starting a crimson slaughter amry

[Bloody Legionnaire]

All, I finally decided on Crimson Slaughter as my CSM Army, I really like their fluff and find them pretty easy to paint. I'll try and get some pics up when I can.

 

I'm looking for advice and opinions in collecting and putting a good Army together. So far I have 2 box sets worth of Crimson Slaughter miniatures. I would like to have them be all space marine themed, unless cultist are THAT good. 
Any Opinions on filling out HQ, Elite, FA, or HS slots? I do think I'm going to go with Kranon the Relentless as my HQ, and I'd like to run some chosen because the models look really nice. 

[Terkael]

A lot of the DV Chosen are also very easy to convert to having more traditional CSM weapons if you want to have some detailed troops. A lot of the arms can be sawed off and replaced with CCW and bolt pistols. The bolter chosen also make for great special weapon toters.

[Lucio]

I've used the Dark Vengence set as a starting point, the cultists work as basic troops, the Dark Angels tactical squad becomes Chaos Marines with a backpack switch and the Raven Wing can also be switched over.

 

Got a starting list over in the army list forums and hoping to get some pictures up soon when I've got some more painted.

[Strazhakov]

This thread might be of interest to you then.

 

The new WHFB Sprirt Hosts would make great Chaos Spawn, Familiars or just general base decoration that adds to the CS spooky, haunted Chapter vibe.

[bozo69pd]

What marks if any? or undivided?

 

I converted all my dark angels into nurgle CSM by green stuffing the hell out of them to look like swamp things. If you get lots of rhinos I think Nurgle CSM in rhinos for objective secured can be really fun and decent. Use 1 unit of plasma chosen in a rhino with that upgrade for PE and prolly attach Kranon there. I also put that new character whose name starts with a V in that squad. I also converted the DA bikers into nurgle bikers with melta guns those are good. Picked up some more helbrutes for a mayhem pack to DS in.... umm what else

 

I very strongly recommend picking up belakor and using him... he is just too helpful casting invis on your plasma chosen with kranon and the other character, then shrouding a forward squad, and fun!

[Iron-Daemon Forge]

All, I finally decided on Crimson Slaughter as my CSM Army, I really like their fluff and find them pretty easy to paint. I'll try and get some pics up when I can.

 

I'm looking for advice and opinions in collecting and putting a good Army together. So far I have 2 box sets worth of Crimson Slaughter miniatures. I would like to have them be all space marine themed, unless cultist are THAT good. 

Any Opinions on filling out HQ, Elite, FA, or HS slots? I do think I'm going to go with Kranon the Relentless as my HQ, and I'd like to run some chosen because the models look really nice. 

 

Just to quickly say - If you bought the Crimson Slaughter supplament?, you can always make the unit of Chosen into Draznicht's Ravagers - The Champion with Power Maul unit.

 

If not, then I'd recommend you pick up the Crimson Slaughter supplament for some great relic, wargear & just some extra for the army like Possessed being troop chose.

[Bloody Legionnaire]

I will be picking up the crimson slaughter supplement when I have money. I actually still need to get a CSM codex as well. Mainly I'm a space wolves player, but I wanted something a little different and.

 

I'll be going as fluffy as possible, so while I may use different marks, I won't be including any plague marines or other elites that don't go with the CS theme... Chosen that are played as ravages are the only ones I would do.

 

Is Rhino rush the way to go over foot slogging it? I'm inclined to think yes, with OS and the added mobility to grab last minute objectives... Not to mention added troop protection.

 

Any body have any recommendations on forge world stuff? The dread claw looks really sweet and it appears we can take them as DTs now. In the end I'll probably stick to rhinos though, as my SWs are my drop assault force.

[Dark Disciple]

It's good to see another Crimson Slaughter player on the board.

Definitely pick up the Codex as it'll give you a good idea for what the Crimson Slaughter are now as the background has been expanded since Dark Vengeance and even the Chaos Space Marine Codex. Krannon is now an up and coming Chaos Lord who commands several groups of Legionaries with Rules in the Codex to represent this so if you want some Death Guard Plague Marines there's no fluff reason stopping you.

I've been having some fun with Possessed Sorcerers and Daemonology as the changes to CS Possessed make them quite quick on their feet.

Other than that Maulerfiends are great!

[Bloody Legionnaire]

It's good to see another Crimson Slaughter player on the board.

Definitely pick up the Codex as it'll give you a good idea for what the Crimson Slaughter are now as the background has been expanded since Dark Vengeance and even the Chaos Space Marine Codex. Krannon is now an up and coming Chaos Lord who commands several groups of Legionaries with Rules in the Codex to represent this so if you want some Death Guard Plague Marines there's no fluff reason stopping you.

I've been having some fun with Possessed Sorcerers and Daemonology as the changes to CS Possessed make them quite quick on their feet.

Other than that Maulerfiends are great!

Thanks for the reply, I'll have to look into that. Super excited to pick up the book when I can as well.

 

What do you think about putting possessed in a LR as a DT? The LR would gain OS because possessed are troop choices for CS right? I figured they could benefit from an armoured ride that keeps them away from shooting until they into CC

 

Also, I'm trying to figure out how I would model CS's possessed in what I feel is proper representation of them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but possessed are troops in the CS supplement to represent the fact that the force is haunted by the "voices" of their slain, and the only way to make it go away is to turn into the uber killy. I don't feel GW's possessed with all their mutations is very accurate although they do look some what intimidating. I would either use these from forge world if I wanted that mutated look.. 

 

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/WORD_BEARERS_LEGION_GAL_VORBAK.html

 

Or make them almost like DC... have the models look at little different than your standard troops.

[Spaz431]

Shortly after the CSM supplement dropped I built a 3x6 Nurgle possessed list out of it and played it against my local good Nids player. Nurgle possessed out of CS are phenomenal. Hell, just possessed are amazing from that book. And they are troops. Additional upside you do not have to waste points for VotLW with CS.

[bozo69pd]

If you are going possessed route maybe buy a box of CSM and a box of whatever daemon you are going to mark them (plaguebearers, bloodletters, etc.) then cut off arms and heads and switch em.

 

I wouldn't put possessed in LR and I only think its dedicated for termies anyways. I would prolly footslog them and pray for beast movement. You can put a prophet of the voices on a malefic nurgle sorc then stick him on a palanquin with Daemonheart and spell familiar for pure epic-ness. 4W 5T 2+5++ daemon sometimes moving as a beast attached with a retinue who summons in daemon allies with great odds on only 5 dice.

[Slave to Darkness]

Run a 20 strong possessed unit, the look on your opponents face will be priceless :tu:

[Prot]

I actually like the possessed models, but if you're not sure... you can exchange some minor parts between Raptors and Chosen for a unique look. Franklly the Chosen look the part but I know I'm using Draznicht so I didn't want identical looking models repping my Possessed and my Chosen.

 

Welcome aboard the crazy train. Just ignore the voices and keep slaughtering.... you get used to it after a while.

[RolandTHTG]

Prot, do you know how well the Raptor and Posessed parts integrate?
I'm thinking of combining the two boxes to get a mutated but not completely overtaken look.

As far as playing the CS, I've been using a noise-marine heavy army with Demonheart/Blade lord & plasma Draznicht chosen.
Asking the question above because I've been thinking of adding a posessed unit. They've dove well the couple times I've proxied them, and would improve my current close combat Noise Marine unit.

[Dammeron]

I'd highly recommend at least one Possessed unit accompanied by a Sorcerer with The Prophet of the Voices (and maybe the Balestar of Mannon, if you have the points). The sorcerer can provide a lot of buffs and protection for your expensive unit with Malefic Daemonology and Divination, as well as providing an excellent "summoning" engine for daemonic support. With the CS supplement, you don't necessarily need a transport, though I found in recent games giving them a Dreadclaw drop pod means you can place them with a degree of accuracy where they'll do the most damage or cause the biggest headaches.

[Slave to Darkness]

Prot, do you know how well the Raptor and Posessed parts integrate?

I'm thinking of combining the two boxes to get a mutated but not completely overtaken look.

 

 

They go quite well. A few of the possessed arms might be a little funky the way the pads fit the possessed arm, nothing a little trim here n there cant fix though. 

[Bloody Legionnaire]

I actually like the possessed models, but if you're not sure... you can exchange some minor parts between Raptors and Chosen for a unique look. Franklly the Chosen look the part but I know I'm using Draznicht so I didn't want identical looking models repping my Possessed and my Chosen.

 

Welcome aboard the crazy train. Just ignore the voices and keep slaughtering.... you get used to it after a while.

Thanks bud, it's not so much about liking the models (though I do think those ones I linked from forgeworld are better looking models) I just don't think it accurately portrays "possession" the way the CS are possessed. As I understand he fluff CS' issues is more akin to the black rage that death company is plagued. I know the CS has had their armor changed, but I don't think they offered themselves up to the chaos gods to have their bodies mutated... Nor do I think their bodies were mutated by the warp.... It's much more of a in their heads 'I'm gonna snap and slaughter you, to keep the voices hush hush' kinda possessed... I may model them as uh mutated marines or I may go the possessed box set route.. We'll see. I think using the raptors kit would be cool because their helmets and armor look similar to drazinchts warriors minus the horns...

 

Do you guys think footslogging fares well? Or do you think rhinos are the way to go?

 

I think I want to run 1 helldrake, and 2 units of bikes for my FA....

 

then probably go with havocs for my HS slots... Really considering getting a sicaran for them too..

[Prot]

Possession has different stages, different levels of possession. There's a whole discussion we could have about this,however Crimson Slaughter in particular:

 

- I think of them more as 'haunted'. What you're talking about here is your run of the mill CS marine. He is haunted.

- Possessed, are possessed. The type of possessed in the box are accurate because they are referring to actual 'Possessed' marines.

 

There is a difference.

Just go with what you like.

 

Army wise, bikes are always a better option for Chaos. Frankly I'm bored to death of them, but if you want to work that angle, then a Lord also joining the squad with the Artifacts is quite potent. (IWND, 2+, Blade, perhaps MoN).

 

I always end up being forced into heavy Cultiist play. It is the bane I feel forced to make peace with. The army is so top heavy, I feel Cultists are the only way to balance the numbers. Possessed, Lord with toys, perhaps bikes, perhaps a Balestar Sorc... it adds up super fast in a true CS army. (Lots of people just play with the CS supplement for an artifact or two and could care less about the rest.)

 

I will say this though, it is a fun, diverse army.

[Volt]

Prot, do you know how well the Raptor and Posessed parts integrate?

I'm thinking of combining the two boxes to get a mutated but not completely overtaken look.

 

As far as playing the CS, I've been using a noise-marine heavy army with Demonheart/Blade lord & plasma Draznicht chosen.

Asking the question above because I've been thinking of adding a posessed unit. They've dove well the couple times I've proxied them, and would improve my current close combat Noise Marine unit.

 

Eh, they're OK. The Torso, Heads, and Arms are normal CSM bits, but the legs are not interchangable without a lot of cutting and greenstuff. The only problem is that some of the possessed limbs look really "weighty" and just look weird if you don't true-scale.

 

 

I actually like the possessed models, but if you're not sure... you can exchange some minor parts between Raptors and Chosen for a unique look. Franklly the Chosen look the part but I know I'm using Draznicht so I didn't want identical looking models repping my Possessed and my Chosen.

 

Welcome aboard the crazy train. Just ignore the voices and keep slaughtering.... you get used to it after a while.

Thanks bud, it's not so much about liking the models (though I do think those ones I linked from forgeworld are better looking models) I just don't think it accurately portrays "possession" the way the CS are possessed. As I understand he fluff CS' issues is more akin to the black rage that death company is plagued. I know the CS has had their armor changed, but I don't think they offered themselves up to the chaos gods to have their bodies mutated... Nor do I think their bodies were mutated by the warp.... It's much more of a in their heads 'I'm gonna snap and slaughter you, to keep the voices hush hush' kinda possessed... I may model them as uh mutated marines or I may go the possessed box set route.. We'll see. I think using the raptors kit would be cool because their helmets and armor look similar to drazinchts warriors minus the horns...

 

Do you guys think footslogging fares well? Or do you think rhinos are the way to go?

 

I think I want to run 1 helldrake, and 2 units of bikes for my FA....

 

then probably go with havocs for my HS slots... Really considering getting a sicaran for them too..

 

What?

 

Possession is very clear cut. Think of it like a Lycan. Possessed don't permanently look like horrifying monsters, they change when in battle. The Daemon possessing them acts like a werewolf in TES if you're familiar, where a bloodlust builds up and if not sated, the Daemon will force itself upon the world and mutate the CSM. Once the battle is completed and the bloodlust is satisfied however, the daemon slowly submerges back into dormancy and the Astartes and his armor return to a normal appearance.

[Bloody Legionnaire]

Possession has different stages, different levels of possession. There's a whole discussion we could have about this,however Crimson Slaughter in particular:

 

- I think of them more as 'haunted'. What you're talking about here is your run of the mill CS marine. He is haunted.

- Possessed, are possessed. The type of possessed in the box are accurate because they are referring to actual 'Possessed' marines.

 

There is a difference.

Just go with what you like.

 

Army wise, bikes are always a better option for Chaos. Frankly I'm bored to death of them, but if you want to work that angle, then a Lord also joining the squad with the Artifacts is quite potent. (IWND, 2+, Blade, perhaps MoN).

 

I always end up being forced into heavy Cultiist play. It is the bane I feel forced to make peace with. The army is so top heavy, I feel Cultists are the only way to balance the numbers. Possessed, Lord with toys, perhaps bikes, perhaps a Balestar Sorc... it adds up super fast in a true CS army. (Lots of people just play with the CS supplement for an artifact or two and could care less about the rest.)

 

I will say this though, it is a fun, diverse army.

And that's why I decided to go with Crimson Slaughter, they look like they are fun and have some great rules, and I find them really easy and fun to paint.

 

I don't run any bikes at all.. so it'll be something new for me. I'll look into some of those builds once I get my dex. I'm not looking for anything really competitive out of them (can that be done in your opinion? I know it's a little tricky when it comes to CSM) I mainly want something different from SWs that I can play, learn and have fun with. 

 

And about the possessed, that makes sense... I thought it was the GWs way of representing their curse... by having possessed be troops, but since that's not the case, it's not much of a problem then. 

[Prot]

And that's why I decided to go with Crimson Slaughter, they look like they are fun and have some great rules, and I find them really easy and fun to paint.

 

 

 

 

Gees, I wish I found them easy to paint. I struggle mightily with them. I'm always happy with how they look finished, but might be the slowest models I've ever painted. I should really just simplify things.

 

I don't run any bikes at all.. so it'll be something new for me. I'll look into some of those builds once I get my dex. I'm not looking for anything really competitive out of them (can that be done in your opinion? I know it's a little tricky when it comes to CSM) I mainly want something different from SWs that I can play, learn and have fun with. 

 

 

 

Asking if Chaos/Crimson Slaughter is competitive in this forum is equivalent to throwing gas on a raging hellfire....

 

Here's what I can give you from me personally, though expect that there will be a million takes on that question on the BnC:

 

- I play exclusively Maelstrom missions. (To be completely honest, I find the old 'shoot and kill stuff' missions pretty boring now. )

 

- With Maelstrom it forces a different tactical angle that rewards: Speed, super scoring Troops, and resilience. Chaos can do some of these, and sometimes all of these. 

 

- I like armies that present a challenge. That being said armies like Tau, Astra, etc, that gave me great difficulty in old 6th edition scenarios I have a MUCH better win ratio against them in Maelstrom.

 

- You can min/max a Chaos/Crimson Slaughter army to a very few select units that you will see in -most- competitive lists. Personally I love mixing it up to prevent boredom, and Chaos has some really fun units. The trick is to not let the 'fun' stuff water your lists down too much. So you can still compete, but not bore yourself to tears.

 

Crimson Slaughter, fluff wise, I love. Ruleswise, I think it's heavily cherry picked for a few select units for maximum advantage. For the rest of us, there's Daemonology (for fun) on your Sorc, or even a shooty list with Balestar, and even Draznicht's buddies give lots of different playstyle opportunities. If the basic Chaos units improve in the future, it'll just be that much better.

 

And about the possessed, that makes sense... I thought it was the GWs way of representing their curse... by having possessed be troops, but since that's not the case, it's not much of a problem then.

 

 

For sure. Just remember while we can't take VotLW, the army has Fear..... armywide. So that right there is your representation of the 'haunting of chaos' (for lack of better term.) Possessed are just... possessed... on top of the mental issues. lol

 

Don't get stuck on one mark either. Have fun and dabble. Some use the 'red' or the bloodbath lifestyle as Khornate indicators but there is no entity that Krannon and crew pledge loyalty to. In fact it is written that the 'haunting' is a result of a collusion of all powers. Also, the novels note they are not strict followers of  'the 8 fold path'.  So don't let someone pigeon hole you into a mark. Have fun with whatever works!

 

++Edit++

BTW: if you haven't received the supplement yet, you're probably going to figure most of this out on your own. I absolutely loved the codex.... I wish it had more art, but what's in there is great... the fall of the chapter, the rise of them, the backgroud is good.. different for 40K, but well written. Great gallery pics. Enjoy it.

[bozo69pd]

I find a good easy quick way to paint them is I spray primer black, then spray mephiston red base. Paint all the trim gold with runefang highlights then was the whole thing with bloodletter. Dab on lots of gobs of more blood for the blood god. Took me like 20 minutes each I think.