Post-CA2019 Possessed

[Khornestar]

I think there is a lot to unpack for the entirety of our recent changes, but I wanted to explore possessed in their own dedicated thread.

 

What combinations are you thinking about/planning to use/have already used since we've gotten these most recent rules?

 

What legion? What stratagems? Warlord to lead them? Daemon buffs?

 

Lay it on me!

[techsoldaten]

Curious about the same.

 

I'm thinking people will want to run them as Word Bearers in large units, but I'm not really sure if it's that impressive.

[Marshal Loss]

Advantages of playing Possessed as Word Bearers:

1. Revered Hosts stratagem (+1 damage)
2. Malevolent Covenant stratagem allows you to get a guaranteed spell off on them, e.g. warptime
3. Master of the Union Warlord Trait (+1 attack within 6" bubble)
4. Ashen Axe Relic (can throw on an accompanying character if in a vehicle, prevents fallback)

Word Bearers certainly do them well, as you would hope. I ran a blob of Possessed in a Rhino the other day, with a Master of Possession tagging along w/Master of the Union. Gave them all the Mark of Nurgle, used Incursion to summon a Poxbringer, who cast Virulent Blessing on them. Get Cursed Earth or Infernal Power off as well if possible, although Mutated Invigoration could be useful. The end result is a blob of possessed that get c. 3-5 +1 to wound attacks with 6's doing double damage. Apply VoTLW & Revered Hosts as desired, which can leave you with on average 4 attacks per Possessed at S5 AP-2 D2, with +2 to wound & 5s and 6s doing D4.

 

I don't think the strength boost from a Greater Possessed is really worth it. Better to invest in a Master of Possession and/or an Exalted Champion if you're looking to cram a unit in a Rhino. If you're super keen you could run a Daemonkin Ritualists detachment for the extra Warlord Trait & Stratagem but that's a huge investment. Vessels for the Neverobrn could help make a Possessed blob a real deathstar though.

 

I've also considered a giant 15-20 man blob with the Mark of Slaanesh & Herald/Contorted Epitome + guaranteed warptime from a Chaos Sorcerer. 7" move + 7" warptime + D6 advance + 2D6 charge. Fast and scary.

 

Possessed are really quite good now. But, that being said, even with the masses of point reductions we received, I think we need to be careful not to pour too many points into them. It is easy to go overboard with sweet MLG 360 no scope combos using 3 supporting characters + a warlord trait + a bunch of stratagems but at the end of the day they are still just a T4 W2 3+/5++ unit, and as powerful as their offensive capability may be, this is the edition where people already build entire armies around taking out W2 3+ units. Run them alongside some other fast scary threats and they'll do really well.

 

Give us new Possessed models already, GW.

 

TLDR: Word Bearers possessed are brutal as all hell but fall like dominoes against marines

[Khornestar]

World Eaters and Alpha Legion - and maybe other legions, still don't know all the new rules - can also use their strats for 9" pre-game moves. To me, the beauty of this is freeing up the sorcerer to use Warp Time on a second unit (Lord Discordant, maybe? Lord of SKULLS?). However, depending on the deployment I think turn 1 charges are possible in this scenario by using Warp Time on the possessed.

 

Assuming: Possessed and psyker deployed on the edge of their deployment zone, moving in straight lines, using Forward Operatives. 

 

The possessed move 9" with the strat. In their movement phase, they move another 7" for 16" of movement. Psyker jumps up within 3" and Warp Time launches them another 7". 23" of movement without advancing, and then 2d6" charge. Dunno if it's worth doing that, but it is possible!

[MegaVolt87]

After reading about SoH possessed in HH (Lupercalia)? (sons of the moon)? it seems like a nice fit. It seems BL have little to offer possessed compared to WB though. 

[Closet Skeleton]

Black Legion possessed still have more potential power they're just too CP intensive. Master of the Union is great because it gives Possessed what they need (a mitigation to random attacks) and is static, it can't fail and doesn't cost CP.

[40kChrista]

 

I've also considered a giant 15-20 man blob with the Mark of Slaanesh & Herald/Contorted Epitome + guaranteed warptime from a Chaos Sorcerer. 7" move + 7" warptime + D6 advance + 2D6 charge. Fast and scary.

 

 

 

I do this. 

 

20 Flawless Host Possessed with an Icon of Excess running around with a Greater Possessed, foot Herald, and foot Demon Prince as a brick.  The +2 to their Strength is nice, reroll 1s, and the ability to still Adv/Charge is great.  The Demon Prince has Delightful Agonies for the 5+++, I'll swap out Smite for Warptime or Prescience to get those extra attacks on 4+ DttFE and 5+ DttImp.  I find Hysterical Frenzy on the Herald is a must have for me... since I can pile in the Possessed and attack in the Psychic Phase, can't be Overwatched since you're not Charging, then attack again in the Assault Phase.  Yeah...  they don't get any extra attacks from Hateful Assault but doubling the amount of attacks that unit can put out is fun.

 

Since seeing some of the changes coming out for CA2019 I have some extra points to play with now, and since Heralds on Seekers aren't a supported thing anymore... maybe getting an Infernal Enraptress for the possible respawn is another consideration.  Maybe swap the Demon Prince for  a Master of Possession for the 4++, but the reroll 1s is SO nice.  Using the extra points to get 3 squads of cultists to flip the Possessed Vanguard detachment into a Battalion so I have a few extra CP to make it into a Demonkin Ritualist detachment is also an idea.

 

Lots of things to try now since I have more points to play with.

[MasterDeath]

I will play them in a Nurgle-Wordbearer-List combined with Daemons.

 

- Gnarlmaw for Protection + advance and charge

- Locus of Virulence for a +1 Damage chance

- Daemon Magic for +1 to wound and double damage (both mesh well with VotlW)

- Master of Possession (obvious)

- Apostle (Word Bearer do not go without, also +1 to wound)

- Poxbringer (+1 S)

- Greater Possessed (+1 S)

- Maybe Epidemius (all his Boni work for Nurgle Daemons)

- Maybe Sloppity Bilepiper (2 dice for Morale, take lowest, then reroll via Word Bearer)

 

I will experiment with the Daemonkin Ritualist formation and a Nexus of a Healing MoP.

The idea is to give the MoP the Regeneration Trait to utilize the Auto-success on a spell stratagem to its fullest. while healing Daemon Machines via Sacrifice and Fleshy Abundance and if the damage accumulates, heal the MoP via the Formation Stratagem. Will be fun for my not tournament gamestyle.

[Cheex]

A 20-strong blob of World Eaters Possessed yeeting up the field with the Apoplectic Frenzy stratagem looks like fun. Throw in a Daemon Prince with Violent Urgency to help them with the charge, and/or an allied witch for Warptime shenanigans if you're so inclined.

 

It's kind of reminiscent of how I ran my Khorne Daemonkin in 7th with lots of Flesh Hounds, where the idea was to put a ton of pressure on the enemy from turn 1 and keep them on the back foot all game. It forces opponents to stay back off objectives, and if they send screens forward then we also have the new stratagem for 6" consolidation moves.

[Sonoftherubric21]

Was debating something myself (ONCE NEW MODELS COME OUT!) 

 

30 possessed. 15 each. 

a MOP. 

Apostle for sure with minions

A Prince with the Master of Union trait. or my Argel Tal build for a Lord with Hammer (either or)

6 Greater Possessed

3x units of cultists

3x units of marines with ranged weapons for obectivec camp (MSU)  and to cover Duel Battallion for the intensive CP of a Possessed Oriented List. 

 

The rest of the list would be something like Daemon Engine spam, Venoms, Maulers, Defilers (anything walking toward the opponent with the "daemon" keyword for sure!) 

 

My initial draft ended up being 1500 on the table and I was tempted to fill the remainder with actual Daemons from the Daemon codex. 

 

I love Word Bearers from the novels and played them in 30k for years with a Gal Vorbak Heavy list so I am loving the Word Bearers rules even with a totally worthless legion trait. This is of course a theory list that will require alot of mulling over..... and an announcement of plastic Possessed that don't look like badly drawn Saturday morning Cartoon Monsters.

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

I'll chip in here with Iron Warriors Possessed:

 

Big unit with Daemonkin Ritualists, Mark of Slaanesh, Legion Slaanesh Dark Apostle with Insidium in the middle for whatever buffs you feel like, plus MoP. Supreme Command of Epitomes, Heralds, and Fiends to disrupt the enemy, add further buffs and kick off rampages in the Psychic Phase. Either Cold and Bitter or Bastion for a Warlord Trait if you want, plus the usual Field Commander.

 

Iron Within, Iron Without, Dour Duty, and Cannon Fodder all provide protection on your way upfield, as does Delightful Agonies. The usual yeetbomb Warp Time shenanigans can help here too. Tank Hunters can be used to shred vehicles and make up somewhat for still being D1. Alternately, you can throw a smaller squad in a Slaanesh Rhino and use all the strats/powers with smoke to protect IT until it blows up.

 

Also, this synergizes with Obliterators, Daemon Engines, and other stuff you might be using anyway.

 

Finally, this also gives you an excuse to chop up the Dark Vengeance Chosen kits and add parts from Kataphron Battle Servitors. My results with that were pretty good from a modeling perspective. :)

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

Emperor's Children Possessed:

 

Combat Elixirs

Excess of Violence

Delightful Agonies

 

Defensive maneuvering with Tactical Precision

 

Support from a character with Intoxicating Musk to make them harder to hit in CC

 

Strong synergy w/Slaanesh Daemons similar to my IW post.

[MegaVolt87]

I'll chip in here with Iron Warriors Possessed:

 

Big unit with Daemonkin Ritualists, Mark of Slaanesh, Legion Slaanesh Dark Apostle with Insidium in the middle for whatever buffs you feel like, plus MoP. Supreme Command of Epitomes, Heralds, and Fiends to disrupt the enemy, add further buffs and kick off rampages in the Psychic Phase. Either Cold and Bitter or Bastion for a Warlord Trait if you want, plus the usual Field Commander.

 

Iron Within, Iron Without, Dour Duty, and Cannon Fodder all provide protection on your way upfield, as does Delightful Agonies. The usual yeetbomb Warp Time shenanigans can help here too. Tank Hunters can be used to shred vehicles and make up somewhat for still being D1. Alternately, you can throw a smaller squad in a Slaanesh Rhino and use all the strats/powers with smoke to protect IT until it blows up.

 

Also, this synergizes with Obliterators, Daemon Engines, and other stuff you might be using anyway.

 

Finally, this also gives you an excuse to chop up the Dark Vengeance Chosen kits and add parts from Kataphron Battle Servitors. My results with that were pretty good from a modeling perspective.

 

Bit too complicated for me. I'll stick with zerkers straight up the middle with cold & bitter, maybe an Apostle if I want a PA melee element in my IW's. 

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

 

I'll chip in here with Iron Warriors Possessed:

 

Big unit with Daemonkin Ritualists, Mark of Slaanesh, Legion Slaanesh Dark Apostle with Insidium in the middle for whatever buffs you feel like, plus MoP. Supreme Command of Epitomes, Heralds, and Fiends to disrupt the enemy, add further buffs and kick off rampages in the Psychic Phase. Either Cold and Bitter or Bastion for a Warlord Trait if you want, plus the usual Field Commander.

 

Iron Within, Iron Without, Dour Duty, and Cannon Fodder all provide protection on your way upfield, as does Delightful Agonies. The usual yeetbomb Warp Time shenanigans can help here too. Tank Hunters can be used to shred vehicles and make up somewhat for still being D1. Alternately, you can throw a smaller squad in a Slaanesh Rhino and use all the strats/powers with smoke to protect IT until it blows up.

 

Also, this synergizes with Obliterators, Daemon Engines, and other stuff you might be using anyway.

 

Finally, this also gives you an excuse to chop up the Dark Vengeance Chosen kits and add parts from Kataphron Battle Servitors. My results with that were pretty good from a modeling perspective.

 

Bit too complicated for me. I'll stick with zerkers straight up the middle with cold & bitter, maybe an Apostle if I want a PA melee element in my IW's. 

 

Yep. The above approach is really for an army that's going to use a lot of crossover Daemon elements. If you just want melee in a more traditional IW army, Zerks are WAY simpler.

I will play them in a Nurgle-Wordbearer-List combined with Daemons.

 

- Gnarlmaw for Protection + advance and charge

- Locus of Virulence for a +1 Damage chance

- Daemon Magic for +1 to wound and double damage (both mesh well with VotlW)

- Master of Possession (obvious)

- Apostle (Word Bearer do not go without, also +1 to wound)

- Poxbringer (+1 S)

- Greater Possessed (+1 S)

- Maybe Epidemius (all his Boni work for Nurgle Daemons)

- Maybe Sloppity Bilepiper (2 dice for Morale, take lowest, then reroll via Word Bearer)

 

I will experiment with the Daemonkin Ritualist formation and a Nexus of a Healing MoP.

The idea is to give the MoP the Regeneration Trait to utilize the Auto-success on a spell stratagem to its fullest. while healing Daemon Machines via Sacrifice and Fleshy Abundance and if the damage accumulates, heal the MoP via the Formation Stratagem. Will be fun for my not tournament gamestyle.

Don't forget that a Great Unclean One can bring back dead Possessed, Oblits, and Mutilators with the Doomsday Bell. Blight Haulers, too, if you have a Death Guard detachment.

[TrawlingCleaner]

 

 

 

I've also considered a giant 15-20 man blob with the Mark of Slaanesh & Herald/Contorted Epitome + guaranteed warptime from a Chaos Sorcerer. 7" move + 7" warptime + D6 advance + 2D6 charge. Fast and scary.

 

 

I do this.

 

20 Flawless Host Possessed with an Icon of Excess running around with a Greater Possessed, foot Herald, and foot Demon Prince as a brick. The +2 to their Strength is nice, reroll 1s, and the ability to still Adv/Charge is great. The Demon Prince has Delightful Agonies for the 5+++, I'll swap out Smite for Warptime or Prescience to get those extra attacks on 4+ DttFE and 5+ DttImp. I find Hysterical Frenzy on the Herald is a must have for me... since I can pile in the Possessed and attack in the Psychic Phase, can't be Overwatched since you're not Charging, then attack again in the Assault Phase. Yeah... they don't get any extra attacks from Hateful Assault but doubling the amount of attacks that unit can put out is fun.

 

Since seeing some of the changes coming out for CA2019 I have some extra points to play with now, and since Heralds on Seekers aren't a supported thing anymore... maybe getting an Infernal Enraptress for the possible respawn is another consideration. Maybe swap the Demon Prince for a Master of Possession for the 4++, but the reroll 1s is SO nice. Using the extra points to get 3 squads of cultists to flip the Possessed Vanguard detachment into a Battalion so I have a few extra CP to make it into a Demonkin Ritualist detachment is also an idea.

 

Lots of things to try now since I have more points to play with.

Arguably the MoP is better than a prince if you're looking for buffs. Infernal power gives reroll hit and wound rolls of 1 to everyone within 6 until the next psychic. Combined with cursed earth, I'd almost say that MoP is a must take for anyone taking possessed

[MasterDeath]

An idea I had tonight: Warptime allows a move as if the unit is in movement phase, so including advance move right? If a Nurgle Daemon Unit starts its turn in the radius of a Feculant Gnarlmaw it can advance and charge. So... Advance Possessed up for 7"+d6, cast Waptime (almost guaranteed by WB stratagem) for another 7"+d6, Charge for 2D6". Thats 14 + 4D6" on average ~24-25". Hmm... thats a bit tight. Warpclaws should work better for this (24" + 4d6).

[40kChrista]

 

Arguably the MoP is better than a prince if you're looking for buffs. Infernal power gives reroll hit and wound rolls of 1 to everyone within 6 until the next psychic. Combined with cursed earth, I'd almost say that MoP is a must take for anyone taking possessed

 

 

Fair point. 

 

My regular opponent, and best bud, plays Custodes with assassins.  Making powers more difficult to get off and/or snipers make life* for a MoP very difficult.  An inbuilt aura can't be denied or made impossible to cast, and a DP has a bigger wound pool, better WS & BS, more attacks with dual talons, and also makes Slaanesh demons reroll 1s as well.... for the games I've been playing a DP is better.  However, with the points hike on Assassins, I might not be seeing them as often so a MoP, or 2, is definitely worth another look.

 

*First game I used a MoP he had a sniper and rolled REALLY hot, lol, killed him first turn.  New-model-syndrome was in FULL effect.   Shot him so dead, and the other one... I was running 2 to layer buffs... made me shy away from them.

[TrawlingCleaner]

 

 

Arguably the MoP is better than a prince if you're looking for buffs. Infernal power gives reroll hit and wound rolls of 1 to everyone within 6 until the next psychic. Combined with cursed earth, I'd almost say that MoP is a must take for anyone taking possessed

 

 

Fair point. 

 

My regular opponent, and best bud, plays Custodes with assassins.  Making powers more difficult to get off and/or snipers make life* for a MoP very difficult.  An inbuilt aura can't be denied or made impossible to cast, and a DP has a bigger wound pool, better WS & BS, more attacks with dual talons, and also makes Slaanesh demons reroll 1s as well.... for the games I've been playing a DP is better.  However, with the points hike on Assassins, I might not be seeing them as often so a MoP, or 2, is definitely worth another look.

 

*First game I used a MoP he had a sniper and rolled REALLY hot, lol, killed him first turn.  New-model-syndrome was in FULL effect.   Shot him so dead, and the other one... I was running 2 to layer buffs... made me shy away from them.

 

 

Yeah I can see that as being a problem, GSC deal with them really well too with the Perils sniper (arguably way better). I think Assassins only got a 10 point increase so you may still see them, just a few less misocordias maybe.

[ChazSexington]

I've thought about the Possessed bomb, but I don't like the style - it's too similar to a Death Star for me. Combined with the lack of nice models (they're just way too goofy), I just won't field them. 

However, an Alpha Legionnaire could field them along a DA for an additional -1 to hit even if you go as #2. I'd opt for a Greater Possessed, a Master of Possession, and possibly an Exalted Champion and/or Herald as well. The issue is how much are you sinking in to buffing a unit that costs 340pt and can take as much punishment as 20 CSMs with a 5++ and balancing the kill more factor.

 

 

Nurgle

• Miasma of Pestilence will make them -3 to be hit outside of 12"
• Locus of Virulence for +1 D.
• Virulent Blessing for +1 to wound. Combine that with VotLW for wound rolls of 5 causing double damage. 

 

Khorne

• Khorne does get to fight twice for 3 CP
• re-roll charges with IoW
• Synergises with a Lumberjack Prince for re-roll to hit

 

Slaanesh

• Delightful Agonies for 5+ FnP
• IoE for 5+ DttFE
• Symphony of Pain to give an additional -1 to hit on another unit.
• Hysterical Frenzy to fight again in the Psychic Phase. Can be great when combined with some Night Lords (Warp Talons to double down on Daemon buffs) or Contorted Epitomes/Fiends.

 

Tzeentch seems a bit weaker here, but there might be something I'm not aware of in the Thousand Sons codex.

[Scourged]

In 1k Sons? Nah, not at all, really. Tzeentch Daemons offer a little bit of help, but probably not enough compared to the other Gods. Weaver is useful, and does stack with Cursed Earth (Possessed with storm shields...). Boon is... fun, I guess? If you're using it just for a bonus boost, it's amusing, but don't rely on it for a static boost. The Locus technically helps, since Possessed want to be in melee. But, again, it's unreliable. And the Icon of Flame is lol. Tzeentch Possessed can work, but any other flavor works better. 

 

My plans are similar to those raised by others. A group of ten using Forward Operatives, stringing a small conga line back to ensure an Apostle can give them an extra -1 to hit. Move 'em up, give 'em some Warptime, then crash the front lines turn 1. If you go first, great. If you go second, then you have a decently tough-ish blob (20 wounds, 2+ with cover, 5++, -2 to hit) holding a giant "Deal with Us" sign, and it makes it easier to pop Conceal on a different squad you want to keep alive. 

 

If they die, well, that sucks, but it means the remaining 90% of my army is probably fine, or at least in decent shape. And if they live and make a charge, even better.

 

After that, for my personal usage, at this point I'm not focused on buffing them anymore. That Apostle can move toward another key unit and start giving it the -1 instead. That JP Sorcerer with Warptime can zoom around and slingshot someone else. And if I feel like bringing in some light Daemon support, Turn 2 is when they'd arrive anyway so they can take over. 

 

I love Greater Possessed, but using them to buff the little brothers, for me, has been a waste. Going from S5 to S6 hasn't been that big of a deal in most of my games. That being said... throwing a single GP around like a heat-seeking missile has been endlessly amusing. Even at 70 points it was a wonderful harassment. Now it's even better. 

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

 

I love Greater Possessed, but using them to buff the little brothers, for me, has been a waste. Going from S5 to S6 hasn't been that big of a deal in most of my games. That being said... throwing a single GP around like a heat-seeking missile has been endlessly amusing. Even at 70 points it was a wonderful harassment. Now it's even better. 

 

 

Anyone tried a "Gal Vorbak Party Bus" with 5 GP's + 5 Possessed in a Word Bearers Rhino? Having that go off like a grenade in the middle of enemy lines sounds like fun nowadays. 

 

Since the GP's are characters, that could get SO annoying with 1 Hexagrammatic Ward for each per game, depending on CP regen and such.

[Marshal Loss]

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. You are talking about 300 points just in Greater Possessed, and by minimizing the size of the actual Possessed unit you are in effect minimizing any benefit you get from Revered Hosts, which is a large part of what makes Word Bearers Possessed good in the first place. There are also no true supporting characters, e.g. a Master of Possession, which I think a heavy investment on Possessed units of any description warrants. GPs are great but throwing 5 in a Rhino would be a bit much; they're going to drown under weight of fire/attacks even if you throw masses of CP their way in an attempt to keep them alive, CP that we badly need elsewhere.

[Mcha0s92]

I was thinking about adding a 10 man squad of nurgle possessed in my alpha legion list and switching the 3 man squad of oblits to nurgle too and try a more daemonkin approach with a little support from a poxbringer to buff them up in combat and i thought about a feculent gnarlmaw... but i never used a building in 8th edition and i don't know how to use it properly... better dsing in? And if i deepstrike it i have to wait till t2 right? Or is it better on the edge of my deployment zone? But i would forward operative the possessed and lose the tree bonuses... has anyone had a good result with it?