Along came Nurgle Chaos, and what a weapon it is.

My first game with my Nurgle Chaos didn’t go too swell. I squared off at 1,000 points with a High Elf army, and I came out with a minor loss. Some poor tactical decisions along with some cruddy luck with my magic left most of my army impotent until the last turn of the game.

Last Saturday, I met up with that same High Elf army for a rematch. The results were much different.

Deploying Differently

I was using the same list as the first time. A level 2 Sorcerer, a block of Warriors, a unit of Knights, two units of Marauder Horsemen, and a unit of Dogs. A little beef, a dose of speed, and some magic for fun.

I split the army up into two parts. The Sorcerer, the Warriors, and a unit of Marauder Horsemen occupied the left portion of the battlefield, while the rest of the army came up the right flank. My opponent deployed most of his army opposite my Warriors with his Bolt Thrower on a hill, but there was a lone unit of Seaguard waiting for my Knights.

I went first – allowing everyone to march forward and close ground quickly. He flew his Eagle over to march block the Knights for a turn, and his first volley of shooting decimated my Dogs. The next turn, the Warriors were able to keep marching, while the Knights slowly walked across the field.

With this second march, my Sorcerer was in the perfect position. For his two spells, he had the #1 spell (Magnificent Buboes, 5+, 1 wound on a single model) and the #6 spell (Rot, Glorious Rot, 12+). As it turns out, that #6 spell was going to be the deciding factor in the game. It’s effect reads:

Each enemy unit within 18″ of the caster takes D6 SD6 hits with no armour saves allowed (roll separately for each unit). This spell can even effect enemy units in close combat.

I threw three dice and the spell went off easily (Irresistible Force ftw!). When I measured out the range, almost the entire army was hit. I caught the Eagle, the Knights, the Swordmasters, the Spearmen, the Seaguard, and the hero on foot (standing by himself).

I initially read the spell wrong and resolved each hit at S6. I couldn’t believe the utter destruction that befell the High Elf army, so I read the spell over a few times – and I eventually noticed that it was a SD6, or a strength of D6. We went back and resolved the wounds a second time – rolling for the strength of each volley – and it was still pretty devastating. The Knights and Swordmasters were almost wiped out, and the character was killed.

From there, it quickly went downhill for the High Elves. A unit of Marauder Horsemen was wiped out by shooting, but the Knights managed to crash into the line. They wiped out the Archers with ease, and they pursued into the Bolt Thrower.

After a turn of moving up, the Warriors engaged the Spearmen and the lone remaining Knight. The High Elves didn’t pack enough oomph in that first round to break the Warriors, and they slowly whittled down the Spearmen. Warriors with hand weapon and shield and a Mark of Nurgle are very sturdy against strength 3 attacks. It’s laughable the amount of spear-pokes that simply bounced off the unit with minimal wounds.

By the end of turn 6, the battle had turned into a massacre. It took a few rounds of combat, but the Warriors broke the Spearmen and pursued them. The Knights had easily taken care of their side of the field – the Archers, the Bolt Thrower, and the Sea Guard – and the magic had done the rest.

What Worked

A lot.

The clear winner of the game was magic. Rot, Glorious Rot is a ridiculous spell. If your opponent is bunched up in one area, do whatever you can to get your wizard in range of a handful of units. It wouldn’t be as effective against swarms like Skaven or Empire, but against highly armored, expensive units… it’s a dream come true. No Armour Saves. Woot!

The Knights survived a couple rounds of shooting (with only two or three guys alive) and smashed into some small units. They did their job well – however I think I might beef them up with an extra Knight or two. Starting with only five Knights quickly takes them down in fighting strength, making them less effective against sizeable troop blocks.

The Warriors did great in combat. Their armor stood up to the puny spear attacks, and they slowly fought back. At first, it was a close combat – due to the Dragon Prince charging, the Spearmen ranks, and the High Elves outnumbering. It quickly turned the other way, though, when almost none of the Chaos Warriors died. Hooray survivability!

Lessons for Next Time

At full points, I’m definitely taking a Sorcerer lord, and I think I’ll take the magic item (gift?) that allows him to get a fifth spell. Along with Rot, Glorious Rot, there are several wicked spells in the Nurgle arsenal – and getting five out of six for the Lord should be very helpful.

At full points, I’ll also beef up the Knights a bit. I had thought about taking a second unit, but there probably won’t be enough points. Adding 2 Knights to the initial unit will probably be more cost effective – allowing them to reach the enemy with almost full fighting strength (4-5 Knights alive, 2-3 casualties).

Keep the Knights and Warriors split up. By putting them on opposite sides of the board, the Eagle was only allowed to march block one unit. It’s kind of daunting to look at a block of Warriors and a unit of Knights, but it’s not so scary if they’re stuck in place. Split them up, allow one of them to go full speed ahead, and force your opponent to make some tough choices.

That puts my record with the Nurgle Chaos at 1,000 points at 1-1. I suppose that’s acceptable. We’ll have to have a third match soon as a tie-breaker.

In the meantime, I need to paint some stuff. I did finish a Warrior (which I’ll photograph and post about over the weekend), and I think my next painting project will be to start the Dogs.

Chaos Sorcerers are pretty beefy, and if they get into combat they have to issue a challenge. It’s pretty important, then, to take some magical items that beef up their survivability as well as (or instead of) their magical potential. A dead sorcerer is no good.

There seems to have been a lot of argument around the internet as to whether or not a Chaos Sorcerer can equip a magical shield, and I think I’ve finally come up with the definitive answer.

Why Should Chaos Sorcerer’s Be Able to Wield Magical Shields?

There is one major justification for the argument.

In the Warriors of Chaos army book, the section titled “Using Chaos Magic” states:

The term ‘Sorcerer’ is used to describe Wizards who follow the Chaos Gods. Sorcerers are unusual in that they wear Chaos armour and use magic shields or magic armour just like other Champions of Chaos. (p. 106)

Many people have interpreted this to mean, quite literally, that Chaos Sorcerers can use magic shields. Since this accompanies other “rules” text, like the fact that a marked Sorcerer must use spells from the Lore of his chosen god, it should also be deemed “rules” text.

Why Should Chaos Sorcerer’s Not Be Able to Wear Magical Shields?

Most of the arguments against the use of magical shields by Chaos Sorcerer’s rely on this statement in the Warhammer Fantasy Rulebook, in the section titled “Magic Armour“:

A character that is not allowed to wear ordinary armour cannot be given magic armour/helms (unless differently specified in the Army book). A character that is not allowed to carry ordinary shields cannot be given magic shields (unless differently specified in the Army book). This includes many kinds of Wizard whose natural magical harmony would be seriously affected by the armour (p. 121).

Following this logic, the Chaos Sorceror is allowed to wear magical armor because he normally has a suit of Chaos Armor. However, there is no option on the Sorcerer profile to upgrade to a shield, so therefore it was not intended for Sorcerers to wear magical shields.

If the Sorcerers are intended to be battle wizards (of a sort) that wear armor, why would they be allowed to take a magical shield but not a mundane one? Makes little sense. If that was the intent, they would probably be able to wear a shield so that they could wear a suit of magic armor and still benefit from a shield’s protection.

Furthermore, they state that the descriptive information in the “Using Chaos Magic” of the Warriors of Chaos army book is simply descriptive text and not rules text. Therefore, it does fulfill the requirement in the rulebook: “unless differently specified in the Army book.” Presumably this would come in the form of a rule attached to the character’s profile, which specifically stated that the character could take magical armor and shields.

Is There a Definitive Answer?

There have been several discussions online (and I’m sure many more in gaming stores) about the correct answer to this question. There seem to be proponents for each side and little common ground to stand on. Either you believe the descriptive text is a rule or you believe it isn’t.

There has been, however, some indication from Games Workshop that it is not intended for Chaos Sorcerers to use magical shields. In his article “Eye of the Gods, Favour of the Ruinous Powers,” Adam Troke said:

Oh, and despite the scurrilous advice I’ve given in the past, you can’t equip your Sorcerers with magic shields… and apparently no amount of wishing, arguing or whining on my part will make it true.

While this is not an official FAQ, it is published on the Games Workshop website and it comes from someone within the company. Adam seems to state unequivocally that Chaos Sorcerers cannot use magical shields.

Unless someone has a more definitive answer, I’m with troke: no magical shields for my poor little sorcerers.

We’re starting an escalation league at the store in February, and I think the first stage is 1000 pts. I hope it is – because that’s what I wrote a list for.

Here’s the list I’m considering so far:

Characters

• Chaos Sorceror (210 pts)
  • Upgrade to Level 2 (35 pts)
  • Mark of Nurgle (20 pts)
  • Warrior Familiar (20 pts)
  • Rending Sword (30 pts)
  • Soporific Mask (20 pts)

Core

• Warriors of Chaos  x 14 (284 pts)
  • Shields (1 pt)
  • Full Command (30 pts)
  • Mark of Nurgle (30 pts)
• Marauder Horsemen x 5 (92 pts)
  • Throwing Axes (2 pts)
  • Shields (1 pt)
  • Champion (12 pts)
• Marauder Horsement x 5 (92 pts)
  • Throwing Axes (2pts)
  • Shields (1pt)
  • Champion (12pts)
• Chaos Warhounds x 5 (30 pts)

Special

• Chaos Knights x 5 (280 pts)
  • Full Command (50 pts)
  • Mark of Nurgle (30 pts)

General Thoughts and Strategy

At 2000 pts, I plan to beef up the core of the army to include two Warrior units. The rest of the army is highly mobile to engage shooters and flank the units that the Warriors bash into.

At 1000 pts, the Core seems a bit lonely with only one unit of warriors and four cavalry units – so we’ll see how that goes. The only feasible way to get 2 Warrior units would be to drop the Knights – but I really want some Knights in the army. I guess at 1000 pts, it’s ok if things look a bit askew.

The Sorceror is going to travel with the Warrior unit. I gave him the Familiar and the Rending Sword so that his combat potential will be respectable. The Soporific Mask seemed like a good combo with a unit of foot troops, too, to help them run down the enemy. He may also not be too effective magically, since I can only afford one character. I’m including him in anticipation of the 2000 pt list, where I plan on taking a level 4 Sorceror Lord.

The Marauder Horsement don’t have commands because they shouldn’t be engaging blocks of troops on their own. They’ll most likely hunt down small skirmisher units or harass rank and file troops until the Warriors can reach them. The throwing axes are Str 4, so it’s likely that they can take out a few models throughout the course of the game while they wait for an opportune time to flank.

One change I’m considering is dropping the standard on the Knights. I read the suggestion on a forum and it kind of makes sense. They’re unlikely to engage large blocks of troops alone, so static combat resolution points aren’t too important. Sheer brute force should carry them through most combat. If I drop the banner and the champions on the Marauder Horsemen, I can take a second unit of dogs.

Worth it? Not sure.

I need to assemble a few more things (second unit of Marauder Horsemen, character, a handful of Warriors), but the army is mostly together. Looks like I’m almost all set for Saturday.

Once I see how it goes, I’ll post some thoughts and tune up the army list… probably on Sunday.

Although the snow storm out here wasn’t bad at all, school was canceled. I showed up at work at 7:05 to find an empty parking lot and a locked door. Doh.

This screws up some plans for class, but it’s a boon for my hobbies. After a productive morning (buying a shovel and shoveling the driveway), I spent some time practicing my guitar and finishing up my first Marauder.

Pictures of a Completed Marauder

Although I’m not 100% satisfied with him, I think it’s a great job for a first effort. It’s been almost two years (Jan. 2007, I think) since I last painted something.

The general color scheme is olive green with gray and brown accents. Seems Nurge-ly enough for me.

I chose a Chestnut color for the horse. Started with Scorched Brown, then a couple mixes of Scorched Brown and Dark Flesh.

The Marauder’s skin was a new experiment. I used to use a couple custom mixes of Dwarf Flesh and Bronzed Flesh to get a nice fleshtone, but I left my old custom mixes at the store when I quit. I tried mixing some more, and it came out way too watery.

I had put down some Dark Flesh as a basecoat, and I decided I liked the darker look. I lightened it up and tried to make it come out kind of reddish. I guess I was going for a “red” Native American skin-tone.

I started with a basedcoat of Dark Flesh, then a mix of 1:1 Dark Flesh and Dwarf Flesh, and a mix of 1:1 Dark Flesh and Bronzed Flesh. It came out pretty good, although when I adjusted the levels in the photos I think the color came out a bit more bronze and a bit less red than it actually is.

On the shoulder armor, I stippled some scorched brown and dark flesh for a rust effect. It came out ok, but the picture doesn’t do it justice. The reflection off the metallic paint kind of screws up the effect.

Now I just need to find the time to paint four more of them… doh.

Getting Start with the Marauder Horsement

It’s been a while since I’ve painted. A long while. So I started slow. 

I need to get re-familiarized with the colors, so I decided to throw down some basecoat colors before I bothered finishing any part of the model. With some general colors down, I could then go back and decide what shades I’d want the finished model to have and how to highlight them.

For the first horsemen, I opted for a dark brown horse with some green cloth. I painted his skin Dark Flesh for the moment, but it’ll eventually get lightened up.

After about an hour or so last night, this is what he looked like. Nothing special, but it’s nice to have some paint on the model.

Picking a Color Scheme and Highlighting

Today, I picked the Marauder up again and started working on the finished color scheme. 

I’m planning on building the army as Nurgle, so I’ll need a bit of green. The cloth (around the saddle and the horseman’s shirt) will end up being an Olive-y green. I started with a mix of Dark Angel’s and Olive (2 : 1) for a base, then a coat of just Olive green, and a highlight around the edges with Camo green.

I started painting the horse brown, but I decided to make it more of a chestnut color. The basecoat was Scorched Brown. The first highlight coat was a mix of Scorched Brown and Dark Flesh (3 : 1, I think…?). I’ll probably go back over with a lighter highlight coat of just Dark Flesh to finish him off.

Most of the rest of the model is going to be varying shades of brown (leather straps and such), metal, and gray for the pants. He’s only about a third done, but there’s some definite progress. I’ll probably finish this one tomorrow, and then I can move a little faster with the rest of the unit.

The first model is always slow going as you try to figure out exactly what colors your going to need for every little bit.

I’ve been meaning to unpack my modeling supplies and get back into Warhammer since I moved into my house… two months ago. It just never happened.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to jump back in and start a new Chaos army. I kept putting things off, though, and it took me a while to get the ball rolling. But now it’s rolling…

I stopped in the old gaming haunt and picked up a box of Maurauder Horsemen a week or two ago. Over the last week, I put those together. Today, I broke out a new can of primer, and I’ve got some shiny, black models waiting for paint!

I also unpacked my assorted boxes of GW, including dozens of Vallejo paints. They are awesome. Haven’t been used in a year or longer, and they don’t seem to have dried up at all. With a good shake, they’re as good as new.

Last night I stopped in the store again and picked up a box of Chaos Knights. That means by next week, I’ll have two units of models assembled… woot!

Thankfully there aren’t a lot of models in a Chaos Army.

As I start painting the Maurauders, I’ll upload some pictures. I can’t wait to get back to painting. It’s been so long since I picked up a brush… I just hope I haven’t lost the touch.

I stopped playing for a while after I left the store.  In part, I didn’t have gobs of spare time to assemble and paint the models.  I also didn’t have a good place in my tiny apartment to do so.  It was really convenient painting and assembling models at work… until I didn’t work there anymore.

Now that I have an entire house to fill with junk, and an “office” where I can set up my painting/modeling supplies, I think I’m going to get back into it.  First project: Chaos.

New Chaos Army.  January Tournament.

I’ve always wanted to play Chaos, and I never got around to it.  Now that they’ve re-done the book and they’re re-doing some of the models, it seems like a great choice for jumping back in.

I was planning on doing an Empire army previously – Games Workshop had just released the new Empire stuff when I left the store and stopped playing.  However, at this point I don’t want to commit to assembling and painting that many models.

The best thing about Chaos is it’s expensive – so your army isn’t going to have 2-300 models.  Oh… Skaven, how I hate thee.

The store has a tournament planned for January, so my goal is to assemble the models and test them out by then.  Painting will surely take a few months after that, but hopefully I can get a playable army done in two months or so.

I haven’t worked out a specific list, so I’m going to start by assembling a hodge-podge of core units, and then working it out for there.

Shopping list:

• 2 x boxes of Chaos Warriors
• 2 x boxes of Chaos Knights
• 2 x boxes of Maurauder Horsemen
• 2 x boxes of Maurauders