Goatboy’s 40k: Chaos Armylist Thoughts
Hi welcome to another edition of Goatboy’s 40k nonsense. Today I am going to go through a few Chaos tourney lists I am kicking around.
Currently I am getting ready for the ATC event which is full of rough lists with very specific match ups. This leads to very distinct army building that is effective but not nearly as versatile to take for a normal, GT style event. I won’t bore you with the details of that list as it is something I am not normally accustomed to play with – let alone fly across the country with. Instead I want to talk about some of the list I am kicking around for the Bay Area Open which is two weeks after the ATC. My wife isn’t happy as this means 2 weekends of Monster wrangling with the 2.75 year old. Still I gots to get some 8th edition fights in and I love the ATC and love playing with the Frontline guys.
I plan on trying to win with Chaos as much as I can – whether in some kind of daemonic flavor or some other Marine based nonsense. I got a few guys I have been working on and even painted a Lord of Skulls to play with. I knew I would end up with that model somehow and he was initially bought for an ATC list. Still I want to use him as my testing has found him to be rather nutty – especially when you throw Warptime on him from a friendly sorcerer. My initial list is a Zerker rush list I have found good luck with as they push forward and force your opponent into a corner. We are playing that the Khorne guys don’t get 2 activations just 2 Fight “phases”. Meaning they charge, pile in, and swing twice. It is pretty brutal when they hit and unit have only had “issues” with some Thousand Sons that get down to a 2+ save. This is helped by throwing in some Power fists to help mitigate some things and give me a fighting chance versus some bigger stuff.
Here is the Initial I am throwing down with.
Lord of Skulls & Zerker Friends
Vanguard Detachment
HQ: Sorcerer, Jump Pack, Force Sword, Plasma Pistol – PWR LVL 8
HQ: Dark Apostle – PWR LVL 5
Elite: Khorne Berserkers X 8, Powerfist, Icon of Wrath – PWR LVL 10
Elite: Khorne Berserkers X 8, Powerfist, Icon of Wrath – PWR LVL 10
Elite: Khorne Berserkers X 8, Powerfist, Icon of Wrath – PWR LVL 10
Elite: Khorne Berserkers X 8, Powerfist, Icon of Wrath – PWR LVL 10
Transport: Rhino, Combi-Bolter, Combi-Plasma – PWR LVL 4
Transport: Rhino, Combi-Bolter, Combi-Plasma – PWR LVL 4
Transport: Rhino, Combi-Bolter, Combi-Plasma – PWR LVL 4
Transport: Rhino, Combi-Bolter, Combi-Plasma – PWR LVL 4
Heavy: Hellforged Rapier Battery X2, Quad Heavy Bolter X 2, 4 Crewman – PWR LVL 8
Super Heavy Auxiliary Detachment
Lord of War: Lord of Skulls, Daemongore Cannon, Hades Gatling Cannon – PWR LVL 39
PWR Level Total – 116 – Command Points – 4
Hits at 1997 if my Excel sheet is right.
Now I really enjoy the granular nature of the point system – but please GW come out with a clean army builder. It would just be really nice and make these types of events and list building a heck of a lot easier and hopefully lessen the “oh crap I didn’t add this right” nature will see. Power Level seems to be a heck of a lot easier – but man There is just something weird about it that I don’t like. We’ll see if events push that in the future and I get “forced” to play with it.
Anyway this list is all about hitting the ground, getting moving, and punching your opponent in the face. I think the two sets of 83 point Heavy Bolter “Havoks” might be good. I just like the idea of some back field power mixed with “decent” shooting. Will see if they actually work out or a Autocannon Havok squad might be better. It is still just something to look at and I am enjoying converting a ton of Khorne Berserkers out of Blood Warriors from Age of Sigmar. So far in testing it is a lot of fun without getting too “extreme” and unfun. Oh and I can double move the Lord of Skulls with Warptime and get involved in my opponents armies quickly.
The next Lord of Skulls list I thought about (I need to get my use out of this expensive piece of plastic) utilizes some Daemon Princes, the cheapest troop in the game, and I guess more Daemon Princes. I call this – I need to use some of the 15+ Daemon Princes I have made somehow.
Lord of Skulls & Littles Princes
Battalion Detachment
HQ: Chaos Space Marine Daemon Prince, Mark of Tzeentch, Wings, Malefic Talons X 2 – PWR LVL 10
HQ: Chaos Space Marine Daemon Prince, Mark of Tzeentch, Wings, Malefic Talons X 2 – PWR LVL 10
HQ: Chaos Space Marine Daemon Prince, Mark of Tzeentch, Wings, Malefic Talons X 2 – PWR LVL 10
Troops: Horror Unit – 9 Brimstone Horrors, 1 Blue Horror – PWR LVL 5
Troops: Horror Unit – 9 Brimstone Horrors, 1 Blue Horror – PWR LVL 5
Troops: Horror Unit – 9 Brimstone Horrors, 1 Blue Horror – PWR LVL 5
Supreme Command Detachment
HQ: The Changling – PWR LVL 5
HQ: Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, Wings, Malefic Talons X 2, Warp Bolter – PWR LVL 11
HQ: Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, Wings, Malefic Talons X 2, Warp Bolter – PWR LVL 11
HQ: Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, Wings, Malefic Talons X 2, Warp Bolter – PWR LVL 11
Lord of War: Lord of Skulls, Daemongore Cannon, Hades Gatling Cannon – PWR LVL 39
1996 is the Point level (I think – dang Excel!) and runs 7 Command Points.
Power Level total sits at 122 as well – which is close to the other one.
This list is all about the Smite Bomb and utilizing the Lord of Skulls as a missile of doom to throw at your opponent. All of the Daemon Princes are -1 to hit thanks to the Changling and the 3 Chaos Space Marine ones are easy to hide amongst things and get involved in combat, damage, and slinging that Smite Goodness. I don’t think the list covers enough as while it has a ton of guys – a few shoots from a Roboute lead army of Heavy Bolters or a non terrain’d table will spell the end for these heavily converted jerks.
The final “thought” list is one I am not even building towards. I want to see an FAQ that spells out the ability to Warptime Terminators after they come in from reserves. Most people are playing it that way as Frontline has said that is how they played it and how a lot of rules stuff is broken by spells/unit rules etc. This list is something I plan on slowly building – especially if there are some Death Guard Terminators coming or something else as cool. The lack of them in a Normal Death Guard list has me very sad – but it isn’t the end of the world.
The Sick & the Angry
Battalion Detachment
HQ: Typhus – PWR LVL 9
HQ: Necrosius The Undying – PWR LVL 7
Troops: Pox Walkers X 20 – PWL LVL 6
Troops: Pox Walkers X 20 – PWL LVL 6
Troops: Pox Walkers X 20 – PWL LVL 6
Vanguard Detachment
HQ: Sorcerer, Jump Pack, Force Sword – PWR LVL 8
HQ: Chaos Space Marine Daemon Prince of Nurgle, Wings, Malefic Talons X 2, Warp Bolter – PWR LVL 10
Elite: Chaos Terminators X 10, Combi-Plasma X 10, Power Axe X 10, Mark of Khorne, Icon of Wrath – PWR LVL 17
Elite: Chaos Terminators X 10, Combi-Plasma X 10, Power Axe X 10, Mark of Khorne, Icon of Wrath – PWR LVL 17
Points wise it sits at 1999, Power Level at 86
Command points it is still at 7 total.
This feels really low so it feels kinda odd. I could drop the FW Character and go with the Bell Icon guy for something more Chaos like – but still. It will drop some terminators, they will shoot a ton, and maybe even charge into you and crush your dreams. The Power Level thing just feels really weird to me as it is so low and still feels decent to play with. The Daemon Prince is under the same “legion” as the Terminators so they can Reroll 1’s when coming in and turning on the light show. The one Sorcerer is there to Warptime and give a unit a +1 to hit as needed. The Daemon Prince is there for the second unit you decide to drop in and if the Sorcerer is dead and you need some Warptime loving.
8th So Far
Overall I have had a lot of fun with 8th. The spam nature of any initial game is pretty nutty right now but I suspect things to get a little more balance as events figure out how they want to work the game. It feels like a lot of things are needed dependent on the mission parameters at hand. Is any game truly balanced beyond something like Chess or Checkers? I also wonder if there will be more concrete ways to build lists in any upcoming updates as the game starts to settle into specific Keyword Detachments/Army building abilities etc. I hear some tidbits here and there and I suspect a Primarius army and Deathguard army build to be coming hard and strong soon.
How do you think these lists stackup?
