Thinking of Word Bearers for my traitors

[Valkyrion]

Having established Dark Angels as my loyalists, my mind now turns to the traitors, specifically the word bearers, and I want them to be all in on the chaos thing.

 

I was thinking of including a single 40k god specific set in the army - tormentors, berzerkers, plague marines, rubrics - alongside a core of 20 MKVI, 20 MKIII and 20 MKII, so approx 100 infantry. 

I want a 30k army though, not a 40k army, so that said;

Would you scatter the 40k heads, pads and weapons amongst the 30k models, and vice versa, so that every model is kinda unique in the god they follow but I still build a Tactical Squad, Tactical Support, Despoiler, Heavy Support Squad without an overall godly theme. 

Or would you create a Slaanesh squad, khorne squad, nurgle squad, tzeentch squad, and leave the rest relatively uncorrupted? 

 

For instance, I could use Khorne Berzerkers bodies with despoiler arms and weapons and word bearer heads and pads. The armour is godly, the poses are aggressive, but they aren't Khorne Berzerkers, they are just despoilers. 

Or I do make them Khorne 'Berzerkers' and go all in the heads, pads and weapons and run them as a command squad or something.

Or in amongst my 20 man despoiler squad is 4 slaanesh shoulder pads, 3 khorne heads, 2 thousand sons bodies, and a death guard power fist.

 

Or I could choose a single god to run? I've not built any new Emperor's Children, but either they (veterans, tacticals, gal vorbak or heavy support) or thousand sons (veterans, tacticals, tartaros, tactical support) seem like they could easily be mingled amongst the 30k line to create a mono god 30k word bearers force.

 

I'm open to suggestions!

 

 

 

 

[Endtransmission]

For me, the WBs are more agnostic in their approach and just generally *mutated chaos-y*. The way I'm dealing with it is to mix and match parts between the kits so that line infantry are spiky, but things like heavies can start to be a bit bloated, or close combat ones having more chains and choppy axes... but avoiding specific chapter elements, just god aligned mutations like claws for Slaanesh, horns for Khorne. For me using chapter specific elements, like the Emperor's Children or Thousand Sons bodies/heads doesn't fit as those are chapter specific design calls. 

That's just me though. More Word Bearers are always good to see! :D

 

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

I'm going to use my CSM as WB allied detachment for my SoH, so I'm going to make very few changes.

If you can, mix pieces from CSM and miniatures from Horus Heresy ,but avoid horns in helmets and things like that. Use less Anvilus Pattern backpacks and use the most mutated and chaos appearing bits for sarges and characters.

[Blissful Brushes]

I think it depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

 

Are your WB extremists in their worship, with the captain going full Chaos out of the gate in which case you could mix and match all over the place as Chaos is 'new', the WB haven't quite worked out the nuances of Khorne/Slaanesh etc. and are taking the gifts they're given. Or do you want to dedicate to a single God and have a Khorne themed WB warband, for example though I personally would keep more clear of the traditional God-legion specific bits to strengthen the Word Bearer connection.

 

Ultimately it's your army, your models, your choice and in the HH setting you can pretty much do what you want if it's not a named character - that's my attitude to it anyway.

[N1SB]

Brother Valkyrion, great idea, thanks for even inviting us into it.

 

On 10/4/2025 at 1:42 AM, Valkyrion said:

For instance, I could use Khorne Berzerkers bodies with despoiler arms and weapons and word bearer heads and pads. The armour is godly, the poses are aggressive, but they aren't Khorne Berzerkers, they are just despoilers. 

 

Because it's a 30k army, I think your idea here is EXACTLY the way to go.  It's foreshadowing Khorne Berzerkers in the future, but they're NOT there yet.

 

I had a similar thought when considering a 30k World Eaters army.  They'd be painted in Heresy-era colours of the White & Blue with Bronze trims, but I would add so much Technical Blood for the Blood God splatter (I'd use a sponge), that it'd just start to resemble their 40k Red & Bronze, ya?

 

Of course, that probably won't work as well with Word Bearers, as it's blood Red on Red...I dunno, but you see my point.

 

If anything, to use Khorne Berzerker (or Slaanesh or Nurgle or Tzeentch) bitz, it'd be just 1 Marine in those Squads, like the leader.  And I don't even mean the Sergeant; they're Word Bearers, so it'd be some zealot who (at least believes himself to be) chosen by a god...it'd be the Nuncio Vox guy.

 

(i.e. like the Nuncio Vox?  It's not a Nuncio Vox, not a piece of equipment.  It's that crazed dude preaching, "Blood for Lorg...no, Blood for the Blood God!")

 

And I really like Brother Endtransmission ideas of like some mutation...or armour modification that resembles them.  In the novels, and actually the Forgeworld minis, Marines embellish (or some Techpriests do it for them) their armour all the time.  Like are those actually Khorne's horns?  Or an adornment?

(Alternatively, is that a Slaanesh claw?  Or just some master-crafted artificer power fist that has a weird shape?)

 

Just writing this out now, and thinking about it, I think the trick is to leave it open-ended.  Like your opponent/friend/frienemy be like, "Wait, are those...Berzerkers?" Then you be all, "What, my Despoiler Squad?"  Then he say, "That one Marine with the horns looks kinda...Khorne-y."  Then you go, "O rly?"

 

For those reasons, I agree with your "lite touch" approach, always hinting, never stating...always UNDERstating.  This is good stuff.