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Just as my Alpha Legion version and the Thousand Sons one around here somewhere, what would class as a fluffy army for Night Lords with the new CSM 'dex? In my Alpha Legion one somebody mentioned making a Black Legion or Night Lord force and making a single unit as Alpha Legion to enforce their isolative and elite stance. Well in it I mentioned how the Black Legion are just too bleh for me, too much like the Ultrasmurfs of the CSM and as for the Night Lords I said and I quote: '...and while the Night Lords are better I just don't have the same love for them.' well, as it's true I do prefer the Alphas to the Lords the Lords are my second favourite Legion, closely following the Word Bearers and then the Iron Warriors. So I was thinking of splitting my force up and painting the more spiky looking CSM as Night Lords and the plainer more loyalist looking ones as Alphas. So yeh, any ideas what would contribute to a fluffy Night Lords force?

There's a specific entry in the Raptors fluff that many of them are part of the Night Lords. That's a big hint from GW that "FLUFFY NIGHT LORDS HAVE LOTS OF RAPTORS"

So I'd get a mix of them and warp talons, as well as bikers. They specialize in terror and infiltration/shock attack tactics.

 Harriticus wrote:
There's a specific entry in the Raptors fluff that many of them are part of the Night Lords. That's a big hint from GW that "FLUFFY NIGHT LORDS HAVE LOTS OF RAPTORS"

So I'd get a mix of them and warp talons, as well as bikers. They specialize in terror and infiltration/shock attack tactics.

Yeh I've known about the Raptors thing for a while now. I was aiming on getting some Raptors/Warp Talons anyway those models are just b-e-a-utiful! I'm also going to be picking up the chaos bikers upgrade pack and a few night lord upgrade packs so I'll have appropriate pieces to make a suitable night lords looking army. So, Raptors, Warp Talons, and Bikers, any other units that would make a fluffy army? Who would use Dreadnoughts, well Hellbrutes, more, Alpha or Lords?

EDIT: I feel like asking. Raptors modify armour and helmets to emit screeches right? and Lords specialise in terror right? So, although they aren't quite yet fluffy, what if I was to use non-Slaneesh-adorned noise marines? Sound and terror mixed into a very sweet anti-infantry squad?

EDIT AGAIN : Of the pre-Heresy armours what one or ones would have been used by the Night Lords the most? Mk II and Mk III? Mk IV and V? or just one of those, or perhaps maybe Mk VI, I'm thinking of giving them an older more dated look so Forge World armours will be combined with the CSM kit.

 crimsonfist832 wrote:

Yeh I've known about the Raptors thing for a while now. I was aiming on getting some Raptors/Warp Talons anyway those models are just b-e-a-utiful! I'm also going to be picking up the chaos bikers upgrade pack and a few night lord upgrade packs so I'll have appropriate pieces to make a suitable night lords looking army. So, Raptors, Warp Talons, and Bikers, any other units that would make a fluffy army? Who would use Dreadnoughts, well Hellbrutes, more, Alpha or Lords?

EDIT: I feel like asking. Raptors modify armour and helmets to emit screeches right? and Lords specialise in terror right? So, although they aren't quite yet fluffy, what if I was to use non-Slaneesh-adorned noise marines? Sound and terror mixed into a very sweet anti-infantry squad?

EDIT AGAIN : Of the pre-Heresy armours what one or ones would have been used by the Night Lords the most? Mk II and Mk III? Mk IV and V? or just one of those, or perhaps maybe Mk VI, I'm thinking of giving them an older more dated look so Forge World armours will be combined with the CSM kit.

I feel that Night Lords would more often deploy a Dreadnought onto the field, while they could also deploy hellbrutes too but they tend to not worship chaos so they chances one of them has been warped into one is unlikely, but possible.

As for Night Lords being non-Slaneesh noise marines i just don't think is possible fluff wise. Noise marines are dedicated to Slaneesh, and i've never heard of other CSM using sonic weaponry but ones devoted to Slaneesh.

In the Night Lord series, the main character Talos describes his armour as being a mix match of multiple versions. Him only being able to repair his damaged armour with scavenged parts from dead marines, i believe he has a Mk VII Chest plate in which the Aquila has been desecrated. But with the traitor legions you find that they were more often equipped with Mk IV and V.

Night Lords tend to be devoted to the concepts of terror and guerrilla warfare; I'd advise taking an army composed of maneuverable and/or versatile units. That means avoid Heavy weapons, take lots of Fast Attack choices, use lighter vehicles before heavier ones, and take full advantage of cover on the table.

Warp Talons are too daemonic, the Night Lords probably wouldn't like 'em.

Other than that, the Night Lords are going to be speed and close-combat oriented. They'll have very few daemons of any sort (including Daemon Princes), Obliterators, Mutilators and Possessed Marines. That said, it is possible to have them (look at Krieg Acerbus, a Night Lords Daemon Prince), just use them in moderation. Don't use any Dark Apostles. Use lots of Raptors.

GW specifically released Warp Talons as obsessed Raptors - since Night Lords are obsessed with infilration and terror tactics; wouldn't a squad that appears out of nowhere and blinds those in the near vicinity and inflicts fear upon enemies be a truly terrifying Night Lords tactic???

Avoid cultists... not scary enough for Night Lords

Models depicted in ADB's Night Lords Trilogy include, a Daemon Prince, Terminators, Chosen, Chaos Space Marines, a Dreadnought/ hellbrute, a Sorcerer, and of course a Thuderhawk. I imagined Lucoryphus as in between a Raptor and a Warp Talon, so I guess either would be OK. Light tanks or Land Raiders would probably be best for Heavy Support. That's a pretty good start.

I do like your idea of using Noise Marinesfor shock and awe tactics, and I reckon that Khorne Bezerkers would fit in nicely too.

GambleDwarf wrote:

 crimsonfist832 wrote:

Yeh I've known about the Raptors thing for a while now. I was aiming on getting some Raptors/Warp Talons anyway those models are just b-e-a-utiful! I'm also going to be picking up the chaos bikers upgrade pack and a few night lord upgrade packs so I'll have appropriate pieces to make a suitable night lords looking army. So, Raptors, Warp Talons, and Bikers, any other units that would make a fluffy army? Who would use Dreadnoughts, well Hellbrutes, more, Alpha or Lords?

EDIT: I feel like asking. Raptors modify armour and helmets to emit screeches right? and Lords specialise in terror right? So, although they aren't quite yet fluffy, what if I was to use non-Slaneesh-adorned noise marines? Sound and terror mixed into a very sweet anti-infantry squad?

EDIT AGAIN : Of the pre-Heresy armours what one or ones would have been used by the Night Lords the most? Mk II and Mk III? Mk IV and V? or just one of those, or perhaps maybe Mk VI, I'm thinking of giving them an older more dated look so Forge World armours will be combined with the CSM kit.

I feel that Night Lords would more often deploy a Dreadnought onto the field, while they could also deploy hellbrutes too but they tend to not worship chaos so they chances one of them has been warped into one is unlikely, but possible.

As for Night Lords being non-Slaneesh noise marines i just don't think is possible fluff wise. Noise marines are dedicated to Slaneesh, and i've never heard of other CSM using sonic weaponry but ones devoted to Slaneesh.

In the Night Lord series, the main character Talos describes his armour as being a mix match of multiple versions. Him only being able to repair his damaged armour with scavenged parts from dead marines, i believe he has a Mk VII Chest plate in which the Aquila has been desecrated. But with the traitor legions you find that they were more often equipped with Mk IV and V.

Alright then, so the Hellbrute can be painted in Lords colours. Yeh I know Noise Marines are dedicated to Slaanesh I just thought the whole idea of the screeching and definitely terryfying and disorienting noise emitted from the sonic blasters and blastmasters would fit into the terror and shock effect of the Lords, never mind then. I haven't actually read the Lords seried by ADB and I so want to but the name Talos does sound familiar, I must have read it somewhere. I know that due to their age the traitor legions act like vultures in the way that they scavenge armour from the fallen and desecrate any Imperial emblems of course. Traitor legions were more often Mk IV and V you say? I would think the Lords more-so as they are sleeker and less cumbersome than the Mk II and Mk III, to myself at least.

AnomanderRake wrote:Night Lords tend to be devoted to the concepts of terror and guerrilla warfare; I'd advise taking an army composed of maneuverable and/or versatile units. That means avoid Heavy weapons, take lots of Fast Attack choices, use lighter vehicles before heavier ones, and take full advantage of cover on the table.

Hmmm, no heavy weapons? I can live without that. I was aiming on as many Fast Attack as possible due to Raptors and Warp Talons being under that category. Lighter vehicles, what lighter vehicles are there for CSM? I'm not really after battle tactics as of yet, but I was thinking along the lines of bursting forward as reckless and quick as possible, heck, that's the chaos way hehe

LoneLictor wrote:Warp Talons are too daemonic, the Night Lords probably wouldn't like 'em.

Other than that, the Night Lords are going to be speed and close-combat oriented. They'll have very few daemons of any sort (including Daemon Princes), Obliterators, Mutilators and Possessed Marines. That said, it is possible to have them (look at Krieg Acerbus, a Night Lords Daemon Prince), just use them in moderation. Don't use any Dark Apostles. Use lots of Raptors.

I thought talons suited the Lords fine, they burst from out of nowhere looking suitable daemonicly terrifying and then disorient and blind their foes before ripping shreds out of them with their claws. I don't plan on using many or even any Daemon Prince, I'm not very fond of the Obliterator and Mutilator models neither they're just so eeewww to me, but I don't mind Possessed models so maybe if I field a very limited amount. Aaaawwww no Dark Apostles. I thought I read somewhere that the Night Lords are highly prone to taking or losing it's warriors to and from the other Legions so wouldn't it make sense that somewhere down the line a Word Bearer strayed and joined some Night Lords? And yes, I am most certainly using lots of Raptors.

Typhon the Storm Giant wrote:GW specifically released Warp Talons as obsessed Raptors - since Night Lords are obsessed with infilration and terror tactics; wouldn't a squad that appears out of nowhere and blinds those in the near vicinity and inflicts fear upon enemies be a truly terrifying Night Lords tactic???

Avoid cultists... not scary enough for Night Lords

That's exactly what I thought in regards to the Warp Talons. The cultists I have are being painted in Alpha Legion colours and used in the Alpha part of my CSM force so no worries.

Holdenstein wrote:Models depicted in ADB's Night Lords Trilogy include, a Daemon Prince, Terminators, Chosen, Chaos Space Marines, a Dreadnought/ hellbrute, a Sorcerer, and of course a Thuderhawk. I imagined Lucoryphus as in between a Raptor and a Warp Talon, so I guess either would be OK. Light tanks or Land Raiders would probably be best for Heavy Support. That's a pretty good start.

I do like your idea of using Noise Marinesfor shock and awe tactics, and I reckon that Khorne Bezerkers would fit in nicely too.

I am aiming on all of those with exception to Daemon Prince, I've heard they are just god-damn awful now, and I mean awful! Thanks in regards to the noise marines idea, I just thought the way I phrased made it sounds a little more Lord-ish but I can see skepticism and people objecting to it. Khorne Berzerkers, yeh, they would act as rather nice melee shock troops but due to them now being Elites (they are Elites now aren't they?) I might be holding out on them for termies and Chosen.

Although most night lords are skeptics and worshipping chaos is usually frowned upon, there are still those few that'll deviate from the rest, so I think a couple units with a little devotion to chaos wouldn't hurt much

Note: Much of the advice here is on the basis of the general/typical Night Lords composition that the vast majority of Night Lord warbands will follow; mirroring that of the Legion.

However, you can of course make your own, more divergent warband. Whilst most Night Lords eschew Chaos, you can still have your own warband that embraces the Chaos Gods, Daemons or Slaanesh for example.

 blazinpsycho&typhooni wrote:
Although most night lords are skeptics and worshipping chaos is usually frowned upon, there are still those few that'll deviate from the rest, so I think a couple units with a little devotion to chaos wouldn't hurt much

Indeed, some Chaos-worshipping Night Lords have gotten pretty powerful as well

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Krieg_Acerbus#.UHng3cXA_X4

In regards to the Warp Talons I would say kit bash them with assault marines, and maybe toss in some regular lightning claws. Maybe keep the heads and arms but change up the chest pieces, pauldrons, and maybe change up the legs. This will give them the pieced together look with out making them overly chaosish. That was one of the ideas that i had for a nightlords based army. http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/MK_IV_SPACE_MARINE_ASSAULT_SQUAD.html use these as well if you are ordering from forge world. Gives you a chance to draw out the bits to make several squads giving them all unique looks.

I've tried to make a Night Lords army based on the Warband of Talos/The Exalted.

I can make it really fluffy, but making it competitive or at least half decent on the tabletop is really really difficult.

I think people play up "they hate chaos" a bit too much. A lot of them dislike chaos, but a lot of them are touched by it as well. Several examples:

The Exalted/Vandred-Daemon Prince of Tzeentch. This guy is literally possessed, the daemon controlling his body while he looks on helplessly. We don't know exactly how he became possessed. His Terminator bodyguard are still loyal to him and probably have some connection to Tzeentch as well.

The Bleeding Eyes-these guys don't worship any chaos power, but they are horrifically mutated. Many can't walk upright, they communicate in birdlike clicks and can barely speak nostraman, they hunt like animals. Warp Talons definitely fit.

Uzas-claimed to be using chaos, but in reality was a slave to Khorne. Regularly had fits of blackout rage, spent most of his free time convulsing and chanting. A character or a whole squad so-touched makes perfect sense.

Cyrion-did not intentionally worship anyone, but got a gift from Slaanesh and was subtley influenced anyway. It's implied he was slowly slipping like Uzas was.

I think there's plenty of room for daemonic things in a Night Lords army. There's also plenty of reason to believe that other warbands might turn to Chaos in full and openly worship. They're not a hive mind, after all.

For unit selection, I think ADB provides a pretty good quote- fair fights do not go well for the Night Lords. Fast and fragile. That said, they have land raiders, heavy weapons, that sort of thing, they know how to use them when they need them.

the color purple wrote:
I think people play up "they hate chaos" a bit too much. A lot of them dislike chaos, but a lot of them are touched by it as well. Several examples:

The Exalted/Vandred-Daemon Prince of Tzeentch. This guy is literally possessed, the daemon controlling his body while he looks on helplessly. We don't know exactly how he became possessed. His Terminator bodyguard are still loyal to him and probably have some connection to Tzeentch as well.

The Bleeding Eyes-these guys don't worship any chaos power, but they are horrifically mutated. Many can't walk upright, they communicate in birdlike clicks and can barely speak nostraman, they hunt like animals. Warp Talons definitely fit.

Uzas-claimed to be using chaos, but in reality was a slave to Khorne. Regularly had fits of blackout rage, spent most of his free time convulsing and chanting. A character or a whole squad so-touched makes perfect sense.

Cyrion-did not intentionally worship anyone, but got a gift from Slaanesh and was subtley influenced anyway. It's implied he was slowly slipping like Uzas was.

I think there's plenty of room for daemonic things in a Night Lords army. There's also plenty of reason to believe that other warbands might turn to Chaos in full and openly worship. They're not a hive mind, after all.

For unit selection, I think ADB provides a pretty good quote- fair fights do not go well for the Night Lords. Fast and fragile. That said, they have land raiders, heavy weapons, that sort of thing, they know how to use them when they need them.

To expand on that last point, on lexicanum it says that a Night Lord will try every underhanded trick before they attempt a straight up fight. And the wikia also makes a point that a night lord will more likely pick on weaker foes before fighting one that was equal to them