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Good day! Been a long time since I've posted here!

I've recently reignited my love for Warhammer by starting to listen to the Horus Heresy series (I'm on "Know no fear" atm) and have decided to do something I've always wanted to do: build and paint a really amazing looking Night Lords army.

Now I've done Night Lords previously for 40k but my conversions and paint jobs were... Not so great. So now, after a few years away from the hobby, I want to come back and do it right e.g. learning to model and paint properly.


Now that introductions are out of the way, on to the point of this thread: building a 30k army.

I have never played 30k but once this army is built, I definitely want to give it a go on the battlefield. So let me show you what I've got:

Betrayal at Calth + Burning of Prospero sets (some parts have been used for 40k stuff since I got these years ago)
Age of Darkness box set (brand new for Christmas!)
Konrad Curze (proxy because the FW one makes him look so derpy)
10x Raptors
5x Contekar Terminators
Night Lords Contemptor Dreadnought
+ a resin printer for extra bits, upgrades, trim, etc.

So I've done some reading of the rules and watched some battle reports and right now I'm thinking:

Terror Assault RoW
Konrad Curze
Praetor (jump pack or terminator armour?)
Apothecary (jump pack?)
10x Assault Marines
10x Raptors
5x Contekar
Contemptor Dreadnought
Spartan Assault Tank

With upgrades, that's about 2000pts.


Is this any good? I'd ideally want to take the Night Lords specific units for the cool factor but I don't know whether the assault marines, spartan and characters are the best choice? I saw some stuff that looked to suggest giving Konrad a fast moving wound pool was a good idea and the Spartan is good for terminator transport + some heavy firepower.


Any advice on army comp and/or what upgrades are best to take (though again, rule of cool on the night raptors with their unique chain weapons) are appreciated!


Cheers!

There are others who will provide more expert feedback. My suggestions (not having looked at the Night Lords rules) are:

1. You probably need more line troops (are Raptors line?).
2. Konrad Curze takes up a big chunk of your points, but if he's one of the reasons for doing this army then go for it. Maybe take a Consul instead of a Praetor as your 2nd in command, and free up some points.
3. The Termies need a transport, but at this points level a Land Raider would be more points-efficient than a Spartan.
4. From a modelling perspective, the Mk VI Marines in the AoD boxed set do not mix that well with the older models from the previous sets. And of course the Mk III models have been re-done. Maybe stick to the newer models?

Welcome to 30k! Hope you enjoy your stay.


First up, I'll caveat anything I say with I'm not really familiar with Night Lord rules, so can't give advice on their specific units. With that being said....

I agree largely with what Snord has said, except for the modelling perspective. Use whatever models you like. You wont notice in the midst of battle. If it really affects you, throw something height boosting on the bases under the MkIVs to bring them up in height a bit. The old MkIIIs are fine against the new MkVI. But at the end of the day it really comes down to personal preference.
My own thoughts.
- At 2k or less, unless your opponent has been forewarned, a Primarch is mean. Unless tailored for, not too much is gonna stand up against him outside of lucky rolls.
- A spartan is a good all purpose tank. Enough firepower to blat all but the biggest warmachines and enough staying power to make sure you get to use it. The big transport capacity is also a boon.
- If raptors are Line, then between them and the assault marines, you've got what I'd consider the minimum in objective capturing usefulness. 2 Line squads minimum, 3 is better if you can squeeze them in. Less then that and you're working hard to keep enemy Line units off objectives.
- If you're deadset on taking Kurse, maybe drop the praetor for another assault squad. Or raptor squad depending on what their points are. Mostly because at the moment, you have comparitively few units. Given that Kurze will be attached to a unit, as will the apoth, and that at least 1 unit will be in the spartan, that leaves you 4, maybe 5 units for the enemy to target. That allows an opponent to concentrate lots of firepower into a few things and even big tough things like contemptors and spartans will get put down quick enough. Another unit would go some way to providing a bit of target saturation and in turn split up the enemies shooting.

 Snord wrote:
There are others who will provide more expert feedback. My suggestions (not having looked at the Night Lords rules) are:

1. You probably need more line troops (are Raptors line?).

You are correct... I thought all troops got "line", my mistake. So what to take as line? I was thinking getting some units with weapons that can pin would be nice to harmonise with the Night Lords' bonuses against pinned and routing units. Perhaps support squads with rotor cannons or recon squads with nemesis bolters?

2. Konrad Curze takes up a big chunk of your points, but if he's one of the reasons for doing this army then go for it. Maybe take a Consul instead of a Praetor as your 2nd in command, and free up some points.

Yes, I would like to keep Curze (and from what I've seen he's an amazing support/melee primarch anyway). I was wondering if there's any reason to take a Praetor over a Consul besides just better stats, so that choice makes sense to me.

3. The Termies need a transport, but at this points level a Land Raider would be more points-efficient than a Spartan.

Mmm, tbh I only went Spartan because that's what I have atm but cheaper makes more sense. Though my anti-tank capabilities are pretty lacking as is, don't know where I'll make that up, especially if I need the points for more line units.

4. From a modelling perspective, the Mk VI Marines in the AoD boxed set do not mix that well with the older models from the previous sets. And of course the Mk III models have been re-done. Maybe stick to the newer models?

So they are! That is a pain... Maybe I'll just use the Mk.III for bog standard tacticals and use the Mk.VI for veterans, jump troops, recon, etc. I'll have to see what looks good.


Thanks for the advice! I'll have a think about that line issue and balancing the points to get there...

Cheers!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Snrub wrote:
Welcome to 30k! Hope you enjoy your stay.


First up, I'll caveat anything I say with I'm not really familiar with Night Lord rules, so can't give advice on their specific units. With that being said....

I agree largely with what Snord has said, except for the modelling perspective. Use whatever models you like. You wont notice in the midst of battle. If it really affects you, throw something height boosting on the bases under the MkIVs to bring them up in height a bit. The old MkIIIs are fine against the new MkVI. But at the end of the day it really comes down to personal preference.

Aye, we'll see how they all look lined up. I was gonna use some mk.III's as test models for schemes anyway.

My own thoughts.
- At 2k or less, unless your opponent has been forewarned, a Primarch is mean. Unless tailored for, not too much is gonna stand up against him outside of lucky rolls.

Oh... So this isn't like 40k's "too many eggs in one basket" when bringing cool centrepiece models? Well, that at least means I can free up some points for line units/have the extra points free for bigger 3k games.

- A spartan is a good all purpose tank. Enough firepower to blat all but the biggest warmachines and enough staying power to make sure you get to use it. The big transport capacity is also a boon.

So perhaps keep it? Especially if I should be dropping Curze

- If raptors are Line, then between them and the assault marines, you've got what I'd consider the minimum in objective capturing usefulness. 2 Line squads minimum, 3 is better if you can squeeze them in. Less then that and you're working hard to keep enemy Line units off objectives.

Aye, I need some more line it would seem

- If you're deadset on taking Kurse, maybe drop the praetor for another assault squad. Or raptor squad depending on what their points are. Mostly because at the moment, you have comparitively few units. Given that Kurze will be attached to a unit, as will the apoth, and that at least 1 unit will be in the spartan, that leaves you 4, maybe 5 units for the enemy to target. That allows an opponent to concentrate lots of firepower into a few things and even big tough things like contemptors and spartans will get put down quick enough. Another unit would go some way to providing a bit of target saturation and in turn split up the enemies shooting.

Oh, I didn't realise Curze could be my sole commander (40k guy here), so that would free up points but as I said above if I'm dropping Curze then it's moot point; I don't wanna be building mean lists (I did enough of that back when I played 40k)

Just some thoughts, you may want to go with: Sevatar, a Librarian or Chaplain w/ jump pack, a terror squad (5 rotor cannons and 5 volkite), some terminators, some tactical marines, some assault marines (to join the chappy or Libby), a dreadnought, land raider (dedicated transport), and a heavy support unit (Leviathan, Spartans, etc.). If you can get a unit of Tartarus and cataphractii, go for it. Sevatar lets you teleport your terminators. Sevatar joins the unit in the land raider. My list utilizes the Spartan with the neutron laser to wreck tanks. I've found Raptors to be mean but they are pricey in your list. Assault squads are cheaper and scoring.

Agree with the points about a Primarch being "nasty" at 2000 points, especially Curze in a Terror Assault list. Thats throwing gasoline on an open fire. Drop him, at least until you hit 3000 points games. Give your Praetor a jump pack, that way, you can attach him to either the Raptor or Contenkar squad at deployment so he can deep strike with them. Consider a Telepathy Librarian, they work well with our Legion. Also, consider a Leviathan in a Dreadclaw, works great for an "anchor" for the deep strike. And don't forget to add Preysight to anything that doesn't get Night Vision default if you're running Terror Assault.

Happy hunting.

boyd wrote:Just some thoughts, you may want to go with: Sevatar, a Librarian or Chaplain w/ jump pack, a terror squad (5 rotor cannons and 5 volkite), some terminators, some tactical marines, some assault marines (to join the chappy or Libby), a dreadnought, land raider (dedicated transport), and a heavy support unit (Leviathan, Spartans, etc.). If you can get a unit of Tartarus and cataphractii, go for it. Sevatar lets you teleport your terminators. Sevatar joins the unit in the land raider. My list utilizes the Spartan with the neutron laser to wreck tanks. I've found Raptors to be mean but they are pricey in your list. Assault squads are cheaper and scoring.

Gadzilla666 wrote: Agree with the points about a Primarch being "nasty" at 2000 points, especially Curze in a Terror Assault list. Thats throwing gasoline on an open fire. Drop him, at least until you hit 3000 points games. Give your Praetor a jump pack, that way, you can attach him to either the Raptor or Contenkar squad at deployment so he can deep strike with them. Consider a Telepathy Librarian, they work well with our Legion. Also, consider a Leviathan in a Dreadclaw, works great for an "anchor" for the deep strike. And don't forget to add Preysight to anything that doesn't get Night Vision default if you're running Terror Assault.

Happy hunting.

I've already got about 2k (2.5k with Curze) in the painting production line:
- Tartarus Praetor
- Librarian Centurion
- 2x Apothecaries
- Contekars
- Contemptor
- Raptors
- Tacticals
- Despoilers
- Spartan

The general plan being Raptors + Apothecary in the Spartan or DS and Contekors + Praetor + Apothecary in DS as my two death squads.

I still havea bunch of Tartarus and Cataphractii on sprue and I'd love to get Sevatar + the NL Leviathan to round out the NL exclusive units, so maybe my next route once I have this army done will be to do a DSing Sevatar led Terminator/Dreadnought army.

But I must resist the urge to purchase anything until I have all of this painted, can't roll back into old habits.

Thanks!