Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello everybody at dakka dakka! I hope to enjoy my time here. I'm developing some semi-competitive lists to just have a play around with in my local gaming store, and I was hoping the inhabitance of these forums could help guide me in the right directions.

500 point list:
(499)

HQ
Chaos Lord - 65

TROOPS
Cultists x 12 - 58
Cultists - 11 - 54

FAST ATTACK
Heldrake w/ Baleflamer - 170

HEAVY SUPPORT
Obliterator w/ Mark of Nurgle - 76
Obliterator w/ Mark of Nurgle - 76

So I understand this to be a fairly powerful list, however i feel it could be optimised better. It seems i'm investing 165+ Points in simply gaining the ability to access the heldrake and double obliterators. I understand cultists can be a slight nuisance, but is there any way to make this a more effective unit instead?

1000 Point List
(999)

HQ
Chaos Lord w/ Terminator Armour & Mark of Nurgle - 120

ELITES
Terminators x 5 w/ Mark of Nurgle - 187

TROOPS
5 x Plague Marines w/ 2x Plasma Guns & Rhino - 185
5 x Plague Marines w/ 2x Plasma Guns & Rhino - 185

FAST ATTACK
Heldrake w/ Baleflamer - 170

HEAVY SUPPORT
Obliterator w/ Mark of Nurgle - 76
Obliterator w/ Mark of Nurgle - 76

The thing that worries me in this list is the lack of troops. I was thinking of maybe dropping 2 terminators and adding more marines to each plague squad. Opinions?

Thanks in advance,
Charlie

I assume that by "semi-competitive" you mean "as competitive as pure CSM can get".

I wouldn't bring my Heldrake in a 500 pts. game, that's mean. In such a small game I'd suggest investing more in the HQ and Troops choices, but the Obliterators are okay.

I think you might remove 2 Terminators in favour of 3 additional Plague Marines. A retinue of 3 MoN Termies should be enough for your Lord in a 1000 pts. game. Otherwise, the list looks strong and the Heldrake doesn't feel cheesy anymore.

Can't really see what is "Word Bearers" in your army, they're supposed to be more Undivided than the Black Legion. Picking Death Guard, or perhaps one of the Nurgle Warbands would be much more fitting.

I was under the impression that double heldrakes in 500 Points was considered cheesy, but I suppose a heldrake is a flyer non-the less. Would you recommend adding in terminators as a replacement for the heldrake, or simply boosting the numbers in my plague squads? I can imagine a large number of 2+ saves at this level would be quite the hassle for most opponents.

I might add that my immediate friends are playing Tau, Tyranids, Orks and Dark Eldar so quite the variety. However the meta at the local gaming store seems to be mostly consisting of space marines.

I originally was going to field a variety of the Gods elites in my army, however I imagine that my intrigue in the survivability of Nurgle has led me astray. I suppose i could wonder more towards that of Death Guard, and any other units that i may field that are not dedicated to Nurgle are simply unlikely allies.

I suppose that bringing a Heldrake against Tau in a small game is somewhat justified . But let's try to make do without one:

HQ:
Chaos Lord w/ Terminator Armour & Mark of Nurgle - 120

Troops:
Cultists x 12 - 58
Cultists x 11 - 54

Elites:
Terminators x 3 w/ Mark of Nurgle - 113

Heavy Support:
Obliterator w/ Mark of Nurgle - 76
Obliterator w/ Mark of Nurgle - 76

That would be 497 pts. total.

You could also get rid of the Terminators, attach the Lord to a Cultist squad and use the leftover points for a Plague Marines squad, for instance.

Haha i suppose Thank you very much saris for your quick responses, you have given me all I needed to move forward.

Charlie

How set on obliterations are you? At 500 points I'd try something like this, and it gives you a fantastic base to expand...

HQ: Chaos Lord, MoN, PF
Troops: 5 Plague Marines
Troops: 5 Plague Marines
Fast Attack: Heldrake (Baleflamer)

5 plague marines are stronger than 15 cultists! You get fearless, feel no pain, blight grenades and plague knives along with 24" bolter fire.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and it's 500 points exactly.

Welcome to Dakka.

I agree it probably best not to show up to a 500 point game with a Heldrake.

Plague Marines definitely trump Cultists, especially if you are taking a Lord. Just put MoN on him and your PMs are Troops.

If you want to be competitive I'd say go two heldrakes for 500 points. If you're just trying to have fun I'd say stay away from bringing any until you're at 1000 and your opponent knows you're bringing one. If they don't want you to, feel free to limit their lists.

At 500, you can go one sorcerer, 2x10 cultists and 2 heldrakes. Remember, people won't want to play you if you are always bringing the best possible list. Just ask before you do it. Don't be that guy.

A heldrake is just awful at 500 points... Its like trying to shoot a quarter with a shotgun instead of a bench rifle. Heldrakes are great at killing lots of stuff but they need lots of stuff to kill because they come in late in the game and move really fast across the board and if there are only 2 squads on the map theres not much they can do.