Night Lords Tallarn Commander's Chaos (The Blood Wolves Fight 4 Battles)

[Tallarn Commander]

Greetings again!

 

Game 3: Blood Wolves vs. Iyanden Eldar

 

 

Game 3 pitted the Khornates from Fenris against the (mostly) dead Iyanden. It was a fun game and my opponent was awesome, a gentleman. He was also wearing a t-shirt advertising the German industrial band "KMFDM," which obliged me to randomly sing KMFDM lyrics during our game.   My opponent was also testing his list for the July Tacoma Open.

 

The Iyanden List

Spoiler

Iyanden

-as usual this list is probably riddled with errors

 

CHARACTERS

-Eldrad

-Warlock Skyseer

-various other HQs

 

BATTLE LINE

-10 Corsairs

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-5 Wraith Guard

-5 Wraith Guard

-5 Wraith Blades

-5 Wraith Blades

-Possibly a 3rd unit of 5 Wraithblades?

-Wraith Knight--we joked about how you never see these after always seeing them back in the mid 2010s

-Wraith Lord with Shuricannons

-Wraith Lord with Bright Lances

-Wraith Lord with Bright Lances

 

So a very fluffy and fun Iyanden force.

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos...

 

 

Iyanden line at deployment

 

 

Blood Wolves line at deployment

 

 

Warlock Skyrunner charges and says hi to Squad Bloodflowers

It did not end well for the Warlock.

 

 

Turn 2 charge by Squad Bloodtongue vs. Wraith Blades

 

 

The Wraith Blade vs. Bloodtongue melee continues

 

 

When I remember it, the Master of Executions buffs sure are good.

 

 

Wraith Knight, Corsairs, and Eldrad manuever onto Eldar left-flank objective during midgame

 

 

Wraith Knight retakes objective and wipes out Bloodtongue

 

 

Blood Golem and Wirewolf charge Wraith Knight

Wirewolf would finish off the Wraithknight, Maulerfiends are probably better this edition than they have ever been

 

 

Company of Eight Chosen charge Wraith Knight and Wraith Blades

 

 

Wraith Guard saunter onto objective

For the early game and the midgame this squad and my Storm Crows Termie squad had both been hiding in separate buildings near this objective. We joked that the two units were texting each other, "If you leave your building, we'll leave our building." "You go first." "No, you go first."

 

 

Wraith Blades Jump out of Melee with Wulfrik and the Company of Eight

 

 

Void Rage Bloodletters Squad prepares to charge Corsairs on an objective

 

 

 

Eldrad watches the swirling melee

 

 

Wulfrik and the remaining Chosen fight a Wraith Lord

 

 

Wirewolf greets a Wraith Lord

 

 

As you can see, the game was full of fun and dynamic scrums in the middle. I actually remembered that my Warlord had the "Prime Test Subject" enhancement this game. I might want to stop taking this enhancement since I rarely remember it. The game was extremely close in points at the end but, in the end, the forces of the Undead Eldar won.

 

My MVP for this game is Wirewolf the Maulerfiend for killing a Wraith Knight and doing lots of damage to other units.

 

 

More games to follow....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SirTainly]

looks like a pretty colourful game too!

[Tallarn Commander]

Yes, Sir Tainly, my opponent's classic Iyanden yellow and blue colors were wonderfully painted. And, as good as his army looks, he said he still has some more work to do on it before the Tacoma Open. I hope I catch his army at Tacoma in July because it will be a sight to behold.

 

 

Game 4: Blood Wolves vs. Chaos Knights

 

 

Game 4 found the Blood Wolves up against an awesome Nurgle-themed Chaos Knight army. My opponent was incredibly fun to play against and we found out he lives just north of me in Kenmore, Washington. We plan to get in a game in our neck of the woods.

 

I'm a big vague on recalling my opponent's list. This was Game 3 of the tournament and we were all tuckered out. So I don't exactly recall what my opponent had. His list had various and sundry War Hounds, a big Knight Tyrant, a squad of Plaguebearers, 2 Beasts of Nurgle, and 2 or 3 squads of infiltrating Nurglings. His whole army had a neat Nurgle back-story to it.

 

Here are some photos...

 

Carnivore Chomps on Chaos Lord Svane and his Bloodtongue Legionaries Squad

I remembered my Prime Test Subject enhancement but it didn't do much. Oh well.

 

 

War Hound tussles with Wulfrik and the Chosen

 

 

Another Carnivore rolls poorly against the Alliance Havocs and they survive

He had just ripped apart Wirewolf the Maulerfiend so he was probably a tired Carnivore.

 

 

Voidrage Bloodletters try to save The Alliance

 

 

Storm Crows get taken out by another War Hound

 

 

Bloodfrenzy Legionaries Squad and a War Hound chip away at each other

Blood Golem the Defiler would then come in and finish off the damaged War Hound

 

Plaguebearers leave the enemy backfield to complete a secondary

I love the Plaguebearer on the right. He has such an adorable hat! My Plaguebearers are all the old 3rd edition metals, I would love to paint up a new squad of these plastic Plaguebearers someday.

 

Beast of Nurgle arrives to help mop up

 

 

War Hound finishes off the Baba Yagas Cultist Squad on my home objective

 

 

This was a very fun game full of some hilarious moments. In the end, the Blood Wolves were easily defeated. The Creations of Bile list generally plays to my strengths though. Out of my 4 losses this past weekend, 3 of them were very close. Usually if I go 1 and 4 over a series of days only 1 of my losses is close and in the other 3 losses I am easily tabled. Since I've been playing infantry-heavy Chaos Marine lists for 25 years, the Creations of Bile detachment finally rewards me for my style of play and gives me all sorts of tools for my assault infantry. Huzzah!

 

My MvP for the game is definitely Blood Golem the Chaos Defiler for killing 2 War Hounds through his shooting and melee.

 

I definitely need more in my list that can deal with a knights army. Currently Blood Golem the Defiler, Wirewolf the Maulerfiend, and the Alliance Havocs Squad contribute nicely in such a matchup. My assault infantry with lethal hits can chip away here and there. I think I might test out a second lascannon Havoc Squad and see how that does.

 

 

Photos from Game 5 to be posted soon.....

[Tallarn Commander]

Game 5: Blood Wolves vs. Black Templars

 

Game 5 found the fallen forces of Fenris facing foul Loyalists, the Black Templars.

 

 

Black Templars List

Spoiler

Black Templars MSU Army of Doooom

 

As usual, this list is from memory so it is probably riddled with errors

 

CHARACTERS

-Apothecary

 

BATTLE LINE

-5 Intercessors

-5 Intercessors

 

OTHER DATA SHEETS

-5 Heavy Intercessors

-5 Heavy Intercessors (?)

-3 Outriders

-3 Suppressors

-5 Jump Pack Intercessors

-5 Scouts

-5 Scouts

-5 Scouts

 

TRANSPORTS

-Impulsor

 

 

Here are some photos of the game.

 

Gorgeous Outriders and Legionaries

 

 

Svane and Bloodfrenzy pick on Impulsor in melee

 

 

 

Scout and Intercessor Firebase

 

 

 

Jump Pack Intercessors take objective from Cultists

 

 

Bloodfrenzy holds objective

 

 

Imperial Fists/Black Templars size up the foe

 

 

Wirewolf the Maulerfiend KO's Impulsor

 

 

Bloodtongue seizes objective

 

 

Chaos Lord Svane Vulfbad, Son of Fenris, poses dramatically

 

In the end, it was a very close game indeed. But the forces of the Black Templars managed to snag a victory. My opponent was very nice and this was a great game. He also plays Night Lords. Huzzah!

 

I think I'm really figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of the Creations of Bile detachment. It sure is a fun detachment. The next phase of the slow-grow is 1500 point. I think I'll add:

-A squad of 10 Chosen with Rhino: The Company of Eight (Chosen are probably my most effective unit and the Rhino will be good for transportation and secondaries)

-A squad of 3 Chaos Bikers: the Ghost Riders (for secondaries and general utility tasks such as screening or grabbing objectives). Plus this will force me to paint up my Chaos Bikers.

-A 2nd squad of 5 Chaos Havocs with lascannons: War Never Ends (I needed more ranged AT at the tournament)

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

Blood Wolves, "Make the loyalist scum howl in pain"

Edited April 8 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

 

Since last month I was able to finish up Wulfrik the Wanderer (Counts-As Fabius Bile), the Baba Yagas Cultists Squad, and The Alliance Havoc Squad, I have moved onto my next batch of 3 projects: Warp Talons, Possessed, and Chaos Bikers.

 

Here are some Work-In-Progress photos.

 

 

The Valkyries, 5 Blood Wolves Warp Talons

Spoiler

 

Birgit

 

 

Tora

As one of 2 squad members who still have hands, it is Tora's job to open pickle jars.

 

 

Sif

 

 

Freya, Aspiring Champion

 

 

Hilda

 

 

Freya and Hilda are still awaiting heads from Statuesque Miniatures.

 

 

I'll paint the Warp Talon bases separately from their bases. Here are the bases:

 

Claw Base

 

 

Steel Girder Base

 

 

Statue Head Base

 

 

Spike Base

 

 

Smoke Plume Base

 

I've really enjoyed my Night Lords Warp Talons over the years. So I'm sure I'll like these Blood Wolves Warp Talons. Especially since they will often enjoy Creations of Bile augmentations.

 

 

 

 

 

The Serrated, 3 Blood Wolves Possessed/Eightbound

Spoiler

Lars Bloodhowl

 

His neck looks a bit weird so I'll add some jeweler's chain as a cloak clasp. Lars will be holding the squad's banner in his left arm.

 

 

Goredrinker

 

 

Raddesk the Blind

 

 

 

I am also adding Space Wolf bitz to the three Possessed that I have already painted.

 

For example, Soul Eater gets a new chest plate

 

My Night Lords and Warp Born Possessed are a blast to use and I'm sure they will be just as nifty in the Blood Wolves. Plus, Possessed are fluffy in a Creations of Bile list.
 

 

 

 

 The Ghost Riders, 3 Blood Wolves Chaos Bikers

Spoiler

 

Blaze, Aspiring Champion with power fist, er, halberd

 

The green-sculpted flames are functional, but I'm no wizard at sculpting green stuff

 

 

Zarathos, Chaos Biker with flamer and Astartes Chainsword

 

 

Ketch with flamer, Astartes Chainsword, and icon

 

 

I gave each bike a sort of chopper look by extending the front forks with various bitz from my Empire Old World army

 

Since I enjoy running squads of 10 Legionaries and they are busy in midfield grabbing objectives and chopping the foe, I will rely on Rhinos, Cultists, and these Chaos Bikers to do secondaries and perform other utility tasks such as screening, etc.

 

 

I hope to finish the Ghost Riders in time for a local tournament on the 19th. I will hopefully finish the Valkyries and Serrated next month.

 

 

A parting shot of all Warp Talons, Possessed, and Bikers

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

 

The Blood Wolves, "The Gods promise us the galaxy."

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

 

This weekend I played a very enjoyable game against an awesome Emperor's Children player. Despite losing a lot of units, it seems like their new codex has lots of nifty tools that make it a fluffy and dynamic army. His Emperor's Children army defeated my casual Chaos Marines list in a dynamic and very enjoyable game. I ended up tabled and only killed 5 of his units. It was a very fun game with some very zany saving throws.

 

This game was part of the ongoing Slow-Grow league at a local gaming store, Nomad Games in Edmonds, WA here in the U.S.

 

 

Here are the lists

Spoiler

Blood Wolves
Spring 2025 Phase 3 Slow-Grow League List
Reid Gustafson (Discord ID: reidgustafson)
Khornate Chaos Space Marines
Creations of Bile


CHARACTERS
● Svane Vulfbad, Chaos Lord (90)
● Wulfrik the Wanderer,  Counts-As Fabius Bile, Warlord, and Genesplice, Surgeon Acolyte (85 points)

BATTLELINE
● BloodFrenzy, 10 Legionaries (170 points)
● BloodTongue, 5 Legionaries (90 points)
● BloodFlowers, 5 Legionaries (90 points)
● 88th Blood Pact, 10 Cultists (50 points)

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Death's Head, Chaos Rhino (75 points)
● Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino (75 points)
● Wrath, Chaos Rhino (75 points)

OTHER DATASHEETS
● The Ghost Riders, 3 Chaos Bikers (70 points)
● The Company of Eight, 10 Chosen (250 points)
● Wirewolf, Maulerfiend (130 points)
● The Alliance, 5 Chaos Havocs (125 points)
● War Never Changes, 5 Chaos Havocs (125 points)

 

Enhancements: +1 WS (really good) and +1BS (meh)

 

The Blood Wolves at 1500 points (I had already deployed the Baba Yagas, my Cultist Squad)

 

 

Emperor's Children, Peerless Bladesmen Detachment, I think

 

CHARACTERS

1. Virellion, the Thrice-Rapturous, 1 Daemon Prince with Wings
2. Exultant Lyvaris, the Wound-Eater, 1 Lord Exultant
3. Kakophonist Vaedrix the Choral Surgeon, 1 Lord Kakophonist
4. Lucius the Eternal, 1 Lucius the Eternal

Battleline Units

1. The Flesh Suturers, 10 Infractors
2. The Vein Reapers, 5 Tormentors
3. The Tasting Choir, 5 Tormentors

Other Datasheets

1. The Gilded Finalé, 5 Chaos Terminators
2. The Opal Vultures, 3 Flawless Blades
3. The Scarlet Crescents, 3 Flawless Blades
4. The Glasshowl Cantors, 6 Noise Marines
5. The Shrike-Eaters, 6 Noise Marines

 

Some of Fulgrim's finest

 

 

I absolutely loved my opponent's unit names and fluff! Here is his backstory!

The Chorus of Flesh traces its lineage to a conclave of duellists and war-singers within the Emperor’s Children during the Great Crusade—warriors who believed that perfect combat required perfect rhythm. Known as the Symphoniarchs, they fought in synchronized formations, treating every battle as both competition and concert. During the Horus Heresy, they fell utterly to the allure of sensation, their martial rituals twisting into violent displays of excess under Slaanesh’s seductive gaze. In the aftermath of the Heresy, they fractured and scattered across the galaxy, only to be reborn centuries later when Virellion, a once-mortal champion of their creed, ascended to daemonhood. Under his leadership, the Chorus of Flesh reunited as a warband devoted not just to victory, but to the artistic execution of violence. Now, they roam the galaxy seeking new arenas in which to perfect their craft—each battle a sacred opera of agony, every kill a note in an endless, screaming symphony.

 

 

Here are some photos of the game.

 

 

The purple and gold line during deployment before the game

 

 

 

The red line before the battle

 

 

 

The Tasting Choir, 5 Tormentors, tarpits my Chaos Rhino, Tentaculus, on Turn 1

Boy EC sure are fast!

 

To prevent getting boxed in from happening in the future, I should  just deploy the cheap, sacrificial bikes in front of the Rhino as a cheap screen.

 

Look at those gorgeous sculpts. I definitely need a box of these blokes someday. I think I'll add 'em as my black and yellow homebrew warband, the Warpborn. That way I could use 'em as an Emperor's Children army or as Legionaries or Chosen in a standard Chaos Marines army.

 

 

The board at the top of Turn 2

You could see that with going first, infiltrators, fast units, and deep strikers, he had effectively boxed me in. This allowed him to quickly get ahead on secondaries. Well played!

 

 

Bloodfrenzy, Legionaries, and Glasshowl Cantors, Noise Marines, eye each other across the battlefield

 

 

Wirewolf and Daemon Prince Virellion, the Thrice Rapturous

 

Look at the superb paint job on that Daemon Prince!

This was a really fun melee. In the end, we each chipped away at each other. Then Virellion left the melee to go pester the Bloodflowers Legionaries while Wirewolf got easily blown away by the Shrike Eaters Noise Marines and Kakophonist Vaedrix the Choral Surgeon. I love Kakophonists, their buffs are good but not overpowered.

 

 

The Flesh Suturers, Infractors, and Lyvaris the Wound Eater, Lord Exultant, rip apart the Company of Eight, Chosen

He had a once-per game "fights first" ability with handily dealt with my Chosen. I also forgot to give my Chosen "fight on death" which is usually how this unit deals with "fights first" abilities. D'oh! I'm getting better at using Creations of Bile, but I still have more to learn.

 

 

Bloodfrenzy battles the Termies

Huzzah for 10-trooper squads of Legionaries lead by a lord!

 

 

Virellion vs. Bloodflowers Legionaries Squad

They dropped him down to 1 wound before being wiped out. So close.

 

 

In an effort to avenge the Emperor's Children Termies, Lucius himself charges into the Bloodfrenzy Legionaries

If Lucius looks like Belial, it's an illusion. He's really Lucius.

 

Lucius handily takes out Chaos Lord Svane Vulfbad (I recently learned that Svane means "swan" in Norwegian, which is rather funny) but Squad Bloodfrenzy takes out Lucius.

 

Since the squad swung all at the same time, I declared that the final blow to Lucius was dealt by Kilwrath.

 

 

I will have to model Kilwrath with a bald Lucius-esque head and replace his chainaxe and bolt pistol with a whip and sword

His squad mates will ask, "Uh, Kilwrath, does your face look different?" His response, "No. And have I told you about our lord and saviour Slaanesh?"

 

 

And a parting photo of the Glasshowl Cantors Noise Marines avenging Lucius with cacaphonous firepower

 

 

While the game could have gone either way during the early game, by the midgame his board control and lethality showed and he managed a fairly easy win. I really love the new Emperor's Children. Their melee lethality is quite good and really dependent on their mobility. I can definitely see that he would have struggled more, if I'd rolled the +1 toughness enhancement on the Creations of Bile enhancements.

 

 

I tried out some different things with my Creations of Bile list:

-Squad of 3 bikers...traditionally I run squads of 6 bikers. But I'm experimenting with using cheaper, smaller squads to act as cheap screens and action monkeys. The bikers here did nothing except for draw some firepower. But if they'd rolled higher on their advance rolls they would have contributed more. I still think this is a valid unit.

-Multiple 5-trooper squads of Legionaries....traditionally I run 10-trooper squads of Legionaries because their melee oomph is really fun. However, squads of 5 Legionaries is certainly more efficient than 10-trooper squads so I'll continue to test out 5-trooper squads.

-Pair of lascannon Havoc squads....Traditionally I usually just run 1 lascannon Havoc Squad and a Predator or a pair of Predators. The jury is still out on using 2 lascannon Havoc Squads.

 

 

I'll try all three of these units some more at a league game and a 3-game tournament next weekend.

 

 

Hobby Progress

Spoiler

 

My Statuesque Miniatures female heads arrived from the UK. I promptly glued 'em onto 2 members of my Valkyries Raptors/Warp Talon Squad

 

Aspiring Champion Freya

 

 

Hilda

 

 

And work proceeds apace on my 88th Blood Pact Traitor Guard Kill Team

 

 

And on my Ghost Riders Chaos Bikers, seen here with Simon and Finn

 

 

I hope to finish my squad of 3 bikers, The Ghost Riders, on Friday before a tournament this Saturday

 

Bikers, WiP display board, and new collapsible cart

I've had enough of moving my army around tournaments on a perilously held display board. I will now start conforming to norms by using a cart.

 

 

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

 

The Blood Wolves, "Boundless rage fills our souls!"

 

Edited April 13 by Tallarn Commander

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Thanks for the battle reports - its always great to hear about your adventures on the table top.

 

Love your opponent's EC - he did an excellent job of making them look annoyingly gaudy but still nice.  Its like the ideal mashup of traditional 40K EC, 30K EC and harlequins.

 

Your idea of "Lucius-izing" Kilwrath is hilarious.  Hopefully you don't fight too many more battles with EC, otherwise everyone in your army might be Lucius. 

 

The new female heads look great on your raptors, and I always love to see your kitties participating in the hobby.

Edited April 14 by Dr_Ruminahui

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks Dr. Ruminahui, and it's always fun to see your photos of Grace. 

 

I got in 4 games over the weekend. Here are some comments and photos from the games.

 

 

Game 1 of 4: Blood Wolves vs. Black and Red Tyranids

 

This was a 1500 point league game fought at a local gaming store on Friday. It was a fun game and my opponent was very nice. He brought a Nids list. Bugs are always fun to fight against since they remind me of the Aliens movies.

 

Opponent's Bug List (from memory and probably riddles with errors)

Spoiler

 

1500 points of Nids

 

CHARACTERS

-Brood Lord

-Hive Tyrant

-Nuero Tyrant

-Death Leaper

 

BATTLE LINE

-10 Spinefist Termagaunts

-3 Warriors

-10 Fleshborer Gaunts

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-5 Genestealers (hung out with Brood Lord)

-Big 'Ol Exocrene

-Biovore

-5ish Barbgaunts

-3 Zoanthropes (hung out with Nuero Tyrant)

-Lictor

-3 Von Ryan's Lictors

-Big 'Ol Tyranofex

 

 

I've only faced off against Nids once in 10th edition. That was back in December against a Nidzilla list. So I was a bit rusty on Nid army dynamics. But my opponent was great at explaining the various rules to me.

 

 

Company of Eight Chosen Assault Von Ryan's Leapers

 

My Chosen (accompanied by Wulfrik the Wanderer Counts-As Fabius Bile) were certainly my MVPs. They took out the Von Ryan's Leapers, the Death Leaper, and chipped many wounds off of and tied up the Hive Tyrant.

 

 

Company of Eight Chosen Squad and Hive Tyrant chip away at each other

 

 

BloodFlowers Remove Termagaunts from Middle Objective

 

Lately I've been trying small 5-trooper squads of Legionaries. These smaller squads are good at efficiently trading for objectives in the early game before my tougher stuff bides its time hiding and then shows up on objectives during midgame. I've noticed 10th edition (and 9th edition) are a lot more cat and mousey than previous editions and it helps to have units to trade for objectives.

 

And then the Bloodflowers are removed by the Zoeys, Neuro Tyrant, Warriors, and/or Exocrene you see here

 

 

10-trooper Bloodfrenzy Legionaries and Chaos Lord Svane Vulfbad about to avenge the Bloodflowers

 

 

Bloodfrenzy and Svane battle the Neuro Tyrant

 

My lascannon Havocs and his Zoanthropes had engaged each other in a very ineffectual but hilarious lascannon sniper duel. Svane got irritated at the Havocs' incompetence and so he and his squad charged and killed the Zoanthropes in melee.

 

 

Brood Lord and proxied Genestealer posse easily remove Bloodtongue from an objective

 

 

The store closed at 9:00 pm and we were in midgame at about 8:45 pm. So we talked it through and realized the game was very close indeed. It could have gone either way. So we called it a draw and said our goodbyes. Both of us had fun and we learned lots. Huzzah!

 

There will be 2 more slow-grow league games at 2,000 points and then the league will wrap up. This league has been a great way to get units painted and to get in games.

 

 

Game 2 continued below......

Edited Sunday at 08:51 PM by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Game 2 of 4: Blood Wolves vs. Blue and Tan Eldar

 

Last weekend I attended a very fun local RTT. Instead of taking place at a gaming store, this event took place in a Catholic seminary. A former Catholic seminary that is. It was held in "The Lodge," a 1920s Catholic seminary that the Church shut down in the 1960s(?). It lay dormant til it was refurbished and made into a hotel during the Pandemic. It is a very nice spot indeed.

 

 

Shots of the Lodge

 

 

 

I've been attending 40K tournaments for 25 years and this was the nicest venue I've ever attended, with the possible exception of a 2007ish tournament that was held in a park. The lodge is, by the way, inside of a beautiful Washington State park, Saint Edwards State Park.

 

 

There were 20ish players in attendance. The TO ran a very fun and on-time event. And for lunch most of us tromped down to the Lodge's restaurant and enjoyed a delicious lunch. I had a smoked salmon sandwich.

 

I brought my Blood Wolves Chaos Marines to this tournament.

 

 

Here is a quick and dirty overview of what I brought

Spoiler

CHARACTERS
● Svane Vulfbad, Chaos Lord, Living Carapace Enhancement (105)
● Wulfrik the Wanderer,  Counts-As Fabius Bile, Warlord, and Genesplice, Surgeon Acolyte (85 points)

BATTLELINE
● BloodFrenzy, 10 Legionaries (170 points)
● BloodTongue, 5 Legionaries (90 points)
● BloodFlowers, 5 Legionaries (90 points)
● 88th Blood Pact, 10 Cultists (50 points)

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Death's Head, Chaos Rhino (75 points)
● Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino (75 points)
● Wrath, Chaos Rhino (75 points)

OTHER DATASHEETS
● The Ghost Riders, 3 Chaos Bikers (70 points)
● The Company of Eight, 10 Chosen (250 points)
● Stormcrows, Chaos Terminator Squad (180 points)
● Blood Golem, Defiler (190 points)
● Wirewolf, Maulerfiend (130 points)
● The Alliance, 5 Chaos Havocs (125 points)
● War Never Changes, 5 Chaos Havocs (125 points)

ALLIES
● Voidrage, 10 Bloodletters (110 points)
Total=1,995 points

 

 

And here is an excessively detailed list

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), Living Carapace Enhancement (15)=105
-Special Rule: Lord of Chaos--once per game Lord Svane can increase his melee AP, STR, DMG, and ATT by 1 for 1 melee phase.
-Special Rule: Chance for Glory--once per round Lord Vulfbad can allow his unit to use a strat for -1 CP even if that strat has already been used thus phase.
-Enhancement--Living Carapace: grants a 5++ save if I remember
     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=85
-Special Rule: Enhanced Warriors--Wulfrik's unit is biologically buffed with +1 T and +1 Str.
-Special Rule: Surgeon Acolyte--Once per turn, the unit can can change an allocated attack to 0.
-Special Rule: Chirurgeon--once per game, Wulfrik has a chance to come back after being killed.
    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 was a young lad on Fenris. 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 that the village should escape to the sea. But the Ice Minotaurs ignored the Runecasters' warnings. The next day Glacial Nomad Raiders treacherously attacked the village. Wulfrik's parents and most of his family were captured 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 sailors in a dozen seas, Wulfrik fell in love with a maiden who soon wasted away from the Grey Fever, they hunted Frost 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. The Wanderer 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 began 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 Wulfrik's 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. 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. Svane offered protection and a fully stocked biological laboratory for the Wanderer's research. So Wulfrik 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.


BATTLE LINE
● Aspiring Champion Varren the Maimer's BloodFrenzy, 10 Legionaries, 10 close combat weapons, 9 bolt pistols, plasma pistol, 8 chainswords, 2 heavy melee weapons, icon=170
● Aspiring Champion Gormenghast's BloodTongue, 5 Legionaries, 5 close combat weapons, 4 bolt pistols, 4 chainswords, 2 heavy melee weapons, icon=90
● Aspiring Champion Gorath's Bloodflowers, 5 Legionaries, 5 close combat weapons, 4 bolt pistols, 4 chainswords, 2 heavy melee weapons, icon=90
-Special Rule: Veterans of the Long War--Legionaries re-roll wound rolls of 1 in melee. If the enemy is on an objective, Legionaries can re-roll all wound rolls in melee.
-Icon: Unit can re-roll Dark Pact tests
        Aspiring Champion Varren the Maimer is the Blood Wolves' historian. Ironically no one can exactly remember Varren's own past. Some say he fought alongside them as a Space Wolves in the Blood Wolves Grande Company. Others say Varren is a World Eater who recently joined their ranks. And others insist Varren is a fallen Imperial Fist who had to undergo certain trials to prove his loyalty to the Blood Wolves.
     What is known is that Varren has collected, edited, and archived detailed oral histories of each Blood Wolf. This treasure trove of knowledge often aids Blood Wolf leaders. His service as a historian is so valuable that Svane has rewarded Varren the position of Aspiring Champion of Squad Bloodfrenzy.
   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.
   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 Aspiring Champion, Svane believes Gorath's affectations as an artist are inhibiting his ability to develop as a leader.

● The Baba Yagas, 88th Blood Pact, 10 Cultists, 10 Cultist Firearms, 10 Brutal Assault Weapons=50
-Special Rule: For the Dark Gods--during their command phase The Baba Yagas can "sticky" an objective they control.
     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 Urlock 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!


DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
● Death's Head, Chaos Rhino, armored tracks, combi-weapon=75
● Tentaculus, Chaos Rhino, armored tracks, combi-weapon=75
● Wrath, Chaos Rhino, armored tracks, combi-weapon=75
-Special Rule: Self Repair--at the start of my command phase, repair 1 wound.
     These ancient transports manuever the Blood Wolves around the battlefield. They deliver their deadly cargo and then provide fire support with bolter rounds and Havoc missiles.


OTHER DATASHEETS
● Ghost Riders, 3 Chaos Bikers, powerfist, 2 chainswords, 2 flamers, 3 combi-bolters, icon=70
-Special Rule: Rapid Assault--+1 strength on the charge
-Icon: Unit can re-roll Dark Pact tests
    The Ghost Riders 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 Riders 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 Storm Crows, 5 Chaos Terminators, heavy flamer, 3 combi-bolters, chainfist, 3 powerfists, pair of accursed weapons=180
-Special Rule: Despoilers--If the Stormcrows successfully Dark Pacted this phase then they get to re-roll to hit rolls.
     The Stormcrows are veteran Chaos Marines equipped with rare tactical dreadnought armor. They spearhead assaults and serve as bodyguards to Svane's most trusted lieutenants.
     The Stormcrows also have started a "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. And so 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.
     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.

● Aspiring Champion Krassek's Company of Eight, 10 Chosen, 8 bolt pistols, 2 plasma pistols, 6 accursed weapons, 2 pairs of accursed weapons, 2 powerfists, 10 close combat weapons, icon=250
-Special Rule: Chosen Marauders--Chosen can fall back and then shoot and charge
-Special Rule: Chosen Marauders--Chosen can advance and charge
-Icon: Unit can re-roll Dark Pact tests
      The Company of Eight are a Squad of Chaos Veterans. They represent the Blood Wolves' best hunters. Each has been hand picked by Krassek and each has at least a score of sagas to tell of their great deeds.
     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. Spo 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.

● Blood Golem, Chaos Defiler, Defiler Claws, Defiler Scourge, twin lascannon, battlecannon=190
-Special Rule: Scuttling Walker--During his movement or advance phase Deffy can move over friendly models as if they were not there. Deffy can also move over terrain pieces 4 inches or shorter as if they were not there.
-Special Rule: Daemonforge--once per fight phase Deffy can use the "Counteroffensive" strat for 0 CP even if I have already used it this phase.
     Blood Golem was created by Dark Apostle Red Messiah 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 Bezerker 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.

● The Alliance, 5 Chaos Havocs, powerfist, plasma pistol, 4 lascannons=125
● War Never Changes, 5 Chaos Havocs, powerfist, plasma pistol, 4 lascannons=125
-Special Rule: Stabilization Talons--Havocs ignore all negative modifiers to hit when shooting.
    It is not common for the tribes and clans of Fenrisia to work together. Normally they endlessly raid each other upon the ever-changing seas and isles of Fenris. But those tribes living in the Sharks Reach Fjords are different. They work together. If they accidently hurt a member of another tribe, they will perform the same injury upon themselves.
     And so one day the Sky Warriors came calling and demanded a tithe of souls. The five members of The Alliance were presented by their tribes along with others. After a series of deadly trials, only the five remained.
     They named themselves "The Alliance" because each came from a different Fenrisian tribe. And they all served together as Blood Wolves, Grey Hunters, and then as Long Fangs. When Svane Vulfbad asked the Alliance to rebel against the Emperor the squad members said yes. Not because they had any particular love of Khorne or hatred of the Empire, but because the five members of the Alliance wished to remain together, living and fighting as one.
  Testimony of Kurgan, lascannon Havoc and veteran of the Horus Heresy, "War. War Never changes. People awoke from the Imperial Dream. Years of consumption lead to shortages of every resource. The entire galaxy unraveled. Peace became a distant memory. It was the year 05 M31. We stood on the brink of total war. I was afraid. For myself, for my wife, for my infant son. Because if my time in the Solar Auxilia taught me one thing it's that war, war never changes."

● Wirewolf, Chaos Maulerfiend, Maulerfiend Fists, Lasher Tendrils=130
-Special Rule: Siege Crawler--Wirewolf ignores all negative modifiers to movement, advances, and charges
     "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


ALLIED UNITS
● Veil-Ripper's Voidrage, 10 Bloodletters, 10 Hellblades, icon, instrument=110
-Special Rule: Bane of Cowards--Enemies attempting to fall out of melee with Voidrage must make Desperate Escape Tests. Battle-shocked enemy units are at a -1 on these tests.
    The Bloodletters of Voidrage are the immortal incarnation of Khorne's intense hatred and desire to kill. Veil-Ripper uses a power sword he attained from a fallen Space Wolf to rip open the boundaries between mortal realm and the void. And then the squad sets upon the foe with wild abandon.

 

The first game of the tournament pitted the fallen forces of Fenris against the tricksy pointed-eared peoples, aka the Eldar

 

Eldar Army (not entirely correct since its from memory)

Spoiler

CHARACTERS

-Maugan Ra

-Fuegan

-Avatar of Khaine

-Jain Zarr

 

BATTLE LINE

-5 Rangers

-5 Rangers

 

TRANSPORTS

-Wave Serpent

-Wave Serpent

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-Falcon

-10 Fire Dragons

-5 Scorpions

-5 more Scorpions

-5 Banshees

-5 Dark Reapers

-5 Warp Spyders

-5 Warp Spyders

 

 

 

 

The game began with a beautifully-painted squad of Rangers infiltrating onto an objective

 

 

Blood Golem the Defiler trundles up the battlefield

 

 

Jain Zarr and Banshees prepare to kill off Svane and the Bloodfrenzy Legionaries

Aeldari get revenge for the Ranger's death

 

 

 

In a bit of overkill I sent in a 10-trooper Legionary Squad and a Chaos Lord to wipe out a 5-trooper Ranger Squad. That left my poor units very vulnerable to the enemy counter. I should have just sent in one of my 5-trooper Legionaries squads. They are perfectly suited for such trades. D'oh! This was a fatal error on my part.

 

 

Gorgeous Falcon blasts away at Chaos Marines

 

 

Stormcrows Chaos Terminator Squad about to finish off Jain Zarr and her Banshees

 

This is a much more efficient trade. Perhaps I should get a 2nd squad of Termies.

 

 

Khaine vs. Khorne (really Khorne vs. Khorne)

 

I got my opponent to begrudgingly agree that Khaine is pretty much Khorne. Moral victory!

 

 

Scorpions charge in and take objective from Bloodtongue Legionaries Squad

 

 

Whiff Fest Between Voidrage Bloodletters and Scorpions

 

 

The result of the battle: a very close win by the Eldar. This was a fun match with some goofy stuff happening. If only he couldn't get back into his transports after shooting. Then I would have had him. Maybe. My opponent was very enjoyable to play against.

 

My MvP: StormCrows Terminator Squad for taking out Jain Zarr

 

 

Next game continued below......

 

 

[Tallarn Commander]

Game 3 of 4: Blood Wolves vs. Green Eldar

 

The 2nd game of the tournament saw my Khorne-worshipping Chaos Marines pitted against another Eldar army. (There were a lot of Eldar armies at this tournament) My opponent was a very nice bloke and I really really liked his Wraithknight.

 

Opponent's Eldar List (Errors Probably Abound)

Spoiler

CHARACTERS

-Skyrunner

-Skyrunner

-Spiritseer

-Spiritseer

 

BATTLE LINE

-10 Storm Guardians

-5 Rangers

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-Wraith Lord

-Wraith Lord

-Wraith Lord

-5 Wraith Guard

-5 Wraith Guard

-5 Wraith Guard

-5 Wraith Blades 

-5 Wraith Blades

-Wraith Knight

-5 Scorpions

 

 

 

Company of Eight and Wulfrik In the Middle of the Board

 

 

Blood Golem Takes Chunks Out of Wraith Knight

 

Compared to the Wraith Knight I fought last month, this titanic Eldar construct was a pushover in melee. It ended up not doing much damage and jumping out of melee after my Defiler chopped it down to 7 wounds. My opponent explained that he had chosen the shooty Wraith Knight variant.

 

On Turn 2 I noticed that my opponent had left his rear open to deep-striking. So I proceeded to drop the Storm Crows termie squad (rapid ingressed on his turn) and Void Rage the Bloodletters down there. We then had a fun fight over his objective for the rest of the game.

 

Battle in the Eldar Corner

 

 

A key component of my holding his backfield objective was my ability to bring back a Terminator a turn using the Creations of Bile "Diabolic Regeneration" stratagem.

 

Wirewolf holds middle objective Turns 2 through 5

 

On Turn 1 I foolishly exposed my Maulerfiend to enemy firepower. I thought this Wraith Knight was just like the one I fought last month which did not have much shooting. So I deployed him where only the Wraith Knight would have line of sight. I learned the hard way that this Wraith Knight did, in fact, have lots of shooting. He dropped Wirewolf down to 2 wounds. But surprisingly Wirewolf stayed around the rest of the game and harassed the pointy-eared tricksters.

 

 

Bloodfrenzy prepares to charge on Turn 3

 

 

A spoiling charge from the Ghost Riders Chaos Bikers

 

This was my first time using a small 3-trooper Chaos Biker squad. I've been using larger Chaos Biker units since 2002. I really like the smaller unit. They are excellent at secondaries, nabbing objectives, and deepstrike denial. They can do well against non-melee units such as the Wraith Guard you see here. And, surprisingly, their 2 flamers proved far more useful than I anticipated.

 

Wirewolf and Wrath the Rhino chase Wraith Guard

 

On Turn 5 I got a taste of my own medicine when this squad of Wraith Guard stole my deployment zone objective.

 

 

In the end we tallied up points and the Blood Wolves managed a very very narrow victory. Huzzah. 'Twas a fun game indeed. And I learned a great deal about the new Eldar codex.

 

After 3 games against the Eldar Codex I'd have to say I really like their codex. It gives them lots of options that are strong, but not over-powering. My MvP for the match: the Company of Eight Chosen Squad. They jumped around the midfield chipping away at various units and, in the end, finally killing a pesky Spirit Seer that had been causing all sorts of mischief for me.

 

 

Next game continued below.......

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Thanks again for the battle reports - and also for the shots of the venue.  I've been admiring the various L shaped terrain popping up in your photos, and guessed it was 3d printed - seeing it all out on the one table to be redistributed was really neat and (to me) confirmed my guess.

 

Glad to see you eke out a win the 2nd game - I'm guessing that if he had managed to delete (rather than just maul) your maulerfiend that wouldn't have happened.

 

Unfortunately (or fortunately) Grace pretty much stays out of my hobby space, which means my figures largely remain fur free (unless I drop them or bits during assembly or painting, which happens a lot with fiddly builds) but does mean that I have very few instances where I could take photos with her and enough hobby relevance to post here.

Edited Tuesday at 09:23 PM by Dr_Ruminahui

[Tallarn Commander]

That is good that your hobby space is fur free. Although for 5 out of 25 years of hobbying I also had a fur-free space when I was in grad school and it just seemed wrong not to have to pick furs off my paint job. I have gotten so used to fur removal that it is part of the hobbying process.

 

Yes, the terrain was printed. The tournament organizer, and other tournament organizers in the area come to think of it, tend to have nice terrain and they use all of the terrain layouts so, statistically, the odds are that you will get a variety of GW tourney terrain layouts during a tournament.

 

Come to think of it, my 2-wound Maulerfiend did contribute here and there and my win was so close, something like 2 or 4 points, that I would have lost without good 'ol Wirewolf.

 

 

Game 4 of 4: Blood Wolves vs. Purple Tyranids

Game 4 saw the fallen Space Wolves facing a monster-heavy bug force. And it was a bug force that played a lot like a Necron army because the bugs could heal wounds and bring back dead termagaunts. My opponent played the Assimilation Swarm. He was a very nice bloke who was great and explaining all his army and unit rules to me. His bugs had all sorts of fun abilities that didn't seem overpowered. My opponent explained to me that his army is the cleanup crew that ensures that the last enemy holdouts get herded into the reclamation pools for rendering down to their genetic essence. I thought that idea was really neat.

 

My opponent's Tyranids List (as usual, list is riddled with errors)

Spoiler

CHARACTERS

-Hive Tyrant

-Norn, you know 'em you love 'em, my opponent said this was a different Norn variant, not the one you usually see

 

BATTLE LINE

-10 Termagaunts

-10 Termagaunts

 

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

-Haruspex--monster with long-tongued designed to render down the foe to component parts

-Haruspex--an emergency backup giant tongue can never hurt in a Nid list

-Pyrovore--I haven't seen these guys in ages, small flamer critters

-Maleceptor--a monster and a Zoanthropesque psyker

-Zoanthropes--the classic bug short-range lascannon unit

-Tyrannofex--The shooty Nid version of the Leman Russ

-Hive Guard--but they can heal in this detachment which is really good

-Psychophage-a good, relatively cheap, buff monster

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos and comments...

 

 

The board at deployment: red vs. purple

 

 

 

Bloodfrenzy the Legionaries and Svane the Lord fail to do much to a Haruspex

 

It occurred to me after the game that I was conceptuallly used to fighting big bugs back during the 10th edition Index days. During those days lethal hits procced on 5s and 6s and was much more, well, lethal. These days Legionaries with lethal hits that only procc on 6s do not do too much to big bugs.

 

And the Haruspex promptly heals itself and then eats the Legionaries Ouch.

 

 

The Alliance Havocs open up on the Zoes

Who promptly pass about 90 percent of their 4++ saves during the entire game. D'oh!

 

Thoughts on Using 2 Squads of Lascannon Havocs

In these 4 games I used 2 squads of lascannon Havocs. I must say I'm not very impressed. I think I will replace the Havocs with 2 Predator Annihilators in time for the Tacoma Open. Which means I have to assemble and paint my 2 Predator Annihilators by July. The problem was that the Havocs were just too slow to really be of much use. I'm used to using Havocs in Renegade Raiders armies where they can advance around the board and still get off their normal shots. But in a Creations of Bile army Havocs are just too lumbering. I was often relegated to using them for actions since they couldn't draw line of sight. And a 50-point squad of Cultists could have done that more efficiently. And, to add insult to injury, whenever I had army-wide BS2+ and line of sight, I usually forgot that I had army-wide BS2+.

 

Norn consumes The Company of Eight Chosen and Wulfrik the Wanderer

My plan was the Chosen would soften up the Norn and then Wirewolf the Maulerfiend would move in for the kill. But they didn't do much softening. The wounds they did chip off were quickly healed. And then the Maulerfiend got move blocked by outflanking Warriors and spent the game chewing through self-healing Warriors.

 

The outflanking Warriors of Doooom

 

 

Thoughts on Handling Norns

I think it would have been better to stick to my standard anti-Norn plan: send both Wirewolf the Maulerfiend and Blood Golem the Defiler advancing as fast as possible towards the Norn. That usually works since bug players tend to send their Norns out front of their main body. I was curious to see how well my Chosen (who wound on 5s thanks to Wulfrik's buffs) would do against the Norn. Well, I found out the answer. Chosen don't do well against Norns at all. But a negative finding is still a finding and I shall return to my classic anti-Norn tactic in future games.

 

 

The Storm Crows Termies hold up the Tyrant Guard and Hive Tyrant and wait for Blood Golem to show up

 

Thoughts on 20 vs. 30 Melee Infantry

My classic Blood Wolves list includes at least 3 10-trooper melee squads, usually 10 Chosen and 2 units of 10 Legionaries who usually hop out of Rhinos. This is a fun combo of units that I like. It often gives me a good number of melee-oriented boots on the ground. In this tournament I only brought 2 10-trooper squads and my skirmish lines felt a bit lacking in infantry. I might want to try returning to 3 units of 10 melee troopers, but change it up to using 10 Chosen (still in a Rhino with Wulfrik), 10 Legionaries (still in a Rhino with Svane), and 10 Possessed. It would mean I have to buy a box of 5 Wulfen to kitbash before the Tacoma Open in July. But converting 5 Wulfen into Possessed would be a fun hobbying project.

 

 

Maleceptor and Pyrovore eye the Bloodletters

 

 

Blood Golem arrives in the center too late to save the termies

 

Blood Golem kills a squad of Zoanthropes and then gets taken out by the Tyrant Guard and Hive Tyrant.

 

Thoughts on the Game and My Battle Plan

In the end, it was a fun game but the bugs fairly easily defeated me. However, unlike most easy wins by an opponent where their army is clearly superior and I never really had a chance because I play casual CSM lists, in this game I feel I had a chance. I just pretty much lost the game due to poor deployment and movement decisions where I spread myself too thin and didn't set up good mutual support combos. I was trying out some new tactics. I think I'll just go back to my usual battle plan of: ensure each third of the battlefield has a 10-trooper melee infantry squad covering it, deploy pair of daemon engines to counter enemies' biggest threat, use utility units to score secondaries/trade for objectives during the early game, use my ranged AT as appropriate, and fill gaps in my line with deep-striking termies.

 

 

And for this tournament, after 25 years of dragging giant display boards at RTTs and GTs, I finally broke down and bought a folding cart. It made moving my army from table to table much, much easier.

 

The Blood Wolves' New Cart

 

 

In the end, I really enjoyed all 4 games. And 1 win-2 losses-1 draw is respectable. I owe it all to the Creations of Bile. That detachment really gels well with my playstyle. 

 

Here are some thoughts on specific units and Creations of Bile strats:

Spoiler

Thoughts on My List

CHARACTERS

-Lord Svane--Chaos Lords are quite good buff units these days  

-Wulfrik the Wanderer, Counts As Bile--in a Creations of Bile detachment, getting to re-roll an augmentation is incredibly useful. I usually use him to re-roll doubles or to re-roll the BS2+augmentation, which is meh.

 

BATTLE LINE

-10 Trooper Choppy Legionaries Squads--solid melee units, and their bigger sizes allow them to last longer and benefit from the Lords' free strat more efficiently. Now if I can only remember that -1CP strat ability 

-5 Trooper Choppy Legionaries Squads--even better than 10-trooper squads because they can very efficiently punch up and trade for objectives

-Cultists--The kings of efficient sticking of objectives

 

TRANSPORTS

-Rhinos seem more useful now than they have been during any previous edition. The queen of cheap, fast utility units. And my lord do they love to use tank shock.

 

OTHER DATA SHEETS

-3 Trooper Biker Squad--superb at nabbing objectives, doing actions, and supporting assaults. I don't think my Blood Wolves, Night Lords, Doomfevers, or Warp Born CSM Warbands will be leaving home without a squad of these chaps 

-Defilers--I love my Defiler, but in every single case I'd be better off with a 2nd Maulerfiend. Too fun not to use though, I'm keeping Blood Golem. 

-Maulerfiends--a sleeper hit of this edition. Maulerfiends got way better with 10th. Super choppy and fairly cheap.

-Lascannon Havoc Squads--worthless outside of Renegade Raiders 

-Chosen--My best unit in many games, and boy do they love to hang out with Wulfrik for the +1T and +1STR. As a casual player I once fielded 2 squads of 10 Chosen and immediately felt guilty because they were a bit OP. 

-Chaos Terminators--the armies' fire fighters, helping me to fix my manuevering mistakes by plugging gaps in my line 

 

ALLIED UNITS

-Squads of 10 Bloodletters--excellent action monkeys, and not bad at clearing chaff either. I would be better served by a small 5-trooper Raptor Squad though because the Raptors would benefit from the army rules, have a smaller footprint, and be faster.

 

 

Thoughts on Creations of Bile Stratagems

-Monstrous Visages (-1 to hit during a phase): this is a go-to defensive strat that I use at least once or twice every game, especially via the Chaos Lord free strat ability

-Masters Are Watching (fight on death on a 4+): a superb strat when you are going against a fights-first opponent or any choppy melee opponent

-Specimens For the Spyder (Re-Roll Wounds Against a Character Unit): situationally useful, sometimes really, really good, but usually I want to spend CP elsewhere

-Delayed Mutuations (at the cost of D3 mortal wounds, give unit an augmentation it does not have for 1 phase): this has been clutch on a couple of instances, but usually the 2 CP cost and the D3 mortal wounds cause me to avoid using this strat

-Diabolic Regeneration (bring an infantry model back, or bring back D3 Legionaries)--a fantastic strat, I'm using this one every chance I get unless I want to reserve 2 CP for interrupting

-Autostimulants (Advance and Charge): I'm also using this one every chance I get, at least during the early game

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos and comments.

 

The Blood Wolves, "Break their backs!"

 

Edited 10 hours ago by Tallarn Commander