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Hi guys,

I just started colleting a new Astra Militarum army. So far I have Officio Prefectus Commissar as HQ, A Cadian Armoured Fist, A Valhallan squad and a Cadian Heavy Weapons Squad with lascannons.

What I am up against is a CSM line-up with the Dark Vengeance starter core boosted with 3 bikers, 30 additional cultists, a full CSM squad and a Forgefiend.

I am thinking about getting an Imperial Bastion and some Primaris Psykers, possible a command squad to keep HQ up and running... but I would love to hear recommendations and speculations from you guys.

Wyverns would make very short work of cultists, there's literally nowhere for them to hide since barrage hits all levels and the Wyvern ignores cover.

With that number of infantry men you'll probably want to run them as Veterans. If you can get hold of meltaguns they would work well with Veterans in the Chimera.

Do you want to expand your army based on how cool it feels to play with, or based on how effective and optimised it is?

You should get an Aegis Defence Line to hide your men behind, it will make it more difficult for him to reach you and you'll get a cover save against the Forgefiend's shots. I think (but am not 100% sure) it would be better for AM than the bastion, considering how the AM tends to want a lot of shots going off, which is limited by the Bastion's firing points.

As it is no longer in the core rule book, you might want to clear this with your opponent first though (allowing Stronghold Assault or include the 6th edition standard fortifications).

The Helbrute isn't that scary unless its melta gets close enough to pop your vehicles, but with only AV12 and 3HP your lascannons should handle it pretty easily, especially if you get a psyker for Prescience,

Astra Militarum easily outshoots CSM, and with the exception of the Forgefiend his units need to get close to hurt you. Get some solid imperial firepower and blast him to bits The above-mentioned Wyverns will indeed wreck havoc on cultists.

If I were you, my shopping priorities would be something like this:
-The Command Squad and Primaris Psykers you mention
-A Wyvern (or two, or three)
-An Aegis Defence Line
-More guardsmen
-Autocannon/Lascannon heavy weapons

Then depending on how you want to play, either even more guardsmen, some Leman Russ tanks or more Chimeras

A leman russ executioner always puts in the work against all SME troops. So that'd be my vote,

How can you lose to csm? He font even have a hel turkey!

God In Action wrote:
Do you want to expand your army based on how cool it feels to play with, or based on how effective and optimised it is?

First of all, thank you everyone for your comments! Much appreciated.

And as for your question, the army does need to "feel cool", playing with just stats is not fun. But it's not fun either, if the list just does not work together at all... so I guess I am looking for a cool-to-play, optimized army... easy, huh?

In that case I would guess the best way to go is to take powerful units, but without spamming them. So pick up one wyvern and no more than two at larger point games.

The Aegis would be more useful than a Bastion, but only if you want to play a more static gunline style of game.

God In Action wrote:
In that case I would guess the best way to go is to take powerful units, but without spamming them. So pick up one wyvern and no more than two at larger point games.

The Aegis would be more useful than a Bastion, but only if you want to play a more static gunline style of game.

Given that my opponent will most likely seek to get in close quarters combat, perhaps I would benefit from good defensive positions and more static play style - let him do all the running for me?

If you wanted something cool, I'd suggest a Russ. It's iconic for IG. Or AM as it is called these days.

The Power Blob:

PCS with nothing.

5 Guardsmen squads with 5 Power Axes and Meltabombs on the Sergeants.
2 ML 2 Divination Primaris Psykers with Force Axes (you want to roll the 4+ invun, anything else is a bonus, and it's not the end of the world if you don't)
2 Munitorum Priests
Yarrick (for Ld and challenge accepting)

It totals in at about 500-600pts depending on how you individually kit it out, but in one game it ate a full squad of bikers (with all the special upgrades) with a Nurgle biker Lord with the Black Mace, 2 Maulerfiends and 2 squads of Cultists.

This takes me back, exact same way that I started the hobby lol
What I did was I grabbed three Russ, one a Battle Tank and the other two Executioners. I ran the Battle Tank solo and the Executioners together. As far as infantry I ran two platoons, the loadouts I changed up between games, but most usually I used two or three infantry teams with a heavy weapons squad per platoon. This works well as an all corners list, as you have plenty of ap3 and ap2, as well as blasts.
As far as hq goes I recommend against the Lord Commissar. He is by no means a bad choice, but compared to a command squad or Yarrick he falls short.
If you wanted a fortification, I'd recommend the aegis defence line over the bastion. But keep in mind you can have both, which is definitely cool.

I do not understand how any IG player could struggle with CSM, perhaps you just need more practice and understanding of the game.

greenknight wrote:
I do not understand how any IG player could struggle with CSM, perhaps you just need more practice and understanding of the game.

I am not struggling. I am starting to collect a new army and I asked for opinions from people with more experience.

It seems Primaris Psykers are out of stock for now, but then again I am not in a terrible hurry anyway.

I would recommend a Manticore or a a few Wyverns.

On the Cheap? Manticore

Little bit more? Wyverns

Also, if you are taking a fortification, make sure you grab a quad gun. If not, a Hydra. Once a Helldrake hits that board, you'll want it.

From my experience, as a CSM player, SCIOOOOONS! Field them in a way that they can get to the front lines quickly, deep strike, taurox at cruising speed, anything really.