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.