Objective Secured

So despite Danger Rod not having his list sorted yet I had an epiphany today while cleaning the parts from an imperial sector box set of terrain (there are over 2 meters of walls in that box just FYI!)

I had been trying to get a 1000 point legion list working for a couple of weeks now and just could not get a balance I was happy with… and then it hit me – add cultists!

Not as allies mind you – as the primary detachment! There are a couple of reasons for this…

1. They are cheap! 2 troops and a hq are less than 150 points!!! This means I was able to get a bunch of bodies and wounds on the table with ease. Certainly less than the second troops and HQ I needed if I ran the Astartes as primary.
2. Legion units are expensive! Getting the required 2 troops PLUS the 2 HQ (as they are Word Bearers and are required to have 2) meant I had very few points left to make the force effective – by reducing it to a single HQ and troop I was able to get an elite and heavy support into the list.
3. Theme – at Calth (specifically in the novel Know No Fear by Dan Abnett) we see small formations of Word Bearers leading hordes of cultists into battle (leading from the back of course!) so this would be my theme

So lets get into the list.

Primary Detachment – Imperialis Militia and Cults – Age of Darkness – Traitors

HQ – Force Commander, Carapace Armour, Charnabal Sabre, Muster of Worlds – Cult Horde & Tainted Flesh

HQ – Rogue Psyker, Alpha Level, Tainted Weapon

Troops – Inducted Levy Squad – Custodian plus 29 Levy Auxiliaries

Troops – Inducted Levy Squad – Custodian plus 29 Levy Auxiliaries

Total – 315 points.

So lets break it down. The Force Commander is a mandatory choice and makes the levy units so very useful. His stats are typical human but he does have grenades and he gains the effects of the 2 musters as well. He gets carapace armour and the sabre as I had 10 points left over at the end! He will be joining the astartes units as he is the warlord so needs to be kept safe. His 2 choices of muster – Cult and Tainted – are awesome!

Cult Horde means the Levy units gain Zealot (so you have to kill every one of them to get rid of them!) and the penalty to BS is small as they are terrible for shooting anyway. Tainted Flesh gives the units some punch – giving them Fear, Feel no pain 6+ and, in close combat, rending! Again the limits of this are not a factor due to the relatively small force being used.

The Rogue Psyker is a fun choice – he is a level 2 psyker who can use malefic daemonology (brilliant!) and when he dies – becomes a nice mini monster! The tainted weapon could be a nice shock to multi wound models looking for an easy kill as well thanks to the instant death rule.

On to the legion…

Allied Detachment – Legiones Astartes – Word Bearers – Traitors

HQ – Legion Centurion, Chaplain Consul

Troops – Legion Tactical Squad, Sergeant and 14 Marines. Sergeant has Artificer Armour and a Combi Melta

Elite – Contemptor Dreadnaught Talon (single), Kheres Assault Cannon, Close Combat Weapon with Graviton Gun

Heavy Support – Sicarian Battle Tank, Las cannon Sponsons

Total – 685 points.

Here is the punch of the list and essentially wave 2. If you manage to stop the 60+ wounds of zealot, feel no pain, rending cultists you have to deal with 2 armour 13 vehicles and 15 legion warriors. The chaplain hands zealot to the tactical squad (see a pattern yet?) and the 16 of them guard the 2 cult HQ choices. The contemptor and sicarian engage enemy heavy targets (vehicles and multi wound models) – the dreadnaught up close and the sicarian at range.

Will it work? Who knows! The ability to summon with the rogue psyker I think is the make or break of the list as 1 or 2 successful casts could see the game swing suddenly. Having 80 fearless wounds of models could also be a factor!