Designing an Emperor's Children Allied Detachment

My priority for this year was to construct and paint an Allied Detachment of Emperor's Children for Horus Heresy. In order to do this, obviously I had to write down my army list. Here it is, along with my thoughts. 

Conditions. I like my allied detachments to clock in at under 750 points. This is because I tend to play smaller points cost games than most. I still favour way less than 3000 points for a game - 2000, or even 1750 or 1500 is more than enough for an interesting game that can be concluded rapidly which is a key driving factor and a "must" most of the time for me personally - I know there's plenty of people out there who have the same limitations. I save 3000 points for when there's hours to spare. 

Secondly, I want my allied detachments to do something that perhaps the primary cannot -- and to generally be fluffy. This usually means taking advantage of the Legion rules in question or its special units. For the Emperor's Children, I interpret this to mean quickly moving units, taking advantage of the quick melee weapons, and for this one: a Sun Killers squad. I also wanted to show off something very Emperor's Children by taking at least one Phoenix Power Spear! 

Army List.
HQ:
Phoenix Warden, Iron Halo and Phoenix Pattern Power Spear, Artificer Armour, Jump Pack (110 points). This HQ is to show off the power spear and to be a strong threat in game. I might add a melta bomb here too.

Elites:
Apothecary, Jump Pack, Artificer Armour (70 points). The purpose of the Apothecary is obvious, and is probably a bit rude in this allied detachment, but it fits so well. That, and the Emperor's Children do like their Apothecaries, so it maintains my fluffy direction.

Troops:
Assault Squad x11; Combat Shields, 2 Power Axes, Sergeant with Two Lightning Claws and Artificer Armour (214 points). I have to take troops, and an assault squad is the obvious selection here. Again, melta bombs to taste.

Heavy Support:
Sun Killer Squad x5, Lascannons, Novaetor with Augury Scanner (205 points). This is the unit that I could not get otherwise. Yes, I could have chosen Palatine Blades, or Terminators, but this is such a unique and strong unit that really fits with the theme of what I'm going for here: long range cover coupled with up close and personal elements. 

Total points cost = 599 points.

Analysis.
This allied detachment combines two very interesting elements. First we have a "standard" Sun Killer squad which is arguably one of the best in the game for lascannon slaughter that provides the long range cover. Then we have a blob of jump pack troops backed up by an Apothecary and the HQ selection. In principle, I could turn the HQ into a Praetor to add extra flexibility, but there's not much benefit to that arguably. All three warlord traits are valid for this set up, and I can see myself using any depending on loyalty. The main blob is to tear through enemy troops formations. Whether they'd want to tackle terminators is a different decision - their primary purpose is anti-troops and potentially a HQ killing element. 

Set up is typically with the Sun Killers taking a back line position of defence to fire from, whilst the rest of the detachment flies or deep strikes (or even flanks) into play as quickly as possible. 

Given that  I have some 150 points "spare" compared to my goal, I would consider adding a Sky Hunter squadron or Xihphon Interceptor to round the list out by incorporating another fast attack element, or making the assault squad larger still (it has 11 members largely because I had a spare resin body that I glued a jump pack to in order to model the sergeant - no real reason beyond that!). There's also room to add in a second assault squad if needed to create a primary detachment too, but that's not currently a priority for me. Perhaps a defence line for the Sun killers instead?

A quick Vanguard Detachment for 8th

I have been thinking about how to translate some of my Space Marines forces in to 8th edition recently. So, here is a quick and dirty Vanguard detachment that I came up with. It is based on the Alpha Legion 30k miniatures that I already own and is simply an experiment to see how some of the points costs and power levels might translate across.

HQ: Captain with Thunder Hammer; Librarian with force stave

Elites: 10 Company Veterans, Sergeant with Power Fist; Contemptor with Kheres; second Contemptor with Kheres; Tartaros terminator squad with plasma blaster

Fast Attack: Assault Squad with 2 plasma pistols and sergeant with plasma pistol and thunder hammer.

Total Points = 1192.

Power Level = 72.

Okay, so this is a very quick and frankly dirty list that needs a lot more thought. However, it is a viable list that will give some pause for thought for opponents in how to deal with the multiple threats (contemptors) simultaneously whilst watching out for the faster moving assault squad backed up by both veterans and terminators.

The librarian is there for utility and the captain was originally meant to be represented by Dynat and might not be a bad approximation for the model at the time of writing. 

The points and power levels are low, so this is an army that is meant for a fast moving game and one that can be concluded in under 1.5 hours with a bit of luck. I might test it out against other people at a later date and see how it goes!

Alpha Legion Kill Team Army List

Following on from yesterday's post about the Genestealer Cult Kill Team that I built, today is the turn of the Alpha Legion Kill Team list. Although I wanted to squeeze in a headhunter or two as they seemed very appropriate and fluffy, I knew about the genestealers that I would be facing and therefore wanted something a bit less pricey. So, here's the list.

10 legion tactical squad marines, including 1 vexilla, 1 sergeant with power fist and melta bombs (155 points).

2 heavy support marines with missile launchers (66 points).

2 assault marines (34 points).

1 terminator with thunder hammer (45 points).

The plan here is to be maximally flexible. The heavy support marines set up where they can and use their missile launchers against either armour or infantry clusters.

The assault marines (recent picture of painting progress above, but still needs finishing!) provide a quick moving element to capture any objectives as required or engage lesser enemies. 

The rest of the marines are fundamentally still space marines and can take most things on. The fury of the legion on the tactical marines is just the icing on the proverbial cake. The terminator simply adds to the punch where required. 

Genestealer Cults Kill Team Army List

A few people have been asking me what I've got in the Genestealer Cults Kill Team that I've been posting about recently.

The points value for the tournament is 300 points. Its a little larger than a few Kill Team regular games, but very accessible for new players (which was kind of the point). We're playing with restrictions common to Kill Zone in the sense that one cannot have more than two models with Infiltrate, Outflank (or almost any other special rule or heavy weapon for that matter) with some nuances thrown in for good play as well.

Here's the list (give or take some rounding and a few points here and there thanks to the system we're using).

10 Neophyte Hybrids, including 1 leader with power pick and web pistol, 1 seismic cannon, 1 mining laser (115 points).

3 Hybrid Metamorphs, 1 crushing claw, 1 lash whip, 1 double talons; 2 with hand flamers (41 points).

6 Purestrain Genestealers, half with scything talons (93 points).

1 Armoured Sentinel with plasma cannon (50 points).

The basic plan is simple enough. The sentinel pumps out some blast templates in the shooting phase and hangs back when possible along with the heavy weapon hybrids. The rest of the hybrids (all of them) move up and engage by mobbing up against power armour and the like (making at least 3 or 4 on one combats where possible) and are essentially expendable as either tar pits or large number mobs. The genestealers meanwhile move individually and provide the real punch of the army with an impressive number of attacks on the charge. They pick off anyone (or anything) that they like almost. All in all a nasty close combat kill team with expendable hybrids that is backed up with a plasma cannon in the rear field.

Salamaders Legion 30k Army List: 2000 points + The Awakening Fire

Background.

This army list explores what happened to Salamanders Legion members who were not assigned to the Retribution fleet after the Istvaan V conflict when most of the legion was wiped out, and more significantly: after Vulkan went missing. This rite of war represents the anger and flame that that ignited inside the Salamanders after this and the darker path that some of them trod. 

As such, it has to have a Chaplain inside the list to instil a bit of hatred in the ranks. But more than this, there are some really neat special rules such as the new beam ability known as "Fury of the Salamander" that becomes available to a Salamanders Librarian that seems like a must to me. More than this, they take advantage of their ability to cause fear in others (a bit like the Night Lords -- shudder!). 

List Building.

This is a list that needs both a chaplain and a librarian to take full advantage of it. However, the draw backs of only having one type of flyer, skimmer, jet bike, or jump infantry really precludes having a jet pack chaplain with an assault squad sadly. Hence these HQs must either go it alone, it team up with a much larger squad and foot slog (or take a bigger transport frankly). 

In the list below, I opt for a mechanised format: almost every squad has a transport to get it where it needs to be. The idea being to jump out of the transport and cause fear before getting stuck right in where required. 

Playing off the Salamanders theme, I wanted meltas and flamers, with a touch of plasma to boot as well. In the end, I couldn't quite fit in the flamers that I wanted, but I got the other two. As can be seen, I've also exploited the Salamanders special storm shields across the board as well. 

List.

HQ: 

Legion Chaplain with power fist, melta bombs, dragon scale storm shield (120 points)

Legion Librarian (level 3) with Scimitar jet bike, dragon scale storm shield (195 points)

Legion Praetor (100 points)
A naked praetor just for the rite of war. 

Elites: 

Firedrake Terminator Squad with 2xchain fists, 2xthunder hammers, fire drake master with master-crafted thunder hammer, dragon scale storm shield, dedicated legion spartan (635 points)

Troops:

Legion tactical squad, 19 strong, sergeant with melta bombs and power fist (195 points)

Legion tactical squad, 10 strong, sergeant with melta bombs, power fist, artificer armour, dedicated rhino with havoc launcher, all with bolt pistols plus close combat weapons (210 points)

Legion tactical support squad, 5 strong, all with melta guns, sergeant with artificer armour and melta bombs, dedicated rhino transport with havoc launcher (240 points)

Heavy Support:

Deredeo Pattern Dreadnouth with aiolos missile launcher, hellfire plasma cannonade (255 points)

Evaluations.

The idea here is to have the chaplain with the terminators on board the spartan in the most common set up. Failing that, have the larger tactical squad in there. The other one will objective sit. The other two troops squads will mount up in their rhinos to be useful where needed (blowing up tanks and or engaging other enemies). The Deredeo provides a huge amount of backfield support for the advancing army. Meanwhile the librarian goes solo and zips around the board to try to get off his nice new beam weapon and get enemy units fleeing off the board thanks to the Elemental Horror side effect!

Vulkan is dead, and so is the edict in his opinion, clearly. They're angry marines now. And they want to hurt the traitors. Badly.

For a bit more customisation, drop some of the marines from the larger tactical squad and equip the praetor with deadlier stuff. I'll leave this up to the reader to think about as there's plenty of options here realistically.

Burning of Prospero army list

A few people have asked me if I could post a quick idea or two about how to create an army list out of the components from the Burning of Prospero. If you've not read any previous articles on 30k army list building, then I'd encourage you to check out the following on this blog:

Horus Heresy Army List Basics
Synergy in Horus Heresy Army Lists
Betrayal at Calth army lists

Burning of Prospero Evaluations.
The key ingredient here is the 30 space marines in older mark armour. For each block of ten, we have access to a number of heavy and special weapons like the heavy bolter, melta gun and plasma gun. Sadly though, in 30k, we cannot simply take such weapons at will. They have to be part of a heavy support squad (for the heavy bolters) or part of a tactical support squad (for the special weapons).

This means that we are very limited to standard tactical squad, or to veteran tactical squads (who can take a smattering of special weapons).

On top of this, the terminators in tartaros armour provide a range of options. Going all lightning claws is a distinct option, but getting them in to combat is going to be tough without vehicles.

The Sisters of Silence and the Custodes provide very nice back-up to all of this, whilst the HQ choices will make a pair of nice characters that would no doubt be representing a praetor and librarian.

Army List Options.
Here, I'm going to opt for a Pride of the Legion rite of war -- simply to make best use of the special weapons available. This means I can have the terminators and the veterans as both troop choices and I contend this makes best use of what is available here.

Praetor, 1 lightning claw (master crafted), bolter, digital lasers, iron halo, melta bombs (182 points).
This character is to be represented with the Geigor Fell-Hand miniature. I've added a few tweaks here to make him a bit more of a close combat monster, but overall, I'm happy with this. He should be added to the terminator squad, or one of the veteran squads.

 Librarian, Level 3 Psyker, artificer armour, refractor field, melta bombs (160 points).
A bit maxed out in some respects, but this one uses the Ahriman model. To be deployed on his own, or with one of the other legion squads for support.

Veteran Tactical Squad with 10 members, 2 with heavy bolters plus suspensors, 1 legion vexilla, sergeant with artificer armour and power fist (275 points).
Give this squad the sniper universal rule and take aim. Note the lightning claw can be converted to a power fist readily if you wanted two of them.

Veteran Tactical Squad with 10 members, 3 with power swords, 2 with plasma guns, sergeant with power fist, plasma pistol and artificer armour (300 points).
Go with fearless here to save points on the vexilla and team up with the Praetor if he's not with the terminators. Get in to combat as soon as possible. Consider taking squad with melta bombs.

Veteran Tactical Squad with 10 members, 3 with power swords, 2 with melta guns, sergeant with power fist, plasma pistol and artificer armour (300 points).
Go with fearless here to save points on the vexilla and team up with the Librarian. Get in to combat as soon as possible. Consider taking squad with melta bombs.

Tartaros Terminators, 5 members, 3 with combi-bolters and chainfists, 2 with twin lightning claws, sergeant with grenade harness (245 points).
Sure, we could go all lightning claws, but I wanted something here to be a multiple threat, hence the chainfists.

Sentinel Guard Squad, 5 members (325 points).
I assume the rumours are true here.

Sisters of Silence (75 points) -- I believe this is correct, but am uncertain. Arm up with executioner blades and upgrade one to be a sister superior.

The main issue here is, of course, that the Sentinel Squad and the Sisters squad are allies and not core. Hope that you're wanting to play loyalists too!

Alpha Legion 30k Army List: 1850 points Dynat + Orbital Assault

Background.

This post follows on from my earlier thoughts about how to potentially utilise Dynat with Coils of the Hydra. Fundamentally, the Alpha Legion is so very flexible that we can build many rites of war from them and not really suffer too many draw backs. Although the Raven Guard may pull off the Orbital Assault better than the Alpha Legion thanks to their legion special rules, Dynat is what gives the Alpha Legion the edge (potentially) in this style of play.

List Building.

The fundamental idea behind this list is to hem-in the enemy using the drop pods inside their own deployment zone. This will enable Dynat's special rules to come to the fore and harrow the enemy to death where they stand. To pull it off though, it necessitates an enemy who themselves is not using something like Orbital Assault or lots of infiltrators. In that case (or the mirror match), it is either vital to force the enemy to deploy in their own zone, or to force them to go second. Neither is impossible, but against a Raven Guard drop pod army, this one might struggle. But at least it has an edge on static gun line armies, and on none-drop pod ones.

It is also important to note here that all units must have deep strike. It doesn't necessitate that every unit must enter play via deep strike, only that every unit must have access to it. Hence I want some units that could potentially be deployed in a traditional manner to ensure that I'm not wiped off the board with lots of units still in reserve.

Here's the list.

HQ:

* Armillus Dynat, power dagger (205 points)

Troops:
* Assault squad with 10 members, 2 plasma pistols, sergeant with thunder hammer, plasma pistol, melta bombs, power dagger and artificer armour (335 points)

* Tactical squad with 20 members, vexilla, sergeant with power fist, power dagger and artificer armour (290 points)

* Tactical Support squad with 7 members, melta guns, sergeant with power fist, power dagger and artificer armour (250 points), Drop Pod (35 points)

Elites:

* Legion Contemptor with 1 close combat weapon, 1 multi-melta (175 points), Dreadclaw Drop Pod (85 points)

Fast Attack:

* Storm Eagle with lascannons (250 points)

Heavy Support:

* Heavy Support squad, 5 Multi Meltas (185 points), Drop Pod (35 points)

Evaluation.

This is a list that has some flexibility build in. There are 3 drop pods, meaning any two of them can be selected as first wave. Its not a list that is going to be blow off the board on the first turn either. It has durability. Dynat goes with the support squad in their drop pod and provides a bonus to BS when they land. Hopefully they'll blow up something valuable. The other drop pod will be the contemptor if some close combat back up is needed for handling terminators, or the heavy support squad for more vehicular damage.

The big troop blob goes inside the storm eagle whilst the assault squad moves up the board as required in a flexible role. There are plenty of power armoured bodies here (42) with armour and dreadnoughts for back up.

In terms of the Alpha Legion special rules, this is one to use with either Tank Hunters (preferred), or with Adamantium Will (as required given the situation). Its not a traditional Alpha Legion infantry force that infiltrates: instead it is a rapid moving and hemming-in force to harrow and destroy in force the enemy one component at a time with unassailable force. 

World Eaters 30k Army List: 1850 points Berserker Assault with Kharn

Background.

What is it that the World Eaters can do well that we can exploit when building an army list? Well, they are a close combat based army and thanks to their special rules, gain distinct bonuses in relation to the melee phase of the game. With incarnate violence, they have the potential to gain furious charge -- but only once they've already won in close combat. And with Blood Madness (because I'm thinking here of post-Isstvan), rage will point them in the right direction for this. 

List Building.

If we want to get in to combat, we need to be quick, or have transports to get us in to close combat with celerity. Drop pods would be nice, but if we're wanting to build for Berserker Assault, then its certainly transports. 

On top of this, we must remember that chain axes are free upgrades for tactical squads with the World Eaters. This makes for some very points effective troops. 

Take some apothecaries (I could use Gahlan Surlak here), and a reasonable HQ (I *want* Kharn) and we're done!

Let's see how these thoughts can come together.

HQ:

*Kharn the Bloody, with Gorechild (190 points)

*Primus Medicae, terminator armour with power fist (125 points)

Troops:

* Tactical Squad with extra Chain Axes, 1 Vexilla, Sergeant with Power Fist and Artificer Armour (185 points)

* Dedicated Rhino with Havoc Launcher (50 points)

* Tactical Squad with extra Chain Axes, 1 Vexilla, Sergeant with Power Fist and Artificer Armour (185 points)

* Dedicated Rhino with Havoc Launcher (50 points)

* Tactical Squad with extra Chain Axes, 1 Vexilla, Sergeant with Power Fist and Artificer Armour (185 points)

* Dedicated Rhino with Havoc Launcher (50 points)

Elites: 

* Red Butchers, 5 members, all with dual lightning claws, Devourer with chain fist (325 points)

* Dedicated Spartan Assault Tank with havoc launcher (310 points)

Heavy Support:

* Sicaran Battle Tank with lascannons, armoured ceramite (195 points)

Evaluations.

This does not have many bodies on the ground, but instead features a mobilized type of warfare. The observant might raise the fact that one of the restrictions for the Berserker Assault rite of war is that we cannot have more tanks or fliers than we have infantry units. Don't forget to count the HQs. They're infantry. And they're units. So we're good on that front, as far as I can tell. 

Kharn and the Primus Medicae join the Red Butchers and deploy in the Spartan to create a bit of a "death star" style unit. They need to be mindful of vindicator shells and the like though. The other squads mount their rhinos and all trundle forward as swiftly as possible to engage the enemy. It really is that simple. Not much subtlety here, but hey, this is the World Eaters, so what did you expect? The only question is how to play around with the Sicaran. I did wonder at replacing it with a storm eagle, and that is still something of an option here. 

Orbital Assault 30k Army List: 1850 points

Background.

An orbital assault army in 30k is one in which all models must be capable of deep striking (and indeed must be deployed in that way). The army is therefore one of two things (or a mixture of them): a drop pod army where drop pods have been purchased in the place of dedicated transports like rhinos. Alternatively, they could be naturally capable of deep striking like assault marines. On top of this, terminators are immediately granted deep strike -- in 30k they do not automatically have this.

List Building & Evaluations.

I want to illustrate what is possible here. So I'm going to provide more than one list. This first one features ZERO drop pods. 

HQ:

* Legion praetor in tartaros terminator armour, thunder hammer, iron halo (165 points)

Elites:

* Terminator squad in tartaros armour, 10 members, 3 power fists, 2 chain fists, 5 combi-plasmas (395 points)

Troops:

* Tactical squad, 20 members, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour, legion vexilla (285 points).

* Legion Assault Squad, 10 strong, all with melta bombs, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour (325 points). 

Fast Attack:

* Storm Eagle with lascannons (250 points)

* 3 landspeedsers with multi-meltas, each with 1 hunter-killer missile (210 points)

* Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighter with twin linked frag and krak missile launcher, rad missiles, twin-linked auto cannon, phosphex bomb cluster (220 points)

I hope its clear that the storm eagle takes on board the 20 strong tactical squad, whilst the rest can fend for themselves. The list relies on applying pressure with the terminators, and with air support from the storm eagle plus primaris fighter. The land speeders aim to take tanks out whilst the assault squad back them up ably and takes objectives. I might be tempted to use a Caestus in place of the Primaris.

In this second list, below, we look at a PURE drop pod list, avoiding other fliers. And only taking the praetor in terminator armour as a singular threat who is able to join up with others as required.

HQ:

* Legion praetor, Terminator Armour, chain fist, iron halo, grenade harness (170 points)

* Master of signals, melta bombs (95 points)

* Master of signals, melta bombs (95 points)

Troops:

* Legion tactical squad, 10 members, 1 vexilla, sergeant with power fist, artificer armour (185 points)

* Dedicated transport drop pod (35 points)

* Legion tactical squad, 10 members, 1 vexilla, sergeant with power fist, artificer armour (185 points)

* Dedicated transport drop pod (35 points)

* Legion tactical support squad, 9 members, plasma guns, sergeant with power fist, artificer armour (320 points)

* Dedicated transport drop pod (35 points)

Elites:

* Legion veteran tactical squad, 9 members, 1 melta gun, 3 power axes, sergeant with power fist, artificer armour, all with melta bombs (280 points)

* Dedicated transport drop pod (35 points)

* Dreadnought Talon: 2 dreadnoughts with plasma cannons and chain fists (155 each)

* Dedicated transport drop pods (35 points each)

This list provides 6 drop pods, 2 of which are for regular dreadnoughts, and 4 for the tactical squads, support squad and veteran squad. The master of signals goes with the support and veteran squad to make the numbers up. On landing, they unleash their orbital bombardment, and / or give BS=5 to a nearby squad. The Praetor comes in via deep strike to pick off stragglers whilst the dreadnoughts give a fight where they're required. I personally wanted to try to take 7 drop pods, but to do so, I'd have to whittle down the support squad. Hence there's a need to be careful with the first wave and bring down the plasma guns, the veteran squad, plus probably one of the dreadnoughts to clear a landing zone upon getting on the board. Hopefully surviving the first turn of incoming fire, the rest will come in steadily to support them.

Armoured Spearhead 30k Army List: 1850 points

Background.

Today, I wanted to write up a generic army list for 30k that focussed on the Armoured Spearhead rite of war. The main strengths of the rite of war are that we can have lots of land raiders. But this comes at a price: everything must be transported and the enemy can gain extra game points by destroying every vehicle. But do they have the fire power to wreck lots of land raiders?

List Building.

The primary problem with Armoured Spearhead is the points level. At 1850 points, there's not too much room to manoeuvre. But are there enough threats if all there is on the board is land raiders? Do I have points left over for an allied detachment of something else? What about a Questoris Knights allied detachment? That might certainly be interesting! But not really affordable at 1850 points restrictions.

HQ:

* Praetor, terminator, thunder hammer, grenade harness (165 points)

* Command squad, (4 members), terminator armour, 1 heavy flamer, 2 chainfists, 2 powerfists (220 points)

* Dedicated land raider phobos transport (250 points)

Troops:

* Legion Breacher Siege Squad, 10 members, all with melta bombs, 2 melta guns, legion vexilla, sergeant with combi-melta, power fist, artificer armour (355 points)

* Dedicated land raider proteus with exploratory augury web (250 points)

* Legion Tactical Squad, 10 members, additional chainswords each, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour, legion vexilla, nuncio-vox, melta bombs (220 points)

* Dedicated land raider phobos transport (250 points)

* Tactical support squad with flamers (100 points)

* Dedicated Rhino (35 points)

Evaluation.

I really wanted a 4th land raider in here, but that would involve re-thinking the command squad and taking extra troops. And I really want to have the terminators and the standard bearer in there. 

The main disadvantage here is so few infantry on the board -- only 30 of them which is low at this points level. Recall that the other day I fitted 70 power armour bodies in to an Alpha Legion list which is more than double this. But the advantages are obvious: 3 land raiders and a rhino. Plus one of those land raiders has the exploratory web for the proteus to mess around with reserves of the enemy which is always nice. 

Overall, the army will require a bit of finesse to play and expert placement of its critical components. But its fun and any opposing army will have trouble facing down 3 land raiders. Do they have the fire power to take care of everything?

The list can be upgraded with an achilles land raider perhaps, but I'd like to try to fit a 4th land raider in somehow, I just don't quite know what to cut to make it so. Perhaps taking a tactical squad in place of the breachers would be a good move, but I do like the breachers here! 

Alpha Legion 30k Army List: 1850 points Dynat + Coils

Background.

When I saw Extermination, I knew immediately that I wanted to use Dynat in an Alpha Legion army list -- pre or post Heresy. 

The main thing that attracts me to Armillus Dynat are his special rules. Firstly he can deep strike an infantry unit in to play. Secondly, he provides a bonus to damage against vehicles inside the enemy deployment zone and permits re-rolling of sweeping advances. These two can combine together very nicely. And that's before we even consider than the Alpha Legion could all potentially infiltrate in to position in the enemy deployment zone. The only real question to build an army list around Dynat is what Rite of War to take. I can see a number of possibilities here, but I'm going to aim for the Alpha Legion rite of war Coils of the Hydra. Equally, I'm not using it to take any units I couldn't already. I'm doing so just because I can. To mess with the opponent. Because I can. Or perhaps to leave the door open for units like the Raven Guard's Mor Deythan. They would really be good here, as would a close combat squad.

List Building.

With the above in mind, I need to take 3 infantry squads. This really means less points are available for the nice stuff at this level.

But the real challenge is thinking about what I want to deep strike and why. To combine with Dynat's special rules I want either something that's going to sweep in combat or something that's going to hurt tanks. Hence I opted for a melta gun support squad (I play against 40k lists, so armoured ceramite isn't such an issue), or terminators in tartaros armour (for both purposes).

On top of this, I wanted something that would be slightly unusual to play against. So I actually thought about taking some lascannon tarantulas. I'm still not sure about that, but it seems very Alpha Legion (setting up in advance and all). In the end, I opted for an all infiltrating army under the mutable tactics from the Alpha Legion -- that's unusual enough at least. Here's the list:

HQ: 

*Armillus Dynat, power dagger (205 points)

*Master of Signals, melta bombs, power dagger (95 points)

Troops:

* Tactical squad with 20 members, vexilla, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour (285 points)

* Tactical squad with 10 members, combat blades, vexilla, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour (205 points)

* Assault squad with 10 members, 2 plasma pistols, sergeant with thunder hammer, plasma pistol, melta bombs and artificer armour (330 points)

* Tactical support squad with 5 members, melta guns, sergeant with power fist, artificer armour and melta bombs (190 points)

* Recon squad with sniper rifles (150 points)

Elites:

* Terminator squad in Tartaros armour, 1 plasma blaster, 1 thunder hammer, 2 chain fists (220 points)

Heavy Support:

* Heavy support squad with missile launchers, augury scanner (165 points)

Plus a few points left over to scatter some power daggers here and there.

Evaluation.

Deep strike in to position either the melta guns or the terminators for some early turn fun. The rest of the army can infiltrate in to position once the enemy is set up. That's the point of running an infantry heavy list. Depending on the enemy, it might be better to get one of the tactical squads deep striking in, although fundamentally, they're there for objective taking.

The back field is made up of both the recon squad and the missile launchers aided by the master of signals. Realistically, they're not back field, but more infiltrated in to the enemy deployment zone hopefully. And the master of signals is there for BS=5. Amillus can provide similar effects, but I think I'd want him hiding in the 20 man tactical squad most of the time.

The assault squad meanwhile provides rapid moving pressure to ensure early assaults and key units are tied up. Overall, I'm confident of seeing off tanks in the early turns of the game and mopping up key elements by grabbing first turn and doing some careful positioning to pull off an alpha strike (pun not intended).

To modify it, I might take Mor Deythan in place of the recon squad, or be tempted to increase the size of the terminator squad. I've avoided vehicles, but could be tempted by Sicarans, Storm Eagles, Death storm drop pods (seriously!), contemptors and other assorted nastiness. Chaplains, Apothecaries, and librarians actually tempt me too here. Automatically exploding tanks is possible too with the Alpha Legion consul, but only if playing relic related narrative campaigns or missions. In any regard, there's a whole load of power armour on the board here, and that's a real under-stated strength of this list. 

Overall, a fluffy and effective list that still gives opponents a chance I think. Comments welcome. 

Email in: Mono-Tzeentch Daemons please!

Precis.
One of my old gaming mates from Down Under recently messaged me. He wants to start a brand new army (1850 points). He's done Eldar and Dark Angels and wants something that is a bit more horde-y. Although Orks did cross his mind, he has decided to start a mono-Tzeentch chaos daemons army. He's also keen to play something that doesn't focus 100% on daemon summoning. Which is understandable.

So, he sent me this following army list for comments. He's also perfectly happy for me to post it here and gather any feedback from Warpstone Flux readers. There are some constraints here though. He *wants* to play a soul grinder. Just because. So don't question it. Beyond that, almost anything is up for criticism.

HQs:
Fateweaver
Lord of Change (ML 3, Greater Reward, Relic: the Everstave)
2 Heralds (ML 3, Disc of Tzeentch, Greater Reward)

Troops:
3 x 11 Pink Horrors (all with Icons)

Fast Attack:
2 x 3 Screamers

Heavy Support:
Daemon Prince (Tzeentch, ML 3, Warp-forged armour, daemonic flight, Greater Reward)
Soul Grinder (Tzeentch daemon, Phlegm)


Here's my initial reactions.
(1) Take instruments of chaos, even dropping icons to do so.
(2) Bigger screamer units, even at the expense of the daemon prince.
(3) Exalted locus of conjuration on at least the heralds would be terrific here.
(4) Not sure about the relic.

Further comments most welcome -- can you help an old friend of mine defeat his enemies whilst remaining plausibly fluffy and avoiding full-on mass summoning as a tactic?

Deathwatch Overkill Genestealer Army List for 30k

Today, I'm going to continue a trend that we started on Warpstone Flux with the release of Betrayal at Calth. We're going to see if we can build an army list for Horus Heresy 30k from the components contained inside the Deathwatch Overkill board game! Given there there are so few marines, and that they already come with data sheets to cover their use, I wanted to specifically focus on the Genestealer faction.

Arguably the optimum faction to represent the Genestealer Cult in 30k is the Imperialis Militia and Cults army list presented in Horus Heresy Book V: Tempest. Although the Solar Auxilia could be used, I think the Cults army is designed for this kind of force. 

Let's first do a head count of Deathwatch Overkill though. The boxed set contains the following miniatures:

1 Genestealer Primus;

1 Genestealer Patriarch;

1 Genestealer Magus and two Familiars; 

2 Purestrain Genestealers;

4 Aberrants;

28 Genestealer Hybrids.

From this, we're not going to make a high points level force, but let's see what we can do.

Firstly, we want a Force Commander. To characterise our force, we want to take some Provenances that will resonate with the Genestealer Cult. I think for this, I cannot go past Abhuman Helots (which provides a bonus to toughness, at the expense of initiative) and Tainted Flesh (to provide fear, feel no pain, as well as access to Mutant Spawn -- these will be the Aberrants). The only problem here is the Tainted Flesh. Although I really want to get Mutant Spawn, the fact that we would have to take heaps of Inducted Levy squads makes this a non-starter if we only have one lot of the Deathwatch Overkill Genestealers. Equally, I also want access to Rogue Psykers so we can use the Magus. That means we have to take either Cult Horde or Tainted Flesh. So, we're effectively stuck with one of these. Of these two, Tainted Flesh seems a lot more appropriate, so we will live with this one.

We will represent the Force Commander with the Genestealer Patriarch. Its either him, or the Primus to be honest.  We can use the Primus as a squad commander instead, and then take some other squads. Either way, we are looking at buying additional squads from Cadians (or similar) regardless. The only way around this would be to take an army that's just got Abhuman Helots and therein take Grenadiers. We'll look at the separately in the second half of this post. 

First Army List:

Force Commander, power weapon (replacing pistol), infra-visor, carapace armour, iron halo, planetary overlord rule; Provenances: Abhuman Helots plus Tainted Flesh (175 points).

The options here have been selected to represent the patriarch. They're all "counts as" in this context rather than WYSIWYG. 

Rogue Psyker, Alpha Psyker (60 points).

This one will represent the Magus.

Inducted Level Squad, lascarbines, discipline collars, frag grenades, vexilla, Custodian with hand flamer (90 points).

Sadly, this squad is 20 strong. It will therefore fill up with the vast majority of the hybrids. And we need yet another one of these squads to meet the minimum number of troops.

Inducted Level Squad, lascarbines, discipline collars, frag grenades, vexilla, Custodian with hand flamer (90 points).

We will need to purchase at least 12 other squad members to complete this squad (8 hybrids, plus maybe a box of cadians, the Primus could be thrown in here as the Custodian to take the number down again, and possible the familiars as well?). 

Mutant Spawn (85 points).

One squad of 3 spawn. Perhaps this is 2 aberrants plus 1 purestrain?

Mutant Spawn (85 points).

Another purestrain plus 2 aberrants! Obviously we could put these two squads together, but there's no reason to do that.

TOTAL COST = 585 points.

Suitable for an ally perhaps, but little else in 30k!

Alternative Army List:

Force Commander, power weapon (replacing pistol), infra-visor, carapace armour, iron halo, planetary overlord rule; Provenances: Abhuman Helots (140 points).

Again, this will be represented by the Patriarch.

Platoon Command Cadre, Commander with Melta Bombs, Refractor Field, Plasma Pistol, Bodyguards with close combat weapons, 1 extra body guard all with carapace armour (65 points).

These squad members will be represented by the Primus (Commander), Magus (Vox or Standard Bearer); A hybrid as the other out of the Vox or Standard bearer; Purestrains and Familiars as Body Guards.

We now have 27 hybrids and 4 aberrants left. We could use them as follows:

3 Grenadier Squads, Sergeant with Melta Bombs, Power Weapon, 1 Vexilla, Bolt Guns, 2 Melta Guns (145 points)

These will be represented by the Hybrids and Aberrants. One of these 3 squads will take an extra member, for an extra 5 points, making for a total of 440 points.

TOTAL COST = 645 points.

These two army lists are just suggestions of course. And they need a lot of "Counts As" permissions. But I kind of like them. They're not uber effective, so don't expect to win games or tournaments with them. Just enjoy them for what they are: a way to represent Genestealer cults on the battlefields of the Great Crusade potentially!

Pre-Heresy Alpha Legion 1000 points Army List

Background.

Locally, we are going to be having a round robin style tournament in the coming weeks. I've decided to field a 30k Pre-Heresy Alpha Legion force for said tournament. My main goals are just to get a feeling for how it plays, rather than wanting a "winning" list that will crush all opposition.

Indeed, one of the participants in the tournament will be a new-comer to the game. Hence I really didn't want to alienate them by taking a Death Star army, or Leaf Blower, or any other combination that is really overly hideous to play against. In short: I don't want to be "that guy" since the tournament is a friendly one (with no prizes other than bragging rights), and I want the new-comer to remain! 

We agreed that the points limit would be 1000. This is an interesting points level for a number of reasons. Most obviously it really restricts what you can do with building an army. Particularly in 30k. Indeed, I feel I will be at a distinct disadvantage compared to the participants who will be playing 40k codex armies. Hence I don't expect to win. But that's okay.

With all of that in mind, I decided that I would build a force around Autilon Skorr. Although I do not have the miniature for Skorr, I can readily create one from a scratch build. But what I like about Skorr is his ability to select his warlord trait. I'm therefore going to opt for Infiltration of 3 units with Skorr. On top of that, I will then use the Alpha Legion mutable tactics as either Scouts (to get closer) or Tank Hunters depending on the army. Realistically, Adamantium Will might also be an option too. So I'll keep those options open until I see the opposition. 

Speaking of the opposition, its likely I will be facing at least Chaos Daemons (probably a mixture of 2 or more patron powers); Chaos Space Marines (probably Nurgle based) and Eldar (craft world … probably a mixture of forces with a danger of seeing Eldrad). Hence: all options are being kept open here.

List Building.

To build the list, I then thought about which Rite of War I wanted to take. Although I did consider taking Skorr's Delagatus Rite, I eventually opted for taking Pride of the Legion. The main reason for this is that I really just wanted to use my terminators! Plus, they're assembled and painted, unlike some other components I have planned.

To ensure that I can benefit from things like Infiltrate, Scouts and Tank Hunters, I wanted a spread of troops, each with an ability to do things to more than one type / category of enemy unit. Knowing that I'm at a troops disadvantage in a low points game means that I have to play flexibly. And that it where the Alpha Legion should excel. Here's the list that I will be playing without further ado:

HQ:

*Autilon Skorr (125 points). Rite of War = Pride of the Legion (i.e. terminators and veterans are troops, as below).

*Master of Signals, melta bombs, power dagger (95 points)

Troops:
*Legion Veteran Tactical Squad, 10 members, 2 melta guns, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour (225 points)

*Legion Terminator Squad, 5 members, 1 Thunder hammer and 1 plasma blaster (200 points)

*Legion Reconnaissance Squad, 5 members with sniper rifles, sergeant with power weapon (160 points)

Heavy Support:
*Legion Heavy Support Squad, 5 members all with missile launchers, sergeant with augury scanner (165 points)

I think it should be obvious what I'm up to here. I'm aiming for an Alpha strike (pun not intended) through getting my marines up close and personal with the enemy as soon as possible in the game. 

Skorr will deploy with either the Veterans or the Terminators. I'm likely to give Fearless to the veterans for a few of the match ups, but could see other options there too. They will target either transports or big blobs of enemy troops early on, before charging in. 

The terminators will have a similar role, but be more focussed on anti-infantry compared to the veterans. 

The Master of Signals will be deployed with the heavy support squad for bonus BS. They will sit back and reach out to destroy vehicles, etc. Hopefully the big pie plate from the Master of Signals will happen in the first turn or two as well to take care of another big blob of troops. 

The Recon squad is there to do some target practise. I'm hoping to get a few precision shots off to take care of enemy characters, or even exploit AV=10 armour in a few places. 

Evaluation.

The weaknesses of this list are painfully obvious though. I've decided to not play any fast attack choices (I was toying with an assault squad, but could not justify the cost at this points level; I toyed with bikes as well, but wanted terminators more … and the bikes were not assembled in a big enough squad yet either). Fliers are going to be a pain as well, so I'm hoping I don't see too many of them. And obviously, I've foregone dedicated transportation to ensure that I can conduct a strong Alpha Strike with the infiltrate / scouts combination. I'm really worried about playing against the Codex: Daemons player as well. But being a daemons player myself, I guess that I just know what to expect!

I know I'm not going to win many rounds here. But that's not the point. I want to see how it plays and how I might alter it later on. 

[image credit: "XX" by Eric E Castro / flickr]

Word Bearers 30k Army List: 1850 points Erebus with The Dark Brethren

Introduction.

The Word Bearers legion is an incredibly powerful one in its own right. I think that many players overlook just how good their basic rules are. The ability to roll 3d6 and take the lowest 2 for leadership purposes is absolutely excellent. Combined with being able to have a bonus to sweeping advances, they can readily clear a board through good close combat.

The other thing that the Word Bearers can do that other legions cannot is to take Daemon Allies and plentiful psykers (NB: at the time of writing, I know nothing about the Thousand Sons -- I hope they're better in the psychic department than the Word Bearers are). In today's army list, I wanted to explore this by looking at a legion army list that features Erebus -- the chief architect of the Heresy -- at the helm combined with the Word Bearers rite of war: The Dark Brethren.

Army List

HQ 

High Chaplain Erebus (195 points).

Here he is in all his glory. He is being used here to fulfil the Chaplain requirement for the Word Bearers  special rules restrictions.

Diabolist Consul, Burning Lore, Jump Pack, Tainted Weapon, Melta Bombs (155 points).

More psychic power here, with a jump pack.

Diabolist Consul, Burning Lore, Tainted Weapon, Melta Bombs (135 points).

As above, but without the jump pack

Troops

Legion Tactical Squad, 20 members, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour, legion vexilla (285 points).

A large blob of troops. Take the diabolist without the jump pack to accompany these guys.

Legion Assault Squad, 10 strong, 2 plasma pistols, sergeant with thunder hammer, plasma pistol, melta bombs and artificer armour (330 points).

An all-purpose assault squad to go with the diabolist with the jump pack. 

Daemons Allies.
Be'Lakor (350 points).
Nasty, just nasty! You won't be making any friends here folks! If you're feeling a bit less nasty though, use Fateweaver instead ;)

11 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (99 points).
To take hold of objectives, of course. Well, not really, they're here for the extra psyker levels.

11 Horrors of Tzeentch (99 points).
Plenty of magic here to do something with.

6 Screamers of Tzeentch (150 points).
Zooming across the skies to take a munch out of tanks and terminators alike.

BONUS:
there are still 52 points to play around with here -- take some more cheese with the cheese, or better yet: an anti-air option. Dark Channeling for the Assault Squad is not a bad option either!

How it works.
This list focuses on psychic power a whole lot. Combining 3 psyker HQs, alongside Be'Lakor, and the Pink Horrors makes for a potentially devastating list. Sadly, the list also has very little way of taking care of fliers. Good luck with that. 

Try to get some daemon summoning going on with all these powers if at all possible. Remember that as daemons, everyone can gain access to the malefic daemon option and have Be'Lakor do some summoning. 

Use Be'Lakor to hide in the shadows and make a surprise assault. Use the Assault Squad to take out tanks. Subtle, this list is not. But it is not unbeatable, it is simply strong and can do some serious summoning if allowed to go on unchecked.

Expansions and Contractions.
This list certainly needs an anti-air option. That is the first thing I would look to expand in to. Beyond that, I think that some more bodies on the ground in power armour would not go amiss either. I would have liked to have taken some Gal Vorbak, or perhaps a tainted Mhara Gal dreadnought as well. I would be tempted to switch one of the diabolist to a full level 3 librarian as well. 

To get the list under 1500 points, at least one of the diabolists has to go, and I'd replace Be'Lakor with a pair of (or even a single) Heralds of Tzeentch. 

[Image Credit: Paulio Geordio; distributed under CC BY 2.0]

Night Lords 30k Army List: 1850 points Sevatar

Introduction.

In my overview of the basics and synergy concepts for building army lists in 30k and Horus Heresy era gaming, I noted that it is worth trying to take rites of war for armies as they can really enhance what the list is capable of. Today, I'm going to break that nominal rule, just to demonstrate that its the exception that makes the rule great!

Today's army list features the Night Lords and Sevatar. Hence, it could potentially have a rite of war due to Sevatar's Master of the Legion rule, but I'm going to argue it doesn't need it. Its one of the classic cases of an army doing better without it. Why should this be so? Well, in short: the Night Lords are one army that can potentially do very well (perhaps better?) without a rite at all. That is because their special rules (causing fear, and the ability to teleport terminators in - at a points cost premium) is akin to a rite of war in and of itself and can be exploited better without taking a rite of war, as I hope to demonstrate below.

Army List.

HQ

Sevatar (175 points).

Sevatar's warlord trait is master of ambush by default. This is actually really awesome and something that this army can (at will) exploit. Select carefully which units to use it on and then place Sevatar with one of the bulkier squads below.

Master of Signal, artificer armour, trophies of judgement, power fist (110 points).

To go with the heavy support squad.

Primus Medicae, terminator armour, trophies of judgement, teleport transponder (130 points).

To go with the terminator squad. Or any other squad for that matter really. 

Elites

Terminator Squad, 5 members, 5 chainfists, teleport transponders (225 points).

Teleporting terminators. Simple really.

Terror Squad, 5 members, Headsman with power fist, melta bombs, artificer armour (155 points).

A nuisance squad - plain and simple.

Troops

Tactical Squad, 18 members, all with bolt pistols and chainswords, legion vexilla, sergeant with artificer armour and power fist (265 points).

The humble, almost maxed out tactical squad. It's not maxed out as I needed to come in at 1850 points. I was 20 points over, so we have 18 rather than 20 member here. It is that simple.

Tactical Squad, 19 members, all with bolt pistols and chainswords, legion vexilla, sergeant with artificer armour and power fist (275 points).

There are 19 members here so that Sevatar can tag along with them.

Fast Attack

Night Raptor Squad, 10 members, 2 with flamers, Huntsmaster with artificer armour, melta bombs, Nostraman Chainglaive (295 points).

Strictly better than an assault squad, this squad provides a rapid reaction force to hunt down enemy infantry squads - particularly those holed up in cover. The meltabomb is defensive in case of being caught by dreadnoughts. Add in chain axes to taste is expanding. 

Heavy Support

Heavy Support Squad, 5 members all with missile launchers and flakk, sergeant with artificer armour (220 points).

An anti-aircraft and anti-tank role here. To be teamed up with the Master of Signal and hidden in some ruins until they need to go forth to take care of out-flankers.

How it Works.

Firstly. Take a deep breath and count up how many models you have in this army. Sixty Five. Let's just repeat that and let it settle in. Sixty Five models in at least 3+ armour, with 12 in 2+ armour. Some with invulnerable saves too. For any army, 65 models is a tough ask to take care of. Sixty five models in power armour or better is awesome. 

This army gives the player a lot of flexibility. There are so many components that can start the game in positions almost anywhere they like. The terminator squad and the Primus Medicae and deep strike. Naturally, they should go together. The Night Raptor squad can also deep strike if needed. The terror squad can infiltrate. And on top of that 3 other squads get to set up as per Master of Ambush thanks to Sevatar. I'd consider putting Sevatar with the 19 strong tactical squad and set them up accordingly. About the only squad in a fixed position is the heavy support squad. They're going to team up with the Master of Signals and camp out in some ruins in the deployment zone.

With this degree of flexibility, most enemies should be jealous. Even the Alpha Legion. And with this flexibility the strategy of the army can vary. But in most cases it will be aiming for an Alpha Strike (pun almost intended). 

Use the heavy support and the master of signal to lay down some significant firepower at the start of the game. Preferably take out a tank or a flier. Have the Raptors fly in to dislodge analogue support squads from their hiding places.

The terror squad can be outflanked to creep up and cause fear where needed.

Sevatar and his squad position with Master of Ambush. They're probably going to be joined by the terminators and the Primus Medicae when they're available from reserve. But they don't need to be. The terminators can use their chain fists to tackle enemy tanks close up, and instead the Primus can join Sevatar alone. Or any other squad for that matter really. Use fear, weight of numbers and everything else to throw at the enemy. 

That still leaves the 18 strong tactical squad that I've not mentioned. You probably won't even need them. Camp them out on an objective and have them laugh maniacally at the pitiful enemy? Or use Master of Ambush with them too? Your choice really.

Seriously, who needs rites of war with a list like this?

Expansions and Contractions.

Add the Night Haunter himself in here for bonus laughs. But if that is not permitted, then I would expand the squad sizes of all of these squads before even thinking about getting tanks. Then in terms of tanks, I would consider items like the Spartan, Storm Eagle and the Caetus Assault Ram. Focus on deadly things that also transport troops and are hard nuts to crack. Avoid rhinos - you don't need them. Drop pods are possible, but again, why bother. Take instead more infiltrating or outflanking troops (or even bikes) to keep with the theme of lots of marines on the ground able to be wherever they're needed.  Keep focussing on fast moving items, the ability to be where you want, and take weapons you need.

To contract, start with the terror squad -- they're a distraction unit here. Then its up to you. Perhaps remove the raptors to make it under 1500 points or the two HQs that aren't Sevatar? It'll still be a powerful list regardless, but the synergy with these HQs makes it much sweeter. So I'd even toy with the idea of cutting down the squad numbers slightly. 

Night Lords 30k Army List: Terror Assault

Introduction.
Terror Assault is the Night Lords unique rite of war. It accentuates what the Night Lords can do but other legions cannot: cause fear, use night fighting as their friend, and fundamentally: take lots of terror squads. Indeed, with this rite of war, we are forced to take 3 entire terror squads.

The other thing that the Night Lords can do that others will find hard to accomplish is have their terminators deep strike in to play in any game - and not require a rite of war to do so.

The only question in my mind here is whether to take Sevatar, or whether to opt to take a generic Praetor instead for this rite of war. Sevatar is excellent at what he does, and does grant Master of Ambush but his big drawback is the 3+ armour save and the lack of eternal warrior. Plus, terror squads have infiltrate regardless. It is for these reasons that for the Terror Assault rite of war that I'm going to select a generic praetor instead.

Army List. (1850 points limit). 
Praetor, terminator armour, teleport transponder, trophies of judgement, paragon blade, digital lasers, volkite charger (192 points).
This HQ gives us access to Master of the Legion and is kitted out for close combat. He is to be placed with the other terminators, below.

Master of Signal, artificer armour, Charnabal sabre, melta bombs, trophies of judgement, volkite charger, refractor field (135 points).
At first, selecting a legion Master of Signal over a chaplain might seem like an odd choice. But here, I'm using him for access to a Charnabal Sabre. So why a master of signal rather than taking a champion (and therefore a master crafted sabre?) - the answer is that he provides some much needed bombardment action for the army. After using this, he is a close combat monster with improved initiative to try to ensure that the lower striking members of any squad he is with can take advantage of their superior numbers inside combat. Place with any of the squads below you feel will most benefit from his BS bonus he can give to them.

Legion command squad, in terminator armour, thunder hammer for the sergeant, 2 chainfists, teleport transponders (210 points)
A fearless close combat squad designed to take out vehicles. Take a risk by deep striking them close to a valuable target. Team up with the praetor if needed. A bit of a suicide squad really. Could easily be replaced with a tactical squad instead. I include it here simply as an entertaining option (but pricey in terms of points). The choice is stark: 3 terminators to suicide strike a vehicle, or a large tactical blob. I can't quite make my mind up, so I'll leave the terminators here for now(!).

Elites.
Terminator Squad, 10 members, 5 chainfists, teleport transponders (475 points).
Another teleporting squad. Can be teamed up with the praetor as well.

Mortis Dreadnought, two twin-linked lascannons, havoc launcher (170 points).
An anti-air option for pesky fliers.

Troops.
Terror Squad, 5 members, Headsman with artificer armour, melta bombs, Nostraman Chainglaive (150 points).
A generic and small sized terror squad for causing fear in enemy troops and softening them up. To be infiltrated.

Terror Squad, 10 members, 9 with volkite chargers, 1 with a flamer, Headsman with artificer armour, melta bombs, power fist (285 points).
A kitted out terror squad, fit for infiltration.

Terror Squad, 9 members, Headsman with artificer armour, melta bombs, power fist (215 points).
Drop Pod (35 points).
A squad to team up with the Master of Signals if required, or to go it alone.


How it Works.
Arguably the big negative about Terror Assault is the lack of focus on support elements that can help with an anti-tank role. This is fundamentally why we have both the mortis dreadnought (which is arguably a HUGE target), as well as melta bombs absolutely everywhere.

The army relies on deep striking the terminators and drop pod, and infiltrating or outflanking the terror squads under the cover of darkness in the early turns to get in to position and take care of enemy tanks whilst ganging up on enemy infantry squads and trying to fear them off the table.

The sheer troops count here is an issue though. I would therefore contemplate getting rid of the command squad and having a tactical squad instead.

Expansions and Contractions.
More tactical marines for bodies on the ground is really required to make things shine here. Add in some transport options and I think we have the basis for an excellent army. Particularly if we can wrangle a land raider dedicated transport. Other ideas include having more dreadnoughts present as well. A Sicaran would be a sound choice too as would a destroyer squad. These are just ideas, clearly there are plenty of ways to expand up to 2000 points and beyond. I would also entertain heavy chain blades on some of the terror squad for fun. Gah, and I don't even have any lovely night raptors in here yet either. Heck, there's such a lot of choice for expansion.

To cut down to 1500 points, ditch the expensive command squad, and consider the necessity of the dreadnought if you know the opponent, otherwise its probably the master of signals that is going to face the chop.

The weakness this list will have is against fast moving enemies that are based on bikes (etc.). It could really benefit from some more ranged firepower, or fast elements of its own (night raptors, or storm eagle transports). Fundamentally, its a bit of an alpha-striking army list. Just pray that your opponent is not a fear immune legion (Salamanders, Death Guard) who are riding bikes everywhere (unlikely, but I'd love to see a Salamanders bike list!).

I will write at least one more Night Lords list, and in that one will try to focus a bit more on swift moving elements.