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As I play more and more 7th, I'm noticing speed really seems to be the name of the game in a lot of games (i.e the one who can either quickly take or hold the most objectives wins). To this end, I'm considering a pack of raptors with a jump pack chaos lord for quickly clearing objectives, and denying my opponent objective cards. What I'm not sure on is the build. I did also consider bikes but my club/GW both use a lot of ruins so I prefer the ability to jump up.

I'm either gonna go for the Lord with just the jump pack, MoK, and the axe of blind fury + a 10 man squad of raptors (I don't think the raptors need mok since the lord should be doing most of the killing). Very killy, but open to being smacked down if he gets hit by something else, and the squad won't deal with vehicles well.

Second option is to give him a 4++, and melta bombs on him and the champ (and possibly melta guns too), and extend the squad size to 15-20. Costly, but more robust.

And finally, there's the crimson slaughter route. 2+ save, IWND, rage, HoW, furious charge, but no access to AP2 till you rack up a few kills, and no daemon weapon.

I'm not sure which would be best. Thoughts?

Juggernaut Lord with AoBF is battle proven to be very effective.

Are you specifically going for something that would work with a chaos lord w/ jump pack? If yes then I would go for the larger squad. Give them meltaguns, hope for the best. Soon as your opponent sees you have a lord not in a transport who is T4 with a 3+, that lord is gonna take every single ap3 and lower shot from your opponent right in the face.

If youre just looking for a way to get your lord into cc faster, then I would go for either putting him on a Juggernaut or bike and give him a unit of spawn or bikers to roll with. They are tougher, just as fast, and hit harder.

This is expensive as heck, but running a lord with mark of tzeentch, 4++, daemonheart and a disc with jump infantry gives you a 2+/3++ t5 dude with IWND to tank wounds on. Friend of mine runs this with MoT warp talons to have other 4++ guys to pass a few wounds off on. Works pretty well.

I run a Mono-Khorne list at 1500 points that has three 10-man CSM units with autocannons and Icon of Vengeance, and two 15-man raptor squads- no special weapons, with each squad having a power-sword wielding champion, Icon of Wrath and an attached Khorne-Lord. One lord has the AoBF and the other Lord has a PF/LC set-up. The Champion eats the challenge while the Lords and the strength 5 raptors lay down the hurt.

Both units move fast enough to charge on turn 2, and they'll eat anything they touch in combat.

I've yet to play a Maelstrom mission with it though. I think that in such an enviroment you'd be better served breaking down one of the raptor/lord units and giving your marines OS rhinos.

Dunno. The problem really is that CSM in general just suffers from gak mobility on the table-top. You're pretty much going to struggle in Maelstrom matches no matter what you do without allies.

Something I've been been running with that works for me is the following:
10 raptors with MoK 2 melts guns and the champ has fist claw combo giving him 5 of either on the charge. Then a .mastery level 3 unmarked sorceror with invl and spell familiar rolls on telepathy looking for inviability. Granted even with three rolls its a 50/50 chance at the start of the game to get it but hey I seem to be lucky. If this load out gets invisible, it can tear up infantry and vehicles alike apart. Overall its a fun take on raptors that can be really nasty if you charge things that don't want to be charged. (That's the raptor creed anyway)

It's just that bikers and spawns are always better than raptors other than in rare city fight scenarios with a ton of impass terrain.

Sidguard wrote:
I did also consider bikes but my club/GW both use a lot of ruins so I prefer the ability to jump up.

Thoughts?

Check your rulebook saying that bikes and beasts may no longer enter ruins or climb stairs. IIRC, it's not there anymore, so your bikers and/or spawn should be able to deliver grizzly death to any enemies cowering in ruins (as long as you can put a base there).

Raptors should be like chosen and be allowed to take power weapons for the squad rather then just the champ

They have those. They're called warp talons. At 160 base, you're literally buying just the two lightning claws apiece, and paying 0 points a model.

Raptors deep strike, though, which spawn can't do. Also raptors can bring meltas and plasmas. You should make the most of that.

the other thing spawn dont have is an armour save of any kind, in a terrain rich table though they'll get a save of some sort