Warhammer 40K Meta Hotness – CSM Forgefiend
How the tables have turned for the the Forgefiend/Maulerfiend kit. This week’s 40K Meta Hotness, once a joke of a model (loved by me) ,has become a mainstay of the CSM meta.
The CSM Forgefiend mixes extremely efficient damage potential on a tough body. Then it has the perfect mix of “shooting” offensive power you need right now in the current 40K meta of – shoot till you have no more friends left on the tabletop.
So how did the Forgefiend get good? Well, you mix a weapon profile that didn’t lose much efficiency surrounded by a game that has shown a lot of guns to have lost their powerful hits. Then, mix in some abilities to take Marks, Dark Pacts, and a more forgiving damage table. It all combines to mean this guy can explode damage into your poor units and leave you wondering if you have any kits lying around to use to make these guys.
Forgefiends Finally Getting Marks!
Marks are great again and, thankfully don’t cost any points. What they grant you are some powerful abilities to help shore up some of this unit’s weakness. Things like Sustained Hits if you are Nurgle or full Rerolls if you are Undivided. Each of these things can help activate the CSM Forgefiend and create some higher than normal damage output by granting more hits or allowing you to Reroll all your business rolls into better business rolls.
Making Ectoplasma Great!
I remember this gun as I used it heavily in conversions for weird Daemonic options for my army. Now, it is actually good as it has an extremely powerful strength (10) mixed with good AP (-1-3) and Damage (3). All of these combine together to create a very mean little weapon to throw out heated chaos-warped plasma on the enemy. Throw on some Marks of Nurgle and they get sustained hits on a 5+ instead of a 6. Heck, I already said Undivided with some stratagem love can get lots of Reroll to cause all kinds of issues.
Forgefiends Are Tough Vehicles!
Being a vehicle this guy can be hard to chew thru. It sits at toughness 10 with 12 wounds and a 5+ invulnerable save to help keep it around and blasting fools who get too close. It is just hard to fully remove it without truly dedicated anti-tank weapons. Sitting at Toughness 10 means it still takes a while to chew through its rough, rotten hide.
A Sample Tournament List
Alexandre Sacco took this to a 4th place finish at the WTC Warmaster event. This is the pre-event before the big WTC event from last week and good job getting 4th place thru a sea of Eldar and Wraithknight nonsense!
Abaddon’s Gunline of Doom!
CHARACTERS
Abaddon the Despoiler (280 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Drach’nyen
1x Talon of Horus
Chaos Lord (75 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Daemon hammer
1x Plasma pistol
Chaos Lord (75 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Daemon hammer
1x Plasma pistol
Cypher (105 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Cypher’s bolt pistol
1x Cypher’s plasma pistol
BATTLELINE
Cultist Mob (55 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist firearm
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Close combat weapon
6x Cultist firearm
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
1x Heavy stubber
Cultist Mob (55 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist firearm
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Close combat weapon
6x Cultist firearm
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
1x Heavy stubber
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Chaos Rhino (85 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-bolter
1x Combi-weapon
1x Havoc launcher
OTHER DATASHEETS
Chosen (115 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Chosen Champion
• 1x Accursed weapon
1x Bolt pistol
1x Chaos Icon
1x Combi-weapon
• 4x Chosen
• 2x Accursed weapon
2x Bolt pistol
2x Boltgun
1x Combi-weapon
1x Paired accursed weapons
2x Plasma pistol
1x Power fist
Chosen (115 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Chosen Champion
• 1x Accursed weapon
1x Bolt pistol
1x Chaos Icon
1x Combi-weapon
• 4x Chosen
• 2x Accursed weapon
2x Bolt pistol
2x Boltgun
1x Combi-weapon
1x Paired accursed weapons
2x Plasma pistol
1x Power fist
Forgefiend (165 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Armoured limbs
2x Ectoplasma cannon
1x Ectoplasma cannon
Forgefiend (165 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Armoured limbs
2x Ectoplasma cannon
1x Ectoplasma cannon
Forgefiend (165 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Armoured limbs
2x Ectoplasma cannon
1x Ectoplasma cannon
Obliterators (320 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 4x Obliterator
• 4x Crushing fists
4x Fleshmetal guns
Possessed (145 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Possessed Champion
• 1x Hideous mutations
• 4x Possessed
• 4x Hideous mutations
ALLIED UNITS
The Changeling (75 Points)
• 1x Infernal Flames
1x The Trickster’s Staff
1995 points
Using the Forgefiend List
As you can see, the Forgefiends help back up the massed of Chaos nonsense and ensures that you can damage things that get too close. Forgefiends really seem to be the backbone of the CSM army right now as they are decently cost and efficient forms of long-range damage while the rest of the CSM get to the middle and block the enemy from getting to the other side. Go see if you can find all the pieces to make these guys and get ready for an end-of-the-year Forgefiend dance off when you see CSM across the table from you.
Death to the False Emperor!
