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Ok, I'm interested in finally making my Chaos army into something more cohesive. After going down the (boring) Black Legion route and more recently taking a Word Bearers detour, I've settled on the Iron Warriors. But I'd like my army to be fluffy first and effective second, which I realize is a bit odd. I have read up on the IW quite a bit, and I remember back in the day when they had an altered FOC. Aside from the obvious focus on heavy support (especially Obliterators and Vindicators) what else fits thematically?

Melta and lascannon seem to be their favoured special/ heavy weapons.
Warpsmiths seem like fluffy HQ choices for them.
Likewise, Daemon Engines fit so I could easily justify a Helldrake or 2.
I've heard they use Khorne-devoted assault specialists as shock troops for storming objectives.
They supposedly use lots of Cultists/ slaves as meatshields. Would this include Traitor Guard?
Do they use Daemons outside of Daemon engines? I've been toying with the idea of a Daemons army to go with my CSM (NOT vice-versa).
Would they use a lot of Bikers?

I have the opportunity to get one of the older Catachan Battleforce boxes for like $80. I have quite a lot of Chaos Marauders and Cadian bits, so I could probably do something like 4 Squads without much trouble. Is this thematic, and more importantly, worth doing?

They wouldn't care what rank or training the men beneath them have, cultists, militia or guard. It would definitely fit thematically. I'd imagine them having lots of havocs, and lots of standard units of marines (probably in units of 20), and like you said, obliterators and vindicators aplenty.

Daemons are your call, Perturabo is a daemon prince after all, so it is very likely they'd call on daemonic allies to help break a siege.

Post pics!

Iron Warriors always struck as a group that disliked daemons.

 Mr Nobody wrote:
Iron Warriors always struck as a group that disliked daemons.

That was kind of my assumption as well. I'm not sure why, but I certainly always thought they didn't like mutations/ replaced them with bionics if and when they occurred.

This army is going to be long and arduous in building. I don't think I'm going to go for the shoulder pads, simply because I can't see them being in production much longer. Almost all the other Chaos Legion-specific pads have gone oop recently. I'd rather have them all without than build the first couple of squads with and then not be able to get any more. What I WILL be doing is ordering at least a couple of the Iron Warriors upgrade sets and also an Iron Hands or two for the bionic parts.

Now then, bolt pistol and CCW or bolters for most of the Marines? Seems like their Berzerkers would be their breach-storming dudes, so would everyone else have standard bolt guns?

Last question, how do the Betrayal at Calth Marines come? Are they regular multi-piece Marines or more like the DV guys?

 Lord Corellia wrote:


This army is going to be long and arduous in building. I don't think I'm going to go for the shoulder pads, simply because I can't see them being in production much longer. Almost all the other Chaos Legion-specific pads have gone oop recently. I'd rather have them all without than build the first couple of squads with and then not be able to get any more.

There's also Forgeworld for Iron Warriors bits, including shoulder pads, decals, etc.

 Anfauglir wrote:
There's also Forgeworld for Iron Warriors bits, including shoulder pads, decals, etc.

Forge World isn't convenient for me, to be honest. Living in Canada the shipping rates (and exchange rate) are murder, and there isn't a store I've found yet that stocks their stuff or does orders for customers.

BaC marines are in the same format as other plastic marines.

 Mr Nobody wrote:
Iron Warriors always struck as a group that disliked daemons.

They're not the most god-bothering lot the universe has produced but there should no doubt be the occasional sorcerer who uses daemons to supplement assaults, when it's possible to do so. They certainly have daemon princes so they're not above fighting for the gods and accepting the rewards. One of these rewards being the service of daemons makes sense, too. They're bodies you can reuse infinitely. That should certainly interest IW commanders.

Khorne and Nurgle daemons are the most suitable given that they're the most brutal and to-the-point. Iron Warriors shouldn't have problems with spreading poison or disease among the defending trenches, either.


In general, all kinds of machines as well as heavily armoured infantry should fit fine. They might not be known for their use of bikes or other forms of personal mobility but it isn't like the technology is beyond them or like they wouldn't find a use for at least some warriors that can relocate quickly as the battle lines shift. Plus jump packs are handy when fighting in ruins.

I would say consider the IA 13 book from forgeworld as well, it allows for artillery based units, and can supply you with the hordes of chafe they have as well.

Think about the Heresy books as well, the 30k version of iron warriors is pretty fluffy based. Giving them access to extra heavy slots, terminator troops with cyclone missile launchers.

I would build the army around a Typhon super heavy tank. Then with them painted in a neutral fashion (not so much on the spikey heads everywhere chaos theme) you could use them as "good marines" and ally in IG for Medusa seige engines, or colossus tanks, or basislisk artillery. Thudd guns from forgeworld are fantastic too. (I have seen a number of thudd gun/rapier laser destroyers, made out of tracks from the ad mech kataphron destroyers that work well for much cheaper.)

Forgeworld sells lots of Iron Warriors stuff (most importantly, the Typhon Siege Tank). It is expensive though, especially if you are not in Europe. You could try checking E-Bay, FW stuff is on there every now and then.

FW aside, the IW are very fond of everything with big guns. Make sure you get as much artillery as possible. The Iron Warrios have a lot of Warpsmiths in their ranks and use lots of deamon engines. Havocs originate with the IW and are also a very fluffy choice.
IW also use a lot of human auxiliaries who tend to be well-trained and very well armed. IG or Renegades would represent them very well. This allows you to add artillery like the Medusa and basillisk which the IW use a lot, but which is not in the CSM codex.

Also, the Iron Warriors abhor any sort of unneccesary decorations. So fluffwise, you wouldn't find stuff like big horns on their helmets or silly decoration on their armour. The Iron Warrior look is very utilitarian. The Iron Warriors view Chaos as a tool, rather than as something to be worshipped. I don't think they should have too much Chaos symbols etc. either. You might consider using normal SM bits rather than CSM bits.

If you like the likes of Honsou, you might want to take a look at Huron Blackheart possibly as a count as (tyrant's claw representing his metal arm and he does wield an axe in the fluff)

in Chaos Codex 3.5 they had the following traits (recalling from memory):
-Raptors and Bikers where limited to 0-1
-They where not limited to 0-1 Kyborgs like the other factions.
-Only undivided smaller daemons allowed. Not sure if 0-2. Deamon army with IW wouldn't be a good fit.
-Only undivided mark of chaos for troops, No berserkers, Noisemarines etc (obvious, since those back then where defined by their "mark")
-Iirc you could give 0-1 standard CSM a mark of khorne (which made them khorne berserkers). I don't remember exactly anymore
-Option to use 1 more Support Slot in FOC at the loss of 2 Assault slots.
-They could take vindicators (which wasn't a standard option for chaos back then) and IG Basilisks - dont remember if 0-1.
-Additional veterancy option was Tank Hunter

Also, the Iron Warriors abhor any sort of unneccesary decorations. So fluffwise, you wouldn't find stuff like big horns on their helmets or silly decoration on their armour. The Iron Warrior look is very utilitarian. The Iron Warriors view Chaos as a tool, rather than as something to be worshipped. I don't think they should have too much Chaos symbols etc. either. You might consider using normal SM bits rather than CSM bits.

If you look at Artwork and the Models with their trims, they have a regular amount of chaos stars, spikes and horns. The totally utalitarian thing only is pre heresy i'd say. The thing they dont have is mutations or other weird anomaly stuff like warped armor. They'd rather replace mutations.
I would definitely avoid Hellbrute models, they just don't fit. Use regular SM dread and decorate them with chaos bits, if you don't want to use the FW IW dread. Alternatively, if you like metal alot, use the old chaos dread that you could propably aquire for decent price on ebay^^.

My first 40k army are IW, mostly based on visuals. But in terms of combat they are a bit boring actually. Their whole premise is sitting back and shooting, and only then assault if possible. A bit similar to Imperial Guard. If i would pick again, i would use Alpha Legion or Night Lords, they are a bit more interesting to play fluffy. CSM strength lies in Medium/Shortrange combat for the most part.

Edit:
You could still go for count-as Options if you want to stay fluffy but have more options. I for example am going make a squad of Nurgle/Tzeentch Troops by displaying them as IW Marines with "reinforced" armor. I have a bunch of old metal terminators, which just don't fit with the new way larger ones. So i use the legs of the metal terminators and the IW upgrade torso to make the "super marine". Could also be used for Chosen. http://www.abload.de/img/img_0711ynp2n.jpg http://www.abload.de/img/img_0712dhogu.jpg

If I ever played CSM it would be as Iron Warriors for sure. If I were to go for a fluffy army I would make it mirror my Imperial Fist army and focus on siege weapons and tanks so plenty of Havocs and tacticals footslogging it with siege tanks, a dread or two with an allied detachment of traitor guard to serve as meatshields.

First off, Warpsmiths. Lots and lots of Warpsmiths.

Second, Siege Vehicles. Most people will tell you to just spam tanks but Iron Warriors specifically went for Siege Vehicles. This means Vindicators out the wazoo. I would also ally in some Renegades and Heretics for Basilisks and Medusas. If Forge World is an option, that Big-ass Land Raider with a bigger-ass Demolisher Cannon is a must.

Iron Warriors kept Daemon usage to a minimum; their Possessed used their mutations to power cybernetics while the only true daemons among their ranks were the Daemon Princes. They did use a lot of Daemon Engines though, as the meld of daemon and machine was too alluring.

In terms of marks, thematically you could use the Mark of Nurgle to represent their augmented cybernetics making them tougher. Lore-wise they are known to have certain Grand Companies worship Khorne, and thus have a few Khorne-marked units within them. They disliked using Assault Marines or bikes however, but had a decent amount of Terminators among them.

As for your core units, I would go with lots of Havocs and Obliterators.

They are siege specialists at black heart so bikes would definitely be limited.
They also have a superiority complex with picking a specific god so Chaos Undivided and few daemons would be in theme. Definitely no Slaanesh due to the grudge with Fulgrim.

Edit: corrected Tzeentch to Slaanesh. Never trust that the master of lies wont make a fool of you

 JustALittleOrkish wrote:
They are siege specialists at black heart so bikes would definitely be limited.
They also have a superiority complex with picking a specific god so Chaos Undivided and few daemons would be in theme. Definitely no Tzeentch due to the grudge with Fulgrim.

You mean Slaanesh, right?

 King Pariah wrote:

 JustALittleOrkish wrote:
They are siege specialists at black heart so bikes would definitely be limited.
They also have a superiority complex with picking a specific god so Chaos Undivided and few daemons would be in theme. Definitely no Tzeentch due to the grudge with Fulgrim.

You mean Slaanesh, right?

OOPS, obviously the master of lies jumped in there and muddled my answer. No Slaanesh is def what was meant!

I like using the Purge Detachment rules so you can get the Extra Heavy Slot. You'll lose out on Drakes, but -shrug-

Depending on What kind of Iron Warriors you're looking at will change how your army looks. And what you might think of when you think Iron Warriors might be different than everyone else.

I try to build my Lists around the Iron Warriors somewhat unofficial Rule of Three that always seems to crop up. Threes of everything you run if slots allow. But I also like to splash Sicarians and Fire Raptors ontop of Vindicators and Typhons.

You could do the Storm of Iron IW with tons of R&H with red armor and tons of Medusas followed up by your core of Marines, or you could go Full Dark Mechanicus with Daemon Engine Spam, or you could big squads of 20 marines followed up by Termies, and Havoks. Or really however you want and whatever really draws you to the faction at the end of the day. Everyone will have a different answer/

They use a lot of traitor guard, someone has to dig the trenches and man the battlements, they haven't got the time to do it themselves.

You can use IA13 or Siege of Vraks to great effect here, pile up on gun platforms and heavy artillery and then have huge swarms of cannon fodder to soak up wounds and to range check the enemy guns.

Iron Warriors used a lot of machinery, mainly tanks. For a Chaos Iron Warriors army, I'd have lots of tanks and anti AV weaponry. Include Obliterators if you can.

From my knowledge or reading Storm of Iron, Iron Warriors used many slaves, so I guess you could call Cultists "Slaves" and roll with them for extra fluffiness.

Just remember, big guns and lots of armor. And construction stripes.

Have you had a look at their 30k units? Havocs and Tyrant's Siege Terminators (Terminators with missiles).

 seapheonix wrote:
I would say consider the IA 13 book from forgeworld as well, it allows for artillery based units, and can supply you with the hordes of chafe they have as well.

Think about the Heresy books as well, the 30k version of iron warriors is pretty fluffy based. Giving them access to extra heavy slots, terminator troops with cyclone missile launchers.

I would build the army around a Typhon super heavy tank. Then with them painted in a neutral fashion (not so much on the spikey heads everywhere chaos theme) you could use them as "good marines" and ally in IG for Medusa seige engines, or colossus tanks, or basislisk artillery. Thudd guns from forgeworld are fantastic too. (I have seen a number of thudd gun/rapier laser destroyers, made out of tracks from the ad mech kataphron destroyers that work well for much cheaper.)

Hmm, I'm trying to avoid FW stuff as the shipping costs alone would probably end up being more than a similar GW plastic kit.

Do you have a link for a Kataphron ---> Thudd gun conversion? I'm liking the idea but am unsure of which parts to use.

I have IA 13 and use rapier batteries for my heavy support, csm troops and spawns. The rapiers are awesome. I have one (soon to be 2) batteries of 3 conversion beamerz, thinking of making a third with the hades or ectoplasma cannon.
I use the kataphron models and the grav cannon for the beamer

Nice, I just took a look at their sprues and they look awesome. I also noticed that I'd been on the Australian site somehow, so the prices are a lot lower than I'd initially thought. I'll have to buy a box of the Kataphrons for sure.

How would people rate the Havoc box in terms of value? To me, it seems like they aren't any different than the Marines in the CSM box except they're "Fine"cast which I despise. I was thinking of getting a few of the Iron Warriors upgrades from GW and then supplementing their lascannons with other weapons cobbled together from plastic CSM heavy bolters, loyalist Devastator parts and IG vehicle equipment, Sound reasonable? Are lascannons the only worthwhile Havoc weapons?

It's a very poor deal imo. You only get 1 of each - there are no options. And the only "unique thing" you get out of that box is the Autocannon and the missile launcher.

The heavy bolter you get in every standardbox - therefore totally useless. The champion is a unique pose but ultimately useless. The lascannon looks garbage compared to the one you get from the Ironwarrior Upgrade kit.
You can convert Havoc Autocannons by using a barrel from the Terminator Reaper AC. As weapon body you could use a heavy stubber from IG, or from the plastic cultists.
Even buying those parts as bits should be cheaper then getting the Havoc box. I'd rather look on ebay for single havocs with missile launcher/ autocannon if you want those models.

What weapon is more usefull on the TT propably depends on the rest of your army. Autocannons can be usefull, as well as ML and LC. LC are expensive however, so you need to add "meatshield" marines to the squad.

One thing I get from iron warriors is their pregmatic, not really caring. Deamons are merely tools, just like tgeir men.

They don't worship any particular god, but seem to have a special connection to the Forge of Souls. If you were putting together a Daemon detachment, you could have a DP, a Soulgrinder, and some Daemonic servitors counting as Lesser Daemons, Plague bearers probably.

Elite Daemon could further represent other Dark Mechanicus monstrosities.

Also, although siege warfare is the Iron Warriors MO, they are known above all else for their brutality. They make heavy use of close combat shock troops. Berserkers and Jump Packs are not out of the question.