Night Lords Tallarn Commander's Chaos (Skullfiend Completed)

[Dr_Ruminahui]

He's looking good.

 

I think the shield is a good idea, for one it gives him something to do with his right hand, which is kind of wierd looking at the moment.  I would push it further along the arm though, so that the hand is behind the shield.

[Tallarn Commander]

Ooh, good idea. I'll place the shield farther forward. Thanks!

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

I dusted off my World Eaters Chaos Marines and brought them to a 2,000 point tournament a couple of weeks ago. The tournament took place at Wizard's Keep Games in Renton, Washington in the U.S. It was a wonderful event full of nice folks. And since I'm a glutton for punishment I brought Chaos Marines to an event filled with Crusher Stampedes, Dark Eldar, Harlequins, and other goodness.

This is not a series of battle reports per se. Just various musings, commentary, and some nifty photos of Chaos Marines.


My list was my usual World Eaters list which used all of my World Eaters models plus 2 Rhinos and a Predator I borrowed from my Death Guard army

Hidden Content

World Eaters Strats
• Scorn of Sorcery (1 CP): dispel any spell on a 4+
• Apoplectic Frenzy (1 CP): scout move 1 dismounted infantry unit 9 inches before battle
• Skulls for the Skull Throne (1 CP): Gain D3 CP if a WE character kills an enemy character in melee
• Red Butchers (2 CP): Buff 1 Termie unit before battle
• Kill, Maim, Burn! (2 CP): Consolidate 6 " rather than 3 "
• Wild Fury! (1 CP): buff 1 WE unit's AP by 1 during the fight phase
• Blood for the Blood God (1 CP): a morale buff
• Stoke the Nails (1 CP): DttFE procs on a 5+ vs Imperium and on a 6+ against all other factions


HQ [385]
☆ Azrath the Assassin, Daemon Prince of Khorne, Malefic Talon, Collar of Borenghast, wings, Daemonic Axe
☆ Bloodgrin, Chaos Lord in Terminator Armor, Mark of Khorne, combi-melta, chainfist, Red Butchers Stratagem
☆ Barnabas the Butcher, Dark Apostle, Mark of Khorne, bolt pistol, Accursed Crozius, Banner of Rage
One day Chaos Militia Sergeant Azrath Bloodgall received a vision from Khorne. In the vision he became a Daemon Prince who lead a World Eaters warband and consecrated dozens of Imperium-held worlds in blood. After a millennia of service as a Disciple Champion, Renegade Commander, Chaos Marine, Bezerker, and then as a Chaos Lord, Azrath's vision has come to pass. Chaos Lord Bloodgrin is Azrath's trusted lieutenant. Bloodgrin was once a Renegades and Heretics Enforcer. He has been with Azrath since the beginning. Barnabas the Butcher is a vessel for the Blood God's power, strengthening those around him.

TROOPS [731]
• Champion Kilwrath's Bloodbliss Squad, 8 Bezerkers, Mark of Khorne, 7 chainaxes, Icon of Wrath, powerfist, 2 plasma pistol
• Champion Maggot's Bloodtongue Squad, 8 Bezerkers, Mark of Khorne, 7 chainaxes, Icon of Wrath, power sword, plasma pistol
• Champion Red Messiah's Bloodflowers Squad, 8 Bezerkers, Mark of Khorne, 7 chainaxes, Icon of Wrath, power axe, plasma pistol
• The Company of Eight, 8 Chaos Marines, lascannon, powerfist
• The Alliance, 8 Chaos Marines, lascannon, powerfist
The Bezerkers are Chaos Marines who have survived the Butcher's Nails procedure. Azrath has promised the Company of Eight and the Alliance that the first squad make their 888th ranged vehicle or monster kill will get to undergo the Butcher's Nails procedure. The other squad must face the shame of an eternity as a ranged anti-tank unit, a disgrace to a World Eater.

ELITES [180]
♤ Dave the Dreadnought, Chaos Helbrute, Mark of Khorne, Helbrute Fist, multimelta
♤ Soul Eater, Greater Possessed, Mark of Khorne
♤ 2 Dark Disciples
Dave attempted to seize power from a Chaos Lord. He now suffers for eternity inside his adamantium sarcophagi. Soul Eater feels the warp overcoming him. The Dark Disciples aid Barnabas in performing his unholy acts.

TRANSPORTS [240]
♧ Death's Head, Chaos Rhino, combi-bolter
♧ Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino, combi-bolter
♧ Wrath, Chaos Rhino, combi-bolter
These ancient AFVs manuever the Bezerkers around the battlefield.

FAST ATTACK [280]
◇ BloodLady, Blood Slaughterer of Khorne, Slaughter Blade, Impaler Harpoon
◇ 888, Blood Slaughterer of Khorne, Slaughter Blade, Impaler Harpoon
BloodLady & 888 scuttle across the battlefield eager to shed shed blood for the glory of Khorne.

HEAVY SUPPORT [170]
□ Old Faithful, Chaos Predator, Mark of Khorne, Predator Autocannon, twin Lascannons
No longer crewed by Chaos Marines, Old Faithful has become sentient. He prowls the battlefield like a panther stalking his prey.


Total Points=1,996

Total Number of Models=53 (45 infantry, 4 tanks, 3 walkers, 1 daemon prince)

CP=9 [-1 from taking 2 relics, -2 for Red Butchers]

Relics
• Azrath has the Collar of Borenghast
• Barnabas has the Banner of Rage

Here are some photos of my World Eaters army.


World Eaters on Display



My Warlord, Daemon Prince Azrath



Chaos Terminator Lord Bloodgrin, Upgraded with Red Butchers of Course

At some point, I should probably get a squad of 8 WE Termies.


Dark Apostle Barnabas, I actually remembered his chants all tournament!




Old Faithful the Chaos Predator (Shamelessly borrowed from my Death Guard force)



888 the Blood Slaughterer




BloodBliss the Bezerker Squad






Champion Monok's Company of Eight Chaos Marine Squad






----------GAME ONE: WORLD EATERS VS. IMPERIAL SOUP----------

My opponent was teased by some of the tournament attendees (not me) for taking the best stuff in AdMech, IG, and Knights. Sadly, the game was never close. In the end, I killed a squad of 10 guardsmen, an Astropath, and a squad of 30 Conscripts. He killed all of my army except for the Company of Eight CSM Squad that was hiding in a building on an objective at the back. But it was a fun game and remember, Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows, he only cares that it flows.

Hidden Content

Imperial Soup List (from memory so not entirely accurate)

Admech Vanguard Detachment

HEADQUARTERS
-Techpriest


ELITES
-10 Ruststalkers
-10 Ruststalkers
-10 Ruststalkers


IG Battalion

HEADQUARTERS
-Creed
-Regimental Sanctioned Psyker

ELITES
-Astropath
-Astropath

TROOPS
-10 IG Infantry
-30 Conscripts
-30 Conscripts

HEAVY SUPPORT
-Manticore
-Manticore


Knight Superheavy Detachment
-Knight with cool Chainsword and very large gatling cannon

The board at deployment

Chaos Marines Hell's Angel and Ratatoth before the Game Begins

Knight of Despair whips his chain around eager for the battle to begin

My opponent got first turn. He moved up, blew up a squad of Bezerkers, and chipped away at various things.

The IG horde moves up. This is a wonderful image that captures the feel of the Imperial Guard, quantity over quality.

During my turn I managed to get stuck in on the left and middle with various units.

Bloodbliss gets stuck in against Conscripts

And BloodTongue gets the charge off against an IG Infantry Squad screen

During Imperium Turn 2 his Rust Stalkers counter-charged and killed off all my Bezerkers.

Rust Stalkers Strike Back

Rust Stalkers Eviscerate BloodBliss

Then I counter-charged with Dave the Dreadnought, my Blood Slaughterers, and Azrath. But the Rust Stalkers survive my counter-counter charges.

Azrath swings his big axe vs. Rust Stalkers

Bloodgrin dropped in on Turn 2, sniped out an Astropath, and then got blown away

On Admech Turn 3, his Rust Stalkers in the middle jumped out of melee and his Knight moved up.

IG and Knight Shooting Blows Away Dave the Dreadnought, er Helbrute

By a twist of fate, and thanks to the "True Bezerker" Warlord Trait that halves all incoming damage rounding up, Azrath the Daemon Prince survived the Knight's charge and chipped some wounds off of it with his big 'ol axe.

During my Turn 3 my forces were dwindling. I lost Azrath to a Knight's chainsword.

Old Faithful Keeps plinking wounds off of the knight on World Eaters Turn 3

Chaos Knight Knocks Azrath out cold, but he'll be back and angrier than ever

And by Turn 4 it was pretty much a mopping up operation.

My opponent was a very sporting, fun, and neat person to play against.

Once the World Eaters Codex comes out, Azrath and his lunatics shall have their revenge!

..........GAME 2 TO BE CONTINUED BELOW......

Edited April 16, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Khornestar]

Oof tough break, but looked like fun nonetheless. That terrain setup definitely wasn’t doing you any favors, but one cannot always choose an ideal battlefield.

[Tallarn Commander]

Khornestar, yes the terrain was a bit sparse. Even when I play my guard I prefer terrain-heavy boards. It makes things more interesting.




=========GAME 2: WORLD EATERS VS. DEATH GUARD----------

Game 2 pitted the followers of the Blood God against those of the Plagued Ones, World Eaters vs. Death Guard. I've played my opponent before in this game:


http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-world-eaters-go-to-a-tournament/?p=5803792


He's a very fun bloke to play against and he plays very fluffy armies. Back in February he played with a vehicle-heavy DG army. This time around he had an infantry-heavy DG list.

His list is from memory so it's probably a wee bit innacurate:

Hidden Content

Death Guard Terminus Este List

HEADQUARTERS
-Typhus
-Malignant Plaguecaster

TROOPS
-20 Pox Walkers
-20 Pox Walkers
-20 Pox Walkers
-20 Pox Walkers

ELITES
-Foul Blightspawn
-3 Death Shroud Terminators
-3 Death Shroud Terminators
-5 Blight Lord Terminators
-5 Blight Lord Terminators

The board at deployment




Blightlords Terminators and Foul Blightspawn

The Thin Red Line

I won the roll to go first and so I surged forward. I took a few potshots at Blight Lord Termies with my Predator, but not much else happened. During his turn he slowly shuffled forward but not much happened.

Then on Turn 2 I got charges off across the line. Huzzah!

888 and BloodBliss (bottom) and BloodTongue (top) charge the DG line

In a horribly embarassing moment I charged the Bloodtongue Bezerker Squad into a charge of Pox Walkers. Apparently Pox Walkers have a strat in which they do mortal wounds! Ouch, that was horribly painful and the Bezerkers all died. That's pretty sad when a premier assault unit is laid low by Pox Walkers!

Bloodtongue is about to be killed off by lowly Pox Walkers

I managed to kill off 2 squads of Death Shroud Termies, a Pox Walker Squad, and a Foul Blightspawn. He managed to kill off BloodLady the Blood Slaughterer and a squad of Bezerkers. Blood for the Blood God indeed.

Meanwhile Company of Eight CSM Squad chills in the backfield on an objective

They cheer, "You guys got this!" to the World Eaters on the front line

Then on Death Guard Turn 2 a squad of Pox Walkers deep struck on my right flank, charged into them, and did the horrible mortal wound stratagem to my CSM Squad. Dropping the Alliance CSM Squad down to only a few troopers. Pox Walkers doing mortal wounds. Ouch!

During my Turn 3 I plopped Bloodgrin the Termie Lord out of deepstrike

At which point he promptly made a 9 inch-charge against Typhus, revved up his chainfist, and killed Typhus. Yay!

Souleater jumps in against Pox Walkers on an objective

Dave runs around the DG rear lines and bops a squad of Blightlord Termies with his fist

Dave and the Termies remained locked in combat for the rest of the game.

Azrath the Daemon Prince reaches the fight and helps out 888

Dark Disciples chill on an objective in my backfield

Dark Apostle Barnabas bashes Pox Walker heads

Bloodgrin wades through a sea of Pox Walkers. Luckily my opponent had run out of CP for that mortal wounds strat.

Azrath's Last Stand

In the end, it was a Death Guard victory. If only it hadn't been for those darn Pox Walkers doing mortal wounds and killing off unit after unit! Pox Walkers were, ironically, his MVP unit. Mine would have to be Dave for taking out a whole squad of Blight Lord Termies. But the game was a blast. My opponent also plays CSM but he's keeping them on the shelf til our Codex drops. He is probably a wiser man than me.

----------CONTINUED WITH GAME 3 BELOW-----------

Edited April 21, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

----------CONTINUED FROM ABOVE----------

GAME 3: WORLD EATERS VS. SISTERS OF BATTLE

My Sisters of Battle opponent was a very nice chap with a rather nicely painted white Sisters of Battle Army. And we all know how hard it is to paint white, so hats off to him!

Hidden Content

Sisters of Battle, 2,000 points (list is from memory so it is not accurate)

HEADQUARTERS UNIT

-Morvenn Vahl

-Cannoness

TROOPS

-5 Battle Sisters with various weapons

-5 Battle Sisters with various weapons

-5 Battle Sisters with various weapons

-5 Battle Sisters with various weapons

ELITES

-Hospitaller

-Celestian Sacresants (I could never remember the name for this unit. A player at the table next door stepped over to our game and said he couldn't remember either so he just called them croissants. So I referred to them as croissants for the rest of the battle.)

-3 Paragon Warsuits

FAST ATTACK

-5 Dominions with various weapons

-10 Seraphim

HEAVY SUPPORT

-5 Retributors with heavy flamers

-Exorcist

TRANSPORTS

-Rhino

-Rhino

The board at deployment, Sisters on the left and World Eaters on the right

Chaos Rhino Death's Head and Blood Slaughterer 888 before the battle

Blurry BloodLady shot, she was jumping around eager to get into the fight

Disciples and Dark Apostle Barnabas

The game begins with the Sisters of Battle getting the first turn. He scooted various units up a bit and took a few potshots.

During my first turn I also moved up my line. I got a few charges off.

Squad Bloodtongue about to slay 5 Dominions

The Excorcist and Old Faithful participated in a good old-fashioned tank duel. The Excorcist won.

By Turn 2 there was a big battle in the middle of the board. It was glorious even though the Sisters won this battle by Turn 3. Vahl and the Croissants are very good units.

Squad Bloodtongue and BloodLady fight over an objective with Sisters

Vahl easily takes out Azrath. Not much in the current codex could take her out, maybe a Disco Lord. Possibly my Night Lords Warp Talons might with buffs and the fight-twice strat. We need a new codex!

Croissants chop 888 to bits. Backed by a Hospitaler, this is a very solid unit. They are like uber termies.

Dave attempts to get revenge for the fallen Azrath

Hospitaler brings back more Croissants

Bloodgrin shows up a little late to the party. I think Bloodgrin would be better used staying on the board hoofing it behind my lines as a 2nd wave unit.

Paragon Warsuits mop up on the left flank

Moonslaughter the Chaos Marine

Hell's Angel Chaos Marines

Souleater fails his charge

Seraphim finish off the CSM and the World Eaters are tabled

While the game was a blowout it was still fun. The tournament was a great way to spend a Saturday even though I lost all my games. All my opponents expressed their sympathy at the CSM's current bottom tier status and the all said they hoped we get a codex soon. Khorne shall have his revenge when we get a new codex! And I'm sure you've all heard the rumors of a World Eaters Codex. That will sure be fun.

I took a Night Lords Doom Rider/Chaos Biker themed list to a tournament on April 9th. So I'll put up a tournament report for that soon. My Night Lords actually managed to win one of the games. Huzzah! Here is a preview photo from that tournament.

Jackals CSM Squad take on a Killa Kan

And in a little over two weeks the big 40K event around here takes place: the Seattle US Open (May 6th to May 8th). The tournament actually takes place down in Tacoma (which is good because parking will be way cheaper). I'll be bringing a Night Lords list of some sort and I plan to include Buzzard the Daemon Prince in my list. It should be fun. 8 games over 3 days and lots of folks I know from Wizard's Keep Games in Renton, Mugu Games in Everett, and Mox Boarding House in Bellevue will be going.

Blood for the Blood God!

Edited April 20, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Happy Earth Day everyone!

I hope ya'all are doing well. On April 9th I brought my Night Lords to another tournament. This time the tournament was hosted by the Seattle Mox Boarding House in Ballard. It was a great event. The tournament organizer was a very nice chap who has his own Youtube series about 40K and, especially, about Grey Knights. It's called One Last Blade. Just google One Last Blade or click on this You Tube link if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCud2nvtJBLCnYxLSpV-pjPA

I especially like to see that on this channel his fluffy Grey Knights battle it out against 2 armies that I collect and that are near and dear to my heart: Night Lords and Renegades and Heretics.

He's also started up a nifty gaming space/community in Ballard called the "Waystone Wargaming Speakeasy." I live East of the lake so it's a bit far for me, but if Ballard is closer to you I encourage you to check it out. Here's a link for more information:

https://www.waystonewargaming.com/

Bikers!

For this tournament I decided to try something new. Since I'm not really a competitive player (which would be hard to do with Night Lords anyway) I decided to dust off 2 units I have not used in a loooong time: a biker lord (Legends) and a large Chaos Biker squad. Given 9th edition's lethality this was, of course, a horrible decision. But it was a fun decision. i then decided to go a step further and thematically make my biker lord into good old Doom Rider. This move was prompted by the fact that Chaos biker characters and jumppack characters will probably become a thing of the past with the new codex (except for Haarken Worldclaimer and I never have been a big fan of using special characters outside of Apocalypse games).

Rhinos

I also decided to drop my Chaos Rhinos. I love my little armored metal baaawwkes, but they do take up points. My theory was that if I drop both Rhinos then I can work in another Daemon Engine. And with enough threats on the board my two little squads of melta Chaos Marines, the Jackals and the Harbingers, would be ignored. This theory was actually correct. In general, the opponent didn't pay too much attention to my CSM and instead directed their firepower to the big daemon engines. They only started picking on the CSM once the bigger stuff was gone.

Marks

I usually don't take marks since Night Lords don't worship any of the Chaos Gods. But I've been losing most of my games lately. And Night Lords do see Chaos as a tool. So I decided to give all my units the Mark of Slaanesh. The fluff here is not that the Night Lords are worshipping Slaanesh per se. They are simply using Slaanesh as a means to an end. That's the theory anyway.

Here's my list....

Hidden Content

NIGHT LORDS XIV, MK. 7

Being a Night Lords Chaos Marine Outrider Detachment and Patrol Detachment with Doom Rider, Sorceress Chamorro, 9 Bellicose Bikers, 17 Rapacious Raptorkin, & 3 Dastardly Daemon Engines

Reid Gustafson 2,000 points

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!

NIGHT LORDS STRATAGEMS

• In Midnight Clad: when an infantry unit is targeted during an enemy shooting phase that unit is at -1 to hit

• Raptor Strike: jumppack unit gets 3D6 for its charge rolls on the turn it comes out of deep strike

• Prey on the Weak: add +1 to hit in melee or shooting if the Night Lords unit has a higher leadership than the target

• From the Night: a Night Lord infantry unit that is wholly within cover gets +2 to its charge roll and +1 to hit during that melee phase

• We Have Come for You: a non-vehicle Night Lords unit can prevent the enemy from falling out of combat

• Hit and Run: any Night Lords unit that fell back out of melee can charge

• Vox Scream: turn off 1 enemy unit's auras, range 18 inches

• Flay them Alive: If I kill an enemy unit, 1 enemy unit with 12 inches rolls 1 additional D6 for morale. 1 die of my choice is then discarded.

All strats are 1 CP except Vox Scream which is 2 CP

Night Lords Legion Ability: Terror Tactics, each biker, infantry, Helbrute, or Daemon Prince unit within 6 inches reduces enemy leadership by 1, to a max of -3

DOOM RIDER'S DELINQUENTS, NIGHT LORDS CHAOS MARINES OUTRIDER DETACHMENT

HQ [128]

☆ Doom Rider, Chaos Lord, Chaos Bike, Mark of Slaanesh, combi-melta, Flayer

• Relic: Flayer Sword [gives Ruven STR 5 AP -3 DMG 2 in melee, every model killed counts as 2 models for the purposes of morale]

• Warlord Trait: Hatred Incarnate [Doom Rider can re-roll wound rolls of 1 for his attacks]

Doom Rider travels the fury road. He is an enigmatic figure blessed by Slaanesh who wanders the paths of the Immaterium as a Daemon Prince. Somehow Doom Rider and the House of Nightfall have forged a Dark Pact. He gains the fighting power of House Nightfall's 2nd Claw. In turn House Nightfall gains a powerful ally. Doom Rider and his Night Lords prey upon the Imperium and, in so doing, avenge Nighthaunter's death. No one knows how long it will be until the mysterious Doom Rider abandons the accord and disappears back into the dark recesses of the Warp.

TROOPS [184]

♧ Jinx's Jackals, 12 Chaos Marines, Mark of Slaanesh, 2 meltaguns, combi-melta, Icon of Excess

The Jackals use stealth to slip behind enemy lines and enact strikes upon the foe.

FAST ATTACK [1,004]

◇ Chamorro's Chupacabras, 9 Chaos Bikers, Mark of Slaanesh, 9 combi-bolters, 2 meltaguns , combi-melta , Icon of Excess

◇ Warpnight, 10 Warp Talons, Mark of Slaanesh

◇ Nox's Bats out of Hell, 7 Chaos Raptors, Mark of Slaanesh, 2 meltaguns, combi-melta, Icon of Excess

◇ BloodLady, Blood Slaughterer of Khorne, Slaughter Blade, Impaler Harpoon

◇ The Doomed, 5 Chaos Spawn, Mark of Slaanesh

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 Warp Talons are more akin to Blood Hounds than Chaos Marines, they hunt the foe with vicious zeal.

The Raptors scream down from the aethers, with chainswords aglow and eager to flay the enemies' skin.

The Blood Slaughterers race across the battlefield eager to shed shed blood for the glory of Khorne.

The Chaos Spawn were Chaos Marines who angered a long-forgotten Chaos God.

HEAVY SUPPORT [140]

□ Deffy the Defiler, Defiler Claws, Defiler Scourge, Battlecannon, Reaper Autocannon, Mark of Slaanesh

Deffy made a dark pact aeons ago. In exchange for power he was fused into the body of a daemon engine. He does not regret his decision.

SORCERESS CHAMORRO'S CHUPACABRAS, A NIGHT LORDS CHAOS MARINE PATROL DETACHMENT

HEADQUARTERS [140]

☆ Chamorro Nightfall, Chaos Sorcereress, bike, Mark of Slaanesh, force sword, combi-melta

• Spell: Smite (standard rules)

• Spell: Delightful Agonies (casts on a 6, Night Lord unit with Mark of Slaanesh within 18" gets 5++ "feel no pain" saves until my next turn)

• Spell: Warptime (casts on a 6, Night Lord unit within 3" can move again during the Psychic Phase)

Sorceress Chamorro was once the warband's leader but she was forced to abdicate because of the "Admech Fist" Incident. One day Chamorro developed psychic abilities. She believed her sorcerous powers stemmed from a biomechanical fist she had recently ripped from an Admech techpriest. In reality the powers flowed from the Chaos Gods. House Nightfall suspected Chamorro was being tricked by Tzeench, Slaanesh, or another Chaos God. House Nightfall, like most Night Lords, has a deep skepticism about worshipping the Chaos gods. But, because Chamorro's warpcraft got results, House Nightfall issued "The Edict of Nantz." Chamorro lost her position as warband Warlord, but she was able to remain in the warband. In exchange, Chamorro had to destroy her "magical" fist and she swore to never proselytize other warband members to follow Tzeench, Slaanesh, or any other Chaos God. So far this tenuous accord has remained in effect and all parties have honored it.

TROOPS [404]

♧ Hadrian's Harbingers, 10 Chaos Marines, Mark of Slaanesh , 2 meltaguns, combi-melta, Icon of Excess

♧ Blacksun's Bastards, 10 Chaos Marines, Mark of Slaanesh, 2 lascannons

♧ Zeva's 7th Squad, 14 Chaos Cultists

The Chaos Marine squads skulk around the battlefield, grabbing objectives, peppering the enemy with melta and bolt shots, and flaying them with chainswords. They excel in terror tactics, slipping behind enemy lines to slit throats and demoralize the foe.

The Chaos Cultists 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.

HEAVY SUPPORT [140]

□ Mary the Maulerfiend, Maulerfiend Fist, set of Lasher Tendrils, Mark of Slaanesh

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."

• Total points=2,000 points

• Number of models: 65 infantry, 5 Spawn, 3 vehicles, 11 bikers=84 models

• Starting CP=10 (-2 for taking a patrol detachment)

Relics:

• Doom Rider uses a Relic sword, Flayer, a gift of Slaanesh

Here's a photo of my Night Lords on their display board. The TO asked me if I had drenched the board in blood.

The Chupacabras, a squad of 9 Chaos Bikers

These suckers sure were fun to use. They didn't do much for me and they died quickly (except in Game 2 where they held an objective all game). But they were fun. Rumors are they will get the option to take 4 specials, gain a wound?, and take icons. This might make them more useful in the very deadly world of 9th Edition.

Jinx's Jackals, 12 Chaos Marines (without their Rhino this time)

Without further ado, let's get on to the tourmanent report. For the most part, this is not a series of battle reports per se. Just a bunch of photos and commmentary. Enjoy!

--------------GAME ONE: NIGHT LORDS VS. ORKS--------------

My opponent's Ork army was truly impressive. I voted for this army for best painted and it rightfully won best painted. It was an incredibly modeled and well-painted army themed off of Max Max. I love those movies, especially Mad Max 3. I just love Tina Turner's last line in that movie, "Well, ain't we a pair, Raggedy Man."

The centerpiece model was a Kill Rig themed after one of the Mad Max IV (Fury Road) vehicles. He had plenty of custom models like this in his army!

Kill Rig

Here is my opponent's Ork army (from memory and probably innacurate)

Hidden Content

ORKS, 2,000 points

HEADQUARTERS

-Warboss with stuff

-Warboss in power armor with stuff

-Weirdboy

TROOPS

-10 Grots

-10 Grots

-10 Grots

ELITES

-Mek Boy

-Squad of 4 or 5 Nobs in Mega Armor

-Squad of 5 Kommandos

-Squad of 5 Kommandos

FAST ATTACK

-Squad of 10? Stormboyz

-2 of the new Snazwagon/Scrapjet/Buggy vehicles, I cannot recall their name, they had good anti-tank shooting

HEAVY SUPPORT

-Grots with mega-cannon

-Kill Rig

-Battle Wagon (containing mega-armored Nobz and mega-armored Warboss)

TRANSPORTS

-Trukk

My opponent's army after deployment

The Ork army after deployment

Doom Rider's Delinquents after deployment

I plopped my main force (3 daemon engines) down in the middle screened by the Doomed Spawn Squad and 7th Cultist Squad. After the game last month against Slaanesh I don't want my big boys to be charged on Turn 1 and I have not idea whether he'll call a Waaagh on Turn 1. I stuck my Bikers, Doom Rider, and Biker Sorceress Chamorro on the left. And my CSM went on an objective to my right and on my right ready to speedbump the Kill Rig.

We rolled off for first turn......

..............TO BE CONTINUED BELOW........................................

Edited April 22, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

................CONTINUED FROM ABOVE....................

Lady Luck was with the Greenskins and they got first turn.

ORK TURN 1

My opponent vroomed forward across the board. He did some psychic stuff during the psychic phase (I cannot recall what). And during shooting he thinned out the ranks of bikers and CSM and dropped some wounds off of Daemon Engines. He opted not to Waaaugh this turn and so there were no Ork charges on Turn 1.

NIGHT LORDS TURN 1

During my first turn I vroomed my Bikers forward on the left, but I didn't go flat out in the hopes that I could Warptime into his sleek-looking racecars and/or grot mega-cannon on the left. In retrospect, I should have played in conservatively and advanced the bikers. Then during my shooting phase it probably would have been worth it to burn 4 CP to use up "Prey on the Weak" for +1 to hit, "Veterans of the Long War" for +1 to wound, and "Endless Cacophony" for double-shooting. With 4 hits on average and 3 wounds on average, that would probably have take out one of those 2 racecar thingies and my Daemon Engines would have breathed a sigh of relief.

The Chaos Bikers and biker characters move up on my left

I shuffled my screening units (Cultists and Spawn) forward and cautiously moved up my Daemon Engines behind them. On the right I hoofed it forward with the Harbingers CSM Squad and on the left I moved up with the Jackals CSM Squad and they grabbed an objective. The Bastards CSM Squad sat back on a backfield objective.

During my psychic phase, Biker Sorceress Chamorro failed to get off Warptime. She failed her roll and so I burned a CP and she promptly then rolled double 1s and did 3 mortal wounds to herself. Ouch. Then she cast Delightful Agonies but she rolled a 12 and killed herself in a horrific explosion. Oops. After all that I promptly forgot I had Delightful Agonies on my bikers. D'oh! They took a lot of shooting on Ork Turn 3 and remembering the spell would have been useful. Oh well.

My shooting chipped a few wounds off of one of the race cars on the left and off of the Battle Wagon in the middle. The Harbingers also managed to chip some wounds off of the Kill Rig on the right with their meltas.

I only had 2 charges on my Turn 1 and both were successful. The Cultists and the Spawn both charged a squad of 5 Kommandos in the ruins in the middle of the board. My Spawn rolled hot and easily killed off the squad. I then foolishly consolidated into the Battlewagon and lost 12 of 14 Cultists. I don't know why I did that. I've known for over 20 years that Ork players often take melee upgrades on their vehicles. Well, I never said I was good at this game.

Luckily since my Cultists are still obsec, the Night Lords held the middle objective. Rumors are that Cultists will lose obsec in the coming edition. If that happens then I'll probably relegate them to the shelf to only be used in casual games using my squatted Renegades and Heretics. RIP Cultists.

ORKS TURN 2

As was expected, my opponent called the Waaugh on Turn 2. I cannot recall if he waaaaghed, but as is tradition when playing orks, I sure got into the spirit of things and Waaaghed. I remember back in 3rd edition, tournaments were usually kicked off with a loud hearty Waaaaagh! by all of the players present. That fun tradition should be revived.

My opponent used some Ork ability to re-deploy his 2 racecards from his right flank to his left flank so that they could target my trio of Daemon Engines. His mega-armored people got out of the Battlewagon and prepared to charge my daemon engines.

The Mega Armored Troopers Approach the Daemon Engines

Everyone else moved up or shuffled around. He was a bit worried about my Warp Talons and my Raptors in reserve so he did a great job of screening out his back-field with his grots.

I don't recall what happened during his psychic phase. During his shooting phase he blew away Mary the Maulerfiend and chip wounds/models off of other units. My Chaos Bikers were dropped down to about 3 remaining biker models. He also blew away the Bastards, my CSM Squad on my backfield objective.

During his charge phase his Warboss and some Boyz? wiped out the Cultists and Spawn in the middle.

Spawn get taken out on Turn 2

His Kill Rig charged the Harbingers CSM on my right. A few CSM died but they held.

And in the middle the mega-armored Warboss and the Mega-Armor Nobs charge in against 888 and BloodLady the Blood Slaughterers

The Warboss promptly kills 888. But I then spend 2 CP to interrupt with Blood Lady and she promptly pulps the warboss. The Nobs shave some wounds off of BloodLady but she's still in her top bracket.

BloodLady Gleefully Bashes a Boss to Bits

With that, Ork Turn 2 ended with a scarey Ork unit in the center of my line and 2 of my 3 daemon engines dead. Ouch! At next month's Seattle/Tacoma Grand Tournament maybe I should dust off Bolivar my Master of Possession so I can try to protect my Daemon Engines with Cursed Earth.

--------------NIGHT LORDS TURN 2------------------------------

During my Turn 2 I moved up my surviving Chaos Bikers and Doom Rider on my left ready to harass the grots with the kannon and the Killa Kans. In the center I deep-struck WarpNight the Warp Talons to take out the mega-armored Nobz. I also brought out my small Raptor Squad, the Bats Out of Hell, to support them. My right flank was pretty much gone other than a few CSM from the Harbingers Squad locked in melee with a Kill Rig.

Since Biker Sorceress Chamorro was dead I had no pyschic phase. My bikers' meltas slagged a Killa Kan on the left during my shooting phase. Doom Rider's melta and the Bikers' combi-bolters took out the grot mega-cannon.

During my charge phase, Doom Rider and the bikers went in against the Killa Kans. Not a good decision on my part as the Kans quickly made mince meat of the bikers and stripped off most of Doom Riders' wounds.

The Chaos Bikers Lose to the Kans

The Raptors and Warp Talons make it in against the Mega-Armored Nobz and wipe them out with some help from BloodLady

Big Scrum in the Middle

With that the turn ended. I was down 7 units: a Biker Squad, a Biker Sorceress, 2 Daemon Engines, a Cultist Squad, a CSM Squad, and a Spawn Squad. My opponent had lost 4 units: a mega-cannon, a Kommando Squad, a mega-armored Nob Squad (which he told me was very expensive), and a mega-armored warboss. Both of us had decent board position. So I was sort of still in the game but on my back foot.

Here's a photo of the board after Turn 2

--------------ORKS TURN 3----------------

During the Orks movement phases the surviving Kans shuffled forward on my left. The boyz and Warboss moved through the ruins in the center preparing to charge my Warp Talons. And the Ork motor pool vroomed up on my right. The Kill Rig jumped out of melee with the Harbingers CSM Squad on my right.

Ork Motor Pool vrooms up

My opponent still had a Mekboy locked in melee with my Warp Talons, Raptors, and Blood Slaughterer. He tried to jump the Mek out of combat at which point I burned a CP to use

During the Ork shooting phase he blew away the Jackals CSM Squad on the left and the Harbingers CSM Squad on the right.

The Jackals' last moments

During my opponent's assault phase the Boyz, Warboss, and various vehicles all charge my Blood Slaughterer, Raptors, and Warp Talons. The ensuing melee in the middle is a fun and chaotic brawl.

Bash in the middle

In the end the Warp Talons, Raptors, and some Orks lay dead. And my army is reduced to BloodLady the Blood Slaughterer.

---------------NIGHT LORDS TURN 3---------------

There is no movement since BloodLady is locked in combat. Her Impaler Harpoon chips some wounds off of the Kill Rig.

Then during my fight phase BloodLady managed to kill the, er, Kill Rig with her Slaughter Blades. Huzzah!

BloodLady enacts revenge for the rest of the Night Lords army

-------------ORKS TURN 4---------------

The Orks pile in on BloodLady and quickly take her out, thus tabling my army.

BloodLady Goes Down Fighting

The game wasn't even close and I only garner a handful of points. But what a fun game! It is an honor to be destroyed by such a fine-looking army.

.........To be continued with Game 2 below..........

[Tallarn Commander]

---------------GAME 2: NIGHT LORDS VS. GENESTEALER CULT---------------

Game 2 was against a Genstealer Cult army. I don't know much about these folks, but I've always loved the army. And the models are wonderful. In my Renegades & Heretics Chaos Militia Army half of 5th Squad is made up of Genestealer Neophyte models. If I remember correctly, this was my third game against the GSC. Here are links to my first two games (both of which I lost):

Tallarn 23rd vs. GSC back in April 2017: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/331141-tallarn-commanders-tallarn-23rd-blog/?p=4701603

Chaos Soup (Nostroman 9th Renegades and Heretics Chaos Militia and Night Lords) back in August of 2018: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-night-lords-tournament-report/?p=5371394

GSC are not a common army in my meta. But I love their sneaky playstyle, it's very fluffy.

My opponent's list was something along the lines of:

Hidden Content

Genestealer Cult

HEADQUARTERS [some of these might have been ELITES]

-Brood Lord

-Magus?

-Abominant?

-Nexus

-Iconward

-Kellermorph

TROOPS

-10ish Genestealers

-10ish Neophytes with various upgrades

-10ish Neophytes with various upgrades

-10ish Neophytes with various upgrades

ELITES

-6 or so Aberrants

-Some sniper guy who sat on a catwalk all game blowing away Night Lords

-Maybe some Hybrids?

HEAVY SUPPORT?

-Goliath Rockgrinder

TRANSPORTS

-Goliath Truck

During deployment the GSC put down the traditional blip markers.

Some Cultist was probably looking at his Auspex and freaking out like Private Hudson in the movie Aliens, "They're getting closer man!"

The thin blue line at deployment. Genestealers are super fast so I set up the Cultists and Spawn as a screen.

--------------GENESTEALER CULT TURN 1---------------

The GSC won the roll off to go first. The Broodlord leapt forward along with the Genstealers and headed straight for my line. A Goliath Truck vroomed up as well after dropping off a squad of Neophytes on an objective. I love those Goliath trucks. If I ever gave my Renegades and Heretics transports, I'd seriously consider kit-bashing a pair of Goliaths.

The Board after GSM Turn 1 movement

Some very impressive Genestealers skittered up, I really like the turquoise blue

You can't see them here, but many of the Genestealers had incredible sigils and stripes painted onto their heads!

The Broodlord cast a spell but I forgot what. Then he tried to cast the +1 attack spell but Sorceress Chamorro (embarassed at having killed herself on Turn 1 of the last game) successfully stopped the power. Not much happened during GSC shooting. Like me they are a more assault-oriented army than a shooty army. His sniper could not draw a bead on Chamorro or Doom Rider because they were bravely hiding behind a ruin. Three bikers are gunned down and a few wounds stripped off here and there.

My opponent made 2 successful charges. The Genestealers charged 7th Squad's Cultists and the Goliath charged the Jackals CSM Squad.

Sadly, my opponent failed a fairly short charge (and re-roll) with his Brood Lord. I breathed a sigh of relief. I have to admit that my opponent's dice were pretty cold this game. I felt bad for him.

Genestealers Shred Cultists

Goliath Tarpits the Jackals CSM Squad. I burned a CP to overwatch with my 3 meltas, but no dice.

The Genestealers easily wiped out 7th Squad and consolidated closer to Mary and Deffy. The Goliath remained locked in melee. It had done all you can ask of a transport: it delivered its cargo to an objective and it tar-pitted an enemy unit.

---------------NIGHT LORDS TURN 1---------------

During my Turn 1 on my right I vroomed the Chupacabras Biker Squad, Biker Lord Doom Rider, and Biker Sorceress Chamorro to the right. BloodLady the Blood Slaughterer moved up to support them. I sure do enjoy bikers' mobility, 14 inches is seriously fast!

On my left I moved up with the Doomed Spawn Squad and the Harbingers CSM Squad.

Night Lords move up on the left

In the middle Mary and Deffy moved up ready to tangle with the Genestealers. The Bastards CSM Squad sat back on an objective.

During my psychic phase Chamorro was able to buff the bikers with Delightful Agonies but her attempt to cast Warptime failed.

Shooting didn't do much of anything. The Harbingers' melta shots bounced off of the BroodLord as did Deffy's shooting. The Bastards lascannons miss.

During the charge phase I sent the Doomed Spawn Squad, Mary the Maulerfiend, and Deffy the Defiler against the Genestealers. The Chupacabras Biker Squad charged in against a Neophyte Squad on an objective on my right. BloodLady, Doom Rider, and Chamorro, in an effort to help out the jackals, charged in against the Goliath Truck.

Chupacabras Charge!

Now the Neophytes had some scary mining equipment so I decided to activate my Bikers first. The Chupacabras' chainswords rolled very well and "Death to the False Everything" kicked in and I got a bazillion attacks so the Neophytes died.

Then my opponent burned 2 CP and interrupted with the Genestealers against Deffy. Now Genestealers should have seriously wounded or killed Deffy. But my opponent rolled really poorly. I then activated my Spawn who randomly rolled and got the extra attacks mutation. I also rolled really well for my number of attacks and the Genestealers went down. Chamorro's force sword managed to finish off the Goliath Truck, after BloodLadies' Slaughterblade did the bulk of the damage to the GSC vehicle.

At the end of Turn 1, my army was doing pretty well. II had lost a Cultist Squad and my opponent was down a Goliath Truck, a Genestealer Squad, and a Neophyte Squad. Both of us had pretty good board position. It felt odd because usually my CSM armies in 9th edition are casually dis-membered by the opponents.

Mary and Deffy are both rather surprised they are both alive at the end of Turn 1. Mary waves a paw and Deffy waves a claw.

---------------GENESTEALER CULT TURN 2---------------

During GSC movement the Broodlord shuffled up to my left to threaten the Harbingers CSM Squad. The gaggle of GSC characters sat in his backfield and did various buffing things. Then in true GSC fashion, numerous units emerged from the shadows and deployed at the end of the Movement phase. A Goliath Rockgrinder full of Aberrants showed up in my rear alongside a Neophyte Squad and a Kellermorph. Uh oh!

Neophytes, Rockgrinder, and Kellermorph Pop Up in My Backfield

I cannot recall what happened during the psychic phase. I think my opponent got off the +1 attack spell.

In my front another squad of Neophytes appeared escorted by an Iconward and a mean-looking Hybrid Squad. Shooting saw the sniper and Kellermorph seriously hurt Sorceress Chamorro and drop Biker Lord Doom Rider, dropping both down to 1 wound. Ouch! Various mining lasers missed.

The board after GSC Movement Turn 2

During the charge phase the Rockgrinder made it in against the Jackals CSM Squad. The Brood Lord made it in against the Spawn and the Harbingers CSM Squad. In addition, the Hybrids made it in against Mary.

Goliath Rockdrill Charges the Jackals CSM Squad

Brood Lord Charges Harbingers CSM Squad and the Doomed Spawn Squad

Hybrids Take on Mary the Maulerfiend

He wisely activated the Hybrids first and killed the hapless Daemon Engine. RIP Mary the Maulerfiend. I then paid 2 CP to interrupt with the Doomed Spawn Squad against the BroodLord. I rolled really well again and the Spawn took out the Brood Lord. The RockGrinder easily killed off all of all of the Jackals except for Aspiring Champion Jinx who failed his morale check. With a dramatic flip of his dragon-scale cloak, he said "I'm out." and he wisely went back to the Night Lords Battle Barge.

--------------NIGHT LORDS TURN 2---------------

On my left I moved the Harbingers CSM Squad onto the left. On my right the Chupacabras Bikers Squad bravely hid in a building on an objective. The Doomed Spawn Squad, having killed off a Genestealer Cult and a Brood Lord, were feeling pretty good about themselves. They moved up alongside Deffy, preparing to charge the Hybrids, Iconward, and Neophytes in front of them.

Doom Rider, knowing that he was down to 1 wound, drove right in front of the Kellermorph and leveled his combi-melta at the assassin. Biker Sorceress Chamorro bravely hid behind a building. BloodLady moved up to either charge Neophytes/Iconward in the middle of the board or the RockGrinder on my right.

Then my 2 deep-strikers came out. I brought the Bats Out of Hell Squad out of deep-strike and plopped them on a terrain piece so I could use "From the Night" to give them +2 to their charge. The Warpnight Warp Talons Squad dropped down in my opponent's rear and eyed a Neophyte Squad and a gaggle of GSC characters.

During my psychic phase, Chamorro strips some wounds off of the Rock Grinder with Smite.

During my shooting phase, the Bastards' lascannons chip wounds off of the Rockgrinder as does Chamorro's melta. And then BloodLadies' Impaler Harpoon finishes off the GSC transport. Then Doom Rider's meltagun treats the Kellermorph with extreme prejudice and the assassin is melted into a slag. He uses a shoot-on-death strat and kills Doom Rider. Well, no one ever really kills Doom Rider, but the Kellermorph caused Doom Rider to fade back into the warp.

Bastards' Lascannons Take Potshots at GSC Rockgrinder from a Gantry

During the assault phase the Raptors made it in against the Neophytes in the middle and did some shredding. The Spawn charged the Iconward, Neophytes, and Hybrids. BloodLady charged the Aberrants. And Deffy made it in against the Hybrids. This big scrap in the middle pretty much ended in a draw, with a few Neophytes, Raptors, and Hybrids becoming casualties.

In the GSC rear Warpnight the Warp Talon Squad burned a CP on "Raptor Strike" and made it in against a character and a Neophyte, killing both. They consolidated into other characters. And on my right BloodLady charged the Aberrants who interrupted her and promptly laid her low with their lethal street signs of doom.

Aberrants Interrupt and Kill BloodLady

I do love the Aberrant model where the guy is holding a street sign!

So Turn 2 ended with lots of scary stuff in his backfield, lots of scary stuff in my backfield, and a big scrap going on in the middle. A very close game!

....................TO BE CONTINUED BELOW..................................

Edited April 23, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

---------------CONTINUED FROM ABOVE---------------

--------------GENESTEALER CULT TURN 3---------------

During Turn 3 the Aberrants and Neophytes moved closer to my backfield firebase, the Bastards CSM Squad and Chamorro the Biker Sorceress.

All his other units were locked in melee.

His psykers were dead so no psychic powers went off. His shooting didn't do much, a few Bastards CSM were dropped.

The Bastards' Last Stand

During the melee phase the Aberrants and Neophytes easily finished off Chamorro and the Bastards CSM Squad.

The big melee in the middle continued, a few Raptors fell but, in the end, the Night Lords were triumphant as the last of the Neophtyes, Iconward, and Hybrid fell (mostly to Deffy and the Spawn as my Raptors didn't roll well).

In my opponent's backfield another GSC character fell to the Warp Talons' lightning claws.

Brouhaha in the Middle

---------------NIGHT LORDS TURN 3---------------

During my Turn 3 The Warp Talons approached the last GSC character, an awesome-looking guy who had an electronic map in front of him. The Bats Out of Hell Raptors hung out on the objective in the middle, the Harbingers CSM Squad hung out on the objective on the left, and the Chupacabras Biker Squad hung out on the objective on the right. I moved the Doomed Spawn Squad and Deffy back to my deployment zone to deal with the Aberrant Squad and the Neophyte Squad who were running amok back there.

Board after Night Lords Turn 3 Movement

During the charge phase the Spawn and Deffy went in against the Aberrants.

Brawl in the Backfield

Deffy and the Spawn managed to finish off the Aberrants but only a few Neophytes fell. A Spawn was killed in return.

The GSC character in his backfield fell to Warpnights' claws.

So Turn 3 ended with only 1 GSC unit left alive, a Neophyte Squad in my backfield.

---------------TURN 4--------------

During Turn 4 various Night Lords units hung out on objectives

Deffy revved up his Defiler Claw and Defiler Scourge and finished off the Neophytes. For the first time in playing 40K in 22 years I had tabled my opponent. I'm often tabled but since I'm a casual gamer I've never actually managed to table my opponent, as far as I can recall.

Deffy Tables the GSC (well this photo was really from Turn 3, but you get the idea)

And with that, I racked up a win. And my 5 game losing streak ended. Huzzah! This game's MVP would definitely have to be the Doomed, my squad of 5 Chaos Spawn. They took out a Genestealer Squad, then a Brood Lord, then they helped with a large fight in the middle of the board, and then they took out the Aberrants. A fine performance from everyone's favorite gribblies.

t was a really fun game. My opponent was a nice chap with a really gorgeous GSC army. He actually plays Night Lords too, which is cool because I've never met another Night Lords player. He said his Raptorkin usually drop in, fail to make their charge even with "Raptor Strike," and die. Those of you who have been watching my blog surely know what he is talking about because many is the time my Warp Talons or Raptors have failed that 3d6 charge, even with a re-roll.

Both my opponent and I are very excited for the new CSM book to drop.

---------------GAME 3 TO BE CONTINUED BELOW----------------

Edited April 23, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[WarriorFish]

Another great batrep, and a good win on top - well done! You're sending the codex off in style with these games so you deserved it :tu:

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks Warrior Fish!

---------------CONTINUED FROM ABOVE---------------

---------------GAME 3: NIGHT LORDS VS. TAU---------------

My last game was against Tau. My opponent was very nice and the game was over very quickly. I felt sort of like I deployed my models and then I put them back into my case.

Hidden Content

Tau, 2000 points ( don't know much about Tau so this list is a bit inaccurate)

HEADQUARTERS

-Commander in Crisis Suit with stuff

-Commander in Crisis Suit with stuff

TROOPS

-10 Kroot

-10 Kroot

ELITES

-XV8 Crisis Suits with drones

-XV8 Crisis Suits with drones

-XV8 Crisis Suits with drones

-XV25 Stealth Suits

FAST ATTACK?

-Squad of 5 Vespids

HEAVY SUPPORT

-XV88 Broadside Team of 3, with drones

The Board at Deployment

Edited May 1, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Khornestar]

Yeah can summarize that one well enough with just that post. O_O

[Tallarn Commander]

There's more to come but my internet got really slow all of a sudden. I'll post more later.

[Khornestar]

There's more to come but my internet got really slow all of a sudden. I'll post more later.

Genuine lol. :D

[Tallarn Commander]

--------------CONTINUED FROM ABOVE--------------

A shot of the Tau line before the game began

Night Lords right flank before the battle

Crisis suit closeup

Night Lords left flank before fighting began

Kroot use a pre-game scout move to scurry up

Tau turn 1 shooting chipped away at the Night Lords here and there. I responded by vrooming bikers up on my left flank on my Turn 1.

Doom Rider and Blood Lady make a Turn 1 charge but only manage to kill off XV88 Squad's drones

Ninja Joe waves his nunchaku in celebration as the Night Lords seize an objective

Spawn shuffle forward on the right

On Tau Turn 2 I learned that XV88's can shoot into combat. Who knew.

Doom Rider's last moments...

Harbingers CSM and the Doomed Spawn Squad seize an objective

Warpnight prepares to charge XV88s

...and the Warpnight Warp Talons fail the charge on 3d6 with a re-roll. The TO commented that this was a huge blow to the Night Lords.

Deffy about to get blown away

Cultists' last moments

The game ended with my army tabled. I'd managed to kill 20 Kroot, 3 drones, and a Crisis Suit. Ouch.

In other news, the big US Open Seattle Warhammer Grand Tournament is only 7 days away! Work is proceeding apace on my warlord for that tournament, Buzzard the Night Lords Daemon Prince

Buzzard with oil wash and chipcoat helmet

In midnight clad!

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Always a pleasure to read your battle reports and look at your lovely photos.  And yes, ouch - I too know well what it is like to have my CSM army tabled, as that's what happens against my friend's necrons every time I don't win the play order die role at the beginning of the game

 

Your big boi is coming along - have you decided against the shield or are you doing it separately?

Edited April 29, 2022 by Dr_Ruminahui

[Tallarn Commander]

Yup, I'll be doing the shield and in the positioning on the hand you suggested. But it's already painted so I'll glue it on towards the end.

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello fellow Heretics,

I managed to finish my Night Lords Daemon Prince, Buzzard, today. I'll be using him in next weekend's big 8-game tournament (so far about 110 people are signed up according to the "Best Coast Pairing" app).

Here are some photos

Buzzard the Daemon Prince

Click on the box just below for more photos.

Hidden Content

Buzzard from front, closer up

Buzzard's left wing

Buzzard's head and shield closeup

Buzzard's Hellforged Sword

Buzzard's Base

Buzzard Seen from the Left

Buzzard, seen from the rear

Buzzard, seen slightly from the top

Buzzard's Right Wing

Buzzard's Shield

The shield only looks like a Rhino door if you think too closely about it

I also recently got in a Night Lords vs. IG game. I play both IG and CSM so I was excited to see the new rules such as IG auto-wounding on 6s and CSM ignoring -1 AP. The new IG and the new Armor of Contempt rules are nice. The new rules probably are not going to help either codex much against mid-tier or top-tier armies. But they are better than nothing.

Here are a half dozen photos from the game for your viewing entertainment:

Cadians shuffle forward on Turn 1

Tank Commander blows away Daemon Prince Azrath on overwatch. Ouch! All those 6s autowounding did me in.

Warpnight drops in on Turn 2 and fails its 3D6 charge even with a re-roll and even with the +2 strat for charging out of terrain. Sigh.

Cadians and Raptors fight on the bridge

Russ targets the Jackals CSM Squad but its rounds bounce off the side of the ruins

Warp Talon Reaver is the last thing these Cadians ever see

It was a fun game but it wasn't even close. The Cadians ran away with the board. But as an IG player, in a sense, when they beat me I still win.

Ave Dominus Nox!

Edited May 1, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Dr_Ruminahui]

You prince looks nice - great job, especially the wings.  Only thing I would change is to rotate the shield, as most shield have the long edge perpendicular to the arm rather than parallel to it.

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks for the tip. I shall rotate the shield. I should have paid closer attention during the Game of Thrones battle scenes.

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

I attended day 1 of the U.S. Seattle Open Warhammer 40,000 Grand Tournament today. I brought my Night Lords. I had a blast and managed to win 1 game and lose 2.

I need to get to bed so I can be ready for tomorrow's games. But here are 4 fun photos from today's games.

Mary the Maulerfiend waves to her new friends, the Imperial Fist Bladeguard Veterans

Mary the Maulerfiend waves to a squad of Fire Warriors as she prepares to give them a big old hug

And Mary just wants to hug the Hive Tyrant. Sadly the Nid monster did not share her friendly attitude.

The dynamic duo: Sorceress Valkia and Buzzard the Daemon Prince

Take care,

Night Lords, "In Midnight Clad."

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

As noted above, last weekend I attended the Seattle US Open GT for 40K. There were over 200 players. I brought my Night Lords and I had a blast! It's probably telling that out of all those players only 3 brought Chaos Space Marines. The other two CSM armies were an Iron Warriors army and an Emperor's Children army.

This is not a series of batreps, just random photos and comments.

The Night Lords Go to a GT (the green and black models are borrowed from my custom warband, "the Warpborn)

Hidden Content

NIGHT LORDS XVII, 2,000 points, 2022 US Open Seattle Warhammer 40K Grand Tournament

Buzzard’s Bastards, Being a Night Lords Chaos Space Marine Battalion featuring Rapacious Raptorkin, Petulant Possessed, Cruel Chosen, Dastardly Daemon Engines, and Various and Sundry other Horrors of the Warp

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!

BUZZARD'S BASTARDS, NIGHT LORDS CHAOS MARINES BATTALION

HQ [310]

☆ Buzzard, Daemon Prince of Slaanesh, Warlord, Malefic Talon, wings, Intoxicating Elixir, Hellforged Sword

• Relic: Intoxicating Elixir [gives Buzzard +1 strength and +1 attack]

• Spell: Smite (standard rules)

• Spell: Death Hex [casts on an 8, remove a unit's invulnerable save, range 12"]

• Warlord Trait: Killing Fury [if Buzzard charges, is charged, or heroically intervenes he gets D3 extra attacks]

☆ Valkia the Bloody, Chaos Sorceress, jumppack, Mark of Slaanesh, bolt pistol, force sword

• Spell: Smite (standard rules)

• Spell: Delightful Agonies (casts on a 6, Night Lord unit with Mark of Slaanesh within 18" gets 5++ "feel no pain" saves until my next turn)

• Spell: Warptime (casts on a 6, Night Lord unit within 3" can move again during the Psychic Phase)

Daemon Prince Buzzard was already an ancient crime lord on Nostramo when Conrad Curze began his purge of criminals and the corrupt. Seeing which way the winds were blowing Buzzard wisely reined in his followers and moved his criminal operations underground so that the Nighthaunter could not sniff him out. When the call for volunteers to join the Night Lords came, Buzzard, who was at the end of his mortal life, joined up.

Normally such an elderly man would not have been transformed into a space marine. But Curze saw something of a kindred soul in Buzzard's fierceness and penchant for instilling fear. The Nighthaunter allowed the native Nostroman into the ranks of the Night Lords. As a Night Lord, the rejuvenat processes kept Buzzard alive and, over time, thriving. He saw a great many things as the Night Lords wandered the verse converting mankind to follow the empire. He saw the purple darkness of the Lamenian Nebula. He saw the fear in those who joined the empire under threat of death. He saw Grand Cruisers burning near the Suns of Xerxes. And he saw the glorious bloody pyres of those who refused to join the empire.

As did most Night Lords, Buzzard wholeheartedly supported Horus' uprising because he believed the Emperor's persecution of the Night Lords was hypocrisy at its finest. The subsequent descent of the Night Lords into Chaos was really nothing new to this hardened criminal. He took things in stride when the Night Lords splintered following Curze's assassination. And over the millennia, through treachery and guile, Buzzard managed to become a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided.

A few centuries ago, Buzzard crossed paths with House Nightfall. He was amused by this mercenary company of mortal humans with their warped memories of the Nostramo that was. He was, however, quite impressed at the fact that House Nightfall commanded 3 Night Lords Chaos Marine mercenary warbands, 9 Renegade and Heretics Mercenary Chaos Militia Companies, and even a company of Freeholder Chaos Knights. He was also astounded at the network of anti-Imperial clients and allies House Nightfall had forged. Buzzard soon allied himself with House Nightfall. A move he does not regret because he now commands House Nightfall's 2nd Claw of Night Lords Chaos Marines. He has gained a seat on the House's Ruling Council of Eight. While his faction is a lesser faction on the council, he is content to slowly let his power grow as he watches how the winds blow. He is amused at how things have and have not changed since his days as a Nostroman crime lord.

Valkia the Bloody is a Mercenary sorceress hired by House Nightfall. She is a former Bezerker who heard the whispers of Slaanesh. She betrayed Khorne to become a sorceress. As you might imagine, the Blood God is not pleased. As a result, Valkia is forever pursued by a pack of Khorne Flesh Hounds. So far she has kept one step ahead of them. She has found that as long Buzzard is nearby, the hounds of Khorne cannot find her.

TROOPS [511]

♧ Jinx's Jackals, 10 Chaos Marines, Mark of Slaanesh, 2 meltaguns, combi-melta, Icon of Excess

♧ Hadrian's Harbingers, 10 Chaos Marines, Mark of Slaanesh, 2 meltaguns, combi-melta, Icon of Excess

♧ Batista's Bastards, 8 Chaos Marines, Mark of Slaanesh, lascannon

♧ Zeva's 7th Squad, 16 Chaos Cultists

The Chaos Marine squads skulk around the battlefield, grabbing objectives, peppering the enemy with melta and bolt shots, and flaying them with chainswords. They excel in terror tactics, slipping behind enemy lines to slit throats and terrorize the foe. The Chaos Cultists 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.

TRANSPORTS [160]

○ Dragonne, Chaos Rhino, Mark of Slaanesh, combi-bolter

○ Murcielago de Muerte, Chaos Rhino, Mark of Slaanesh, combi-bolter

These ancient transports manuever the Night Lords around the battlefield.

ELITES [516]

♤ Harry the Helbrute, Chaos Helbrute, Mark of Slaanesh, Helbrute Fist, multimelta

♤ The Scoundrels; 8 Chaos Chosen; Mark of Slaanesh, 4 meltaguns, combi-melta, power fist, lightning claw, power sword, power maul, Icon of Excess

♤ The Nameless, 10 Possessed Chaos Marines, Mark of Slaanesh, Icon of Excess

Harry attempted to seize power from a Chaos Lord. He now suffers for eternity inside his adamantium sarcophagi.

The Scoundrels are murderous bastards who have scrounged up a deadly collection of ranged and melee weapons. In a legion consisting of murderous criminals, the Chosen are seen as particularly heinous. Harry attempted to seize power from a Chaos Lord. The Nameless are Valkia's retinue. They are mercenaries who are gradually becoming one with the warp.

FAST ATTACK [223]

◇ WarpNight, 10 Warp Talons, Mark of Khorne

◇ The Doomed, Chaos Spawn, Mark of Slaanesh

The Warp Talons are more akin to Blood Hounds than Chaos Marines, they hunt the foe with vicious zeal. The Chaos Spawn were Chaos Marines who angered some long-forgotten Chaos God. They were eternally Cursed with Spawnhood.

HEAVY SUPPORT [280]

□ Mary the Maulerfiend, Maulerfiend fist, set of lasher tendrils, Mark of Slaanesh

□ Deffy, Defiler with Defiler Claws and Battlecannon, Reaper Autocannon, Mark of Slaanesh, Defiler Scourge

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."

Deffy is Valkia's Daemon engine pet. He loves getting his belly scratched by her almost as much as he loves tearing the enemy limb from limb.

• Total points=2,000; Number of models: 73 infantry, 1 Spawn, 5 vehicles, 1 Daemon Prince=80 models; Relics: A master artificier in his own right, Daemon Prince Buzzard used the Forge of Souls to craft the Intoxicating Elixir

• Starting CP=12

The Scoundrels, a Squad of 8 Chosen with 5 meltas and other stuff

Since it looks like we will be losing the ability to take more than 2 meltas in our Chosen (and CSM Squads) I decided to bring along a shooty Chosen Squad with 5 meltas. These blokes performed admirably by laying down solid firepower and then backing them up with decent melee ability.

7th Cultist Squad

These ladies and gentlemen did what Cultists are supposed to do: screen, hold backfield objectives, and harass. There best moment was getting killed down to 1 model in a melee and then using the "Tide of Traitors" stratagem to escape combat. They then outflanked onto an objective on the other side of the board and sat there for the rest of the game, contributing quite a few points. Hilariously, my opponent did comment before the game that he "didn't see the point of Cultists." I just responded, "Oh, they can be useful."

I sure hope Cultists get to keep their obsec in the new Codex. One opponent said that since GW seemed to be doubling down on Cultists with the new Mutant Cultists and the new Cultist Command Squad, they will probably keep objective secured. Let's hope so!

Harry the Helbrute

He also performed respectably. I tried to keep him as close as possible to Buzzard the Daemon Prince. That way he could act as a bodyguard (or at least get revenge if the opponnent killed Buzzard). He also rolled above average with his multi-melta, which is fair because earlier this year he tended to miss more than average.

Warpnight the Warp Talons

What can I say, these blokes continue to be my best unit. They pretty much killed whatever I pointed them at (with the exception of a squad of Centurion Devastators). And if Warp Talons go up to 5 attacks each and we get to keep the "Raptor Strike" strat then I suspect they will still be quite good once the new 'dex drops.

Mary the Maulerfiend

As always, Mary was a solid middle-weight performer. And because I wasn't playing on the top tables against the really uber armies (winners went against winners and losers against losers), then my opponent usually could not kill off both Mary and Deffy before one of them reached the enemy lines.

Rrrraawwwrrrr

This little guy did what solo Chaos Spawn do: deny deep-strike, hold objectives, and harass. A superb deal at 23 points each. Hopefully the new Codex includes Chaos Spawn. Lately I've been running them in squads of 5 but I didn't have the points for that in this list.

The Bastards Chaos Marine Squad

This squad of 8 Chaos Marines with lascannon usually lived because they were my back-field objective holder. Not a flashy unit, but a key unit that earned me many points over the course of the tournament. They even chipped off some wounds here and there with lascannon potshots. I've been fielding a backfield CSM unit with heavy weapon for almost 2 decades now.

Champion Hadrian and his Harbingers CSM Squad, Champion Jinx and his Jackals CSM Squad

The Harbingers and the Jackals are both a 10-trooper CSM Squad with Icon of Excess and 3 meltas, a solid boys before toys type of unit. They did yeoman's work by nabbing objectives and chipping away at the enemy so that the more lethal ranged units in my army had an easier time.

It looks like triple melta Chaos Marines are going away. So I'll probably upgrade these squads as 10-trooper Legionnaires Squad with melta, fist, icon, mark, and a two-handed chain axe. Sadly, they will probably clock in at about 220 to 250 points, way higher than their current 160 points. But with 2 wounds and the various strats and mark/icon interactions, hopefully they will be worth the points increase. If Legionnaires are decent they will shift back to being a tip-of-the spear unit like they were in 3rd through 7th editions. In 8th and 9th edition, my CSM have had to take on more of a support role as various newer codexes have left CSM as a decidedly inferior unit.

Chaos Rhinos Dragonne and Murcielago de Muerte

Chaos Rhinos are solid performers which, once they off-load their cargo, can harass and get me "Engage on All Fronts." As Night Lords I always choose "Engage on All Fronts" since I'm usually running willy nilly all over the board.

My Warpborn contingent of mercenary units: The Nameless, Valkia the Bloody, and Deffy

My Possessed, Sorceress, and Deffy all did quite well, especially Vakia. Her buffs and pychic interrogation were key to my victories. I sure hope we get to keep jumppack characters in the new codex. If Valkia were on foot she would be decidedly inferior.

Buzzard the Daemon Prince

This was my first time using Buzzard. Luckily he did not suffer from New Model Syndrome. He was a solid melee and support character. While I love my jumppack Lord Duvalier with Claws of the Black Hunt, Buzzard just seems way better even after you factor in his higher points cost. The ability to cast spells/use Psychic Interrogation as well as his higher toughness and additional wounds really made Buzzard a solid performer.

Buzzard's Shield (thanks to Dr. Ruminahui for suggesting I change the shield posing!)

To Be Continued below.........

"In Midnight Clad"

Edited May 14, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

--------------Continued from Above--------------

GAME 1: NIGHT LORDS VS. IMPERIAL FISTS---------------

It's been a long time since I've gone up against Imp Fists. They are always a fun matchup. Since Imp Fists and CSM are at the bottom of many larger tournaments these days, my opponent and I conjectured that the TOs did us a solid and paired us up.

Comments on the TO

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As an aside the main TO at this event was a chap named Mike Brandt. I'm from Washington but for 9 years I lived back east in Maryland and DC. Back in August of 2009 Mike Brandt held his first tournament, a casual affair of maybe 2 dozen 40K gamers. I brought my Tallarns to this event. I brought a recon-themed army that lost all its games (typical for me). But this tournament was a bit unique in that it was held outside in a park in northern Virginia. It was a lovely day of 40K under the trees on a sunny day. It was a fun and well-run local event. And since I'm a veteran tournament goer I brought a folding chair. I remember all my opponents admiring my chair as they had to spend the whole game standing up. Note: if you ever attend an outdoor tournament I encourage you to bring your own chair.

At any rate, Mike Brandt went on to bigger tournaments and then he eventually began running one of the nation's largest tournaments, the NOVA (Norhern Virginia) Open. And recently Mike was hired by GW to run all their tournaments. As a result he was at the tournament last weekend and it was great to see him! Congrats Mike and thanks for contributing to 40K through your excellent tournament-organizing skills.

My opponent's army: Imp Fists at 2,000 points

Hidden Content

list is probably full of errors since its from memory

HEADQUARTERS

-Captain with nifty sword

-Lieutenant with nifty pistol

TROOPS

-5 Heavy Intercessors

-5 Intercessors

-5 Intercessors?

TRANSPORTS

-bare bones Impulsor Transport

ELITES

-3 Bladeguard

-Leviathan Dreadnought

-Apothecary

HEAVY SUPPORT

-5 Centurion Devastators

-3 Eliminators (the sniper rifle Primaris Marines)

-Executioner Tank [my opponent commented that the "meta" has concluded this is a sub-par tank. It seemed fine to me as it blew away unit after unit in my army. ]

This was a fun, solid, and fluffy Imperial Fists army. And I loved what my opponent said about his Centurions, "What's more Imperial Fists than taking a power-armored trooper and putting him inside another suit of power armor."

The board at deployment, Night Lords on the left and Imp Fists on the right

Another shot of the pre-game board

My opponent's gorgeous Executioner, I think it needs more guns.

An Impulsor

A Leviathan, I brought this big guy down with 6 CSM meltas

The Imp Fists Move Out on Turn 1

Snipers Chip Wounds off of Valkia

This was the only game where ruins we played that ruins were not obscuring. They counted as obscuring in the other 5 games. This meant that his snipers went to town on my characters.

The Night Lords Move Out on Turn 1

On Turn 2 all 3 of these units were blown away by Imp Fist shooting

The Nameless Possesed Squad Moves Up on the Right

Possessed Charge the Bladeguard

Even though Valkia had removed their invulnerable save with "Death Hex," my Possessed only killed 1 Bladeguard.

Warpnight the Warp Talons Squad charge and bounce off of the Centurions. D'oh!

Then during the Imp Fist Turn 3 his Centurions turned their weapons into pistols and blew me away during the shooting phase. Ouch! That's a Tau trick!

Blade Guard Mop up the Chaos Marines

Captain and Lieutenant Easily Mop up the Cultists

The game was a slaughter and I was tabled by Turn 4 having only killed off a Leviathan and a Heavy Intercessor Squad. But it was still loads of fun and it was a privilege to be killed off by such a beautiful Imperial Fist army.

My MVP unit for the game would have to be the Jackals CSM Squad for taking out a Leviathan with their meltas (the Jackals were buffed by "Veterans of the Long War" and "Endless Cacophony). Technically the Harbingers CSM finished off the CSM but the Jackals did the lion's share of damage.

So the Night Lords went into Game 2 very low on points.

To be continued below......

"Ave Dominus Nox!"

Edited May 14, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

---------------Continued from above---------------

----------------GAME 2: NIGHT LORDS VS. TAU---------------

My Tau was new to the hobby and a sporting chap. His army was a classic Tau army with tons of guns.

His list

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Tau Army [from my memory so probably not entirely correct]

HEADQUARTERS

-Crisis Suit Commander with some piece of wargear with the word "cold" in it

-Commander Shadowsun

TROOPS

-10 Fire Warriors

ELITES

-5 Crisis Suits with drones

-5 Crisis Suits with drones

-3? Stealth Suits with drones

FAST ATTACK

-Squad of 4 drones

HEAVY SUPPORt

-Broadside with drones

-Broadside with drones

-Broadside with drones

I got first turn and moved up

My Possessed charge Stealth Suits, Kill Most, and then pin the rest in melee using the "We Have Come for You" strat

Since my opponent was new I had encouraged my opponent to deploy the Stealth Suits further back.

Cultist Nunchaku Ned sits back and holds an objective

Valkia the Sorceress tries to quickly memorize a spell

Mary and Deffy Move Up

Chosen Squad Member Evita enjoys riding on top of the Rhino

Mary waves to the Fire Warriors.

The Night Lords after Turn 2 Charges. Much of my army happily makes it into melee.

The Jackals and Mary Grab an Objective

Buzzard Bops Crisis Suits in Melee

Scoundrels melta and then charge XV88s

The Nameless Possessed Squad finish off a Broadside and go hunting for another

A closeup of Daemon Prince Buzzard

Bbbrrrrrble denies deep-strikers access to the Night Lords backfield

7th Cultist Squad continues chilling on a backfield objective

XV88s deep-strike on the Night Lords right on the bottom of Turn 2

I had kept my Warp Talons in reserve to deal with these crisis suits once they dropped out of deep strike

Deffy charges a Broadside

Fire Warriors take potshots at approaching Jackals Chaos Marines

Broadside and approaching Possessed

This was a really fun game. Sadly we ran out of time before the game ended at the bottom of Turn 2. And the Tau won. However, my opponent and I agree that I probably would have won the game had it gone on. On my Turn 3 my Warp Talons would have countered the XV88s he dropped in my right backfield. And I had Deffy, a Possessed Squad, and a CSM Squad running around in his backfield. But my opponent was new so he was definitely not slow-timing.

My opponent was a very nice guy and I hope he enjoys the hobby. He sort of apologized for playing Tau saying he was playing it because his friends advised him to. He must be unaware of the many years Tau spent as a bottom-tier army. No veteran Tau player would apologize for playing Tau since they spent many painful years in the wilderness of subpar performance (where CSM currently are).

My MVP for the game would have to be the Nameless Possessed Squad. They killed a Stealth Suit Squad on Turn 1 and a Broadside Suit/drones on Turn 2. Had the game continued they probably would have knocked out a second Broadside suit with drones on Turn 3.

.....to be continued below

Night Lords, "We have come for you."

Edited May 13, 2022 by Tallarn Commander