Kosh's Korner - Wargaming on a Budget

The List
After making my way through the CSM Codex, I wanted to start working on an army list. My goal is to get something together so I'll at least have an idea of what models I should pick up on the next budget. I wanted to select units that I thought were interesting, in both game mechanic and model aesthetics. Here's the first list I came up with.

Army #1
HQ
Chaos Sorcerer - 145
-Mark of Slaanesh, Lash of Submission, Jump Pack

Troops
9 x Thousand Sons - 274
-Aspiring Sorcerer, Bolt of Change; Personal Icon

8 x Noise Marines - 275
- Champion, Power Fist; 6 x Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster, Personal Icon

Fast Attack
5 x Chaos Biker - 235
- Biker Champion, Power Fist; 2 x Meltagun, Icon of Chaos Glory

Heavy Support
Chaos Defiler - 150
- Close Combat Arm

Chaos Predator - 120
- Demonic Possession, Heavy Bolters

2 x Obliterator Cult - 150

2 x Obliterator Cult - 150

Total Points - 1499
Models - 29

I wasn't too sure about putting Slaanesh and Tzeentch into the same army, but with the way the Codex is set up it seems to work for a Black Legion army. I also wanted to try out both the Noise Marines and Thousand Sons and then maybe make a choice between the two. I went with the Choas Sorcerer out of fluff, thinking this is a unit put together by Abaddon to try and locate artifacts and ancient technologies. Although, I'm thinking a Demon Prince may be a better choice.

I went with the Chaos Bikers because I liked the look of their models. I'd like to mod the Champions's bike and make it into a chopper. I also thought giving them the meltaguns would allow them to swoop in fast and hit any armor of the enemy. I've been told that it's a good theory but doesn't always work out.

As for the Obliterators, I thought I would try deep striking them in, which is why the two infantry units have a personal icon. As for the rest, I just liked the look of the models. Anyway, I went ahead and put the list up on a few message boards to get some feedback.

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5582
http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?showtopic=129486
http://warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127023

After reading the feedback, I decided to make a few changes. Here are the results of that.

Army #2
HQ
Chaos Sorcerer - 125
- Mark of Slaanesh, Lash of Submission

Elite
5 x Chaos Terminators - 170
- 2 x Power Fist

Troops
9 x Thousand Sons - 269
- Aspiring Sorcerer, Bolt of Change

8 x Noise Marines - 230
- 6 x Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster

10 x Chaos Space Marines - 220
- Meltagun, Missile Launcher, Chaos Rhino, Extra Armor

Fast Attack
5 x Chaos Biker - 235
- Biker Champion, Power Fist; 2 x Meltagun, Icon of Chaos Glory

Heavy Support
Chaos Defiler - 150
- Close Combat Arm

Chaos Predator - 100
- Heavy Bolters

Total Points - 1499
Models - 40

Playing A Game
I went to my FLGS on Sunday and met up with The Hoder to play my first full game. He was playing Orks and I used his Chaos models to put together Army #2 with a few proxies. Seeing as this was my first game, it went kind of slow and I thank Hoder for his patience. I was asking a lot of questions, we only made it through 1.5 turns and that alone took almost 3.5 hours.

I learned a lot of things though. For one, rolling double 1's when using a Psychic power is not a good thing. My Aspiring Sorcerer bit the dust trying to use Bolt of Change at the beginning of the second turn. During the first turn I lost my Chaos Sorcerer to an instant kill. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was a nice big blast that took out a couple of Noise Marines as well. As for the Bikers, I'm still not sure about them. I had to hide them behind terrain the whole time, because they are fragile. Maybe next time.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. I'll probably make a few changes, possibly drop the Bikers for Raptors, but I'd like to get a full game in with the Bikers before I decide. I think I will definitely trade out the Chaos Sorcerer for a Demon Prince, as well as drop the Thousand Sons in favor of another Noise Marine squad. I'm working on another idea now, more of a mobile force, with the infantry all having a Rhino.

I'll see ya next week. I'm really excited, another budget blog coming up and I'll get my first models and start working on them. I can't wait.