War Cry

The Sisters of Battle... In battle. What are the odds?

Since coming back to the hobby I have had a grand total of one game and that wasn't with my models or even an army I'm likely to use but recently I've been looking at list building in preparation for my trip to a local gaming group. I'm very excited about the prospect of hanging out with other hobbyists because I don't get to do that as much as I'd like to. Because of the sudden need to build lists I did some research and noticed that the lists I saw tended to lean towards either long ranged fire fights or (more commonly outside of Tau) assault based armies and I thought to myself that there's no way they can be the only options so I decided to try and create a fully legal, 2000 point army list that focusses on... PSYKERS!! 

Probably not a Psyker but it's a cool picture

Now that the shock of a Psyker based army list has sunk in allow me to continue and please indulge my insanity for but a moment. Before I reveal to you my army list I have actually been able to cram in even more Psykers than there are in the list as it currently stands but that list sacrificed a lot of durability and if it was put into an assault situation the entire army would have been wiped out in a turn or two so I did tone it down a little. Naturally this list is a Daemon/Chaos Space Marine list because those are my armies and it actually started just as a way to see how many Psykers could legally go into an army. Also please remember that I made this list based on the models I have in my collection so far with very few additions needing to be made. The list is as follows:

Psyker Heavy List

Daemons (Primary Detachment)

HQ

• Great Unclean One (290)
• 1x Exalted Reward (30)
• 1x Greater Reward (20)
• Psyker Level 3 (50)
• Total: 390

Daemonic Heralds

• Herald of Khorne (110)
• Locus of Abjuration
• Juggernaut 
• Herald of Nurgle (120)
• Locus of Fecundity 
• Psyker Level 2 
• Herald of Slaanesh (125)
• Locus of Beguilement 
• Psyker Level 2 
• Herald of Tzeentch (120)
• Locus of Conjuration 
• Psyker Level 3 

HQ Total: 865

Troops

• 12x Daemonettes (123)
• Alluress
• Instrument of Chaos
• 12x Plaguebearers (123)
• Plagueridden
• Instrument of Chaos
• 20x Pink Horrors (195)
• Iridescent Horror
• Instrument of Chaos

Troops Total: 441

Elites

• 3x Bloodcrushers (145)
• Instrument of Chaos

Elites Total: 145

Heavy Support

• Daemon Prince of Nurgle (295)
• Daemonic Flight
• Warp-forged Armour
• Daemon of Nurgle
• Psyker Level 3

Heavy Support Total: 295

Chaos Space Marines (Allied Detachment)

HQ

• Sorcerer (165)
• Psyker Level 3
• Power Armour
• Spell Familiar
• Mark of Tzeentch
• Sigil of Corruption

HQ Total: 165

Troops

• 6x Thousand Sons (188)
• Icon of Flame
• Aspiring Sorcerer

Troops Total: 188

Army Total: 1999

Now the first thing you may be wondering is why I went for the Daemons as the primary and not the allies as a way to avoid the Warp Storm Table but that's the exact reason why. If you notice each one of the Daemonic units that can has taken an Instrument so that I can re-roll damaging results if needs be. Basically the Warp Storm Table has huge damage potential (note the use of the word potential because I'm aware that it's very much chance based)and it's a shame to not at least try to utilise it. 

The Bloodcrushers are very much the odd ones out here and that's because they have zero magical ability whatsoever but I have written a tactical analysis on the Bloodcrushers (found here) and in that post I outlined how they hit hard and hit fast. Well that's sort of the plan here except their main priority will be to split fire away from more fragile units. IF they survive long enough to cause havoc then fantastic but as long as they're drawing fire then that's fine. Probably an expensive unit for that to be fair but I'm mainly going for their instant "oh crap" reaction and their ability to carry an Instrument. There are of course other options for this task but this was the one that was the best fit for the task in my mind which is to scare the enemy. Nothing says you're going to die horribly than a charging Khorne unit.

I chose the Great Unclean One for its Toughness and the ability to unlock Nurgle Daemon Princes (yet another Psyker to add to the collection). I could have gone with a Lord of Change, Keeper of Secrets or even a Daemon Prince but I wanted more Nurgle so that the heavy hitting Psykers in the army are also stupidly tough and can become even tougher. I used the Psyker app on my phone to see what kind of powers I might get on an average run and my GUO came out with a really awesome mix. His Nurgle power was Plague Wind then I chose from Biomancy and got Iron Arm and Warp Speed. A Poisoned, Large Blast that has AP2 and a 12" range? Yes please. The ability to get a minimum of +1 Strength, Toughness, Initiative and Attacks on what is already a beast to kill? Yes please!! A minimum roll on both powers could leave his stats at S7, T8, I5 and A6 while the best possible result of maz rolls on both powers makes this guy nigh on immortal with S9, T10, I7 and A8. I would not like to meet him in a dark alley. Well, I wouldn't anyway but after that I certainly don't want to.

The Horrors and the Herald are there for use with the Prescience/Flickering Fire combination which (though I've not tested it myself in a battle) I'm told is an absolutely evil combination to face. The Plaguebearers are there to hold objectives while their Psyker Herald deals some ranged havoc, the Daemonettes are there as a back-up assault unit and objective holder while again their Psyker Herald uses her powers. The Daemon Prince will take powers from the Telekinesis discipline with maybe one from another discipline if necessary (possibly Biomancy to try and get Life Leech).

The Chaos contingent is there because I really wanted to use the Thousand Sons in an army list to show myself that they're more viable than the Internet says they are. Also I can access the Pyromancy discipline and have all 5 disciplines in one army. Granted I could have had the same effect with Fateweaver for less but I'm working with the models I have in my collection. Although I am still missing a few but this way I'm not making a list that will cost a few hundred pounds to actually play with and I don't have a Fateweaver model. I still need to add a few models (Herald on a Juggernaut, Nurgle Daemon Prince, more Horrors etc) but for the most part I just need to drag my ass into gear and get painting.

I'm not even sure who they're fighting but I like it anyway

So my first real attempt at building an army list and also my attempt to go against the popular army model is there for scrutiny. I'm sure that some of you will see it and pick holes in it which is fine because no army can ever be completely unbeatable by every other army. Any constructive criticism is more than welcome and if you like the list then definitely leave a comment! But seriously let me know what you think.