1500pts Word Bearer List

[ChainMachete]

The extra HQ requirements make it quite difficult to build a decent Word Bearer list at lower points, but here's what I'm planning:

 

Zardu Layek

Centurion with AA, boarding shield & power fist

10 Tacticals, sergeant with AA, nuncio vox (Zardu & Centurion go here)

10 Tacticals, sergeant with AA, rhino

3 x Rapier Carriers with laser destroyer arrays

3 x Attack Bikes with multi-melta & melta bombs

Contemptor Cortus with kheres and heavy flamer DDCW

Leviathan with grav-flux, claw, twin volkites & phosphex

Whirlwind Scorpius

 

Comes in at exactly 1500 points.

 

I was thinking about dropping an Attack Bike and using the points to give the Leviathan armoured ceramite and to upgrade the Cortus to a Mortis with twin kheres. This would make the list a little more defensive and give it an answer to flyers, but would this less aggressive approach just weaken it too much? Also am I more likely to see melta at these lower point levels, because there's less of an expectation that people will protect their valuable assets with armoured ceramite?

 

I was also wondering between splitting up my Rapiers and Attack Bikes into separate single model units or running them as one big unit. I won't know the mission in advance, so don't know if kill points will be a thing, but I will probably be playing against Alpha Legion, so I'm thinking single big units could possibly help me with that Martial Hubris bonus point. But if I end up summoning some daemons, I'm probably never going to get it anyway.

 

General plan is to throw the Leviathan and Bikes (and Cortus if I don't swap it for a Mortis) at the enemy whilst everything else shoots them. Zardu is there to summon stuff (probably Plague Bearers and Daemonettes). With luck my opponent will be killing dameons rather than my Word Bearers, giving my shooty stuff more chance to survive. Then a final push with the surviving tacticals and HQs to finish off the enemy.

 

I'm looking for general advice to make the list more effective, but don't want to make it too unfriendly, so no drop pod for my Leviathan or swapping the laser destroyers for quad mortars. I want something that's tough enough to not get me tabled, but will still give my opponent a fun game.

 

Other models I could swap in are a Laser Destroyer Vindicator, some Gal Vorbak plus plenty of the HQ options. Also I've got lots of magnetised weapon choices for the two dreadnoughts. My Whirlwind, Vindicator and Gal Vorbak aren't painted, so I wouldn't want to include all of them. And I've just painted the Leviathan, so on the basis of "new & shiny", he needs to be in there.

 

Many thanks.

[ChainMachete]

Played this list last night against Alpha Legion. I ended up swapping things around and taking:

 

Zardu Layek

Centurion with AA, boarding shield & power fist

10 Tacticals, sergeant with AA, nuncio vox (Zardu & Centurion went here)

10 Tacticals, sergeant with AA and power fist, rhino

3 x Rapier Carrier with laser destroyer arrays

Contemptor Mortis with twin kheres

2 x Attack Bike with multi-melta & melta bombs

Leviathan with grav-flux, claw, twin volkites, phosphex & armoured ceramite

Whirlwind Scorpius

 

Comes out at 1500 points dead on. The Attack Bikes and Rapiers were all run as individual units. I knew in advance my opponent was bringing a Land Raider and he knew I was bringing a Leviathan.

 

I had some incredibly lucky dice rolls and my opponent was equally unlucky. At one point the tactical squad containing my HQs, had 7 models outside rapid fire range take some potshots at 5 Lernaean Terminators. 7 hits, 7 wounds, 4 failed saves! I held the Leviathan back until the Lernaeans lost those 4 models because he'd equipped them all with chainfists, but in the end he killed 8 Assault Marines with his grav, put a wound on one of my own Rapiers with his phosphex and killed the remaining Lernaean with his hammer of wrath. The 3 Rapiers managed to kill his Land Raider over 3 turns through hull point attrition (the only pen took out it's heavy bolter). And between them, the Mortis and Scorpius took out most of the rest of his army. In the end we called it when he just had a Tactical squad (locked in combat with my second Tactical squad) and a Rhino left. I'd lost both Attack Bikes, around half a squad of Tacticals, a Rapier crew member and one of my own Tacticals from Zardu's squad that I'd sacrificed to make a Herald of Nurgle. As well as the Herald, I'd managed to summon 10 Plaguebearers and 3 Flamers.

 

In retrospect, despite my opponents bad luck, a Leviathan, Mortis and Scorpius was probably total overkill. Going forwards, at this points level, unless my opponent brings a really strong list, I think I'll drop the Scorpius and power fist on the second Tactical squad and use the points for some Tactical Support Marines with flamers. And since I only have one painted Rhino, I'll give it to them instead.