WarriorFish's Slaaneshi Daemons

[WarriorFish]

Thanks Rumi, I think I've got my Daemons method perfected now - which includes a couple of rounds of returning to "finished" models to tidy up and correct I'm used to fielding more combat focused armies these days, though my CSM have a decent amount of shooting (albeit mostly short ranged bolt weaponry). It still feels quite different playing with all but no guns... the game isn't kind to pure combat armies

 

I have thought about Syll'Eske on and off but struggle to get over the fact he looks very fantasy Maybe I can look at something like up-armouring him, like how the Daemon Prince has power armour bits? That's not a bad idea actually and would be a good project... and good stretch to my sculpting. It'll be a fair bit of work so would need to come when I'm a little more comfortable with available models.

 

I'm not sure how to play the Enchantress yet, she seems to lag behind a bit which prevents her making the most from her rules. That said, the chance to bring a model back is slim. I've not come across many psykers to annoy with her special ability either I think she'll do better in larger games with more to work with but the model is very nice and different so worth getting to

[WarriorFish]

In a move that probably shocks nobody I have a new addition:

Not like a second wasn't more or less on the list, but it was a good deal and good deals make a happy wallet. I'll just need to remind myself of the savings when I get round to her ;) Probably best to make Shalaxi I'm guessing? Fear not while I have been making good progress on my Daemons I'm sticking to my plan so off to storage this box will go until I have got more done :tu:

[WarriorFish]

I have been ruminating on my Daemons of late, as once I've caught up on a few outstanding projects this is where I want to be. I still need to be good and work on a bit more core which means Troops but in looking at my "1000pts" list I saw that exactly four Daemonettes will make it a full 1000pts - so here we are

Painting a few up should work out nicely as a bite sized project and avoid getting bogged down in the details. I reckon if they're all given orange cloth that should more or less round the colours off too so it'll work out nicely (probably)

After these if I aimed to get another six done including two Alluresses and Musicians for a full six 10 model squads that's a good point to call my core done enough to get back to some fancy? Then I can dip in to some more Daemonettes from time to time in between the more exciting models

[WarriorFish]

They're coming along at a decent pace:

Not 100% orange as I don't want to double up colours, I should be able to get them done this weekend

[Tallarn Commander]

They are coming along nicely.

[WarriorFish]

I am lining up to finish them today :) This has been a good round of painting so I'll be trying to remember to stick to smaller batches, will make reaching the six squad goal more manageable :) I've been thinking about what comes next and that should be some Seekers I reckon to add something new to lists?

[WarriorFish]

As promised:

Was nicer to work in smaller scale, I'll be sure to remember this lesson in the future (I keep forgetting though...). I'll keep this in mind when working towards the six squads goal, and I will be adding to the rank and file in small batches afterwards as the spice in between my larger/more exciting projects :)

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Those look great, WF - I especially like the contrast of the white sleeve on the rightmost model.

 

Am I correct in thinking these gals in orange are different from your regular mango colour?  Is this done to differentiate squads?  They look good, regardless.

[Wulf Vengis]

You make Slaanesh very happy Warriorfish. Those are some great looking Diaz-nettes...deez-nu... Well you get the point. Ah-ha! Innuendo... I'll let myself out now.

[WarriorFish]

Thanks both :) Yes, this is a proper orange and not the melon colour from across my Slaanesh forces. I did toy with colour coding squads originally but I decided that this felt a bit too organised for Slaaneshi daemons and I didn't want the hassle of having to pick specific models for a squad :lol:

[WarriorFish]

The decision has been made, my break from Daemonettes will be Fiends:

Easier to build the second time round, I only felt like I needed an extra hand a few times I've also mixed up the bits a little as while the torso and tails are as they come (Blissbringer tail and loincloth choices aside) the heads and claws are fully interchangeable

Alas, painting them for a second time won't be easier but with so many soul stones what are you going to do? Looking forward to getting these done as they're really nice models

[WarriorFish]

Getting there slowly but surely:

With all the detail to go it'll be hard work but little and often wins the day

[Tallarn Commander]

Amen! I consider it a victory if I paint 15 minutes in a given day.

[WarriorFish]

Indeed, I have been making steady progress so I am on course to complete them next week as I had hoped :) I'm not sure what I'll do next for my daemons, maybe some Seekers?

[Slave to Darkness]

In a move that probably shocks nobody I have a new addition:

Not like a second wasn't more or less on the list, but it was a good deal and good deals make a happy wallet. I'll just need to remind myself of the savings when I get round to her Probably best to make Shalaxi I'm guessing? Fear not while I have been making good progress on my Daemons I'm sticking to my plan so off to storage this box will go until I have got more done

Ooh give it a bull head from the weird Sigmar model for that 1st ed vibe.

[WarriorFish]

I'm still on the fence on the Ruminate Moolords, but as I have the Diaznette aesthetic I'll be doing some adjustment to the face as I did before to make the Keeper fit the theme Not any time soon though, I'm making good progress on the Fiends so will have them finished soon then it's a bit more to flesh the army choices out.

 

Plus before I get to this KoS there is Be'lakor for a big fancy model...

[Dr_Ruminahui]

What changes do you feel need to be made to the face to fit in with your diaznettes?

[WarriorFish]

Rounding off the chin and removing the nose, you can see from some of the early work here:

Wasn't a huge amount of work but made a bit difference to helping match the look

[WarriorFish]

Got them done, looks like previous experience did help a bit after all :P

I mixed up some soul stones or not to help make them a bit different, but overall they didn't take as long as I thought. Keep thinking that I must have missed something... :P

Next daemons project is still undecided as I'm swapping to CSM, I'll decide when I get there!

[WarriorFish]

Always trust your gut: the loincloths are now painted :lol:

Better to notice now rather than later :P

[Dr_Ruminahui]

While it is very slaaneshi to not cover one's loins, I do think they look better with their crotch cloths. :)  They look great - these models really take well to your mango and the way you do their flesh, its a nice contrast even though they are both fairly warm colours.

[WarriorFish]

I think the supplementary colours go far there; the white of horns/claws/etc and hair is always good for this but so is the purple of the armour and of course the various cloth colours Not to exclude the basing scheme of course which is quite dark especially with water features I'd like to say I planned it all out but I just went with what came to me

 

As much as they could be a pain with assembly and even more so with all the soul stones and that they're really nice models and worth every moment you spend on them, I can't recommend them enough for any Slaanesh player. Especially as they perform a vital role in army lists too I think having two squads of Fiends will make a noticeable difference for me

[WarriorFish]

The new Fiends got their first game in, technically twice as I used Summoning to creep up to the 1250pts target

Slaanesh's Cavalcade

Hidden Content

+ HQ +

Daemon Prince of Chaos [200pts]: Delightful Agonies, Malefic talon, Wings
. Slaanesh

Infernal Enrapturess [75pts]

Keeper of Secrets [-1CP, 230pts]: Bewitching Aura, Hysterical Frenzy, Sinistrous hand, Soulstealer, Symphony of Pain, Warlord
. Exalted Keeper of Secrets: 2. Quicksilver Reflexes

+ Troops +

Daemonettes [130pts]: Alluress, Daemonic Icon, Instrument of Chaos
. 14x Daemonette: 14x Piercing claws

Daemonettes [80pts]: Alluress, Instrument of Chaos
. 9x Daemonette: 9x Piercing claws

Daemonettes [80pts]: Alluress, Instrument of Chaos
. 9x Daemonette: 9x Piercing claws

Daemonettes [80pts]: Alluress, Instrument of Chaos
. 9x Daemonette: 9x Piercing claws

+ Elites +

Fiends [125pts]: Blissbringer
. 2x Fiend: 2x Dissecting claws, 2x Vicious barbed tail

Fiends [125pts]: Blissbringer
. 2x Fiend: 2x Dissecting claws, 2x Vicious barbed tail

Necrons

Hidden Content

Skorpekh Lord thing

Technomancer

Warriors

Immortals

Deathmarks

2x Barges

Wraiths

Skorpekh choppy tripods

"Bikers"

With a good number of Command Points to play with and a dearth of Stratagems I figured that the pre-game ones are worth a try. I upgrade the large Daemonette squad's Icon to a Rapturous Standard and also put them in the warp to bring in. The mission is simple enough in holding the four objectives, with the one in your deployment being worth the least and the opposite being true for the enemy's. Without units that are good at holding back my plan is classic Slaanesh in taking enemy objectives instead. Not like there's much choice though

I keep the KoS hiding; she's fast enough to move up and I don't want to get shot up too much before getting her in. Otherwise I'm expecting a scuffle for the no man's land objective; beyond that I'll play it by ear

My opponent has first turn and largely moves up. The Deathmarks drop in on top of the building which is an issue - I'll have to send the Daemon Prince which will be an issue for my planned right flank move but he shouldn't have trouble dealing with them. Shooting isn't too bad, focused on the Fiends where I lose two on the right flank.

There have been worse turns, but I'm a little concerned by how much the Fiends have taken. I had planned to lose a squad anyway (as these would be the models I used to summon my remaining points ) but ideally not too soon...

Naturally the plan is unchanged though, again choice isn't really a thing here I move my forces up, the Prince going up to deal with the Deathmarks (though being placed on the other building as he fell off...), the right flank Fiend and Daemonettes moving to engage the flying bike things and my left flank doing the same.

Charges are no problem, with both squads of Fiends making it in. The Daemonettes on the right aren't needed as it turns out as the Fiend rolls great and does a number on the bike things. The Fiends on the left don't do quite as well, but have the numbers to inflict some loss on the Wraiths. The Keeper fails her charge which is bad news, and two of the Deathmarks get back up again so while things haven't been great they're not awful either. Apparently I forgot to take pictures here too for extra measure.

Things go as expected in my opponent's turn, my right flank Daemonettes are wiped out but the Fiend manages to cling on. The left flank Fiends aren't so lucky though and get wiped in combat, and the Keeper is knocked down to nine wounds.

I can glean some Victory Points from the surviving Fiend at least, but I'm lagging behind and need to get moving. I bring in the reserve Daemonettes to try and tie up the Barges, but they end up rolling great and doing very well.

With the Keeper moving to deal with the Wraiths and a freshly summoned Fiend squad from the Infernal Enrapturess this ends up going very well as the Keeper does great and as a bonus can devour souls to restore her health The reserve Daemonettes can not only chop down the Barge, but also get a reality blip to restore to their starting number. This is all great news as they can then move up to engage the Warriors.

This is where things get bogged down a bit. Reanimation is a thorn in the side especially on the Deathmarks as the Prince can't seem to get rid of them... Fortunately my opponent pulls the survivor out of combat to shoot at the Prince, but some good rolling and a Warp Surge keep him in the fight. This lets my Infernal Enrapturess perform a sneaky assassination of her own to take him out, so one less thing to worry about! The ever reducing central Daemonette squad do rather well and finish off the last of the tripods so I'm starting to overpower the left and centre.

This lets my forces move towards the centre to ensure this continues in my turn. So far I'm reasonably behind on VPs, but I can see a course to victory albeit meaning I pretty much need to wipe my opponent to do it...

For the penultimate turn things go well in my opponent's turn as there's little he can do while trapped in combat. The Keeper finishes the Barge off easily and the right flank is slowly winning, though the Prince having swooped down on the Immortals is still struggling against their 5+ saves and 5+ reanimation.

Things go well in my turn too, as the Keeper and Daemonettes easily mob the Technomancer to claim my opponent's objective next turn, and with the Fiends surging up to help the Prince can finish off the Immortals.

For the final turn the game is mine, as in my opponent's turn the Warrior is finally hacked down (and more importantly doesn't reanimate this time!) and with my forces already sitting on all but my own objective I can claim enough VPs to surpass my opponent's score and snatch victory!

It was a good game, all the more so for it coming down to the final turn as I was lagging behind on VPs until then. The Daemonettes did quite well for once, and I feel like I've got the hang of the Stratagems and powers available. Symphony of Pain was very useful as something new I tried, as along with Acquiescence it really limited the Wraths, especially as my opponent wanted to withdraw them from combat due to their special rule first turn - sadly for him the Fiend's Soporific Musk prevented that. Overall a victory earned from the sum of the army's parts, to make it all the better

If I was up against a more mechanised list it would have probably been a different story, the Keeper is a huge crutch for the army here as when she gets choppy multi-wound things get very sad. Fiends are good but at S4 (and T4) they're best at handling infantry models as they can't muster the strength to reliably threaten armour.

As an aside I played AoS with my Daemons for the first (and second) time recently, made me wonder if we can expect something similar for when Daemons eventually get their codex? Fiends in that were mean, made to hunt multi-wound targets which filled a gap in the army. Perhaps something similar - along with S and T boosts - could see the same in 40k?