The Emperor's Children sun killers shelter behind an Aegis line and take shots at the mutated and demonic presence of the Word Bearers on frost rimed world forgotten to time.
Showing posts with label word bearers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label word bearers. Show all posts
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Wargames Gallery: Does Plasma Damage Daemonkin?
Faced with a squad of Gal Vorbak bearing down on them, the Iron Warriors support squad opens fire with plasma in the hopes that they can damage the relentless half-marines, half-daemons spawn of the Word Bearers unholy alliance with the powers beyond.
[After report: the plasma tickled them a little bit, and the Iron Warriors suffered for their audacity.]
Monday, April 8, 2024
Painted Possessed
A batch of painted possessed completed recently. These marines follow the off-centre colour scheme started with my Gal Vorbak which features blue flesh, alongside more typical Word Bearer colouration coupled with a head replacement on one of them for a more human touch which I think makes it more fearful and imposing. The blue could do with a touch more highlighting, and the reds a touch more shading to be honest. But they're tabletop ready otherwise.
I plan to use them as a second unit of Gal Vorbak ultimately. They are of roughly the same size and scale as the Gal Vorbak and can certainly take a spot alongside them without too much issue. That said, I would be the first to admit that I prefer the Forge World sculpts of the original Gal Vorbak, but these do rather well.
Friday, November 18, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Kor Phaeron
2.5/5 stars. Rounded up. The rules are mildly below average - Kor Phaeron is not a full Astartes after all.
Background.
Rounding out the Word Bearers wide selection of HQ's is the Father figure of Lorgar himself. Kor Phaeron was too old to be fully elevated to an Astartes, but this didn't stop Lorgar and co from gene crafting him into an almost Astartes and gifting him some specialist equipment so that he could take his place by Lorgar's side.
Strengths.
Kor Phaeron is an ideal choice to put in an army alongside Lorgar. When done they both gain WS+1 and hatred of everything. This is brilliant. However if Kor is in the army but not the warlord he gets Ld-1 for his trouble.
His warlord trait allows his to chant some weird stuff that affect the people and enemies around him. He gets to choose one of two modes per turn. The first option is to force pinning tests in a large bubble around him -- this is terrific and he should be built for this kind of play. The second grants fearless to his unit but damages WS and BS by 1 pip -- this is a purely defensive strategy and shouldn't be used unless there's no other choice, or an enemy is very weak (perhaps rad grenade affected?). He also comes with It Will Not Die and feel no pain which will help keep him alive a little bit longer, but that leads me directly on to his weaknesses.
Weaknesses.
His stat line is weak for a First Captain and Praetor, reflective that he is not a full Astartes. With S=T=3, he certainly is vulnerable. But his claws provide reliable AP2 and shredding, whilst his armour gives an invulnerable of 3+ in the shooting phase to try to keep him alive. He will die readily in a challenge though, so beware.
Overall.
Worth playing alongside Lorgar for the resonant boost to both of them. As a praetor, he is weak, but still viable in low points value games. There are better choices in higher points values, so I think the only 2 scenarios I would take him are with Lorgar, or low points games to be honest. He is fluffy though, and can work with a bit of tactical acumen by getting the pinning chant done at the opportune moment.
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: High Chaplain Erebus
3.5/5 stars. The rules are above average.
Background.
Of all the Word Bearers, and of all the Astartes in all legions, none bears more responsibility for the Heresy than Erebus. Through him, the powers of chaos put in motion their grand scheme to bring low half the legions and the Warmaster too. Erebus was all too willing, able, and ready to take the commanding role in all of this for his perverse masters in place of the Emperor's light.
Strengths.
The warlord trait here is called Shadow Behind the Throne. When part of a unit of any marines, he does not have to have any wounds allocated to him regardless of whatever Exodus or other marines might have to say about the matter. This doesn't apply in close combat though. Its a rule that keeps him alive long enough to serve in combat, but little more utility beyond that apart from the additional reaction in any one of the enemy phases to be chosen by the player at the start of the battle - this is a bit more powerful than the standard reaction bonus which makes up for the other component of the trait.
The player can select 3 units from the Ruinstorm army list which is probably the main reason for taking Erebus here, but his psychic abilities are nifty with Breach the Veil, and Lightning at his fingertips. His stat line is adequate (which is to say nothing special for a praetor level character) and he brings reliable AP3 at S=7 to the table for close combat. Fearless (very rare!) and hatred of loyalists round out nicely his rules.
Weaknesses.
Realistically, he is a solid HQ choice with not much not to like. Sure, he is not providing an army wide buff, but the warlord trait does allow him to be played very aggressively in a wave of foot slogging troops to get to where is needed to unleash daemons, lightning, or AP2 as required.
Overall.
An absolutely fine HQ choice. Play melee, play daemons, and play to eliminate the enemy.
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Argel Tal
4/5 stars. The rules are good.
Background.
Belonging to the doomed Serrated Sun chapter of the Word Bearers, Tal gazed into the abyss and it gazed back to turn him into the lord of the Gal Vorbak. Not possessed like his brethren in 40k are, but a symbiote, his form is dominated by a large pair of wings sprouting from his back when in combat. He was also one of the first to paint his armour red -- the colour of the Word Bearers' betrayal.
Strengths.
Argel Tal has a host of special rules, not least of which is being a master of the legion. He also gains things like relentless, feel no pain, and rage which come in handy. His stat line is also very good with 6 in WS and 5's in most other places.
His wings enable a move of 14 inches with few drawbacks (except if he runs, in which case forget shooting or charging). Meanwhile his talons are rending with AP3. Finally, his warlord trait enables him and a Gal Vorbak unit to gain a 5+ invulnerable save which is very nice.
Weaknesses.
I feel if he had one of reliable AP2, or Brutal, he would be perfect and score 5/5 stars from me. As it is, he is just short. But that is fine. He's still crazy good!
Overall.
The obvious warlord choice for any army running the Last Rite of the Serrated Sun, but otherwise he works fine even when just using a unit or two of Gal Vorbak. He is a heavy hitter with moderate staying power and some nice movement rules combined with a local boost to Gal Vorbak. There's little not to like overall. Naturally, he can only be used in traitor armies though.
I will finish by stating that I also love the miniature for him! I'm a fan!
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Zardu Layak
3/5 stars. The rules are average.
Background.
One of the first of the Word Bearers to fully embrace the new religion after the Censure of Monarchia. Zardu is described as fiery and fervent in his beliefs, and has handily shackled a pair of unfortunate battle brothers to his own will over time -- the so called blade slaves.
Strengths.
Zardu is a master of the legion that comes packaged with his pair of blade slave meat shields. Zardu himself is armed with an AP2 weapon that also has force associated with it. This is solid. His psychic discipline is unique in the game and gives him access to an ability to cancel reactions (nice!) as well as an assault 4, 36 inch range pinning and shell shock weapon.
His warlord trait is mixed though. He gets to select 3 units and give them enhanced movement and S+1. But there's a downside. Those units must test Ld every turn of suffer perils of the warp. Overall its not the best warlord trait, but at least it is fluffy. The stat line meanwhile is fine for a praetor, and he comes with armour that give a bonus to combat resolution and sweeping moves. This is solid.
The blade slaves are no slouches in combat either with access to AP3 and Brutal 2. With 3 wounds each and feel no pain, they should provide good meat shield cover for most things short of vindicator shots.
Weaknesses.
Fundamentally, I can't help but feel there are better HQs to select. Zardu has a nice miniature and its no surprise to see him as a core character. He's just not offering much that other front line characters bring that I would favour, and the warlord trait is decidedly mixed.
Overall.
I think Zardu has his placed as the HQ of a corrupted army, and as the forefront character for a melee charge. Beyond that, I actually don't like him too much. The one time I saw him on the battlefield, I dealt with him through a combination of precision shots and pie plates. His blade slaves routed shortly after. Its a bit of a shrug from me - he is fine overall, but just not the first choice I think.
Monday, November 14, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Mhara Gal Dreadnought
4/5 stars. The rules are good.
Background.
What do you get if you put a smashed up Gal Vorbak inside a contemptor dreadnought? The Word Bearers have conclusively answered this with the Mhara Gal. "...that which was blessed, but now stands beyond the sight of the gods" to use the official description. The dreadnought is a cursed creation with black flames flickering around it and reality itself upset by its presence. In many ways, this is punishment with life after death for the Gal Vorbak inside.
Strengths.
Its a dreadnought with extra tasty rules layered on top! Incoming fire from certain types (melta most importantly) have S-1 applied. It have an invulnerable save and explodes with a high strength and lots of hits. Daemons, corrupted, and psykers also suffer in a bubble around the dreadnought with T-1 and S-1 imposed upon them. And then there's the stat line which is a good improvement on the baseline contemptor (two extra wounds alone is great). It also gets It Will Not Die with a bunch of other rules such as move through cover that will help with movement, and rampage.
Weaknesses.
Traitor only folks!
The low BS also means that shooting weapons are not brilliant unfortunately.
Difference to First Edition.
The fluff about it passing through walls (and rules about reality recoiling) has vanished here.
Builds.
Mhara Gal, with double tainted claws (240 points).
Close combat duty.
Mhara Gal, tainted claw, warpfire cannon (240 points).
Even with the low BS, the warpfire cannon is still worth taking. And I'm noting it here as it is what the model comes with - totally viable. I would not choose the other weapons though - the low BS doesn't pay off and the pure shooty version is not worth playing (a case can be made for double warpfire cannon, but I don't like it much).
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Ashen Circle Squad
3/5 stars. The rules are average. Consider applying Dark Channeling to a maxed-out squad here and you will gain a lot potentially.
Background.
An echo of what the Word Bearers once were: iconoclasts who tore down not merely worlds, but also their culture and replaced them with the Imperial Truth. Later, that replacement would be something more sinister, but they remain arguably the most representative of what the legion once was. They traditionally work alongside destroyer squads and specifically hollow out enemies who hold cultural positions such as standard bearers and eminent leaders.
Strengths.
They come armed with Axe Rakes which provide a bonus pip in Strength and the shred rule which is good. Their hand flamers are torrent and cause pinning. Deployed tactically, they can be very effective, but they don't have too much in the protective department. Aside, I do like the melta bombs as standard here. The special Scorched Earth rule provides a bonus hit with Hammer of Wrath which is handy, all at S+1 as well.
Weaknesses.
The points cost is quite steep in comparison to regular assault squads. As a result, I almost gave them 2.5/5 stars here. I would suggest strongly to consider Dark Channeling if you're playing traitors to offset this, and for this reason, I gave 3/5 stars.
Difference to First Edition.
Say goodbye to those power axes. Boo.
Builds.
5 Ashen Circle, Iconoclast with Artificer Armour (135 points).
The baseline build.
10 Ashen Circle, Iconoclast with inferno pistol and artificer armour (250 points).
A bit of a max squad. This is a GREAT candidate for the Dark Channeling upgrade, and also for the Iconoclast to swap out the side arm for a warpfire pistol. See the Word Bearers Armour for more.
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Gal Vorbak Squad
5/5 stars. Yes: I am giving out one of my rare top marks to the Gal Vorbak! The remnants of the Shattered Sun Chapter shine brightly in second edition.
Background.
The Shattered Sun chapter of the Word Bearers stared too hard and too long into the darkness on the ancient world of Cadia. The darkness stared right back at them. Those who survived found themselves infiltrated by the powers from beyond and not so much possessed as those who would come after them, but rather hosts who entered into coexistence with them. Their forms are able to bloat and swell, grow hideous claws, and form weapons to help them as they bound and leap across the battlefield.
Strengths.
An almighty three wounds each coupled with extra pips in S, T, WS, I and movement makes these marines very notable from the outset. They come with free tainted talons (only AP3, but with rending and murderous striking), and bolt spitters to enable them to have a versatile battlefield role. They are corrupted, naturally, so they cause fear and are treated like the daemons they should be. Alongside this are a small array of special rules ranging from rage and relentless, through to feel no pain and chosen warriors. Naturally they can only be used by the traitor side.
For the points cost, these corrupted space marines are simply brilliant. Unless you're running loyalists, you will want to take these. Heck, even Alpharius wants to take these with the Rewards of Treachery if he needs some heavy hitting marines for close combat.
Weaknesses.
For what they do, they are fantastic. They are fundamentally a close combat unit, but here in second edition they can chip in with short ranged fire fights as well. They also have a neat array of upgrades they can take as well. They can be used as both hammer and anvil in the right circumstances. I guess the 3+ save is a minor issue, but who cares. They also cost slightly more than first edition. Again, no biggie given their improvement here. Finally, you also want to think about how to get them where they need to be: they lack a transport option. Use the associated rite of war to cure this.
Difference to First Edition.
They get bolt spitters! They drop plasma guns, and other things have shuffled around. They do cost more points, and they can't all have double tainted talons sadly. They're still amazingly good though.
Builds.
5 Gal Vorbak, 1 power fist (290 points).
Hard hitting with plenty of potential rending on the charge. Swap out one bolt spitter for an extra tainted talon to gain 1 more attack each and turn them into a bit more of a close combat focused squad for the same points cost.
10 Gal Vorbak, 2 Warpfire Blasters, 2 power fists (600 points).
Very expensive here. Potentially vulnerable to large blast high strength attacks. My thought would be to run minimum size squads instead since there's not points cost gain to be had, and thus you should think of this build as illustrative only. Spend 300 points each for 2 units. This unit is a flexible one. Swap out the blasters for melta guns if you are after anti-tank potential. A very flexible choice.
Friday, November 11, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Lorgar
3/5 stars approximately. Both the original and transfigured versions of Lorgar are fine, but at the lower end of the power spectrum of primarchs. He shines with his psychic abilities and army buffs though.
Background.
Lorgar Aurelian and his Word Bearers had cause to turn traitor, but no one could have particularly seen just how far he would fall, how fast, and how many he would also be taking with him along the way. Once creating compliant worlds out of faith to the Emperor, our orator of the word was rebuked and spat out with devastating results for him, his legion, and half the other legions to boot. His is the original guilt for the entire civil war.
Strengths.
To be clear from the outset, Lorgar's strengths do not lie in his stats. They instead reside in his psychic abilities and the buffs he can bring to the army. His personal retinue gains fearless and feel no pain, and he can grant this to a nearby unit once per game on top of this. Played right, this is terrific.
His armour provides an increase save against psychic attacks should you need it (probably when facing Thousand Sons or rival daemon armies most likely?). His side arm is tasty with haywire and graviton rules attached to it, while his maul has the Brutal (2) rule attached to it which makes up for his otherwise lackluster statline (more on that in one moment).
He can also be upgraded to his Transfigured state for a modest points cost increase. This gains him access to being tainted, other psychic powers (hello daemon summoning!) as well as the ability to take daemon allies (finally!).
Finally his warlord trait is a strong one with adding +1 distance and using his Ld for all units that draw a line of sight to him (the bonus assault reaction is great as well). His sons truly listen to his words!
Weaknesses.
His stat line is the worst in the game out of all the primarchs that I've seen. Even good old Alpharius who has been nerfed into the ground in second edition has a better A, WS, and BS than Lorgar. Equally, Lorgar does have Brutal (2) which Alpharius lacks, and this makes up for a lot realistically.
Overall.
There's a lot to like about Lorgar in second edition. Continuing with the Alpharius comparison, Lorgar is actually worth his points cost in either his regular or transfigured forms. Sure, he's not going to beat his brothers in a duel (maybe except Alpharius), but the point is that he is a buff, and to be played aggressively against selected targets.
Difference to First Edition.
A lot of things have been shuffled around here. The Lorgar Transfigured in particular provides access to daemon allies consistently for this legion which is very different to first edition. There are other shuffles and changes, but the outcome is about the same give or take. Lorgar remains worth his points and works well played aggressively against targets other than his brothers.
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Diabolist
4/5 stars. The rules are very good!
Background.
Near the beginning of the Heresy, the Word Bearers were already dabbling in things that maybe they should have left well alone. The diabolists were a symptom of the dabbling; creating powers never seen before and tearing at the frayed edges of real space.
Strengths.
Gain the psyker rule for a small points cost increase (and notably significantly less than becoming a Librarian consul), but also gain the corrupted rule (that shouldn't bother you if you're playing Word Bearers). They gain Diabolism for this which grants them psychic lightning along with A Dark and Terrible Power (choose your charge distance and gain 3x Hammer of Wrath, as well as increased S and T! -- truly magnificent for close combat), along with Hellfire (an amazing S=7 template weapon). This character is very much a close range and close combat character and needs to be played as such.
Weaknesses.
No psychic hoods here, but you can grab a force weapon which is good news.
Builds.
Diabolist, with Force Weapon (100 points).
A baseline build to accompany a close combat squad and give it a power up in the deadly department.
Diabolist, Force Axe, Jump Pack (120 points).
More of a solo artist potentially.
Diabolist in Cataphractii Armour, Thunder Hammer, Grenade Harness (130 points).
I trust that you don't have any friends left at this stage. Force axes work in place of the thunder hammer of course, but I just like the thunder hammer here on the charge.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Word Bearers Armoury
4/5 stars. The rules are good. Of note here is that the Word Bearers have one of the better stocked armouries out of all of the legions, and in broad terms the options are attractive.
Burning Lore. For a bit of an investment, your praetors can gain the corrupted type, along with access to being a psyker with the diabolism discipline. In general, this will be worth doing.
Dark Channelling. For units and dreadnoughts, they can be upgraded at the same cost as Burning Lore so that they also gain the Corrupted sub type. Being able to cause fear along with being immune to fear, and functionally having the fearless rule is great. I suspect this calls for large squads to make best use of the rule though. It is also a solid counter to Night Lords play styles.
Tainted Weapons. These weapons replace power weapons to obtain murderous strike at 6+. This is not quite worth it given the points cost increase, but can be nice when it gets pulled off.
Warpfire Weapons. These are direct swap outs for plasma weapons for a small points cost. It removes gets hot, reduces S by 1, and gains pinning. This upgrade is a middling one and its selection will depend on your own playstyle preferences.
Boltspitters. Not much to report here realistically. The heavy 6 on the greater boltspitter is nice I think.
Difference to First Edition.
I like the Word Bearers armour in this edition. It feels better and more refined, with plentiful options to mull over. Tainted weapons in particular are much better in the sense of not dropping their AP, but I'm still not that tempted by them.
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Word Bearers Traits and Rites
4.5/5 stars, rounded down to 4. I really think the Word Bearers have some of the better traits and rites of war in the game. Unless you're playing loyalists, in which case look for rites of war elsewhere as there is no joy here for you!
Warlord Traits.
The Word Bearers continues the main theme of the legions being able to pick between three main Warlord Traits.
Enslaved by Darkness. Starting with the Traitor only rite, the Warlord has to be Corrupted and in turn gains a variable bonus. This is one extra pip in S and T in the first three turns, no bonus in 4 and 5, and a negative pip in the final turn. The bonus movement here is welcome and encourages a direct and hard hitting play style for the early turns. The controlling player needs to consider how to make the most of this by (e.g.) deep striking or similar to where he's needed. The turn 6 penalty is not really that bad since most HQs are usually dead by then anyway. Hence this is a remarkably strong warlord trait, even if he's also treated as a daemon for any relevant rules.
Unswerving Devotion. Automatically passing the first morale or pinning check per turn is strong and the bonus to shooting reactions is good too. Another great trait, and this time for either side of the civil war. Well worth taking and placing the HQ in a large blob.
Iconoclast. One bonus attack against a character, or unit with vexilla, or legion standard is very handy. The bonus strength against buildings and terrain pieces is unusual, yet also fluffy and circumstantial. The extra assault reaction is nice. This one is above standard once again - I like it.
Rites of War.
The Dark Brethren. For the traitors, this one portrays the corruption in the legion close up. Choose a target enemy and when it is destroyed, the player gains 1 point of Favour of the Dark Gods. This point is immediately spent to provide S+1, WS+1, and movement increases. The downside is that if the army doesn't score an unsaved wound on the sacrifice per turn, they take a perils of the warp. I find this rite to be very strong, exceptionally fluffy, and overall a great portrayal of the legion. Take it for your traitor cause and be happy!
Last of the Serrated Sun. The second rite of war is also a Traitor one and focuses on the Serrated Sun chapter which gave birth to the Gal Vorbak. Speaking of them, take them as troops. Take dreadclaws for them too (wow!). Give your other infantry drop pods in place of rhinos (also wow!). The only price here is no movement=0 units, and no allies. Another strong rite to be honest, but not the rolling amazement of the Dark Brethren.
Difference to First Edition.
Honestly, I genuinely like what I see here. The Dark Brethren rite has been re-written extensively from First Edition and I approve very much. No more daemon allies for the Dark Brethren though. Too bad. But I assume in a future rules release this will be possible anyway via making them allies. The Serrated Sun rite is about the same give or take. In summation, these traits and rites are a really nice selection and the rules are very strong overall.
Monday, November 7, 2022
Horus Heresy 2e Review: Word Bearers Legion Rules
2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars. The rules are average but some are certainly below par.
Background.
The traitor's traitor legion. Once held in high regard by all, and venerating the Emperor as a deity, the legion was laid low by the same man at Monarchia when he demonstrated the error of the legion's ways through a rather extreme censure. This ultimately caused them to explore beyond their faith in the Emperor and to (re)discover the chaos gods. Lorgar, his close friends, and the legion more widely spread the rot from which the Heresy would flourish and wrote their names in infamy from Isstvan to Ultramar and beyond. Welcome to the Primordial Truth that existed long before the Imperial Truth.
Legion Rules Review.
True Believers. The Word Bearers return to second edition with a minimum leadership of 6 (ever) and the ability to win tied combats by 1. Both of these facets are not very good on paper compared to other legions. They will come up a few times per game in all likelihood though.
The Arms of Colchis grants access to the wargear, while Priests of Forgotten Gods enables both the selection of Diabolists as a consul upgrade and the Burning Lore upgrade for praetors. Disciples of Lorgar grants a selection from the appropriate Warlord Traits.
Advanced Reaction.
Glorious Martyrdom. This is a curious advanced reaction and when timed well is simply superb and potentially game defining. When they are the victim of a shooting attack, they can sacrifice one member of the unit (no saves) and the shooting ends there and then. Doesn't affect blasts or templates admittedly, but still amazingly good.
Difference to First Edition.
In First Edition, the Word Bearers all got a slightly different bonus to Ld thanks to that variation of True Believers. Cut Them Down is absent here even from the Traits and Rites (no more re-rolling low rolls on sweeping advances - sigh). Equally Charismatic Leadership is also gone. On balance, I feel they have had a nerf compared to First Edition. With that said, their new advanced reaction is tasty!
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Horus Heresy Review: Argel Tal
Background.
A captain of the Serrated Suns chapter of the Word Bearers and also one of the first of the Word Bearers to look into the depths of the Eye of Terror -- he discovered that it looked back at him. The daemon, Raum, possessed him (or arguably formed a symbiosis with him) and enabled him to transform into an incredible part daemon entity capable of mass destruction on the battlefield. Purely aside from me, he was also best buddies with Kharn, and the two enjoyed a strong friendship until the end. At which point Kharn was rightly angry...
Strengths.
The stat line along for Argel Tal is very attractive with 5's all round apart from 4 wounds and an extra pip in WS. Combine this with a natural 2+ save and the daemon special rule means that this is an HQ choice to be reckoned with. His close combat attacks feature AP3 at S+1 which means he can pump out a huge amount of damage in melee. The rending and shred rules merely add to this deadliness level.
I find the warlord trait, Master of the Vakrah Jal, to be very interesting indeed. Using this, Argel Tal unlocks Gal Vorbak as troops choices. If the unit that Tal joins are made of models that have the daemon rule, then they all get feel no pain too. This can be really strong overall, and encourages a really interesting army composition.
Weaknesses.
He is not a scoring unit, nor does Tal have any ranged weaponry (except for the standard grenades). Naturally, he's also only available to the traitor faction.
Curiously, Tal lacks the Word Bearers Astartes special rule, but this is understandable. This does not affect his ability to be a praetor level character and select a rite of war from the Word Bearers list though.
Other than that, the player will need to consider how to get Tal where he needs to be.
Overall.
Argel Tal is a very strong close combat HQ choice for the Word Bearers legion. An army with lots of daemons in and Gal Vorbak is frankly frightening from a number of different angles. But that sort of army requires finesse to make work well.
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Greater Possessed
On my "to buy" list for a while was the Greater Possessed model that came out quite a while ago now. I really liked the sculpt and wondered whether it would be of comparable size and detail level as the Val Gorbak from 30k Word Bearers legion.
Overall, I like the sculpt and the size of the miniature is indeed rather comparable to the Val Gorbak resin models. However, the sculpt is done in a different way and the detail is simply different to what is found on the Forge World models. I don't think this matters at all for the table top, and they would fit right in with the Word Bearers legion for any 30k game.
For my model, I wanted some red Word Bearers colours on the armour, and to have blue "flesh" coloured bits at the extremities. The images show what I came up with.
They have come out reasonably well overall, and I'm pleased with the contrast of the blues and reds -- particularly against the resin base. I think this would be a fine addition to 30k Val Gorbak squads, and I might just use it as such.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Wargames Gallery: Alpharius vs Gal Vorbak
Revealing himself, Alpharius makes sudden and short work of the treacherous Val Gorbak element of the Word Bearers, as around him his sons surge.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Warhammer World: Word Bearers of Horus Heresy
The turn of the Word Bearers has come today. Sporting the post-Isstvan red colour scheme, these word bearers have a variety of painting schemes applied to them including variant shoulder pads and decals, as well as the Colchisian scrawling across the armour and tanks which is very nice to see.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
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.
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.
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]
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