As noted previously, I have been in a bit of a Renegade Dilemma as to what army book to use to represent the renegade Sons of Taurus. I had previously been leaning towards Space Wolves, partly to get access to the Thunderwolf Cavalry to represent Bull Centaurs. Fiddling with lists while on vacation, I looked again at CSM and started with the idea of using the Slaaneshi Daemonic Mount, since it moves as cavalry.
OK, so that means an HQ with Mark of Slaanesh. They'll probably be hitting things on their own, so would need to be able to handle it, so Lord over Sorcerer. Daemon Weapon adds to the Chaos aspect and lets him potentially wipe out squads at one pass. Blissgiver's Instant Death power can be great against things like Nid Warriors and Nobs, and the Initiative boost from MoS gives him a good shot against enemy characters. Slap on some meltabombs in case he needs to gallop over to an enemy tank.
Let's keep on with Slaanesh and see where it takes us. Lash on someone? Sorcerer, also on steed? Sorcerer in a squad? No, let's use a Daemon Prince, as it will let me make up a Minotaur Prince. So Daemon Prince, wings, MoS, Lash.
For Troops, Noise Marines. I like the different weapons they can get; it helps make them different than just "spiky marines", and it can fit in well with getting cool gear from a corrupted forge world run by Chaos Squats. I wouldn't use them as sonic weapons, rather things like the old Kai Gun and other warp-fueled technologies.
The downside of the different weapons for the Noise Marines to me is that they don't play well together. Sonic blasters should be laying down anti-infantry fire while moving up (until they can sit still and really pump it out). Blastmaster should be in support. Doom Siren should be in your face. So rather than mix them together within squads, let's split them up. It also helps to keep the Troops squads from looking too similar, which can often happen in CSM armies.
- 6 Noise Marines, sonic blasters, rhino
- 5 Noise Marines, blastmaster, rhino
- 9 Noise Marines, Champion PF/Doom Siren, rhino combi-melta, dozer blade
That brings it to 1500. To take it to 1850, let's throw in some more Chaosy elements, some Possessed and a Greater Daemon (so I can use the old Chaos Dwarf Greater Taurus I've been hanging onto for years). Greater Daemon plus 7 possessed, champion, rhino with possession.
So far I like it. It uses a lot of the things that make CSM different from other SM armies (DP, GD, Possessed, Oblits, Defiler, Cult Troops), and with the different weapons, the Noise Marines are even further from Imperial norms. No Spawn or Lesser Daemons though, but you can't have everything. And in some cases, you wouldn't want to.
The List (1500)
HQ - Chaos Lord (Minos the Malign)
Mark of Slaanesh, Daemon Weapon, Mount of Slaanesh, Meltabombs (170)
HQ - Daemon Prince (Taurus the Terrible)
Mark of Slaanesh, Wings, Lash of Submission (155)
Troops - Noise Marines
6xNM, 6 sonic blasters, Rhino (185)
Troops - Noise Marines
5xNM, Blastmaster, Rhino (175)
Troops - Noise Marines
9xNM, Champion (Hadrian the Hateful) with powerfist and Doom Siren. Rhino with combi-melta, dozer blade. (285)
Heavy - Defiler (3xccw, reaper) (150)
Heavy - 3xObliterators (225)
Heavy - 5xHavocs, 4xAutocannons (155) (I have been debating having the Havocs steal a rhino from one of the support NM squads, or perhaps change them to 4xmeltaguns in rhino instead of the autocannons, or even swap them for another defiler or a vindicator)
to 1850 (1847):
(HQ) - Greater Daemon (100)
Elite - 7xPossessed, Champion, Rhino with Daemonic Possession. (247) (Thinking of dropping the possession for the rhino to get a 10th NM for the Doom Siren squad or an Icon of Slaanesh for the Possessed)
While everything uses the in-game rules for Slaanesh, they're actually following Hashut. Of course, perhaps Hashut is merely an aspect of Slaanesh unbeknownst to the Sons of Taurus...
As my Renegade Chapter is meant to be recently turned I couldn't really justify Obliterators in my lists, however Terminators with extra heavy weapons stuck on them seemed fine.
ReplyDeleteSome of my conversions are half-way down the following article if your interested.
http://gmortschaotica.blogspot.com/2010/07/competitiveness-vs-theme.html
Painting isn't my thing but I think overall they turned out okay and avoided compromising my theme too much (plus I hate the 'official' Obliterator models).
I wouldn't worry too much about justifying Oblits, I just dislike them background and looks wise! I'm debating different options for the counts as versions - termies with heavy weapons, sorcerors, robots, or even chaos squat-manned weapon platforms.
ReplyDeleteI always like it when you get on the subject of Obliterators... great entertainment. ; ) Although I really liked your idea for playing the Bull Centaurs as Thunderwolf Cavalry, I think the plans you outline here might work even better. A minotaur Daemon Prince would be awesome! Also I think your explanation for the sonic weaponry is very cool as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks pops, glad I can continue to amuse you. ;-) I'd thought of doing a mino DP for a long time, and the new plastic minos and bsmoove's example ones have made it much more likely.
ReplyDeleteI do like the idea of using the variant weaponry, still be "marines" yet doing something different. I plan on converting a Huron fig for Hadrian - PF plus HF type thing sounds like a good fit.
I love your idea of Minotaur DP; the whole Slaneesh connection seems like a perfect fit. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this project.
ReplyDelete