Making Noise Marines Scream

[the jeske]

nope . possessed are discouned becasuse they are high cost[D-aren't] have no good transport[D-can at least deep strike and be spamed] aren't scoring [unlike Ds] , are a meh melee unit in an edition where melee is meh .

[Bowlzee]

Really great thread!

I can definitely see the attraction of using Daemonettes in this kind of list, but their lack of assault grenades kind of concerns me. Isn't that one of the reasons Possessed (who admittedly are way more expensive) are usually discounted as viable options? I've also seen Skull Cannons and/or Fiends referred to as "must takes" in daemon lists that feature Bloodletters or 'nettes, specifically to address their lack of frags. How has this worked out for you in practice? Do you tend to play on low terrain density tables? (That's not the norm in my meta, by I gather it's fairly common for many, especially in tournaments.)

My problem with fiends is that they are too expensive (moneywise), you really need 3 to be survivable and that puts them at $123AUD.... ouch! However, I have found the biggest problem with Daemonettes is getting the across the field, not assaulting with them

[Emperors Immortals]

Ive tried running Slaaneshi cult lists that usually have cultist blobs and is centered around 2-3 NM squads and a large CC MoS CSM unit that basically infiltrates with a Lord on Steed. Fun, fast but not very competitive. I had given up until seeing this thread.

 

Im reinvigorated because I recently realised that our freedom lies in our weakness - a "wobbly" codex has led us to the need to innovate new compostions and strategies for our armies, and now more then ever its just us old timers too stubborn to give up on Chaos and the younger idealists who see the romance of our cause - REJOICE!!!!! Its all ours, and no one is hijacking our bandwagon. We are freed to run truly fun and fluffy lists, because our codex is so broken!!! How true-to-background is that!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

I totally agree with your philosophy - lets have fun dammit! I had given up on CSM and started using the new SM codex - but no more. You've reminded me that we are the damned eternal outcasts of all thats decent and pure, we are hunted all the way to the heart of hell itself and reviled on a galactic scale - we are the monsters of there nightmares and thats why we play Chaos Marines, not because we are OP but because we love Chaos!!!.

 

Ill be following closely, and will try to incorporate a higher amount of AV 12-13. Keep up all the great work and heres hoping for an even better future!!!

 

 

http://forofreakfactory.mforos.com/1036885/6731822-slaanesh-40k-a-peticion-de-lord-saeril/

 

Its all in here...

Wow, where to start? Theres the obvious tributes to Motley Crue, Metallica, KISS etc. but my favourite is the Man'o'War banner using the cover of HAIL AND KILL!!!

 

As for painting; I used to use the EC pink and black scheme, but recently ive been trying to make pearl and oil effects on a white armour and also pre-heresy purple and gold with lots of black and white. When i get them looking decent ill post them up.

 

I ran fleshy pink marines throughout 2nd ed just to unsettle my opponents, well it worked. My NM were clashing animal print with small patches of actual fabric glued on them - tactile! Blue and Black tiger stripe on hot pink panels was my favorite combo :)

[Kuyash'Slaa]

http://forofreakfactory.mforos.com/1036885/6731822-slaanesh-40k-a-peticion-de-lord-saeril/

 

Its all in here...

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Very inspiring.

[dur3ndal]

So I'm about to start a new army, and I'm torn between a Salamander successor chapter or a Slaaneshi raiding party. I'm leaning towards Chaos, I just don't know how viable my gameplan is. How does this sound -

 

CL with MoS Leading a Cultist horde with flamers

Sorc with MoS Leading a Cultist horde with flamers for Symphony

 

4 squads of  5x or 6x Noise Marines with 3x or 4x Sonic Weapons and 1x Blastmaster, and maybe Power Swords/LCs.

 

 

That's the core of the army. The basic plan is that I use the HQs and hordes to screen the Noise Marines, hopefully even using the hordes to give the NM a 5+ cover (that the enemy can't use due to the sonic weaponry). I send the hordes against whatever needs to be tarpitted, or 2+ armor save units. The Noise Marines deploy with good firing lanes, and if they have to move I move 2 squads at a time, with the other 2 in a support by fire position (taking me back to my infantry roots).

 

Thoughts? I'd probably throw in more CC units, either a melta raptor squad or deepstriking termies, maybe daemon allies, to try and threat overload. Or maybe a maulerfiend/helbrute rush as well. Maybe swap out Sorc with Huron for the D3 infiltrate to push the noise marines up turn 1.

 

I want to do this army. I have a cool idea for how to convert my noise marines, and fluff to back it up, but I just don't want it to suck. Thanks for any advice!

 

[rhodry]

 Bonzi what would you run in a 1850 point list?

[Annatar Giftbringer]

This thread has given me lots of help! I'm currently in the process of building an army that will be based around one 10-man noise marine squad with 2x Blast Masters, 6x Noise Blasters and the icon. I know the noise blasters aren't the best thing to go with, but I like the look of the models and I trust that some day, it'll pay off :) 

 

Other elements include a large (6 or so) bike squad with dual plasma, MoS, icon and .... something for the champion. I want an axe, but that ruins I5.... Perhaps lightning claw and a combiweapon, we'll see... The lord will be riding a bike, carrying the Brand and a lightning claw, as well as 4+ invul. Also Obliterators, at least one small BM noise squad, 3x bikes with melta, a short range/CC noise squad with Doom Siren and Rhino (If I ever include Lucius he'll end up here). 

 

I wanna include a small group of Raptors too, since I really like the models. I'm just not sure what role to give them. I was initially thinking dua flamers, deep-strike or jump forward, roast a squad, die. But dual melta is appealing too, though I'm reluctant to replace the bike meltas with these, since bikes seem so much better... Not sure what to do with them (haven't bought them yet)

 

Some day I'll probably toss in a flying Daemon Prince with Black Mace too, for some added punch. 

 

As for color scheme, see below:

(Also posted here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/281276-scheme-ideas/ )

 

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af282/Annatar_Giftbringer/Emperors%20children/B311746F-2264-4A7B-9BFE-4E6C1D80D3F2-4336-00000A5C26775FB7_zpsac3219d8.jpg

 

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af282/Annatar_Giftbringer/Emperors%20children/8A09AFA2-8D06-4B9D-9D51-EF568D1BCAE9-4336-00000A5C31D738C7_zps9729f3cd.jpg

 

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af282/Annatar_Giftbringer/Emperors%20children/C8587BAB-2F48-46B6-B6E1-7B5974F19604-4336-00000A5C3B9F68C0_zps1d978f44.jpg

 

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af282/Annatar_Giftbringer/Emperors%20children/54C40828-422E-4F38-991D-DFA606A67B54-4336-00000A5C45844386_zps68eaccc6.jpg

 

[Azadul]

Trying to make a good 2000 point list to take around to tourneys. I have had a lot of success with a 1500pt list, and am building on that. Unfortunately my local group does not have a lot of newer/ stronger forces (eldar, necrons, new marines) so I'm not sure how it would stand up at a competitive tourney. But what do you pleasure seekers think of this set up?
 

PRIMARY DETACHMENT: 1459Pts

 

HQ – 165Pts

Chaos Lord (65): 165Pts

Mark of Slaanesh (15), Chaos Bike (20), Burning Brand of Skalathrax (30), Lightning Claw (15), Aura of Dark Glory (15), Melta Bombs (5)

 

Troops – 500Pts

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

 

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

 

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

Fast Attack – 490Pts

5 Chaos Bikers (110): 150Pts

Champion with Power Axe (15), Melta Bombs (5), 2 Meltaguns (20)

 

Heldrake (170): 170Pts

Baleflamer

 

Heldrake (170): 170Pts

Baleflamer

 

Heavy Support – 304Pts

2 Obliterators (140):152Pts

2 x Mark of Nurgle (12)

 

2 Obliterators (140): 152Pts

2 x Mark of Nurgle (12)

 

ALLIES: 441Pts

 

HQ

Herald of Slaanesh (45): 95Pts

Exalted Locus of Beguilement (30), Greater Reward (20)

 

Troops

19 Daemonettes (180): 196Pts

Alluress (5) with Greater Reward (20)

 

Heavy Support

Soul Grinder (135): 150Pts

Daemon of Slaanesh (15)

 

 

[Bonzi]

 

So I'm about to start a new army, and I'm torn between a Salamander successor chapter or a Slaaneshi raiding party. I'm leaning towards Chaos, I just don't know how viable my gameplan is. How does this sound -

 

CL with MoS Leading a Cultist horde with flamers

Sorc with MoS Leading a Cultist horde with flamers for Symphony

 

4 squads of  5x or 6x Noise Marines with 3x or 4x Sonic Weapons and 1x Blastmaster, and maybe Power Swords/LCs.

 

 

That's the core of the army. The basic plan is that I use the HQs and hordes to screen the Noise Marines, hopefully even using the hordes to give the NM a 5+ cover (that the enemy can't use due to the sonic weaponry). I send the hordes against whatever needs to be tarpitted, or 2+ armor save units. The Noise Marines deploy with good firing lanes, and if they have to move I move 2 squads at a time, with the other 2 in a support by fire position (taking me back to my infantry roots).

 

Thoughts? I'd probably throw in more CC units, either a melta raptor squad or deepstriking termies, maybe daemon allies, to try and threat overload. Or maybe a maulerfiend/helbrute rush as well. Maybe swap out Sorc with Huron for the D3 infiltrate to push the noise marines up turn 1.

 

I want to do this army. I have a cool idea for how to convert my noise marines, and fluff to back it up, but I just don't want it to suck. Thanks for any advice!

 

 

It's a solid base to build from.  I don't run cultists myself so you'll have to let us know how it goes so our Slaaneshi war lore grows.  The idea of firing through your cultists to gain a cover save that won't benefit your opponent is a good one.  I would consider skipping the Sorc and going for dual Lords (for the fearless on both blobs), give them both a claw and meltabomb and give one the burning brand.  

 

I run daemon allies myself.  I think for your list it would be cool to run three mauler fiends as your CC punch.  The combo of rushing walkers, fearless cultist blobs, and a gunline of Noise Marines has promise.  The biggest thing you will have to think of is alternate ways to bust tanks.  Blastmasters can do light armor, but only your fiends will be able to crack landraiders and they will have to do it in CC which is not ideal.  You should think on it and let us know what you decide.

 

Unless you come up with a good solution for fliers and anti-tank you'll never be top tier tourney competitive, but you will have a nasty list that should give most non-power gamers a run for their money.

[Bonzi]

 Bonzi what would you run in a 1850 point list?

 

My lists are out of date as I haven't had any time to play since the busy season started at work.  Here is where I think I would expand from my most current 1.5k list.  This is just a general idea as I haven't had time to sit down and game out how I would like my list to expand.

 

Lord: mos, bike, sigil of corup., power swrd, burning brand

 

5 NM: bm

5 NM: bm

5 NM: bm

5 NM: bm

 

6 Bikers: x2 melta, meltabomb, power ax

 

2 Oblits: mon

2 Oblits: mon

2 Oblits: mon

 

Herald of S.: locus of b., lesser g., greater g.

 

5 Seekers: heartseeker, lesser gift

 

20 Nettes: alluress, greater gift

 

Soul Grinder: mos, torrent flamer

 

Mostly this list just builds on what has been proven to be effective in the past.  More blastmasters, more oblits, and some faster Nettes to ride forward with my bikes.  Given more thought I'll probably change this list as it is all getting a bit spamy.

[Bonzi]

Trying to make a good 2000 point list to take around to tourneys. I have had a lot of success with a 1500pt list, and am building on that. Unfortunately my local group does not have a lot of newer/ stronger forces (eldar, necrons, new marines) so I'm not sure how it would stand up at a competitive tourney. But what do you pleasure seekers think of this set up?

 

PRIMARY DETACHMENT: 1459Pts

 

HQ – 165Pts

Chaos Lord (65): 165Pts

Mark of Slaanesh (15), Chaos Bike (20), Burning Brand of Skalathrax (30), Lightning Claw (15), Aura of Dark Glory (15), Melta Bombs (5)

 

Troops – 500Pts

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

 

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

 

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

 

5 Noise Marines (95): 125Pts

Blastmaster (30)

 

Fast Attack – 490Pts

5 Chaos Bikers (110): 150Pts

Champion with Power Axe (15), Melta Bombs (5), 2 Meltaguns (20)

 

Heldrake (170): 170Pts

Baleflamer

 

Heldrake (170): 170Pts

Baleflamer

 

Heavy Support – 304Pts

2 Obliterators (140):152Pts

2 x Mark of Nurgle (12)

 

2 Obliterators (140): 152Pts

2 x Mark of Nurgle (12)

 

 

ALLIES: 441Pts

 

HQ

Herald of Slaanesh (45): 95Pts

Exalted Locus of Beguilement (30), Greater Reward (20)

 

Troops

19 Daemonettes (180): 196Pts

Alluress (5) with Greater Reward (20)

 

Heavy Support

Soul Grinder (135): 150Pts

Daemon of Slaanesh (15)

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is a solid list and including the dual helldrakes makes it very nasty on the tourney scene.  I would drop one more Nette to get a lesser reward for your herald.  Most of your Nettes are just ablative wounds to get the alluress and herald into combat, when they get there the dual gifts opens up some nasty options.

[Bonzi]

Man am I pumped to see so many following and responding to this thread even when I haven't had much input into it in quite some time.  The bad news is I have been swamped at work since the start of spring and getting married this fall...I have had almost no time for the hobby since then.  The good news is that the busy season is ending and I've gotten married so my free time is starting to open up again.  

 

As my free time returns, my intention is to write up a State of the Union response to the current woes and fortunes of the Noise Marine / Slaaneshi daemon army.  Since the start of this blog/tactica there have been several major army releases that have had an effect on the meta and I'd like to cover how these releases have benefited and hindered our favorite adherents of excess (fear not, there is a serious silver lining to the clouds that the newest Space Marine book has brought).  Stay tuned as things are going to start getting noisy again.

[Azadul]

Congratulations on the marriage Bonzi! Good to hear life is treating you well.

 

I look forward to the breakdown of the new meta.

 

Some questions on moving some points around:

 

1) Combining 2 of the 5NM:bm squads. This would give me the needed 10 points (as I'd need to remove 2 daemonettes, leaving spare points...). Would the loss of msu be bearable? Most times the blastmasters are normally focussing down targets anyway. Also having a large squad to camp objectives and having less 'kill points' is always a good thing. As a side note, with the new rules on blasts on vehicles, I find that blastmasters can be used to take out multiple targets per turn, so combining squads may not be too detrimental after all. Downside of course being less scoring units. only having 4 at 2000 points may be a bit on the light side.

 

2) What gifts do you prefer on your herald? the aluress always gets a greater blade, and I normally give the herald a greater (or lesser depending on toughness of opponent) and hope for a good roll on the other table. However I have played about 10 games with her so far, and to be honest ever time I take on of the gifts (instead of the 2 blades to get the +1 attack) I am disappointed. Is there a gift that you will take if you roll it, or do you often just go for the increased attacks?

 

3) Soulgrinder - should I find points for the Baleful torrent? If I combine two noise marine squads, remove 2 daemonettes, and remove the melta bombs from the biker champion I get the points. Most games I find the torrent to be extremely effective. First turn is always running, but second onwards I find mowing down infantry allows you to overpower the opponent a lot faster.

[Azadul]

Oh forgot to type in that my list has the aegis defence line and a quad gun (+100pts)

[Bonzi]

Congratulations on the marriage Bonzi! Good to hear life is treating you well.

 

I look forward to the breakdown of the new meta.

 

Some questions on moving some points around:

 

1) Combining 2 of the 5NM:bm squads. This would give me the needed 10 points (as I'd need to remove 2 daemonettes, leaving spare points...). Would the loss of msu be bearable? Most times the blastmasters are normally focussing down targets anyway. Also having a large squad to camp objectives and having less 'kill points' is always a good thing. As a side note, with the new rules on blasts on vehicles, I find that blastmasters can be used to take out multiple targets per turn, so combining squads may not be too detrimental after all. Downside of course being less scoring units. only having 4 at 2000 points may be a bit on the light side.

 

My gut reaction is to always default to MSU blastmaster squads, but in a larger game it could be very valuable to have a larger squad to hold a central objective.  You will lose some targeting flexibility and the unit will act as a bullseye to enemy assault units but I think in this instance it is worth it.

 

2) What gifts do you prefer on your herald? the aluress always gets a greater blade, and I normally give the herald a greater (or lesser depending on toughness of opponent) and hope for a good roll on the other table. However I have played about 10 games with her so far, and to be honest ever time I take on of the gifts (instead of the 2 blades to get the +1 attack) I am disappointed. Is there a gift that you will take if you roll it, or do you often just go for the increased attacks?

 

Dual blade is always my default choice.  Other options become dependent on what your opponent is running.  Warp gaze and corrosive breath are worth it if you're facing a Mech list and you need to crack open transports before you get to the CC.  Corpulence is worth it if you are facing a horde army where you need the durability to take a lot of weak attacks more than you need the ability to carve heavy armor.  What is ideal for your herald will change every game though you always have the excellent fallback of Dual blades.

 

3) Soulgrinder - should I find points for the Baleful torrent? If I combine two noise marine squads, remove 2 daemonettes, and remove the melta bombs from the biker champion I get the points. Most games I find the torrent to be extremely effective. First turn is always running, but second onwards I find mowing down infantry allows you to overpower the opponent a lot faster.

 

The torrent is a handy horde deterrent and gives your Grinder bigger impact outside of CC.  I think it is worth the 2 nettes and a melta bomb to make that happen.

[Bonzi]

The Current State of Noise Marine Armies

 

Since I have started this blog a whole lot of additional 6th edition books have dropped which have changed the gaming meta just as much as the initial introduction of the 6th ed rule book did.  The nice thing about this constant change is that it forces list evolution and gimicky lists of books past which were once king get replaced by the current flavor of the month.  Change always opens up new opportunities to players who are looking to spice up their current list with some different units.  The following is a series of posts where I will focus on how these new books have changed the meta and how our particular faction of the CSM codex has fared in relation to these changes.

 

 

The Chaos Space Marines Codex:  CSM Supplement

 

The honest truth is that the Chaos Book was not nearly as good as it could have been.  Looking at the new Space Marine books shows us exactly how a single book can effectively encompass many different armies and do it with style.  When the Chaos book came out there were three default choices for the competitive player, the Plauge Marine, the biker, and the Helldrake.  Any army that was to go to tourney had a pretty simple set of choice to make with the biggest decision boiling down to how many bikers vs Helldrakes.  The release of the supplement didn't change much of anything beyond adding some variety to players who like variety more that competitive play.  Really, the biggest advantage the supplement offered was the addition of a fourth Fast Attack slot which was promptly filled with another Helldrake.  Thus the average competitive Chaos players dependency on the Helldrake became total.  Even with all the other releases Chaos can still win games, but the easiest way to do it is to stand on the back of a single unit.

 

As the supplement relates to Noise Marine armies it mostly becomes a boon in terms of some additional options for allies for those who don't want to bring Daemons to the fight.  My personal taste is that I would still rather have my Daemons than ally in some Black company.  For other NM players it does open ways to use Chosen troops to spam weapons our own NM troops can't get (primarily plasma and melta).  As I get back into the game more I plan on giving some supplement list building a whirl to see what new variations I can come up with.

 

Overall I don't feel that the supplement changed the game or Chaos meta in any way which significantly effects NM army builds, but I reserve the right to change my opinion as I explore the supplement deeper.

 

 

Tau Empire Codex

 

The Tau codex completed the ascendancy of the shooting army in the 6th edition.  In many ways the Tau have a similar strength to Noise Marine armies in the ability to deny cover (marker lights) and 3+ armor saves (plasma).  In addition Tau brought about some of the most sought after anti-air fire support in the game.  Players fell over themselves in the rush to ally in some Crisis Suits and Broadsides to defeat enemy fliers, and who can blame them?  The Tau codex was the first book to offer a serious curb the the flyer meta because it offered players a way to combat flyer spam without the need to spam their own flyers.  In the grand scheme of things I feel like this is the most serious offer the Tau codex has brought to the game, bringing a sense of balance to a scale that had been tipped heavily in the flyers favor previously.

 

How this effects a Noise Marine army is complex.  For NM players who relied on Drake spam it was a heavy kick in the shins.  The Tau can ally with almost anyone and almost anyone took them to curb the ascendancy of the Chaos Drake spam.  This can also help the average NM player as it reduced the likelyhood of Necron, Chaos, and IG flyer spam lists which had a heavy advantage over NM players whose primary weapon (the blastmaster) could not target flyers on its high strength setting.  My own feeling is that this Tau advantage ends up as a wash because it helped to balance the overall meta to something more friendly to a basic NM army.

 

The big question is how do we, as NM players, fight the Tau?  There is no denying that the Tau are a highly competitive choice and that in general terms they are an excellent anti-MEQ army.  The key to focus on as NM players lays, as always, in the blastmaster.  The first advantage is the blastmasters ability to wreck Tau Crisis suits hiding in cover.  Our beloved weapon offers an instakill against one of the lynch pins of a Tau army.  Our ability to ignore cover and armor (in both fire modes) also allows us to kill the vital Pathfinders upon whose marker lights most Tau armies rely.  The biggest advantage though is one that is often forgotten in this age of easy fearlessness and ATSKNF....pinning.  Tau troops are very susceptible to our ability to pin units damaged by blastmasters.  The Tau army is one of the few armies where it may really pay off for a NM general to spread out their fire and target multiple units, doing little total damage to each unit but forcing vital pinning tests at every turn.  

 

The key to any game against the Tau will really boil down to pinning and our ability to use fast units to flush out crisis suits which may use LoS block cover to hide from our blastmasters.  I expect that against Tau, bikers and nettes will have to be use as expendable pawns, bearing the brunt of the shooting as they attempt to push the Tau out into our firing lines and to tie down units hard to kill via shooting such as broadsides and tau tanks.

 

 

Next I will address the Eldar and Space Marine Codex

[hushrong]

@Bonzi: I was writing a post in another forum and had come to the realization that your thread, and all the great information presented here by everyone, has been a saving grace in regards to our codex for myself.

 

Awhile back I just disliked any Iron Warriors army I made with our new 6th ed. codex and was ready to shelve the book permanently in favor for some xeno race or loyalist scum. With the errata and this thread I've taken to the field with another legion I love and have reaped victories and caused such pleasurable pain upon my enemies. All of you have given this book a second chance in my eyes, a second chance I have not regretted taking.

 

So thank you Bonzi and thank you everyone who has posted in this thread!

[Phytoon]

I gotta say, that even though I'm fairly new still to Warhammer 40K, I have gone through pretty much the same thing. I got corralled into playing Chaos because my friend bought the Dark Vengeance set and wanted to play Space Marines. Then, not really knowing anything about the lore for this system, I picked Slaanesh to be the father of my heretical sons. I liked the thought of my army not necessarily being the pure-evil style that the other gods had, but as I learned more about it, I think Slaanesh is perhaps the most diabolical of all the dark gods.

 

My first army was pretty crappy, it was just a learning experience where I had found the sonic weapons entry in my codex and wanted as many of them as possible, so I fielded a bunch of noise marines and a helbrute (again going back to the Dark Vengeance starter set) and sorta derped about. Then I heard about this forum, and found this thread, and it helped me to make my army into a nigh-unstoppable wave of destruction. Perhaps better than that, it convinced me that I don't NEED my Heldrake, something that everyone at my local shop has been talking about being broken. Well imagine their expression when I can clear them off the board by turn three without it.

 

So anyway, with a bit of number-crunching to figure out point efficiencies, as well as some incredibly helpful insight from everyone here, I managed to turn my fizzle marines into true warriors of chaos. That's something I probably wouldn't have done without help, and might have even switched out to go play Space Elves. So thanks for that.

[oreaper84]

ive been wondering your target for the netters, i run a similar list from time to time but stray away from demonic allies and the fact that the netters have no gernades beffudles me. What stops a squad from parking inches from the netters and rapid firing in thier face, and then swinging first after an overwatch. i suppose the obvious answer is well thats why you have blastmasters, but it seems these demons should have a better use. I guess what im asking is how do you pick priority target for your netters, and have you ever found thier lack of gnades to be an issue?

[Sandviper]

You might have answered these before but they didnt stick out before. Why dont you upgrade the invuln, switch the sword to Claw when you dont get a +1 attack anyways from taking the brand,  and why take a bike over a steed?

[Azadul]

Im not Bonzi, but I can answer some questions for you.

 

Daemonettes - Yes cover is a bastard, and if you cannot avoid targets in cover, just go at it. The main goal is to get both the aluress and the herald in anyway, they do the most damage.

 

Biker Lord - Sword because it is modeled that way, but yes a lightning claw is better. 4+ invulnerable save is handy, but you are a shooting platform, and having a better invulnerable save is rarely going to come in to effect. If you have spare points, upgrade, otherwise 5+ is fine. Bike over steed because instant death, and harder to kill.

[Disciple of Fulgrim]

@Sandviper: Also not Bonzi here, but regarding "bike over steed" for our Lords, there are a couple of other reasons usually cited fot this if your Lord is going to be accompanied by bikers:

 

1. The Lord can get sniped courtesy of Focus Fire, since he doesn't get the bikes' Jink cover save. On the other hand, I've seen that some folks think being able to Look Out Sir these shots on a 2+ adequately mitigates this, at least in return for getting Acute Senses and Outflank. (I haven't tried a Lord on a steed yet, so can't say one way or another which opinion seems to hold more water.)

 

2. More problematic, not only can't a steed Run as far as a bike can Turbo-boost, but a strict interpretation of RAW also seems to indicate that a mixed unit like this can't move at all in the Shooting phase! (This being based on the linked ideas that: ICs join/remain with units at the end of the Movement phase, you Run in the Shooting phase as an entire unit, bikes cannot Run, and steeds can't Turbo-boost.)

 

@ Azadul: Thanks much for the input on 'nettes and their lack of grenades. I get that with a big enough unit, good use of terrain etc. you can get the Herald and Alluress into cc at least once - but what happens after that? It's bad enough that a lot of the Herald's bubble wrap is probably going to be stripped away getting across the board and by Overwatch, but then having even more evaporate due to striking last? What are the chances of the Herald making it into a second cc, or the 'nettes living to score at the end of the games? (But since I love this concept from a fluff perspective, and just saw Raging Heroes' very cool Preying Mantis "counts as 'nettes," I'll probably end up trying this one out for myself.)

[Sandviper]

Ah okay. That makes sense then. Well heres my shot at a 1500 list.

 

Lord, MoS, 5++, Bike, Lightning Claw, Burning Brand, melta bomb = 165

Sorc, 5++, Bike, 3 levels, Spell familiar, melta bomb, (Takes a force axe) = 165

 

6xBikers, 2xMelta guns, power fist = 175

 

5xNoise marines, Blastmaster

5xNoise marines, Blastmaster

5xNoise marines, Blastmaster

 

2xMoN Oblitz

2xMoN Oblitz

 

Herald of Slaanesh, Greater reward, Lesser Reward, Exalted Locus of Beguilement = 105

 

20xDaemonettes, Alluress, lesser reward = 195

 

 

My thinking was the unmarked sorcerer would be a nice thing to have to beef up the biker squad even more with possible Feel no Pain, Smite, or possibly Psychic shriek. The force axe for taking down things like riptides and Monstrous creatures. Otherwise id prolly chuck the sorc and possibly make the squads of oblitz bigger or add another squad of noise marines.

[Azadul]

@Disciple of Fulgrim: the thing that you have to think about is what you want the daemonettes to achieve in the game, where you deploy them, and what you move towards.

It is unlikely that the daemonettes will live to the end of the game if you are going to run them into the thick of it, against a gunline chances are they will not live to the end of the game. But it still takes a turn or two of shooting to take them out. You are predominantly a shooting army, with a distraction melee component of daemons.

Normally I have the bikes, the obliterators, the daemonettes and the soulgrinders all advancing across the board. About half of this is going to get to them and start doing damage. If he can kill all of it in 2 turns, then things are very bad for you. Make the most of cover as you move across the board, but for the most part you are just trying to swamp him with targets. What gets to him is going to hurt him, and while you are getting there the blastmasters and oblits (and potentially the two torrents) are going to decimate his support peices which are going to kill the advancing portion of your army, don't worry about losing models - just stick to the plan, get there with what you can, and makes sure to decimate his key pieces.

 

Tips to keep daemonettes alive

1) make the most of that 2" coherency

2) stick to cover

3) if you want them to catch the objective, don't be afraid to leave them in terrain, going to ground, and then rushing the objective on turn 5.

4) they are fast, so use that speed to maneuver away from his weapons that hurt you, and threaten with other parts of your army, trying to make him change target priority

 

The most important advice about the armies discussed here in this thread - the army is not based around one strong squad. everything in the army is a threat, everything does a lot of damage, everything is expendable. If the enemy focusses on daemonettes early, then you get 2 to 3 turns of free shooting and movement with a lot of the other parts of your army. This army confuses people, play to that stregth.

 

[MHPS3000]

That's the core of the army. The basic plan is that I use the HQs and hordes to screen the Noise Marines, hopefully even using the hordes to give the NM a 5+ cover (that the enemy can't use due to the sonic weaponry). I send the hordes against whatever needs to be tarpitted, or 2+ armor save units. The Noise Marines deploy with good firing lanes, and if they have to move I move 2 squads at a time, with the other 2 in a support by fire position (taking me back to my infantry roots).

 

This is an amazing idea. You've made me feel not so bad about binge purchasing 30 cultists anymore.

 

Now is the question of having one big blob screen, or two 15-20 man screens...