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Howdy Dakka,

Like the title says, now that "Traitor Legions" has been out for a little while, I was just curious what you all are seeing from it in your local Meta.

For my area, it seems like pretty much no one outside of World Eaters players are using any of the Decurions. It's almost all CAD style forces backed up by a few formations. We also see a lot of mixed armies now. Iron Warriors supported by Black Legion, etc. The most popular in my area seem to be IW, EC, and World Eaters.

The book has definitley led to a sudden uptick in the appearance of Chaos Marine armies, although there still aren't a lot of Chaos MARINES to be seen. The one exception seems to be with the World Eater players who run Khorne marked CSM because it's a cheaper way (point wise) to play WE than to run all those 'zerkers. It hasn't really changed the relative strength level of Chaos (again, speaking only for my local meta) in terms of games won, but I think that largely has to do with how many options this book supports and how much tinkering can be done with each list. I'm guessing it will be several more months before we really start to appreciate what this book can do. As a CSM player myself, I'm actually struggling to make lists simply because of the range of options. We went overnight from having almost ZERO options to having a world of options laid right at our feet and I'm still a little overwhelmed! A good problem to have for a change!

So what have you all seen from it?

I'm using Black Legion decurion with the Hounds of Abaddon for even cheaper "berzerkers-esque" models. But so far I may be the only CSM player at my club.

I will probably experiment with the WE at some point, focusing on a Maelstrom of Gore since I recently received another batch of Berserkers and as I paint them the whole lot of them is starting to look really nice.

Hey I've been looking through and trying to decide on a legion, but I just can't. The problem is that any legion I choose ends up not being able to field all my units. So the best use I've found is a number of small formations that I can put together in different combinations. I'm also having a bit of trouble buying into the Chaos Warband. I know that it's diverse, and its great that they have votlw and objective secured and the boon rolls... the issue is that there seems to be other combinations of combined arms/allied detachments/formations that create a list that seems more powerful than bringing a Chaos Warband. Here's some ideas, using the models I have access to, that I think would be good. (I haven't actually tried anything yet)

Iron Warriors Allied Detachment for 585
Mastery level 3 sorcerer, terminator armor, spell familiar
3 obliterators (troops)
Chaos Rapiers with conversion beamers (forge world)

So yeah, this contingent looks super intense to me. If I want more big guns this is what I bring. For nearly 600 points you get a sorcerer that has a good chance of getting invisibility or earthly anaethema depending on what you need, then some seriously heavy duty firepower with zero taxes. Then to top it off, oblits get tank hunter and everything gets 6+ feel no pain just for fun. Goddamn.

I also feel that the Cyclopia Cabal is still a must have competitive choice for every list that you create. On the one hand, I'm happy to have access to really powerful sorcerer formation to compete with my eldar buddies. But on the other hand, its starting to feel a little bland just fishing for as much invisibility as I can every game.

Here is another list I want to try that utilizes both the astral grimoire and the mindveil to get some mobility to a chaos list.

Ahriman's Exiles
x3 sorcerers and ahriman on discs with spell familiars, 3 mastery levels, astral grimoire, and Seer's Bane.

Khorne Daemonkin
Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
x8 cultists

Alpha legion
Combined Arms Detachment
mastery level 3 sorcerer with mindveil
x20 chaos space marines
x30 cultists

With this combination you infiltrate the cultists and csm and use mindveil and astral grimoire on them to flood the enemy, toss around your favourite spells, namely, invisibility, shrouding, warp fate, and soulswitch to get the bloodthirster straight into assault from swooping in one turn. The Sorcerers are super adaptable since they can split off and join other units then rejoin later for whatever the battle calls for. The big thing too is they get turbo boost in the shooting phase.

The bad: well half the army is 4 dudes. I cannot stomach this fact. Also, you are not guaranteed all the spells you want/need. It's possible I do not get invisibility, and in that case it's basically an automatic loss. But the ideas in my head, the possibilities are so much fun to think about. If anyone has tried Ahriman's Exiles let me know how it is.

Those are my thoughts so far.

I've been using the Death Guard vectorium. My army is unkillable.

I mean yea, they can die, but it takes a barrage to bring one model down. It's really nice.

I just feel bad because all the FNP rolls (and re-rolls) really irks the other player.

I just feel bad because all the FNP rolls (and re-rolls) really irks the other player.

That formation is sort of "trollish". lol It's one of my favorites in that book!

Death Guard Vectorium is a lot of fun.

I'm running the Death Guard Vectorium with a mass of terminators and zombies and it is LOADS of fun!

I'm the only Chaos player at my store right now, (I don't count a LatD player that comes in every now and then and is a HUGE case of TFG.)

I've been running the Alpha Legion Insurgency Force mostly. We've been ignoring the FAQ on the Tide of Traitors formation, because that's just fething stupid.

I've had fun with the Night Lords stuff, it's fun and fluffy, and I've ran every legions decurion at least once, and had fun.

Alpha strike World Eaters.

None of the other CSM players have bothered to put their CSM on the table, so it's just me with a Maxed out TSons War Cabal and an IW CAD (seperate armies obviously) and 1 other guy who still runs KDK. I'd love to run the IW in a grand company, but I want both oblits and vindies but can't afford a warband, Vengance weapon battlecannons, a cult and a fist of the gods. I'd be fine if I didn't have to take 2 warpsmiths and a lord, but such is life.

We have 3 or 4 thousand son players I am one and the one that always played them we also have 1 who played almost all flavors who's now TS only we whoud have 5 but he is mad it's not like daemonkin (he is also a old TS player)

I feel like there is more in the area as the store had trouble keeping stock for the 1st 4 or 5 weeks but they don't play in the store or are on hold do to how many picked up my once rare legion

As for the rest we have one korn guy how's trying some of the new stuff and that's it 3 chaos players have yet to pock

Well, before the update dropped we already had an emperors children, a death guard, a world eaters, and an iron warriors player who were regulars, so what were seeing is a lot of happy CSM players.

I've been having tons of fun with Alpha Legion. I've used the Insurgency Force and CADs and both have their merits. Never giving up Warlord and ObSec Chosen are pretty sweet, as well as the Mindveil and multiplying cultist spam. I still struggle a bit compared to when I play with my Tau but it feels so much more worthwhile when I do get a win!

Other than myself, however, nobody else is really picking up on them at my FLGS. Granted there are only about 6 of us regulars, but nobody else is very excited at the new hotness.

In this order with the most at the top:
Alpha Legion
Death Guard
Iron Warriors
Thousand Sons
Black Legion
World Eaters

Local Death Guard guy is playing Death Guard full force (cancelling his plans of building a Renegades and Heretics army for the time being).

The local IW and BL players haven't bought it yet, and after playing with the WB rules 3 times now before buying the book, I don't see myself spending the $55 AUD on it....

Im fielding a Black Legion Speartip detachment with heavy raptors and World Eaters allies. Mostly happy with it except im still peeved I cant run a chaos warband in the spear tip and am forced to take zerkers as tax. But what is chaos without the manditory tax?
Im still painting my 1ksons + demons. Eventually id like to go with death guard force as well.

I am the only CSM player in my local area that I have seen so cant comment on what others are doing. So far I do have to say that CSM got powered out of trash tier and are probably right behind necrons in threat level (as a whole). Overall pretty happy, could have been worse. But could have been better.

I used to be the CSM player here, but from time to time I play with them. Friend of mine tested AL infiltration shenanigans, but didn't get much mileage from it.

I'm testing EC Rapture Battallion with Kakophoni and Raptor Talon. The first (and only) game was vs a somewhat tame Decurion (basically their Core + deathmarks as Auxiliary).
Managed to deal with the Tomb Blades, 10 Warriors and its Ghost Ark, but no mitigation to scatter was a problem (one unit of Raptors mishap and was put away from the fight; the other scattered too far for the melta to get +1d6).
Shred is awesome, but AP5 vs Necrons... lol.
Will test more or less the same list, but with a Daemon Prince instead of a Sorcerer.
Oh, just remembered I rolled the +1T drug. That helped IMMENSELY.

I've seen Alpha Legion and "Death Guard" (painted differently and using their rules; typical thing you'd expect Bikers w/MoN etc. stuff the Death Guard didn't fething use simply to gain T6). That's about it. I briefly debated doing Iron Warriors, but changed my mind because all the lists built tend to be the same type of thing, which doesn't fit the army (Iron Warriors do not use bikers)

 Vector Strike wrote:
I used to be the CSM player here, but from time to time I play with them. Friend of mine tested AL infiltration shenanigans, but didn't get much mileage from it.

I'm testing EC Rapture Battallion with Kakophoni and Raptor Talon. The first (and only) game was vs a somewhat tame Decurion (basically their Core + deathmarks as Auxiliary).
Managed to deal with the Tomb Blades, 10 Warriors and its Ghost Ark, but no mitigation to scatter was a problem (one unit of Raptors mishap and was put away from the fight; the other scattered too far for the melta to get +1d6).
Shred is awesome, but AP5 vs Necrons... lol.
Will test more or less the same list, but with a Daemon Prince instead of a Sorcerer.
Oh, just remembered I rolled the +1T drug. That helped IMMENSELY.

Did you take 6 units and blastmasters? I've found that S9/S6 and shred makes them a very good multipurpose weapons. Blast for dealing with hordes, elites and vehicles. S6 for when you need to reposition while targetting light units.

Our local csm dude finished 4-th at a 1250 tourney with iron warrior warband + 2 drakes + destruction cult.

There are two Thousand Sons players, and an Iron Warrior player.
However, they had their armies before Traitor Legion.
But I never faced Thousand Sons before Traitor Legion.

Lord Kragan wrote:

Did you take 6 units and blastmasters? I've found that S9/S6 and shred makes them a very good multipurpose weapons. Blast for dealing with hordes, elites and vehicles. S6 for when you need to reposition while targetting light units.

Of course! The S5 Shred in sonic blasters, even if at AP5, helped dent a warrior here and there. The S9 Shred blastmaster did wonders vs the tomb blades! Sadly, he was rolling RP really well and I didn't manage to kill too much stuff in the right flank. But at the left, the only Necrons you could see were some deathmarks locked in melee with my raptors...

Wasn't too pleased with melee-kitted Lord. 4 S4 AP3 Shred or 4 S8 AP1 attacks didn't shake a tomb blades unit too much and they tarpitted my lord for freaking 4 player turns... ugh.
Also, the raptor lord with blissgiver was pretty underwhelming. I guess that weapons would be better used by a DP

I run a Word Bearers Grand Host with a Daemon Allied detachment for some extra Warp Charge. I play Word Bearers as a fairly fast sacrificial army that focuses on the mission.

I play World Eaters and I'm pretty sure my local game store has Death Guard and Alpha Legion players. Will know more after the event Saturday.

Last local event the only CSM I saw were my own Death Guard and a friend's World Eaters.

Meta was still War Convocation and Eldar Corsair/Hornet Spam.

Even with all the buffs Traitor Legions get it doesn't hold to 300-500 points of free upgrades. :(

There's a bunch of chaos marine armies around my area, though a lot are new players going the DV route with the usual awful starter set loadout, a big monster, and someone else's castoff old chaos minis. There's an iron warriors, an emperors children, several thousand sons and me, the cool guy with the night lords.

Thanks to the Traitor Legion books, My friends are also getting into different chaos factions.
I started building night lords about a month and a half before the Traitor Legion book was announced and the book really helps build the feel of them.

Since the release, my friends are looking at building Alpha Legion, Death Guard and Thousand sons armies and another friend has already started building World Eaters.

So yeah, in my view, the book has really opened up chaos on my end as before they just seemed far inferior to space marines and now they can actually stand toe to toe by using their unique rules thanks to VotLW.

Everyone in my area seems to now have a CSM army. World Eaters, Plague Marines, and Black Legion are the primary detachments I am seeing, with everyone saying they are also starting an Emperor's Children force as soon as they get the models.

The last time I went to the FLGS, there were 4 CSM v CSM games going on. One game was Black Legion versus Black Legion - if you can picture it, 2 armies were deep striking in each other's territory and making their way back to shoot each other up.

The big debate right now seems to be which Legion works best as a complimentary CAD. There are people using Alpha Legion for summoning, Iron Warriors for Obliterator troops, and Night Lords for... being scary.

I don't know the name but my brother is using plague marines like he always did anyways but It's the first time I saw him field a nurgle deamon prince.

His marines were eating thunderhammers to the face like it was breakfast. What a sight! They're actually fluffy now and pretty good in casual/fun games.

I've got 4 players running Death Guard, 1 Running Alpha Legion, 1 Running Night Lords and I switch between WE and IW. Maybe it's just because I've seen chaos Marines painted pretty much every color of the rainbow that are supposed to be "Death Guard", but I think between the FNP with rerolls, T5-7 everywhere, havocs walking around hipshooting lascannons and the new powers the design team went a little to far with nurgle. Maybe I'm just irritated because I've seen regular CSM eat powerfists to the face like it's nothing more times than I can count, but goddammit that T5 FNP reroll is annoying. Add to that a T7 DP turning bloodthirsters into vindicator faughter with cloud of flies with the FNP BS.... I dunno, considering what other BS is out there I can't say they're OP, but after a while you can definitely see which of the legions is the "teachers pet".