IVIilitarus

I thought it would be reasonable to dedicate a thread to Agrax Earthshade (and other washes). Agrax Earthshade is used by Duncan in almost... everything and some people have taken to calling it Liquid Talent due to the great results you can get from it. To start: what is a wash. A wash or as GW markets them, a shade is a paint that is very fluid (usually the consistency of water or milk) that is translucent and has relatively little pigment. These characteristics are what give washes their role. When washes are applied, they tend to tint the model in the colour of the wash while allowing the base colour to shine through. This is most noticeable when you apply them to a light colour. Applying a green wash to a white model will leave you with a light green model due to the translucency of the paint allowing white to shine through. An example of this is where Cassandora Yellow is painting over a mostly white model to create a consistent, yellow model. This is one way to paint yellow armour for Imperial Fists: https://youtu.be/biqPX_uQ6m0?t=267 The high fluidity of washes is another key characteristics. GW calls them shades because when a wash is applied to a model, the liquid paint will tend to pool/flow into recesses. Since most of the pigment settles in the recesses, the recesses will have stronger colour. This allows you to easily add shadows to a model (remembering that a shadow is a dark colour in a recess. The opposite is a highlight, which is a light colour on a raised edge). An example of using a very thin, wash-like paint to add darkness to recesses is here, using Tamiya Panel Line Accent Colour: https://youtu.be/mDeuXW4hScA?t=80 The main uses of washes use their thin consistency and translucency to create shading effects in recesses, panel lines or curves. Another is to tint areas of a model in a colour while allowing the underlying colour to shine through, such as in the case of tinted flesh. Agrax Earthshade Agrax Earthshade is produced by Games Workshop and has achieved a meme status among some painters for its usefulness. Characteristically, Agrax Earthshade is simply a medium brown wash paint. It is in fact more expensive than other options like mixing your own washes or those from other companies, but due to the popularity of Duncan Rhodes' painting videos and of the hobby in general, this paint has become popular. Agrax Earthshade can be substituted with a brown paint of very thin consistency for any of its applications, although you might have a hard time getting a perfect colour match. Here are some of the uses for Agrax Earthshade. Feel free to add more: 1. Paint dirty, winter camouflage like this using white and Agrax Earthshade. First prime the model white or prime and paint it entirely white. Then cover the entire model in Agrax Earthshade. This will give it a ruddy brown tint. Then Drybrush white very heavily across the entire model to return it to white. This leaves Agrax Earthshade in the recesses, where they remain brown and add shadows while the rest of the model is white. This method avoids the traditional hassle of washing white models where you want to avoid getting brown paint where you don't want it. In this case, you get brown paint everywhere and then just build the white back up with drybrushing. 2. Use Agrax Earthshade in an airbrush to tint a model a darker shade. If you have a colour and want to tint it to a darker colour, airbrushing a wash over it can make it dramatically darker. Airbrushing also gives you control over how much tint you use. This can be used to create rather unique colours and gradients. This model uses Tamiya Flat Red as a base, but Tamiya Flat Red is very bright. Progressive layers of Agrax Earthshade airbrushed onto the model darken the model. 3. Brown, oily metal. One of the classic ways to get brown, oily metal with a bit of depth is to start with a grey metallic colour like Leadbelcher and simply cover it in Agrax Earthshade. The shade flows into recesses adding depth and tints the model brown, as seen here. 4. Washing down bright foliage. If you have bought or painted brightly coloured flora and foliage (like from a pet store) and want to darken it, a simple way is to cover it in Agrax Earthshade. The brown hue is common to soil, dirt and dust in nature and will tint the terrain a darker colour. 5. Gehenna's Gold + Agrax Earthshade = easy, rich gold. Seen here on the banner. Methods using washes in general 1. Speedpainting surfaces. Using washes is a foundation of speedpainting. Washes cover models easily while simultaneously applying colour and shading them. Their translucency lets them blend naturally into other colours so mistakes are harder to see and their translucency is also easy to paint over using other colours to cover mistakes. Entire armies can be painted quickly by mixing washes over a light grey/white surface with normal painting techniques. Duncan Rhodes paints a poxwalker very quickly using green wash over white to make pallid green flesh, then only picking out basic details like trousers, then washing with Agrax Earthshade to tie the model together. 2. Painting yellow or other light-coloured armies. Light colours have a bad reputation because it is easy to see mistakes on a bright surface. Traditionally, painting armies with light colours is time-consuming due to the need for precise brushwork, precise thinning and many layers. One easy way to paint colours like Imperial Fists yellow is to start with a white base and simply wash the model using a wash to tint it that colour. Take care to make sure the wash does not pool on flat surfaces. An example involving painting Imperial Fists yellow is here: https://youtu.be/biqPX_uQ6m0?t=267 3. Simultaneously painting and shading flesh. Starting with a grey base and simply washing the area in a flesh-tinted wash immediately tints it in your colour of choice while also shading the recesses of musculature. Examples here and here using Athonian Camoshade and Reaper Flesh Shade 4. Rapid shading and model protection using Army Painter Quick Shade. Army Painter produces a line of products called Quick Shade, which are essentially thinned wood varnishes. Rather than painting a model with it, you dip the entire model in like some kind of baby Achilles and let the excess drip off. When it dries, your entire model is shaded and tinted and the paint is formulated to leave a protective coat over the model as well. Example here. 5. Multi-colour heat burn effects. Washes of different tones applied to a metallic surface can be used to easily create a gradient reminiscent of burns on a metal surface, such as flamethrower or jet engine nozzles. Duncan Rhodes shows the technique using 3 washes here. That's all I have. Add more entertaining uses for washes in the comments!

Equipment wise the starter kit Inceptors only have dual Assault Bolters as weapons. The full kit version has dual Assault Bolters and dual Plasma Exterminators. The only wargear option Inceptors have is whether they take Assault Bolters or Plasma Exterminators. The kit has different poses and blast shield helmets. The only other difference I know of is that the Inceptor kit's Assault Bolters have a slightly different design, with an opening above the shield on their weapons. In theory, this lets them aim down the weapon. In practice, Space Marines aren't that concerned with aiming down sights due to connections between weapons and suits. Basically if you want to save money, just get starter Inceptors. If you only want Assault Bolters and want to save money, get starter Inceptors. If you really like blast shield helmets, Assault Bolters that can be aimed normally, consider getting the kit. If you really want Plasma Exterminator models, get the kit. If you want options and also want to save money, consider getting starter kit Inceptors and magnetising the arms, then buying Plasma Exterminators off EBay at a later stage when the bits market opens up and just magnetise your options.

That's terribly discouraging to hear because they're my favourite models and ideas of the whole Primaris range :/. I'll probably still run them a bit regardless just as a distraction.

I don't believe I've seen a dedicated thread to these troops so here's one. Of all the units that came with the initial Primaris release, the Inceptors interested me the most. Rather than being a taller version of an existing troop, Inceptors almost introduced a new role to space marines: short-ranged heavy drop infantry. They're pretty unique and defy conventional classification. On paper: they give you a fairly tough, hard hitting unit that always has initiative because they can always get the first shot upon arriving from deep strike. Unlike a lot of deep striking units, they're a range-focused unit so they can reliably lay down damage for at least one turn. They're very expensive, sledgehammer troops but seem to be made to disrupt enemy lines or assassinate crucial infantry units. Rather a pity I read so little about them. With the release of the Codex, their price has been reduced. Standard Inceptors are now 60 points per model with their wargear, a reduction of 15 points per model. The reduction of 20% plus now having a plasma option (albeit one at a comical 86 points per model) makes them much more viable. I'd like to hear about people's experiences in using Inceptors - Squad sizes? Bolters or plasma? Uses?

With the Codex now in hand: Reivers can make effective stand-ins for Intercessors or replace Tactical Marines if you're willing to spend Elites slots. One of the big problems of Intercessors is that they're very expensive for what they bring. They're 20 points per model. Reivers, compared to Intercessors: 18 points per model (2 points cheaper) Identical statline Have heavy bolt pistols (better AP than regular bolt pistol) Have shock grenades Have a debuff to enemy LD if they're within 3" (isn't useful unless you assault with them though) The Reiver's bolt carbine is also completely identical to the Auto Bolt Rifle. They have the exact same statline. What this means is that for 2 points less than Intercessors, Reivers actually bring more utility to the table at the expense of only having one ranged weapon identical to Intercessors. But if you're not big on the Heavy 1 of Stalker Bolt Rifles or don't care for the Rapid Fire of the Bolt Rifle and prefer to advance and put out 2 shots at 24", then you were taking Auto Bolt Rifles anyway. It just so happens that Auto Bolt Rifles and Bolt Carbines are both 24" Assault 2 S4 AP0 D1. Completely identical. With this in mind, if you wanted to bring Auto Bolt Rifle Intercessors... literally don't, because Reivers have the exact same weapon, but better sidearms, shock grenades, a debuff to enemies AND are 2 points cheaper. If you wanted to run Auto Bolt Rifle Intercessors, then you could take Reivers and pay 2 points per model for grav-chutes and not only have a better unit, but a better unit with deep strike that costs exactly the same. If you were going to bring OTHER types of Intercessors, then Reivers are worth considering as an alternative. They let you save points and engage effectively at medium ranges, but the carbine doesn't have any AP and is 'only' 24" range. For an extra 2 points per model, you can give them grav-chutes. They now cost as much as Intercessors, but have a better sidearm, shock grenades, the LD debuff to enemies and deep strike. All you lose is primary weapon flexibility. In my opinion, the main thing that'll keep Reivers becoming the infantry backbone of Primaris armies is that they're not Troops. They don't get the ObSec special rule that battle forged Space Marine Troops get and they take up Elites slots. The above comparison makes them look great (which I think they are), but the comparison doesn't account for the fact that they suck up Elites slots. We can also compare Reivers to Tactical Marines, but it's a bit shakier because Reivers and Tactical squads can have different roles. Reivers are close-assault drop troops or presented above, ranged anti-infantry. Tactical squads are altogether more flexible with their weapon options. Note: This comparison ignores the Auxiliary Grenade Launcher. Which appears to be free wargear that you just magically get in each intercessor squad. If you factor in the Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, then one intercessor per squad can fire a S6 AP-1 D: D3 grenade, which has the potential to be more effective than 2 bolt rounds in some situations. Compared to Tacticals, Reivers are: 18 points per model (5 points per model more expensive base) +1 W +1 A + Shock grenades Heavy bolt pistol (better AP than regular bolt pistol) Bolt carbine (24" Assault 2 is outright better than 24" Rapid Fire 1.) The bolt carbine puts out 2 shots at 24" when the bolter only gets 1 shot at 24" and needs 12" for its two shots. The carbine can be fired after advancing because it's Assault. The Carbine is straight up better than the humble boltgun. Debuff to enemy LD if they're within 3" Compared to Tactical Squads, you're paying 5 points more for an extra wound, an extra attack and a whole lot of extra utility and mobility. The obvious downside is that Reivers get no special or heavy weapons. In my opinion, if you were planning on using tacticals as line infantry, then Reivers are seriously worth considering if you have Elites slots to spare. Reivers can more reliably deliver bolt rounds to enemy faces because of the 24" Assault giving them longer reach AND more mobility. You can run Reivers very aggressively (I mean, that's their role) and have them advancing, shooting and then charging with all of their wonderful leadership debuffs, shock grenades and extra attack. Heavy bolt pistols are a useful touch. Compared to Tactical Marines, Reivers don't put as many bolt rounds into the enemy on a per point basis, BUT they put bolt rounds into the enemy much more reliably. They're also the clear winners in melee. Downsides are pricier and no special/heavy weapons. Conclusion With the above comparisons in mind, I would personally run Reivers with bolt carbines if the following conditions are met: 1. I need aggressive anti-infantry units 2. I have spare Elites slots 3. I prefer aggression and plain bolt rounds over heavy weapons, special weapons or flexibility If 2 or more of those conditions can be met, I think Reivers are a strong argument as aggressive infantry killers. They can cross distances quickly with Advance while firing 24" Assault 2 bolters. They're cheaper than Auto Bolt Rifle Intercessors while being an objectively better unit. They can compete with other intercessor types by being cheaper and having a LOT of utility. And if they get into melee, point for point, they are much better than intercessors.

Okay correct me if I'm wrong but I think Vendettas are not back. They're far from back. Assumption Number One: ALL models are affected by the Heavy weapon type UNLESS their datasheet specifies otherwise. A model that has moved in the preceding movement phase subtracts 1 to hit from Heavy weapons in the shooting phase. Some models have special rules in their datasheets that mitigate this. The Vulture has Strafing Run, which says that when targeting units without FLY keyword, you get +1 to hit. Vultures are base BS4+. If they move and shoot Heavy weapons, they go to BS5+. But strafing run mitigates this against models that don't have FLY so you can move and shoot Heavy weapons at non-flying units at 4+. If a Vulture sits dead still in Hover mode and shoots a non-flying target, it goes to BS3+. The Imperial Knight has the Super-Heavy Walker rule and one of the sentences in it simply states that it can fire Heavy weapons after moving without penalty. The Avenger Strike Fighter and Lightning Strike Fighter are base BS3+ (at least when at full HP). When they move, their heavy weapons go to 4+. The Vendetta has none of this. if you look at the datasheet, the Vendetta is base BS4+. All of its weapons are Heavy. If it moves, it basically goes to 5+. It does not have Strafing Run or any rule that lets it move and fire at normal ballistic skill. Your ace Vendetta pilot turns into an Ork if they nudge the throttle a little. So as for everyone getting excited over using the 12 transport capacity on a Vendetta to airdrop troops or anyone excited over using the Vendetta as anything other than a stationary turret in hover mode, if my interpretation of the rules is correct, then that dream is gone. The Vendetta can only fire its weapons with a 4+ to hit if it sits in Hover mode. Yes, you have 3x2 lascannons, but they're 3x2 lascannons that only hit on 5+. Please correct me if I'm wrong because I like Vendettas.

I asked a while back about whether Rhino Doors could be fitted to the Corvus Blackstar so that the Blackstar can have some representation of non-Deathwatch chapters. There were many answers and a fair bit of confusion. I took the plunge and did the thing myself. The short version is: The front troop doors on the Corvus Blackstar are exactly the same size as Rhino doors. However, there is no easy conversion. Because the Corvus Blackstar's doors are set into their frame as a single plastic piece, with an additional hinge and lighting attachment. Basically, even though the doors are the same size as a rhinos, the Blackstar doors are permanently attached to a frame. If you want a conversion involving rhino doors, your options are basically to fit rhino doors into a scratchbuilt frame of the same size or file off the inquisition insignia and the teeth on the doors and just glue your new doors right on top (imperfect, but easier) or gluing rhino doors directly into the space where Corvus Doors would normally go, at which point you'll have some empty space that needs filling to make it look authentic. I did a conversion for myself and simply carved off the inquisitorial seal, cut off the teeth and did some hacking away with a knife and smoothing with sandpaper. Then I just glued the doors right over the old doors and called it a day. It's lazy, but unless you've built a kit yourself and know it inside and out, you won't really notice the imperfection much. The fact that I chose a dark colour scheme helps mask any evidence of a conversion, probably. So below, you have my Raptor Wing formation without the ridiculous flying toaster Stormtalon, which I substituted for a craft that's just a bit more... looks-like-it-could-fly. Images below. http://i.imgur.com/WG9BlVV.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uvwriWE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/P1b8wRT.jpg http://i.imgur.com/70Nvfwq.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Y7LpgXR.jpg

DO NOT PANIC. I HAVE YOU COVERED. I DID THE STALKER BOLTER CONVERSION LITERALLY LIKE TWO DAYS AGO. All you need are the little separate scopes that come with the Tactical Squad kit and Evergreen 224 1/8"/32mm styrene tubing. And ruler, side cutter, toothpicks, pliers and a permanent marker. Oh and a pin vise with a 1.5mm and 2mm drill bit. You should have most of these lying around somewhere except for maybe the Evergreen 224 and the scopes. The scopes you get from the tactical squad kit or can buy from 3rd party sites like Anvil Industries. The Evergreen 224 is readily found online or in train hobby stores. If you have some kind of electric saw or cutter, then you can just skip the toothpick, side cutters and pliers and make things much simpler. Also do remember that if you're ULTRA insistent on WYSIWYG, the standard Sternguard kit does NOT come with Stalker Pattern Bolters. Those are just fancier boltguns with scopes and straps. A Stalker Patter Bolter is defined by its combination of being scoped and having a large noise/flash suppressor mounted on the front. This is the 'stalker' part of not being seen when you shoot at things. The scope is only the precision part. You need both to be precise and hard to see. 1. Measure out the length of barrel you want and mark the length on the tubing with the marker. 2. Shove your toothpick into the hole in the tube. Smack it with your cutters to get it a bit deeper if you want. The reason we do this is if you simply cut into the tube with sidecutters, you pinch the end you cut shut and have to re-open it and it'll be cracked and it'll look bad. The toothpick helps hold the shape. 3. Do not cut all the way through, but score a reasonably deep cut around the tubing with the toothpick inside it. 4. When it's deep enough, pull the toothpick out and snap it off with your pliers. 5. Sand as necessary. 6. Now use your drill and a hobby knife to widen the whole you've made. 7. When the hole is wide enough, you can simply shove it onto the muzzle of a bolter. It holds on its own. No glue or cutting the muzzle off necessary. 8. Stick the scope on top. You can skip steps 2-4 if you have some kind of electric cutter or you're good with a knife. Great things about this conversion: 1. It looks like the real thing basically. 2. You get to decide on the length of the barrel. 3. You can skip drilling your bolters because the tubing is hollow. 4. It's cheap and mostly uses things you already have lying around. Cons about this conversion: 1. It's a pain in the ass to do it for 10 marines using the toothpick-pliers-sidecutter method (this is what I did). If you have a good sharp knife or a saw or cutter, you'll save yourself a lot of grief. Results below: http://i.imgur.com/kIxaejA.jpg http://i.imgur.com/XhzNZV5.jpg

I want to run Corvus Blackstars in my homebrew chapter in place of other models and don't want giant inquisition insignia everywhere.

Ah crap. Any other feedback from any other owners of rhino doors and a Corvus Blackstar?

Hay guys, any word on them doors yet?

My thanks! Please do! Thank you! I'll know as soon as I get those measurements and I can start making a plan. I had a look and you're right. I also noticed that the Blackstar doors have a long protrusion underneath, like some kind of long hinge.

I want to build Corvus Blackstars, but want them as part of my Space Marine chapter, not the Deathwatch. I do not want the comical amounts of Inquisition insignia on my Blackstars. This starts with the two doors on the front, which I hope to replace with Rhino doors. Then I'll have to do something about the giant inquisitorial sigil on the top as well. But first the doors. Before I buy, I need to know if Rhino doors would actually fit. Would the first person to get their hands on a Corvus Blackstar and a Rhino kit (or have Rhino doors lying around) please tell me if the Rhino Doors fit on the Corvus Blackstar's front. At a glance, the Rhino Doors and Corvus Blackstar doors have the same shape and design. Two hinges at the bottom, 3 polygonal teeth and 4 cut corners. However, looking at the Corvus Blackstar sprue on the GW website shows that the Blackstar doors have a small protrusion for the two little lamps next to the doors. That protrusion can simply be cut off and re-attached. I'm mainly worried about the doors not fitting the Corvus Blackstar.

AWESOME. EVEN BETTER. Oops, one problem. Vanguard are bulky. If you take 5 you can't fit into a corvus. Crap, but aren't Jump Packs optional upgrades? Please say they are. :/

AWESOME. EVEN BETTER.

I'm ecstatic about Codex: Deathwatch and here's another reason why. I'm going to use this post to explain why the Deathwatch can beautifully represent a Codex Astartes compliant chapter's First Company and outline my own plan for it. Deathwatch and Veterans Codex: Deathwatch was designed to perfectly represent an army with the following characteristics: 1. Elite composition 2. Non-standard force organisation 3. Advanced or exotic wargear 4. Flexible, mobile warfare These characteristics exemplify the First Company of a Codex Astartes compliant chapter. For those not in the know, a Chapter is organised as 10 companies of approximately 100 fighting marines each. If a Chapter is codex compliant, then their First Company contains only veterans and has all the most advanced wargear and Terminator armour. Sternguard Veterans, Vanguard Veterans, Honour Guard, Venerable Dreadnoughts and Terminators are the traditional composition of the First Company. They also have support vehicles such as Land Raiders like everyone else. First Companies are often also where otherwise codex compliant chapters do something unique. The First Company is often used to emphasise a chapter's theme. The Dark Angels First and Second Companies are the Ravenwing and Deathwing. The Iron Hands First Clan Company features their remaining Morlock Terminators etc. Even if your chapter is 100% Codex Compliant and does not feature special formations or units, the First Company will consist of Space Marine veterans with the best access to exotic wargear and who will have the most choice on how they equip and fight. The Deathwatch Codex has this in spades. Deathwatch Formations are mainly kill teams featuring a mixed unit. You don't have to mix very much though. A squad of Veterans is always required. If they require a Terminator unit, remember that Deathwatch can take Terminators in units starting at 1 model. A squad of 9 Veterans led by 1 Terminator is completely normal. Deathwatch also have an incredible amount of space for customising wargear. You can take any number of Terminator heavy weapons, 4 heavy weapons for Veterans, special wargear like Deathwatch Shotguns and Stalker-Pattern Bolters. You can kit out a team the way YOU want it, paint them the way YOU want to and have them represent the highly well-equipped and trained First Company. Who fight in close-knit mixed units, perhaps. In addition to this, the Deathwatch version of chapter tactics, Mission Tactics are flexible and nicely represent the capacity for a small, elite team to adapt to changing needs on the battlefield. The best part is preliminary opinions on Codex: Deathwatch is that as an army, they are fairly powerful. They have good, but not overly complicated special rules and bonuses. They have interesting, powerful, pricey wargear. They have lots of variety. They are of course, a perfect allied force - all of their formations were designed to be low model count, but highly customisable letting you tailor a clutch of allies the way YOU want to. If you're like me and the Deathwatch colour scheme doesn't do it for you or you hate the idea of painting pauldrons for 8 different chapters, then this might be your way to representing a fluffy, Deathwatch-like force on the field. My Homebrew Fluff I will now illustrate the above idea with my own fluff for my homebrew chapter's First Company. My Iron Panthers are structured as a very well equipped chapter who specialise in shock assault and siege warfare (defence and offence). The chapter is equipped with a prodigious number of vehicles, some unusual and rare wargear and works for the most part. Basically all of this is to justify my outrageous love of big tanks and strange conversions Land Raider Athena anyone? I had one issue and that was filling the First Company. I didn't know how to make my Veteran Company stand out compared to the rest and was dabbling with things like... an entirely Terminator armour equipped First Company (in line with the siege theme) or an all drop pod-equipped Sternguard company. And other silly ideas. Codex: Deathwatch and now I can represent the kind of force I really want: The Iron Panthers First Company, designed at the Pilum Company are the flexible, elite shock assault component for the rest of the Iron Panthers. Where the rest of the Chapter consists of vehicle squadrons, mechanised infantry and artillery, Pilum Company consists of veterans equipped for hard, rapid assault. They are named for an archaic form of javelin. So named because Pilum Company is not a force to be thrown about lightly, but they should be hurled at the enemy with tremendous force. Pilum Company veterans enter the battle at its hardest point first and leave last. They are assigned to the most dangerous environments or any battlefield role the rest of their lumbering comrades in tanks can't fulfill: making initial breaches into Fortresses, landing site security, decapitation strikes, battlefield reconnaissance, artillery spotting etc. The that end, they are given full reign over the chapter's esoteric wargear stores and permitted to equip themselves as they wish, for the mission at hand. They also have at their call drop pods, fast ground transports (Rhinos and Razorbacks), heavy ground transports (Land Raiders), heavy air transports (Thunderhawks) and fast air transports (Corvus Blackstars). With access to such a large variety of transports, they can tailor their insertion the way they like. Land Raider Athenas and Redeemers to crack open fortresses and assault cities. Drop pods for decapitation and pinpoint assaults. Corvus Blackstars for reconnaissance, point insertion and fire support. As befits the finest of their chapter, they have every option at hand to do their duty. Though nobody would admit it, Pilum Company tactics were inspired by those of the 1st Company of the Luna Wolves. An entirely Terminator equipped company, they were the Point of the Spear for their legion and were by and large, the first force into an area and were used to decapitate and open breaches in the enemy. Pilum Company diverges from this by also fulfilling any other battlefield role their brothers are lacking in. When the Iron Panthers need the finest marksmen and spotters, they call on their First Company, rather than novice scouts. When Iron Panthers need an installation removed, Pilum Company lands first. When the Iron Panthers need to crack a fortress open, Pilum Company Land Raiders lead the charge. They bring the so-needed flexibility and point strength that the rest of the chapter lacks. Some examples of Pilum Company detachments: Sharpshooters - A Furor Kill Team (re-roll to wound and penetrate against Troops) with 9 veterans and 1 Terminator. All veterans have Stalker-Pattern Boltguns. Terminator with Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield. In fluff, they are deployed as battlefield observation and sharpshooters. They eliminate enemy infantry and coordinate the efforts of the rest of their brothers from vantage points. In the game: 9 Veterans with Stalkers deliver 18 shots per shooting phase, averaging 11.88 hits before re-rolls from Mission Tactics. They deliver these shots with their choice of weapon profiles (either SX Sniper or Poison 2+). At 24", they have Gets Hot AP3 and average 6 wounds (before re-rolls) from Sniper. The Gets Hot is mitigated by their mission tactics which let them re-roll 1's. At 36", they average 6 wounds at AP 4. They can have Poison 2+ at 30" (re-rolling to wound/pen against Troops!) and can simply erase entire squads with the misfortune of standing in the open. They can average 6 wounds with Ignores Cover. You're more likely to get lucky glances on jinking Dark Eldar skimmers with the re-roll to wound, or you can just pulp the lightly armoured squads who think they're safe behind cover. The Terminator has a storm shield and just stands ahead of the rest of the squad and hopefully eats some of the incoming shooting attacks before falling. This formation is fun, fluffy and reasonably powerful. It can erase entire MEQ squads with above average rolling if they're in the open like idiots, or wipe out lighter infantry wholesale at medium distances. Insertion Force - Dominatus Kill Team (re-roll to wound and penetrate against Elites) with 5 Veterans and 5 Vanguard Veterans in a Corvus Blackstar. Veterans carry Infernus Heavy Bolters or Frag Cannons. Vanguard Veterans carry whatever collection of power weapons you want. Fluff wise, they're a hunter-killer force who show up and om nom nom a deadly enemy unit, then continue sowing chaos in enemy lines. They arrive in a Corvus Blackstar. The Corvus Blackstar goes into hover mode and vomits the troops on an Elite enemy at uncomfortably close range. Corvus Blackstar shoots stuff. Veterans with their fancy Deathwatch weapons can pump their insane new profiles into the enemy. Remember that the Deathwatch Heavy Weapons are Assault weapons. Vanguard Weapons fire pistols or something. When the Assault Phase comes around, the entire squad can assault due to the Blackstar being an Assault transport. They erase an enemy Elite unit and can switch tactics to get re-rolls of 1 to hit on any other force org selection. These are only two examples of what I might do with these guys and are by no means even the best. These are just a couple ideas I had and I just wanted to share because I'm so excited. And if you're a dirty, disgusting heretic who wants to have some fun before getting purged, you can also use the Codex to represent Chaos Space Marines who are actually THREATENING. What's your excuse for these strange wargear and strange profiles? DAEMONS OF COURSE. Your Infernus Heavy Bolter is just a heavy bolter possessed by an ANGRY DRAGON which is why it spits fire. Your squads are mixed because everyone just sort of picks up and uses whatever they can grab and they've never really heard of the Codex Astartes. Why do you get special-issue ammunition? Daemonic possession! Where did that Heavy Thunder Hammer come from? It's just a really large daemonically possessed thunder hammer that can only be shackled and used with two hands duh. Why do you have rare, Astartes-pattern aircraft? Uh. Daemonic possession! Where did you get those Land Raider Redeemers from? I dunno but Daemons were involved somehow. How did that Chaos Lord get a Custodes Guardian Spear? Uh. It's a regular power lance. But daemonically possessed. Duh. etc etc What does everyone think?