Night Lords Army brainstorming

[Verrix]

Hello all,

 

I've been trying to put together a Night Lords army. I was inspired mainly by Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Soul Hunter novel. And yes, I realize that is not the definitive work on the Legion. But it was the portrayal I like the most, so I'm running with it :D

 

To this end, I've been trying to put together a semi-competitive army with no daemons or obvious Chaos allegiance. Therefore, no daemons, no prince, Cult troops or Icons. Well, the only concession I'd be willing to make would be representing Icons as squad banners left over from the days of the Crusade/Heresy. I want my Night Lords to be grudging allies to Chaos, seeing it as simply a means to an end rather than an end unto itself.

 

My basic theme for the army is that it is the remnant of several Night Lords companies that, bereft of leadership after the Night Haunter's death and unwilling to follow madmen such as Acerbus or other Chaos-tainted Astartes, have instead banded together under the leadership of a former Veteran Sergeant from the First Company. They fight the Long War as best they can, striking from the Eye of Terror not in petty terror raids but rather in devastating, terrifying strikes designed to destroy the tainted structure now called the Imperium by causing its populace to realize (through the fear spread by these strikes) that their Corpse-God is powerless to prevent his scorned sons from meting out their own brand of justice (twisted as it is by bitterness, hatred and misunderstanding.)

 

So, what I was thinking would be a Lord to represent the tattered warband's leader. His bodyguard would be a squad of lightning claw-armed Terminators who represent his Claw (squad) from First Company. Two squads of 8 Chosen with a good array of meltas, four or so I suppose and maybe a powerfist, could represent those Claws that have sought to spread terror by sabotaging the enemy (represented in game by Infiltrating.) Two squads of 10 CSM with plasma and rhinos represent the main force, moving in swiftly to deal death in the most vicious and violent ways. Finally, a Land Raider to transport the Lord and his Terminator bodyguard.

 

That would round out a 1500 point force, I believe. What do you all think?

[Chaos Lord Shamrockius]

I think the only thing missing would be the raptors that you would definately need to really show the feel of a Night Lords army, and maybe bikers, but I also know that these don't really lend themselves to effective gaming.

 

I do like the terminator bodyguard but think that maybe a rhino for one of the squads of chosen would be a good move. Keeping it all mobile.

[Verrix]

I think the only thing missing would be the raptors that you would definately need to really show the feel of a Night Lords army, and maybe bikers, but I also know that these don't really lend themselves to effective gaming.

 

I do like the terminator bodyguard but think that maybe a rhino for one of the squads of chosen would be a good move. Keeping it all mobile.

 

Eh, Raptors don't scream "Night Lords" to me. They scream "Crazy bastards with jet packs!" Which, I assure you, is fun to scream. But not when I'm building a themed army.

[Chaos Lord Shamrockius]

they are achetypal Night Lords, if you read back over all the years of fluff prior to the latest codex, the Night Lords were known for being quick strike fanatics. You could also use some icons like Khorne or Slaanesh as "counts as" to show their more manic side, quicker hitting style.

[isilvra]

According to "The Core"

Talos Warband does have a 20 strong unit of Raptors.

thats what I've put in min anyway. Also, the war sage :(

[Verrix]

I'm not actually doing the 10th Company, it's just inspiration. I may include Raptors once the army grows bigger, however. Thank you for the ideas ;)

[A D-B]

they are achetypal Night Lords

 

Soooorrrrrt of. Mostly, the Raptors, Raptors, Raptors! thing was game mechanics representing the Legion quite poorly. Raptors are still rare in the Night Lords, just like in any legion. They're certainly not archetypal.

[Lord_Caerolion]

they are achetypal Night Lords

 

Soooorrrrrt of. Mostly, the Raptors, Raptors, Raptors! thing was game mechanics representing the Legion quite poorly. Raptors are still rare in the Night Lords, just like in any legion. They're certainly not archetypal.

 

Exactly. The first thing saying the Night Lords loved Raptors was the 3.5 codex Legion rules, and that was purely something done to have a mirror for the Iron Warriors 4 HS, 1 FA slot, and which they had to entirely reverse Night Lords fluff to justify. Night Lords fluff states they prefer a single hammer-blow, utterly annihilating their enemy. 3.5 fluff states they only ever fight tiny hit-and-runs, never placing anything on the outcome of a single battle. Just a small difference, no?