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So, this is the list I'm looking at for 1500. This is intended to be somewhat competitive, fluffy, and fun to play.

HQ: Lord (90), MoS (5), Daemon Weapon (40), Steed (30), Melta Bombs (5) - 170

Troops: 6 Noise Marines, Champ w/ Doom Siren, 4 Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster - 210

Troops: 6 Noise Marines, Champ w/ Doom Siren, 4 Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster - 210

Troops: 6 Noise Marines, Champ w/ Doom Siren, 4 Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster - 210

Fast Attack: 6 Raptors, MoS, Champ w/ PF, 2 Meltas - 200

Fast Attack: 6 Raptors, MoS, Champ w/ PF, 2 Meltas - 200

HS: 6 Havocs, 3 Missile Launchers - 150

HS: 6 Havocs, 3 Missile Launchers - 150

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Everything but the Lord, there, is fixed in stone. I'm open to suggestions on the Lord, but I'd I want a Lord and not a Prince or a Sorceror. (I'm not using Lash. Do not suggest Lash.)

What I'd like are some suggestions for expansion to 1850 and 2000.

Limitations: No marks but Slaanesh or Glory, no Obliterators, no Lash.

For 1850, I'm seriously considering just adding another identical unit of Noise Marines and giving them all Rhinos. Other options that crossed my mind were a Terminator unit kitted for CC and a Warptime Sorceror in Termi armor, or a couple units of Chosen loaded down with Plasma.

Thoughts:

Just because, you know, if you're playing Chaos, and say no Lash, that's fine. But, really now, you're playing a solid Slaanesh list. In new-40k-land, moving opponent models is part of slaanesh. It is in the daemon list, it is in the chaos dex... It's the Slaaneshy thing to do.

Ok, on to more constructive thoughts:

Your noise marine squads are awful. They're an example of a schizophrenic unit. That is, one that can't decide what it wants to do. You spent a lot of points on doom siren champs. Presumably, you want to get in close and flame people. You also spent a lot of points on blastmasters. So, presumably, you want to not move and fire them as more than just a +1S stormbolter.

These two goals are at odds with each other... You can't get close enough to flame your opponent if you're shooting the blastmaster, and you can't shoot the blastmaster if you're closing with your foe. See the dilemna here?

Also, while 6-man squads are nice and fluffy, they leave you horribly open to losing your expensive stuff early. It only takes six wounds on the unit to force a save on both the 60-point blastmaster guy and the 50-point champ. Not good.

So, you know, twelve is a multiple of six and equally as fluffy, and it's not like you have any rhinos that you're worried about overloading... Why not run two squads of twelve noise marines. Have one squad without a champ, with a blastmaster and maybe some sonic blasters. They hang back guarding objectives in your own zone.

Have another with a doom siren and sonic blasters, that are the mobile-firepower base. They close on your opponent's objectives. I'd also put a Powerfist on the champ, cause one soulgrinder or dreadnought will lock your big unit up for ever without it.

Other thoughts: Your lord would probably do better with lightning claws. I'm not a fan of the slaanesh daemon weapon, considering you can have a lash sorceror for less points and still have an instant-kill weapon when you need it... The lightning claws at high I are much more dangerous to enemy rank&file, and are still solid against characters.

A unit of slaanesh chosen termies in a land raider is a lot of fun...

I'd mount the NM squads into Rhinos to make full effect of the doom sirens.
For your expansion, I suggest Termies. In my 2000 pts list, I field a 10 men Termie squad with 2 heavy flamers, 2 power fists, and 6 combi-plasmas. This provide decent fire support and are mean in cc.

The point about Slaanesh moving stuff is a decent one. It's worked that way in Fantasy for a while. I'm not necessarily sold (and I'm not taking a prince, for fluff reasons) but putting a sorcerer in at 2000 points with Lash seems awfully reasonable.

I understand your point about focused NM squads, but I'm not entirely sure I agree. At some point, stuff is going to get close. What I'd planned on doing was shooting at them until assault became inevitable, then moving up and dropping an AP3 heavy flamer on their heads. before charging. Unless I overlooked it, you also still have to pull casualties from underneath the template, so you can get mildly lucky and snipe the powerklaw without having to wound 20 boyz first. It's a power weapon that can do a hell of a lot more damage and has utility against hordes.

Twelve-man squads aren't a bad idea either, especially as I expand.

I'd considered claws on the lord and will probably end up going that way. The daemon weapon is situationally better against characters but you end up with a lot of overkill, and you still have to wound on S4. (Which is lame; Lords should be S5 base, but whatever.)

Salvation122 wrote:
I understand your point about focused NM squads, but I'm not entirely sure I agree. At some point, stuff is going to get close. What I'd planned on doing was shooting at them until assault became inevitable, then moving up and dropping an AP3 heavy flamer on their heads. before charging.

Some stuff is going to get close. Other stuff isn't going to bother. Some stuff is going to engage you in a shooting war at range. And, with only three troop units of six men each, you're going to have to move to objectives in some games, denying you the blastmaster.

But if you're planning on being in assault anyway, giving the champ at least a power weapon won't hurt.

But, my experience with Emperor's Children in the new chaos codex is that your noise marines need to specialize more. Blastmasters are so expensive that you cannot justify taking them and running around firing them as assault guns. And doom sirens are so expensive that you really can't justify taking them as a precaution against something maybe getting close to you.

Unless I overlooked it, you also still have to pull casualties from underneath the template

No, I think you overlooked it. Casualties can come from anywhere in the squad, you cannot snipe with a flamer.

I'd considered claws on the lord and will probably end up going that way. The daemon weapon is situationally better against characters but you end up with a lot of overkill, and you still have to wound on S4. (Which is lame; Lords should be S5 base, but whatever.)

This is why most people have given up running lords. They just don't compare to princes or even sorcerors.

You are gonna get totally swamped by an Orke Horde.

If the undivided mark is acceptable, go with an undivided lord and a daemon weapon. There's your S5.

I hear ya on lords needing to be S5 base, btw. I mean a terminator aspiring champion with lightning claws is just as killy as a lord with the same against any enemy WS3 or less, and only slightly less if the enemy is 4 or more. Kind of ridiculous.

And ork horde nothing, what are you going to do against necrons with a monolith? Nothing you have can do more than glance it, and you can't destroy them with glancing hits. Only the raptors have any shot with the Ap1 on their meltas. You lack AP2 in general, meaning anyone with a squad of terminators, character with a 2+ save, monstrous creature with a 2+ save, etc. will be able to walk through your army.

If obliterators are out, then might I suggest chosen with plasmaguns for your expansion? A predator or landraider for some tough lascannons?