Tallarn Commander's Chaos (4 More Night Lords Projects Completed)

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I thought they looked familiar.  They work better as noise weapons than their original purpose, IMHO - in their intended implementation, they are an even goofier part to an already goofy model.

Edited March 5 by Dr_Ruminahui

[Tallarn Commander]

Yes, that was a pretty poorly sculpted miniature. I had to heavily kitbash the model to make it decent. 

 

 

Buzzard the Daemon Prince

Spoiler

 

 

I finished another project. I upgraded a batch of 6 Warpborn Chaos Legionaries. Since the Warpborn were Dark Mechanicum slaves they were heavily augmented with bionics by their masters.

 

Warpborn Legionaries

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

■ Bone Picker, Chaos Aspiring Champion with plasma pistol and powerfist
   Bonepicker's call sign is derived from his slave duty before the war. His Chaos Technomasters tasked him with picking through vast piles of bones looking for exactly the right femur or skull. The Warpsmiths would then install the bones into their daemon engines. Bonepicker hated this job as much as he hated his Dark Mechanicum overseers.
  Bone Picker did yeoman's work during the revolution. He performed satisfactory spycraft against the Dark Mechanicum before the revolt. And he served admirably in the ambuscades and skirmishes that took place on Kai during the revolution. Talos rewarded Bonepicker for his loyalty and gave him command of the Liberators Legionary Squad, the Liberators.

 

The Old Bonepicker with normal leg

 

 

The new Bonepicker with bionic leg

 

 

■ Helhunter, chainaxe trooper
     Sometimes during Warpborn raids against loyalist outposts, Imperial officials or Imperial Guard officers flee into the hinterlands. The task of tracking and killing these oppressors falls to Helhunter. It is a job at which he excels.

 

Helhunter with new auspex

 

 

 

■ Diabolical, Reaper Chaincannon trooper
     Diabolical was a Word Bearer attache assigned to oversee Word Bearer contracts with the Dark Mechanicum on Kai. Diabolical did not sympathize with Talos and the slaves' plight per se. But he sided with them during the uprising nonetheless because he perceived Talos to be more faithful to the God's of Chaos than the Dark Mechanicum could ever be. Diabolical is now fomenting daemon and Dark God worship within the ranks of the Warpborn.

 

Diabolical with new mechatendril

 

 

 

■ The Conductor, banner and buckler trooper
     The Conductor earned his name for the derringdo he exhibited before the revolt. He would infiltrate Dark Mechanicum bases and free slaves. He would then escort the liberated souls to safety on the Warpborn's "underground railroad." The Conductor is seen as a folk hero among the Warpborn's camp followers and Cultists.

 

The old Conductor

 

 

The Conductor with new back banner, new mechatendril arm, and new banner

 

 

I cribbed an image off of the internet for a banner. The original can be found here:

https://lifeartbyjanine.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/art-as-a-practice-of-liberation/

 

The accompanying essay about how art can be liberating is quite fascinating. I was inspired by the article and artwork. The Conductor's banner is supposed to evince a similar tone of freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

■ Swordhiss, chainsword Legionary
     For some reason, when Swordhiss swings his dual chainsword blades the engine is not audible. The enemy does not hear the whirring of the chainblades, they only hear a brief hiss of metal blades cutting through the air. Often, the hissing sword is the last thing the enemy ever hears.

 

Swordhiss got a new robotic head

 

 

 

■ Argument of Blood, dual chainsword trooper, now a 2-handed axe/heavy melee weapon trooper
     When he was a slave Argument of Blood built cannons for the Dark Mechanicum. His overseers told him how in the days of the ancients on Sol, cannon makers would inscribe their barrels with the phrase "Ultima Ratio Regum" (Last Argument of Kings). This phrase struck a chord in the young slave. When it came time to rebel, he took up an axe, dubbed the axe "Last Argument of Blood" and used the weapon to behead his cruel masters.

 

 

The Old Argument of Blood

 

 

The new Argument of Blood with a new axe, arms, and mechatendril

 

 

I now have 14 completed Warpborn models, about 225ish points

 

14 Completed Warpborn, "Death to the Dark Mechanicum!"

 

 

 

 

 

I hope to finish up 2,000 points of Warpborn Chaos Marines by early December so I can take it to the Ocean Shores December tournament. I dub this effort "Operation Kai," named after the Warpborn's original planet, well Kai is really a moon that contained Dark Mechanicum facilities.

 

 

Operation Kai

Spoiler

 

JANUARY TO FEBRUARY 2026
-Revna Irontamer, Warpsmith [COMPLETED]
-D85, Chaos Reaper Chaincannon Legionary [COMPLETED]
-IG89, Chaos Cultist [COMPLETED]
-Moravec, female Chaos Legionary Aspiring Champion [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 7 models & 70 points

MARCH 2026
-Upgrade 5 already painted Warpborn models: 2 GW Legionaries, 1 Cultist, 2 Possessed [COMPLETED]
-1 Gal Vorbak Warpborn Possessed Marine, kitbashed with a Defiler Scourge [3]
-2 5th Column Warpborn Cultists [3]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 16ish models & 220ish points
 

APRIL 2026
-Upgrade Talos Slaughtercall, Warpborn Warlord & Master of Possession [1]
-1 Ravaged Star female Warpborn Chaos Marine with banner and chainsword and melee weapon and bolt pistol [3]
-2 5th Column Warpborn Cultists [3]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 19ish models & 280ish points
 

MAY 2026
-Upgrade Valkia the Bloody, Warpborn Sorceress [1]
-1 Ravaged Star female Warpborn Chaos Marine with Reaper Chaincannon and melee weapon and bolt pistol [3]
-2 5th Column Warpborn Cultists [3]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 24ish models & 370ish points

 

JUNE 2026
-Upgrade 1 Warpborn Neverborn Possessed Marine [1]
-1 Gal Vorbak Warpborn Possessed Marine, kitbashed with a Necron bottom half[3]
-2 5th Column Warpborn Cultists [3]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 32ish models & 420ish points
 

 

JULY 2026
-5 Gal Vorbak Warpborn Possessed kitbashed with a Necron Canoptek Circle Kill Team [ETL pledge]  [20ish hours]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 39ish models & 540ish points
Total Number of Night Lords Models and Points Completed: 56ish models and 2,200ish points
 

AUGUST 2026 
-3 Gal Vorbak Warpborn Possessed kitbashed with TBD bitz [ETL pledge]  [12ish hours]
-7 Ravaged Star female Warpborn Chaos Marines  [ETL pledge]   [19ish hours]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 48ish models & 750ish points

 

SEPTEMBER 2026
-3 Ravaged Star female Warpborn Chaos Marines  [ETL pledge?}   [8ish hours]  
-Operation Warp Moon, upgrade 10 already painted Warpborn models from green and black to yellow and black: 1 Defiler, 1 MoE, 1 DArk Disciple, & 7 Possessed Marines [17ish hours]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 60ish models & 1,430ish points

 

OCTOBER 2026
-Metal Queen, Ravaged Star Warpborn Maulerfiend [15ish hours]
-Start Brtual Legend, Ravaged Star Warpborn Maulerfiend [15ish hours]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 62ish models & 1,690ish points

 

NOVEMBER 2026
-No Omnissiah & The Emancipators, 4 Warpborn Chaos Obliterators, kitbashed from Mutilators  [20ish hours]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 66ish models & 2,010ish points

 

DECEMBER 2026
-Slaver's Bane, 5 Warpborn Raiders, using my GW Legionary models [20ish hours]
Total Number of Warpborn Models & Points Completed: 71ish models & 2,120ish points

 

-OPERATION KAI completed in early December of 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I started on another project. I am dubbing "Operation Unrealistic." This project involves upgrading a bunch of my old Night Lords models and painting up maybe 6 or 7 new Night Lords models. The goal is to have them ready to go in time for the mid July 40K Narrative event at this year's Tacoma Open.

 

 

Operation Unrealistic

Spoiler

 

MARCH 2026
-Assemble, flock, and prime the Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [COMPLETED]
-Assemble and flock 10 Night Lords Raiders, give 2 of them back banners [5ish hours]
-Upgrade and flock 16 Night Lords Raptors [6ish hours]
-Assemble and flock 4 new Night Lords Raptors [4ish hours]
-Upgrade Duvalier & Nightgaunt, counts-as Harkon and Dark Apostle [1 hour]
-Assemble and flock Hazzar the Child Skinner, House Nightfall Biologist, counts-as Fabius Bile [1 hour]
-Assemble and flock Crutian of Midnight, Chaos Lord with Daemon Hammer and plasma pistol [1 hour]
-Upgrade 7ish members of the Raiders Chosen Squad [2ish hours]
-Upgrade 6 Chaos Bikers with new bases [1 hour]
Total Number of Night Lords Models and Points Completed: 0ish models and 0ish points

 

APRIL 2026
-Upgrade 4ish or so members of the Ravagers Chosen Squad [2ish hours]
-Upgrade 1 Legionary with a new heavy chainaxe and 2 Cultists with new banners [1 hour]
-Upgrade Dragonne, Murcielago, & 1 Warp Talon by giving them new banners with chains [1 hour]
-Upgrade Oscar with a new base, some new guns, a new back banner, and a new base [1 hour]
-Purchase, assemble, & paint a new Night Lords Obliterator [5 hours]
-Paint up Duvalier & Nightgaunt [1 hour]
-Paint up 5 Night Lords Raiders [6 hours]
-Paint upgrades on the Buzzards Possessed Squad [3ish hours]
Total Number of Night Lords Models and Points Completed: 19ish models and 670ish points
 

MAY 2026
-Paint upgrades on the Reavers Chosen Squad and the Harbingers Chosen Squad [5ish hours]
-Paint upgrades on 1 Legionary and 2 Cultists [2 hours]
-Paint upgrades on Murcielago and Dragonne [4 hours]
-Paint upgrades on 6 Night Lords Chaos Bikers [2 hours]
-Paint upgrades on a Night Lords Warp Talon [1 hour]
-Paint upgrades on 16 Night Lords Raptors [8 hours]
Total Number of Night Lords Models and Points Completed: 39ish models and 1,760ish points
 

JUNE 2026
-Upgrade The Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [7ish hours]

-Paint up 5 Night Lords Raiders [6ish hours]
Wait til June 16th.....then as ETL pledges.....
-Paint up Hazzar the Child Skinner [3ish hours]
-Paint up 4 Night Lords Raptors [12ish hours]
Total Number of Night Lords Models and Points Completed: 50ish models and 2,000ish points
 

JULY 2026
-Paint up Crutian of Midnight [3ish hours]
Total Number of Night Lords Models and Points Completed: 56ish models and 2,200ish points
 

 

 

 

 

 

My previous post included a batch of Noise Marines I assembled. Now I'm upgrading a batch of 10 old bolter troopers into infiltrating Raiders

 

 

House Nightfall Raiders

Spoiler

 

The old CSM Legionaries with bolters

 

 

Since I painted up this squad in 2003-2004, over the past 2 decades no opponent has complained about these models' the illegal base sizes. Quite the contrary as my opponent's response to these troopers is often along the lines of "I love the poses."

 

 

Shadowmaster, Raider with Reaver's Blade, bolter, and bolt pistol

 

 

Dusk, Raider with bolter, he still needs his Reaver's Blade and bolt pistol

 

 

Painkin, Raider with Reaver's Blade, bolter, and bolt pistol

 

 

Gustav, Raider Aspiring Champion with powerfist and meltagun. I still need to give him a bolt pistol.

The data sheet as it currently reads allows you to give 1 Raider for every 5 both a meltagun and a powerfist. GW might change that in the future. But it would be easy enough to change this model if GW does change the datasheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

House Nightfall, "In midnight clad"

The Warpborn "Remember Kai"

Edited March 7 by Tallarn Commander

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Congrats on finishing your warpborn project -the black and yellow is very fetching.  Good luck with the new one updating your nightlords.

[Tallarn Commander]

Thank you Dr. Ruminahui!

 

My hobbying proceeds apace on "Operation Unrealistic," my plan to get my Night Lords ready for the Tacoma Narrative Event this July.

 

 

Here are some WIP Photos

 

Bikers, Raptors, etc getting flocked

 

 

 

 

Over 20 Raptors get upgrades

Spoiler

 

Hellcaster gets a new axe (counts as heavy melee weapon)

Last weekend I brought a squad of Raptors to a tournament. I really enjoyed having 5 heavy melee weapons per squad!

 

 

Being Night Lords, we also need some nice flayed, tattered flesh

 

Night Drinker's new skin decoration

 

 

Night Drinker with new Skaven halberd (counts-as heavy melee weapon)

 

 

Ave Mort with greataxe (heavy melee weapon)

 

 

And 4 new Raptors are being added to the Raptorkin Host. Here are photos of 3 of them.

 

 

Goragon with plasma gun

The head is from Statuesque Miniatures.

 

 

Veil Walker with plasma gun

 

 

Macabre Harvest, Raptor Champion with powerfist and plasma pistol

Macabre Harvest has a base, legs, and torso (from Baharroth the Eldar Aspect Warrior), a right arm from a Legioanary, a left army from a Possessed (I think), a jump pack from a Horus Heresy Night Raptor, and I'm not sure what Chaos kit his head is from.

 

 

 

 

 

'

NSFW female Raptors

Spoiler

 

Bleak Sister gets a new chainglaive and banner

 

 

Blood Mary gets a new plasma pistol and powerfist

 

 

Red Queen gets a new greataxe

 

 

These are Harpies from Raging Heroes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Chaos Bikers Have been rebased, flocked, and primed

Spoiler

 

Doooom Rider gets a new chain (counts as power fist)

 

 

Navir gets rebased

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chosen upgrades

Spoiler

 

Insidious Power, Furious Abyss, and Ravenblade get combi-weapons

 

Their old Chosen combi-weapons were tucked back in the small of their backs. So I had a dickens of a time figuring out who could shoot combi-weapons. Now their combi-weapons are easy to spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obliterators

Spoiler

I have not used Oblits since 3rd Edition. So I dusted off good old Oscar the Obliterator and upgraded him for 10th Edition.

 

Oscar the Obliterator

 

 

I'll buy a 2nd old metal Obliterator on E-Bay next month

 

 

Chaos Lord Duvalier Nightfall

Spoiler

 

Duvalier is going to become a counts-as Haarken Worldclaimer.

 

 

He lost his old base, head, jumppack, and right arm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Infiltrating Raiders

Spoiler

 

The Crows

 

 

The Vultures

 

 

 

Dusk with banner

 

 

Spite with banner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simon sits on a bunch of Raptors

Does this mean he is a loyalist kitty?

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Great to see your progress on your project - I've got to update my metal raptors as well, to include the new options that come out of the kill team box.

 

I don't think Simon is loyalist - from my experience, cats tend to support chaos.  Rather, he's probably just indifferent to the suffering of those below him - or he thinks your raptors are eggs, and is sitting on them to help them hatch. 

[Tallarn Commander]

Dr. Ruminahui, I think you will enjoy working on your metal Raptors. The sculpts are superb. Yes, Simon is definitely pro-Chaos.

 

 

Well everyone, it was ten years ago today that I started this Chaos blog on Bolter & Chainsword. 

 

In that time a lot has happened. I've changed careers, moved across country, made some new friends, managed to get out of debt, and lost some loved ones. On the 40K side, I've gotten in many wonderful games of 40K, participated in some great leagues and tournaments, and painted up about 543  new miniatures. In terms of hobbying skills, I'd like to think I've improved a bit over the past decade. I think the biggest areas in which I improved were: adding oil paints as basecoats, kitbashing, using chipping methods to create weathering effects; and began using glazes to create more subtle highlights. I even managed to paint up all my owned models back in 2021, but by 2022 I was back with a pile of shame again.

 

In terms of hobbying, over the next ten years I'd like to paint up all my owned models again, figure out how to use an airbrush, improve my freehand abilities, and get better at painting faces.

 

 

To honor this ten-year anniversary I took this photo yesterday, which is a re-visiting of the first photo I posted on this blog so many years ago.

As you can see, last year I gave all 6 troopers new desert-style bases. I also upgraded the 3 troopers on the left, Infardi, Kalros, and Apocalypse, with new bits.

 

And over the course of the last 10 years these six troopers all got names. Giving most of my Chaos troopers names on their bases is another thing I did over the last 10 years. But I still need to give my Nurgle Chaos marines army names.

 

 

Another thing I've started doing over the last 10 years is write up back stories for each of my troopers. 

Spoiler

Here are some back stories for this batch of six Nostroman 9th infantry

 

Infardi

   Infardi means pilgrim in Low Gothic. Infardi was born on the shrine world of Hagia. He never knew his father but his mother, Sear, was a Chaos Cultist who was active in the Chaos preacher Pater Sin's anti-Imperium campaign. Sear managed to flee Hagia with Infardi in her womb when the planet was rocked by the explosion beneath the shrine to Saint Sabbat. The explosion caused the freighter she was on to immediately enter into the warp without its Gellar Field. The results were disastrous. Most of the crew and passengers were immediately killed by daemons, went insane, or both.
     But Sear was an ardent Follower of Chaos and the daemons sensed something special within her. They knew that in an infinite possible futures that the child in her womb would become a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided in most of those futures. And so the daemons took Sear further into the warp and Infardi was born.
     Now, hundreds of years later, Infardi and Sear have somehow joined the Nostroman 9th. She leads a fierce squad of Hell Riders and the young Infardi is a Corporal and third in command of Harrowmaster Zhukov's 3rd Squad. He is learning battlefield tactics and field craft and is an up and coming young non-commissioned officer in the 9th.
     Neither Sear nor her daemon protectors have told Infardi his destiny. But whenever Sear and Infardi are near a Chaos shrine he briefly acquires bizarre visions of his future.

 

Kalros

     Kalros was once a loyalist lieutenant serving in a Devils Squad in the Catachan XVIII, the swamp Rats. He was as gung ho as the rest of his Catachan comrades.
     But one day on the Death World Planet of Lampros V during a fire sweep, he was ordered to torch a village of women and children, even though they were allied to the Imperium. Kalros refused. He was scheduled to face a firing squad, but bribed his guard and escaped. He survived on his own in the jungles of Lampros V for a decade. One day he came across a Nostroman raiding party. While he had no love of Chaos, he hated the Imperium with a passion. He joined the Nostroman 9th as a mercenary.

 

Apocalypse

     Apocalypse is an expert vox officer. He is also quite proficient in maintaining firearms of all types. He has earned the nickname Apocalypse because, through his work as a gunsmith, the Traitor Guard bring Apocalypse to Imperium-held worlds.

 

Ghalhax

       Galkhax's lungs were scorched by an Imperium toxic bombing campaign on his home world. He is forced to wear a rebreather apparatus at all times. Consequently, he is slightly bitter.

 

Jericho

    Jericho was once a carpet vendor on the Imperial desert world of Mecca. One day he came upon a brass lamp. A Tzeentchian daemon, Kira, had been trapped inside the lamp for a thousand and one nights. Over the course of many adventures involving hexes, flying carpets, elephant chases, and many scimitar duels, Jericho managed to free Kira. The two became lovers and Kira began teaching Jericho Tzeentchiam magic.
     Sadly the Inquisition caught wind of the magic. They were not amused. They hunted down the pair of Tzeentch worshippers and set up an ambuscade. In the ensuing conflict, Kira was somehow trapped back inside the lamp, the lamp was now held by Inquisitor Abdul Alhazred, and Jericho was escaping offworld via Mecca's spaceport.
     Jericho managed to fall in with the Nostroman 9th. He is now a pioneer and combat engineer in 10th Squad. He is biding his time. He knows that through Tzeentch all things are possible. He will someday find the lamp and free his daemon lover.
     Unknown to Jericho, Tzeentch has told House Nightfall's daemonica faction about Jericho's plight. They are very much interested in aiding the carpet salesman-turned mage-turned combat engineer.

 

Vraksian

     Vraksian (named after his planet of origin, no one knows his true name) was present at the famous Siege of Vraks. He was a line trooper in the Traitor Disciples of Xaphan unit. He served in a pioneer unit specializung in minelaying. During the siege the retractor pioneers woukd dig tunnels beneath loyalist lines and set off large explosions. Sometimes loyalist Krieg Engineer and rebel Vraksian pioneers would encounter each other in the tunnels. In the dark the two sides would fiercely fight with shotguns, entrenching tools, and daggers.
      When the Vraksian rebels finally lost the war after 18 years, Vraks and some of his fellow pioneers managed to escape the planet by means of a Warp Rift. Vraksian wandererer the verse for a time serving as ships crew on freighters or as a mercenary. He stumbled across House Nightfall's forces one day. They admired his pioneer experience and offered Vraksian a job in 10th Squad, Midnight Comany, Nostroman 9th Regiment.

   

 

 

 

 

 

Over the weekend I finished painting up 3 more models for my home-brew warband the Warpborn

Spoiler

 

Kor Phaeron, Possessed, member of Forward Unto Dawn Squad

Following the melding with his daemon, Kor Phaeron remembered little except for a deep sense of oppression at the hands of his Dark Mechanicum enslavers. With each kill, a tiny bit of his memory returns. He yearns to remember.

 

 

 

Zhan, member of the 5th Column Cultist/Traitor Guard Squad

 

    Zhan was once a seaweed gatherer on the planet of Kai-Zhan. He was pressed into Imperial service and forced to become a Skitarii, a warrior fighting for the Adeptus Mechanicus. He was not all happy with his plight although he did rather like his new bionic augmentation such as his metal arms and his new night-vision eyes. He was also glad he no longer had to touch or smell kelp.
      When a Rogue techpriest Centurion escaped with a treasure trove of dark tech, Zhan went with him. The two managed to make their way to the moon of Kai and joined the Dark Mechanicum.
     But it seemed to Zhan that he had shrugged off one oppressor only to gain another. The Dark Mechanicum was just as oppressive as its loyalist counterpart had been. And so when Zhan heard whispers of Talos' rebel slave movement he immediately joined as a 5th Column. Zhan was now a mid-ranking leader within the Dark tech guard's forces. Due to his rank Zhan was able to funnel much equipment to Talos' forces. Zhan also convinced more than a few Dark Skitarii to join with Talos.
     When the day of the revolt came, Zhan's sabotage efforts were crucial. His sabotage and 5th Column tech guard troopers destroyed an entire company of Dark Mechanicum Dunestriders and Maulerfiends.
     Now Zhan is a member of the 5th Column Cultist and Traitor Guard Squad. And he and his fellow Cultists are largely ignored and left to their own devices by Talis and his Chaos Marines. Zhan finally knows freedom

 

 

Orzrex, member of the 5th Column, Cultist/Traitor Guard Squad

     Orzrex was once a servitor on the Imperial Navy vessel Ieon Duke. Due to a mindwipe procedure orzrex had no memory of its human past. It simply lived to swabbthe decks of the great cruiser and to maintain the macrocannon batteries.
     But one day a Warpborn raiding party boarded the Iron Duke during a Space battle. The party destroyed the macro cannon battery and captured a handful of ships crew, including Orzrex.
     The Warpborn, abhorrent slavery in all forms, reversed the mindwipes on all 79 of the caltured servitors. 78 of the servitors immediately committed suicide when they learned what had befallen them. But Orzrex was filled with a sense of intense anger. He grabbed a pistol and cutlass and demanded to return to the Iron Duke with the next Warpborn raiding party so he could exact his revenge. The Warpborn acceded to Orzrex's demand and the rest is history. Orzrex is now a valuable member of the 5th Column Squad of Chaos Cultists and Traitor Guard.

 

 

And earlier this week I gave the Warpborn's warlord, Talos Slaughtercall, a magnetized Chirurugeon backpack in case I use him as a counts-as Fabius Bile.

 

 

I now have 17 completed Warpborn models

 

 

 

 

 

I also recently assembled two new characters for my Night Lords.

 

 

Crutian of Midnight on left and Hazzar the Child Skinner on right

 

 

Crutian of Midnight will be a Chaos Lord with daemon hammer and plasma pistol

 

 

Hazzar the Child Skinner will be an Apothecary, counts-as Fabius Bile

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos! We'll see what the next ten years brings.

 

 

Warpborn, "Damn the Dark Mechanicum!"

Night Lords, "In midnight clad."

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone, I hope this blog posts finds you doing well.

 

Last month I took a Chaos Marines army to a local tournament. I took a blended force of my House Nightfall Night Lords and my Khornate Blood Wolves. I chose the Pactbound Zealots detachment, it's still one of my favorite detachments. The event took place in Kent, Washington at a wonderful gaming store that I've been frequenting for years, Wizards Keep Games. They moved a couple of years ago and their new spot is much nicer and bigger than the old spot. Although the new spot does not have a pub next door. You win some, you lose some. 

 

Here is my list, both in short and long form.

 

 

Night Wolves List, Short Version

Spoiler

Being an unholy alliance of Night Lords and Blood Wolves Chaos Marines, a Chaos Space Marines Pactbound Zealots Detachment lead by the vile Blood Wolves Chaos Lord Svane Vulfbad and the heartless House Nightfall Chaos Lord with Jump Pack Travor Ironclaw

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ FACTION KEYWORD: Chaos - Chaos Space Marines
+ DETACHMENT: Pactbound Zealots (Marks of Chaos)
+ TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 2000pts
+
+ WARLORD: Char1: Chaos Lord
+ ENHANCEMENT: Talisman of Burning Blood (on Char1: Chaos Lord)
+ NUMBER OF UNITS: 16
+ SECONDARY: - Bring It Down: (7x2) - Assassination: 3 Characters
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


CHARACTERS
☆ Svane Vulfvad, Chaos Lord, warlord, Mark of Khooooorne!,  Enhancement: Talisman of Burning Blood (105 pts)
☆ Travor Ironclaw, Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, Enhancement: Intoxicating Elixir, Mark of Slaaaaanesh! (95 pts)
☆ Lady Esmerelda Hoth, Chaos Warpsmith, Enhancement: Mark of Slaaaaanesh! (70 pts)

BATTLE LINE
● Sevatar's Sinners and the Baba Yagas, 10x Cultist Mob, Mark of Tzeeeeench! (50 pts)
● BloodTongue and the Harbingers, 5 Legionaries, Mark of Khooooorne! (90 pts)

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Murcielago, Chaos Rhino, Mark of Khoooooorne! (75 pts)
● Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino, Mark of Chaos Undivided (75 pts)

OTHER DATA SHEETS
♤ The Company of Eight and the Ravens, 10 Chosen, Mark of Chaos Undivided (250 pts)
♤ Blood Howl and the Buzzards, 10 Possessed, Mark of Slaaaasnesh! (240 pts)
◇ The Ghost Wolves and Bat to the Bone, 3 Chaos Bikers, Mark of Slaaaaaanesh!  (70 pts)
◇ Bats Out of Hell, 10x Raptors (210 pts)
□ FierFracture, Chaos Predator Destructor, Mark of Nuuuuurgle! (140 pts)
□ Ragnarok, Chaos Predator Destructor, Mark of Nuuuuurgle! (140 pts)
□ Reaver, Chaos Predator Annihilator, Mark of Nuuuuurgle! (135 pts)
□ Wirewolf, Chaos Maulerfiend, Mark of Khoooooorne (130 pts)
□ Mary, Chaos Maulerfiend, Mark of Slaaaaanesh! (130 pts)

Total=1,995 points

 

 

 

Night Wolves List, Excessively Long Version

Spoiler

This army consists of two Chaos Marine warbands. The Blood Wolves have hired the mercenaries of the House Nightfall's Night Lords.

Here is some backstory for each warband and each unit....

BLOOD WOLVES ORIGINS
     The Blood Wolves are a warband of Khorne-worshipping Chaos Space Marines. They were once Space Wolves. Then one fateful day they fell from the Emperor's Grace and followed Wolf Lord Svane Vulfbad when he and his Great Company mutinied.  Svane and his followers proclaimed themselves to Khorne; stole a small fleet of Battle Barges, Cobras, and Strike Cruisers; and fled to the Cliedes System.
     It was in the Cliedes System that the Loyalist lackey Harald Deathwolf found and fought the Blood Wolves. But Svane and his Heretic Astartes had been blessed by the Blood God and they managed to escape into the Warp. Since that day they have wandered the verse. The Blood Wolves seek nothing more than to shed blood in His name.



NIGHT LORDS ORIGINS
    Long ago there was a noble family, the house of Nightfall. They lived in an age of peace and stability established by their world's ruler. Their ruler was Konrad Curze, the fair and just lord of the garden planet Nostramo. And then one day, a corrupt and weak emperor sent an assassin to slay the Lord Curze. The vile assassin succeeded. The emperor then destroyed the paradise that was Nostramo. House Nightfall managed to escape. But since that day they have never forgotten. Vengeance upon the emperor will be theirs!

House Nightfall is a mercenary and merchant house, sort of like a Chaotic Rogue Trader family. It is made up of descendants of those who fled Nostramo before it was destroyed. The House's Council of Eight owns and operates over a dozen star systems, a score of void ships, 3 warbands of Night Lords Chaos Marines, a free company of Chaos Knights, and 9 regiments of Renegades and Heretics Chaos Militia and Traitor Guard.




CHARACTERS

Svane Vulfbad, Blood Wolves Chaos Lord
     Svane Vulfbad was a young pup on Fenris when he was stalked one evening by a ferocious Ice Troll. He was able to use the light of Fenris' moon, Valdrmani, to escape. Since then Svane had felt a close connection to moons and to their symbolism and power.
     Svane was born into the Fire Breather tribe and named to honor the tribe's leader Sven Bloodhowl. The young Svane proved particularly adept at hunting and tracking. One night, under a crescent moon, Svane battled a giant Remhoraz on Fenris' ice fields. Both Svane and the Remhoraz fell during this duel. But the lucky Fenrisian was selected by a Chooser of the Slain. He then survived tests and ordeals too numerous to count. Eventually Svane succeeded and became a Space Wolves Neophyte serving in a Blood Claw Pack.
     Svane served honorably for many centuries in the ranks of Blood Claws, Grey Hunters, and Wolf Guard. He performed hundreds of heroic deeds and the Skalds told countless sagas about Vulfbane. He eventually became leader of the Blood Wolves Great Company.
      But one night while leading his company on campaign beneath a full moon in the Ghoul Stars, Svane Vulfbad heard the call. From its mighty Throne of Skulls Khorne sensed a kindred spirit and it reached out to Svane Vulfbad. Boundless rage filled Svane's soul. He became aware of the hypocrisy at the Empire's core. When Vulfbad awoke from his trance he uttered these words, "I murdered thousands for the Emperor and He gave me nothing except His damning silence. Now His lapdogs yap for every life I take, while the gods promise me the galaxy."
     Svane and his entire great company immediately declared themselves for Chaos and rebelled. A cadre of loyalist Space Wolves pursued them. But, after a handful of running skirmishes, Svane and his Blood Wolves escaped into the Warp.



Travor Ironclaw, Night Lords Jump Pack Lord
     It is an understatement to say life in an Imperial prison is miserable. It is hell. The capricious guards, the random torture sessions from Inquisitors, rape and beatings at the hands of fellow inmates, and worst of all, the disgusting bland vat-grown gruel that inmates are fed. This is what Inmate Number [Redacted] real name of Travor, had to face every day.
     Travor was born and raised on the hive world of Necromunda. Like most of his peers he was a criminal in a gang running extortion rackets, smuggling contraband, and doing hits on rival gang members. One day Travor and the other members of his Orlock gang were caught up in a sweep. A small army of Arbites police officers had a quota to meet. So the Arbites entered the Underhives and arrested all suspected gingers, including Travor, regardless of whether they had committed a crime.
     The young criminal found himself on a prison ship bound for God knows where. When Travor found himself on Imperial Prison Planet 647 in the Segmentum Pacificus he felt some relief because, in the Imperium, there are some fates worse then a prison planet.
     For 32 years Travor endured a living hell. During the day he worked in the prison's mines and manufactorums. During the night he and his fellow Orlocks fought constant wars against other inmates. It was a struggle to survive.
      One day salvation arrived. It arrived in the form of a seven foot tall figure. The figure was clad in midnight armor and had red glowing eyes. It held a vicious sword of whirring chains in one hand and in the other hand it held the dripping head of the hated Chief Warden Ignatus.
     The mysterious figure told Travor and the other inmates they were from something called House Nightfall. An offer was made. The inmates could help the mysterious figure kill the remaining guards and then join House Nightfall in the stars. Or the inmates could remain in their cells and wait for the wardens and Arbites to return.
      For Travor and most of the inmates this was not a difficult choice. They rioted and killed anyone in the prison who was not an inmate. The inmates then settled old scores and killed each other in a bloodbath. In the end only a handful of inmates survived. Mostly Travor and his fellow Orlocks and their allied Eschers.
      The convicts entered a small fleet of battered shuttles and took to the stars as probationary members of House Nightfall. Travor thinks that was almost a millenia ago now. Although time is not a constant when the warp is concerned, so it could  have been only a hundred years ago.
      At any rate Travor has many memories of his life since joining House Travor. Working as a machinist in Nightfall's arms manufactourums, where even a lowly janitor is well paid and cared for thanks to the Unionist Faction. Aiding the pro-daemon faction of House Nightfall by sneaking onto Imperial planets with fellow Cultists and summoning daemons from the warp. Serving as a soldier in the ranks of one of House Nightfall's Traitor Guard Regiments, the Nostroman 9th. Travor was eventually awarded his powerfist for acts of courage and sacrifice and he changed his name to Ironclaw. Along the way he fell in love with a fellow soldier Seera, raised a family with her, and became a colonel.
      When Ironclaw witnessed a hated Adeptes of the Space Wolves crush Seera's skull he realized his life had changed. In one-on-one combat he defeated the Adeptes, who he now wears as a tabard, and was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. He was allowed to begin the Mercantile Rituals of Blood which would transform him into a Chaos Space Marine.
     Ironclaw served with honor as a Legionary, Chaos Biker, and then as Atramentar. With the aid of the Unionist and Daemon Factions within House Nightfall he was promoted to the rank of Chaos Lord. He now soars the skies upon his jetpack and commands House Nightfall's 3rd Battalion. He is still amazed that a lowly convict could attain such glories.


Lady Esmerelda Hoth, House Nightfall Warpsmith
   Lady Esmerelda Hoth is an ambassador dispatched from the Dark Mechanicum to aid House Nightfall. The two Chaos factions have enjoyed a long and fruitful alliance: the Warpsmiths provide daemonic technology and House Nightfall provides mercenary fighting prowess. Hoth has teamed her daemon engine "monster menagerie" up with House Nightfall because she received a vision from the Dark Omnissiah. In the vision she joined with the Night Lords to consecrate Imperium-held worlds in blood.
     She secretly is aiding the "Black Nebula" faction within House Nightfall's Council of Eight. Esmerelda hopes that her efforts will destabilize House Nightfall's easternmost star systems. Systems which are coveted by Esmerelda's Dark Mechanicum superiors. Although lately she is begun questioning this mission and she may even ally with House Nightfall as a double agent.


BATTLE LINE

Sevatar's Sinners, House Nightfall Cultists and The Baba Yagas, Blood Wolves Cultists

     The 88th Blood Pact are troopers on loan to The Blood Wolves from the infamous Blood Pact Traitor Guard Regiment. Urlock Gaur leads the Blood Pact and each Blood Pacter swears fealt to Gaur in an unholy bloodletting ritual. Urlock Gaur and Svane Vulfbad have exchanged small detachments. The Blood Pact gains the melee brutality of the Blood Wolves' Legionaries and the Blood Wolves gain the massed infantry and tanks of the Blood Pact.
   The Squad's Aspiring Champion, Bloodbitch, comes from a Slavic world. She has named her squad "The Baba Yagas,"  after an old Slavic wives' tale. The Baba Yagas sometimes serve as scouts for the Blood Wolves.
     Blood Bitch was imprisoned on a Chaos Penal World working the forges for the Dark Mechanicum. Her life was a living hell, but she coped by organizing a "fight club." Then one day Urlock Gaur's Blood Pact forces raided the Penal world for supplies and manpower. Blood Bitch found herself freed. What's more, Urlock Gaur was impressed at how she had trained an entire cadre of prisoners in hand-to-hand melee. After a brief blood-letting ritual in which she impaled her hand on Urlovk Gaur's armor's spikes, she was promoted to Chieftain of a squad in the 88th Blood Pact Regiment. A role at which she has excelled. Blood for the Blood God indeed!

      The Nostroman 9th's rank and file Traitor Guard infantry are a diverse lot. Some fight for coin, some for Chaos, some fight against the fascist Imperium, and some fight for the sake of fighting. These combat veterans are willing to put their lives on the line as long as they receive their due from the Regiment's Paymaster.
The leader of each squad is quite a character:
     Sergeant Sevatar is a brilliant and cruel warrior. He styles himself after his namesake, the infamous Jago Sevatarion, also called Sevatar. Sevatarion was one of Nighthaunter's lieutenants and fought alongside Conrad Curze before and during the Horus Heresy. Sevatar the Cultist secretly hopes to someday be permitted to take House Nightfall's Mercantile Trial of Blood, the process by which a mortal can become an Astartes.


● BloodTongue and the Harbingers, 5 Legionaries

    Aspiring Champion Gormenghast is a philosopher warrior, a rarity among Khorne worshippers. As a Space Wolf he read widely, devouring the works of Aquinas, Logar, and Aristotle, among others.
     But one fateful day on an Imperial ecclesiarchy world he stumbled across one of the Eight Books of Khorne. Not knowing the tome was a Chaos artifact he took it. Back on the Strike Cruiser he began reading the book. Its contents revealed a great deal to the loyalist marine. He learned the elements of the perfect murder, he learned the inner peace brought about by intense anger, and he learned the eight pillars of the Khorne faith. Gormenghast remained loyal to the All Father but the seeds of doubt were sown.
     When Svane Vulfbad began speaking of the Emperor's hypocrisy, Gormenghast understood what his Lord meant more than most Blood Wolves. Gormenghast eagerly advocated for rebelling and, as a result, after the revolt, Svane promoted the philosopher warrior to Squad Champion in charge of Squad Bloodtongue.

    House Nightfall's Chaos Legionaries are a motley collection of mercenaries, murderers, and maniacs. They have long furthered the interests of House Nightfall and are well paid in slaves, armor, and weaponry. During combat they skulk around the battlefield, avoiding a fair fight. They grab objectives, pepper the enemy with bolt shots, and then pounce where they are least expected, flaying the enemy alive with chainswords. They excel in terror tactics, slipping behind enemy lines to slit throats and terrorize the foe.
    Hatred Scoursoul is a relatively recent member of House Nightfall. He was born into a powerful family of Rogue traders and lived the life of a swashbuckling explorer. But his first love was always archaeology. When his parents were killed during a trade deal gone awry, Hatred inherited a small fleet of Explorator vessels and their crews. His passion lay in unearthing and examining ancient artifacts, xenon or otherwise. He soon set to work trading, exploring, digging, and swashbuckling throughout the verse. The Ordos Hereticus became suspicious of Hatred's activities, but never had enough evidence to convince House Scourscowl's political allies that Hatred was Corrupted.
     It was on a dig on the 3rd moon of Oros Prime that he found a shard of the Black Rune of Damnation. Fascinated, he took the object back to his ship and studied it. He soon realized its full potential. The shard granted superhuman abilities to the bearer, but at the cost of their soul. Hatred willingly trapped his soul within the black artifact and gained rapid reflexes, superb strength, and other abilities. The Rune also whispered insights to Hatred, informing him of the best trade deals and the best archeologiacal dig sites.
     Somehow the Ordo Hereticus faction of the Inquisition soon got wind of Rogue Trader Hatred's soul-trapping Black Rune of Damnation. They were not amused. An Inquisitor Javeert began chasing Hatred and his retinue through the verse. After numerous near-escapes from Javeert, Hatred turned to House Nightfall for salvation. House Nightfall agreed to protect Hatred if he surrendered the Black Rune of Damnation, his Explorator vessels, and their crew to him. In exchange House Nightfall would kill Javeert and erase all evidence of Hatred's existence from the Inquisition's databanks. Hatred begrudgingly agreed to the deal. House Nightfall's covert operatives succeeded in eliminating Javeert and erasing Hatred from their files. Hatred was saved!
     As a recent House member, Hatred Scourscowl has had to work twice as hard as everyone else. Lately Aspiring Champion Hatred's bravery, luck, and tactical acumen have impressed House Nightfall's leadership. They have awarded him with temporary command of thevHarbingers Legionaries Squad.


DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

● Murcielago, Chaos Rhino
     House Nightfall's Warpsmith Cadre suspects that Murcielago is tainted. Her walls sometimes seep blood and odd cries emanate from within during the darkest of hours. Tarot readings of Murcielago's machine spirit indicate that these are auspicious signs. Although some say the Warpsmiths are not to be trusted.

● Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino
     Since Tebtaculus' crew worships Khorne, the Chaos Rhino is just as likely to careen into the foe, skewering them upon one of many spikes attached to the hull, as it is likely to just serve as a transport vehicle.

OTHER DATASHEETS

♤ The Company of Eight and the Ravens, 10 Chosen
     Aspiring Champion Krassek leads the Company of Eight Chosen Squad. He is a hunter's hunter. As a feral tribal warrior on Fenris he could track and kill the deadliest of native beasts, from the great Fenrisian Wolf to the Brutal Frost Mammoths. Krassek would patiently stalk his prey through ice tundra and snow-swept mountain. And then he would finally strike with unmatched zeal.
     When his tribal chief told Krassek he must begin the ordeals to become an Adeptes he was sad. He knew he would miss the hunt. But he also knew he had a duty to his tribe and to the All-Father.
    And so Krassek underwent the trials and eventually became a Space Wolf. As a Space Wolf he joined a particularly devout warrior cult. And so the eventual transition from Space Wolf to Blood Wolf was not difficult fir him.
     He eventually surrounded himself with others who were big game hunters. On and off the battlefield, they specialize in stalking, killing, and making totems of their prey. And as a squad leader he is sometimes allowed a small vessel and navigator and released from warband duties for a year and a day. During these sabbatical he takes up tye hunt once more. He travels to the nearby Death World and stalks the most vicious creatures he can find.

● Icon: Unit can re-roll Dark Pact tests
    Champion Ravenblade leads House Nightfall's Chosen Squad. In a legion consisting of murderous criminals, the Chosen are seen as particularly heinous scalawags. Over the years they have scrounged up rare armor and melee weapons. Some are equipped with boarding shields to ward off blows and powerful chainglaives that can easily cut a dreadnought's leg in half.
    Champion Ravenblade maintains House Nightfall's Aviary of Doom. It is he who maintains the House's murder of Rooks, Ravens, and Crows. The birds specialize in flaying the skin from a torture victims over the course of many days. Starting, of course, by slowly pecking out the victim's eyes.


♤ Blood Howl and the Buzzards, 10 Possessed
Each member of Blood Howl has undergone a terrible ritual. This ritual intertwined their souls with 8 Khornate daemon souls. Hell unleashed eightfold!

     Most Night Lords do not worship the Chaos Gods, at least not openly. The Sons of Curze see Chaos as merely a tool, a means to achieve an end.
But some Night Lords do go rogue and begin openly worshipping the Dark Gods. When this happens they are given a choice. They can face the swift justice of an Atramentar's axe or they can join House Nightfall's Second Claw
     The Buzzards are Possessed who have each given their true name to a Chaos Daemon. Each of these fools is slowly losing control of his or her soul and being overtaken by an entity from beyond space and time.
     While his Buzzards squad worships Slaanesh, Aspiring Champion Shadow prefers Tzeentch. True to form for Tzeentch, no one knows this but Shadow. Tzeentch grants Shadow the ability to see into others' souls. He can be heard muttering to himself, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows." The Shadow is, of course, quite insane.


◇ The Ghost Wolves and Bat to the Bone, 3 Chaos Bikers

    The Ghost Wolves have all sold their souls to Khorne. In exchange they have gained preternatural speed and strength as well as the ability to shoot bolts of fire. Their heads have melted away and nothing but blazing skulls wrapped in hellfire remain.
     Trailing brimstone in their wake, the Ghost Wolves act as the Blood Wolves recon and Raiding Force. They use their horrific speed to strike behind enemy lines and sever communication and control networks. They also pursue survivors after a battle so that even more blood can flow for the Blood God.

    The Chaos Bikers epitomize the Night Lords way of war. They prowl near the foe's flanks terrorizing the most vulnerable enemy units and avoiding a fair fight.

◇ Bats Out of Hell, 10x Raptors

     The Raptors scream down from the aethers, with chainswords aglow and eager to flay the enemies' skin. Each has joined the Chaos Raptor Cult and has now merged with his or her unholy jumppack.

     Raptor Aspiring Champion Ragnar was once a loyalist Space Wolf. And before that he was a mortal mariner sailing the frigid seas of Fenris. But he threw all that away when he had a vivid dream one night. On the dream, he learned the promise of Valhalla was but a lie and the Emperor was a senile corpse god.
     But Ragnar had no love for Chaos. And so he abandoned the Blackmanes company and wandered the verse. He worked for awhile as laborer on a Rogue Trader freighter, as a fisherman on the frigid seas of a backwater Moon, and as a mercenary.
     Ragnar was working as a mercenary for a Xenos species, the Jora, in the Ghoul Stars when he first encountered House Nightfall. House Nightfall had also been hired by the Jora. Ragnar worked alongside the Jora and House Nightfall for ten years. When his contract with the Jora expired he immediately signed up with House Nightfall. He initially served as a Legionary in the Harbingers Squad. His experience impresses his superiors and he was soon promoted to Raptor and then given command of his own Raptor Squad. Ragnar still has no love of Chaos, but House Nightfall's coin is good and the former Space Wolf often gets to battle the Emperor's lap dogs.


□ FierFracture, Chaos Predator Destructor
     FierFracture was once a venerated Imperial Fists battle tank. But one moonlit night the Blood Wolves caught the VII Legion Loyalists unawares in an ambush on the Planet T'olku. After Svane Vulfbad wounded Imperial Fist Captain Alaric Eshara, the bulk of the Imperial Fists managed to escape due to the Captain's rear guard sacrifice. But much of the Imperial Fists' equipment, including FierFracture, was captured by the Fallen Space Wolves. The Blood Wolves keep Captain Eshara alive and chained to back of the vehicle as a testament to Khorne.


□ Ragnarok, Chaos Predator Destructor
     Ragnarok: "Fenrir howls terribly before the doors to Hel. The wolf will break its bonds and run. I know much wisdom, I see deep in the future all the way to Ragnarok, a dark day for the gods.
     Brothers will fight and kill each other. Sister's children will defile kinship. It is harsh in the world. Whoredom rife. An axe age, a sword age, shields are riven, a wind age, a wolf age. Before the world goes headlong, no man will have mercy on another."
- excerpt from Voluspa,10th Century Norse poem


□ Reaver, Chaos Predator Annihilator
     Reaver and its crew have been fighting the Long War since the Horus Heresy. Lightning's Soulshatter Lascannons can pierce the toughest enemy armor at long range. In their free time the crew likes to craft dresses  and suits made of living human flesh.


□ Wirewolf, Chaos Maulerfiend
     "Talix trees, tall and slender, grew along the outsides of the avenue. At least two had been decapitated and remade into gibbets for the wirewolves. There was no point trying to avoid them. Landerson walked on, trying not to look up at the skeletal mannequins hanging limply from the axl-trees on their metal strings. They creaked, swinging slightly in the breeze."
-Excerpt from Traitor General, by Dan Abnett


□ Mary, Chaos Maulerfiend

     Mary aspires to be the first Night Lord to reach the enemy lines. She is a happy Daemon engine. She loves making new friends and giving them a big old hug. Sadly, her new friends usually do not survive her "hugs."

 

 

Photos of my army

Spoiler

 

The Night Wolves

 

 

Vehicles closeup shot

 

 

Chaos Bikers

Bikers and Rhinos are my most effective secondary scoring units. They have the cheapness and speed to get to where they can do actions and other jobs.

 

Possessed

One of my more choppy units, well more durable then choppy. But a good unit nonetheless.

 

 

Chaos Raptors, WiP

I gave this squad a quick basecoat last month. Now I'm going back and giving their upgrades proper basecoats, washes, and highlighting. 

 

This tournament  was the first time I used the new Raptor rules. They can now take 5 heavy melee weapons and 2 mutations in a 10-trooper squad. I'm loving them and will be bringing 25 Raptors to the big Tacoma event in July. Raptors now feel as choppy as they were back in 3rd/4th Edition. They have spent a long time in the wilderness, so they sure deserve the upgrade.

 

Cultists, an amalgamation of Blood Wolves red and Night Lords blue

 

 

 

Reaver, Chaos Predator Annihilator

 

FierFracture, the Chaos Predator Destructor

 

Ragnarok, Chaos Predator Destructor

 

 

As expected, my 2 Destructors way outperformed my Annihilator. 

 

I really need to get more autocannon tank turrets so that my blue hulls can go with my blue turrets, and so on.  I had to borrow some of my turrets from my Nostroman  9th Traitor Guard army.

 

 

Yet another army shot

 

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++GAME 1 VS. NECRONS+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

 

Game 1 pitted the forces of Chaos against the foul Necrons. My opponent was a sporting chap who had lots of big Necron, C'tan-ey thingies. I've known him over the years to be a very nice and fun opponent. Needless to say I killed very little and he easily tabled me. Well, I killed a lot, but he kept bringing it back. 

 

 

Board on Turn 2

 

You can see my Raptors clinging to the middle with my Possessed moving up. My Maulerfiends are hanging out with some giant Necron beastie on the right.

 

 

Wirewolf moves up to get into melee

 

 

Wirewolf and Mary bounce off of a big Necron, who then destroys both without breaking a sweat. I rolled rather poorly in melee.

 

 

Chosen take out a character

 

 

Chosen about to get gunned down by a Warrior blob

 

 

Possessed charge Warriors, who jump out of melee and then gun them all down

 

 

Predator Destructors lay down a solid base of fire on my left

 

 

My opponent's blue and metal color scheme was wonderful. Here's a very nice Necron model.

 

 

Flayed ones hung out on my opponent's expansion all game, racking up points

In a desperate move, here you can see my Cultists bouncing off of the Flayed Ones. But they did kill one of them.

 

 

A gorgeous Night Lords objective marker

 

It warmed the cockles of my heart that my opponent provided these gorgeous Night Lords objective markers for us to use.

 

In addition, my tape measure died at the beginning of the game. Not only did he loan me a tape measure, he let me keep it for the rest of the tournament. A true sportsman! 

 

I'd have to say my MVPs for the game would have to be my Predator Destructors. They had the Mark of Nurgle so they really enjoyed getting sustained on 5s.

 

 

++++++++++++++++++++++GAME 2 CONTINUED BELOW+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

 

Night lords, "Ave Dominus Nox"

Blood Wolves, "Remember Fenris"

 

 

Here are some photos and comments of my games.

 

 

 

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

As always, love to read about your games.  You seem inordinantly blessed with chill and pleasant opponents - which may say as much about your own temperament as theirs.

 

If the C'tan is accurate the model the player used, it makes sense it ate your maulers, as that's the specifically anti-vehicle C'tan.  As well, if the character you took out is the new destroyer cult special character, kuddos on doing so - that guy is a beast (at least per his datasheet - haven't faced him on the table).

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks Dr. Ruminahui.  As long as I get to play with my toy soldiers I'm happy.  

 

Yes, the Necrons are indeed a tough nut to crack. I have found focusing on one unit 'til its dead works best. I sort of forgot that during this game, and spread my forces too thin. My opponent said afterwards (and, come to think of it, during the game) that I should have basically ignored his Warriors and gone after other stuff. I dedicated 2 lords, a Raptor Squad, a Chosen Squad, and a Possessed Squad into his Warriors as well as tons of ranged shooting. He said he has too many tricks to keep 'em alive. I fell for the bait.

 

 

 

++++++++++++++++++GAME 2 OF THE MARCH 2026 WIZARDS KEEP TOURNAMENT: CSM VS. SPACE WOLVES+++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Game 2 of the tournament pitted the Night Lords/Blood Wolves against the foul Space Wolves. Since my Blood Wolves are Space Wolves who have fallen to Chaos, this pairing seemed appropriate. The Space Wolves had come for revenge.

 

 

Game 2: The board during the bottom of Turn 1, grey loyalists on the left and red and blue rebels on the right

 

 

More Game 2 comments and photos

Spoiler

 

Legionaries steal objective from infiltrating Photos Space Wolves

Boy, Legionaries must be one of the more efficient trading pieces available to us. They excel at taking out small enemy squads on objectives for the low, low price of 90 points.

 

 

Chaos Bikers sacrifice themselves to steal objective and prevent further advances by the Wulfen Dreadnought

 

 

Wirewolf and Mary Shred Thunder Wolves

I really enjoyed using a pair of Maulerfiends. After the Tacoma Open in July I'll use my homebrew Warpborn CSM warband more. This warband will use a pair of Maulerfiends in tandem, sometimes backed up by a Warpsmith.

 

 

Scrum in the middle

The new Space Wolves Head Takers are no joke!

 

 

Space Wolves move up to support the scrum in the middle

 

 

Logan with Bears!

This awesome Space Wolf army featured Bear Riders and Logan had pet bears instead of wolves. I was suitably impressed.

 

 

In the end, the forces of the Heretics Astartes managed a win against the Space Wolves after many a fierce melee. My MVP would have to be my Chosen with an attached lord. Their mobility and melee lethality shined. But my squad of Raptor deep-striking into the enemy rear was also instrumental. A fun game!

 

 

 

 

++++++++++++++++++GAME 3 OF THE MARCH 2026 WIZARDS KEEP TOURNAMENT: CSM VS. EMPEROR'S CHILDREN+++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

 Game 3 found me pitted against a gorgeously painted Emperor's Children army. Since some of my forces were marked Slaanesh, perhaps his army took umbrage and thought they were the true Slaaneshi worshippers.

 

 

Game 3 board at deployment

 

 

More Game 3 comments and photos

Spoiler

 

Emperors Children Daemon Prince and Infractors

 

 

My right flank

 

 

 

Bats Out Of Hell Raptors and Wirewolf the Maulerfiend move up

 

 

Daemon Prince takes out Mary the Maulerfiend

 

 

Chaos Bikers pin Noise Marine Rhino in place

 

 

Chosen and Chaos Lord Svane treat Noise Marines with extreme prejudice

 

 

Lucius duels Night Lords Jump Pack Lord Travor Ironclaw

Travor somehow survives with 1 single wound

 

 

 

On my next turn Travor promptly flees the duel and does an action

 

 

Possessed eliminate Emperors Children Daemon Prince

 

 

Chosen hold objective

 

 

 

Tormentors screen out the enemy deployment zone

 

 

 

Cultists hold objective

 

 

The board during the endgame

 

 

 

Emperors Children target Warsmith Esmerelda

 

 

It was a fund and close battle. In the end, victor went to the true forces of Slaanesh, the Emperor's Children! What an enjoyable game. My enemy kept having to declare the number of enemy units he would kill which means he took the Coterie of the Conceited. And I really enjoyed watching EC at work. It's a fun and balanced army and the Coterie detachment has some interesting tricks.

 

Since I assembled and will soon paint up a squad of Night Lords Noise Marines, it was fun seeing Noise Marines at work. My opponent said the 2 Blastmasters do most of the work. The other 4 troopers are ablative armor that sometimes do a little damage. But it's a good unit.

 

My MVP for the match would have to be my Chosen. They took a lickin' and kept on tickin'. Honorable mentions go to my Possessed and to my Predator Destructors.

 

 

In the end, it was a very enjoyable tournament indeed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, on the hobbying front, a metal Obliterator showed up in the mail last week. Now I have all the models I need for the Tacoma Open except for a Chaos Vindicator, which is on order.

 

 

I shall dub thee Ozrk, Chaos Obliterator of Squad Onerous

I gave him a couple of new guns, a new head, a backplate (not visible here), and a tabard.

 

 

And a photo of what I'm working on right now: a handful of Warpborn and upgrading Raptors

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

The Night Lords, "Ave Dominus Nox"

The Warpborn, "Never forget what the Dark Mechanicum did to us"

The Blood Wolves, "For honor and for Khorne!"

 

 

[Tallarn Commander]

My latest update to this Chaos blog will include various and sundry items.

 

I have photos and comments from 2 games: Night Lords vs. Black Templars from last month and Night Lords vs Nids from yesterday.

 

And last month I finished up 2 projects: upgrades to my "Bats Out of Hell" Raptor Squad and a quartet of models for my homebrew Warpborn warband

 

 

 

+++++++++++++++April Game: House Nightfall vs. Black Templars+++++++++++++++

 

My opponent's list

Spoiler

Black Templars

 

[from my memory so the list is very vague]

 

CHARACTERS

-1 to 3 Emperors Champions?

-1 to 3 other characters, 1 of which was possible a Chaplain?

 

BATTLE LINE

-big Crusader Squad with Neophytes, 20ish troopers

-big Crusader Squad with Neophytes, 20ish troopers

-medium sized Crusader Squad?

-squad of 5 Assault Intercessors

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-Gladiator Executioner Tank

-Gladiator Executioner Tank

-Squad of 5 Infiltrators?

-Squad of 5 Scouts

 

Possibly Some Other Stuff

 

 

 

 

 

House Nightfall Nightmare Hunt

 

 

My List (Mercifully Short Version)

Spoiler

CHARACTERS
☆ Travor Ironclaw, Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, Warlord, Enhancement: Sorrowscent Vulture (115 pts)
☆ Duvalier Nightfall, Counts-As Harkon Worldclaimer (90 pts)

BATTLE LINE
● 1st Squad, 10x Cultist Mob (50 pts)
● 2nd Squad, 5xLegionaries (90 pts)

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Murcielago, Chaos Rhino (75 pts)
OTHER DATASHEETS
◇ Bat to the Bone, 3x Chaos Bikers (70 pts)
◇ Night Riders, 3x Chaos Bikers (70 pts)
◇ Bats Out of Hell, 10x Raptors (210 pts)
◇ Death from Above, 10x Raptors (210 pts)
◇ The Banshees, 10mm5x Raptors (110 pts)
◇ Warpnight, 10x Warp Talons (270 pts)
□ Rapture, 6x Noise Marines (145 pts)
□ Onerous, 2x Obliterators (160 pts)
□ Dragonne, Chaos Vindicator (130 pts)
□ Reaver, Predator Destructor (140 pts)
Total=1,990 points

 

 

 

My List (Excessively Long Version)

Spoiler

 

Being a House Nightfall Night Lords Chaos Marines Nightmare Hunt Detachment featuring 37 Rapacious Raptorkin, bastard bikers, a sextet of nefarious Noise Marines, and various and sundry other horrors of the warp +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + FACTION KEYWORD: Chaos - Chaos Space Marines + DETACHMENT: Nightmare Hunt (Terror Made Manifest) + TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 1990pts + + WARLORD: Char2: Chaos Lord with Jump Pack + ENHANCEMENT: Sorrowscent Vulture (on Char2: Chaos Lord with Jump Pack) + NUMBER OF UNITS: 15 + SECONDARY: - Bring It Down: (3x2) - Assassination: 2 Characters +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ HOUSE NIGHTFALL, NIGHT LORDS 2003 TO PRESENT     Long ago there was a noble family, the house of Nightfall. They lived in an age of peace and stability established by their world's ruler. Their ruler was Konrad Curze, the fair and just lord of the garden planet Nostramo. And then one day, a corrupt and weak emperor sent an assassin to slay the Lord Curze. The vile assassin succeeded. The emperor then destroyed the paradise that was Nostramo. House Nightfall managed to escape. But since that day they have never forgotten. Vengeance upon the emperor will be theirs! House Nightfall is a mercenary and merchant house, sort of like a Chaotic Rogue Trader family. It is made up of descendants of those who fled Nostramo before it was destroyed. The House's Council of Eight owns and operates over a dozen star systems, a score of void ships, 3 warbands of Night Lords Chaos Marines, a free company of Chaos Knights, and 9 regiments of Renegades and Heretics Chaos Militia and Traitor Guard. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + FACTION KEYWORD: Chaos - Chaos Space Marines + DETACHMENT: Nightmare Hunt (Terror Made Manifest) + TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 2000pts + + WARLORD: Char2: Chaos Lord with Jump Pack + ENHANCEMENT: Sorrowscent Vulture (on Char2: Chaos Lord with Jump Pack) + NUMBER OF UNITS: 16 + SECONDARY: - Bring It Down: (3x2) - Assassination: 2 Characters +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CHARACTERS ☆ Lord Travor Ironclaw, Chaos Lord with jumppack, warlord, powerfist, plasma pistol (80), Sorrowscent Vulture Enhancement (35)=115      It is an understatement to say life in an Imperial prison is miserable. It is hell. The capricious guards, the random torture sessions from Inquisitors, rape and beatings at the hands of fellow inmates, and worst of all, the disgusting bland vat-grown gruel that inmates are fed. This is what Inmate Number [Redacted] real name of Travor, had to face every day.      Travor was born and raised on the hive world of Necromunda. Like most of his peers he was a criminal in a gang running extortion rackets, smuggling contraband, and doing hits on rival gang members. One day Travor and the other members of his Orlock gang were caught up in a sweep. A small army of Arbites police officers had a quota to meet. So the Arbites entered the Underhives and arrested all suspected gingers, including Travor, regardless of whether they had committed a crime.      The young criminal found himself on a prison ship bound for God knows where. When Travor found himself on Imperial Prison Planet 647 in the Segmentum Pacificus he felt some relief because, in the Imperium, there are some fates worse then a prison planet.      For 32 years Travor endured a living hell. During the day he worked in the prison's mines and manufactorums. During the night he and his fellow Orlocks fought constant wars against other inmates. It was a struggle to survive.       One day salvation arrived. It arrived in the form of a seven foot tall figure. The figure was clad in midnight armor and had red glowing eyes. It held a vicious sword of whirring chains in one hand and in the other hand it held the dripping head of the hated Chief Warden Ignatus.      The mysterious figure told Travor and the other inmates they were from something called House Nightfall. An offer was made. The inmates could help the mysterious figure kill the remaining guards and then join House Nightfall in the stars. Or the inmates could remain in their cells and wait for the wardens and Arbites to return.       For Travor and most of the inmates this was not a difficult choice. They rioted and killed anyone in the prison who was not an inmate. The inmates then settled old scores and killed each other in a bloodbath. In the end only a handful of inmates survived. Mostly Travor and his fellow Orlocks and their allied Eschers.       The convicts entered a small fleet of battered shuttles and took to the stars as probationary members of House Nightfall. Travor thinks that was almost a millenia ago now. Although time is not a constant when the warp is concerned, so it could  have been only a hundred years ago.       At any rate Travor has many memories of his life since joining House Travor. Working as a machinist in Nightfall's arms manufactourums, where even a lowly janitor is well paid and cared for thanks to the Unionist Faction. Aiding the pro-daemon faction of House Nightfall by sneaking onto Imperial planets with fellow Cultists and summoning daemons from the warp. Serving as a soldier in the ranks of one of House Nightfall's Traitor Guard Regiments, the Nostroman 9th. Travor was eventually awarded his powerfist for acts of courage and sacrifice and he changed his name to Ironclaw. Along the way he fell in love with a fellow soldier Seera, raised a family with her, and became a colonel.       When Ironclaw witnessed a hated Adeptes of the Space Wolves crush Seera's skull he realized his life had changed. In one-on-one combat he defeated the Adeptes, who he now wears as a tabard, and was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. He was allowed to begin the Mercantile Rituals of Blood which would transform him into a Chaos Space Marine.      Ironclaw served with honor as a Legionary, Chaos Biker, and then as Atramentar. With the aid of the Unionist and Daemon Factions within House Nightfall he was promoted to the rank of Chaos Lord. He now soars the skies upon his jetpack and commands House Nightfall's 3rd Battalion. He is still amazed that a lowly convict could attain such glories. ☆ Lord Duvalier Nightfall, Counts-As Harkon Worldclaimer, Hellspear, Herald's Talon=90      Chaos Lord Duvalier was once a Nostroman law officer trying to punish criminals on the darkened city streets. Duvalier was elated when Night Haunter came to power and gladly joined the ranks of the Night Lords. Duvalier revered Conrad Curze for his successful campaign against crime. But, over time, Duvalier became concerned at the Legion's human rights violations against civilians. He was going to be a key material witness in the Emperor's trial of Nighthaunter. Then the Horus Heresy happened and Duvalier felt forced to join with his fellow Nostromans against the Imperium. Since that day he has become gradually corrupted and is now just as vengeful and bloodthirsty as other Nostromans. Duvalier hates what he has become.      He was wandering the verse and one day stumbled across House Nightfall. Delighted to find descendants of Nostroman refugees, he married into House Nightfall and has has been promoted to second in command of 2nd Claw. The irony that 2nd Claw includes some former Nostroman crime Lords that he once arrested is not lost on Duvalier. BATTLE LINE ● Hatred's Harbingers, 5 Legionaries, 4 bolt pistols, 2 chainswords, 5 close combat weapons, 2 heavy melee weapons, plasma pistol, lascannon, icon=90     House Nightfall's Chaos Legionaries are a motley collection of mercenaries, murderers, and maniacs. They have long furthered the interests of House Nightfall and are well paid in slaves, armor, and weaponry. During combat they skulk around the battlefield, avoiding a fair fight. They grab objectives, pepper the enemy with bolt shots, and then pounce where they are least expected, flaying the enemy alive with chainswords. They excel in terror tactics, slipping behind enemy lines to slit throats and terrorize the foe.     Hatred Scoursoul is a relatively recent member of House Nightfall. He was born into a powerful family of Rogue traders and lived the life of a swashbuckling explorer. But his first love was always archaeology. When his parents were killed during a trade deal gone awry, Hatred inherited a small fleet of Explorator vessels and their crews. His passion lay in unearthing and examining ancient artifacts, xenon or otherwise. He soon set to work trading, exploring, digging, and swashbuckling throughout the verse. The Ordos Hereticus became suspicious of Hatred's activities, but never had enough evidence to convince House Scourscowl's political allies that Hatred was Corrupted.      It was on a dig on the 3rd moon of Oros Prime that he found a shard of the Black Rune of Damnation. Fascinated, he took the object back to his ship and studied it. He soon realized its full potential. The shard granted superhuman abilities to the bearer, but at the cost of their soul. Hatred willingly trapped his soul within the black artifact and gained rapid reflexes, superb strength, and other abilities. The Rune also whispered insights to Hatred, informing him of the best trade deals and the best archeologiacal dig sites.      Somehow the Ordo Hereticus faction of the Inquisition soon got wind of Rogue Trader Hatred's soul-trapping Black Rune of Damnation. They were not amused. An Inquisitor Javeert began chasing Hatred and his retinue through the verse. After numerous near-escapes from Javeert, Hatred turned to House Nightfall for salvation. House Nightfall agreed to protect Hatred if he surrendered the Black Rune of Damnation, his Explorator vessels, and their crew to him. In exchange House Nightfall would kill Javeert and erase all evidence of Hatred's existence from the Inquisition's databanks. Hatred begrudgingly agreed to the deal. House Nightfall's covert operatives succeeded in eliminating Javeert and erasing Hatred from their files. Hatred was saved!      As a recent House member, Hatred Scourscowl has had to work twice as hard as everyone else. Lately Aspiring Champion Hatred's bravery, luck, and tactical acumen have impressed House Nightfall's leadership. They have awarded him with temporary command of 3rd Battalion. ● Sergeant Rukka's 1st Squad, 10 Chaos Cultists with autopistols and Brutal Assault Weapons       The Nostroman 9th's rank and file Traitor Guard infantry are a diverse lot. Some fight for coin, some for Chaos, some fight against the fascist Imperium, and some fight for the sake of fighting. These combat veterans are willing to put their lives on the line as long as they receive their due from the Regiment's Paymaster.      Corporal Rulka's mother is a Matriarch and member of Clan Escher's Council of Crones in the Necromunda hive spire. She set very high standards for her daughter, standards which Rulka could never meet. Rulka served admirably for years as a warrior but her mother prohibited her promotion.       Fed up with her mother, Rulka booked passage on a Rogue Trader vessel and took to the stars. She wandered the verse and eventually found herself a soldier in the Nostroman 9th Traitur Guard Regiment.         Unlike her mother, the Nostromans quickly promoted her to a leadership role. She is now a Corporal within 1st Squad, Midnight Companie. She is being groomed for a Sergeant slot and maybe even a Harrowmaster rank. Rulka hopes to someday return to Necromunda and take her mother's Seat on House Escher's Council of Crones. DEDICATED TRANSPORTS ○ Murcielago, Chaos Rhino, armored tracks, Havoc Launcher, combi-weapon=75      These ancient transports manuever the Night Lords around the battlefield. They deliver their deadly cargo and then provide fire support with bolter rounds and Havoc missiles.      House Nightfall's Warpsmith Cadre suspects that Murcielago is tainted. Her walls sometimes seep blood and odd cries emanate from within during the darkest of hours. Tarot readings of Murcielago's machine spirit indicate that these are auspicious signs. Although some say the Warpsmiths are not to be trusted. OTHER DATASHEETS ◇ Champion Chamorro's Bat to the Bone, 3 Chaos Bikers, powerfist, 2 chainswords, 2 meltaguns, 3 combi-bolters, icon=70 ◇ Doom Rider's Night Riders, 3 Chaos Bikers, powerfist, 2 chainswords, 2 meltaguns, 3 combi-bolters, icon=70      The Chaos Bikers epitomize the Night Lords way of war. They prowl near the foe's flanks terrorizing the most vulnerable enemy units and avoiding a fair fight.      The Bat To The Bone Biker Squad is lead by Chamorro Nightfall. Chamorro can trace her families' lineage back to before the fall of Nostramo. Her family was fortnate enough to flee the planet with its fortunes largely intact. And they were one of House Nightfall's founding families.      Lord Chamorro was once the leader of 1st Battalion and she held a seat on House Nightfall's ruling Council of Eight. She was forced to abdicate her seat because of the infamous "Argenta Admech Incident." One day on the planet of Argenta Prime Chamorro developed psychic abilities. She believed her sorcerous powers stemmed from a biomechanical fist she had recently ripped from a loyalist Admech techpriest. In reality the powers flowed from the Chaos God Tzeentch. House Nightfall suspected Chamorro was being tricked by Tzeentch and their Atramentar conducted an investigation. House Nightfall, like most Night Lords, has a deep skepticism about worshipping the Chaos gods.      Because Chamorro's warpcraft got results and she and her family were quite powerful, the Atramentar treated her leniently. They issued "The Edict of Nantz." Chamorro lost her position as 1st Battalion Warlord and she lost her seat on the Council of Eight. But, in return, she was not executed. In exchange, Chamorro had to destroy her "magical" fist and she swore to never proselytize other warband members to follow Tzeentch. So far this tenuous accord has remained in effect and all parties have honored it.      In punishment Chamorro was demoted to a rank and file Legionary.* She has since earned her current status as the Aspiring Champion of her own Chaos Biker Squad. She is still ambitious and hopes to regain her warband and to eventually gain a seat on the ruling council. * GW for some reason eliminated Chaos Biker Lords      Doom Rider travels the fury road. He is an enigmatic figure blessed by Slaanesh who wanders the paths of the Immaterium as a Daemonuc Biker from hell.       Doom Rider suddenly appears in twisting clouds of orange and red smoke to fight alongside Chaos Marine warbands or Chaos Traitor Guard Regiments. Then, just as quickly, he vanishes in roiling clouds of hellish smoke. Returned to the Warp from whence they came. ● Aspiring Champion Ragnar's Bats Out of Hell, 10 Chaos Raptors, powerfist, 4 heavy melee weapons, 2 mutations, 1 chainsword, 2 plasma pistols, meltagun, plasma gun, 6 bolt pistols (210) ● Aspiring Champion Macabre Harvest's Death from Above, 10 Chaos Raptors, powerfist, 4 heavy melee weapons, 2 mutations, 1 chainsword, 2 plasma pistols, meltagun, plasma gun, 6 bolt pistols (210) ● Aspiring Champion Bloody Mary's Banshees, 5 Chaos Raptors, powerfist, 2 heavy melee weapons, plasma pistol, meltagun, plasma gun, 2 bolt pistols (110)      The Raptors scream down from the aethers, with chainswords aglow and eager to flay the enemies' skin. Each has joined the Chaos Raptor Cult and has now merged with his or her unholy jumppack.      Raptor Aspiring Champion Ragnar was once a loyalist Space Wolf. And before that he was a mortal mariner sailing the frigid seas of Fenris. But he threw all that away when he had a vivid dream one night. On the dream, he learned the promise of Valhalla was but a lie and the Emperor was a senile corpse god.      But Ragnar had no love for Chaos. And so he abandoned the Blackmanes company and wandered the verse. He worked for awhile as laborer on a Rogue Trader freighter, as a fisherman on the frigid seas of a backwater Moon, and as a mercenary.      Ragnar was working as a mercenary for a Xenos species, the Jora, in the Ghoul Stars when he first encountered House Nightfall. House Nightfall had also been hired by the Jora. Ragnar worked alongside the Jora and House Nightfall for ten years. When his contract with the Jora expired he immediately signed up with House Nightfall. He initially served as a Legionary in the Harbingers Squad. His experience impresses his superiors and he was soon promoted to Raptor and then given command of his own Raptor Squad. Ragnar still has no love of Chaos, but House Nightfall's coin is good and the former Space Wolf often gets to battle the Emperor's lap dogs.      Raptor Aspiring Champion Macabre Harvest is a rarity among House Nightfall's Night Lords for three reasons.      First, she is a worshipper of Slaanesh. Most Night Lords do not worship Chaos. Instead they see Chaos as a tool to be wielded. But Macabre Harvest regularly sacrifices victim in the name of Slaanesh and hopes to someday become a Slaaneshi Sorceress. Consequently, the Ayramentar. House Nightfall's security arm, arm keeping close warch on Macabre Harvest to ensure she does not corrupt her fellow Chaos Marines.      Second, Macabre Harvest was never human. She was once an Aeldari Ranger acting a scout for her craft world. But she went Rogue and eventually found employment within House Nightfall. Her fierce nature and proven combat ability ability convinced the Council of Eight that Macabre Harvest should undergo the Mercantile Trial of Blood, the series of tests and transformations House Nightfall applies to a mortal to make them an Adeptes. Macabre Harvest, despite her weaker Eldar constitution  managed to survive these trials. She became a Legionary in the Jackals Squad. After years of service as a Jackal, Macabre Harvest was promoted into the House Nightfall Raptor Cult. And, years later, after serving as a rank and file Raptor, the daemonic faction on the Council of Eight pulled some strings. And, lo and behold, Macabre Harvest was promoted to Aspiring Champion of her own Raptor Squad, Death from Above.      Macabre Harvest is secretly serving as a spy for the daemonic faction. She uses her worship of Slaanesh to aid her spycraft. Someday she hopes to become a great sorceress. And, who knows, perhaps someday a seat on the Council of Eight will be hers and she will then be able to truly serve Slaanesh.      Third, as a long-lived Eldar, Macabre Harvest once met Conrad Curze back before the Horus Heresy. She is tight lipped about what was said during her exchange with the dour Primarch. But tumors abound that he foretold how the Rogue Eldar Ranger would someday become a Night Lord. At any rate, she uses the fact that she once met the Night Haunter as a way to impress other members of House Nightfall.           Chaos Raptor Aspiring Champion Blood Mary..... "I won't cry for you I won't crucify the things you do I won't cry for you See, when you're gone, I'll still be Bloody Mary" -Lady Gaga, Bloody Mary ◇ Warpnight, 10 Chaos Warp Talons=270      The Warp Talons are more akin to daemonic Blood Hounds than Chaos Marines.  Warpnight's members are barely more than slavering beasts. They are kept in chains by the Raptors and during battle they are set loose upon the foe.       The Night Lords normally would not tolerate such daemonic taint amidst their ranks. But they see Warpnight not as fallen Chaos Marines.  Instead the Night Lords view the Warp Talons as a symbolic manifestation of Curze's hatred towards the Empire's hypocrisy. Warpnight also serves as a object lesson to the other Night Lords. They are example of what happens to Heretics Astartes when one sits too deeply of the cup of Chaos.     R is for Reaver. May he rip and rend souls.      D is for Doomseeker. May he meet his final death in glorious destruction.      B is for Bloodied Wanderer. May he meander the byways of the Warp, cutting all the while.      X is for Xerxeth. May he rend and wear Xenos victims.      C is for Charnel House. May his victims' bones rest in such a place.      U is for Urzak the Unhinged. May he express his psychosis in blood. [Named by Odsox on Bolter & Chainsword]      V is for Valza. May she someday meet a Valkyrie.      M is for Hate Machine. May he bring death to the Mechanicus.      H is for Helbras. He who walks the path of Tzeentch.      A is for Anrathi. He who once commanded the Exalted and who now slumbers while the daemon within wakes. □ Rapture, 6 Noise Marines, 2 Blastmasters. 4 Sonic Blasters=145      House Nightfall is no friend of the Chaos Gods. Like most Night Lords, they hold a deep skepticism towards the Chaos Gods. Chaos is a tool to be wielded against the foe not a power to which one should become enthralled.       As such, Rapture is a bit of an anomaly in a Night Lords warband: a squad of Slaaneshi worshippers who live only to create cacophony with their chaotic symphonies. They are distrusted by all and watched closely by House Nightfall's Enforcers and Atramentar. But no one can argue with Rapture's deadly results. □ Onerous, 2 Obliterators=160      House Nightfall does not know Oscar's  or Ozrk's true name. Neither Obliterator ever speaks. Nor do they know where he/she/it/theycomes from. All they know is the entities they have dubbed "Oscar" and "Ozrk" emerge from the warp and fires a hail of energy and ballistic weapons at the enemy before disappearing back into the warp. House Nightfall collectively refer to the pair as Onerous. ○ Dragonne, Chaos Vindicator, Demolisher Cannon, armored tracks, Havoc Launcher, combi-weapon=185      House Nightfall tactics emphasize speed and maneuverability. So House Nightfall commanders use Dragonne, the venerable Chaos Vindicator, as a rapier.      The tank races into position, lets loose with its fearsome cannon, and then the vehicles moves on before the foe can recover. Dragonne often escorts Chaos Bikers and daemon engines on daring raids and punishing pincers movements. □ Reaver, Chaos Predator Destructor, 2 lascannons, Predator Autocannon, Havoc Launcher, combi-weapon=140      As with 1st Squad, Reaver consists of mortals from House Nightfall's Nostroman 9th Regiment. Not Heretics Astartes.       Reaver is named after its tank commander, Eponymous Reaver. She hails from the planet Tallarn. Before joining the Nostroman 9th she had an infamous career as a space pirate. She and her crew savaged the space lanes around Tallarn for years. She grew up hearing stories of Tallarn's great tank battles. She uses this cultural advantage as she leads the  Reaver into battle.

 

 

 

New Units

Spoiler

I tried out 4 new units in this army and I was impressed with 3 of them.

 

1.) Chaos Vindicator

 

My Chaos Rhino "Murcielago de Muerte" pretending to be a Chaos Vindicator

Yes, that is a cannon from my Tilean Warhammer Fantasy/Warhammer Old World army on top. Don't judge me.

 

 

 

The Demolisher Cannon was casino-ey in its rolls, but when it rolled well it rolled well and did serious damage to 1 Black Templar Gladiator Executioner and finished off another Excecutioner. As a result of this performance, on Friday I converted my Chaos Predator/Rhino "Lightning" into a Chaos Vindicator and re-named it "Eternal Damnation."

 

 

The new (old) Eternal Damnation

Yes, I stole the Demolisher Cannon and siege shield from my Tallarn 23rd Imperial Guard army. They've been running Vanquishers and Exterminators this edition anyway.

 

 

2.) Chaos Obliterators

 

I also tried out an Obliterator Squad. I haven't used Oblits since 3rd/4th when they were solo models that you just used as single walking lascannons. In this Black Templar Game they did very little. The deep-striked in, missed all their shots, and then got charged to death by BT. But I'll keep 'em in the list for now. They seem fun.

 

"Onerous," House Nightfall Night Lords Obliterator Squad

 

 

3.) Noise Marines

 

In this game I tried out a Noise Marine Squad for the first time. The 2 Blasmasters kicked out a respectable amount of flexible firepower. And they Sonic Blaster troops did a little damage and soaked up wounds. I like this squad. They also cause -1 to enemy battlshock tests. Something which might actually matter in a Nightmare Hunt detachment.

 

Squad "Rapture" Opens Up On the Black Templars

 

 

4.) Lord Duvalier Nightfall (counts-as Harkon Worldclaimer)--with his mortal wounds rule and his wargear he is rather choppy for 90 points

 

 

I guess you could say by adding 3 ranged units to my NIght Lords I am finally transitioning my Night Lords army more from an assault-heavy army to a hybrid army that is more of a mix of shooting and assault. Although this army was still about 1,100 points in assault units and about 600 points in shooty units, so I still favor assault.  10th Edition (and 9th Edition) are definitely editions that favor gun fights over knife fights. Although with the changes to charges and some of the other rules, 11th Edition might (hopefully) swing the balance of the game back more towards melee armies

 

 

 

 

Some Photos from the Game

 

The board at deployment, BT on the Left and NL on the right

 

 

House Nightfall moves out on Turn 1

By "move out" I mean House Nightall shuffles forward a little and cowers behind some ruins.

 

 

Warp Talons Squad "Warpnight" scout moves and charges

I took advantage of my first game with the Nightmare Hunt detachment to scout move a big squad of Warp Talons forward with Chaos Lord Travor Ironclaw who was equipped with the Sorrowscent Vulture enhancement. Sadly I was way to aggressive and my BT opponent spent a CP to counter-charge 'em with a large squad of Crusaders. I ended up with a dead warlord and Warp Talons Squad. And all I had killed for my troubles was 5 Infiltrators and 8 or so Neophytes. Oh well. It sure was fun to yolo up the board like that!

 

 

This left the Crusaders free to also wipe out one of my Raptor Squads, "Death from Above," on Turn 1. D'oh!

 

 

Proxied Vindicator opens fire

I swear I'm not a Rhino!

 

 

The "Rapture" Raptor Squad drops down and does an action as well as waving hello to the enemy scouts in the BT backfield

 

 

"Bats Out of Hell" Raptors and Duvalier Nightfall charge Assault Intercessors and character

 

 

 

Tank Melee

Thanks to my siege shield rule I was still able to fire my Demolisher Cannon while in melee. Huzzah!

 

 

A desperate (and failed) Chaos Biker charge

 

 

 

Raptors attempt to flee from Crusaders

Cue the Benny Hill chase scene music.

 

 

In the end, the loyalist lapdogs easily beat the sons and daughters of Nostramo. But is was a very fun game and my opponent was a great sport. I always like playing Black Templars because they tend to be melee-heavy. I know I won't just be blown off the board against them. Instead I'll get into some fun melees.

 

Thoughts On Nightmare Hunt

I loved Nightmare Hunt! The detachment is definitely more of a fun, fluffy, casual detachment. It seems quite a bit less competitive than, say, Raiders or Creations. Which suits me fine. The enemy only failed 1 battleshock test. But when they did, you could certainly feel the various buffs and debuffs kick in. Also, I really loved the Malicious Surge (advance and charge) and Relentless Terror (fall back shoot and charge) strats. And, if the enemy is actually battle-shocked or below half strength, Talons Sunk Deep (AP buff) and Prey on the Weak (re-roll hits) will be wonderful. Plus, while the Sorrowscent Vulture enhancement (lord joins a squad of Warp Talons and gives 'em scout) proved to be more of a liability in this game, it will good once I learn how to use it.

 

 

 

+++++++++++++++TO BE CONTINUED BELOW+++++++++++++++

 

 

[Tallarn Commander]

+++++++++++++++CONTINUED FROM ABOVE+++++++++++++++

 

I also finished up a pair of hobbying projects at the end of last month.

 

 

Some Warpborn Troopers

Spoiler

 

I upgraded the Warpborn's warlord, Talos Slaughtercall

 

The old Talos

 

 

The new Talos, his left hand is still magnetized

 

 

The vials of Talos' Chirurgeon

 

Talos can be used as many characters, thanks to his magnetization. But I mostly plan on primarily using his as a Chaos Apothecary (counts-as Fabius Bile), a Master of Possession, and a Chaos Lord.

 

Talos Slaughtercall

     Talos is the Warpborn's warlord. It is he who seethe with hatred while he was a vatborn Dark Mechanicum slave. It is he who built up a secret network of rebels, saboteurs. 5th Columnists, and collaborators. It is he  who finqlly liberated the  Warpborn from their Dark Mechanicum creators deep on theoon of Kai within the Warp. 
     While a slave, he acquired a great deal of knowledge of all things biological and mechanical. As a Chaos Marine warband leader, he aplies this knowledge towards enhancing his followers' physical attributes. His decisions keep the wolf from the door, for a Chaos warband's need for weapons, fuel, armor, munitions, parts, and geneseed are neverending.

 

 

Scrapcode, Chaos Legionary with banner/icon (and Simon)

 

Scrap Code is the Warpborn's best "decker." Her mechatendril left arm allows her to jack into any cogitator to access enemy networks. She acquired this device from a Dark Mechanicum laboratory during the slave uprising on Kai.
     She taught herself how to merge with the device. Now during Warpborn raids Scrapcode can use this mechatendril enter enemy cogitator systems to open random airlocks, activate or deactivate perimeter defense weaponry, and  view and control surveillance systems. She is an invaluable resource because she turns the enemies' systems against their owners.
      Scrapcode has a dream. She someday wants to cast off her body and upload herself into the cogitators aboard the Warpborn's ship, Forward Unto Dawn. She believes this is a holy mission that would allow her to transcend space and time. It would also symbolically be a way to spite the Dark Mechanicum. A lowly slave rising up to become a tech spirit.
     The Warpborn's leaders, including warlord Talis Slaughtercall, support her in this project. Lately they have been targeting Xenos, Admech, and Dark Mechanicum facilities to gather enough resources and expertise to allow Scrapcode to "cross over" and become a ghost in the machine.

 

 

 

Child Skinner, Chaos Cultist/Traitor Guard

 

 

Child Skinner is not a member of the Warpborn warband. He is a Night Lord Serf Surgeon Acolyte attached to the mercenary House Nightfall. A House of Nostroman descendants. He is on temporary duty seconded to the Warpborn for the purposes of monitoring the efficacy of various biological upgrades developed by Talos Slaughtercall, the Warpborn's warlord and apothecary. If Child Skinner deems Talos' enhancements to be effective, then House  Nightfall will hire itself out to the Warpborn in exchange for said enhancements (as well as a small quantity of geneseed).
     Unbeknownst to Child Skinner, he will soon be involved in a Warp transition gone awry. While transitioning through the Warp aboard the Warpborn's vessel, Forward Unto Dawn, he and all seven other technicians working in the medlab will be sucked through space and time into the past.
     For his part, Child Skinner will be transported to one of the Spyder's labs. Through a series of trials and adventures, Child Skinner will eventually earn Fabius Bile's trust and become a full-fledged Chaos Apothecary and member of Bile's Consortium. Then, years later, via complex dark rituals, Child Skinner will eventually bid farewell to the Spyder and return to his own timeliness. There he will rejoin House Nightfall as Hazzar Child Skinner, a House Nightfall Apothecary. What's more, he will be an Apothecary in good standing with Fabius Bile. And thus allowing House Nightfall to purchase geneseed from the Spyder, for a price.

 

 

Dark Promise, Chaos Cultist/Traitor Guard

 

The Old Dark Promise (on the far right)

 

The New Dark Promise

 

           Dark Promise temple Guard
      Steward of the Chaos shrine
           Then Talos took him

 

 

Tal Arthul

 

I upgraded Tal Arthul in March. But I promptly broke off and lost his back banner. I gave him a new back banner last month.

 

 Tal Arthul is blessed and cursed. His blessing: he speaks all the infinite languages in the daemonic tongue. His curse: he can only speak in daemonic tongues. Only Kaya, the Warpborn's Dark Apostle can understand him.

 

 

All 20 completed Warpborn

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos! 

 

 

+++++++++++++++CONTINUED BELOW+++++++++++++++
 

Edited May 4 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

+++++++++++++++CONTINUED FROM ABOVE+++++++++++++++

 

And last month I finished upgrading a squad of Night Lords Raptors.

 

 

Bats Out of Hell Raptor Squad

 

 

 

 10 Upgraded/New Night Lords Raptors: Bats Out of Hell

Spoiler

 

Ave Mort and Nox

 

The old Ave Mort and Nox

 

 

 

The Old Nox (2 iterations ago)

 

 

The New Nox with attached ork bit/counts-as heavy melee weapon

 

I think it's funny that Nox started with a Chaos chainsword in the mid 2010s. Years later he swapped it out for an Orkish chainsword. Then years later he swapped it out for a Chaos axe. And now he's gained another Orkish bit. I do love to kitbash my models!

    In his old life Nox was a merchant. He lived on the House Nightfall world of Nachfel and specialized in importing industrial equipment. But his true passion was staging and acting in theater, particularly those written by the ancient Sol bard Shakespeare.
      He aspired to be as true and prolific a playwright as Shakespeare. But, as a sedentary merchant, he had no real life experiences to draw upon. He despaired.
       But one day Nox's cousin gave him advice. She said, "Nox, you'll have plenty of interesting experiences as a warrior for House Nightfall. Join the Traitor Guard."
     And so Nox did join the guard. And as a mercenary mortar trooper in Midnight Companie, Nostroman 9th Regiment he lived life to the fullest. He loved a fellow soldier, Aru, who caught a bullet one day upon the Plains of Ren. He bested an Imperial office with nothing more than a shovel in the mountains of Armageddon. He discussed theater with the Xenos Mirror Beings upon the coasts of Thanatar.          
     And during all of this he wrote. He wrote a great many plays and back on Nachfel the thespians and mummers began to use his plays in their shows.
     But he was mortally wounded upon the battlefield. The Apothecaries decided that such a warrior should not be lost. And so they transformed him into an Astarted Raptor so that he might live and cintinue to serve the interests of House Nightfall.
      But when Nox awoke he discovered he was a playwright no more. No longer could he conceive of dramatic plots or write clever lines. As a Heretic Raptoria he could only think of the kill. The Rapture of the hunt. And so Nox mourns. And he hunts.

 

The New Ave Mort

 

     Ave Mort has a death wish. This most honorable of Heretics Astartes believes he has not lived up to his personal code. As a result, he seeks the hood death. Every morning upon waking he utters the phrase, "Today is a good day to die." And then on days he finds himself in battle he will seek out the strongest foe on the field be it an Imperial Captain an Ork Warboss, etc. Unfortunately Ave Mort has yet to meet his end.

 

 

 

 

Nadrigarh

 

The Old Nadrigarh

 

The New Nadrigarh

 

      Chaos Raptor Nadrigarh aspires to be a Chaos Warpsmith. After each successful House Nightfall mission he conducts an unholy Dark Mechanicum ritual in which he replaces one of his body parts with a bionic equivalent or he adds a mechatendril to his body. He hopes that his actions will gain the attention of the Warpsmiths and he will be welcomed into the fold. Ironically the Warpsmiths are never going to induct him. They are too curious to see how far Nadrigarh is willing to go with his experiment.

 

 

 

 

Nocht

 

The Old Nocht (MIddle)

 

 

The Upgraded Nocht

     Nocht seeks to reveal true souls. What better way to do that than to strip off the skin, the false outer husk of a victim. Thus laying bare the true essence of that which lies beneath.

 

 

 

The Red Queen

 

The Old Red Queen

 

The New Red Queen

     "The Red Queen I pictured her as Fury, but as another type; her passion must be cold and calm--shw must be formal and strict, yet not unkindly; pedantic to the 10th degree..."
-Lewis Carrol, on the Red Queen

 

 

Murderessa

 

The Old Murderessa

 

The new Murderessa

 

Murderessa was once a Night Walker, on Olde Earthe. She wasva prostitute, a lady of the evening, in Olde London's Whitechapel District in the Victorian Age. When too many of her friends were found dead at the hands of Jack she knew something must be done. She took up a Butcher's Knife and hooded cloak and walked the foggy streets searching for Jack the Ripper.
     Early one morning she found him bent over his latest victim. Filled with rage she backstabbed the foul murderer ending his life. But with his dying breath he uttered a dead man's curse.
    The London fog reached out and curled around  Murderessa. When it cleared she was no longer in London. Instead, she was in a rusted metal box. Unbeknownst to he, Jack the Ripper's curse had transported her to the bowels of a House Nightfall Night Lords Strike Cruiser, the aptly named Eternal Dambation.
     And even worse, the rusted walls of Eternal Damnation's hull echoed with eerie laughter. She soon realized she was being hunted for  sport by someone or something. Murderessa fled deeper into the ship and hid. Desperate she pled, asking for help from any God that would save her.
     And so the Mist returned. And an aspect of  a Chaos God appeared as a foul harpy. Malice spoke to Murderessa, "Worship me. Worship the Anarchy within Chaos. Worship the God of the hunt."  Having no choice, Murderessa agreed. And so Malice made Murderessa into an Heretic Adeptes, resplendent with midnight armor and enhanced abilities.
     With her newfound powers she battled the warp entity that pursued her and she won. She then marched forth into the holds of the vessel. House Nightfall was surprised when an unknown Astartes emerged. But she wore the livery of the 8th and had memories only a true daughter of Nostramo would have. Murderessa was made a Legionary and, years later, she joined the Raptor Cult.
     Little did House Nightfall know that they had let a Follower of Malice into their ranks. Murderessa views the Night Lords as no better than Jack the Ripper. And so, on the occasional Dark nights, she secretly summons a fog bank and begins hunting and killing her fellow Night Lords. Jack the Ripper --Malice--would have it no other way.
 

 

Ragnar

 

Aspiring Champion Ragnar

          Raptor Aspiring Champion Ragnar was once a loyalist Space Wolf. And before that he was a mortal mariner sailing the frigid seas of Fenris. But he threw all that away when he had a vivid dream one night. On the dream, he learned the promise of Valhalla was but a lie and the Emperor was a senile corpse god.
     But Ragnar had no love for Chaos. And so he abandoned the Blackmanes company and wandered the verse. He worked for awhile as laborer on a Rogue Trader freighter, as a fisherman on the frigid seas of a backwater Moon, and as a mercenary.
     Ragnar was working as a mercenary for a Xenos species, the Jora, in the Ghoul Stars when he first encountered House Nightfall. House Nightfall had also been hired by the Jora. Ragnar worked alongside the Jora and House Nightfall for ten years. When his contract with the Jora expired he immediately signed up with House Nightfall. He initially served as a Legionary in the Harbingers Squad. His experience impresses his superiors and he was soon promoted to Raptor and then given command of his own Raptor Squad. Ragnar still has no love of Chaos, but House Nightfall's coin is good and the former Space Wolf often gets to battle the Emperor's lap dogs.

 

 

Night Drinker

 

     Night Drinker is learning how to drink the night. The Warp Talons of Warpnight have taught him how to cut an opening in the Night with his ancient Skavenne power halberd. But Night Drinker can only create small thin slits between realspace and the warp. And he can only do do so at night. He cannot yet pass through as Warpnight can.
       For now this is enough. For when he does create small rips in spacetime, a series of enigmatic incomprehensible dribbles of the void seep through. Before battle he drinks of this aether stuff and he is stronger. Night Drinker is aptly named indeed.

 

 

Scarecrow

 

Scarecrow, the only new model painted up for the squad

 

Simon and Scarecrow

 

        Scarecrow in the field
     Autumn, season of the witch
          It now hunts the land
    Scarecrow is not really a Chaos Raptor. He is the Council of Eight's best secret agent. He is currently on deep undercover within the Raptor Cult keeping tabs on his fellow Raptors. While cruelty and depravity are to be tolerated and even rewarded, House Nightfall has no such toleration for those who worship Chaos. Scarecrow's task is to identify those who worship Chaos so that they can then be judged and executed by the Atramentar.

 

 

 

Chaos Renewal

 

The Old Chaos Renewal

 

 

The New Chaos Renewal

 

 

Chaos Renewal

    For the Raptor named Chaos Renewal all is not well. To him, House Nightfall's true potential is not being tapped. House Nightfall must stop viewing Chaos as a mere tool. It must embrace the dynamism inherent in the Warp.
     Chaos Renewal secretly travels among his fellow Night Lords spreading the gospel of Chaos Undivided. The Atramentar have heard of an illicit preacher spreading lies and corruption as if he were a Word Bearer. They are hunting Chaos Renewal. But so far his secret activities have not been uncovered.
 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

 

+++++++++++++++TO BE CONTINUED BELOW+++++++++++++++

 

[Tallarn Commander]

++++++++++++++CONTINUED FROM ABOVE+++++++++++++++

 

And yesterday I played a very enjoyable game of 40K. I faced a friend's Nids with my Nightmare Hunt Night Lords.

 

 

The Nids

 

His List

Spoiler

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+ FACTION KEYWORD: Xenos - Tyranids

+ DETACHMENT: Invasion Fleet (Hyper Adaptions)

+ TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 2000pts

+

+ WARLORD: Char1: The Swarmlord

+ ENHANCEMENT: Adaptive Biology (on Char5: Tyranid Prime with Lash Whip)

+ NUMBER OF UNITS: 19

+ SECONDARY: - Bring It Down: (7x2) + (1x4) - Assassination: 5 Characters

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

CHARACTERS

-Broodlord (80 pts): Broodlord Claws and Talons

-Neurotyrant (105 pts): Neurotyrant claws and lashes, Psychic scream

-Prime Organism [Crucible] (135 pts): Burrowing Claws, Hyperstimulation, Crushing claws, Monstrous scything talons

-The Swarmlord (220 pts): Warlord, Bone Sabres, Synaptic Pulse

-yranid Prime with Lash Whip (90 pts): Lash whip, Rending claw, Scything talons

Enhancement: Adaptive Biology (+25 pts)

 

BATTLE LINE

-10x Gargoyles (85 pts): 10 with Blinding venom, Fleshborer

-10x Gargoyles (85 pts): 10 with Blinding venom, Fleshborer

-10x Termagants (60 pts): 10 with Chitinous claws and teeth, Fleshborer

-10x Termagants (60 pts): 10 with Chitinous claws and teeth, Fleshborer

-10x Termagants (60 pts): 10 with Chitinous claws and teeth, Termagant spinefist

-10x Termagants (60 pts): 10 with Chitinous claws and teeth, Termagant spinefist

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-5x Genestealers (75 pts): 5 with Genestealers claws and talons

-Haruspex (125 pts): Grasping tongue, Ravenous maw, Shovelling claws

-Lictor (60 pts): Lictor claws and talons

-Maleceptor (170 pts): Massive scything talons, Psychic overload

-Screamer-killer (125 pts): Bio-plasmic scream, Screamer-killer talons

-Trygon (140 pts): Bio-electric pulse, Trygon scything talons

-3 Tyranid Warriors (65 pts)

-1Tyranid Prime: Tyranid Warrior claws and talons, Venom cannon

-Tyrannofex (200 pts): Powerful limbs, Stinger salvoes, Rupture cannon

 

 

 

 

 

The Night Lords

 

 

My List

Spoiler

House Nightfall, Night Lords, Nightmare Hunt Detachment

 

CHARACTERS
☆ Travor Ironclaw, Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, Warlord, Enhancement: Sorrowscent Vulture (115 pts)
☆ Duvalier Nightfall, Counts-As Harkon Worldclaimer (90 pts)

BATTLE LINE
● 1st Squad, 10x Cultist Mob (50 pts)
● Harbingers, 5xLegionaries (90 pts)

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Dragonne, Chaos Rhino (75 pts)

OTHER DATASHEETS
◇ Bat to the Bone, 3x Chaos Bikers (70 pts)
◇ Night Riders, 3x Chaos Bikers (70 pts)
◇ Bats Out of Hell, 10x Raptors (210 pts)
◇ Death from Above, 10x Raptors (210 pts)
◇ The Banshees, 5x Raptors (110 pts)
◇ Warpnight, 10x Warp Talons (270 pts)
□ Rapture, 6x Noise Marines (145 pts)
□ Onerous, 2x Obliterators (160 pts)
□ Eternal Damnation, Chaos Vindicator (130 pts)
□ Endless Night, Predator Destructor (140 pts)

Total=2,000 points

 

 

Photos and Comments

 

Screamer Killer Moves Up On Turn 1

 

 

 

This Screamer Killer Took a Lickin' and Kept on Tickin'! He killed 3 Chaos Bikers and a almost full-sized Raptor Squad. And he did it all on 1 wound. Huzzah!

 

 

Night Lords Left Flank Turn 2

On the left you can see Gaunts and a Haruspex. In the middle you can see a Legionaries Squad and 2 Raptor squads. On the Right is a Predator Destructor and Noise Marine Squad.

 

 

Eternal Damnation, Night Lords Chaos Vindicator

Probably my second most valuable unit, the Vindie kept chipping wounds off of big beasties.

 

 

Endless Night, Chaos Predator Destructor

A solid firebase unit

 

 

The Rapture, Noise Marines Squad

Blasmasters are wonderful.

 

 

Freshly painted Bats Out of the Hell wander by some cool dead dinosaur bones terrain

 

 

Brood Lord and Duvalier with Raptors

 

 

 

Trygon and Friends Appear on the Night Lords Right Flank

 

Prime Organism

The Prime Organism was created using the new character creation rules. I loved him. A nice blend of choppiness and shootiness. He was charged and killed by Raptors before he could fight in melee. But he pretty much got his points back in shooting Raptors and Warp Talons off the board.

 

 

Warriors, Prime with Lash Whip, and Maleceptor (?)

 

 

 

The midgame board

 

 

 

Bats Out of Hell Raptor Squad and Duvalier vs. Prime with Lash Whip

I'd have to say my Bats Out of Hell Raptor Squad with Duvalier was my MVP. They were so fun to use and contributed to the death of 4 units: Warriors, Prime with Lash Whip, Maleceptor, and Haruspex.

 

 

It was a very fun, chill game on a Saturday morning and afternoon. In the end, the forces of the Night Lords managed a win. Next time we play, I'll bring my Nostroman 9th Traitor Guard. As my opponent has not yet faced them.

 

I'm really enjoying the Nightmare Hunt. It's not the best of detachments (my opponent failed 0 battle shock tests) but is sure is a fun detachment. 

 

 

 

Ave Dominus Nox!

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

 

Yesterday I got in a very fun and close game with my Nightmare Hunt Night Lords Chaos Marines. I went up against a very fluffy Dark Angels list using the Lion's Blade Detachment.

 

 

My opponent's list--my opponent kindly toned down his list because he knew I was taking the rather casual Nightmare Hunt detachment

Spoiler

Dark Angels--Lion's Blade Detachment

 

CHARACTERS

-Azazel

-Chaplain in Terminator Armor with Stalwart Champion Enhancement--attached to a squad of Deathwing Termies

-Judiciar--attached to a squad of Bladeguard Vets and in a Drop Pod

-Lion El'Jonson

-Ravenwing Command Squad--attached to a Ravening Biker Squad

 

TRANSPORTS

-Drop Pod

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-5 Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs

-3 Bladeguard Veterans

-3 Company Heroes

-5 Deathwing Knights

-5 Deathwing Knights

-10 Helblasters

-3 Inner Circle Companions

-3 Ravenwing Black Knights

 

 

 

 

The Dark Angels

 

 

 

House Nightfall Night Lords--Short Version of the List

Spoiler

House Nightfall, Nightmare Hunt

 

CHARACTERS
☆ Travor Ironclaw, Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, Warlord, Enhancement: Sorrowscent Vulture (115 pts)
☆ Duvalier Nightfall, Counts-As Harkon Worldclaimer (90 pts)

BATTLE LINE
● 5th Squad, 10x Cultist Mob (50 pts)
● Harbingers, 5xLegionaries (90 pts)

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Dragonne, Chaos Rhino (75 pts)

OTHER DATASHEETS
◇ Bat to the Bone, 3x Chaos Bikers (70 pts)
◇ Night Riders, 3x Chaos Bikers (70 pts)
◇ Bats Out of Hell, 10x Raptors (210 pts)
◇ Death from Above, 10x Raptors (210 pts)
◇ The Banshees, 5x Raptors (110 pts)
◇ Warpnight, 10x Warp Talons (270 pts)
□ Rapture, 6x Noise Marines (145 pts)
□ Onerous, 2x Obliterators (160 pts)
□ Eternal Damnation, Chaos Vindicator (130 pts)
□ Endless Night, Predator Destructor (140 pts)
Total=2,000 points

 

 

 

House Nightfall Night Lords--Excessively Long Version of the List

Spoiler

EXCESSIVELY LONG ARMY LIST WITH A NARRATIVE  BACKSTORY FOR 40ISH OUT OF 69  MODELS


CHARACTERS

☆ Lord Travor Ironclaw, Chaos Lord with jumppack, warlord, powerfist, plasma pistol (80), Sorrowscent Vulture Enhancement (35)=115
     It is an understatement to say life in an Imperial prison is miserable. It is hell. The capricious guards, the random torture sessions from Inquisitors, rape and beatings at the hands of fellow inmates, and worst of all, the disgusting bland vat-grown gruel that inmates are fed. This is what Inmate Number [Redacted] real name of Travor, had to face every day.
     Travor was born and raised on the hive world of Necromunda. Like most of his peers he was a criminal in a gang running extortion rackets, smuggling contraband, and doing hits on rival gang members. One day Travor and the other members of his Orlock gang were caught up in a sweep. A small army of Arbites police officers had a quota to meet. So the Arbites entered the Underhives and arrested all suspected gingers, including Travor, regardless of whether they had committed a crime.
     The young criminal found himself on a prison ship bound for God knows where. When Travor found himself on Imperial Prison Planet 647 in the Segmentum Pacificus he felt some relief because, in the Imperium, there are some fates worse then a prison planet.
     For 32 years Travor endured a living hell. During the day he worked in the prison's mines and manufactorums. During the night he and his fellow Orlocks fought constant wars against other inmates. It was a struggle to survive.
      One day salvation arrived. It arrived in the form of a seven foot tall figure. The figure was clad in midnight armor and had red glowing eyes. It held a vicious sword of whirring chains in one hand and in the other hand it held the dripping head of the hated Chief Warden Ignatus.
     The mysterious figure told Travor and the other inmates they were from something called House Nightfall. An offer was made. The inmates could help the mysterious figure kill the remaining guards and then join House Nightfall in the stars. Or the inmates could remain in their cells and wait for the wardens and Arbites to return.
      For Travor and most of the inmates this was not a difficult choice. They rioted and killed anyone in the prison who was not an inmate. The inmates then settled old scores and killed each other in a bloodbath. In the end only a handful of inmates survived. Mostly Travor and his fellow Orlocks and their allied Eschers.
      The convicts entered a small fleet of battered shuttles and took to the stars as probationary members of House Nightfall. Travor thinks that was almost a millenia ago now. Although time is not a constant when the warp is concerned, so it could  have been only a hundred years ago.
      At any rate Travor has many memories of his life since joining House Travor. Working as a machinist in Nightfall's arms manufactourums, where even a lowly janitor is well paid and cared for thanks to the Unionist Faction. Aiding the pro-daemon faction of House Nightfall by sneaking onto Imperial planets with fellow Cultists and summoning daemons from the warp. Serving as a soldier in the ranks of one of House Nightfall's Traitor Guard Regiments, the Nostroman 9th. Travor was eventually awarded his powerfist for acts of courage and sacrifice and he changed his name to Ironclaw. Along the way he fell in love with a fellow soldier Seera, raised a family with her, and became a colonel.
      When Ironclaw witnessed a hated Adeptes of the Space Wolves crush Seera's skull he realized his life had changed. In one-on-one combat he defeated the Adeptes, who he now wears as a tabard, and was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. He was allowed to begin the Mercantile Rituals of Blood which would transform him into a Chaos Space Marine.
     Ironclaw served with honor as a Legionary, Chaos Biker, and then as Atramentar. With the aid of the Unionist and Daemon Factions within House Nightfall he was promoted to the rank of Chaos Lord. He now soars the skies upon his jetpack and commands House Nightfall's 3rd Battalion. He is still amazed that a lowly convict could attain such glories.


☆ Lord Duvalier Nightfall, Counts-As Harkon Worldclaimer, Hellspear, Herald's Talon=90
     Chaos Lord Duvalier was once a Nostroman law officer trying to punish criminals on the darkened city streets. Duvalier was elated when Night Haunter came to power and gladly joined the ranks of the Night Lords. Duvalier revered Conrad Curze for his successful campaign against crime. But, over time, Duvalier became concerned at the Legion's human rights violations against civilians. He was going to be a key material witness in the Emperor's trial of Nighthaunter. Then the Horus Heresy happened and Duvalier felt forced to join with his fellow Nostromans against the Imperium. Since that day he has become gradually corrupted and is now just as vengeful and bloodthirsty as other Nostromans.
Duvalier hates what he has become.
     He was wandering the verse and one day stumbled across House Nightfall. Delighted to find descendants of Nostroman refugees, he married into House Nightfall and has has been promoted to second in command of 2nd Claw. The irony that 2nd Claw includes some former Nostroman crime Lords that he once arrested is not lost on Duvalier.


BATTLE LINE

● Hatred's Harbingers, 5 Legionaries, 4 bolt pistols, 2 chainswords, 5 close combat weapons, 2 heavy melee weapons, plasma pistol, lascannon, icon=90
    House Nightfall's Chaos Legionaries are a motley collection of mercenaries, murderers, and maniacs. They have long furthered the interests of House Nightfall and are well paid in slaves, armor, and weaponry. During combat they skulk around the battlefield, avoiding a fair fight. They grab objectives, pepper the enemy with bolt shots, and then pounce where they are least expected, flaying the enemy alive with chainswords. They excel in terror tactics, slipping behind enemy lines to slit throats and terrorize the foe.
    Hatred Scoursoul is a relatively recent member of House Nightfall. He was born into a powerful family of Rogue traders and lived the life of a swashbuckling explorer. But his first love was always archaeology. When his parents were killed during a trade deal gone awry, Hatred inherited a small fleet of Explorator vessels and their crews. His passion lay in unearthing and examining ancient artifacts, xenon or otherwise. He soon set to work trading, exploring, digging, and swashbuckling throughout the verse. The Ordos Hereticus became suspicious of Hatred's activities, but never had enough evidence to convince House Scourscowl's political allies that Hatred was Corrupted.
     It was on a dig on the 3rd moon of Oros Prime that he found a shard of the Black Rune of Damnation. Fascinated, he took the object back to his ship and studied it. He soon realized its full potential. The shard granted superhuman abilities to the bearer, but at the cost of their soul. Hatred willingly trapped his soul within the black artifact and gained rapid reflexes, superb strength, and other abilities. The Rune also whispered insights to Hatred, informing him of the best trade deals and the best archeologiacal dig sites.
     Somehow the Ordo Hereticus faction of the Inquisition soon got wind of Rogue Trader Hatred's soul-trapping Black Rune of Damnation. They were not amused. An Inquisitor Javeert began chasing Hatred and his retinue through the verse. After numerous near-escapes from Javeert, Hatred turned to House Nightfall for salvation. House Nightfall agreed to protect Hatred if he surrendered the Black Rune of Damnation, his Explorator vessels, and their crew to him. In exchange House Nightfall would kill Javeert and erase all evidence of Hatred's existence from the Inquisition's databanks. Hatred begrudgingly agreed to the deal. House Nightfall's covert operatives succeeded in eliminating Javeert and erasing Hatred from their files. Hatred was saved!
     As a recent House member, Hatred Scourscowl has had to work twice as hard as everyone else. Lately Aspiring Champion Hatred's bravery, luck, and tactical acumen have impressed House Nightfall's leadership. They have awarded him with temporary command of 3rd Battalion.

● Sergeant Goragon's 5th Squad, 10 Chaos Cultists with autopistols and Brutal Assault Weapons
      The Nostroman 9th's rank and file Traitor Guard infantry are a diverse lot. Some fight for coin, some for Chaos, some fight against the fascist Imperium, and some fight for the sake of fighting. These combat veterans are willing to put their lives on the line as long as they receive their due from the Regiment's Paymaster.

    Sergeant Goragon and her sister Moragon were sired on a planet held by House Nightfall, Nachfel. As such she has only known life under House Nightfall's ruling Council of Eight.
     She and her sister Moragon grew up in the shadow of the Great Unknown Spire, an edifice constructed by the pro-daemon faction within the Council. Both her parents were priests of Chaos and she was expected to follow in their footsteps.
     But she and her sister followed a different path. They left the ever-present shadow of the Spire and joined the guard, the Traitor Guard. They started as rank-and-file Cultists serving in the Nostroman 9th Chaos Renegades and Heretics Militia. But while on campaign in the Ouros Nebula both sisters impressed Enforcer Commissar Greenklaw. He promoted them on the spot. Both became corporals in the Nostroman 9th's Traitor Guard, a far more professional armed cadre than the Cultists Mobs. To celebrate her promotion, Goragon had a hook surgically grafted to her left arm, which she had lost during the campaign.
     Both sisters spy on Renegade Commander Dnegrah, a powerful member of the The Council of  Eight's Workers' Faction. They report their findings back to Daemon Prince Buzzard, the leader of the Council of Eight's  Ars Daemonica Faction.


     Cuddles was formerly a member of a Nostroman 9th Earthshaker crew. He and his fellow Traitor Guard artillery troopers sneered at and looked down at the Poor Bloody Infantry. But, over time, the incessant pounding of the large-caliber guns nearly drove poor Cuddles insane. He requested a transfer to the infantry and his request was granted. He now slogs along in the dirt, mud, and trenches with the other infantry and he counts his blessings.


     Trooper Skara's face was horribly disfigured in a battle against the Eldar. He was once quite the handsome lady's man. He now wears a mask to cover up his shamefully Ravaged face. Whenever The Nostroman 9th is hired to fight the Eldar Skara is instilled with a zeal born from hatred. He sometimes serves as Dneghra's bodyguard.


DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
○ Dragonne, Chaos Rhino, armored tracks, Havoc Launcher, combi-weapon=75
     Dragonne manuevers the Night Lords around the battlefield. They deliver their deadly cargo and then provide fire support with bolter rounds and Havoc missiles.
     House Nightfall's Warpsmith Cadre suspects that Dragonne is tainted. Her walls sometimes seep blood and odd cries emanate from within during the darkest of hours. Tarot readings of Murcielago's machine spirit indicate that these are auspicious signs. Although some say the Warpsmiths are not to be trusted.


OTHER DATASHEETS
◇ Champion Chamorro's Bat to the Bone, 3 Chaos Bikers, powerfist, 2 chainswords, 2 meltaguns, 3 combi-bolters, icon=70
◇ Doom Rider's Night Riders, 3 Chaos Bikers, powerfist, 2 chainswords, 2 meltaguns, 3 combi-bolters, icon=70
     The Chaos Bikers epitomize the Night Lords way of war. They prowl near the foe's flanks terrorizing the most vulnerable enemy units and avoiding a fair fight.
     The Bat To The Bone Biker Squad is lead by Chamorro Nightfall. Chamorro can trace her families' lineage back to before the fall of Nostramo. Her family was fortnate enough to flee the planet with its fortunes largely intact. And they were one of House Nightfall's founding families.

     Aspiring Champion Chamorro was once the leader of 1st Battalion and she held a seat on House Nightfall's ruling Council of Eight. She was forced to abdicate her seat because of the infamous "Argenta Admech Incident."
     One day on the planet of Argenta Prime Chamorro developed psychic abilities. She believed her sorcerous powers stemmed from a biomechanical fist she had recently ripped from a loyalist Admech techpriest. In reality the powers flowed from the Chaos God Tzeentch. House Nightfall suspected Chamorro was being tricked by Tzeentch and their Atramentar conducted an investigation. House Nightfall, like most Night Lords, has a deep skepticism about worshipping the Chaos gods.
     Because Chamorro's warpcraft got results and she and her family were quite powerful, the Atramentar treated her leniently. They issued "The Edict of Nantz." Chamorro lost her position as 1st Battalion Warlord and she lost her seat on the Council of Eight. But, in return, she was not executed. In exchange, Chamorro had to destroy her "magical" fist and she swore to never proselytize other warband members to follow Tzeentch. So far this tenuous accord has remained in effect and all parties have honored it.
     In punishment Chamorro was demoted to a rank and file Legionary.* She has since earned her current status as the Aspiring Champion of her own Chaos Biker Squad. She is still ambitious and hopes to regain her warband and to eventually gain a seat on the ruling council.
* GW for some reason eliminated Chaos Biker Lords

     Doom Rider travels the fury road. He is an enigmatic figure blessed by Slaanesh who wanders the paths of the Immaterium as a Daemonuc Biker from hell.
      Doom Rider suddenly appears in twisting clouds of orange and red smoke to fight alongside Chaos Marine warbands or Chaos Traitor Guard Regiments. Then, just as quickly, he vanishes in roiling clouds of hellish smoke. Returned to the Warp from whence they came.


● Aspiring Champion Ragnar's Bats Out of Hell, 10 Chaos Raptors, powerfist, 4 heavy melee weapons, 2 mutations, 1 chainsword, 2 plasma pistols, meltagun, plasma gun, 6 bolt pistols (210)
● Aspiring Champion Macabre Harvest's Death from Above, 10 Chaos Raptors, powerfist, 4 heavy melee weapons, 2 mutations, 1 chainsword, 2 plasma pistols, meltagun, plasma gun, 6 bolt pistols (210)
● Aspiring Champion Bloody Mary's Banshees, 5 Chaos Raptors, powerfist, 2 heavy melee weapons, plasma pistol, meltagun, plasma gun, 2 bolt pistols (110)
     The Raptors scream down from the aethers, with chainswords aglow and eager to flay the enemies' skin. Each has joined the Chaos Raptor Cult and has now merged with his or her unholy jumppack.


Bats Out Of Hell
          Raptor Aspiring Champion Ragnar was once a loyalist Space Wolf. And before that he was a mortal mariner sailing the frigid seas of Fenris. But he threw all that away when he had a vivid dream one night. On the dream, he learned the promise of Valhalla was but a lie and the Emperor was a senile corpse god.
     But Ragnar had no love for Chaos. And so he abandoned the Blackmanes company and wandered the verse. He worked for awhile as laborer on a Rogue Trader freighter, as a fisherman on the frigid seas of a backwater Moon, and as a mercenary.
     Ragnar was working as a mercenary for a Xenos species, the Jora, in the Ghoul Stars when he first encountered House Nightfall. House Nightfall had also been hired by the Jora. Ragnar worked alongside the Jora and House Nightfall for ten years. When his contract with the Jora expired he immediately signed up with House Nightfall. He initially served as a Legionary in the Harbingers Squad. His experience impresses his superiors and he was soon promoted to Raptor and then given command of his own Raptor Squad. Ragnar still has no love of Chaos, but House Nightfall's coin is good and the former Space Wolf often gets to battle the Emperor's lap dogs.

     Night Drinker is learning how to drink the night. The Warp Talons of Warpnight have taught him how to cut an opening in the Night with his ancient Skavenne power halberd. But Night Drinker can only create small thin slits between realspace and the warp. And he can only do do so at night. He cannot yet pass through as Warpnight can.
       For now this is enough. For when he does create small rips in spacetime, a series of enigmatic incomprehensible dribbles of the void seep through. Before battle he drinks of this aether stuff and he is stronger. Night Drinker is aptly named indeed.


        Scarecrow in the field
     Autumn, season of the witch
          It now hunts the land
    Scarecrow is not really a Chaos Raptor. He is the Council of Eight's best secret agent. He is currently on deep undercover within the Raptor Cult keeping tabs on his fellow Raptors. While cruelty and depravity are to be tolerated and even rewarded, House Nightfall has no such toleration for those who worship Chaos. Scarecrow's task is to identify those who worship Chaos so that they can then be judged and executed by the Atramentar.


     Nocht seeks to reveal true souls. What better way to do that than to strip off the skin, the false outer husk of a victim. Thus laying bare the true essence of that which lies beneath.


    In his old life Nox was a merchant. He lived on the House Nightfall world of Nachfel and specialized in importing industrial equipment. But his true passion was staging and acting in theater, particularly those written by the ancient Sol bard Shakespeare.
      He aspired to be as true and prolific a playwright as Shakespeare. But, as a sedentary merchant, he had no real life experiences to draw upon. He despaired.
       But one day Nox's cousin gave him advice. She said, "Nox, you'll have plenty of interesting experiences as a warrior for House Nightfall. Join the Traitor Guard."
     And so Nox did join the guard. And as a mercenary mortar trooper in Midnight Companie, Nostroman 9th Regiment he lived life to the fullest. He loved a fellow soldier, Aru, who caught a bullet one day upon the Plains of Ren. He bested an Imperial office with nothing more than a shovel in the mountains of Armageddon. He discussed theater with the Xenos Mirror Beings upon the coasts of Thanatar.          
     And during all of this he wrote. He wrote a great many plays and back on Nachfel the thespians and mummers began to use his plays in their shows.
     But he was mortally wounded upon the battlefield. The Apothecaries decided that such a warrior should not be lost. And so they transformed him into an Astartes Raptor so that he might live and continue to serve the interests of House Nightfall.
      But when Nox awoke he discovered he was a playwright no more. No longer could he conceive of dramatic plots or write clever lines. As a Heretic Raptoria he could only think of the kill. The Rapture of the hunt. And so Nox mourns. And he hunts.


    For the Raptor named Chaos Renewal all is not well. To him, House Nightfall's true potential is not being tapped. House Nightfall must stop viewing Chaos as a mere tool. It must embrace the dynamism inherent in the Warp.
     Chaos Renewal secretly travels among his fellow Night Lords spreading the gospel of Chaos Undivided. The Atramentar have heard of an illicit preacher spreading lies and corruption as if he were a Word Bearer. They are hunting Chaos Renewal. But so far his secret activities have not been uncovered.


    Ave Mort has a death wish. This most honorable of Heretics Astartes believes he has not lived up to his personal code. As a result, he seeks the good death. Every morning upon waking he utters the phrase, "Today is a good day to die." And then on days he finds himself in battle he will seek out the strongest foe on the field be it an Imperial Captain an Ork Warboss, etc. Unfortunately Ave Mort has yet to meet his end.

     Murderessa was once a Night Walker, on Olde Earthe. She wasva prostitute, a lady of the evening, in Olde London's Whitechapel District in the Victorian Age. When too many of her friends were found dead at the hands of Jack she knew something must be done. She took up a Butcher's Knife and hooded cloak and walked the foggy streets searching for Jack the Ripper.
     Early one morning she found him bent over his latest victim. Filled with rage she backstabbed the foul murderer ending his life. But with his dying breath he uttered a dead man's curse.
    The London fog reached out and curled around  Murderessa. When it cleared she was no longer in London. Instead, she was in a rusted metal box. Unbeknownst to he, Jack the Ripper's curse had transported her to the bowels of a House Nightfall Night Lords Strike Cruiser, the aptly named Eternal Dambation.
     And even worse, the rusted walls of Eternal Damnation's hull echoed with eerie laughter. She soon realized she was being hunted for  sport by someone or something. Murderessa fled deeper into the ship and hid. Desperate she pled, asking for help from any God that would save her.
     And so the Mist returned. And an aspect of  a Chaos God appeared as a foul harpy. Malice spoke to Murderessa, "Worship me. Worship the Anarchy within Chaos. Worship the God of the hunt."  Having no choice, Murderessa agreed. And so Malice made Murderessa into an Heretic Adeptes, resplendent with midnight armor and enhanced abilities.
     With her newfound powers she battled the warp entity that pursued her and she won. She then marched forth into the holds of the vessel. House Nightfall was surprised when an unknown Astartes emerged. But she wore the livery of the 8th and had memories only a true daughter of Nostramo would have. Murderessa was made a Legionary and, years later, she joined the Raptor Cult.
     Little did House Nightfall know that they had let a Follower of Malice into their ranks. Murderessa views the Night Lords as no better than Jack the Ripper. And so, on the occasional Dark nights, she secretly summons a fog bank and begins hunting and killing her fellow Night Lords. Jack the Ripper --Malice--would have it no other way.


      Chaos Raptor Nadrigarh aspires to be a Chaos Warpsmith. After each successful House Nightfall mission he conducts an unholy Dark Mechanicum ritual in which he replaces one of his body parts with a bionic equivalent or he adds a mechatendril to his body. He hopes that his actions will gain the attention of the Warpsmiths and he will be welcomed into the fold. Ironically the Warpsmiths are never going to induct him. They are too curious to see how far Nadrigarh is willing to go with his experiment.


     "The Red Queen I pictured her as Fury, but as another type; her passion must be cold and calm--shw must be formal and strict, yet not unkindly; pedantic to the 10th degree..."
-Lewis Carrol, on the Red Queen


Death From Above

     Raptor Aspiring Champion Macabre Harvest is a rarity among House Nightfall's Night Lords for three reasons.
     First, she is a worshipper of Slaanesh. Most Night Lords do not worship Chaos. Instead they see Chaos as a tool to be wielded. But Macabre Harvest regularly sacrifices victim in the name of Slaanesh and hopes to someday become a Slaaneshi Sorceress. Consequently, the Ayramentar. House Nightfall's security arm, arm keeping close warch on Macabre Harvest to ensure she does not corrupt her fellow Chaos Marines.
     Second, Macabre Harvest was never human. She was once an Aeldari Ranger acting a scout for her craft world. But she went Rogue and eventually found employment within House Nightfall. Her fierce nature and proven combat ability ability convinced the Council of Eight that Macabre Harvest should undergo the Mercantile Trial of Blood, the series of tests and transformations House Nightfall applies to a mortal to make them an Adeptes. Macabre Harvest, despite her weaker Eldar constitution  managed to survive these trials. She became a Legionary in the Jackals Squad. After years of service as a Jackal, Macabre Harvest was promoted into the House Nightfall Raptor Cult. And, years later, after serving as a rank and file Raptor, the daemonic faction on the Council of Eight pulled some strings. And, lo and behold, Macabre Harvest was promoted to Aspiring Champion of her own Raptor Squad, Death from Above.
     Macabre Harvest is secretly serving as a spy for the daemonic faction. She uses her worship of Slaanesh to aid her spycraft. Someday she hopes to become a great sorceress. And, who knows, perhaps someday a seat on the Council of Eight will be hers and she will then be able to truly serve Slaanesh.
     Third, as a long-lived Eldar, Macabre Harvest once met Conrad Curze back before the Horus Heresy. She is tight lipped about what was said during her exchange with the dour Primarch. But tumors abound that he foretold how the Rogue Eldar Ranger would someday become a Night Lord. At any rate, she uses the fact that she once met the Night Haunter as a way to impress other members of House Nightfall.


     Helcaster is a sort of psychic blank. He has no mentalist powers of his own. But whenever a psyker comes near him they are unable to use their powers. Helcaster also forces nearby psykers to hear the screams and maddening silences, and cacophonic symphonies of the Void.
     Any Psyker who remains near Helcaster for any length of time is doomed to go mad. House Nightfall's leadership will often send Helcaster and his fellow Raptors on missions to incapacitate and eliminate enemy seers. Many an Iron Priest or Aeldari Witch has been stunned and then massacred by the Helcaster and his Raptor brethren.


     Veil Walker never speaks. And she dissappears for days on end. Only certain members of the Council of Eight know where she goes.
     For Veil Walker can manipulate the vortices of the Warp to travel to any number of infinite plains. She speaks only an archaic tongue, a dead dialect of the fallen Krazalos Chaos Empire, and she only reports the results of her travels to Sorcerors Uros Kas and Bolivar.
     House Nightfall gains greatly by Veil Walker's wanderings. She is the only one who can enter the dimension of their allies Ur Xenos species. She is the only one who can locate and beseech the great Doom Rider for aid. And she seems to know a great deal about the comings and goings of rival Mercantile and mercenary houses.

     Nightsoul is not a Heretic Astartes per se. She is a young Witch from another dimension. She stole an artifact, a magical Claw, of great sorceress power from her mistress, the infamous Baba Yaga and then she fled to another dimension. Nightsoul stumbled across a Chaos Raptor and killed him in single combat. She then hoodwinked House Nightfall and used her glamor and witchcraft to pass herself off as a Chaos Raptor.
     Will Nightsoul attempt to eliminate other members of House Nightfall? Will she attempt to find allies and ingratiate herself into House Nightfall? Or will she leave and wander the verse? She does not know. She only knows that someday Baba Yaga's Hounds will find her scent.

     There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet memory will die
Killer on the road, yeah
Riders on the Storm
     -Riders on the Storm, The Doors, 1971

     Raptorian is a master of flying. He finds perfect freedom in becoming the best at flying as high as he can. These days he rarely sets foot on the ground, only briefly to kill or refuel. He prefers to be one among the clouds, banking and soaring on updrafts, for flight is sublime.

     Bad Tidings is doomed. He is slowly being transformed into an elder being from beyond space and time. The Heretic Astartes has experienced visions of what is to come and he is filled with dread. But if he were to tell anyone he knows he would be handed over to the Enforcers and Atramentar and quickly executed. Bad Tidings indeed.

Tyridal

Insidious Visions

     Flayer was once Harex, an Astartes of the VIII Legion and a member of one of House Nightfall's Chosen units, the Ravens. During a mission House Nightfall had been hired by another much larger Night Lords warband. The Ravens conducted an infiltration operating alongside their employer's First Claw of veterans.
     The Ravens and First Claw successfully infiltrated the enemy headquarters and killed the leader. But Harex was mortally wounded during the operation. He was saved by the First Claws' Apothecary, Variel, nicknamed the Flayer.      
     And so when First Claw and House Nightfall parted ways, Harex adopted the moniker of his healer. He would now be known as Flayer. Flayer has since left the Ravens and joined one of House Nightfall's many Raptor Cults.



◇ Warpnight, 10 Chaos Warp Talons=270
     The Warp Talons are more akin to daemonic Blood Hounds than Chaos Marines.  Warpnight's members are barely more than slavering beasts. They are kept in chains by the Raptors and during battle they are set loose upon the foe.
      The Night Lords normally would not tolerate such daemonic taint amidst their ranks. But they see Warpnight not as fallen Chaos Marines.  Instead the Night Lords view the Warp Talons as a symbolic manifestation of Curze's hatred towards the Empire's hypocrisy. Warpnight also serves as a object lesson to the other Night Lords. They are example of what happens to Heretics Astartes when one sits too deeply of the cup of Chaos.
    R is for Reaver. May he rip and rend souls.
     D is for Doomseeker. May he meet his final death in glorious destruction.
     B is for Bloodied Wanderer. May he meander the byways of the Warp, cutting all the while.
     X is for Xerxeth. May he rend and wear Xenos victims.
     C is for Charnel House. May his victims' bones rest in such a place.
     U is for Urzak the Unhinged. May he express his psychosis in blood. [Named by Odsox on Bolter & Chainsword]
     V is for Valza. May she someday meet a Valkyrie.
     M is for Hate Machine. May he bring death to the Mechanicus.
     H is for Helbras. He who walks the path of Tzeentch.
     A is for Anrathi. He who once commanded the Exalted and who now slumbers while the daemon within wakes.

□ Rapture, 6 Noise Marines, 2 Blastmasters. 4 Sonic Blasters=145
     House Nightfall is no friend of the Chaos Gods. Like most Night Lords, they hold a deep skepticism towards the Chaos Gods. Chaos is a tool to be wielded against the foe not a power to which one should become enthralled. 
     As such, Rapture is a bit of an anomaly in a Night Lords warband: a squad of Slaaneshi worshippers who live only to create cacophony with their chaotic symphonies. They are distrusted by all and watched closely by House Nightfall's Enforcers and Atramentar. But no one can argue with Rapture's deadly results.

□ Onerous, 2 Obliterators=160
     House Nightfall does not know Oscar's  or Ozrk's true name. Neither Obliterator ever speaks. Nor do they know where he/she/it/theycomes from. All they know is the entities they have dubbed "Oscar" and "Ozrk" emerge from the warp and fires a hail of energy and ballistic weapons at the enemy before disappearing back into the warp. House Nightfall collectively refer to the pair as Onerous.

○ Eternal Damnation, Chaos Vindicator, Demolisher Cannon, armored tracks, Havoc Launcher, combi-weapon=185
     House Nightfall tactics emphasize speed and maneuverability. So House Nightfall commanders use Eternal Damnation, the venerable Chaos Vindicator, as a rapier.
     The tank races into position, lets loose with its fearsome cannon, and then the vehicles moves on before the foe can recover. Eternal Damnation often escorts Chaos Bikers and daemon engines on daring raids and punishing pincers movements.

□ Reaver, Chaos Predator Destructor, 2 lascannons, Predator Autocannon, Havoc Launcher, combi-weapon=140
     As with 5th Squad, Reaver consists of mortals from House Nightfall's Nostroman 9th Regiment. Not Heretics Astartes. 
     Reaver is named after its tank commander, Eponymous Reaver. She hails from the planet Tallarn. Before joining the Nostroman 9th she had an infamous career as a space pirate. She and her crew savaged the space lanes around Tallarn for years. She grew up hearing stories of Tallarn's great tank battles. She uses this cultural advantage as she leads the  Reaver into battle.
 

 

 

The Night Lords

 

 

The Battle

Spoiler

 

The mission was scorched earth. And we both did some scorching during the end game.

 

The board at deployment

 

 

As you can see, we borrowed some gorgeous tranch crusade terrain from the store's collection. We played at the wonderful Mox Boarding House in Bellevue, Washington in the United States.

 

 

The thin green line

 

 

The thin blue line

 

 

Inner circle companions hold artillery

During the endgame, there were some fierce fights over this artillery piece.

 

 

House Nightfall motorpool before the game: Vindicator, Rhino, and Predator Destructor

 

 

On Turn 1 Lionel Jonson gets a plucky charge off on the Warpnight Warp Talons Squad

He chewed through almost half the squad and then I jumped out of melee on my turn using the Relentless Terror Stratagem.

 

 

Bottom of Turn 1 charge by Chaos Raptor Lord Travor Ironclaw and his Warpnight Warp Talons vs. a squad of DA Jump Pack Assault Intercessors

 

For the first time using them, the squad survived a charge and was able to go uppy downy. Huzzah!

 

 

Deathwing Knights charge and take out Chaos Raptor Lord Duvalier and his Bats Out Of Hell Raptor Squad

 

 

 

Closeup on a Dark Angels Chaplain in Termie Armor--an impressive model indeed

I especially like the edge highlighting on the black armor.

 

 

Ravenwing Bikers vs. Night Lords on my right flank during Turn 2

 

 

Squad Onerous the Obliterator Squad drops down on Turn 2 and kills 1 Helblaster

They did more against the bikers on subsequent turns.

 

The Harbingers Legionaries Squad prepares to charge the bikers on Turn 2

Luckily shooting by the Noise Marines, Vindicator, and Predator finished the bikers off so the Harbingers did not need to charge.

 

 

Bladeguard with Justiciar lure both squads of Night Lords Raptors closer so that the Deathwing can counter-charge

A fierce fight developed on my left flank.

 

 

Lord Ironclaw and his Warp Talons rapid ingress behind the Helblasters and move up on my turn

Those Helblasters had to go. They killed 7 Raptors in a single turn of shooting. Ouch!

 

 

Deathwing Knights deepstrike onto middle objective

These suckers got my opponent 10 points for primary turn after turn, they earned their keep

 

 

Azazel and his command squad vs. Lord Ironclaw and his command squad on Turn 3

 

The board during Turn 4

 

 

It was a very enjoyable and casual game of 40K. The battle was quite close and could have gone either way. My opponent's battle shock test rolls were rather unlucky which meant the various Nightmare hunt rules and strats were useful.

 

In the end, the Sons and Daughters of Nostramo managed a very close win by 10 points against the foul Dark Angels. My opponent was the real winner though as he toned down his list when he realized I was fielding an army of 37 jump pack troopers using the Nightmare Hunt Detachment.

 

I'd have to say my MVP would have to be Travor Ironclaw and Warpnight, his squad of Warp Talons. They took out a JumpPack Intercessor Squad, a Helblaster Squad, Azazel and his command squad, and finished off a squad of Inner Circle Companions. My 2nd most valuable unit would have to be my Vindicator. As always, it was swingy, but it finished off the Lion on Turn 1 and chipped away at termies and bikers.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

 

 

House Nightfall, "Ave Dominus Nox"

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone, 

 

I've been busy hobbying and I managed to finish up a 2nd squad of 10 Raptors, "Death From Above" squad. 8 of these models were upgrades (new powerfists and mutations) and 2 Raptors were newly painted.  

 

 

Death From Above, House Nightfall Raptor Squad

 

 

More Photos

Spoiler

Macabre Harvest is one of the two new models I painted up for the squad.

 

 

Macabre Harvest, Aspiring Champion

 

     Raptor Aspiring Champion Macabre Harvest is a rarity among House Nightfall's Night Lords for three reasons.
     First, she is a worshipper of Slaanesh. Most Night Lords do not worship Chaos. Instead they see Chaos as a tool to be wielded. But Macabre Harvest regularly sacrifices victim in the name of Slaanesh and hopes to someday become a Slaaneshi Sorceress. Consequently, the Ayramentar. House Nightfall's security arm, arm keeping close warch on Macabre Harvest to ensure she does not corrupt her fellow Chaos Marines.
     Second, Macabre Harvest was never human. She was once an Aeldari Ranger acting a scout for her craft world. But she went Rogue and eventually found employment within House Nightfall. Her fierce nature and proven combat ability ability convinced the Council of Eight that Macabre Harvest should undergo the Mercantile Trial of Blood, the series of tests and transformations House Nightfall applies to a mortal to make them an Adeptes. Macabre Harvest, despite her weaker Eldar constitution  managed to survive these trials. She became a Legionary in the Jackals Squad. After years of service as a Jackal, Macabre Harvest was promoted into the House Nightfall Raptor Cult. And, years later, after serving as a rank and file Raptor, the daemonic faction on the Council of Eight pulled some strings. And, lo and behold, Macabre Harvest was promoted to Aspiring Champion of her own Raptor Squad, Death from Above.
     Macabre Harvest is secretly serving as a spy for the daemonic faction. She uses her worship of Slaanesh to aid her spycraft. Someday she hopes to become a great sorceress. And, who knows, perhaps someday a seat on the Council of Eight will be hers and she will then be able to truly serve Slaanesh.
     Third, as a long-lived Eldar, Macabre Harvest once met Conrad Curze back before the Horus Heresy. She is tight lipped about what was said during her exchange with the dour Primarch. But tumors abound that he foretold how the Rogue Eldar Ranger would someday become a Night Lord. At any rate, she uses the fact that she once met the Night Haunter as a way to impress other members of House Nightfall.

 

 

The other new model is Veil Walker

 

 

Veil Walker, plasma gunner and Raptor

 

     Veil Walker rarely speaks. And she dissappears for days on end. Only certain members of the Council of Eight know where she goes. For Veil Walker can manipulate the vortices of the Warp to travel to any number of infinite plains. She speaks only an archaic tongue, a dead dialect of the fallen Krazalos Chaos Empire, and she only reports the results of her travels to Sorcerors Uros Kas and Bolivar.
     House Nightfall gains greatly by Veil Walker's wanderings. She is the only one who can enter the dimension of their allies Ur Xenos species. She is the only one who can locate and beseech the great Doom Rider for aid. And she seems to know a great deal about the comings and goings of rival Mercantile and mercenary houses.

 

 

Storm Rider got a new banner, bolt pistol, and mutation.

 

 

The old Storm Rider (banner bearer at the bottom of this photo)

 

 

Storm Rider

 

     There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet memory will die
Killer on the road, yeah
Riders on the Storm
     -Riders on the Storm, The Doors

 

 

 

Flayer got 2 new arms, a new base bit, and a new heavy melee weapon

 

The old Flayer (on the left)

 

 

Flayer

 

     Flayer was once Harex, an Astartes of the VIII Legion and a member of one of House Nightfall's Chosen units, the Ravens. During a mission House Nightfall had been hired by another much larger Night Lords warband. The Ravens conducted an infiltration operating alongside their employer's First Claw of veterans.
     The Ravens and First Claw successfully infiltrated the enemy headquarters and killed the leader. But Harex was mortally wounded during the operation. He was saved by the First Claws' Apothecary, Variel, nicknamed the Flayer.      
     And so when First Claw and House Nightfall parted ways, Harex adopted the moniker of his healer. He would now be known as Flayer. Flayer has since left the Ravens and joined one of House Nightfall's many Raptor Cults.

 

 

 

NightSoul received new arms, heavy melee weapon, bolt pistol, and heard.

 

 

The old NightSoul (the middle trooper)

 

 

NightSoul

 

 

 

Raptorian got new arms, bolt pistol, and a big 'ol axe

 

The old Raptorian (sort of in the middle, facing toward the viewer)

 

 

Raptorian

 

     Raptorian is a master of flying. He finds perfect freedom in becoming the best at flying as high as he can. These days he rarely sets foot on the ground, only briefly to kill or refuel. He prefers to be one among the clouds, banking and soaring on updrafts, for flight is sublime.

 

 

 

All Tyridal got was a decal, some oil washes, and some new paint here and there.

 

The old Tyridal (on left)

 

 

Tyridal

 

   Tyridal was once a contented grandmother living on the House Nightfall capitol world of Ragnarok. She had served her time as a merchant explorer in the Ghoul Stars and also raised a family. Her only sadness in life was that her husband of many years, Pater Blood, had recently passed away.
     But one day Tyridal received horrible news. Her daughter and her grandson had both fallen in battle. Both served in the Nostroman 9th Regiment of House Nightfall's Traitor Guard. The Debacle at the Planet Ocean Shores had devastated the Nostroman 9th with the survivors fleeing back to Nightfall-held space. And so Tyridal mourned.
     But mourning was not enough. And so Tyridal petitioned her sub-house, House Nocht, for the right to avenge her daughter's and grandson's deaths by joining the Traitor Guard and fighting House Nightfall's foes. Tyridal was over a century old. So, normally, Sub-House Nocht would reject such a request. But they agreed. Who knows why. Perhaps there was a fierceness in Tyridal's eyes as she begged for the right to fight. Or perhaps it was the fact that Sub-House Nacht's leaders realized that a revenge-seeking grandmother could be turned into a public relations spectacle. Or perhaps the Chaos Gods intervened on her behalf. Perhaps all three reasons contributed to Tyridal's request being granted.
     At any rate, Sub-House Nocht provided Tyridal with the necessary blood rituals and rejuvenat treatments so that she could become a hearty middle-aged warrior. For months she trained as a Nostroman 9th Chaos Militia trooper.
     Then Tyridal first saw combat during a House Nightfall raid on the loyalist spire-planet of Ren. Trooper Tyridal personally assaulted and captured an enemy pillbox containing a dozen PDF troopers. She then flayed each PDF trooper alive and distributed their skins to her squad mates. Vengeance was hers and it was glorious. The raid was a success and Trooper Tyridal was promoted on the spot to Corporal Tyridal.
     Tyridal served honorably in the Nostroman 9th for years. As a reward for her actions against the Tyranids on the moon of Ballard Prime, Sub-House Nocht petitioned the Council of Eight. They asked that Tyridal be allowed to undertake the Mercantile Trials of Blood, the arduous process by which a House Nightfall mortal becomes a Heretic Astartes. The request was granted.
     While most who attempt the Trials fail and perish, Tyridal, feisty warrior and would-be grandmother, survived. She became a Chaos Legionary in the 3rd Battalion's Jackals Squad. She served with distinction for centuries and eventually joined House Nightfall's Raptor Cult. To Tyridal, vengeance is all, and now she soars through the Heavens on wings of fire avenging her daughter's and grandson's deaths with bolt pistol, blade, and meltagun.

Bad Tidings only swapped out his bolt pistol for a plasma pistol.

 

 

Bad Tidings just got his bolt pistol replaced with a plasma pistol

 

The old Bad Tidings (on the right)

 

 

Bad Tidings

 

     Bad Tidings is doomed. He is slowly being transformed into an elder being from beyond space and time. The Heretic Astartes has experienced visions of what is to come and he is filled with dread. But if he were to tell anyone he knows he would be handed over to the Enforcers and Atramentar and quickly executed. Bad Tidings indeed.

 

 

Insidious Visions got a new pistol, tattered flesh decoration, and mutatation.

 

Insidious Visions

 

     Insidious Visions is a Disciple of Nightgaunt, House Nightfall's Dark Apostle. Night Gaunt is a Dream Master born from the Plane of Dreams. He is teaching Insidious Visions his craft.
     And so, on nights of the full moon or moons, just before a Night Lords raid, Insidious Visions enters the dreams of an unsuspecting sleeper. He contorts their dreams into nightmares.
     On the first few nights the changes are subtle, a mysterious shadow here, a far off cackle there. This is enough to disturb the dreamer, especially when they awaken.
     Then it gets worse on subsequent nights. Insidious Visions can cause the dreamer to see mutilated loved ones, to look upon dark monsters with Cheshire grins, and to smell the scent of death itself.
     The dreamer awakens in a near panic, filled with dread. And then the House Nightfall raiding party arrives. And the dreamer realizes the dream was merely an insidious vision of what was to come.

 

 

 

Helcaster got new arms, axe, and bolt pistol

 

Helcaster

 

     Helcaster is a sort of psychic blank. He has no mentalist powers of his own. But whenever a psyker comes near him they are unable to use their powers. Helcaster also forces nearby psykers to hear the screams and maddening silences, and cacophonic symphonies of the Void.
     Any Psyker who remains near Helcaster for any length of time is doomed to go mad. House Nightfall's leadership will often send Helcaster and his fellow Raptors on missions to incapacitate and eliminate enemy seers. Many an Iron Priest or Aeldari Witch has been stunned and then massacred by the Helcaster and his Raptor brethren.

 

 

 

I've also added some tiny birds to some Raiders, a Possessed, and a Chosen....

The bats are "battle shock" tokens. Useful in the rare instance when my opponent actually fails battle shock tests against my Nightmare Hunt detachment. 

 

 

Ravenblade, Chaos Chosen, with ravens

 

 

Mentash, Chaos Possessed, with buzzard

 

 

Grey Eyes, Raider, with crow

 

 

So my painting plan for the year is proceeding apace. I have dubbed my projects "Operation Unrealistic" and "Operation Kai." Kai, of course, being the cool gun Chaos Lords could take back in 3rd and 4th edition

 

 

Operation Unrealistic and Operation Kai

Spoiler

 

OPERATION UNREALISTIC AND OPERATION KAI: PREPARING THE NIGHT LORDS FOR TACOMA 2026 AND THE WARPBORN FOR OCEAN SHORES 2026

JANUARY TO FEBRUARY 2026
-Revna Irontamer, Warpsmith [COMPLETED]
-D85, Chaos Reaper Chaincannon Legionary [COMPLETED]
-IG89, Chaos Cultist [COMPLETED]
-Moravec, female Chaos Legionary Aspiring Champion [COMPLETED]
-Assemble upgrades on 10 Night Lords Raiders [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

MARCH 2026
-Upgrade 5 already painted Warpborn models: 2 GW Legionaries, 1 Cultist, 2 Possessed [COMPLETED]
-Assemble, flock, and prime the Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [COMPLETED]
-Assemble and flock 10 Night Lords Raiders, give 2 of them back banners [COMPLETED]
-Assemble 4 new Night Lords Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Duvalier & Nightgaunt [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade 3 to 6 Chaos Bikers with new bases [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Oscar with a new base, some new guns, a new back banner, and a new base [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Warp Talon by giving them new banner  [COMPLETED]
-Assemble upgrades on the Ravens Chosen Squad [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade and flock 16 Night Lords Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Assemble Crutian of Midnight [COMPLETED]
-Assemble Hazzar the Child Skinner [COMPLETED]
-1 Gal Vorbak Warpborn Possessed Marine, Kor Phaeron, and a pair of 2 5th Column Warpborn Cultists [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

APRIL 2026
-Purchase and assemble a new metal Night Lords Obliterator [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade/assemble/paint Talos Slaughtercall, Ravaged Star female Warpborn Legionary, 2 Warpborn Cultists [COMPLETED]
-Paint Bats Out of Hell Raptor Squad: 9 upgrades, 1 new Raptor [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

MAY 2026
-Assemble Eternal Damnation and Endless Night upgrades [COMPLETED]
-Paint Death from Above Raptor Squad: 8 upgrades, 2 new Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Paint the Banshees: 3 upgrades, 1 new Raptor [2 hours]
-Paint upgrades on a Night Lords Warp Talon banner and arm [2]
-Paint upgrades on 6 Night Lords Chaos Bikers [3]
-Upgrade/assemble/paint Valkia the Bloody,  1 Ravaged Star female Warpborn Chaos Marine with halberd [6]
-Paint up some bats, birds, and a cat [4]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 17 hours

JUNE 2026
-Paint upgrades on Eternal Damnation, Night Lords Vindicator, and Endless Night, Night Lords Chaos Predator [7]
-Paint upgrades on The Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [7]
-paint Ozrk & Oscar, Night Lords Obliterators [7 hours]
-Paint upgrades on Duvalier & Nightgaunt [2]
-Upgrade/assemble/paint: 1 Warpborn Gal Vorbak Possessed Marine, 1 Warpborn Neverborn Possessed [6]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 1
-Paint up Hazzar the Child Skinner [3]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 1
-Paint up Crutian of Midnight [3]--ALL TO ARMS VOW 1
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 35 hours

JULY 2026
-Paint upgrades on the Ravens Chosen Squad [2]
-Paint upgrades on the Buzzards Possessed Squad [3ish hours]
-Paint up 4 Night Lords Raiders, The Crows [6 hours]
-Paint up 4 Night Lords Raiders, The Vultures [6 hours]

+++++++++++++++OPERATION UNREALISTIC COMPLETED+++++++++++++++

-Paint 4 Warpborn Cultists [6]--ETL PLEDGE 1
-Assemble 2 Maulerfiends, 4 Obliterators, & 3 Mutilators [9]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 33 hours

AUGUST 2026 
-Assemble 8 Gal Vorbak Possessed Marines kitbashed with Necron and AdMech bitz [8]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 2
-Paint 8 Gal Vorbak Possessed [24]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 2
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 32 hours

SEPTEMBER 2026
-Paint No Omnissiah & The Emancipators, 4 Warpborn Obliterators [16]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 3
-Paint up 3 Mutilators [12]--1 WILL BE PART OF CALL TO ARMS VOW 3
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 28 hours

OCTOBER 2026
-Upgrade 10 already painted Warpborn models
1. Give Deffy a back banner that reads "Death to the Dark Mechanicum!" [2 hours]
2. Give Deffy a nice new Ectoplasma Destructor in a straddling-over-the-back techno spider [5]
3. Give Deffy a nice new pair of Hades Lascannons, 1 in each arm [4]
4. Add a pair of Excruciator Cannons to Deffy's back [2]
4. Paint and weather up 3 of Deffy's legs and half his torso with yellow [3]
5. Give Deffy a nice, new giant 160 mm base and paint it up [3]
7. Add bitz to Mad Martigan and paint them up [1]
9. Rebase 7 NeverBorn Possessed, give them back banners, new bionic bitz, and paint them up [7]
10. Give Deffy a bloody, wounded female AdMech techpriest victim [3]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 30 hours

NOVEMBER 2026
-Metal Queen, Warpborn Maulerfiend [15]
-Brutal Legend, Warpborn Maulerfiend [15]

Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 30 hours

+++++++++++++++OPERATION KAI COMPLETED+++++++++++++++_

-OPERATION UNREALISTIC completed in mid July of 2026
-OPERATION KAI completed in late November of 2026

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

House Nightfall, "In midnight clad"

[happyslugger]

Love the creativity that has gone into your army. Great stuff. 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Love your changes to the raptors, particularly the big cleaver thing.

The birds are also an inspired idea.

Edited May 17 by Dr_Ruminahui

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks Dr. Ruminahui and Happyslugger!

 

It's been awhile since I posted. My phone died and a bunch of photos--including photos from a May tournament--died along with it. But now I have a new phone. 

 

 

Yesterday I took my Blood Wolves to a tournament at Laughing Dragon Games in Issaquah. The event was a casual one and it was billed as the last 10th Edition tournament that the store is running. It was also a Highlander tournament--only 1 of each data sheet except for battle line units, you could have 2 data sheets of battle line units.

 

Here are some photos and comments from the event.

 

 

A short version of my Blood Wolves CSM army list

Spoiler

 

Blood Wolves, Chaos Space Marines

● June 13, 2026 Issaquah Laughing Dragon RTT

● Fell-Hammer Siege-Host Detachment

 

 

 

CHARACTERS

☆ Svane Vulfbad, Chaos Lord, Warlord, Iron Artifice Enhancement (100)

☆ Bloodgrin, Chaos Lord in Terminator Armor, Bastion Plate Enhancement (95 points)

☆ Wulfrik the Wanderer,  Counts-As Fabius Bile and Genesplice, Surgeon Acolyte (100 points)

☆ The Red Messiah, Chaos Dark Apostle (65)

 

 

 

BATTLELINE

● BloodTongue, 10 Legionaries (170 points)

● BloodFlowers, 5 Legionaries (90 points)

● 88th Blood Pact, 10 Cultists (50 points)

 

 

 

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

● Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino (75 points)

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

◇ Ghost Wolves, 3 Chaos Bikers (70 points)

♤ Company of Eight, 10 Chosen (250 points)

♤ Stormcrows, 5 Chaos Terminators (180 points)

♤ Blood Howl, 10 Possessed (240 points)

□ Blood Golem, Defiler (250 points)

□ Wirewolf, Maulerfiend (130 points)

□ FierFracture, Chaos Predator Annihilator (135 points)

Total points=2,000

 

 

 

 

 

A ridiculously long version of my Blood Wolves CSM army list--with background write ups for 50+ models!

Spoiler

 

Blood Wolves, Khornate Chaos Space Marine Warband

 

 

 

Being a Khornate Chaos Space Marine Battalion featuring Chaos Chosen, a pair of daemon engines, and various and sundry other Horrors of the Warp

 

 

ORIGINS

     The Blood Wolves are a warband of Khorne-worshipping Chaos Space Marines. They were once Space Wolves. Then one fateful day they fell from the Emperor's Grace and followed Wolf Lord Svane Vulfbad when he and his Great Company mutinied.  Svane and his followers proclaimed themselves to Khorne; stole a small fleet of Battle Barges, Cobras, and Strike Cruisers; and fled to the Cliedes System.

     It was in the Cliedes System that the Loyalist lackey Harald Deathwolf found and fought the Blood Wolves. But Svane and his Heretic Astartes had been blessed by the Blood God and they managed to escape into the warp. Since that day they have wandered the verse. The Blood Wolves seek nothing more than to shed blood in His name.

 

 

 

 

CHARACTERS

☆ Svane Vulfbad, Chaos Lord, daemon hammer, plasma pistol (90), Iron Artifice Enhancement (10)=100

     Svane Vulfbad was a young pup on Fenris when he was stalked one evening by a ferocious Ice Troll. He was able to use the light of Fenris' moon, Valdrmani, to escape. Since then Svane had felt a close connection to moons and to their symbolism and power.

     Svane was born into the Fire Breather tribe and named to honor the tribe's leader Sven Bloodhowl. The young Svane proved particularly adept at hunting and tracking. One night, under a crescent moon, Svane battled a giant Remhoraz on Fenris' ice fields. Both Svane and the Remhoraz fell during this duel. But the lucky Fenrisian was selected by a Chooser of the Slain. He then survived tests and ordeals too numerous to count. Eventually Svane succeeded and became a Space Wolves Neophyte serving in a Blood Claw Pack.

     Svane served honorably for many centuries in the ranks of Blood Claws, Grey Hunters, and Wolf Guard. He performed hundreds of heroic deeds and the Skalds told countless sagas about Vulfbane. He eventually became leader of the Blood Wolves Great Company.

      But one night while leading his company on campaign beneath a full moon in the Ghoul Stars, Svane Vulfbad heard the call. From its mighty Throne of Skulls Khorne sensed a kindred spirit and it reached out to Svane Vulfbad. Boundless rage filled Svane's soul. He became aware of the hypocrisy at the Empire's core. When Vulfbad awoke from his trance he uttered these words, "I murdered thousands for the Emperor and He gave me nothing except His damning silence. Now His lapdogs yap for every life I take, while the gods promise me the galaxy."

     Svane and his entire great company immediately declared themselves for Chaos and rebelled. A cadre of loyalist Space Wolves pursued them. But, after a handful of running skirmishes, Svane and his Blood Wolves escaped into the warp.

 

 

☆ Wulfrik the Wanderer, Counts-As Fabius Bile and, Genesplice, Surgeon Acolyte, Xyclos Needler, Chirurgeon, Rod of Torment, Surgeon Acolyte's Tools=100

    The Spyder asked the Wanderer why he cast the runes. The Wanderer responded, "Why do I cast the runes? You might as well ask why does a Fenrisian honor her ancestors? Why does Thunder Mountain scrape the grey skies? Why does the Ice Troll stalk its prey? Foolish Spyder, ask no more questions."

    And thus ended the Alliance between Blood Wolves Runespeaker Wulfrik the Wanderer and the Clone Lord Fabius Bile. The two had collaborated for decades, teaching each other their differing trades. But eventually the Wanderer grew tired of the Spyder's aspersions on his runecraft. The Spyder believed chemicals were the key to gene splicing. The Runespeaker held faith in runes' ability to influence genes.

     And so Wulfrik the Wanderer took his cache of rune-enhanced geneseed and returned to wandering the verse.

     Millenia earlier, Wulfrik the Wanderer was a young lad on Fenris when his tribe, the Ice Minotaurs, witnessed his skills at runecasting. He was apprenticed to the tribe's shaman, Urda Runespeaker, and began walking the bonereader's path. Years later, the bones told Urda and Wulfrik

told the Runecasters that the village should escape to the sea. But the Ice Minotaurs ignored their warnings. The next day Glacial Nomad Raiders treacherously attacked the village. Wulfrik's parents and most of his family were killed by the Glacial Nomads. Wulfrik and his entire family refused the offer from the Glacial Nomad chieftain, Bjorn One Eye, to join their tribe. Bjorn had Wulfrik's family slaughtered. After a harrowing adventure with the aid of chalk, strong twine, bone runes, and a friendly wolf orphan named Lark, Wulfrik managed to escape the clutches of the Glacial Nomads.

     And thus did Wulfrik become the Wanderer. He and Lark left on a soul-searching walkabout. For twenty years they wandered the seas and erstwhile isles of Fenris. They saw volcano fires burning in the great Fire Breather, they panned for gold on Allfather Peak, they worked as a sailor in a1 dozen seas, Wulfrik fell in love with a maiden who soon wasted away from the Grey Fever, they hunted Mastadons upon the Silver Marches, and they bought goods at the great market of Thunder Mountain.

     It was in Thunder Mountain that Wulfrik met the famed Runecaster Sindoi of the Thousand Eyes. He was tutored by the elderly sage for a year and a day and learned great and terrible runes indeed. Wulfrik even learned how to mold Fenrisians' bodies so they could be stronger, faster, or tougher, but at the cost of a sliver of their soul. Wulfrik then bade Sindoi farewell and continued on his walkabout. As a going-away gift, Sindoi gave Wulfrik a pet Raven. Wulfrik named the Raven Enigma. In turn, Wulfrik told Lark, his wolf companion to remain with

Sindoi as a protector.

     One particular misty day, Wulfrik read his death in the runes. He picked up his axe, collected his bones, and went to meet his Doom. He soon came across his nemesis, Bjorn One Eye, who was raiding a nearby village. The two fought for three moonrises. In the end, both lay dead upon the field of battle, their axes buried in each other's throats.

      But a Chooser of the Slain found both to be excellent candidates for revivification. Both warriors were returned from Valhalla and made to begin the trials by which one becomes a Space Wolf. Bjorn perished during the trials. But Wulfrik survived. After a brief stint as a Blood Claw, he became a Space Wolf Runepriest adept. He proved a natural and quickly became a Rune Priest in his own right. But his superiors began questioning his ways.

It was whispered that Wulfrik practiced Heresy and foul magicks with his runes as he attempted to enhance his fellow battle brothers in ways not allowed by the Codex Astartes or by the Space Wolves. Luckily Wulfrik's runes warned him of his chapter's suspicions. He and Enigma fled through a portal opened by his runecasting.

     And so Wulfrik wandered again. He managed to keep one step ahead of the Inquisition. Until one day the Wanderer met the Spyder. The Spyder had heard of the peripatetic former Space Wolf who could cast runes in a way that augmented one's body. And, of course, the Wanderer had heard of the Spyder and his penchant for genetic artistry. The Wanderer and the Spyder worked together on and off for decades before going their separate ways.

      And so, the Wanderer wandered again for centuries. Eventually he met Svane Vulfbad and his band of rebel Fenrisians. Wulfrik found in Svane a kindred spirit. The two took each other's measure and liked what they saw. While Wulfrik did not worship Khorne All Father, he was a talented Runecaster and had no love for the Emperor. And Svane offered protection and a fully stocked biological laboratory for the Wanderer's research. Wulfrik soon joined the Blood Wolves as a member of Svane's retinue and as the Blood Wolves' Runecaster and Biologist.

     Wulfrik's runecasting often analyzes themes about which the Blood Wolves are curious: the location of geneseed caches, whether a particular alliance will prove fruitful, how to best please Khorne Allfather, and anything else which presents an obstacle to the Blood Wolves.

 

 

☆ Bloodgrin, Chaos Lord in Terminator Armor, combi-weapon, chainfist (85), Bastion Plate Enhancement=95

     Chaos Terminator Lord Bloodgrin is Azrath's trusted lieutenant. Bloodgrin was once Renegades and Heretics Enforcer who served alongside Azrath. It was Bloodgrin who fomented a love of Khorne in the young Traitor Guard sergeant. He has been with Azrath through thick and thin. Bloodgrin became a Chaos Marine at the same time as Azrath, and both survived the World Eaters' arduous culling process. Later Bloodgrin underwent the Butcher's Nails procedure to become a Berzerker, and was eventually promoted to Chaos Lord when Azrath became a Daemon prince. In his darkest hours Bloodgrin sometimes envies his comrade Azrath's promotion to Daemon Princedom, and that feeling is gnawing away at his psyche.

 

 

☆ Red Messiah, Chaos Dark Apostle, 2 Dark Disciples, bolt pistol, Accursed Crozius=65

     Aspiring Champion Red Messiah was a particularly zealous and articulate Berzerker. He liked nothing more than to spread the word of Khorne. He yearned to one day become a Dark Apostle and trusted lieutenant to Svane Vulfbad. To further that end, he urged his squad, the Bloodflowers to commit greater acts of bloodshed in Khorne's name.

     Thanks to Red Messiah's heroism at the Battle in Tacoma, he has achieved his dream. Red Messiah is an Aspiring Champion no more. Now he is a Dark Apostle of Khorne!

 

 

 

 

BATTLE LINE

● Aspiring Champion Gormenghast's BloodTongue, 10 Legionaries, 10 close combat weapons, 8 bolt pistols, 2 plasma pistols, 7 chainswords, 2 heavy melee weapons, icon, lascannon=170

 

 

Members of BloodTongue

■ Gormenghast, Legionary Aspiring Champion with plasma pistol and powerfist

   Aspiring Champion Gormenghast is a philosopher warrior, a rarity among Khorne worshippers. As a Space Wolf he read widely, devouring the works of Aquinas, Logar, and Aristotle, among others.

     But one fateful day on an Imperial ecclesiarchy world he stumbled across one of the Eight Books of Khorne. Not knowing the tome was a Chaos artifact he took it. Back on the Strike Cruiser he began reading the book. Its contents revealed a great deal to the loyalist marine. He learned the elements of the perfect murder, he learned the inner peace brought about by intense anger, and he learned the eight pillars of the Khorne faith. Gormenghast remained loyal to the All Father but the seeds of doubt were sown.

     When Svane Vulfbad began speaking of the Emperor's hypocrisy, Gormenghast understood what he meant more than most Blood Wolves. Gormenghast eagerly advocated for rebelling and, as a result, after the revolt, Svane promoted the philosopher warrior to Squad Champion in charge of Squad Bloodtongue.

■ Freya, Legionary with lascannon, bolt pistol, and combat weapon

  Freya was once Freya the Grey, chief huntress of the Ice Ravens clan on Fenris. Then one day she fell, mortally wounded in combat with a Tundra Mammoth. She briefly entered Valhalla and was gloriously chosen to ride the skies as a Valkyrie. But then suddenly she was ripped from Asgard and returned to the mortal realms. A Chooser of the Slain had revived her so that she could join the ranks of the Space Wolves.

     She served dutifully as a Space Wolf for centuries. First as a Blood Claw, then as a Grey Hunter, and finally as a member of a Wolf Lord Retinue serving Svane Vulfbad But she still harbored hostility. She was supposed to be a Valkyrie. Soaring high above the Heavens on her own wings. Not here among mere mortals.

     Then one day Svane Vulfbad approached her with an offer. If she would aid him in his revolt and if she would lend her marksmanship skills to the warband for 888 days, then he would give her wings and allow her to form her own band of Raptors, called the Valkyries. For Freya this was the next best thing to rejoining the halls of Valhalla. She agreed to Svane's offer. She aided the revolt and is now counting the hours until she, once more, flies the skies as a Raptor.

■ Blood Rose, Legionary with icon, bolt pistol, chainsword

His mother was a beastman who forced herself upon his father during a raid. The mutant strain is latent, but on nights of the full moon Blood Rose howls and kills with wild abandon.

■ Torsten, Legionary with chainsword and pair of bolt pistols

As a female Traitor Astartes Torsten must fight twice as hard as everyone else and demonstrate twice as much devotion to the Taker of Skulls as everyone else. She does this in many ways. But she most known for challenging anyone to a game of "Russian Roulette" with one of her many bolt pistols. A blindfolded third party will randomly load a clip with 8 live rounds, of course it would be 8, and 12 blank rounds. She and her opponent then take turns putting the pistol to their bare head and pulling the trigger. Torsten has not lost yet. But she knows it is just a matter of time.

■ Booger, Legionary with Bolt pistol and chainsword

No one knows why Booger has acquired his unfortunate nickname. He kills anyone who mocks his name. [He was named by my cousin who was 5 at the time]

■ Heimdall, Legionary with bolt pistol and heavy melee weapon

He is the guardian of the Warband's sacred tree, Ygdrassil, nourished with the blood of the foe.

■ World Devourer, Legionary with bolt pistol and chainsword

Now I am become Death. The destroyer of worlds.

■ Arngrim, Legionary with plasma pistol and chainsword

Arngrim has formed a subcult within the Blood Wolves that elevates blood above skulls. Khorne has gifted Arngrim with visions. And thus has Arngrim taught the other members of the entire warband the 888 secret uses of the blood of one's foes.

■ Maggot, Legionary with bolt pistol and chainsword

  Aspiring Champion Maggot was once a Nurgle Plague Marine. Then one day Vomit, a Khornate Nurgling came into his life. Maggot converted to Khorne and never looked back.

 

 

 

 

● Aspiring Champion Gorath's Bloodflowers, 5 Legionaries, 5 close combat weapons, plasma pistol, 4 bolt pistols, 2 chainswords, 2 heavy melee weapons, lascannon, icon=90

 

 

Members of BloodFlowers

■ Gorath, Legionary Aspiring Champion with plasma pistol and powerfist

Aspiring Champion Gorath is an artist. He unlocks the potential of the Crimson within us all as he paints great canvases using only differing shades and types of Blood. His art tells the story of death not life. Gorath rejects the use of mere paint as gauche.

     Svane awarded Gorath command of the Bloodflowers out of nostalgia. The two were comrades in the same Bloodclaws pack centuries ago. And while Bloodflowers is as effective as any squad, Svane believes Gorath's affectations as an artist are inhibiting his ability to lead.

■ Blood Price, Legionary with icon, bolt pistol, and chainsword

Blood Price is the warband's tallyman and quartermaster. He keeps track of all the Blood Wolves' bullets, replacement chainaxe blades, geneseed, and innumerable other items. It is said that he knows the blood price of each item under his watch.

■ Soti, Legionary with lascannon, bolt pistol, and combat weapon

Soti means soot-colored horse in the old tongue. And Soti is as strong as a horse, able to carry and accurately fire a Hellbore Mk III class lascannon with ease.

 

 

 

 

● The Baba Yagas, 88th Blood Pact, 10 Cultists, 10 Cultist Firearms, 10 Brutal Assault Weapons=50

    The 88th Blood Pact are troopers on loan to The Blood Wolves from the infamous Blood Pact Traitor Guard Regiment. Urlock Gaur leads the Blood Pact and each Blood Pacter swears fealty to Gaur in an unholy bloodletting ritual. Urlock Gaur and Svane Vulfbad have exchanged small detachments. The Blood Pact gains the melee brutality of the Blood Wolves' Legionaries and Berzerker and the Blood Wolves gain the disciplined masses and tanks of the Blood Pact.

 

 

Members of The Baba Yagas

■ Bloodbitch, Cultist Aspiring Champion with autopistol and rusted sword

   The Squad's Aspiring Champion, Bloodbitch, comes from a Slavic world.

She has named her squad "The Baba Yagas,” after an old Slavic wives' tale. The Baba Yagas sometimes serve as scouts for the Blood Wolves.

     Blood Bitch was imprisoned on a Chaos Penal World working the forges for the Dark Mechanicum. Her life was a living hell, but she coped by organizing a "fight club." Then one day Urlock Gaur's Blood Pact forces raided the Penal world for supplies and manpower. Blood Bitch found herself freed. What's more, Urlock Gaur was impressed at how she had trained an entire cadre of prisoners in hand-to-hand melee. After a brief blood-letting ritual in which she impaled her hand on his armor's spikes, she was promoted to Chieftain of a squad in the 88th Blood Pact Regiment. A role at which she has excelled. Blood for the Blood God indeed!

■ Zenn, Cultist trooper with icon, autogun, and ammo container

Zenn comes from a Slavic world within the Imperium. It is he who gave the squad its name, the "Baba Yagas." The unit is named after an enigmatic character from Slavic folklore, a witch who sometimes aids the peasants and who sometimes eats them.

■ Nochfel, Cultist with axe and pistol

Nochfel is not technically a Blood Pact trooper. He is a Nostroman 9th trooper from House Nightfall. As part of an alliance, some members of the 9th have been temporarily assigned to the 88th. He is enjoying his temporary duty although he thinks the Blood Pacters are fools for putting their faith in a Chaos God. To Nochfel and most House Nightfall members, Chaos Gods are better used as tools and should never be trusted.

■ Ram, Cultist with shield, autopistol, and adze

It is Ram's duty to protect the Baba Yagas with his riot shield during close quarters fighting, such as during urban combat. He is seen as a bit of a protector, a father figure to the younger squad members.

■ Creed, Cultist with demo charge, grenades, and autogun

Creed is an EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) expert. Which, of course, means he is quite unhinged. If there is anything that needs blowing up, he is there. In his free time, he likes to listen to and sing Eldar opera, loudly since his hearing is poor.

■ Creed, Cultist with vox set and autopistol

Dekker is the Baba Yaga's comms officer. He is unfailingly pessimistic at all times. His catchphrase is "We're doomed." He is often correct.

■ Jackal, Cultist with autopistol and pair of flensing knives

Jackal is the squad's Butcher. If an enemy prisoner needs interrogating, Jackal is the man for the job. Sadly, he often butchers the opponent before any information can be obtained.

■ Mishka, autopistol and blades

Mishka specializes in stealth operations. She slips into enemy positions and sets to with her knifework.

■ Grim, Cultist with autopistol and flail

Grim is the squad's thug. He uses his mutant flail and rusted chain to treat the enemy with extreme prejudice. He is not the brightest of Traitor Guard troopers. But he is the oldest squad member. And experience counts for something.

■ Bonesaw, Cultist with medkit and autopistol

If you are injured, the last thing you want is to be treated by Bonesaw. With him, the cure is worse than the disease.

 

 

 

 

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

○ Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino, armored tracks, combi-weapon=75

     Since Tentaculus' crew worships Khorne, the Chaos Rhino is just as likely to careen into the foe, skewering them upon one of many spikes attached to the hull, as it is likely to just serve as a transport vehicle.

 

 

 

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

 

 

◇ Ghost Wolves, 3 Chaos Bikers, powerfist, 2 chainswords, 2 flamers, combi-bolter, icon=70

    The Ghost Wolves have all sold their souls to Khorne. In exchange they have gained preternatural speed and strength as well as the ability to shoot bolts of fire. Their heads have melted away and nothing but blazing skulls wrapped in hellfire remain.

     Trailing brimstone in their wake, the Ghost Wolves act as the Blood Wolves recon and Raiding Force. They use their horrific speed to strike behind enemy lines and sever communication and control networks. They also pursue survivors after a battle so that even more blood can flow for the Blood God.

 

 

Members of The Ghost Wolves

■ Blaze, Chaos Biker Aspiring Champion with powerfist and combi-bolter

"Stupid human, Will you never learn? Mine is the power of hell unleashed."

-Ghost Rider Volume 2, #28

■ Ketch, Chaos Biker with flamer and chainsword

"You are guilty. Look into my eyes."

-Danny Ketch, Ghost Rider

■ Zarathos, Chaos Biker with flamer and chainsword

"You play with the wind and use it to toss toys at me. I am not impressed."

-Zarathos, Ghost Rider

 

 

 

 

♤ The Stormcrows, 5 Chaos Terminators, heavy flamer, 3 combi-weapons, chainfist, 3 powerfists, pair of accursed weapons=180

     The Stormcrows are veteran Chaos Marines equipped with rare tactic dreadnought army. They spearhead assaults and serve as bodyguard to one if Svane's most trusted lieutenants, Bloodgrin.

     The Stormcrows also have started the "Crow Cult" within the Blood Wolves. The members of the Crow cult collect and worship birds of the Corvidae family. They seek to embody the spirit of the crow and other Corvidae--fierceness, independence, wisdom, and feistiness--and, in so doing, attain a state of being that is closer to Khorne. 

     Crows also harken back to Odin Allfather and his two Crow companions, Hugin and Munin. Crows hold a special place for many clans on Fenris.

      Many other members of the Blood Wolves warband are not too sure about this new cult. They don't really see a connection between Corvidae and Khorne. But the Crow Cult are not particularly zealous in recruitment and, moreover, its members have somehow become better warriors as a result of their cult membership. So, the rest of the warband's members don't mind the cult.

 

 

Members of The Stormcrows

■ Snow Rook, Chaos Terminator Aspiring Champion with combi-bolter and chainfist

     Snow Rook is the squad's Aspiring Champion. Unlike the other squad champions, Snow Rook was elected leader by the squad members. The Stormcrows see Snow Rook as a wise and bloody father figure. He is not sure how he feels about this.

■ Ice Jay, Chaos Terminator with combi-weapon and powerfist

Ice Jay likes long walks on the beach and collecting skulls

■ Sleet Magpie, Chaos Terminator with powerfist, banner, and combi-bolter

Sleet Magpie has a way of reading the eddies and flows of the Warp. Some say it was Magpie who guided the Blood Wolves Founder, Svane Vulfbad, through the Warp

to safety when he was being hounded by Harald Deathwolf.

■ Cold Raven, Chaos Terminator with heavy flamer and powerfist

Cold Raven has re-engineered his heavy flamer. He has tapped into a portal into the Space Wolf home world of Fenris. As such, Cold Raven's weapon shoots gouts of utterly frozen ice at the foe instead of flame.

■ Frost Jackdaw, Chaos Terminator with pair of power axes

Frost Jackdaw, is the most devout of the entire Stormcrow Cult. He ripped out his eye so as to be closer to Odin and to the Corvidae way of life.

 

 

 

 

♤ Blood Howl, 10 Possessed, icon=240

     Each member of Blood Howl has undergone a terrible ritual. This ritual

intertwined their souls with 8 Khornate daemon souls. Hell unleashed eightfold!

 

 

Members of Blood Howl

■ Lars The Seer, 2-handed axe, Fenrisian helmet

It is said that Lars can see the moonlight reflected in the whirls and mists of the Warp and so foretell the future. And when the Blood Wolves' Navigator, Octavia, is otherwise occupied or incapacitated, Lars can direct a vessel through the warp to its destination. He also claims to be able to look at the moonlight reflected in a person's eyes and know when and how that person will die. So far, his predictions have come true.

■ Huern the Wolf, axe and claw

On Fenris it was said that Huern the Wolf (and his brothers Graill and Ulsdau) could change into hybrid man-wolves. First, they could only do so on the nights of the full moon. But, over time, thanks to the gods, they could change at will. Their lycanthropy made them fierce warriors. No one knows why the Chooser of the Slain picked such impure candidates when they fell in combat. But some say Loki's hand directed the Space Wolves Chooser of the Slain. At any rate, the three brothers quickly became Wulfen within the ranks of the Space Wolves. And by the time Svane issued his Call to Revolt, the brothers were already half feral beasts who eagerly joined the cause.

■ Raddesk The Blind, 2-handed axe, Zerker helm

Raddesk the Blind is not blind. It is simply a misnomer given to him by his squad mates. In a warband full of Khornate worshippers Raddesk does not worship Khorne. Instead, he worships Odin One Eye. Everyone else in the warband believes Odin One Eye to be a manifestation of the Blood God. But Raddesk thinks otherwise. He believes Odin is still the Odin of Old keeping watch and protecting from the Halls of the Slain in Asgard. Raddesk respects Khorne but does not believe Odin and Khorne are the same entity. Since he is such a skilled veteran warrior, the rest of the warband obligingly tolerate Raddesk's heresy. And they have dubbed him "Raddesk the Blind" for his refusal to worship Khorne.

■ Saul, Zerker helmet, arms upright, chained to a Chaos Star

Saul once sailed the frigid seas of Fenris, sea salt upon his brow and murder in his heart

■ Kareth, right arm shield, Mutant pincer left

During assaults Kareth rhythmically slams his pincer into his shield. From far away the enemy only hears drums, drums in the deep.

■ Asmund, pair of swords, shield on back, Nid left arm

A Tyranid vanguard organism once tried to mindmeld and take control of Asmund. Now he is three: Chaos Marine, Daemon, and Tyranid.

■ Cold Void, 2 chain flail arms

Unlike most of his 13th Company brethren, Cold Void succumbed to Chaos while in the Warp. He somehow found his way to the Blood Wolves.

 

 

 

 

♤ Aspiring Champion Krassek's Company of Eight, 10 Chosen, 8 bolt pistols, 2 plasma pistols, 4 combi-weapons, 2 bolters, 6 accursed weapons, 2 pairs of accursed weapons, 2 powerfists, 10 close

combat weapons, icon=250

      The Company of Eight are a Squad of Chaos Veterans. They represent the Blood Wolves' best hunters. Each has been handpicked by Krassek and each has at least a score of sagas to tell of their great deeds.

 

 

Members of The Company Of Eight

■ Krassek, Chosen Aspiring Champion, 2-handed axe, bolt pistol

     Aspiring Champion Krassek is a hunter's hunter. As a feral tribal warrior on Fenris he could track and kill the deadliest of native beasts, from the great Fenrisian Wolf to the Brutal Frost Mammoths. Krassek would patiently stalk his prey through ice tundra and snow-swept mountain. And then he would finally strike with unmatched zeal.

     When his tribal chief told Krassek he must begin the ordeals to become an Adeptes he was sad. He knew he would miss the hunt. But he also knew he had a duty to his tribe and to the All-Father.

    And so Krassek underwent the trials and eventually became a Space Wolf. As a Space Wolf he joined a particularly devout warrior cult. And so, the eventual transition from Space Wolf to Blood Wolf was not difficult for him.

     He eventually surrounded himself with others who were big game hunters. On and off the battlefield, they specialize in stalking, killing, and making totems of their prey. And as a squad leader he is sometimes allowed a small vessel and navigator and released from warband duties for a year and a day. During these sabbaticals he takes up the hunt once more. He travels to nearby Death Worlds and stalks the most vicious creatures he can find.

■ Skull Fiend, Chosen with 2 swords, bolt pistol

Skull Fiend ripped the bionic eye from a Mars worshipper over a century ago. He paid Crowsoul, the Blood Wolves' Warpsmith, one thousand and one skulls to have the bionic eye inserted. No one knows why, but through the eye Skull Fiend can see if someone is lying to Skull Fiend. As such, Svane Vulfbad, the Blood Wolves' leader always brings Skull Fiend along on parleys with other factions. The better to see if the other party is a potential alley or a mere Loki trickster who will soon die to the Blood Wolves' blades.

■ Harrald, Chosen with bolt pistol, bolter, and mace

Every second of every hour of every day, Harrald hears great thunderous booms that no one else can hear. He knows not why. It is only in the midst of a killing frenzy, when he is swinging his mace and emptying his bolt pistol that the booms briefly cease. And Harran, for a time, knows peace. Then the fighting inevitably dies down. And the hellish thunder returns.

■ Redmaw, Chosen with pair of chainaxes, bolt pistol

Redmaw devours the hearts of his foe, leaving their ichor on his chin is a badge of honor.

■ Bjorn Blackwolf, Chosen with combi-weapon and chain-blade-arm

Bjorn Blackwolf was a leader of the Blackwolf Clan back on Fenris. When he died raiding a rival clan and was chosen by a leader of the Slain, he was overjoyed. He believed a Valkyrie had raised him and brought him to Valhalla. When he learned this was not the case, he was quite bitter. He remains angered and his resentment has only grown since then.

■ Eyegouger, Chosen with 2-handed axe, bolt pistol

Eyegouger earned the name when accidentally removed an opponent's eyes on the training field as a young Blood Claw. The name was intended to mock him for his excessive violence. But he has taken the name to heart and now he ritually removes and keeps the eyes of his enemies, at least those opponents that have eyes.

 

 

 

 

□ Blood Golem, Chaos Defiler, Shearing Claws, Ectoplasma Destructor, 2 Hades Lascannons, 2 Excruciator Cannons=250

     Blood Golem was created by Dark Apostle Bloodgrin and Warpsmith Crowsoul from an ancient recipe with three ingredients: the Blood of a daemon, the dust of an enemy, and the Butcher's Nails

from a willing Berzerker sacrifice. Blood Golem was created to act as a bodyguard for the leaders of the Blood Wolves.

     Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Blood Golem was not a good bodyguard. He had a penchant for running pell nell towards the foe to crush them with his claws. He would often leave the Chaos Lord or Daemon Prince that he was supposed to be guarding far behind in his dust. As such, Blood Golem was banished from the command retinue cadre and relegated to the Blood Wolves' daemon engine assault cadre. Now he competes with Blood Slaughterers, Maulerfiends, and other daemon engines in a competition to see who can rack up the most kills.

 

 

□ Wirewolf, Chaos Maulerfiend, Maulerfiend Fists, Lasher Tendrils=130

     "Talix trees, tall and slender, grew along

the Outsides of the avenue. At least two had been decapitated and remade into gibbets for the wirewolves. There was no point trying to avoid them. Landerson walked on, trying not to look up at the skeletal mannequins hanging limply from the axl-trees on their metal strings. They creaked, swinging slightly in the breeze."

-Excerpt from Traitor General, by Dan Abnett

 

 

□ FierFracture, Chaos Predator Annihilator, Predator Twin Lascannon, 2 lascannons, armored tracks, Havoc Launcher, combi-weapon=135

     FierFracture was once a venerated Imperial Fists battle tank. But one moonlit night the Blood Wolves caught the VII Legion Loyalists unawares in an ambush on the Planet T'olku. After Svane Vulfbad wounded Imperial Fist Captain Alaric Eshara, the bulk of the Imperial Fists managed to escape due to the Captain's rear guard sacrifice. But much of the Imperial Fists' equipment, including FierFracture, was captured by the Fallen Space Wolves. The Blood Wolves keep Captain Eshara alive and chained to back of the vehicle as a testament to Khorne.

 

 

Points=2,000; number of models=63 (57 infantry, 4 vehicles, 3 mounted)

 

 

 

 

 

Blood Golem gets an upgrade

Spoiler

 

I was going to wait til the fall or next year to begin upgrading my 3 old Defilers to bigger bases. But based off of feedback I saw on this site and elsewhere (and based on the fact that I went 0 and 3 at a tournament last month) I realized the Blood Wolves needed a bit of a shot in the arm. What better to improve one's list than an overpowered robot from hell? And in my defense, as many of you know, I used a Defiler for most of last year when they were sub-par at best (but very fun). So I'm not chasing the meta per se, I'm just upgrading one of my frequently-taken units.

 

So here is a WiP Blood Golem

 

I bought the base from a 3rd-party vendor for a fraction of the price of GW's bases. I also bought bases for Deffy and Yemelina's Lament, my other 2 Defilers.

 

 

The new Blood Golem

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blood Wolves Chaos Marines on display boards

 

 

 

 

Game 1: Blood Wolves vs. Imperial Guard

Spoiler

 

My first game saw the sons and daughters of Fenris fighting against the loyalist lapdogs of the Imperial Guard. As a guard player myself (who tends to use Grizzled Company these days) it was fun to go up against a classic Combined Arms foe

 

The board at deployment

 

Those of us at the event realized that objective markers are soon to be a thing of the past. What the heck do we do with our old objective markers?

 

My opponent used 2 of the new Hippogriff Armored Fighting Vehicles.

I love these suckers. They would be very thematic for my recon-themed Tallarns. I definitely need to get some someday.

 

 

Here you can see an IG Hippogriff charging, tank shocking, and killing my Predator Annihilator FierFracture, which was at 3 wounds

 

 

In 2 of my 3 games I used my Chaos Terminator Lord Bloodgrin as a utility piece, deep-striking in and doing secondaries.

 

He racked up quite a few points that way. In the 3rd game, wI joined him to the termie squad where he also did yeoman's work.

 

 

The Possessed vs. Yarrick, Yarrick ran away from them 

 

 

Yarrick vs. Termie Lord Bloodgrin

 

Bloodgrin had quite the defensive profile: his normal ability to halve incoming damage, his bastion plate allowed him to ignore the first armor save, and the FelHammer Siege Host Detachment reduced the strength of incoming shots

.

 

Possessed tangle with and eventually destroy a Demolisher

 

 

Chosen bounce off a Rogal Dorn

 

 

 

Ghost Wolves vs. Sentinel, in a sense we were both tarpitting each other's cheap screening unit

 

 

 

 

In the end the forces of the Blood Wolves managed a victory. Games against IG are always fun!

 

 

To be continued below........

 

 

 

Edited June 15 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

.....continued from above

 

 

Game 2: Blood Wolves vs. Nids

Spoiler

 

Game 2 saw the Blood Wolves face up against the Nids. He was playing the uppy downy Ravager and Trygon-themed detachment. It was great fun!

 

 

The board a deployment

 

 

The new Defiler base is a bit difficult to manuever and deploy. It really benefits from its new ability to ghost through walls.

 

 

 

Bugs!

 

 

The thin red line

 

 

Dark Apostle Red Messiah is surrounded and killed

Last week I rebased Red Messiah and gave him a nice mace. He is no longer a Legionary. Now he is spreading the word of Khorne as a Dark Apostle!

 

 

Dustup on the right

 

 

Lictor vs. Legionaries

 

The Lictor was really on the bottom floor of the ruin. But my opponent remarked how it looked like it was watching the Legionaries from atop the ruin.

 

 

Wirewolf the Maulerfiend shows up to the party

 

 

Trygon vs. Chaos Lord Svane Vulfbad

This fight went about how you would expect it to.

 

 

Old One Eye eyes up the Chaos Termies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game 3: Blood Wolves vs. Daemons

Spoiler

 

Game 3 was CSM vs Daemons. I haven't faced daemons this edition. They are always such a fun and dynamic army to go up against.

 

Big Bad Daemons

 

 

I tried to convince my opponent that if I killed Karanak or any of the Chaos Hounds, then I should instantly lose the game. My opponent said that, yes, Khorne would not be please if anyone killed his best boys.  

 

On the other hand, Skarbrand is quite a jerk so Khorne would probably be rather pleased if the Blood Wolves took him out.

 

 

Blood Wolves' deployment

 

 

CSM vs Daemons: board at deployment

 

 

Karanak takes out all but 1 of Wulfrik the Wanderer's (counts-as Fabius Bile's) wounds

 

 

Shalaxi dismembers the BloodFlowers Legionaries Squad

 

 

Wirewolf KO's Belakor

This should not have happened. Wirewolf rolled really well and Belakor rolled really poorly.

 

 

The Company of Eight Chosen Squad take out the giant chicken

 

 

Storm Crows and Termie Lord Bloodgrin hold objective

 

 

Ghost Wolves Chaos Bikers vroom up to capture objective

 

 

It was a close game indeed. The Blood Wolves won by 1 point!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tournament was a blast and I went 2 and 1.  In the end I manged to win best sportsman. All my opponents were chill and the event was a great sendoff for 10th Edition.

 

 

This was the first time I've used the Felhammer Siege Host. I really like the detachment. It's probably less effective for me than Pactbound or Creations of Bile, but I really like the detachment's collection of defensive strats, especially the 5++ feel no pain strat. When I bring my Night Lords to the Tacoma Narrative event next month, I might use Felhammer.

 

 

Completed Upgrades 6 Chaos Bikers, 1 Warp Talon, 1 Possessed, 1 Chosen, 2 Renegade Raiders

Spoiler

In addition to upgrading Blood Golem my Defiler, I've also been upgrading various and sundry Night Lords.

 

 

Urzak the Unhinged, Warp Talon, got a new left arm and new banner

 

 

The Night Riders Night Lords Chaos Bikers Squad all got new bigger bases

 

 

The Bat to the Bone Biker Squad also got new bases

 

 

Doom Rider got a new power chain and right arm

 

Dragor got an upgraded banner

 

 

 

Ravenblade, Night Lords Chosen, got a new left combi-weapon arm and some ravens

 

 

Mentash, Night Lords Possessed, got a pet buzzard

 

 

Shadowmaster, Night Lords Renegade Raider, got a new base, vulture, sword, etc.

 

 

 

Grey Eyes, Night Lords Renegade Raider, also got a new base, crow, etc.

 

 

 

And last month, when I was using the Nightmare Hunt detachment a lot, I painted up some bat battle-shock tokens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Banshees Raptor Squad

Spoiler

I also finished upgrading a squad of 5 Raptors, the Banshees

 

The Banshees

 

 

Bleak Sister got a new banner and halberd, counts-as powerfist

 

 

Bloody Mary got a new decal, plasma pistol, and powerfist

 

"I won't cry for you
I won't crucify the things you do
I won't cry for you
See, when you're gone, I'll still be Bloody Mary"
-Lady Gaga, Bloody Mary

 

 

Jakr just got some new oil washes and Leadbelcher sponging, basic weathering upgrades

 

     Jakr is not a daughter of Nostramo. She grew up on a feral planet. She and her tribe were gathered by House Nightfall during a raid. On her planet she was her tribe's Supreme Huntress. She could read the signs better than anyone and she had the a reputation for having slain the fiercest of creatures.
     House Nightfall recognized Jakr's skills as a huntress. She was soon elevated from serf-slave and mutated into a Blood Hound. She joined the vicious pack of mutants and aliens which House Nightfall uses when they need to track a quarry.
      Jakr served as a Blood Hound for generations. And when it was she who located and worried the famed Jabberwocky. And when the beast was slain, House Nightfall Lord Chamorro offered the jabberwockies' pelt to Jakr to wear as a cape. Chamorro also realized Jakr was wasted as a blood Hound. On the spot, the Chaos Lord told Jakr, "Initiate you are. And if you survive the Mercantile Trials of Blood, Chaos Marine ye shall be."
       And so it came to pass. Jakr survived the Trials, became a Legionary, and then a Veteran, and finally a Chaos Raptor. She now hunts a different sort of prey. And she does so upon wings of flame.

 

 

HeartRend got a new left arm counts-as powerfist thingy

 

 

     HeartRend is dying. She was mortally wounded by a Dark Eldar Haemonculous upon the foggy fans of Epsilon during a House Nightfall raid. She was saved by the the quick actions of Apothecary Hazzar the Child Skinner. But the apothecary told HeartRend, "Sssss, your wounde is not healing correctly. The fouled Drychaa blade's poison has created damage I cannot repair.  Young Raptor, your hearte is failing. Sssss, bringe me another hearte by the next new moone or ye shall die."
     And so began HeartRend's pattern. Every new moon she slays a victim; mortal, xenos, daemon, she cares not who. She rends the victim's heart from its donor's chest. She then brings it to Hazzar. The ancient Night Lords surgeon then conducts an operation and inserts the new heart into HeartRend. And in so doing she has purchased a few more weeks of life.
     Lately HeartRend has been seeing fantastic visions and hearing mysterious sounds. She graduslly  realized she was reliving fragmented shards of her victim's memories. She has seen green sunsets upon the seas of Zyrex's moons, she has jousted riding a blood-covered jetbike above the spires of Commoragh, and she has eagerly leapt into the welcoming purple waters of an acid reclamation pool. She finds it all quite fascinating. Every new moon she looks forward to her next kill so that she might savor new shards of her victim's remembrances.

 

 

 

And Daughter of Anarchy is a new model who got painted. Huzzah!

 

     Daughter of Anarchy is a stalwart member of the Council of Eight's Unionist faction. The Unionists strive to improve pay and working conditions for House Nightfall's workers.
     But The Daughter of Anarchy is also a member of a secret Unionist sub-faction within the Council of Eight, the Anarcho-Syndicalists. The Anarcho-Syndicalists seek to overthrow all authority within House Nightfall, including the Council of Eight, and to replace it with autonomous worker collectives organized around the anarchist principle "No gods! No masters!" To that end, the Daughter of Anarchy has personally completed dozens of assassination, espionage, and saboteur missions against various enemies of the Anarchists. Their next nefarious plot is to set off an explosive device at a Council of Eight meeting. Daughter of Anarchy indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

Road to Tacoma Narrative Event

Spoiler

I have now upgraded 6 units for the Tacoma Narrative event.

 

 

Operation Unrealistic: Night Lords Tacoma Prep Plan

 

JANUARY TO FEBRUARY 2026
-Assemble upgrades on 10 Night Lords Raiders [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

 

MARCH 2026
-Assemble, flock, and prime the Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [COMPLETED]
-Assemble and flock 10 Night Lords Raiders, give 2 of them back banners [COMPLETED]
-Assemble 4 new Night Lords Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Duvalier & Nightgaunt [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade 5  Chaos Bikers with new bases [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Oscar the Obliterator with a new base, some new guns, a new back banner, and a new base [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Warp Talon by giving them new banner  [COMPLETED]
-Assemble upgrades on the Ravens Chosen Squad [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade and flock 16 Night Lords Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Assemble Crutian of Midnight [COMPLETED]
-Assemble Hazzar the Child Skinner [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

 

APRIL 2026
-Purchase and assemble a new metal Night Lords Obliterator [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade/assemble/paint Talos Slaughtercall, Ravaged Star female Warpborn Legionary, 2 Warpborn Cultists [COMPLETED]
-Paint Bats Out of Hell Raptor Squad: 9 upgrades, 1 new Raptor [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

MAY 2026
-Assemble Eternal Damnation and Endless Night upgrades [COMPLETED]
-Paint Death from Above Raptor Squad: 8 upgrades, 2 new Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Paint the Banshees: 3 upgrades, 1 new Raptor [COMPLETED]
-Issaquah tournament prep: get Noise Marines, Predator, Vindicator, Bikers, & Obliterators up to minimum standard [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

 

JUNE 2026
-Paint upgrades on 6 Night Lords Chaos Bikers and a Warp Talon [COMPLETED]
-Paint up some bats, birds, and a cat [COMPLETED]
-Paint upgrades on The Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [2]
-paint Ozrk & Oscar, Night Lords Obliterators [2 hours]
-Paint upgrades on Eternal Damnation, Night Lords Vindicator, and Endless Night, Night Lords Chaos Predator [3]
-Paint upgrades on Duvalier, Ruven, & Nightgaunt [2]
-Paint up Hazzar the Child Skinner [3]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 1
-Paint up Crutian of Midnight [3]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 1
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 15 hours

JULY 2026
-Paint upgrades on the Ravens Chosen Squad [2]
-Paint upgrades on the Buzzards Possessed Squad [3ish hours]
-Assemble and paint upgrades on The Atramentar Chaos Terminator Squad [5ish hours]
-Paint up 4 Night Lords Raiders, The Crows [5 hours]
-Paint up 4 Night Lords Raiders, The Vultures [5 hours]

Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 20 hours

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

 

If any of you are pondering whether to upgrade your old Defiler to meet the new base and gun changes, I strongly encourage you to do it.

 

Defilers are really fun right now!

 

 

The Blood Wolves, "Remember Fenris"

House Nightfall, "Remember Curze"

Edited June 14 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone, I hope ya'all are doing well.

 

This week, as part of my efforts to get ready for next month's big Tacoma tournament, I finished up 3 Night Lords upgrade projects:

-Duvalier Nightfall, Chaos Lord with Jump Pack

-Onerous, Obliterator Squad

-Rapture, Noise Marine Squad

 

 

 

Duvalier Nightfall, Chaos Jump Pack Lord

 

Spoiler

 

Duvalier Nightfall

     Chaos Lord Duvalier was once a Nostroman law officer trying to punish criminals on the darkened city streets. Duvalier was elated when Night Haunter came to power and gladly joined the ranks of the Night Lords. Duvalier revered Conrad Curze for his successful campaign against crime. But, over time, Duvalier became concerned at the Legion's human rights violations against civilians. He was going to be a key material witness in the Emperor's trial of Nighthaunter. Then the Horus Heresy happened and Duvalier felt obligated to join with his fellow Nostromans against the Imperium. Since that day he has become gradually corrupted and is now just as vengeful and bloodthirsty as other Nostromans.
Duvalier hates what he has become.
     He was wandering the verse and one day stumbled across House Nightfall. Delighted to find descendants of Nostroman refugees, he married into House Nightfall and has has been promoted to second in command of 3rd Battalion. The irony that 3rd Battalion includes some former Nostroman crime Lords that he once arrested is not lost on Duvalier.

 

 

The old Duvalier, circa 2027

As you can see, he kept his legs, torso, and left arm, everything else is new.

 

 

A group shot of my two Night Lords jump pack characters: Travor Ironclaw and Duvalier Nightfall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onerous, Squad of 2 Obliterators

 

 

Spoiler

 

Onerous

     House Nightfall does not know Oscar's  or Ozrk's true name. Neither Obliterator ever speaks. Nor do they know where he/she/it/theycomes from. All they know is the entities they have dubbed "Oscar" and "Ozrk" emerge from the warp and fires a hail of energy and ballistic weapons at the enemy before disappearing back into the warp. House Nightfall collectively refers to the pair as Onerous.

 

Oscar

 

 

Ozrk

 

 

 

 

 

The Rapture, Squad of 6 Noise Marines

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Rapture

     House Nightfall is no friend of the Chaos Gods. Like most Night Lords, they hold a deep skepticism towards the Chaos Gods. Chaos is a tool to be wielded against the foe not a power to which one should become enthralled. 
     As such, Rapture is a bit of an anomaly in a Night Lords warband: a squad of Slaaneshi worshippers who live only to create cacophony with their chaotic symphonies. They are distrusted by all and watched closely by House Nightfall's Enforcers and Atramentar. But no one can argue with Rapture's deadly results.

 

 

Work In Progress photo of Rapture

 

 

 

Tertius

Tertius is a Marine of Noise, with music he destroys

 

 

 

Nacht

      Nocht in the night does she stalk, bizarre symphonies she will concoct

 

 

Ghalmek

Ghalmek loves cacophonous tech, with notes the enemy he does wreck

 

 

Halaskar

Halaskar is quite bizarre, but his music will hit you like a freight car

 

 

Scoursoul

Scoursoul likes to get lost in the music and lose control, in the arms of Slaanesh he lives to rock and roll

 

 

Hellbolt

  Hellbolt's noise will give you quite a jolt, with hellish notes of music your soul will revolt

 

 

 

 

 

And I got in a last hurrah to 10th with a fun game against a friend's bugs. I was testing out my list for Tacoma. It was a very enjoyable game indeed!

 

The Bug List

Spoiler

Tyranids

Strike Force (2000 points)

Ambush Predators and Unending Swarm

 

 

CHARACTERS

● Deathleaper (80 points)

● The Swarmlord (210 points)

● Old One Eye (140 points)

● Tyranid Prime with Lash Whip (105 points)

  • Enhancement: Naturalised Camouflage

● Winged Tyranid Prime (85 points)

  • Enhancement: Relentless Hunger

● Neurotyrant (115 points)

 

 

BATTLELINE

● 10 Termagants (60 points)

● 10 Termagants (60 points)

 

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

● Carnifexes (90 points)

● 20 Hormagaunts (120 points)

● 3 Tyranid Warriors with Melee Bio-weapons (75 points)

● 3 Zoanthropes (100 points)

● Biovores (140 points)

● Genestealers (140 points)

● Genestealers (140 points)

● Lictor (60 points)

●  Lictor (60 points)

● Ripper Swarms (30 points)

● Screamer-Killer (125 points)

● Von Ryan’s Leapers (60 points)

 

 

 

 

The Night Lord List

Spoiler

House Nightfall, Night Lords, Pactbound Zealots Detachment

 

CHARACTERS
☆ Travor Ironclaw, Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, Warlord, Mark of Khorne, Enhancement: Talisman Of Burning Blood (105 pts)
☆ Duvalier Nightfall, Counts-As Harkon Worldclaimer, Mark of Chaos Undivided (90 pts)

BATTLE LINE
● 2nd Squad, 10x Cultist Mob, Mark of Tzeentch (50 pts)
● 5th Squad, 10x Cultist Mob, Mark of Tzeentch (50 pts)
● Harbingers, 5xLegionaries, Mark of Slaanesh (90 pts)

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Dragonne, Chaos Rhino, Mark of Slaanesh (75 pts)

OTHER DATASHEETS
◇ Bat to the Bone, 3x Chaos Bikers, Mark of Slaanesh (70 pts)
◇ Bats Out of Hell, 10x Raptors, Mark of Khorne (210 pts)
◇ Death from Above, 10x Raptors, Mark Of Chaos Undivided (210 pts)
□ Yemelina's Lament, Chaos Defiler, Mark of Nurgle (320 pts)
□ Mary, Maulerfiend, Mark of Nurgle (130 pts)
□ Rapture, 6x Noise Marines, Mark of Slaanesh (145 pts)
□ Onerous, 2x Obliterators, Mark of Slaanesh (160 pts)
□ Eternal Damnation, Chaos Vindicator, Mark of Nurgle (185 pts)
♤ The Crows, 5 Renegade Raiders, Mark of Slaanesh (110 pts)
Total=2,000 points

 

 

 

 

 

The Board on Turn 1

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

The Crows Raider Squad infiltrates and nabs an objective

 

 

Death Leaper Easily KOs my Raptor Chaos Lord, Travor Ironclaw

 

 

Freshly painted Duvalier Nightfall and the Death From Above Raptor Squad

 

 

Screamer Killer Screams

 

 

Mary the Maulerfiend, Rapture the Noise Marine Squad, and the Crows Raiders Squad vs. Hormagaunts & Tyranid Prime

 

 

Carnifex battles Death From Above

 

 

 

Blood Golem the Defiler (borrowed from the Blood Wolves), Eternal Damnation the Vindicator, & Dragonne the Rhino

And Onerous the Obliterator Squad as well.

 

 

Genestealers prepare to wipe out Raptors

The Genestealers easily minced 'em.

 

 

Rapture cleanses objective

 

 

Biovores move up

 

 

Tyranid Prime and warriors move up

 

 

 

Bat to the Bone Chaos Bikers Squad gets lucky with melta shots and takes out 3 Leapers

 

 

Duel: Blood Golem the Defiler vs. The Swarm Lord

 

 

It was a very fun game on a Saturday afternoon. In the end the daughters and sons of Nostromo managed to defeat the Endless Swarms of Nids.

 

Sadly, I forgot I was playing Dark Pacts til Turn 3 when I was like, "Wait a second, I should have been critting on 5s and 6s rather than just 6s." D'oh! When I said that my opponent and I remembered that she had been forgetting to recycle her Hormagaunts and Termagaunts as they were destroyed, which is one of the key tactics of an Endless Swarm list. Oh well, at least both of us made equally egregious tactical errors. So it was probably a wash.   From Turns 3 to 5 I remembered my Pactbound Zealot rule and y opponent remembered to recycle her bugs

 

I rather like this list. I think I shall enjoy it in Tacoma next month. I might swap out my Pactbound Detachment for the Fellhammer Siege Host Detachment and the Murdertalon Raiders. Both detachments have some fun enhancements and strats.

 

It was my first time using a squad of 5 Renegades Raiders. I rather liked them. They are a good utility infiltration unit that, for some reason, has 3 wounds each. 

 

My MVPs would have to be my Maulerfiend and Defiler.

 

 

 

 

My hobby plan for the Night Lords this spring and summer

Spoiler

Operation Unrealistic: Upgrading the Night Lords

 

MARCH 2026
-Assemble, flock, and prime the Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [COMPLETED]
-Assemble and flock 10 Night Lords Raiders, give 2 of them back banners [COMPLETED]
-Assemble 4 new Night Lords Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Duvalier & Nightgaunt [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade 3 to 6 Chaos Bikers with new bases [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Oscar with a new base, some new guns, a new back banner, and a new base [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade Warp Talon by giving them new banner  [COMPLETED]
-Assemble upgrades on the Ravens Chosen Squad [COMPLETED]
-Upgrade and flock 16 Night Lords Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Assemble Crutian of Midnight [COMPLETED]
-Assemble Hazzar the Child Skinner [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

APRIL 2026
-Purchase and assemble a new metal Night Lords Obliterator [COMPLETED]
-Paint Bats Out of Hell Raptor Squad: 9 upgrades, 1 new Raptor [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

MAY 2026
-Assemble Eternal Damnation and Endless Night upgrades [COMPLETED]
-Paint Death from Above Raptor Squad: 8 upgrades, 2 new Raptors [COMPLETED]
-Paint the Banshees: 3 upgrades, 1 new Raptor [COMPLETED]
-Issquah tournament prep: get Noise Marines, Predator, Vindicator, Bikers, & Obliterators up to minimum standard [COMPLETED]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 0 hours

JUNE 2026
-Paint upgrades on 6 Night Lords Chaos Bikers and a Warp Talon [COMPLETED]
-Paint up some bats, birds, and a cat [COMPLETED]
-Assemble and paint upgrades on Blood Golem and Red Messiah [COMPLETED]
-Paint upgrades on The Rapture, 6 Night Lords Noise Marines [COMPLETED]
-paint Ozrk & Oscar, Night Lords Obliterators [COMPLETED]
-Paint upgrades on Eternal Damnation, Night Lords Vindicator, and Endless Night, Night Lords Chaos Predator [1 hour]
-Paint upgrades on Duvalier, Ruven, & Nightgaunt [2]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 3 hours

JULY 2026
-Assemble and paint upgrades on Yemelina's Lament, Night Lords Defiler [8ish hours]
-Paint up 4 Night Lords Raiders, The Crows [4 hours]
-Paint upgrades on the Ravens Chosen Squad [2]
-Paint upgrades on the Buzzards Possessed Squad [3ish hours]
-Paint up Hazzar the Child Skinner [3]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 1
-Paint up Crutian of Midnight [3]--CALL TO ARMS VOW 1
-Paint up 4 Night Lords Raiders, The Vultures [4 hours]
Total Number of Remaining Hobbying Hours: 27 hours

+++++++++++++++OPERATION UNREALISTIC COMPLETED+++++++++++++++

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

 

 

This afternoon I'm going to wander down to a local game store, Nomad Games, and pick up my reserved copy of the 11th Edition Rules. Huzzah!

 

 

House Nightfall, Night Lords, "The quick and the dead"

[Tallarn Commander]

Greetings everyone,

 

My hobbying progress is ambling along. I have finished up 4 projects:

 

 

3 Night Lords Tanks: from left to right, Endless Night,  Dragonne, and Eternal Damnation

 

 

More photos...

Spoiler

 

Eternal Damnation, Chaos Vindicator

 

Eternal Damnation was upgraded from a Chaos Rhino. So she got a new front, side panels, and top panels.

 

 

 

 

     House Nightfall tactics emphasize speed and maneuverability. So House Nightfall commanders use Eternal Damnation, the venerable Chaos Vindicator, as a rapier. The tank races into position, lets loose with its fearsome cannon, and then the vehicles moves on before the foe can recover. Eternal Damnation often escorts Chaos Bikers and daemon engines on daring raids and punishing pincers movements.

 

 

Endless Night, Chaos Predator

 

Endless Night received new side panels and a new top armored plate with turret ring.

 

 

  Endless Night and its crew have been fighting the Long War since the Horus Heresy. The tank's cannons can pierce the toughest enemy armor at long range. In their free time the crew likes to craft dresses  and suits made of living human flesh.

 

 

 

 

Dragonne, Chaos Rhino

 

Dragonne only got some oil washes, sponge chips, and decals. So the changes to the Rhino were modest.

 

 

 

     House Nightfall's Warpsmith Cadre suspects that Dragonne is tainted. Her walls sometimes seep blood and odd cries emanate from within during the darkest of hours. Tarot readings of the Rhino's machine spirit indicate that these are auspicious signs. Although some say the Warpsmiths are not to be trusted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ruven and Nightgaunt

Spoiler

I finished rebasing Ruven Godslayer, Master of Possession

 

     Unlike most of the Night Lords, Ruven is not from Nostramo. Nor is he a criminal acquired by the Night Lords on a post-Heresy raid. Instead he was forged by the Chaos Gods within the Warp itself as an assassin. He accomplished his first assignment aeons ago when he killed a minor god who was a rival to Slaanesh. But Ruven objected to being a God's plaything and slipped his yoke by escaping into the universe. Since then he has wandered the verse selling his services to Aeldari, Necrontyr, Golka, and a hundred other species.
     He came across House Nightfall and agreed to serve as a contract sorcerer, a pact that has benefited both sides. Most of the Night Lords believe his name to be hyperbole, only those in the pro-daemon Ars Daemonic faction of the House Nightfall ruling council know Ruven truly is a Godslayer. They hope to strengthen their cause by recruiting him as a member of the Council of Eight. Something he has so far shown no interest in.

 

 

 

And Nightgaunt, Dark Apostle, got a new base and some nice tattered human skin decorations

 

     Nightgaunt is an artist who specializes in melding human body parts, the stuff of dreams, and the Dark Arts. Nightgaunt emerged into realspace from the Plane of Dreams at the same time the infant Conrad Curze was hurtled onto the nights cape of Nostramo. While Curzed evolved as a leader of the Night Lords Legion, Nightgaunt developed as an artist of the Warp. Nightgaunt did not worship the Dark Gods, instead he beguiled them with the stuff of dreams and formed alliances with them.     
    When Curze rebelled during the Horus Heresy, Nightgaunt approached him and offered his services as a Warprender. Since then Nightgaunt's interests have generally aligned with the interests of various House Nightfall factions. His current ties to House Nightfall benefit both parties. They gain his powerful presence on the battlefield and he gains untold souls and bodies to use in his art.

 

 

 

 

 

Last week I hacked apart my old Night Lords Defiler, Yemelina's Lament, and began upgrading her so she matched the new base size and weapons load out. Here are some WIP photos.

 

I did have to sacrifice my Contemptor Dreadnought's, Malcharion's, torso. But at some point I can easily rip the torso off the Defler and magnetize it so Malcharion's body can be used interchangably as a Defiler or Helbrute/Contemptor.

 

 

 

The Old Yemelina's Lament, inspired by the U.S.S. Monitor, United States civil war area ironclad

 

 

 

 

The new Yemelina's Lament

 

 

Various magnetized components getting painted

 

 

Defiler with flocked base

 

 

     Yemelina is a Witch, a practitioner of the Dark arts who hails from a mountainous and forested traitor Slavic world. The Nostroman 9th captured her during a raid on a rival Chaos faction, although truth be told she willingly joined the Nostroman ranks, for her auguries had predicted such a path would increase her power tenfold.
     While the leaders of the Nostroman 9th think Yemelina is a psyker, she is not. She is a witch. She was apprenticed to the infamous Hag Witch for a year and a day. During that time she learned many great and terrible spells. She also learned how to make a delicious borscht.
    The Nostromans psychically chained her to a Defiler. She uses her spells to power the stalk tank, which is crewed by Nostromans. Being tethered to a giant Chaos daemon engine is both her greatest pride, for she is truly powerful now. But it is also her greatest Lament, for she is, on many ways, a slave.

 

 

And, at the last minute, I decided to bring a squad of Termies to Tacoma next week, so I'm furiously upgrading the Atramentar, my squad of 5 Night Lords Termies.

 

 

The Atramentar

 

 

I demagnetized a bunch of arms and glued various components onto the arms.

 

 

One Termie received a nice new flesh banner, combi-weapon, and powerfist

I already have a Night Lord named Hatred in the army. So this Termie will be getting a new name.

 

 

Mirac got his old autocannon back, I removed it back in the late 2000s or the 2010s. And he gets a new powerfist.

 

 

Deadsoul

And Chaos Sorceror in Terminator Armor, Deadsoul, gets a new left arm.

 

 

Previous Edition Statistics

 

 

Spoiler

With the closeout of 10th edition, I took a look at my overall statistics.

 

• My 8th Edition Chaos Marines Record: 6 wins and 28 losses, 2 draws, 17% win record

 

• My 9th Edition Chaos Marines Record: 14 wins- 52 losses- 2 draws, 21% win record

 

• My 10th Edition Chaos Marines Record: 19 wins-52 losses-1 draw 26% win record

 

 

I've enjoyed all my games, and I only had 1 salty opponent this edition (and he was mad at himself and not me). Interestingly, I had the same number of losses in both 9th and 10th. And it looks like my win percentage is getting slightly better each edition. 

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

[kabaakaba]

Idk, most of your projects are Blanche madness. I can dislike you paint stile for some models, but I can't dislike any of your mad conversions. Every time I see your defiler and Yemelina's Lament  it's just burst my mind in a good way.  Keep going way of chaos!