As we approach the first stage of the challenge, foresight is a valuable thing and I have been investing a fair bit of time into list building and future-proofing my army! With the release of the newest Marine codex, the obvious framework for my 1000pt list is of course the Demi-company formation.
In this formation, I must take a Captain (sadly not Pedro Kantor, as he is a Chapter Master), three tactical squads, an assault or bike squad, and a devastator or devastator centurion squad. There is also the option to include a command squad and a dreadnaught, neither of which I could comfortably fit in a thousand points and still meet the requirements effectively, so they would have to wait.
I tackled the tactical squads first. I am typically not a huge fan of minimum sized squads, but given the restrictions, I was more inclined toward this course of action. I purchased three five man tactical squads, arming two with a plasma gun and combi-plasma, while the third wielded a melta gun and combi-melta to deal with any armour I might come across. As mentioned in my previous post, I was excited to use Sternguard models as my sergeants, as not only are they incredibly detailed models, but the kit comes with more than enough combi weapons for an entire company!
For my mandatory heavy support squad, I reluctantly steered away from Centurions purely because of cost. Points are tight and I had to cut costs wherever I could! I opted instead for a five-man Devastator squad with four missile launchers. With the added bonus of Tank Hunters from the Fists' chapter tactics, this squad gives me some long range armour-busting abilities. The missile launcher is also pretty flexible, able to drop drags on big mobs of infantry.
In the essence of future proofing my army, I invested in four Razorbacks for the previously mentioned squads. When I go to two Demi companies, these will all be free, so I figured I'd drop the points on them now! I purchased two with the stock Heavy Bolters for some added anti-infantry firepower, while the other two, I upgraded with the classic Lascannon/Twin-linked Plasma Gun combo.
My next choice was my fast attack slot. I genuinely considered Assault Marines, but I am a huge fan of Bike Squads. I chose a squad of six bikers, and geared them up with two melta guns and a power fist (which seems a fitting choice).
This left me with my Captain. It was an easy choice for me to mount him on a Bike, making my Bike Squad a perfect bodyguard. This was the most logical place for him. I stacked on some extra protection with a suit of Artificier Armour, and close combat punch with a Power Fist. This build makes my Captain one tough nut to crack! A 2+ armour save, a 4++ invulnerable from his Iron Halo, and an extra point of toughness (making him more resistant to being Instant Deathed) makes him seriously hard to kill!
That rounds out my list. The Fist bonuses to my boltguns add a bit of firepower but the real bonus comes from my Formation! Objective Secured on every unit means I can be much more competitive in objective games. The Tactical Doctrine is also a great tool, and I will probably drop it on the turn that I plan on firing the most Plasma shots, reducing the risk of overheating!
Lastly, thanks to a well-timed White Dwarf article, Crimson Fists now get their own Warlord traits! They are as follows...
1: Feel No Pain
2: Counter-attack and Stubborn
3: Hatred and Preffered Enemy (Orks)
4: If your Warlord doesn't shoot or run in the shooting phase, a friendly model within 12" may use his ballistic skill
5: Eternal freakin' Warrior
6: Warlord and all friendly Crimson Fists within 12" are Fearless
All in all, this is a very solid table to roll on! #3 is a little situational, but the other five are all fantastic, and fit the Crimson Fists perfectly! I wholeheartedly plan on rolling on this table for every single one of my games!
What army are you tackling for the challenge? If you are keen to have your Warlords shown in next week's blog, be sure to send a great photo my way! I look forward to seeing all these projects come into their own!
Until next time, thanks for reading!
Gabriel
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