Night Lords Tallarn Commander's Chaos (WiP Maulerfiend)

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

I got in a game with my World Eaters last weekend. It was a league game at Wizard's Keep Games in Renton, Washington. In the end, it was a Chaos loss. But my opponent and I had a blast drinking beer and pop and chilling on a Sunday afternoon.

My opponent was very nice. He brought along an assault-heavy Necrons list, which was very refreshing:

Necron Detachment 1,000 points

(this list is approximate since I don't know too much about Necrons)

HQ

Overlord

ELITES

2 Cryptothralls

5 Flayed Ones

5 Flayed Ones

FAST ATTACK

3 scarabs

3 scarabs

5 wraiths

5 wraiths

HEAVY SUPPORT

Doomstalker? [a cool looking walker thing that shot a lot and acted very Tau overwatchy whenever I charged nearby units]

Doomstalker?

Oh and Every single of my opponent's units had Obsec. That sure made nabbing objectives challenging.

My list was...

The Butchers, World Eaters Chaos Space Marines Battalion (1,000 points)

Chaos Lord Barnabas' World Eaters are a warband of Chaos Marines who ling ago proclaimed themselves to Khorne. They have long been blessed by the Blood God and they seek nothing more than to shed blood in his name.

HQ [200]

☆ Barnabas the Butcher, Chaos Lord with jumppack, Mark of Khorne (105), combi-melta (10), Zealand the Wrathful (5)=120

☆ Constantine the Cruel, Dark Apostle, Mark of Khorne, bolt pistol, Accursed Crozius=80

One day Chaos Militia Sergeant Barnabas the Butcher 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 millenia of service as a Disciple Champion, Renegade Commander, Chaos Marine, Bezerker, and then as a Chaos Lord, Azrath's vision has almost come to pass. He is now a glorious Chaos Lord of Khorne. Someday soon surely Khorne will elevate him to a Daemon Prince! Constantine the Cruel is a vessel for the Blood God's power, strengthening those around him.

TROOPS [468]

• Champion Kilwrath's Bloodbliss Squad, 8 Bezerkers, Mark of Khorne (136), 7 chainaxes (7), Icon of Wrath (10), powerfist (10)=163

• Champion Red Messiah's Bloodflowers Squad, 8 Bezerkers, Mark of Khorne (136), 7 chainaxes (7), Icon of Wrath (10), powerfist (10), plasma pistol (5)=168

• The Company of Eight, 8 Chaos Marines. 7 bolt pistols, 6 chainswords (112), heavy bolter (15), power fist (10)=137

The Bezerkers are Chaos Marines who have survived the Butcher's Nails procedure. Azrath has promised the Company of Eight, that when they make their 888th ranged vehicle kill he will allow that squad to undergo the Butcher's Nails procedure.

ELITES [125]

♤ Dave the Dreadnought, Chaos Helbrute, Mark of Khorne, Helbrute Fist (90), multimelta (25)=115

♤ Constantine's 2 Dark Disciples=10

Dave attempted to seize power from a long-forgotten Chaos Lord. He now suffers for eternity inside his adamantium sarcophagi. The Dark Disciples aid Constantine in performing his unholy acts.

TRANSPORTS [160]

♧ Death's Head, Chaos Rhino, combi-bolter=80

♧ Wrath, Chaos Rhino, combi-bolter (80)=80

These ancient AFVs manuever the Bezerkers around the battlefield.

FAST ATTACK [46]

◇ Brrrbbbrrrrble, Chaos Spawn, Mark of Khorne=23

◇ Rrrrraaaawwwwrrrrr, Chaos Spawn, Mark of Khorne=23

The Spawn scuttle across the battlefield eager to shed shed blood for the glory of Khorne.

Total Points=999

Total Number of Models=33 (28 infantry, 2 tanks, 1 walker, 2 spawn)

CP=6

Relics

• Barnabas has Zaal the Wrathful [Zaal is a Daemon weapon. Before using this weapon roll a D6. On a (non-rerollable) 1 you cannot use the weapon and you suffer a mortal wound. On a 2+ use that number as the weapon's strength characteristic, AP-5, damage 2]

What follows isn't a battle report, just a bit of a photo dump with some associated comments. Enjoy!

The thin red line before the battle begins

Wraiths move up on one flank as a pre-game scout move

My opponent moved wraiths up on both flanks before the game. He then won the roll for first turn. This meant he effectively boxed me in until I was able to kill off both units of wraiths by the end of Turn 2. It was a very smart move on his part as it really set me behind on primary objective points. But it was a risky move on his part. If I had won the roll for first turn things would have been very different indeed as his scouted Wraiths would have allowed most of my army to slingshot out of my deployment zone.

A Chaos Rhino, Death's Head, on the World Eater left flank. I think it needs a few more skulls.

Death's Head spent most of the game locked in combat with a Doomstalker in my opponent's Deployment Zone. He was a happy little World Eater's Rhino.

The Wraith's hit the World Eater right flank at the top of Turn 1

Dave the Dreadnought tries to break out of the Wraith enclosure at the Bottom of Turn 1

But he ends up in the dead pile

Don't worry little Dave, someday you'll get Damage Resistance -1 like the loyalist dreadnoughts.

Lascannon Trooper Nexus about to get dragged into an ongoing melee with Wraiths at the top of Turn 1

Since he's a Khorne worshipper he is not particularly sad that he brought a gun to a knife fight

Swirling melee in the World Eaters deployment zone: Bezerkers, Wraiths, characters, and Chaos Marines

Poor Dark Apostle Constantine. I rolled a one for his chant on Turn 1 and promptly forgot to roll for the rest of the game. D'oh!

Boy those buffs could have been useful. D'oh! But Constantine didn't care because he had a new magnetized Accursed Crozius! The Bloodletters next to Constantine are his counts-as Dark Disciples. Perhaps I should model two cultists holding a banner between them that reads "Remember to buff units at the start of each turn."

Bottom of Turn 2: the World Eaters deployment zone is finally clear of pesky Wraiths

Chaos Lord Barnabas and his troopers pause to have a brief "Blood for the Blood God!" cheer before moving out. On a sidenote, this was the first time time I've given a Daemon Weapon to a CSM character since 3rd edition. I gave Barnabas the Khornate daemon weapon Zaal the Wrathful. It was a wonderful brutal relic!

Turn 3 battle of Bezerkers vs a Doomstalker

The breakout! On Turn 3 my units were finally out of the deployment zone and began killing and locking up Necron units. But it was too little too late.

Brrrrbbbble the Chaos Spawn breaks out of the deployment zone on Turn 3 and kills off some Flayed Ones

I rolled waaaaay above average for his number of attacks this game. I'm worried my opponent now thinks that Scarabs are this really powerful super assault 23 point CSM unit.

Barnabas gets taken out by a Scarab

Back on the World Eater Battle Barge this is not mentioned. Ever.

End of the game bash: Bezerker Champion Kilwrath finishes off Flayed Ones on an objective

All in all, a very bloody and enjoyable game. And, as you all know, Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows.

Thanks for looking at the pics!

Edited October 19, 2021 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Hi,

I got in a couple of 1,000 point league games last weekend with my Night Lords. Both were very fun and my opponents were very nice. I managed a very close win against the DG and I was tabled by the Dark Eldar by Turn 3.

Here are a baker's dozen photos depicting the games:

Table Wide Shot of the Death Guard facing off against the Night Lords

The Night Lords Raptors and Maulerfiend fail a charge against the Pox Walkers

A Horde of Pox Walkers successfully charge the Night Lords

Night Lords Warp Talons slice Typhus to bits

Night Lords Cultists cower on an objective in the back

Poxwalkers finish off Aspiring Champion Ironclaw and his Raptors

Mary mooshes a Plague Drone

Chaos Lord Duvalier after the Game vs DG--the poor guy fell off his base

Raptor horde before the game begins

Raider and Wyches move out onto objective

Night Lords Cultist Wirewolf holds and objective with his squad

Warp Talons rip into Incubi (the Warp Talons would then be counter-attacked and wiped out by Wyches)

Some thoughts:

DG sure are rough what with the durability and mortal wounds output. That was a fun and hard-fought game. Even though I own a Death Guard force, I've just been using them as Nurgle Chaos Marines since 7th. The slower DG style on the board just doesn't appeal to me. Plus I don't think I can do without my good old Nurgle bikers.

The DE sure are rough. Folks at the gaming store say that Druchii and Ad Mech are the two toughest forces right now. I'm not sure what Chaos Marines have that can counter Dark Eldar til we get our codex.

I'm getting more acquainted with 9th edition changes relative to 8th edition. The changes aren't big since 9th edition is very much like 8th, but there definitely are some differences.

In terms of Night Lords units, I certainly love my Warp Talons!

And I like my Raptors, they do yeoman's work. I wonder if two squads of 10 Raptors might be better than 1 big squad of 15 though. On one hand buffs certainly benefit a large squad of 15 Raptors more than a 10-trooper squad. On the other hand, 10-trooper Raptor squads can hug cover more effectively and units die so fast in this edition (at least units of 1-wound marines die quickly) that having 2 units might improve their overall durability.

I'm still not a fan of smaller board sizes. They certainly help assault armies such as mine but they remove a great deal of maneuver from the game. But this league uses the official rules for smaller boards.

Cultists and CSM are pretty much only good for holding objectives. But I'm hoping I can be more aggressive with my CSM once we get 2 wounds.

Maulerfiends are consistently good. They've been solid assault units ever since they were introduced back in the early 2010s.

Take care and enjoy the photos!

Night Lords, "The quick and the dead."

Edited October 28, 2021 by Tallarn Commander

[Sarvis]

Nice report, fellow Washingtonian. I’m up in snohomish :)

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks! Your downtown is lovely. This July I took a nap under a tree in downtown Snohomish while my parents and sister shopped for antiques. :)

[WarriorFish]

Things will look up next year when CSM get the long overdue update - the Maulerfiend will be better still too :) EC have a very nice Stratagem from Psychic Awakening that lets you turn a charge die to a six. It would be good to see a bit more of this sort of boost to units that all but need to come in from reserve - not a guarantee and not for all, but something to help make it a bit more reliable? I'm wondering how long the smaller table sizes will stick around as I seem to only hear people not being convinced...

[Sarvis]

Thanks! Your downtown is lovely. This July I took a nap under a tree in downtown Snohomish while my parents and sister shopped for antiques. :)

Old first street is great, lots of antique stores and some great bars. The Oxford in particular is a local legend, for its allegedly super haunted. One of the ghost hunter shows spent an episode there I guess.

[Tallarn Commander]

That's cool! Yes, the stores did have tons of nest stuff and a cool vibe.

[Shovellovin]

Very cool to see your battle reports. I especially like seeing the old raptors in action. Also, your cultists are well done.

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks for the kind words Shovellovin.

I was able to get in another league game last weekend. This time I used my home-brew warband of Chaos Marines, the Warpborn, against the forces of the Dark Eldar. It was a really fun game! My opponent was very kind, a fellow casual gamer, and was a great sportsman. The best of opponents! In the end, the forces of the Xenos managed a victory over the forces of Chaos. Here are some lists, photos, and commentary for your reading enjoyment.

Dark Eldar, 1,000 points (this list probably has errors since I'm not a Druchari player)

PATROL 1 of 2

HQ

-Archon with some sort of relic blade

-A largish court of the Archon with a menagerie of Xenos

TROOPS

-10ish Kabalites with dark lance and blasters

-5 Warriors, possibly with upgrades?

TRANSPORTS

-Raider with Dark Lance

PATROL 2 of 2

HQ

-Drazhar, Master of Blades

TROOPS

-5 Wracks

-5 Wracks

-5 Wracks

ELITES

-5 Incubi

TRANSPORTS

-Venom with splinter cannons

Here is a photo of my opponent's various units (ignore the Scourges you see here, they were not in the list)

My opponent's army was breath-takingly beautiful, here is a closeup of the Raider

Here is his impressive Court of the Archon, this was a fun fluffy unit that was very durable

Some of his Sslyth (sp?) were very nicely-sculpted D&D miniatures

Many of his models were old-school 3rd Edition miniatures

Back when I got started in 2000 there were tons of DE opponents because DE were in the starter kit. I felt like I had entered a time warp back to 2000!

And my list was...

Talos' Warpborn [Chaos Space Marines Battalion, 1,000 points, homebrew warband counts-as Word Bearers Legion]

The Warpborn were all vatborn within the warp itself. Made from Geneseed that was made wholly within the warp. They were a project of the Dark Mechanicus, intended to be slaves and cannon fodder in the Dark Techpriests' forces. They were also intended to prove that a Chaos Marine force need not consist of fallen Astartes. But the Warpborn had other ideas. They didn't want to be anyone's playthings. After decades of servitude to the Dark Mechanicus they finally achieved freedom in a glorious slave uprising. The small band of rebels stole a Dark Mechanicus ship, kidnapped a navigator, and took to the stars. They now wander the verse pillaging, burning, and liberating anyone they perceive to be enslaved.

HQ

☆ Red Messiah, Chaos Dark Apostle, Mark of Tzeench, bolt pistol, Accursed Crozius

☆ Talos, Master of Possession, Mark of Tzeench, bolt pistol, force stave, the Malefic Tome

Talos is the Warpborn's warlord. It is he who liberated the warband from its Dark Mechanicus creators deep within the Warp. While a slave, he acquired a great deal of knowledge of all things biological and mechanical. He apllies this knowledge towards enhancing his followers' physical attributes. Red Messiah the Bewitched is a former World Eater who heard the whispers of Tzeench. When his fellow World Eaters learned of this treachery they attempted to kill him. Red Messiah survived and fled. Talos has promised him protection in return for his service to the warband. So far the arrangement has worked well for both parties. The Master of Possession is the Keeper of the Daemon Engines.

TROOPS

• Bloodtongue, 5 Chaos Marines, Khorne, 5 bolt pistols, 5 Astartes Chainswords

• Malaria, 5 Chaos Marines, Mark of Nurgle, 5 bolt pistols, 6 Astartes Chainswords

• Annika's 3rd Squad, 13 Chaos Cultists

Bloodtongue are a squad of Khornate lunatics who tag along with the warband. Malaria are Nurgleite mercenaries for hire. 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.

ELITES

♤ 2 Dark Disciples

♤ Souleater, Master of Possession, Mark of Khorne

♤ Jadek, Master of Possession, Mark of Khorne

♤ The Nameless, 10 Possessed Chaos Marines, Mark of Tzeench

Jadek and Souleater can feel the warp overtaking them. And it is a good thing. The Nameless sacrificed their souls in a key ritual that helped the Warpborn escape from the Dark Mechanicus. Talos and the others know they can never truly repay the debt they owe to these Possessed Marines.

FAST ATTACK

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

BloodLady scuttles across the battlefield eager to shed shed blood for the glory of Khorne.

HEAVY SUPPORT

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

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

1,000 points; 41 models (39 infantry, 2 walkers); CP=6; Relics: Bolivar has the Malefic Tome

Since this is a homebrew warband I can run it as any flavor of legion I want. Some of you might recall a game earlier this year when I ran it as a Creations of Bile army: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-warpborn-csm-vs-dark-eldar/?p=5736906

This time around I opted to try it out as a Word Bearers list. Some members of the Warpborn are particularly devout in their worship of the Chaos powers, perhaps this worship was the key to the warband freeing itself from the vile clutches of the Dark Mechanicus. Plus, some of the Word Bearers' tricks synergize nicely with Possessed, Daemon Engines, and psykers, which are units featured in this list.

Here is some photos of my 1,000 point Warpborn Chaos Marines warband

Here is a photo of my two Greater Possessed, Souleater and Jadeth

This was my first time using Greater Possessed and I was impressed. For their low points they can do some work, and, with a bit of luck they can punch above their weight. I'll definitely be using these from time to time in my Nurgle CSM, World Eaters, and Warpborn lists. Although Greater Possessed don't really fit in my Night Lords list, what with the Night Lords not worshipping the Dark Powers and all.

My Possessed Squad, the Nameless

Possessed are a fun melee unit but pale in comparison to my Bezerkers or Warp Talons. But in a Word Bearers list they become a truly deadly unit when you use the "Revered Hosts" stratagem that kicks them up to doing 2 damage. Plus, they really benefitted from Talos the Master of Possession's buffs. These suckers managed to kill off the Archon's court, the Incubi, and a unit of Wracks. Huzzah!

This really isn't a battle report per se, more like a photo essay, but here is a picture of the board before the game began

Dark Eldar are at top right and Warpborn CSM are at bottom left. Note the adorable objective markers provided by the shop, the dogs belong to one of the employees.

A trio of pre-game shots: Archon with Court; BloodLady the BloodSlaughter; and Deffy the Defiler, Souleater the Greater Possessed, and Legacy of Curze the Cultist

And with deployment completed we diced off to see who would get first turn...

To be completed....

Edited November 10, 2021 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Continued from above....

The Warpborn managed to win the roll for first turn.

Master of Possession used the "Chaos Familiar" stratagem to change up one of his powers for Warptime. He promptly flung Deffy forward into the Archon!

Sadly the Archon's shadowfield held. Those tricksy elves! But on Chaos Turn 2 I was able to zap the shadowfield out of existence with Death Hex. With the 2++ save gone, Deffy finished off the Archon. Usually I fail to cast Death Hex or the enemy stops it. It sure was nice to actually succeed in Death Hex for a change. Come to think of it my casts of Cursed Earth were way better than normal too.

Souleater the Greater Possessed succeeds in a long charge and chops up 4 Wracks

BloodLady the Blood Slaughterer scuttles forward only to get gunned down by a Raider at the bottom of Turn 1

Wracks move up on my left. Look at the quality of my opponent's paint job. They are true works of art!

Squad Malaria, borrowed from my Nurgle Chaos Marines custom warband, the Doomfevers, hang out on an objective

"No we're not Plague Marines today."

My two characters, Talos with the pink head and Red Messiah with the cloak

I had accidentally given my characters the wrong melee weapons. Talos got the mace when he should have had the staff and Red Messiah got the staff when he should have had the mace. Luckily I used the correct ruleset when each was in melee with the Archon's Court. I guess magnets are both a blessing and a curse. :)

One of the most fun parts of the game was a big swirling melee in the middle of the board between the Archon's Court and the Nameless, my Possessed Squad

In the end, the forces of Chaos won this melee.

Here's a picture of Deffy right before he takes out the Archon. He's saying, "Sit still you little pointy-eared such and such!"

The cultists, borrowed from my Renegades and Heretics Chaos Militia army, move up to tickle the Wracks with lasgun fire

And Jadeth removes a Warrior Squad from an objective (before being gunned down by Trueborn)

Uh oh, the Incubi are here. Drazhar would proceed to rip the Cultists apart while the Incubi killed Red Messiah and many Possessed.

Drazhar sneaks up on an unsuspecting squad of Chaos Marines (Bezerkers borrowed from my World Eaters warband)

This fight ended pretty much like you imagine it would. :)

Close up of Drazhar. I like how he's creeping up on a blissfully unaware Fire Dragon.

The three surviving Possessed take a rest after killing off the Incubi. Whew.

A Raider takes a Dark Lance sniper shot at Deffy. Deffy is not amused and gets revenge.

Deffy waves his claw at a squad of Trueborn and asks them if they want to play with him.

In my mind I picture Deffy as a large, slightly bloodthirsty, happy puppy

Trueborn scrum with Possessed on an objective

The Trueborn leader pauses to admire the heart he has removed from someone

Deffy is surprised to still be alive at the end of a game

A very fun game against a most gracious opponent. Thanks to my opponent, the league organizers, and Wizard's Keeps Games in Renton, WA. I really enjoyed using the Warpborn as counts-as Word Bearers, I'll definitely do that again. Now I just need to paint up more Warpborn so I don't have to borrow units from my other Chaos forces. Next year I think I'll paint up some Warpborn Chaos Marines using a kitbash of the AOS Slaves to Darkness Chaos Warriors box and the Shadowspear plastic Chaos Marines box.

On a side-note I bought a used copy of the old 3rd Edition Codex at the store

I long ago lost my old copy. This was such a really fun Codex to use. It was so fluffy and dynamic. I really liked how you could integrate Chaos Daemons into a Chaos Marines force. I sure miss my Plagueriders of Nurgle. I also miss how summoning a Daemon Prince would sometimes kill your lord or sometimes the summoning would just kill a chump Aspiring Champion. And it was hilarious when your Dreadnought fire frenzied and took out an entire flank of your own units! Good times indeed. And the fun of your opponent reminding you that your Champion had spiky bitz or some other bizarre wargear. 3rd Edition Codex you are missed.

See ya'all later. I hope you enjoyed the pics!

The Warpborn, "I feel the warp overtaking me...it is a good pain!"

[WarriorFish]

Looks like it was a good fight, and I spy classic DE models too (I still have a box somewhere). With the Balance Dataslate out the next match up between you and DE should be quite different, additional hits on a 6+ will go far with all your CCWs

[Tallarn Commander]

Warrior Fish,

Yes, the new Death to the False Emperor does add quite a bit of oomph to Chaos Marines.

I managed to get in a 500 point game against Custodes last weekend. And, while I lost by 6 points, I felt that the new Death to the False Emperor was an appreciable improvement. Sadly, I forgot to use it during my first charge with Warp Talons. Actually, I forgot to use it many times, but my opponent graciously kept reminding me to use it after that first charge.

Here is a brief overview of the game for ya'all:

Forces of the Custodes (I don't know any of the Custodes names, sorry. It was my first time going up against them)

HQ: Some cool-looking chap on a bike

TROOPS: 3 troopers with shields and melee weapons

ELITES: A Contemptor

Here is an image of my opponent's Custodes army. It's a WIP but you can tell it's going to look nice with the red, white, and gold.

Custodes Warlord, an impressive model!

My 500 point Night Lords list was:

HQ: Duvalier Nightfall in standard jumppack and Claws of the Night configuration

TROOPS: Champion Hatred's Harbingers Chaos Marine Squad with 10 troopers, a powerfist and 9 troopers with bolt pistols and chainswords

TROOPS: Champion Annika's 4th Squad, 10 Cultists

FAST ATTACK: Warpnight, 10 Warp Talons with Mark of Khorne

And a picture of the Night Lords before the game

Duvalier Nightfall, terrorizing the forces of the Imperium since 2016

The lay of the land before the battle, we used my red Chaos objective markers, Custodes at top left and Night Lords at bottom right

On Turn 1 the Harbingers CSM Squad hustled up and nabbed an objective, here you can see my icon bearer Pale Death

And here you can see rank and file CSM trooper Dominator

The Custodes sat on their objective on Turn 1 and took potshots at my Cultists

And here you can see the remainders of my Cultist Squad on Turn 2, Annika and Grok, before being blown away

And on Turn 2, Warpnight dropped down and activated "Raptor Strike" and "Fury of Khorne," barely managing to kill off the Custodes Warlord

In return, his Custodes troopers squad moved out and easily wiped out the Warp Talons, avenging their lord

The Custodes troopers then turned to deal with the Harbingers

Ninja Joe and Champion Hatred fought valiantly, but it was to no avail

Now that he was the only Night Lord left on the field, Lord Duvalier went after the Contemptor

Duvalier carved half of the Contemptor's wounds off but was killed, er knocked unconscious, by the dreadnought's giant halberd

It was an excellent game against a gracious and fun opponent. I really like the elite feel of the Custodes. They have dedicated their lives to protecting the corpse god and it definitely shows.

Thanks to Mox Boarding House in Bellevue, Washington for giving us a place to play.

The forces of Chaos shall have their revenge on the Custodes some day. Probably on a day we bring a sorcerer with Death Hex. The Custodes' invulnerable saves are very potent.

Ave Dominus Nox!

Edited November 18, 2021 by Tallarn Commander

[WarriorFish]

A Contemptor in 500pts is always going to be tough to handle, but if it makes you feel any better about forgetting rules I've remembered my Daemon's +1" from the instrument on a single game :lol: Custodes look great in the white scheme and are very nasty at low points, but their fate can be sealed with a few poor rolls - such is the nature of super elite armies. In my 500pts game against them I was saved by the psychic might of the Thousand Sons but I still wish I took something to handle their invulnerables (I think Sons have such a power, I'm still learning their new codex).

 

I'm sure next time will go better and you can have your revenge, it will be interesting to see what Custodes get with their new codex but of course that should hopefully be followed soon by a new CSM book...

[Tallarn Commander]

Yes, as my opponent described his army it sounded like Custodes need a new book as much as we do. He was very happy his new book is coming soon.

 

Ironically in this game my opponent and I realized his Contemptor was probably easier to kill than his other units because it had a lower invul save and CSM have access to Veterans of the Long War.

 

I saw your comment about forgetting your instrument in your batrep and I felt your pain. :)

[WarriorFish]

I do think that vehicles in a Custodes army are further exposed due to the nature of the army (what are the Custodes if not walking tanks?), so as you note they are strangely more vulnerable but the game isn't particular kind to vehicles currently generally. The rematch will certainly be interesting so I look forward to reading it

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

I didn't do much hobbying this month, but I did do a little bit.

I put some black, blue, and red paint on my Night Lords Raptors

And I magnetized up a dozen melee and special weapons

Ave Dominus Nox!

[Tallarn Commander]

Merry Christmas everyone!

In the spirit of the season, I made a Chaos Christmas decoration at work

My co-workers think it's a snowflake.

And today I made a Christmas Chaos star out of gingerbread. Sadly I ran out of gingerbread before I could finish all 8 points. D'oh!

I also made a Christmas gingerbread star last year, but that one actually had 8 points.

Merry Christmas and Death to the False Emperor!

Edited December 26, 2021 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

I hope the new year is going well for y'all.

I recently got in another game of 40K. It was my last game of 2021. I brought my Chaos Renegades and Heretics (legends) army against a very fun and fluffy Dark Eldar Court of the Archon-themed list. This was my second game against this particular army. Back in November I played a game with my Night Lords against it. Here's a link to that game if you are interested: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-rh-vs-dark-eldar/?p=5763002

Here are some thoughts and photos from my December R&H vs Druchii game

Druchii list (a vague and fuzzy recollection, probably full of errors)

Patrol 1 (it might have been something other than a patrol?)

HQ

-Archon

-Court of the Archon

-some warriors, possibly upgraded to Trueborn

-Ravager

-Ravager

-Ravager

Patrol 2

-Archon?

-Court of the Archon

-some warriors

-some more warriors

Here's a photo of the beautiful Druchii models

A very impressively-painted Sslyth

And here's a shot of my Renegades and Heretics, the Nostroman 9th Mercenary Company

NOSTROMAN 9TH MERCENARY COMPANY, Being A Renegades and Heretics Chaos Militia Mercenary Battalion, reinforced company, 1,000 points

HQ [95]

• Dneghra Nightfall, Renegade Commander, Army Warlord, powerfist

• WarpRend, Malefic Lord

Dnegrah Nightfall has lead the Nostroman 9th Mercenary Company for decades. She travels the verse, selling her mercenaries' skills to any non-Imperium clients with enough coin and carrying out the wishes of House Nightfall. Dnegrah's ancestors were Nostroman nobility, the noble House of Nightfall. They feared Curze but respected his ability to establish order. House Nightfall to avenge Curze's death at the hands of the Emperor. WarpRend is the regiment's spiritual advisor. She can call upon the warp to commit unholy acts upon the battlefield.

ELITES [150]

• Nostramo, Enforcer, bolt pistol, power sword

The Enforcers are "Chaos Commissars." They use fear and summary executions to ensure the Cultists' obedience.

TROOPS [635]

• Sevatar's 1st Squad, 20 Chaos Militia

• Lobo's 2nd Squad, 20 Chaos Militia, 2 lascannons

• Gibbon's 4th Squad, 20 Chaos Militia, 2 lascannons

• Cthulu's 5th Squad, 20 Chaos Militia, missile launcher, heavy bolter

• Annika's 7th Squad, 10 Mutant Rabble with shotguns

The Chaos Militia and Mutant Rabble 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.

FAST ATTACK [73]

• Hound of Chaos, armored sentinel, lascannon

• Brrrrbbbble, Chaos Spawn

The Sentinels and spawn are mobile screening units that harass the enemies' flanks.

HEAVY SUPPORT [165]

• Khorne's Ire, Leman Russ Battle Tank, Battlecannon, lascannon

The tank crew are traitor guard who now use their weapons against their former comrades.

Total Points=998

Number of Models=96 (93 infantry, 1 walkers, 1 tank, 1 spawn)

CP=6

A closeup of my Leman Russ, Khorne's Ire, now with a 2+ armor save. Yay! (Not that it did much good against dark lances)

5th Militia Squad

My 3 characters: Enforcer Nostramo, Malefic Lord WarpRend, and my warlord, Renegade Commander Dnegrah

A shot of the board after deployment

Someone had donated the nifty 3D-printed tower in the middle of the board to the store, Wizard Keep Games in Renton, WA

The Druchii Court sizes up Chaos before the game begins

Chaos combined arms deploys in a corner

2nd Militia Squad, ready to do battle

7th Squad (Mutant Rabble), Hound of Chaos (Sentinel), and 4th Squad (Chaos Militia) before the game begins

R&H gets first turn and starts flooding the board with bodies

Flooding the board with bodies is about the only thing that the R&H can really do very well. :)

View from a Leman Russ barrel

Khorne's Ire strips a few wounds off of a Ravager. On the bottom of Turn 1 the Ravagers easily reduced the Russ to rubble.

During the bottom of Turn 1, one of the Archon's Courts moves up and prepares to charge 2nd Squad

And the charge is successful! Many Chaos mercenaries fall to Dark Eldar blades.

But a few members of 2nd Squad survive and stick around

On the other flank, the other Archon's Court charges Hound of Chaos, easily destroying the light recon walker

Continued below......

[Tallarn Commander]

R&H vs Dark Eldar Pics and Comments Continued from above.....

At the top of Chaos Turn 2 poor Champion Lobo and his 2nd Militia Squad are being whittled away by the forces of the Dark Eldar

Lobo pistol whips a Sslyth

1st Militia Squad pops out of reserve, outflanks, successfully charges a Warrior Squad and Archon, and kills the Archon. Pretty good for a day's work.

They were subsequently blown off the board by Ravager fire

Renegade Commander Dnegrah (towards the bottom of this photo) and 5th Militia Squad charge the Court of the Archon on the Chaos right flank

The board at the middle of Turn 2, after the R&H have gone but before the DE turn

Ravagers plink away at 5 point Chaos Militia troopers

Once my Russ was dead, the Ravagers had the ignominious task of killing cheap R&H infantry with dark lances

A Court of the Archon jumps out of combat with 5th Militia Squad and charges 4th Militia Squad

Enforcer Nostramo, who had charged in support of 2nd Squad on my Turn 2, battles a Sslyth

Over the years I've consistently been impressed with the durability of R&H characters, 5++ seems more like 3++ when your characters are so wimpy that the enemy usually directs its attacks against other targets. :)

On R&H Turn 3 the Mutant Rabble (on the bottom of this image) prepares to charge the Archon's Court and the Archon in an effort to save 4th Militia Squad

The Mutant Rabble, 7th Squad, gets stuck in

Chaos vs Xenos Scum, I think this picture really conveys a sense of swirling melee

The back members of 5th Militia Squad sort of chill out...

You guys got this!

...while the members of 5th Squad in the front fiercely fight Dark Eldar Warriors on an objective

The Warrior Champion removes someone's spine and shows it to 5th Squad in an effort to demoralize them.

His plan backfires when the Chaos Militia think this is rather neat and ask him to do it again.

Sslyth continues to chop through the Chaos hordes

Surviving 2 members of 4th Squad jump out of melee and hold and objective

Malefic Lord WarpRend looks disdainfully at his losing Chaos hordes before slipping away into the shadows

The game ended with the R&H getting tabled and the Dark Eldar ran away on points. In the end I killed 1 Archon, 2 Warrior Squads, and 1 Court of the Archon squad.

But it was a fun game and my opponent was a gentleman. Plus, no one plays R&H to actually win games. You play R&H so that you have the joy of pushing a true Chaos horde around the battlefield! This was the last game of the fall league. I had a blast in all my games. I also got to try out a variety of Chaos lists: R&H, Night Lords, World Eaters, and Creations of Bile (although I lost all my games but one). But I did manage to win best sportsman in the league.

Thanks for all the great games everyone! The forces of Chaos will get their revenge next time!

[Special Officer Doofy]

Are you excited if those rumors about chaos are true and chaos space marines get some renegade guard style units in their codex?

[Tallarn Commander]

I'm cautiously optimistic.

[Tallarn Commander]

Hi there everyone,

I got in a 2,000 point game earlier this month. I brought my Night Lords and my opponent brought the Adeptes Custodes. He said it was his last game before the new Custodes Codex came out. He was very excited to see what will change for the Custodes in the new Codex. We played at Mox Boarding House in Bellevue, WA, a wonderful venue replete with an art deco dining room.


Custodes List (I think he said he had a double battalion? This is from memory and probably wrong)

HQS
-Shield Captain
-Shield Captain on Bike
-Blade Champion
-Possibly another shield captain? (the dude on foot on my left flank?)

TROOPS
-3 Custodian Guard
-5 Sagittarum Custodians
-5 Sagittarum Custodians

ELITES
-3 Terminator Custodians (I don't know their name)

FAST ATTACK
-3 Custodians on Bikes (I don't know their name)
-3 Custodians on Bikes

-Possibly another biker squad?

Other Units?


And I brought my usual collection of Chaos Lord Duvalier's Doomguard. I did change two things up from my last 2,000 point game, which was a game vs. Dark Angels. The batrep for that game can be found here:

This time around I dropped Harry the Helbrute (which made me sad because I love Harry) and some Terminators' combi-meltas. I then used those points to add in a Rhino, give the two bolt pistol/chainsword CSM Squads some more meltaguns, and give the Chaos Terminators some combi-plasmas.


DUVALIER'S DOOMKIN, NIGHT LORDS CHAOS MARINES, 2,000 POINTS

HQ [230]
☆ Duvalier Nightfall, Chaos Lord, jumppack, Claws of the Black Hunt
☆ Sorcerer Ruven, jumppack, bolt pistol, force sword, Vox Daemonicus
Duvalier Nightfall is member of the ancient House of Nightfall. House Nightfall has appointed Duvalier as leader of this warband. For millenia he has faithfully helped his house achieve its goals. He and his Night Lords prey upon the Imperium and, in so doing, avenge Nighthaunter's death. Like most Night Lords, Sorcerer Ruven holds a deep skepticism towards the Chaos Gods. Chaos is a tool to be wielded against the foe not a power to which one should become enthralled. His powers come from a deep understanding of arcane forces not from pacts made with dark beings.

TROOPS [690]
♧ Jarvak's Jackals, 10 Chaos Marines, 9 Astartes Chainswords, 7 bolt pistols, combi-melta, 2 meltaguns
♧ Rosas' Reavers, 10 Chaos Marines, 7 Astartes Chainswords, 7 bolt pistols, combi-melta, 2 meltaguns
♧ Evita' Eviscerators, 10 Chaos Marines, 7 bolters, 8 bolt pistols, 2 lascannons, power sword
♧ Batista's Bastards, 10 Chaos Marines, 7 bolters, 8 bolt pistols, 2 lascannons, power axe
The Chaos Marine squads skulk around the battlefield, grabbing objectives and peppering the enemy with melta, bolt, and lascannon shots. They excel in terror tactics, slipping behind enemy lines to slit throats and to demoralize the foe.

TRANSPORTS [160]
○ Dragonne, Chaos Rhino, combi-bolter
○ Night Masque, Chaos Rhino, combi-bolter
This ancient transport manuevers the Night Lords around the battlefield.

ELITES [170]
♤ The Atramentar, 5 Chaos Terminators, 5 combi-plasmas, 5 lightning claws (0), Icon of Vengeance
The Atramentar are the warband's elite veterans. They enforce the will of House Nightfall.

FAST ATTACK [470]
◇ Champion Diaz's Bats out of Hell, 15 Chaos Raptors, 14 Astartes Chainswords, 15 bolt pistols, powerfist, Icon of Vengeance
◇ WarpNight, 10 Warp Talons, Mark of Khorne
The Chaos Raptors 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.

HEAVY SUPPORT [280]
□ Eternal Damnation, Defiler with Defiler Claws and Battlecannon, Reaper Autocannon, Defiler Scourge
□ Mary the Maulerfiend, Maulerfiend fist, set of lasher tendrils
Deffy is Ruven's pet. He loves getting his belly scratched by her almost as much as he loves tearing the enemy limb from limb. Mary always aspires to be the first Night Lord to reach the enemy lines.


Total=2,000 points

• 72 infantry, 4 vehicles=76 models

Relics
• After a centuries-long search, Lord Duvalier found the ancient Nostraman relic, the Claws of the Black Hunt.
• House Nightfall has loaned the Vox Daemonicus to Ruven.

Starting CP=11


Here are some photos from before the game


Gorgeous Sagittarum Custodians

My opponent said he often takes smaller squads but was experimenting with bigger squad sizes on these chaps

Oodles of nifty-looking bikers

Closeup of a Biker

Deffy and Mary deploy on the Chaos right flank

Night Masques, Chaos Rhino

Chaos Marines before deployment

I don't recall what the mission was but I don't think either of us took the secondary. It was a standard hold 1, hold 2, hold more primary situation.

Here is the board before the game begins, seen from the Night Lords left flank

The Custodes won the roll to go first but decided to go second. Come to think of it, I don't think that's a thing anymore. If we had played the rules correctly he would have had to have had gone first. Oh well, it was a casual game with plenty of take-backs and a very relaxed atmosphere. Neither of us had the missions book, so we just used the secondaries in the main rulebook.

The Custodes secondaries: engage, banners, attrition

The CSM secondaries: engage, banners, asassinate

And the game began....

Continued in next post....

[Tallarn Commander]

Continued from Previous Post.....

Night Lords Turn 1

On my movement phase I shuffled everything forward except for my two firebase lascannon CSM Squads, the Eviscerators and the Bastards. If I were a good player I would have remembered to raise banners with both squads. D'oh! Instead I didn't remember to do that til Turn 3. Oh well.

During my psychic phase Ruven the Sorcerer got off a successful warptime which helped Mary move up the board some more, but she was still out of charge range. At least she got me engage points. I knew she was in trouble way up on the tip of the spear but I wanted to draw the Custodes closer to my right flank and get those engage points.

During the shooting phase my 4 CSM lascannons whittled away at bikers.

I was too far away for any Turn 1 charges.

Rosas' Reavers CSM Squad occupies a building and nabs an objective on Turn 1

This is our building, go find your own. Notice Dragonne the Rhino on the bottom right. Dragonne would spend the rest of the game looking inconspicuous and getting me engage points from Turns 2 to 5. Go little Rhino!

Custodes Turn 1

The Custodes moved up their bikers, their infantry mostly stayed back on objectives or shuffled into a counter-assault position behind the bikers on my right flank.

Here is the board after Custodes Turn 1 movement. You can barely see the bikers moving up on the top left.

The Custodes, being Custodes, had no psychic phase.

The Custodes had some shooting and whittled away at various units. During the charge phase the Bikers made it in against my CSM Squad on the left and against Mary the Maulerfiend on the right. The biker captain and bikers wiped out the CSM Squad on my left, I could have been more conservative with them but their purpose in life is to cap objectives and not hide in back.

On my right the bikers knocked Mary down to 2 wounds

She survived!

On my left the bikers wipe out the Reavers CSM Squad

So turn ends with both of our flanks closer to the enemy, our brawlers in melee or getting closer to melee, and with a CSM Squad dead.

TURN 2

During CSM Turn 2 on my left I brought Jarvak's Jackals CSM Squad out of their Rhino. They grabbed an objective and got leveled 3 meltaguns at the bikers. Deffy and Sorcerer Ruven moved up to support them.

Sadly Mary, with only 2 wounds, was ordered out of melee by Ruven so that Deffy could get in. This command made the Maulerfiend very say but she obeyed.

In a melancholy manner, Mary moves away from the marauding bikers

I then brought in 2 of my 3 deep-striking units.

I put the Atramentar, my termies, on my right flank to support the Jackals and Deffy.

And I brought Warpnight, my Warp Talons, out on my left flank to support Lord Duvalier

Lord Duvalier says to Warpnight, "I'm glad you could make it. Now deal with that loyalist scum." as he points towards the Custodes bikers

On my left, Duvalier shuffled up to charge the bikers. My 2 CSM Squads sat on objectives in the back and still forgot to raise banners.

During my psychic phase Ruven successfully cast Death Hex on the bikers. Hurrah! Sadly during my melee phase I would promptly forget that the bikers had no invulnerable save. D'oh!

Ruven flies up onto a gantry and death hexes bikers

During my shooting phase, my lascannons chipped away at bikers some more. My termies plasma'd 2 wounds off of the bikers (they rolled poorly to wound). And my melta CSM, the Jackals killed some bikers on the right. I think we remembered they had no invulnerable saves during the shooting phase, we just forgot during the melee phase.

I noticed that, for a second time I had forgotten to raise banners. After my shooting phase I made a sign for myself. I placed the sign in the middle of the board and my opponent laughed.

During my charge phase, on the left I charged in with Duvalier and Warpnight against the bikers and biker blade captain. I sure do love using the "Raptor Strike" stratagem that lets Night Lords roll 3d6 for the charge when they come out of deepstrike. On my right, Deffy and the Atramentar got off successful charges.

The Warp Talons took some wounds off of the lord and killed a biker.

Warpnight and Duvalier tear down bikers on the right

My opponent then interrupted. His bikers turned around and smacked the Atramentar, who had just charged them, killing them all. So all the termies did this game was take 2 wounds off of a biker. But they took the blows that would have otherwise gone into Deffy so that's something.

Bikers Interrupt and Smack Chaos Terminators

During the rest of the melee phase his bikers and captain on the left whittled away at my Warp Talons and Duvalier. Duvalier killed a biker. My Warp Talons, buffed by Veterans of the Long War or Prey on the Weak (I cannot recall which) used the Khorne fight twice stratagem and finished off the bikers on the right but the biker captain was left alive with 1 wound!

I should mention props to my opponent. After Turn 1 I commented that I had forgotten Death the the False Emperor on Mary and my Chaos Marines. For the rest of the game, whenever I forgot DttFE my opponent would remind me. What a great sportsman!

Deffy killed a biker on the right but the bulk of the bikers survived because we forgot they no longer had invulnerable saves.

So the top of Turn 2 ended with a dead Chaos Terminator Squad on the right and a dead Custodes biker squad on the left.

Continued below....

Edited January 19, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

....continued from above

CUSTODES TURN 2

During my opponent's movement phase, he moved a champion, a captain, and a Custodian squad up on the Chaos right flank.

Custodes move out

On the Chaos left flank he elected to leave his lord in melee. He considered jumping him out of combat. But he knew that I would pop the stratagem that potentially deals mortal wounds when an opponent jumps out of melee. And since his captain was locked in melee with a Chaos Lord and 8 Warp Talons, the odds of me rolling at least one six were pretty good. So his biker captain with one wound remained in melee.

My opponent then deep-striked (deep-struck?) a terminator squad down on the Chaos left flank.

The board during the Custodes Turn 2 movement phase, seen from the Chaos left flank.

The 3 termies you see on the bottom left were not there. They were about to be deployed to the bottom right area of this pic.

During the Custodes shooting his Sagittarum and Blade Captain finished off Mary the Maulerfiend. His termies took out Lord Duvalier.

During the charge phase his termies failed the charge against Warpnight. The Warp Talons breathed a huge sigh of relief. The Blade Champion fails his charge against the Jackals but the Blade Captain on foot makes his charge against Deffy. His Custodes got in against Deffy.

Sagittarum and Blade Captain charge Deffy. They chew off some wounds. Deffy directs his attacks against the bikers, forgets they have Death Hex on them, and 2 bikers make their invulnerable saves

I interrupt with my Warp Talons and they finish off the Biker Captain.

So Turn 2 ends with the swirling melee on the right continuing but the forces of Chaos have won the melee on the left.

NIGHT LORDS TURN 3

During the Night Lords movement phase, I actually remember to raise banners with my 2 CSM Squads, the Eviscerators and the Bastards. Huzzah!

The Eviscerators raise a banner

While Batista's Bastards lurk in the shadows and raise a banner

Jarvak's Jackals camp out on my objective on the right middle of the board

Ninja Joe, a member of the Jackals, gets bored and kicks an objective

Warpnight moves back on the left to deal with the Custodes terminators

At the end of my movement phase, I bring in my last deep-striking unit, Bats out of Hell, a unit of 15 Chaos Raptors.

Bats Out of Hell emerge from deep-strike

The board after Chaos movement phase on Turn 3. You can see my Raptors at the top right.

Another shot of the board after Chaos movement phase on Turn 3, seen from the Chaos right flank

On the left you can see my 2 CSM Squads who finally remembered to raise banners.

During the psychic phase Ruven gets off another Death Hex on the bikers. I would remember Death Hex during this melee phase.

Night Lords shooting is pretty uneventful. My lascannon CSM were raising banners so I just had the Jackals, my triple melta squad. They turned their 3 meltas against the Blade Champion and whiffed.

Jackals fail to melta the Blade Champion

During the charge phase I am saddened when my Raptors, the Bats out of Hell, fail their charge. They even had Raptor Strike and I burned a CP on a re-roll.

On my left flank, during the charge phase Warpnight makes it in against the Terminators

The two units whittle away at each other a bit.

On my right flank, the Sagittarum and Blade Captain take some chunks out of Deffy. Deffy remembers the bikers have been Death Hexed and he easily finishes them off.

Chaos Turn 3 ends with the termie vs Warp Talon melee on the left and the Blade Captain/Sagittarum vs Deffy scrum on the right.

To be continued below.......

Edited January 19, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

.....Continued from above

CUSTODES TURN 3

Here is a photo of the board during Custodes Turn 3 movement

Most of the Custodes units were in melee or on objectives on Turn 3 so he only moved two units. My jumped his Blade Captain out of melee with Deffy so he could challenge the Raptors. The Blade Champion moved closer to the Jackals. You can see both Custodes characters moving around on the top right of the image above.

During shooting he whittled away at me some more.

During the charge phase his Blade Champion made it in against the Jackals CSM Squad but he rolled low and didn't kill many.

The captain charged the Raptors killing some

My Jackals and Raptors don't do much to his characters.

Battle of the Champions, Aspiring Champion Jarvak swings and misses the Blade Champion

Deffy and the Sagittarum chip away at each other on the right.

Turn 4 ends with us still close on points and now their are three ongoing fights: termies vs. Warp Talons on the left Deffy vs Sagittarum and at the back left the Blade Captain vs. Raptors

CHAOS TURN 4

During my movement phase I jump the Raptors out of melee with the Blade Captain. Their job is to go after objectives after all. The CSM Squads sit still on objectives and aim their lascannons. Everyone else is locked in combat.

My plucky Rhino, Dragonne, was hiding behind a building in the Custodes deployment zone and earning me Engage on All Fronts points

The board after Chaos movement phase on Turn 4

The termie vs Warp Talon fight is off camera on the bottom left

Ruven chips away at Sagittarum with Smite but fails to get off Death Hex. The Chaos Marine squads' lascannons fail to do much damage.

During the charge phase I burn a CP on the Night Lords stratagem "Hit and Run" allowing them to charge even though they fell out of combat

They successfully charge the Custodian Guard Squad on the roof. During the melee phase my Raptors burn a CP on "Prey on the Weak". They then roll really well (3 powerfist hits thanks to DttFE) and the Custodian Guard are removed from play. The Bats out of Hell consolidate on the objective.

During the melee phase the termie vs Warp Talon fight continues. The termies are brought down to one model and the scrum continues.

The Sagittarum finally finish off Deffy and shuffle onto the objective held by the Jackals. The Blade Champion and the Jackals continue to not hurt each other very much.

CUSTODES TURN 4

During the Custodes movement phase his Blade Captain chases after the Raptors.

While his Sagittarum move up towards Ruven.

The board after Custodes Turn 4 movement phase

During the shooting phase his backfield objective-holding Sagittarum blow away many Raptors.

The Custodes Blade Captain then charges the Raptors and finishes them off.

The Sagittarum charge Ruven and easily wipe him out.

The Blade Champion finally finishes off Jarvak's Jackals, those plucky CSM lasted way longer on the objective than they should have!

Warpnight finally finishes off the Terminators. The Warp Talons promptly dance, do some dabbing, and cheer "Blood for the Blood God!"

For theme reasons all of my Night Lords are unmarked except for this squad. I'm pretty sure Lord Duvalier would grudgingly accept Chaos worship by a Warp Talon squad, as long as they got results.

NIGHT LORDS TURN 5

During the Night Lords movement phase I only moved my Warp Talons onto an objective. Meanwhile Dragonne the Rhino hunkered down in the corner while the Eviscerators CSM Squad and the Bastards CSM Squad took potshots from their objective, not doing much damage.

CUSTODES TURN 5

The Custodes closed in on the Bastards CSM Squad with the Sagittarum and the Blade Champion.

While the Shield Captain raised a banner

The board during Custodes Turn 5 movement, the bottom right Custodes units have not yet moved

Thankfully the Blade Champion fails his charge against the Bastards. The Sagittarum make it in but fail to finish off the squad.

The game ended. We tallied up the points to learn that each of us had 64 points. The game had ended in a draw! Wow! You cannot get closer than that.

It was a very fun game against a very chill, casual opponent. A very good way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

I am really impressed with how good Death to the False Emperor is now. I suspect we'll lose it with the new codex, but for now I'm really enjoying the increased CSM melee lethality.

I'm also really enjoying the various tricks that the Night Lords have this edition. I sure hope we keep them when the codex drops.

Til next time, Ave dominus nox!

Edited January 19, 2022 by Tallarn Commander