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OK, so I am planning on running this list over the weekend for the first time. Still relatively new to 9th edition. The biggest question I would pose is what unit would you put combat elixirs on and which attribute?

HQ
Lord Discordant
Sorceror with Jump Pack
Lucius

TROOPS
10x Cultists w/heavy stubber
8 CSM - plasma gun, plasma pistol
18 Noise Marines (16 sonic blasters, 2x blastmasters)

ELITES
Greater Possessed
Helbrute
5x Terminators (various combi and power weapons, 2x PF)

HEAVY
2x Obliterators
2x Defiler w/ havoc launcher

2x Chaos Rhino

Long-time EC player here, and with that list I'd suggest the best unit to use Combat Elixirs on is the Noise Marines (being both your largest unit and your firebase) - and always go for Toughness. Always aim to cast Delightful Agonies on them too, to ensure they keep making that sweet music.

In terms of stratagems, EC are heavily reliant on them to really perform well.

With the Noise Marine blob, the stand-outs are Excruciating Frequencies to boost strength and damage of your guns, and Endless Cacophony to shoot all over again!

Honour the Prince is also a neat little trick that works very well with deep-striking terminators, so you teleport them in, more than 9" from the enemy, shoot and then charge and with Honour the Prince you can change one of your dice rolls to a 6. Makes charging from deepstrike more reliable.

Happy to help with suggestions on how to grow the army - but I figured you'd want to prioritise making what you've got work.

I am definitely open to suggestions on change. I have games tomorrow that I want to try this out. However, long term, I would love to hear change options.

I don't think you need to rhino's in this list. What other models do you have?

 Sazzlefrats wrote:
I don't think you need to rhino's in this list. What other models do you have?

More cultists
More CSM of all sorts
Berserkers
Raptors
2 Heldrakes
Obliterators
Possessed
Venomcrawler
Land Raiders
Vindicators

Drop Rhino's for, a 3rd Obliterator. And maybe a unit of cheap raptors, possibly getting the extra points by dropping your CSM squad for more cultists. That way you can use the cultists to effectively block deepstrikers.

Something like that would be pretty good.

Thanks for the input. The list did OK. A lot of my struggles was just learning what armies can do in 9th ed (as opposed to 5th and 6th). Looking at this list, I think I would do the following:
- Ditch Lucius, Sorceror, Disco Lord. Replace with triple demon princes. Gives me more psychic and increased threat range.
- Lose CSM, Defilers, Oblits, one rhino, Helbrute.
- Add 10 more cultists, 9 possessed (in the rhino).
- Shrink noise marines to get under 2000.

As you said, use cultists to camp on backfield objectives and limit deep strikes.
Put possessed in a rhino and move to where needed as quickly as possible.

Your running EC, so honor the prince.... deep strike the possessed.

Unless you really really need a rhino... don't.

Thoughts with oblits... also deepstrike.

You shouldn't want 3 demon princes, maybe you do... Maybe try flying DP, Lucius and sorcerer. The DP is expensive, but you can trick him out to be kinda worth it. Lucius for 90 pts, can hang back and throw out his reroll aura or outflank and honor the prince baby beat stick.

Helbrute probably wouldn't work, but the new re-worded forgeworld dreadnoughts are very good, especially the contemptor.

With honor the prince, heck an outflanking venom crawler is scary too. Well anything nasty like that does the job. Since you got turn 2 and turn 3, you can do it twice. Choose two units.

Do you have terminators?

OK. You don't like rhinos.
How am I deep striking the possessed?
I do see the value in Lucius hanging back with the havocs for the reroll benefit.
Helbrute was already out.
Yes, I have terminators. One of the few things from the original list I kept.

1. I love rhinos. I have never in 8th or 9th edition used any of my 6 rhinos in an effective manner.
2. Strategic Reserves, 1cp per 9PL (read this in your 2020 chapter approved its great for units that don't have inbuilt deepstrike type rules).
3. Hangs back with oblits, noise marines, havocs, etc.... or moves up with terminators.

10 terminators?

Strategic reserves are fairly easy to screen out though, aren't they? Plus you're limited to arriving within 6" of a table edge.

I wouldn't discount rhinos. It allows your infantry to get up onto objectives and gives them more durability to hold said objectives. However, if you're using them to ferry melee units into the grinder you often need more than one party bus - experience of playing World Eaters tells me you'd need at least two or three such party buses to make an impact - and that would cost far too much with possessed bombs. One rhino would work if you flanked it with defilers or other Daemon engines - all about threat saturation.

With Lucius, I wonder whether a regular old chaos lord would do just as well - paired with a Dark Apostle with the Remnant of Maraviglia and you have all the support you need for your noise marines/havoc's.

 Drakeslayer wrote:
Strategic reserves are fairly easy to screen out though, aren't they? Plus you're limited to arriving within 6" of a table edge.

I wouldn't discount rhinos. It allows your infantry to get up onto objectives and gives them more durability to hold said objectives. However, if you're using them to ferry melee units into the grinder you often need more than one party bus - experience of playing World Eaters tells me you'd need at least two or three such party buses to make an impact - and that would cost far too much with possessed bombs. One rhino would work if you flanked it with defilers or other Daemon engines - all about threat saturation.

With Lucius, I wonder whether a regular old chaos lord would do just as well - paired with a Dark Apostle with the Remnant of Maraviglia and you have all the support you need for your noise marines/havoc's.

Which prayer would you recommend? Warp Sight Plea?

Warpsight Plea buffs a unit's shooting. Works well on a large Noise Marine blob, and far more reliable to cast than Prescience.