Living Dead Girl

 And so at last, on the eve of all Hallows night, the climax of International Goth Month, we come to the final scary Warhammer army I've wanted for a long time but will likely never be. And you best believe I saved the best for last, the most Halloween of armies, one that by without even trying is a near perfect fusion of ghoulish fiends and beautiful women in sexy monster outfits. 

What else could it be? 

Living Dead Girl - Millitant's Vampire Counts 

Vampire Counts are another of my top 3 favourite bad guy armies in Warhammer, and jostle with Beasts of Chaos for the number 1 spot. They were indeed for a long time one of the leading frontrunners to be the first ever Warhammer army I started with, until Dark Passion Play and Diablo III happened and changed everything forever. In fact they even followed a similar trajectory to my path towards the Wood Elves. 

It all began by coincidence when I ended up getting, in early 2007, one of the White Dwarf issues covering the release of the new army book for The Empire in 7th edition Warhammer. In particular, this one featured a battle report showcasing some of the new Empire units and characters. Now, the Empire models were very exciting and managed to break me out of my 'Sci-fi Ride or Die' mentality and get me interested in fantasy briefly, a feat that had at that point been accomplished in Warhammer only by the Dwarfs (it was the flintlocks and clock-punk you see). 

But then a funny thing happened. The army being pitted against the shiny new Empire models also grabbed my attention. It was a collection of various classic spooky Halloween monsters all lead by some Vampires. And that concept caught my interest in a way that it never should have. See this was when I was still in the grip of my science fiction only phase. The level of coolness in these kinds of narrative concepts was directly proportional to the amount of technology they contained, and INVERSLY proportional to the amount of magic and Halloween monsters they contained. Horror films were just barely in the cool zone, and even then it was only Silence of The Lambs type ones where the monster was a serial killer or something with no supernatural elements in sight. At this point in time, those kinds of fiendish ghosts and ghouls were in my eyes the exclusive domain of lame dumb little kids stuff, the very bottom of the coolness barrel. 

But this Warhammer army, these so-called Vampire Counts, they somehow managed to make it work. 

It was likely the models that carried it, but something in the game faction's soul managed to somehow make these elements cool in a way that they never really had to me before. I was fascinated by them. Everything seemed to somehow click. And it was this discovery that not only made me reconsider supernatural themes for the first time ever, but also kept that nascent interest alive until another big milestone a few years later that, again, happened entirely by coincidence. 

One night, as I was looking for something to watch on TV while I painted models, I flipped over to C4 on a whim. What I beheld would stay with me for decades to come. I arrived right in the middle of a horror film, but unlike any I had seen before. It featured magic and Halloween monsters, specifically vampires, but they were very different to the caricatures I was familiar with. There were no red and black capes or white frilly bibs in sight. Instead, this vampire film was dark and brooding and violent and blood-soaked and honestly pretty metal. It had (who I learnt later was) Winona Ryder all breathy in corsets, and (who I learnt later was) Monica Bellucci naked from the waist up crawling all over a hapless guy, and I was around 16 at the time so that was a big factor too. 

I didn't know it yet, because I had missed the start of the film, but I was for the very first time watching Bram Stoker's Dracula. 

And I was hooked. I was hooked from the moment I first saw half-nude Monica Bellucci crawling all over some helpless guy (again, this was when I was about 16), and watched the entire rest of the film utterly enthralled. That film was a total game changer. At long last, vampires had started to become kind of cool for me, and that film paved the way for Van Helsing and the Old World of Darkness that were soon to follow. Needless to say this had only improved the standing of that weird Halloween monster vampire army in Warhammer, and I was now seriously considering a Halloween vampire Warhammer army of my own at some point in the future. 

While this string of coincidences had built my desire for a Vampire Counts army of some kind, the specifics of its nature would be shaped by my increasing contact with the goth girls at high school and another, far less fortunate game changer - the apocalyptic fallout of my first attempts at dating some of them. The full horrors of those dark times are now best left undisturbed, and certainly are not appropriate for this blog, but the important thing here is that it left the imprint of the darkly beauteous sexually confident villainess who uses her wiles as much as her weapons forever burnt into my psyche as an iconic character type. 

Then later on I discovered that they also happen to be a lot of fun to write. So when I (re)discovered that in Warhammer there is actually a whole vampire bloodline of just that character it was a natural first choice for what flavour of Vampire Counts are my favourite. Discovering Victoria Frances along the way helped too. 

And that's why if I had enough 2002 era GW Zombies and Vampire Counts metal models, the result would look something like this: 

The House of Favole (Lahmia Bloodline)

Colours: Black and red dresses on characters, natural colours for creatures (decaying flesh for zombies, dark fur for bats and wolves etc.), dark garments and corroded metals for wights. 

An off-shoot of the Lahmian dynasty that has long since assimilated into the Old World and abandoned much of their Nehekharan traditions. They are still fiercely loyal and deeply close with their fellow Lahmian sisters however and frequently cooperate with Neferata's schemes. 

Lords Ladies

Elize Favole: Level 3 Vampire Lady with Seduction, Wristbands of Black Gold and Biting Blade, mounted on a Zombie Dragon - 730 pts 

Monica: Level 2 Vampire Countess with Seduction, Beguile and Tomb Blade - 340 pts 

Solomon Crowley: Level 4 Master Necromancer with Spell Familiar, Cursed Book and Ring of The Night - 315 pts 

Heroes Heroines Villains Villainesses 

Jeanette: Vampire Thrall Battle Standard Bearer with Hell Banner - 170 pts 

Darla: Vampire Thrall with Beguile and Sword of Unholy Power - 130 pts 

Salma: Vampire Thrall with Blood Drinker - 130 pts 

Delphine: Vampire Thrall with Innocence Lost and Sword of Might - 125 pts 

Mina: Vampire Thrall with Innocence Lost and Sword of Battle - 130 pts

Necromancer: Level 2 Necromancer with Power Familiar - 150 pts

Necromancer: Level 2 Necromancer with Skull Staff - 140 pts 

Wraith: Wraith with Obsidian Amulet, mounted on a Barded Ethereal Nightmare - 147 pts 

Wight Lord: Wight Lord with Heavy Armour, Sword of The Kings and Enchanted Shield - 99 pts 

Core 

Zombie Horde: 25 Zombies with Full Command - 165 pts

Zombie Horde: 25 Zombies with Full Command - 165 pts 

Zombie Horde: 25 Zombies with Full Command - 165 pts 

Zombie Horde: 25 Zombies with Full Command - 165 pts

Ghoul Clan: 10 Ghouls with Ghast - 90 pts 

Ghoul Clan: 10 Ghouls with Ghast - 90 pts

Bat Swarm: 5 Bat Swarm bases - 300 pts 

Dire Wolf Pack: 10 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf - 110 pts 

Dire Wolf Pack: 10 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf - 110 pts 

Dire Wolf Pack: 10 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf - 110 pts 

Dire Wolf Pack: 10 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf - 110 pts 

Special 

Grave Guard Regiment: 20 Grave Guard with Hand Weapons, Shields, Full Command and Banner of Doom - 340 pts

Grave Guard Regiment: 20 Grave Guard with Halberds, Shields, Full Command and Banner of The Dead Legion - 355 pts 

Grave Guard Regiment: 20 Grave Guard with Halberds, Shields, Full Command and Screaming Banner - 370 pts

Black Knight Regiment: 10 Black Knights with Barded Nightmares, Full Command and Banner of The Barrows - 335 pts 

Fell Bat Flock: 10 Fell Bats - 200 pts

Fell Bat Flock: 10 Fell Bats - 200 pts 

Fell Bat Flock: 10 Fell Bats - 200 pts

The Oblivion: 5 Spirit Host bases - 325 pts

Rare

Banshee: 1 Banshee - 90 pts

Banshee: 1 Banshee - 90 pts

Banshee: 1 Banshee - 90 pts

Black Coach: 1 Black Coach - 200 pts 

Spoils 

Damsel Swain: Level 0 nubile doe-eyed Ingenue Damsel to-be held in the clutches of unholy temptation - 19 pts 

TOTAL: 7000 pts

The first crucial element of this list is the Bloodline Powers. Vampires in Warhammer can take a bunch of special abilities that reflects their supernatural Vampire abilities, with each bloodline getting a unique set. The only catch is that at least one of the army book's writing team was a sour prude who hates fun so they compete for points with magic items. But right now the important thing to note is that Lahmians get access to the single best vampire power in the entire book, and easily one of the best special abilities in the entire game, Seduction, which causes opposing characters to fall so madly in love with your vampires that they switch sides mid-fight and do your bidding for a turn. It is glorious and worth every single one of its 55 points. 

Seduction was always going to be going on the head vampiress of the army, and for Elize Favole it is paired with some Wonder Woman-grade magic wristbands to deflect shooting attacks with style and elegance. This doesn't leave a whole lot of points left over for weapons, but there is just enough to squeeze in a magic sword. 

Which brings up another important element - with the exception of the standard bearer every single vampire in the army is carrying some kind of magic weapon, because no self-respecting Lahmian queen of the night would degrade herself by getting her hands and fingernails dirty fighting unarmed, and no Lahmian queen of the night worth her dresses would settle for any mere piece of dull metal for a weapon. The only reason the standard bearer has to go without one is because the rules won't let me take one along with a big flashy magic standard. I can only conclude that the rules for Battle Standards were written by the same fun-hating sour prude who wrote in the part where Bloodline Powers are not a separate points budget to Magic Items. 

Elize is joined by a right-hand Vampire Countess who also packs Seduction, because having two characters with it doubles the chances of it happening each turn. She also has Beguile, because I want to get some of the other Lahmian manipulation powers into the army too, and the best magic sword in the Vampire Counts army book, the tomb blade which revives those mortals slain by it as mindless slaves to serve their new mistress for all eternity. 

Completing the trinity of high-end characters is a master necromancer held in check by his obsessive lust over Elize herself. He gets a spell familiar because having more spells to choose from is always good, and the Cursed Book because every good wizard needs either a magic staff or a magic spellbook and the Cursed Book was the only magic book available that didn't compete with the spell familiar. 

The low-end character selection is dominated by a quintet of Vampire Thralls that comprise much of the army's fighting power. One carries the Hell Banner because the only thing better than a unit that causes Fear is a unit that causes Terror. Another has Beguile because as established I love Presence powers in Warhammer as much as I love them in Vampire The Masquerade. 

Rounding the characters out are a pair of Necromancers for a little bit of magic support and to sustain larger numbers of undying minions, and a Wight Lord and Wraith to give me at least one of every available character type. 

The Core units consist of at least one of every available option except one. The key theme for this army, besides sexy vampires. is No Skeletons. At All. No units of them bought, no units of them raised or summoned, just none in the army whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, I love a good skeleton horde as much as the next fantasy nerd, but the thing is if I want a skeleton horde I can go to a whole other Warhammer game faction called the Tomb Kings just for that specifically. If I want other flavours of undead, I have no alternatives besides the Vampire Counts. So for the Vampire Counts army I'm bringing every single other variety of undead horror I can, besides Skeletons. 

This is also the key reason why I'm not using the Lahmian list and instead defaulting to the regular army book list. Giving up swains is unbearable, but being stuck with a boring troop unit is even more so. I can only hope that the fun-hating sour prude behind all these decisions gets what's coming to them. 

Instead of Skeletons there are 4 nice big units of Zombies to give me a dependable source of rank bonuses for my vampires that I don't have to roll magic dice for, and plenty of Wolves and Bats for roaming the land far and wide and being my eyes and ears. There's also a couple of packs of Ghouls to tear apart any defiant mortals who displease me. 

For Special units there's a trio of Grave Guard regiments to provide a solid battle line and a unit of Black Knights to act as a mobile reserve to help push through a decisive breakthrough or plug a hole in a troubled sector. There's also a healthy-sized Sprit Host to tie down a key area and plenty of nice giant bats to both spy on my enemies and conduct general harassment of opposing armies. 

Finally, every self-respecting vampire needs a magnificent Black Coach to whisk them away from danger, and the metal GW one is one of my favourite models in the Vampire range, so naturally I'm taking as many as I'm allowed. It shares the Rare section with a trio of Banshees for troubleshooting particularly tough adversaries. 

And that's what I'd do with masses and masses of 2000s Vampire Counts models.  If you wish to see this army on the tabletop then you are welcome to donate any NIB 2002-2004 NIB Vampire Counts models to me free of charge, especially NOS 2002-2004 Zombies. 

Otherwise have a spooktacular sugar-fueled Halloween!

I'm a Mouse! Duh!

 With all this talk about 40k, it can be easy to forget that I'm also partial to Warhammer, and just like 40k I had a great many plans for Warhammer armies that will most likely never reach the table now. I desired an army of pretty much every game faction in Warhammer except maybe Ogres, and unfortunately GW stopped selling all the Warhammer models I want some time ago. 

But that doesn't stop me from talking about some of the most Halloween Warhammer armies I wanted as a shameless tie-in for International Goth Month. 

Now quite often when we talk about Halloween we talk about the old superficial things like spooky monster mashes and candy. But, there is another side to Halloween. A side that happens after hours just for grown-ups who are still young at heart. It tends to be less visible in the public mind, but it is always there, just below the surface in the slinkiest of outfits.... 

.... and it's this aspect of Halloween that is embodied by this next army list. 

Nymphomaniac Fantasia - Millitant's Cult of Pleasure 

Dark Elves have for some time been one of my top 3 favourite evil armies in Warhammer. I first got curious about them after seeing a White Dwarf battle report featuring a siege game between them and some Bretonnians with Wood Elf allies and thought the Hydras were pretty cool and the whole 'Tolkien Elves but bad' thing was kind of neat. While they never quite managed to break into the shortlist of frontrunners for my first Warhammer army, my interest in them did steadily simmer away in the background. 

Within the Dark Elves themselves I've always been drawn to the Khainite elements in particular, because I just can't pass up a horde of cocaine-fueled murder vixens and the models are ace, especially the awe inspiring Cauldron of Blood from the 6th edition release. 

So between that and Slaanesh being my favourite single Chaos God it's a pretty natural fit that the Dark Elf Cult of Pleasure from Storm of Chaos would be my second favourite Chaos army in Warhammer. 

Unfortunately it was not until recently that I was really able to cement down what I wanted the army to be like, which means its backstory and character lore is almost completely unfiormed, but if I had the models it would look something like this: 

The Cult of Pleasure 

Colours: Lots of blacks on clothing with electric blue and purple accents. Standard silver-metalic weapons. Pale tones for skin. 

This Cult of Pleasure is born from the fallout of the tangled obsessive love dodecahedron between the characters in my related planned Dark Elf army. Once the Sorceresses become jilted a few too many times they break off and seek revenge with Morathi's uprising. 

Lords 

High Sorceress: Level 4 High Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh, Tome of Furion, Crystal of Midnight, Crown of Black Iron and Blade of Spite, mounted on a Steed of Slaanesh - 420 pts 

High Sorceress: Level 4 High Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh, Soulstone, Black Amulet and Sword of Battle - 380 pts

High Sorceress: Level 4 High Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh, Black Staff, Heart-stone of Darkness and Crimson Death - 380 pts 

Heroes 

Sorceress: Level 2 Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh, Darkstar Cloak and Seal of Ghrond - 195 pts

Sorceress: Level 2 Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh and Wand of the Kharaidon - 190 pts 

Sorceress: Level 2 Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh and Staff of Sorcery - 200 pts 

Sorceress: Level 2 Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh and Rubric of Dark Dimensions - 200 pts

Sorceress: Level 2 Sorceress with Mark of Slaanesh and Ring of Darkness - 195 pts

Core 

Devoted of Slaanesh: Mistress with Speed of Slaanesh, Standard Bearer with Soul Shadows Standard, 22 Devoted of Slaanesh with Musician - 378 pts 

Devoted of Slaanesh: Mistress with Speed of Slaanesh, Standard Bearer with Banner of Murder, 22 Devoted of Slaanesh with Musician - 373 pts 

Devoted of Slaanesh: Mistress with Speed of Slaanesh, Standard Bearer with Standard of Slaughter, 22 Devoted of Slaanesh with Musician - 363 pts 

Devoted of Slaanesh: Mistress with Speed of Slaanesh, 23 Devoted of Slaanesh with Full Command - 328 pts

Devoted of Slaanesh: Mistress with Speed of Slaanesh, 23 Devoted of Slaanesh with Full Command - 328 pts

Devoted of Slaanesh: Mistress with Speed of Slaanesh, 23 Devoted of Slaanesh with Full Command - 328 pts 

Devoted of Slaanesh: Mistress with Speed of Slaanesh, 23 Devoted of Slaanesh with Full Command - 328 pts

Special 

Mounted Daemonettes: 12 Mounted Daemonettes - 360 pts 

Mounted Daemonettes: 12 Mounted Daemonettes - 360 pts

Rare 

Reaper Bolt Thrower Battery: 2 Reaper Bolt Throwers with Mark of Slaanesh - 210 pts

Reaper Bolt Thrower Battery: 2 Reaper Bolt Throwers with Mark of Slaanesh - 210 pts

Reaper Bolt Thrower Battery: 2 Reaper Bolt Throwers with Mark of Slaanesh - 210 pts 

Spoils 

Captive Maiden Princess - 1 bound captive maiden princess of exceptional beauty, charm and kindness - 64 pts 

TOTAL: 6000 pts 

This is not a subtle list. 

The entire army is of course centred around no less than seven full regiments of Devoted of Slaanesh, one for each mortal sin and not at all because I started aiming for 6 and then needed an extra Core unit once I broke the 5000 point threshold. Now, normally infantry units in Warhammer are at their best in units of 20 or 25 so that they can form into nice even symmetrical ranks of 5 models, but Slaanesh's sacred number is 6 so these units needed to be in multiples of that. 

The solution is in units of 24 with organic character support. Normally this is also something unwise since units generally need to be capable of fully independent action in order to properly function in the chaos of the battlefield, but I had enough spare points and character slots floating around to bring in some extra villainesses to lead them. 

Speaking of, the army is led by a trio of High Sorceresses, because when it comes to magical leadership nothing beats a good trinity of mages. If it's good enough for Charmed then it's good enough for me here. They are backed up by 5 regular Sorceresses with an array of powerful magic items to create what is probably the single most magic-heavy Warhammer army I will ever devise. 

Acting in support are two healthy units of mounted Daemonettes for a manoeuvre element and for some shooting cover six Reaper Bolt Throwers - the only mechanical compromise to the all-female all-nude murder orgy, and you damn well better believe they're getting some alternate crew figures to conform to the theme. Probably adapted from the Cauldron of Blood crew figures. 

Finally all this leaves me with just enough points left over for a captive princess to have some fun corrupting. 

And that's what I would do with a glut of 2000s Dark Elf and Daemonette models. If you wish to see this army on the tabletop then you are welcome to donate any NIB 2002-2004 Witch-Elf, Mounted Daemonette, Sorceress, Steed of Slaanesh, Cauldron of Blood or Reaper Bolt Thrower models to me free of charge. 

Otherwise come back next week for the final spooky Halloween list for International Goth Month...

Under Black Flags We March

One of the classic staples of Halloween is the slasher, the monstrous depraved serial killer that roams the night pouncing on and dismembering helpless teenagers one by one with an arsenal of sharp rusty pointy implements and whatever other potentially deadly items happen to be around. Even after they've been outwitted by a plucky heroine they return again and again in ever more death-defying comebacks. They're iconic unrepentant villains of the highest caliber. 

So naturally it would be pretty Halloween for this month's International Goth Month themed post to be... 

... AN ENTIRE ARMY OF HORROR SLASHERS (AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!) 

But also with power armour and rocket guns. If I were to ever come into enough 2002 Chaos Space Marine sculpts, including enough 2002 metal Night Lords bitz packs, this would be the result. 

Under Black Flags We March - Militant's Night Lords 

Chaos Space Marines, much like their loyalist cousins, were one of the 40k armies that I never quite clicked to for a long time. I appreciated them as bad guys for my Tau to save the day from (especially in Firewarrior), but never really had any serious desire to actually build an army of them myself. 

Despite this they did remain a solid army that I loved to hate, because it kind of is hard to go past them for good pure evil villains when you need a change of pace from the Imperium. And within the Chaos Space Marines there were certain Traitor Legions that stuck out to me as more interesting villains. This was driven a lot by the spectacular intro pieces for each Traitor Legion posted up on the Games Workshop website, which in hindsight appear to be condensed and paraphrased from the Index Astartes series in White Dwarf. 

At first I gravitated towards the Death Guard, because their colour scheme was the greenest and the delightful cancer analogy in their intro blurb was amazingly creepy. Then I started to be pulled by the World Eaters, because I was 9 years old and they were described as being the toughest deadliest fighters in all the Chaos Space Marines and they were called the WORLD EATERS and their logo was a literal earth being eaten by metal jaws. I also drifted towards the Iron Warriors for a bit because as a... well basically Calvin but in real life and with parrot toys instead of a tiger, I had rather an affinity for guns and explosions. 

But all throughout this there was a more or less constant fascination with this other Traitor Legion of scary bad guys with a cool blue colour scheme and awesome bat-wing helmets. A lot of the stuff about weaponised horror went over my head at this early point, but their iconic war cry of  "WE'VE COME FOR YOU!" made an unforgettable impression. 

Things began to change some years later when I became a horribly depressed teenager. A byproduct of this (and of befriending the goth girls at high school) was acquiring a taste for heavy metal and horror films. This in turn led me to reevaluate the prospect of a Chaos Space Marine army at some point in the future - after all, my Tau will need some bad guys to fight, and having an opposing force to loan out to people for games couldn't hurt. 

And it was during this that the aforementioned love of horror films cemented the Night Lords as my favourite Traitor Legion. It is hard to go past an entire Traitor Legion of horror film villains after all. 

Discovering the awesome Night Lords Hero model - easily be best Chaos Space Marine character sculpt Games Workshop ever made - only sweetened the deal. 

Perhaps one day tables might quake under the dread might of this: 

The Fell Legions of Lord Herod 

Colours: Traditional Night Lords colour scheme. Dark blue armour, brass/dark gold trim, red bat wing helmets. Copious gore splatter applied to key models. Dark Grey urban basing. Firefly Reaver decorations applied to vehicles. 

Little is known of the origins and mortal life of Herod. What little record survives indicates that he once belonged to the nascent Adeptus Arbites on Nostramo, where he roamed the perpetually dark streets of the planet's morbid cities at the forefront of Imperial justice. It is also known that he was among the many of Nostamo's law enforcement to gleefully embrace corruption, and abused his powers without remorse. Like many of his fellow corrupt arbitrators, Herod thrived in the cut-throat atmosphere of Nostraman society and in time was duly inducted into the Night Lords Space Marine Legion. 

As an Astartes Legionnaire Herod enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks during the Great Crusade, as much due to his astute grasp of politics and power as his tactical acumen in battle, and he soon found himself commanding a sizeable host of warriors. These Herod used to leverage power over the worlds they subjugated for humanity, directly exacting heavy bribes and tributes directly from the conquered populations for their own profit and patroning officials who were especially loyal and compliant with Herod's own interests. Soon an underground shadow empire began to take root in the sectors reclaimed by the Night Lords, with Herod himself as its ultimate ruler. 

Herod had always chafed under Imperial oversight, and when the Horus Heresy broke out he jumped to Horus's cause early and with relish, taking part in the Night Lords' terror campaigns across the Eastern Fringe and orchestrating savage and grotesque atrocities across the Ultima Segmentum that many worlds still have not recovered from over ten thousand years later. 

In the Aftermath of the Horus Heresy Herod and his warband carved out an empire of terror and corruption in the outer darkness of the galactic east, separate from but closely aligned to the main body of the legion under the monstrous Daemon Primarch Night Haunter. Herod managed to retain this empire even after Night Haunter's assassination, and to this day it remains a festering scar in the Ultima Segmentum. Dozens of systems have fallen under Herod's shadow, and those few refugees that manage to escape speak of unending horror under the merciless jackboot of their superhuman oppressors. 

Thus far all Imperial efforts to snuff out Herod's realm of darkness have ended in catastrophe, and while its eastward expansion has been contained by the Tau Empire, contact is lost with another world deeper into the Ultima Segmentum every passing year... 

DETACHMENT I - LORD HEROD'S OWN (Night Lords Legion)

HQ 

Lord Herod: Chaos Lord with Master-crafted Power Fist, Combi-flamer, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Daemonic Rune, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept - 213 pts 

The Devil's Rejects: Chosen Aspiring Champion Sorcerer with Gift of Chaos, Plasma Pistol, Warp Focus Power Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Teleport Homer, Warp Talisman, Daemonic Aura, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

2 Chosen Aspiring Champions with Bolt Pistols, Power Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

 Chosen Aspiring Champion with Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

2 Chosen Aspiring Champions with Bolt Pistols, Power Fists, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

3 Chosen Aspiring Champions with Lightning Claws, Frag Greandes, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept - 801 pts 

Elites 

Black Vultures: Chosen Aspiring Champion Sorcerer with bolt pistol, Warp Focus Power Weapon, Bionics, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, 3 Minor Psychic Powers, Warp Talisman, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

1 Chosen Aspiring Champion with Combi-flamer, Bionics, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept

2 Chosen Aspiring Champions with Combi-flamers, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

1 Chosen Aspiring Champion with Combi-melta, Bionics, Frag Grenad7es, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

2 Chosen Aspiring Champions with Combi-meltas, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

1 Chosen with Lascannon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

2 Chosen with Missile Launchers, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept - 654 pts 

Troops 

The Craven: Aspiring Champion Friedrick Kraeger with Master-crafted Lightning Claws, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Daemonic Essence, Daemonic Visage, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept

1 Chaos Space Marine with with Flamer, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Meltagun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolt Pistols, Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept - 351 pts 

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion Jhar-sun Vhoors with Bolt Pistol, Master-crafted Power Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Daemonic Essence, Daemonic Strength, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Flamer, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Meltagun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolt Pistols, Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept - 345 pts

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion Mikael M'yers with Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Aura, Daemonic Essence, Daemonic Resilience, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Flamer, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Meltagun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolt Pistols, Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept - 349 pts 

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion with Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Bionics, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Lascannon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Flamer, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolters, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept - 324 pts 

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion with Bolt Pistol, Power Weapon, Bionics, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Missile Launcher, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolters, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept - 294 pts

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion with Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Visage, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Heavy Bolter, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Meltagun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolters, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept - 305 pts 

Fast Attack 

Black Cataphracts - Chaos Biker Aspiring Champion with Master-crafted Power Weapon, 2 Chaos Hounds, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Visage, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters 

1 Chaos Biker with Meltagun, Close Combat Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters 

1 Chaos Biker with Flamer, Close Combat Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters 

7 Chaos Bikers with Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters - 510 pts

Night Cataphracts - Chaos Biker Aspiring Champion with Master-crafted Power Weapon, Bionics, 2 Chaos Hounds, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Visage, Furious Charge, Night Vision and Skilled Riders 

1 Chaos Biker with Meltagun, Close Combat Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Night Vision and Skilled Riders 

1 Chaos Biker with Flamer, Close Combat Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Night Vision and Skilled Riders 

7 Chaos Bikers with Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Furious Charge, Night Vision and Skilled Riders - 515 pts

Raptor Squad: Chaos Raptor Aspiring Champion with Lightning Claws, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Furious Charge and Night Vision 

Chaos Raptor Icon Bearer with Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Furious Charge and Night Vision 

1 Chaos Raptor with Meltagun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Furious Charge and Night Vision 

1 Chaos Raptor with Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Furious Charge and Night Vision 

1 Chaos Raptor with Flamer, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Furious Charge and Night Vision 

5 Chaos Raptors with Bolt Pistols, Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Furious Charge and Night Vision - 480 pts 

The Furies: 10 Furies - 150 pts

Heavy Support 

Reaper-6 (Hell on Wheels): Chaos Land Raider with Blasphemous Rune, Dirge Caster, Dozer Blade, Extra Armour, Havoc Launcher, Pintle Combi-melta, Searchlight and Smoke Launchers - 329 pts 

Global Effects 

Day-for-Night: An eerie blue-tinged gloom at all times -  10 pts 

Mist Screen: A sinister haze of misty fog at all times - 10 pts 

Provisions 

Roast Victory Feast: Full post-battle feast of 26 Roast Cattle, 26 Roast Swine, 26 Roast Bantam-Fowl, 26 Roast Ducks, 26 Roast Geese, 26 Roast Turkeys, 4992 Roast Potatoes, 4992 Roast Parsnips, 4992 Roast Kūmera, 4992 Roast Pumpkins (chopped), 4992 Chopped Butter/Garlic-sautéed Carrots, 500 tons of Rosemary-oregano-sage-garlic-bacon-breadcrumb stuffing, 10,000 gallons of gravy - 60 pts 

DETACHMENT II - HEROD'S HARBINGERS (Night Lords Legion)

HQ

Hannibal: Chaos Sorcerer with Gift of Chaos, Wind of Chaos, Warp Focus Power Weapon, Bolt Pistol, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Personal Icon, Teleport Homer, Familiar, Warp Talisman, Minor Psychic Power, Daemonic Essence, Daemonic Rune, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate and Night Vision - 244 pts 

Elites 

The Death Hand: Chosen Terminator Aspiring Champion with Combi-bolter and Master-crafted Chainfist, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Strength, Daemonic Visage, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters 

1 Chosen Terminator with Heavy Flamer, Power Weapon, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters 

2 Chosen Terminators with Reaper Autocannons, Power Weapons, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters 

1 Chosen Terminator with Combi-flamer, Power Fist, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters 

1 Chosen Terminator with Combi-flamer, Power Weapon, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters 

1 Chosen Terminator with Combi-melta, Lightning Claw, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters 

1 Chosen Terminator with Combi-melta, Power Weapon, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters 

2 Chosen Terminators with Combi-bolter, Chainfist, Furious Charge, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Tank Hunters - 586 pts 

Possessed Chaos Space Marines: Possessed Aspiring Champion with Daemonic Talons, Personal Icon, Spiky Bits and Mark of Chaos Undivided, 9 Possessed with Daemonic Talons and Mark of Chaos Undivided- 315 pts

Mounted in 

Hell Knight-1: Chaos Rhino with Blasphemous Rune, Dirge Caster, Extra Armour, Havoc Launcher, Living Vehicle, Pintle Combi-melta, Searchlight and Smoke Launchers - 144 pts 

Troops 

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion with Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Bionics, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Missile Launcher, Frag Grenades, Krak Greandes, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolters, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept - 298 pts

Mounted in: 

Hell Knight-2: Chaos Rhino with Blasphemous Rune, Dirge Caster, Extra Armour, Havoc Launcher, Living Vehicle, Pintle Combi-melta, Searchlight and Smoke Launchers - 144 pts

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion with Bolt Pistol, Power Fist, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Visage, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Autocannon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Meltagun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept 

7 Chaos Space Marines with Bolters, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Siege Specialists and Stealth Adept - 266 pts

Mounted in: 

Hell Knight-3: Chaos Rhino with Blasphemous Rune, Dirge Caster, Extra Armour, Havoc Launcher, Living Vehicle, Pintle Combi-melta, Searchlight and Smoke Launchers - 144 pts

Chaos Space Marine Squad: Aspiring Champion with Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Mutation, Daemonic Visage, Counter-attack, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Heavy Bolter, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

1 Chaos Space Marine with Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept 

6 Chaos Space Marines with Bolt Pistols, Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Counter-attack, Move Through Cover, Night Vision and Stealth Adept - 276 pts

Mounted in: 

Hell Knight-4: Chaos Rhino with Blasphemous Rune, Dirge Caster, Extra Armour, Havoc Launcher, Living Vehicle, Pintle Combi-melta, Searchlight and Smoke Launchers - 144 pts

Fast Attack

Death Cataphracts - Chaos Biker Aspiring Champion with Master-crafted Power Weapon, 2 Chaos Hounds, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemonic Visage, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters 

1 Chaos Biker with Meltagun, Close Combat Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters 

1 Chaos Biker with Flamer, Close Combat Weapon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters 

7 Chaos Bikers with Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Night Vision, Skilled Riders and Tank Hunters - 510 pts

Raptor Squad: Chaos Raptor Aspiring Champion with Lightning Claws, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Personal Icon, Spiky Bits, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Counter-attack and Night Vision 

1 Chaos Raptor with Meltagun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Counter-attack and Night Vision 

1 Chaos Raptor with Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Counter-attack and Night Vision 

1 Chaos Raptor with Flamer, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Counter-attack and Night Vision 

6 Chaos Raptors with Bolt Pistols, Close Combat Weapons, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Counter-attack and Night Vision - 470 pts 

The Furies: 10 Furies - 150 pts 

Heavy Support 

Chaos Havocs: Aspiring Champion with Bolt Pistol, Power Weapon, Bionics, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs, Spiky Bits, Daemon Armour, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

2 Chaos Space Marines with Lascannons, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept 

2 Chaos Space Marines with Missile Launchers, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Night Vision, Tank Hunters and Stealth Adept - 277 pts

Wight-1: Chaos Predator with Autocannon, Lascannon sponsons, Blasphemous Rune, Dirge Caster, Dozer Blade, Extra Armour, Havoc Launcher, Pintle Combi-melta, Searchlight and Smoke Launchers - 204 pts

Wight-2: Chaos Predator with Twin-linked Lascannon, Heavy Bolter sponsons, Blasphemous Rune, Dirge Caster, Dozer Blade, Extra Armour, Havoc Launcher, Pintle Combi-melta, Searchlight and Smoke Launchers - 209 pts 

Strategic Reserve 

The Butcher: Chaos Dreadnought with Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon (Power Scourge), Plasma Cannon, Blasphemous Rune, Mutated Hull and Smoke Launchers - 158 pts 

Followers 

Forsaken Children: 2 eerie forsaken small girls with jump ropes, hopscotch, archaic toy strollers and haunting giggles - 3 pts 

Lecherous Jock: 1 Reckless athlete convinced there is no danger at all - 2 pts 

TOTAL: 10,000 pts 

The list is considerably less complicated than it first seems. Everyone starts with a core package of Veteran Skills consisting of Infiltrate and Move Through Cover - the better to pounce on helpless prey from nowhere in a sudden jump-cut - and the Night Lord staples Night Vision and Stealth Adept. From there, they also get one or two special Veteran Skills to reflect their history and preferred fighting styles. The exceptions are vehicles obviously, and Terminators who can't get half of those skills, and the few units with a Mark of Chaos because Marked units only get a single Veteran Skill plus any Legion freebies. This, incidentally is a major reason why most of the army has no Chaos Marks, because why settle for just 2 special bonuses when you can get 4-6 special bonuses instead? That's like twice or three times as many. 

Then all the Characters and Aspiring Champions get a core wargear package of all the thrown explosives, plus Spiky Bits because there is no way in hell I am not taking such a gloriously meta upgrade at every opportunity. Some particularly battered veterans here and there have bionics on top of that, and Daemonic Visage to ensure that this army of Night Lords retains terror superiority. 

Moving into the units themselves we start with Lord Herod himself and his hand-picked retinue of elite Black Vulture veterans, tooled up for maximum close combat carnage and featuring a Sorcerer with Gift of Chaos to enact the ultimate punishment on anyone who dares to double-cross Herod. 

Speaking of the Black Vultures, there is also a standalone unit of Lord Herod's elite, equipped with an arsenal of combi-weapons and Spiky Bits for seizing objectives and a battery of heavy weapons for holding them. 

The stars of the Troops section are 3 aggressively-kitted Chaos Space Marine squads each led by an icon of Horror, but there are also plenty of bolter-slinging Chaos Space Marines supported by a variety of heavy and assault weapons too. 

The Cataphracts are the elite enforcers of Lord Herod's will across his domain of terror, and are ever at the forefront of his assaults. In addition to their iconic adamantium kill-sabres the Champions of this shock cavalry corps are bestowed with a pair of Chaos Hounds for sniffing out runaway slaves and hiding women and children. As bikers they also can't take Infiltrate or Stealth Adept, but they have Skilled Riders instead as befitting of expert biker troops. 

There are also a couple of Raptor bands for some variety in the Fast Attack selection, with the Mark of Chaos Undivided and corresponding icons so that I actually have somewhere to summon the Fury packs I also included for terrorising defenceless families. 

The single Heavy Support slot in the core force is filled by a Land Raider. If you're running Chaos Space marines, don't have them in any transports, and can take only one Heavy Support unit, make it a Land Raider. The ability to redeploy any unit of foot troops that will fit inside is invaluable, and the armour and guns are a juicy bonus too. 

I WAS going to leave everything in a nice neat little package, but it turns out that all the Chosen in an Elites Choice get lumped together in a single blob if they're not part of an HQ retinue. So out of sheer spite I took the Sorcerer and Possessed I had planned as a secondary commander and third Elites unit and spun them out into a whole other second detachment just to circumvent that and get a discrete unit of Chosen Terminators. I also took the chance to turn this detachment into an armoured manoeuvre group since I love playing with vehicles in 40k and wanted lots of Rhinos with crazy robot buzzsaw arms just like the one in the 'Eavy Metal studio Black Legion army that I've been obsessed with for 20 years now. 

Then finally to really punish Pete Haines and show him that MY INEVITABLE WILL CANNOT BE DENIED I opted not to use the special Night Lords Force Organisation chart and took a few extra Heavy Support units to play with in the form of a stealthy tank-hunting band of Havocs and a pair of Chaos Predators to escort the Rhino column and spearhead its advance through treacherous areas. 

There wasn't an awful lot of points left over for feeding 206 Chaos Space Marines after all that, but I managed to squeeze in a regular post-battle feast as an extra treat to keep everyone loyal too. 

And that's what I would do with all the Chaos Space Marine models. If you wish to see this army on the tabletop then you are welcome to donate any NIB or NOS 2002-2004 Chaos Space Marine models to me free of charge. 

Otherwise be sure to come back throughout International Goth Month for more ghoulish and spooky army lists. 

Agent of The Swarm

 The number of 40k armies I have always wanted is vast. There are almost no 40k game factions that I have never truly wanted at any point. Unfortunately, I am not made of money, capitalism is still ruining lives and and GW keeps discontinuing all the models I want. This means that realistically most of those model armies will never reach the tabletop. 

But it doesn't mean I can't write about them. 

Most of those army projects already exist in lore form if not as concrete models, but since list talking is apparently what makes a blog popular it seemed like it might be an idea to document them for posterity. And since we are now in International Goth Month I thought I'd start with a selection of the spookiest collections of fiends and monsters I conceived of. Starting with a swarm of everyone's favourite space monsters in 40k. 

Note that since these are all armies that have yet to be put into model form, a lot of their unit and character names remain under construction. 

Hive Fleet Jabberwock - Militant's Tyranids 

My first contact with Aliens came when I was around 6 years old. I was at the local library looking over the comic books display there, and one of the titles on the shelf was a meaty looking book called Aliens: Female War. My 6 year old toxic masculinity programmed brain wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole 'Female War' part, but it did certainly like some good space aliens, and I was immediately drawn to the creepy insectoid head leering out of a sickly green cocoon. 

The art that changed how I thought about space monsters forever

Now, my parents of course stubbornly refused to actually issue the comic book for me, so for some time I only had the cover artwork to go on, but I was already running wild with the possibilities of black insectoid space monsters with big leering fang-lined maws. 

About a year later however one of the TV stations decided to air the director's cut (as God and James Cameron intended) of Aliens. This time I was somehow able to get my parents to relent, and they captured the thing on VHS, and I proceeded to watch the hell out of that video tape for many many years. Much to my parents' astonishment, the first time I watched it I slept soundly and reported the next morning that it had left me completely unfazed. Which was true save for the fact that my head was now racing with cool black insectoid space monsters and action heroes blasting them to kingdom come. 

A while later I was finally able to get my hands on the Female War comic and my love affair with the Alien franchise was sealed. 

Then when I was around 9 or so I also discovered Starcraft and proceeded to play the hell out of that for many many years. Oh and I also spent many Saturday mornings in between all that watching the Starship Troopers cartoon series. 

So I have a bit of a history with space bugs. 

This in turn meant I was gobsmacked by the Winged Hive Tyrant Forgeworld released for 3rd edition 40k, because the only thing cooler than an Alien Queen was an Alien Queen with an acid gun that could fly. This was my first real introduction to the Tyranids in 40k, and I have deeply loved the beautiful 2001 Tyranid model range ever since. 

If I were to ever come into enough of the 2001 Tyranid sculpts, however, the result would look something like this: 

Hive Fleet Jabberwock 

Colours: Charcoal greys and blacks, cold grey-white claws/teeth, vivid mustard-green ichor. Secreted resin bleeding into landscape on bases. 

Arriving in the wake of Hive Fleet Kraken, Hive Fleet Jabberwock is a particularly fiendish and horrifying swarm that specialises in perverting and corrupting the natural ecosystems of prey worlds, weaponising the very habitat of prey species against them. Extensive infiltration of local fauna and flora by vanguard spores begins long before the first Hive Ships enter the system, and natural water systems are heavily saturated with hypertrophic enzymes. Not only does this fatally undermine the defence efforts of the planet's inhabitants, it also ensures a particularly rich feast of biomass afterwards. 

Thus far Hive Fleet Jabberwock's main efforts have been halted by the Tau Empire, which scattered the main body of the Hive Fleet at the pivotal battle of Doran'cha. But not only has this scattered splinter fleets across the Eastern Fringe, observations of Tyranid activity indicate there may be additional waves of Hive Fleet Jabberwock that remain unaccounted for... 

HQ 

Hive Tyrant: Hive Tyrant with Scything Talons, Rending Claws, Flesh Hooks, Implant Attack, Catalyst and Warp Blast - 142 pts 

Tyrant Guard Brood: 3 Tyrant Guards with Flesh Hooks and Implant Attacks - 156 pts 

Hive Tyrant: Hive Tyrant with Venom Cannon, Scything Talons, Flesh Hooks, Implant Attack, Catalyst and Warp Field - 183 pts 

Tyrant Guard Brood: 3 Tyrant Guards with Flesh Hooks and Implant Attacks - 156 pts 

Elites 

Hunter Slayers: 3 Lictors - 240 pts

Warrior Brood: 1 Tyranid Warrior with Venom Cannon, Scything Talons, Flesh Hooks and Implant Attack, 2 Tyranid Warriors with Deathspitters, Scything Talons, Flesh Hooks and Implant Attacks, 6 Tyranid Warriors with Scything Talons, Rending Claws, Flesh Hooks and Implant Attacks - 337 pts 

Warrior Brood: 1 Tyranid Warrior with Venom Cannon, Scything Talons, Implant Attack and Extended Carapace, 2 Tyranid Warriors with Deathspitters, Scything Talons, Implant Attack and Extended Carapace, 6 Tyranid Warriors with Scything Talons, Rending Claws, Implant Attacks and Extended Carapace - 355 pts

Troops 

Devouring One Species: Leaping Gaunt with Adrenal Glands (Weapon Skill), Toxin Sacs, Implant Attack and Scything Talons - 14 pts 

Shredder Swarm Species: Ripper Swarm with Toxin Sacs and Adrenal Glands (Initiative) - 15 pts

Devouring One Brood: 2 Devouring Ones with Acid Blood, 30 Devouring Ones - 468 pts 

Devouring One Brood: 2 Devouring Ones with Acid Blood, 30 Devouring Ones - 468 pts 

Devouring One Brood: 2 Devouring Ones with Acid Blood, 30 Devouring Ones - 468 pts 

Devouring One Brood: 2 Devouring Ones with Acid Blood, 30 Devouring Ones - 468 pts 

Shredder Ripper Swarm: 10 Shredder Bases - 150 pts 

Shredder Ripper Swarm: 10 Shredder Bases - 150 pts 

Fast Attack 

Ravener Brood: 6 Raveners with Scything Talons and Rending Claws - 270 pts 

Ravener Brood: 6 Raveners with Scything Talons and Deathspitters - 294 pts 

Gargoyle Brood: 32 Gargoyles - 320 pts 

Heavy Support 

Torrasque Species: Carnifex with Adrenal Glands (Yes), Enhanced Senses, Toxin Sacs, Extended Carapace, Implant Attack, Venom Cannon and Scything Talons - 161 pts 

Torrasque: 1 Torrasque - 161 pts 

The Three Wise Ones: 1 Zoanthrope with Catalyst, 1 Zoanthrope with Warp Blast, 1 Zoanthrope with Synapse Creature - 142 pts

Biovore Brood: 3 Biovores with Frag Spore Mines, Poison Spore Mines and Bio-Acid Spore Mines - 234 pts

Spoils

Captive Girl: 1 10 year old girl encased in cocoon - 4 pts 

Weasely Executive: 1 sleazy executive obsessed with bringing the Tyranids into civilisation - 8 pts 

Metamorphic Chrysalis: 1 Metamorphic Cocoon with a psychic loved one - 6 pts

Infested Colony: 1 derelict colony infested with Tyranids - 20 pts

TOTAL: 5,200 pts

The list itself is fairly straightforward. It starts with two of the beautiful Alien Queen Hive Tyrants, my favourite Tyranid model. One has a set of rending claws to grasp and snatch away floor paneling and clutch at any small children that may be hiding underneath, and they're also pretty handy for ripping apart any robots that might get in their way, and can fire Warp Blasts so I have something to do in the shooting phase. The other has a venom cannon because it's just too iconic not to include one, and a Warp Field for some extra protection against the numerous heavy weapons that will probably be thrown at it. Both have Catalyst, the best psychic power the Tyranids have. 

Each Hive Tyrant of course has a personal brood of ultra-deadly and hyper cunning elite bodyguards to ward off harm and loom menacingly at the entrances if their charge is confronted with a fierce warrior mom with a combi-flamer. Like the other creatures in the list they also have Implant Attacks because of course all the creatures in this army have a proboscis-like tongue with a small maw on the end. 

The elites start naturally with a full 3 Lictors, the coolest Tyranid unit in the game - I mean come on, they turn invisible! Not INVISIBLE invisible like Stealthsuits of course, but it's the closest you can get without any technology. The only other Elites options Tyranids can normally get are Tyranid Warrior Broods, so I threw in two healthy sized broods, one with Flesh Hooks to spearhead the attack and one with Extended Carapace to resist being shot while they provide Synapse coverage. Both have a smattering of support weapons, partially for tactical flexibility but also because I do like having something to do in the shooting phase. 

The Troops are an interesting part. From the outset it was always going to be a sea of spiky clawed death. See, one of my most vivid memories of playing Brood War was looking out across the sprawling jungles of Aiur and beholding, through my omniscient Black Sheep Wall vantage point, a bunch of Zerglings rampaging through the western approach to the Warp Gate I was getting ready to blow up. The sight of little discrete packs of clawed space bugs splitting off to tear down various structures in their path has always stuck with me, and that is exactly the scene I want to recreate with this Tyranid army. 

Originally this was going to mean lots of Hormagaunts, but then I thought I might have some fun with Genetic Modification, and immediately pounced on the chance to create Hormagaunts with venomous claws, Adrenal Glands (mandatory on Gaunts with that name) and make my Implant Attacks completely ubiquitous across the army. Thus was born the Devouring One. 

Finding this whole Genetic Modification thing kind of fun, I then had a go at what I could do with Rippers and created the Shredder, an evolved Ripper with potent digestive toxins and adrenal glands to consume biological material even faster, which makes a lot of sense for a Hive Fleet that specialises in infesting planetary ecosystems, pumping them into reproductive overdrive and then feasting on the ripe juicy remains. 

Fast Attack is also fairly straightforward, with two nice sized broods of Raveners, one semi-shooty and one extra-rippy, and a flock of Gargoyles for rooting out hidden resistance and burning down shelters and settlements. 

Finally I went with one of everything on the Heavy Support menu, because all of the Tyranid Heavy Support units are awesome. I was going to use a regular Carnifex, but instead had to genetically engineer a new Carnifex species as a roundabout way of getting a regular Carnifex with an Implant Attack. 

And that's about it, what I would do if I had all the Tyranid models. If you wish to see this army brought to life at some point, you are welcome to donate any NIB or NOS 2001 Tyranid models to me free of shipping charge. 

Otherwise be sure to come back throughout International Goth Month for more ghoulish and spooky army lists.