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Every once in a while a wild idea just kind of slips in and captivates you. For a while now an idea that has floating around in my mind as just some fluff I was aware of has been the Year of the Ghosts:



Pretty simple sounding concept, right? Ghosts of the Honored Imperial dead come back from the grave to mess Chaos up and chase them out of the Segementum Solar (aka the very HEART of the Imperium which contains Terra).

Having only finally seen it actually in the fluff for myself (instead of just seeing it online. If you don't believe it's a thing, look at Page 39 in The Dark Millennium) has rather cemented the concept of what is basically a Ghost Army in my head. It just sounds REALLY cool to me.

Only I have no idea how to approach it exactly. A friend of mine mentioned using the Daemon Codex to represent their more Spectral Nature, and that sounds kind of reasonable, but even going down that road I'm not 100% sure what models to use. So I'm just looking for some ideas to kind of help me cement this in my mind and figure out how to run this thing.

So any ideas or suggestions?

EDIT: Screwed up the thread title.

1) Buy Cadians

2) Paint them ghostly

3) Use daemons rules to summon more

4) Win?

 TheKbob wrote:
1) Buy Cadians

2) Paint them ghostly

3) Use daemons rules to summon more

4) Win?

Daemonfactory isn't really my kind of playstyle to be honest. If I went Daemons I wouldn't be able to bring myself to run a Daemonfactory. A Psyker who can summon more Ghosts? Sure. A while army around summoning more Ghosts? Nope. I kind of want the army to actually see the table after all.

Then dont daemon factory.
Legion of the damned codex could work for you.

 ninjafiredragon wrote:
Then dont daemon factory.
Legion of the damned codex could work for you.

Except that you can't run the army by itself without auto-losing (Army MUST Deep Strike and doesn't have an early DS option like Deathwing does), otherwise I'd say "totally".

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 ninjafiredragon wrote:
Then dont daemon factory.
Legion of the damned codex could work for you.

Except that you can't run the army by itself without auto-losing (Army MUST Deep Strike and doesn't have an early DS option like Deathwing does), otherwise I'd say "totally".

Then legion of the damned and some daemon allies (not much, maybe 2-3 heralds for maybe 1-2 summoned units a turn)

 ninjafiredragon wrote:
Then dont daemon factory.
Legion of the damned codex could work for you.

Or just use a Herald or two to do the summoning while the rest of the Psykers focus on buffs/debuffs/shooting.

For the models you could have fun cherry picking your favourite sculpts.

Flagellants would look nice painted as spectres

The extreme freedom to pick anything for the 40-60mm based units would be ideal.

What models have you seen in recent releases and fulfilled Kickstarters that have caught your eye?

 ninjafiredragon wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 ninjafiredragon wrote:
Then dont daemon factory.
Legion of the damned codex could work for you.

Except that you can't run the army by itself without auto-losing (Army MUST Deep Strike and doesn't have an early DS option like Deathwing does), otherwise I'd say "totally".

Then legion of the damned and some daemon allies (not much, maybe 2-3 heralds for maybe 1-2 summoned units a turn)

Not a bad idea, if a bit of a pain to work around One Eye Open (at least in my mind. I could always be wrong about that).

Going straight Daemons is probably the easiest Codex choice I guess. Though it brings up some serious questions how to convert some of the options if I did that. Hmph. Guess I'll need to think about this some more.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Eldarain wrote:

Or just use a Herald or two to do the summoning while the rest of the Psykers focus on buffs/debuffs/shooting.

Basically my thought of how to approach it. Mild summoning with most of the other psyker stuff being less "summoning" and more the other stuff.

 Eldarain wrote:
For the models you could have fun cherry picking your favourite sculpts.

True enough.

 Eldarain wrote:
Flagellants would look nice painted as spectres

Hm...true. I wonder what I'd use them for though.

 Eldarain wrote:
The extreme freedom to pick anything for the 40-60mm based units would be ideal.

A unit of 5 Vanguard Vets on a dreadnought base to use as a Bloodthirster for instance?

 Eldarain wrote:
What models have you seen in recent releases and fulfilled Kickstarters that have caught your eye?

Honestly I don't look at the 3rd party stuff all that much. I like some of the Marine models though. I just don't like painting most of the Marine models (though with how I'm looking at doing the spectral look being a base of white, a heavy wash of oxide and a localized wash of Biel-tan Green and then a drybrush of white to make sure the edges are picked out painting them shouldn't be -that- bad honestly).

Did you ever consider making a fandex for it? If I'm not mistaken you were the one a while back with an idea of how to objectivly cost models based on their rules and abilities, if you used that it could help stop any unwanted oversights in the design. That along with the concept you have in mind could create a really decent fandex.

But if you want to just used one of the published codexs I agree with the idea of using the Chaos Daemons Codex

 Jaceevoke wrote:
Did you ever consider making a fandex for it? If I'm not mistaken you were the one a while back with an idea of how to objectivly cost models based on their rules and abilities, if you used that it could help stop any unwanted oversights in the design. That along with the concept you have in mind could create a really decent fandex.

But if you want to just used one of the published codexs I agree with the idea of using the Chaos Daemons Codex

My points costing methods are not on the same scale as GW's (being a fair amount more expensive for EVERYTHING and honestly just not that appropriate for use in a non-skirmish game) and even though I really like homebrew as a concept, trying to get things approved for play by opponents that in the end it's easier to just go with a "count-as" approach.

Heres a greater daemon

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Vampire-Lord-on-Zombie-Dragon

 ninjafiredragon wrote:
Heres a greater daemon

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Vampire-Lord-on-Zombie-Dragon

1. That fits more of a "Zombie" theme than a "Ghost" theme.

2. That base is more comparable in size to the one you'd use for a Knight, not the one you'd use for a Dreadnought. I'm all for bumping up a bit for modeling purposes but that's a bit much.

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
Flagellants would look nice painted as spectres

Hm...true. I wonder what I'd use them for though.

Either of the Melee Lesser Daemons. Daemonettes would be my choice their speed would seem fitting for spectral creatures.

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
The extreme freedom to pick anything for the 40-60mm based units would be ideal.

A unit of 5 Vanguard Vets on a dreadnought base to use as a Bloodthirster for instance?

Perhaps a bit minimalist for my taste A large scale third party Angel or Priest model would make a suitable stand in as an Imperial Saint/Ecclesiarchy spirit.

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
What models have you seen in recent releases and fulfilled Kickstarters that have caught your eye?

Honestly I don't look at the 3rd party stuff all that much. I like some of the Marine models though. I just don't like painting most of the Marine models (though with how I'm looking at doing the spectral look being a base of white, a heavy wash of oxide and a localized wash of Biel-tan Green and then a drybrush of white to make sure the edges are picked out painting them shouldn't be -that- bad honestly).

Perhaps some heavily torn apart Marine vehicles with spectral crew showing through the rents in the armor would work for larger models too.

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
Flagellants would look nice painted as spectres

Hm...true. I wonder what I'd use them for though.

Either of the Melee Lesser Daemons. Daemonettes would be my choice their speed would seem fitting for spectral creatures.

I could see that I think.

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
The extreme freedom to pick anything for the 40-60mm based units would be ideal.

A unit of 5 Vanguard Vets on a dreadnought base to use as a Bloodthirster for instance?

Perhaps a bit minimalist for my taste A large scale third party Angel or Priest model would make a suitable stand in as an Imperial Saint/Ecclesiarchy spirit.

I wasn't thinking that' the'd be mounted flat on the base, but positioned in such a way they'd be stacked kind of 3-dimensionally so they'd be taller normal (like with a broken vehicle in the middle or something.

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
What models have you seen in recent releases and fulfilled Kickstarters that have caught your eye?

Honestly I don't look at the 3rd party stuff all that much. I like some of the Marine models though. I just don't like painting most of the Marine models (though with how I'm looking at doing the spectral look being a base of white, a heavy wash of oxide and a localized wash of Biel-tan Green and then a drybrush of white to make sure the edges are picked out painting them shouldn't be -that- bad honestly).

Perhaps some heavily torn apart Marine vehicles with spectral crew showing through the rents in the armor would work for larger models too.

Hm. I could kinda see that.

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
The extreme freedom to pick anything for the 40-60mm based units would be ideal.

A unit of 5 Vanguard Vets on a dreadnought base to use as a Bloodthirster for instance?

Perhaps a bit minimalist for my taste A large scale third party Angel or Priest model would make a suitable stand in as an Imperial Saint/Ecclesiarchy spirit.

I wasn't thinking that' the'd be mounted flat on the base, but positioned in such a way they'd be stacked kind of 3-dimensionally so they'd be taller normal (like with a broken vehicle in the middle or something.

That could be very cool. It would be an excellent excuse to do little dioramas throughout the army. You could even include models from your most frequent opponents fighting desperately against the insubstantial figures. It would look amazing if you could have someone who just swung a sword through one while the ghost's body reknits together after the strike. Perhaps with the use of cotton batten.

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
The extreme freedom to pick anything for the 40-60mm based units would be ideal.

A unit of 5 Vanguard Vets on a dreadnought base to use as a Bloodthirster for instance?

Perhaps a bit minimalist for my taste A large scale third party Angel or Priest model would make a suitable stand in as an Imperial Saint/Ecclesiarchy spirit.

I wasn't thinking that' the'd be mounted flat on the base, but positioned in such a way they'd be stacked kind of 3-dimensionally so they'd be taller normal (like with a broken vehicle in the middle or something.

That could be very cool. It would be an excellent excuse to do little dioramas throughout the army. You could even include models from your most frequent opponents fighting desperately against the insubstantial figures. It would look amazing if you could have someone who just swung a sword through one while the ghost's body reknits together after the strike. Perhaps with the use of cotton batten.

Yeah, the little diorama-y bits are one of the things that excite me about the idea honestly. Though some options might be harder to pull off than others.

I mean, this sounds a bit silly:
"Why do you have a ghost Whirlwind as your Skull Cannon?"

"It's Machine Spirit was killed and now its ghost is fighting."

Or is that just me?

 ClockworkZion wrote:


I mean, this sounds a bit silly:
"Why do you have a ghost Whirlwind as your Skull Cannon?"

"It's Machine Spirit was killed and now its ghost is fighting."

Or is that just me?

Not going to lie a little bit

But you could always use a Trebuchet/Stone thrower with spectral crew for the Skull Cannon.

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:


I mean, this sounds a bit silly:
"Why do you have a ghost Whirlwind as your Skull Cannon?"

"It's Machine Spirit was killed and now its ghost is fighting."

Or is that just me?

Not going to lie a little bit

But you could always use a Trebuchet/Stone thrower with spectral crew for the Skull Cannon.

I'm not going to lie, that seems even sillier considering the setting and what you'd expect to see on the table.

Oh! Mount Marine Bikes on Flying stands. Instant Count-As Screamers?

Tact Marines being used as Pink Horrors seems kind of funny. Mostly because being dead would really hamper their effectiveness in killing the enemy.

Hmpf. I think mixing Khorne and Tzeentch or Khorne and Nurgle might be my best options really. Or just go pure Nurgle. Sure there wouldn't be much actual shooting going on but the whole army being Shrouded would fit the spectral theme.

Actually I think Nurgle's rules (while lacking any real shooting to work with) would probably fit the army the best. Less magicky than a Tzeentch army, less punchy than a Slaanesh or Khorne army but just about the right level of spectral shennanigans going on with them being Shrouded and the army having access to Touch of Rust and Poisoned weapons to represent that kind of spectral tearing through things.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh! Jump Chaplain and 5 Vanguard Vets on a Dreadnought base to Ku'gath who could "raise" more Flaggellants (aka Nurglings).

 ClockworkZion wrote:

I'm not going to lie, that seems even sillier considering the setting and what you'd expect to see on the table.

And I submit that it is impossible to look sillier than the official Skull Cannon model so you're good no matter what you go with

 ClockworkZion wrote:


Actually I think Nurgle's rules (while lacking any real shooting to work with) would probably fit the army the best. Less magicky than a Tzeentch army, less punchy than a Slaanesh or Khorne army but just about the right level of spectral shennanigans going on with them being Shrouded and the army having access to Touch of Rust and Poisoned weapons to represent that kind of spectral tearing through things.

I completely agree here, Leman Russ based Nurgle Soulgrinders would both fit thematically and be useful in game. What to use for Plague Drones if you go that route?

 ClockworkZion wrote:

Oh! Jump Chaplain and 5 Vanguard Vets on a Dreadnought base to Ku'gath who could "raise" more Flaggellants (aka Nurglings).

Or perhaps an Ecclesiarchy retinue modeled on a Mausoleum would fit better with the raising concept .

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

I'm not going to lie, that seems even sillier considering the setting and what you'd expect to see on the table.

And I submit that it is impossible to look sillier than the official Skull Cannon model so you're good no matter what you go with

Fair enough!

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

Actually I think Nurgle's rules (while lacking any real shooting to work with) would probably fit the army the best. Less magicky than a Tzeentch army, less punchy than a Slaanesh or Khorne army but just about the right level of spectral shennanigans going on with them being Shrouded and the army having access to Touch of Rust and Poisoned weapons to represent that kind of spectral tearing through things.

I completely agree here, Leman Russ based Nurgle Soulgrinders would both fit thematically and be useful in game. What to use for Plague Drones if you go that route?

Bikes on flying stands?
Soul Grinder is definitely a tricky one to pull off, but then again I'm not really limited in what I can use outside of it being Imperial and not Sisters (since they didn't show up until M35) so I'll have to think about it.

 Eldarain wrote:

 ClockworkZion wrote:

Oh! Jump Chaplain and 5 Vanguard Vets on a Dreadnought base to Ku'gath who could "raise" more Flaggellants (aka Nurglings).

Or perhaps an Ecclesiarchy retinue modeled on a Mausoleum would fit better with the raising concept .

I just looked and he doesn't generate more Nurglings anymore so he's not as awesome as I thought. Still not a bad option to run though. Just might go more traditional Captain/Command Squad instead.

Priests could totally be Beasts of Nurgle. Just because they are the kind of crazy I'd expect to act like the Attention Seeker rule.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Had a potentially better thought for Plaugedrone stand ins:


Eh?