War dogs / Knights in a CSM army

[Spurspinter1]

I've had a search and haven't seen this subject covered in 10th but if it's already been done to death apologies.

 

What type of war dogs / knights do you think are most effective in a Chaos Space Marine faction? Ie Do they serve purposes that aren't fulfilled by what's already in our index and are they competitive?

 

Going by the rule of cool I just love the look / vibe of the war dogs so am looking to fill out the quota of 3 in a 2k list, I've got two built up as brigands, which are quick + versatile with the avenger chaincannonfor troop killing and the melta weapon is deadly once close enough. My games store has got another couple in so I've gotta work out which class to build them up as. Seems like I should go for at least one as a melee based to have the option to mix it up

 

Same question for the 1 knight as well, in buying these war dogs I'm effectively opening myself up to starting a Chaos knight project as I'll already be part way there with my 4 pups of war, very exciting but no doubt bad for the bank balance! 

[WrathOfTheLion]

I know a lot of players have been using them to fill in the anti-vehicle role. In my opinion, every single Chaos Space Marine codex, from Death Guard to normal CSM to World Eaters struggles to properly fill that role, and so the easiest way to fix that is to go outside the codex and ally something that can.

Edited September 18, 2023 by WrathOfTheLion

[MegaVolt87]

A unit of wardogs seems to be the most cost effective toolbox unit to add to CSM to fill the AT/ firepower gap with the exit of FW units from matched/ comp play. 

[Spurspinter1]

On 9/19/2023 at 3:20 AM, MegaVolt87 said:

A unit of wardogs seems to be the most cost effective toolbox unit to add to CSM to fill the AT/ firepower gap with the exit of FW units from matched/ comp play. 

 

Which variants though? I guess it depends on the rest of the army.

 

For the two I've yet to build I am thinking karnivores as the 14" movement and re-roll charges seems super useful, however a stalker with the demonbreath spear and slaughter claw looks like a pure anti tank murder machine.

[Cpt.Danjou]

I have looked at wardogs a lot, mostly because I want to paint them, but my issue with them is, what do they bring to the table that we don't have?  The fast Karnivore is really tempting for me as I love smashing faces in melee, but we do have loads of other melee options, Maulerfiend comes to mind, slightly slower, and a little bit more expensive, but hits like a truck in close combat, and can use Dark Pact. Sure the shooting ones are great too, but do they bring something that we don't have? A Predator is fast, a little slower than a Wardog, shoots harder, has Dark Pact, but a little less chances to survive without any Inv save, and fewer wounds, but with Mark of Nurgle it can be untouchable with a command point, plus it is slightly cheaper. You can also buff a predator with a Warpsmith close to you, heal it and make it hit more easily. So the only reason for me to bring one is the cool factor, a wardog is so much cooler than a boxy predator.

 

So for me sadly the Wardogs has fallen lower my to get list.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Cpt.Danjou

[MegaVolt87]

On 9/21/2023 at 7:15 PM, Cpt.Danjou said:

I have looked at wardogs a lot, mostly because I want to paint them, but my issue with them is, what do they bring to the table that we don't have?  The fast Karnivore is really tempting for me as I love smashing faces in melee, but we do have loads of other melee options, Maulerfiend comes to mind, slightly slower, and a little bit more expensive, but hits like a truck in close combat, and can use Dark Pact. Sure the shooting ones are great too, but do they bring something that we don't have? A Predator is fast, a little slower than a Wardog, shoots harder, has Dark Pact, but a little less chances to survive without any Inv save, and fewer wounds, but with Mark of Nurgle it can be untouchable with a command point, plus it is slightly cheaper. You can also buff a predator with a Warpsmith close to you, heal it and make it hit more easily. So the only reason for me to bring one is the cool factor, a wardog is so much cooler than a boxy predator.

 

So for me sadly the Wardogs has fallen lower my to get list.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Cpt.Danjou

 

Wardogs can operate independently, need less setup/ synergy and are tougher. Plugging a list gap is more effective with the wardog variants. All the reasons + alternatives you provided only strengthen the wardog's position in my eyes.