Part 4: February 2004
Another month, and closer yet to the Baltimore GT. Do you ever find that you just can't nail down what you want in an army
list? I tend to keep tweaking my list until the very last minute. This is fine, but it tends to be rather time consuming
when darn near every tweak results in a rush of modeling and painting to compensate for the new unit. On the plus side, it
does leave quite a few nicely painted models on the shelf for use later. That being said...here is what has happened to
my list.
1. Mounted Daemonettes: These chickies are superb...when they work...but I have a hard time getting used to their inability to flee. The ward save and the 20" charge are sweet...but I wanted a little more versatility out of my fast cavalry choices. I went through several lists – from a maximum of two units last month to a single unit for quite a while...they have now dropped out of the list. On the plus side, I now have two nicely painted units of Mounted Daemonettes for my Slaaneshi Daemon army!!
2. Giant: Ok, he's still in, but he also popped in and out of the list. One time, he was traded out for a unit of Slaangor...another time a couple of nice Slaaneshi Spawn took his place. He has gotten and lost Mutant Monstrosity more times than I can count...but he keeps it for the final list.
3. GW Marauders: In theory, the idea of 10 man Marauder units with Great Weapons is super. They are supposed to act like Empire Detachments (albeit after the main unit survives a round of combat) and take away enemy rank bonus by smacking in with a devastating flank charge. Ok, it's great in theory...I just couldn't get it to work in practice. The combination of average Ld and movement (I am used to Elves!) resulted in a unit that never was in the right position. After a careful evaluation and a good round of convincing myself that it was obviously the setup rather than the general to blame (allow me my delusions – it's very Slaaneshi), they are out. Again, on the plus side, I have 22 nicely painted Marauders with Great Weapons for...well...whatever.
4. Tuskgor Chariots: With the loss of the GW Marauders, I felt that I needed something to provide a bit of hitting power to the list. Since I really don't think that Chaos Chariots belong in the list (too nasty for this one), I looked to the Beasty Chariots. The Tuskgor chariots really are much more like the old Marauder Chariots anyway, and have similar stats and Ld. In addition, they take a special slot...which I think is completely appropriate for Chariots. Two Chariots are in.
5. Beast Herd: Ok, I like mobility...a lot...and Beast Herds give that to you. They also are great at clearing out woods of pesky things like Scouts or Wood Elves. Besides, I like the models and they paint up rather nice. So, a nice size herd of 8 Gor and 8 Ungor with the obligatory command.
6. Characters: The Exalted Champion stays on as the general, but trades the Rending Sword back in for a Flail. I already have the model done that way, and I was rather loathe to clip the flail for a sword. The BSB popped in and out of the list, but I really do like how the model turned out, so he ended up making the final cut list. I went to the "dark side" for a little bit with the addition of an Undivided Exalted Champion with a GW and the Helm of Many Eyes. Ok...so it was a bit much...and he didn't even come close to the final list. With the addition of the Beast Herd, I wanted a Wargor to bulk them out a bit, so a budget version with Heavy Armor and Great Weapon is in. The Great Bray Shaman (GBS) bounced back and forth between that and an Exalted Chaos Sorcerer, but ended up as the Beastly version. I like the speed of the GBS versus the Exalted Sorcerer. On the other hand, the Sorcerer has a higher Ld than the Shaman, which can be key. In the final analysis...I really like the model I did for the Great Bray Shaman...so in he goes!
All that came to the final (for the moment) list:
| Lord & Heroes |
| Exalted Champion of Slaanesh Shield, Flail |
| Great Bray Shaman of Slaanesh Chaos Armor, Bray Staff, Spell Familiar, Dispel Scroll  |
| Wargor Heavy Armor, Great Weapon |
| Aspiring Champion of Slaanesh Battle Standard Bearer, Book of Secrets   |
| Core Units |
| 2 units of 20 Marauders Full Command & Light Armor, Shields 1 unit of 5 Marauder Cavalry Musician & Throwing Axes 2 units of 5 Marauder Cavalry Full Command & Throwing Axes, Flails 2 units of 5 Chaos Warhounds |
| Special Units |
2 Tuskgor Chariots  1 unit of 6 Furies Beastmen Herd 8 Gor, 8 Ungor, Full Command  |
| Rare Units |
| 1 Giant Mutant Monstrosity |
| Messengers |
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It plays a bit differently than before...a bit faster and hittier than the other list but more fragile as well. Magic may still be a problem, but 5 dispel dice should hold for a bit. Well, I guess I better get to playtesting it. Painting is about done – only the 5 riders for the last Marauder Cavalry unit and the Great Bray Shaman to finish...then it's on to the display base.
Wish me luck! See you at Baltimore
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