Objective holders in a World Eaters Army

[Castle Wolfenstein]

I've got a 1500 point World Eaters battalion (just one Contemptor away from being fully painted!!) with Berzerkers occupying the 3 required troop slots. Obviously, using Berzerkers to sit on backfield objectives is sort of a waste, they should be flying at the enemy and pushing them off the objective. So I have been considering adding something to the army to fill this role. I'm leaning toward regular chaos space marines just because I have like 15 lying around that I can paint up, but at the same time it just seems wrong to me to have CSMs as troops in a world eaters army...

 

What do you guys use to sit on backfield, and to some extent midfield, objectives? Cultists? Regular CSMs? Something non-obsec?

 

 

[Special Officer Doofy]

If you already have some that might not be a bad idea. I think World Eaters will eventually get their own codex/release, and DG/TS both can't take normal marines, but can take cultists. So cultist would also be a cheap alternative.

[dice4thedicegod]

I’m thinking either cheap (bolter) CSM, or chaos spawn (as long as you don’t need infantry to do scenario actions).

[Dr_Ruminahui]

World Eater lists can often lack in ways of taking out vehicles, particularly fliers.  A unit of chaos marines with a heavy weapon could be a helpful addition to your list, both for holding objectives and for helping take out tougher targets.

 

While berzerkers are certainly more prevalent in World Eater war bands, fluff wise they are not so 1 dimensional.  They are followers of Khorne, the chaos god of war, and there are more aspects to war than just running up and hacking at your enemy.  After all, most WE players have no problem putting rhinos in their list, which aren't piloted by berzerkers - there is no reason rooted in the background of WE warbands as to why there would not be regular chaos marines who approach the art of warfare in a more sane manner than their frothing-mouthed brothers.

[Castle Wolfenstein]

Does adding a DG patrol to get some super tough (and super expensive) plague marines to hold objectives make sense to anyone, or does the cost in CP and points sort of outweigh their utility?

 

I'll probably end up just going with the chaos marines, as has been noted above it probably makes the most real world sense since I already have them and therefore don't have to buy anything new. Also, Dr_R has alleviated my fluff concerns!

[Karhedron]

2 CPs is not excessive and DG are some of the best Objective campers in the game for their points. Having said that,I don't have enough experience with 9th yet to get a feel for whether the price justifies it. Can you proxy for a few games and see how they work for you?

[Castle Wolfenstein]

2 CPs is not excessive and DG are some of the best Objective campers in the game for their points. Having said that,I don't have enough experience with 9th yet to get a feel for whether the price justifies it. Can you proxy for a few games and see how they work for you?

 

I'm sure nobody would have a problem if I were to proxy. Unfortunately the problem right now is finding a game, even though the local stay at home order has ended many of my friends are still quarantining for various reasons. I've only got 1 game of 9th in so far!!

[Karhedron]

I feel your pain. I am in much the same boat.

[Tallarn Commander]

In larger points games I have 2 squads of 8 Chaos Marines, The Alliance and the Company of Eight. Each has a lascannon who support the Bezerkers in a ranged antitank role as well as a backfield objective camper role.

Daemon Prince Azrath has promised the 2 squads of Chaos Marines that when one of the two squads make their 888th ranged vehicle kill, whichever is first, he will allow that squad to undergo the Butcher's Nails procedure. The other squad will be forever denied the glory of melee. In regular points games I just take 1 squad, alternating between both so each has a chance to become Bezerkers. The Company of 8 and the Alliance face derision from other members of Azrath's warband. But they are steadfast in their goal, knowing that they fill a valuable role holding objectives at the rear and weakening the enemy before they are hit by the World Eaters' vanguard.

In my games I record who kills what on a piece of paper so that, when and if the time comes, I can promote and convert the winning squad to Bezerkers.

Back before Vigilus Ablaze I ran them as 2 squads of 8 Havocs, each with 3 lascannons. But now I cannot take Havoc Squads of 8 so I run them as Chaos Marines with a single lascannon, or at least I did before the pandemic.

The Company of Eight and the Alliance can be seen waaaay at the back of the army in this photo

They can be seen at the left in this photo

The Company of Eight is greeted by a flying Hive Tyrant, back when it was a pre-Vigilus Havoc Squad

I think I borrowed a Night Lords lascannon gunner because I temporarily misplaced my World Eaters lascannon trooper

"Blood for the Blood God!"

Edited September 11, 2020 by Tallarn Commander

[MrMetalArm]

Cultists with Autoguns. Get two squads of ten, have them squat on objectives in the back. May also want some regular CSM squads with boltguns to squat on objectives in your opponent's side of the table.

[SanguinaryGuardsman]

With all marines going to 2w I kind of like lascannon havocs but regular CSM with autocannons probably ain't bad either.  

[Castle Wolfenstein]

This problem got real for me over the weekend. I played against Tau and had to concede at the beginning of turn 4. I had killed everything except for 2 drones and a few breachers but there was no way I could catch up on points. I need to get those spare CSMs painted up stat and maybe get some cultists for when CSMs go up in cost with the 2nd wound.

[Relentless]

I'm gonna be trying out terminators as obj holders.  5-man squads can be surprisingly tough to kill (especially when they move to 3w).  I'll probably give them chainaxes and combi plasma.  Their ability to deepstrike is nice for reinforcing/retaking obj too

[Iron Father Ferrum]

I was going to suggest some cheap cultists squads, but the arguments for some heavy weapon-toting CSMs is probably better all around, especially with the wound increase coming eventually.

[Relentless]

Just played a game against Deathwatch where I used termies to hold down objectives.  One 5-man squad in dense cover took all the shooting from two 10-man veteran squads and a bracketed corvus to kill them (over 100 shots).   DW did end up taking that objective but they had to divert a lot of their firepower to do it, saving my berzerkers and rhinos 

[Schurge]

I may be a bit late to the party but I've played 7 games in the past 8 weeks (as World Eaters of course) and won five of them. I'd like to mention that running two squads of spawn has worked wonders for me holding objectives. I haven't used them since 7th edition and while trying to get them into combat has resulted in them dying very quickly to anti-tank guns or melee power weapons hiding one behind a corner in range of an objective has been paying dividends against gunline marines and Admech. Spawn have gone back to being a must have for me.

 

A single minimum size tactical squad has also netted me a few points, but your mileage may vary as my group lets me use the extra wound that Chaos tactical and cult troops are supposed to be getting in our book.

 

Cultists have never worked for me and the one game of 9th I used them in was no different. It doesn't take a lot of fire power to knock them off an objective and in this particular game all of the objectives were in the open. 

[Special Officer Doofy]

Cultists have never worked for me and the one game of 9th I used them in was no different. It doesn't take a lot of fire power to knock them off an objective and in this particular game all of the objectives were in the open.

Also, cultists in the Death Guard codex lost objective secured, might stretch over to the main codex too.

[Khornestar]

 

Cultists have never worked for me and the one game of 9th I used them in was no different. It doesn't take a lot of fire power to knock them off an objective and in this particular game all of the objectives were in the open.

Also, cultists in the Death Guard codex lost objective secured, might stretch over to the main codex too.

 

Jeez, so essentially no reason to use them now (hyperbole). That’s really disappointing. I actually prefer heretic astartes, but they’ve been lackluster for so long...

 

Until we get a new codex cultists are I suppose still viable enough for objectives, but I think in a fight almost any other obsec unit will win against them. I’d sooner pack 6 units of berserkers into every list and let spawn or rhino or a brute or something hold home objectives.

 

I’m not experienced in 9th, but just some super worthwhile musings. :P

[MadEdric]

I've added 2 5 man CSM squads to my current list and they have done well at holding back objectives. 

With a heavy bolter each, they can reach out and shoot. They are small enough that they are often overlooked as Bezerkers and Deamon Engines rush the enemy lines.

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

Havocs are actually a fluffy choice for World Eaters for backfield objectives and/or mid table. In fluff from earlier editions, they had the Teeth of Khorne, which were Autocannon/Heavy Bolter Havocs because Khorne loved the way automatic weapons shed lots of blood. I actually have a squad of Havocs in my WE army that I'm working on right now.

You could also do some regular CSM in newer Marks of armor. Make them Renegade recruits that haven't earned their Nails yet. Bonus points for including a converted SM Apothecary as a Berzerker Surgeon (Dark Apostle).

Edited June 17, 2021 by GreaterChickenofTzeentch

[Spear of Achilles]

Ive been using spawn a lot. not great, but cheap.

[Slave to Darkness]

With all marines going to 2w 

Had to chuckle to myself reading this two years later. :lol:

 

Guard players - 'Cadia broke before the guard did'.

 

Chaos players - 'The price went up before our wounds did!!'.

[Cheex]

 

With all marines going to 2w 

Had to chuckle to myself reading this two years later.

 

Guard players - 'Cadia broke before the guard did'.

 

Chaos players - 'The price went up before our wounds did!!'.

 

 

In fairness, the comment was in September 2020, so it was 'only' 19 months ago :P

 

We've arguably reached a point where that second wound is practically worthless, too