Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey all!

I'm not normally one to put a ton of points into characters, but for some reason I have the itch to try it out. I've decided to use the Iron Hands rules for my space marines, and after a little research, found that it's pretty easy to whip together a pretty absurd HQ. I'm not a super competitive player but I like to have a good chance of winning games, and my group usually plays around 1250 or 1500, and don't allow D weapons or super heavies most of the time.

I was considering this load-out: Chapter Master as part of an Iron Hands Fist of Medusae formation. Terminator Armor, Gorgon's Chain, Thunder Hammer, Primarch's Wrath.

This guy would have 2+ armor, 3++ Invulnerable, 4+ Feel No Pain (which could become a 3+ or even 2+ with a command squad including an apothecary and a lucky warlord trait) 5+ It Will Not Die if he does take wounds, and Eternal Warrior. Gorgon's chain loses benefits as he takes wounds, but it seems like it would take a ton of attention to do much damage, especially at the point range we usually play. Relentless, from the Terminator armor, would give him the ability to walk around and fire Primarch's Wrath to full effect , and to drop the Orbital Strike whenever it's needed. Primarch's Wrath doesn't seem to be a popular relic, but I think it looks pretty fun. He would have 5 shots at 24", one of which gets to re-roll to hit because of Master Crafted, at S4 AP4 and shred. He could pretty feasibly blow away a small squad of light infantry by himself, or do a great job of mopping up units that the rest of the army has attacked. The Thunder Hammer allows him to threaten just about anything in close combat. It would be unlikely that most opponents could kill him in one round of combat, so the Hammer's Concussive rule would ensure he would get a minimum of two turns of attacks in. He could also Deep Strike in the right situations. Per the formation, vehicles within 12" of him would get PotMS, and infantry would get +1 to their Feel No Pain, making the rest of the army more resilient along with him.

I would probably have this guy stroll around near my other units giving off the bubble of benefits he provides in this formation, popping off shots at small or weakened units, and intercepting or counter charging baddies that are in my way. I plan to use the Stormlance Demi-Company as the formation's core choice, so he could run after shooting to help his mobility some, and again he could Deep Strike. I like that he would have some tactical flexibility, being decent in both shooting an assault, and would generally be a pain in the butt for my opponent.

Most importantly, I have a really cool idea for a model for this guy!

This set up comes in at 240 points - pretty pricey, but not terrible. What do you guys think? Does this sound like a pretty fun, and a little unique, set up for a Chapter Master?

It is a pretty terrifying unit in the Marine army, and probably is the most tough nut that is not a GMC or FMC. Sadly you cannot use Chapter Master in any recent Space Marine detachment / formation as per the FAQ, but, being able to reliably get 2+/3++ and 3+++ is still pretty awesome, or you just return to a 3W captain who can be part of Medusa Strike force and have 2+/3++/2+++ .

A few more minor views:
1. you cannot take two relic weapons on one model.
2. Stormlance Demi-Company cannot possibly contain models with Terminator armor.
3. Being T4, anything S8/9 AP2 will already been a serious threat to him, so a more popular built for him is: Bike, artificer armor, Gorgon Chain, Powerfist, Lightening Claw, then join him into a squad of biker command squad, that nets you an almost unkillable guy unless you face intense StrD or S10 AP2.

Good luck

Thanks for the input! I had seen tons of examples of the bike version, but I'm not a big fan of marine bike models and just can't get past it.

I could easily switch to a demi-company to alleviate the Terminator armor issue, and while he'd be a little less bad ass as a captian, that wouldn't be terrible. The biggest problem is the relics - dang! Any ideas or how to get around that in a way that would be somewhat close to what I envisioned? I could go without the chain for a less invincible character, and use the points from that and downgrading him to a captain for a command squad to give him some protection and a still improved FnP. I really like the idea of a shooty HQ but sadly there are really no other options :(

I'm actually pretty sure the FAQ said you were allowed to use Chapter masters in those formations. No clue where the second post came from.

Also you're only allowed one relic per character for whatever reason.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
I'm actually pretty sure the FAQ said you were allowed to use Chapter masters in those formations. No clue where the second post came from.

Also you're only allowed one relic per character for whatever reason.

FAQ says the opposite. You are not allowed Chapter masters** in any detachment unless specifically stated otherwise.



**Some detachments allow you to take heroes, who are chaptermasters (but not generic ones)

Doomface81 wrote:
Thanks for the input! I had seen tons of examples of the bike version, but I'm not a big fan of marine bike models and just can't get past it.

I could easily switch to a demi-company to alleviate the Terminator armor issue, and while he'd be a little less bad ass as a captian, that wouldn't be terrible. The biggest problem is the relics - dang! Any ideas or how to get around that in a way that would be somewhat close to what I envisioned? I could go without the chain for a less invincible character, and use the points from that and downgrading him to a captain for a command squad to give him some protection and a still improved FnP. I really like the idea of a shooty HQ but sadly there are really no other options :(

have you considered converting Sammael or MKIV bikes? https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-IE/Legion-MKIV-Outrider-Squadron

if you are going to the powerhouse chaptermaster may as well use smashfetcher he can wreck almost anything on the table