, much more effective in CC and has a substantially better armor save. Mind you this is my own opinion from playing it several different ways.

 

This is my advise, don't become locked in with cultists as the "only" Alpha legion choice. Regular Chaos marines are very powerful, fluffy, and are highly effective. Use the cultists to suppliment your marine's and usually you will be sitting very pretty.

 

And BTW, I don't think we are the least popular legion. I have to think that belongs to the Raven Guard, I never see them, ever. I am glad to see that GW is pushing them to the fore front recently with the new codex and special character. I can only hope we can get a metal model or two w/bits that could "spice" up our forces.

 

 

On the subject of painting, I started my Alpha Legion in 3rd edition. I used a lightning blue base coat. they are a tad lighter then Ultramarines, I use a small amount of purple mixed with blue for highlights, it gives them a different look making them very very different then Ultramarines and far more sinister. I used a lot of bile green for an offseting color. I found it very nice on vehicles and models tassles and horns both of which I do in green. I also have converted most of my squads to a reptilian feel w/mutations. I do include them in the army and rail against people that scream that isn't fluffly. I find that arguement to be total dross. This is a Chaos Legion that follows the pantheon of Chaos gods. They insite rebellion and chaos worship on multiple planets and try to turn the system to the worship of chaos. That in my book puts them firmly in the demonic catigory. However I keep the conversions subdued and sparce, I don't think a fully converted army is needed or flufly, but it some mutation and chaos "gifts" certainly has it's place.

 

Mind you these are my own opinions based on my own army, however I bristle when people argue with me about cultists and color scheme. It should be personal preference and be left at that.

[Ashasan]

Is this eventually going to turn into a Tactica like the Iron Warriors & Word Bearers?

If so, I started an Alpha Legion a while ago, but never updated it, or posted it. If someone would like to take a look, and add whatever they like to it, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Or, I'll just throw it up here and let you fellas pick at it.

[Atomic-war-cow]

I just started alpha legion and have trouble finding the colours is strom blue the same as midnight blue? :huh:

 

I'm mainly going to be fighting

Necrons and Space Marines

 

heres my list so far

HQ:

Sorcerer

 

Elites:

1x plague marines

 

Troops:

1x Chaos Marines

2x Sqaud of 20 culitists

 

Fast Attack:

1x Raptors squad

 

Heavy Support:

1x Havok squad

[Zaltys]

ALPHA LEGION TACTICS:

 

Dirty Tricks:

 

From all of these accounts, it seems that the AL is one of the most flexible Chaos Legions available:

 

Cultists:

Cultists are good for:

 

Getting rid of Tanks

Holding up units in CC

Fighting Low Toughness units like Tau/Eldar and swamping them.

Summoning daemons close to the enemy.

 

Marines:

 

Same as Chaos Marines, but get the cheap infiltrate bonus

This means they should not rely on Rhinos but can get closer to the enemy cheaper.

 

Are good with special weapons due to their Infiltrate.

 

Can also be handy fielded in CC with furious charge and large numbers.

 

Lord:

 

Any tips on how to use HQ properly?

 

Chosen:

 

I gave mine FC, MOCU, and Infiltrate and used them as a retinue.

 

Any tips on these?

 

Raptors:

 

Indeed a good choice with infiltrate

 

Havocs:

 

Can be positioned with more skill using Infilrate.

 

Any other sugggestions on original tactics?

 

P-22

[IhateSpaceMarines]

Strats: Deployment is very important......infact this can be the deciding factor....since you got infiltrate then thats great but if you mess up then theres no going back as you'll be by then most of the time 12" away from them so you'll have to really comprimize.....so my point is....DEPLOY YOUR MEN/WOMEN/DAEMONS WELL !!!!

 

For painting i haven't yet begun to paint my army .....i just glued em up and all but since i named them "The Forgotten Ones" and i got a bit of a story for em....... I was thinking of having a dark armour colour and not forgeting the silver to go on the detail and rimes and stuff......

[Rezak meklah]

I just started alpha legion and have trouble finding the colours is strom blue the same as midnight blue? :huh:

 

I'm mainly going to be fighting

Necrons and Space Marines

 

heres my list so far

HQ:

Sorcerer

 

Elites:

1x plague marines

 

Troops:

1x Chaos Marines

2x Sqaud of 20 culitists

 

Fast Attack:

1x Raptors squad

 

Heavy Support:

1x Havok squad

Would bee nice to know what they all have...

 

 

bye the way, Nurgle/Khorne/Slaanesh/Tzeentch marines isn

[Zhivago]

Heavy Support

6 Havocs- infiltrate, tank hunters, MOCU, 4 auto cannons-194

6 Havocs- infailtrate, TH, MOCU, 4 missile launchers-194

 

I tought that mareked units can get only one veteran skill?

Or is the skill to infiltrate 'built-in' in alpha legion?