Wednesday 17 August 2016

#56: The Crimson Crusaders!

I'm a firm believer in playing with painted armies. So, when news of the General's Hamdbook appeared on the horizon, I was determined to punch out a new army for the new season of miniature wargaming. My one priority was choosing one of the post-AOS armies, leaving me with several options. But I couldn't fight the urge to return to Chaos.

So Bloodbound was about to become my primary force for Pitched Play. What drew me irresistibly toward the Red Warriors was both the extensive range of Khorne models, as well has having brutal synergy and gameplay that perfectly encapsulates their theme and character! 

Typically, I haven't been a massive fan of Khorne, as he and his followers have, in recent years, been depicted as nothing more than raging lunatics who love to kill. This didn't really appeal to me, and came across as a little one-dimensional. 

However, what caught my attention was a few pages in an old White Dwarf, which completely opened my eyes to a new side of Khorne, which emphasised heavily upon honour in combat and martial superiority, winning wars with great personal feats and skilled acts of combat over reckless abandon and brutal bloodshed!

This little snippet of fluff sealed the deal for me! With that, I threw myself headlong into painting furiously (no pun intended). 
So, here's where I'm at. I've painted about 1200 points so far, with a healthy blend of choices! First off the block are my heroes...
The Mighty Lord of Khorne is a total beast in combat, and brings a lot to the table. The ability to Insta-kill anything he touches, the ability to Unbind without restriction and a very practical and efficient Command Ability make him a very popular pick for my General of choice, and all for 140 points!! Beast mode! 

Next are a pair of Slaughterpriests, the closest thing I get to pseudo-magic support. While their prayers are incredibly powerful, they are not without risk of having their heads explode! These guys can also match their general in the Unbinding department. Originally, I got my hands on the Priest with the great axe as part of the Silver Tower character expansion pack, which I split 4 ways. Afterwards, I couldn't resist getting my hands on the alternate sculpt with the wrath-flail. He's such a staunch model, and it seemed only fitting to add him to the army. While it's rare I will field both, I like having the option of the two weapon load outs. 
Battleline was next, and at 1000pts, I needed two. The choice was easy, and I went with a 10-man Blood Warrior unit and a 20-man Bloodreaver unit.
Blood Warriors are brutal, and can really dish out the hurt, with some well-timed buffs. I went with Gorefists over paired axes, because I have easy, reliable access to re-rolls to Hit thanks to the Warshrine. But more on that later...

Bloodreavers turned out to be the toughest unit to paint so far purely because of the immense detail! These guys are my expendable meat shields/tarpits to absorb or delay any units that I'm not ready to tackle just yet. 
Wrathmongers are hands down the most brutal shock and awe tool in the Bloodbound arsenal!! With their sweeping flails and relentless assaults, these are my Problem Solvers. Thanks to Bloodfury, they have the ability to cripple an assault by the biggest threat on the field, forcing my opponent to second guess his scary damage dealers' abilities. 
Lastly, I present my Warshrine! I have loved this model from day dot, but it suffered from swimming in the shallow end of the power pool in 8th. The model is incredibly intricate, and thanks to the extensive bits, it took no effort at all to dedicate this model to Khorne. That was my one rule with this army. If it doesn't have the Khorne Keyword, it ain't welcome!

Lastly, as I'm writing this, the bases are drying on these bad boys!
These guys are the heavy lifters of shock cavalry, giving me some speed and hitting power where I need it most! 

So, what's next? Well, I have to get this army painted to 2000 points for an upcoming tournament. Things on my to-paint list are another unit of Blood Warriors, a Bloodsecrator (because every self respecting Bloodbound player needs one) and, most importantly, a unit of three Gorebeast Chariots being hauled by Juggernauts! 

Hopefully, you enjoy seeing my progress and journey toward greatness for Chaos! I'd love to see your progress too, and message the page if you want a game!

Thanks for reading,
Gabe