Homebrew Army Composition?

[A Gentleman's Coup]

Hello all!  I want to paint up a homebrew Primaris army, but am at a loss as to what to include.  The Chapter is called the Scarlet Curs.  They wear red torsos and pauldrons with white arms and legs, and each marine carries a combat knife.  The chapter specialises in shock and awe, be that a crippling charge or focussed fire en masse.  I want an army that can be versitile, but I'm not sure how to go about it with a focus on primaris marines.  What would be the best way to impliment my chapter background into a cool and effective (I know primaris aren't too highly looked upon as a single army) force?  Thanks!

[N1SB]

I'm interested in ideas for this too.  Thanks for starting this thread.

[Panzer]

Sounds like you want to go with Blood Angels. Shock&Awe is exactly what they are doing and the partially red colour scheme would fit well to identify them as Blood Angels for people who don't know about your homebrew lore as well.

 

Versatality is a huge problem for pure Primaris armies currently. There simply aren't that many different units for now.

• Intercessors are a given since those are our only Troop choice.
• Reiver are great from a narrative perspective but on the table they are basically just Intercessors you can put in reserves. Their Combat blades are a bit underwhelming without any AP unfortunately.
• Inceptors are just great, period. They are a mobile shooty unit (with M10 slightly less mobile than other Jump Pack Marine units tho) and their damage output is sick. In melee they are basically Marines with chainswords or Marine veterans like any other Primaris so they aren't exactly a melee unit either. The T5 helps a little bit.
• Aggressors are a very interesting unit. They can be the most mobile footslogging Primaris unit we have but they actually just want to get into a good position and then be stationary so they can double shoot. They trade the S5 AP-1 of Bolter Inceptors against S4 AP0 but LOTS more shots. They also are the only Primaris with a proper melee weapon outside of HQs and Intercessor Sergeants, however don't expect them to be a proper melee unit either since they all have still only two attacks and their powerfists give -1 to hit on their WS3+ so it's only about 1 hit per model on average.
  • The Flamer variant just isn't good unfortunately. With the short range you can basically never double shoot because you have to keep moving and since flamer hit automatically you don't care about being able to run&shoot without penalty either. The damage output is also lower than the Bolter variant.
• Hellblaster aren't your typical heavy weapon guys unless you go for the heavy plasma variant or the assault plasma variant (assault weapons are really best at trying to stay away from the enemy despite their name). With their Rapid fire variant, which is arguably the best, they want to get within 15" so they can double their shots. Plasma being Plasma you just point them at any infantry and delete it. Better not at horde units tho since you're lacking the shots for that.

So after giving a short overview about the different Primaris units available (even if you might already know about them) we can go over what would fit the shock&awe theme best.

Obviously Intercessors to give your list some "meat". Always go for the AGL and the Power sword on the Sergeant as well.

Inceptors are the unit you'd be focussing on at most for your army. Blood Angels who are THE shock&awe chapter/legion have a long tradition using Jump Pack infantry for exactly this effect. If you give them Plasma it also removes the 'need' for Hellblaster who wouldn't really fit your theme as much anyway. Just be aware that at ~4 shots per model they aren't that unlikely to overheat and kill themselves without a Captain nearby. The Bolter variant is really good as well and more independent than Plasma.

Those two are probably going to be your most used infantry units from the current selection I'd say.

 

Reiver are more of a shock&terror unit so wouldn't fit the shock&awe theme as much. It also doesn't help that they are kinda trying to do what you're already doing with Intercessors and Inceptors.

BUT if you like them you can still make them fit your theme like I did! Here's a WIP picture of a Reiver conversion I did for my Blood Angels successor chapter. I went for a more "Sanguinary Guard" theme with them instead of the Night Lords theme they usually have which fits crunch-wise well too considering the Death Mask of the Sanguinary Guard and the Reivers Terror Troops special rules have the same effect in-game (-1LD to nearby enemy units).

 

 

Aggressors don't really add to the shock&awe either unlike the Blood Angels 1st company which uses lots of Terminators, mostly due lack of deep strike for Aggressors. However it would add greatly to your armys versatility so it's worth considering.

 

Hellblaster are great but not really needed if you get your Plasma already from Inceptors who fit your theme way better so I'd say this is a pass.

 

Redemptor Dreadnoughts. Well ... I don't think they are THAT great currently and they don't really add anything to a Primaris army except that it makes the army more interesting I guess. S5 AP-1 shooting as well as Plasma shooting you get from your Inceptors already.

Repulsor tanks. This is a definite yes. It doesn't add much to your armys theme but they are badly needed for an at least somewhat capable Primaris army. It's a transport so it protects against alpha strikes (put either your Intercessors or if you have Aggressors in them) and they provide some MUCH needed anti-tank shooting ... basically the only anti-tank shooting available to Primaris lists aside from maybe heavy plasma hellblaster which aren't as good as Lascannons.

Just keep in mind for both, Redemptor as well as Repulsor, you won't go far with just one. Almost all lists you're going to face will have enough anti-tank in their lists to get rid of one of them in 1-2 turns without a problem. Always take two or three or none. They are expensive but target saturation is important!

 

About the HQs and other characters .... I guess the Gravis Captain, an Ancient (the BA banner relic is awesome btw) and maybe a Librarian would be the most effective and awe inspirering choices. Apothecaries are worth a thought as well but you can go easily without one.

 

 

I went way more into detail than I planned and probably told you lots of things you already knew but I hope it's still helpful to you! :D

[A Gentleman's Coup]

This is a great and detailed post, thank you!

[A Gentleman's Coup]

I rolled on the chapter creation tables and this is what I have if it helps any.

 

 

Why Was The Chapter Founded?    Standing Force

 

 

 

When Was The Chapter Founded?  42nd Millennium (Ultima Founding made of Primaris Marines)

 

 

 

Who was the Chapter's Progenitor?  Ultramarines

 

 

 

Gene-seed purity  A New Generation

 

 

 

Chapter Demeanour  No Mercy, No Respite

 

 

 

Figure of Legend  4th Company Captain

 

 

 

Deeds of Legend  The figure is remembered as the bane of the Orks, to such an extent that his name is known to the vile greenskins even to this day.

 

 

 

Chapter homeworld  Civilised World

 

 

 

Homeworld terrain  Urban

 

 

 

Rule of homeworld  Stewardship

 

 

 

Chapter organisation  Unique organisation

 

 

 

Combat doctrine  Shock and Awe

 

 

 

Specialty restrictions (units the chapter cannot field)  Devastator Marine

 

 

 

Special equipment  Traditional Weapon

 

 

 

What form do the Chapters' beliefs take?  Purity of Man

[thewarriorhunter]

I'm currently working on my own Kill Team/Chapter right now so your thread is interesting and timely. I'll be following along to see what you come up with! So far I've had a lot of fun creating the lore and background for my guys and I hope you're doing the same.

[A Gentleman's Coup]

Trooper Deneier cursed everyone and everything he could think of as he ran.  His legs ached, his lungs burned, but he dare not slow down.  The howling behind him drove into him a fear that he had never known before.  Emperor save me, he thought, pushing his previous denials to the back of his mind.  How had they gotten here so quickly?  It could only have been a few days since Planetary Governor Zondr had declared the planet independent of Imperial rule when they arrived.  The monsters had been heralded by horrible screams and baying that shook him to his core.  Most of Deneier's PDF squad had deserted before a shot had been fired.  How could this be happening?  Deneier was jerked from his thoughts by a blood curdling scream behind him.  He pushed himself to run faster, unburdened by the autogun and helmet he had discarded as he fled his post.  His eyes flashed wildly as he risked a glance behind him.  A giant clad in red and white was savaging Trooper Harnak, a massive, gory knife flicking blood onto a skull-faced helmet.  Yellow eyes jerked toward Deneier.  He felt his heart drop.  The giant threw his head back and let out a guttural scream.  Deneier turned back.  He never should have turned around.  He turned just in time to see other titanic figures emerge from the surrounding banks and hillocks.  By the throne, why?  Turned on his heel and began to run another way, anywhere but here.  He couldn't think straight.  The noise was insufferable.  Shots rang out, followed by wet thumps and grunts.  Suddenly, Deneier felt himself jerk, his muscles locked up.  The man fell and the earth came up to meet him.  He couldn't remember how long he lay there for, but when he came to, Deneier was surrounded by giants.  One giant was holding Deneier's Sergeant, a man named Hakkak by the throat.  The man was crying, begging for a quick death.  The giants didn't seem obliged to give him one.  Deneier could hear the drone of a gunship.  A boxy aircraft landed near the giants, who began to trickle towards it.  Two remained.  They must have been talking, but Deneier couldn't make out any words.  Buzzing filled his ears.  His vision started to dim.  He raised an arm desperately and one of the giants motioned at him.  It was the same beast that mutilated Trooper Harnak.  The other giant wore only a rebreather and motioned the beast away, who took Hakkak screaming with him onto the gunship.  The final giant stepped toward Deneier, crouching to get a better look.  Deneier reached toward him, but the giant balked back in disgust.  Standing back up, the giant glanced back before drawing a heavy pistol from his holster.  No.  Emperor, no!  Deneier tried to speak, but no words would leave him.  He felt all hope leave him as the monster levelled the pistol with his head.  Deneier's vision failed him and all went black.  He felt nothing as a final crack rang out.

[thewarriorhunter]

Very nice bit of lore! So Denier didn't desert but remained loyal to the Planetary Governor which is why he was being executed? Also, more of a writing tip than anything (and I'm not a pro so take it with a grain of salt), I think you should not refer to the Curs as 'beasts' and 'giants' exclusively. We know they're marines, but if someone else read it they might not know what to think. Maybe a line or two describing their power armor in vague terms would help to solidify what they are?

[A Gentleman's Coup]

Good points!  My idea was to kind of de-humanize them from the traitor's point of view.  Deneier ends up getting blam-ed because he was part of the uprising PDF.  He denies the emperor but ends up regretting his decisions in the end.  He had also only heard of space marines before, so he only saw giant men acting like animals.  Thanks for the tips!  They will be super helpful for future fluff!

[A Gentleman's Coup]

Here's a potential list.  Thinking I might drop the ancient and a handful of intercessors for scouts.  Thoughts?

 

 

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium - Space Marines) [99 PL, 1633pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Chapter Selection: Ultramarines

+ HQ +

Captain [6 PL, 129pts]: Jump Pack, Storm shield, Thunder hammer

Primaris Captain w/Power Fist [6 PL, 106pts]: Plasma pistol, Power fist

Primaris Lieutenants [5 PL, 74pts]
. Primaris Lieutenant: Master-crafted auto bolt rifle

+ Troops +

Intercessor Squad [10 PL, 149pts]: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt rifle
. 7x Intercessor
. Intercessor Sergeant: Power sword

Intercessor Squad [10 PL, 131pts]: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt rifle
. 6x Intercessor
. Intercessor Sergeant: Power sword

Intercessor Squad [10 PL, 131pts]: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt rifle
. 6x Intercessor
. Intercessor Sergeant: Power sword

+ Elites +

Primaris Ancient [5 PL, 69pts]

+ Fast Attack +

Inceptor Squad [10 PL, 135pts]: Assault bolter, 2x Inceptor, Inceptor Sergeant

Inceptor Squad [10 PL, 135pts]: Assault bolter, 2x Inceptor, Inceptor Sergeant

+ Heavy Support +

Predator [9 PL, 192pts]: Storm bolter, Twin lascannon, Two Lascannons

Predator [9 PL, 192pts]: Storm bolter, Twin lascannon, Two Lascannons

Predator [9 PL, 190pts]: Twin lascannon, Two Lascannons

++ Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment (Imperium - Imperial Knights) [20 PL, 367pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Household Choice: House Cadmus, Questor Imperialis

+ Lord of War +

Knight Gallant [20 PL, 367pts]: Meltagun, Reaper chainsword, Thunderstrike gauntlet

++ Total: [119 PL, 2000pts] ++