MATCHUP:

Faction: Chaos Space Marines

Detachment: Creations of Bile

VS

Faction: Adeptus Custodes

Detachment: Shield Host

MISSION:

Primary: Take and Hold

Terrain: GW Terrain Layout 4

Twist: None

RESULT:

84 – 71 Win for CSM

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS:

• Overall game
  • Felt like a mirror matchup when CSM Bile rolls resulted in +1 to Toughness and +1 to Weapon Skill.
  • This game was LETHAL and CSM had to hang on through a lot of early losses in order to pull it out.
  • Custodes got first turn and were up early due to dominating the primary early.
  • CSM ended up taking the win by setting up 2 “Go Turns” which negated a lot of the Custodes’ Wardens’ durability.
• CSM
  • Man, I love this detachment.  It is so fun and I could play it anytime.
  • Accursed Cultists / Dark Commune (AC/DC’s) bricks went out as the first wave to skirmish for the primary while the Bile + Chosen brick and Prime Test Subject Lord + Legionaries staged in Rhinos behind the terrain.
  • 1 Possessed squad held my expansion objective, while the other went into Reserves to Rapid Ingress where needed.
  • Key Stratagems
    • Hideous Visages (-1 to Hit in Melee) almost every turn.
    • Specimens for the Spider (preroll Wound roll) when needed on the Lord.
    • Autostimulants (Advance & Charge) when I needed to deliver the Lord to melee to seal the game.
  • MVP of the game was the Prime Test Subject Lord, who solo’d a Blade Champion + 2 Wardens and then a Calladius Grav-Tank.  
• Custodes
  • The obvious way to run this detachment is with 3 x Blade Champions + Wardens.  I choose to run this detachment with 2 Shield Captains + Guards because I like the strats and like to see how much damage the Guard can do with 5+ critics for Sustained + Wound rerolls.
  • Wardens went out first to absorb the first wave of charges and hold primary.
  • Guard staged and served as a second wave, but I ultimately did not have enough units to cover the objectives that I needed to. 
  • Key Stratagems
    • Archeotech Munitions (Lethal or Sustained 1 in shooting) is great when paired with the Guard’s once per game shoot twice.
    • Unwavering Sentinels (-1 to Hit in melee) was used almost every turn to mitigate the CSM detachment buffs (paired great with Wardens abilities).
    • Avenge the Fallen (extra attacks as you lose models) was used to help chew through the AC/DC bricks.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:

• CSM
  • I played the Warp Talons horribly and ended up losing them for next to no gain.  I would have kept them in Deep Strike until turn 3 (brought them out turn 2) as a way to better threaten the Custodes Deployment Zone.
  • No list changes.  This was a lot of fun and did better into high Toughness than expected.
• Custodes
  • The obvious answer is to swap out a Guard unit for Wardens and a Blade Champion, but that’s not how I want to play this detachment.
  • Focus on 2 midfield objectives with the Wardens / Guard, instead of trying to threaten all 3.  I spread myself too thin and should have used the Ventari to threaten the CSM expansion instead of a Warden brick.
  • Potentially send the Calladius’s out first as they did next to nothing in this matchup.  They would have been a better turn 1 primary anchor than a Guard or Warden unit. 

LISTS:

Chaos Space Marines

Creations of Bile

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS:

Chaos Lord (125 Points)

  • 1x Daemon Hammer

  • 1x Power Fist

  • Enhancements: Prime Test Subject

Cypher (90 Points)

  • 1x Cypher’s Bolt Pistol

  • 1x Cypher’s Plasma Pistol

Dark Commune (80 Points)

  • 1x Cult Demagogue

     ◦ 1x Autopistol

     ◦ 1x Commune Stave

  • 1x Mindwitch

     ◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

     ◦ 1x Warp Curse

  • 1x Iconarch

     ◦ 1x Autopistol

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

  • 2x Blessed Blade

     ◦ 2x Commune Blade

Dark Commune (80 Points)

  • 1x Cult Demagogue

     ◦ 1x Autopistol

     ◦ 1x Commune Stave

  • 1x Mindwitch

     ◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

     ◦ 1x Warp Curse

  • 1x Iconarch

     ◦ 1x Autopistol

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

  • 2x Blessed Blade

     ◦ 2x Commune Blade

Fabius Bile (85 Points)

  • 1x Fabius Bile

     • Warlord

     ◦ 1x Chirurgeon

     ◦ 1x Rod of Torment

     ◦ 1x Xyclos Needler

  • 1x Surgeon Acolyte

     ◦ 1x Surgeon Acolyte’s Tools

BATTLELINE:

Cultist Mob (50 Points)

  • 1x Cultist Champion

     ◦ 1x Autopistol

     ◦ 1x Brutal Assault Weapon

  • 9x Chaos Cultist

     ◦ 9x Autopistol

     ◦ 9x Brutal Assault Weapon

Legionaries (90 Points)

  • 1x Aspiring Champion

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

     ◦ 1x Heavy Melee Weapon

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

  • 4x Legionary

     ◦ 3x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Heavy melee weapon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (75 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Havoc launcher

Chaos Rhino (75 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Havoc launcher

OTHER DATASHEETS

Accursed Cultists (195 Points)

  • 10x Mutant

     ◦ 10x Blasphemous appendages

  • 6x Torment

     ◦ 6x Hideous mutations

Accursed Cultists (195 Points)

  • 10x Mutant

     ◦ 10x Blasphemous appendages

  • 6x Torment

     ◦ 6x Hideous mutations

Chosen (250 Points)

  • 1x Chosen Champion

     ◦ 1x Boltgun

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 9x Chosen

     ◦ 6x Accursed weapon

     ◦ 6x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 3x Boltgun

     ◦ 4x Combi-weapon

     ◦ 2x Paired accursed weapons

     ◦ 3x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Power fist

Possessed (240 Points)

  • 1x Possessed Champion

     ◦ 1x Hideous mutations

  • 9x Possessed

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 9x Hideous mutations

Possessed (240 Points)

  • 1x Possessed Champion

     ◦ 1x Hideous mutations

  • 9x Possessed

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 9x Hideous mutations

Warp Talons (125 Points)

  • 1x Warp Talon Champion

     ◦ 1x Warp claws

  • 4x Warp Talon

     ◦ 4x Warp claws

Adeptus Custodes

Shield Host

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Blade Champion (135 Points)

  • 1x Vaultswords

  • Enhancements: Auric Mantle

Shield-Captain (150 Points)

  • 1x Praesidium Shield

  • 1x Pyrithite spear

  • Enhancements: Castellan’s Mark

Shield-Captain (155 Points)

  • 1x Praesidium Shield

  • 1x Pyrithite spear

  • Enhancements: From the Hall of Armouries

Trajann Valoris (140 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Eagle’s Scream

  • 1x Watcher’s Axe

BATTLELINE

Custodian Guard (170 Points)

  • 4x Custodian Guard

     ◦ 3x Guardian spear

     ◦ 1x Misericordia

     ◦ 1x Praesidium Shield

     ◦ 1x Vexilla

Custodian Guard (170 Points)

  • 4x Custodian Guard

     ◦ 3x Guardian spear

     ◦ 1x Misericordia

     ◦ 1x Praesidium Shield

     ◦ 1x Vexilla

OTHER DATASHEETS

Caladius Grav-tank (215 Points)

  • 1x Armoured hull

  • 1x Twin arachnus heavy blaze cannon

  • 1x Twin lastrum bolt cannon

Caladius Grav-tank (215 Points)

  • 1x Armoured hull

  • 1x Twin arachnus heavy blaze cannon

  • 1x Twin lastrum bolt cannon

Custodian Wardens (210 Points)

  • 4x Custodian Warden

     ◦ 4x Guardian spear

     ◦ 1x Vexilla

Custodian Wardens (210 Points)

  • 4x Custodian Warden

     ◦ 4x Guardian spear

     ◦ 1x Vexilla

Venatari Custodians (165 Points)

  • 3x Venatari Custodian

     ◦ 3x Venatari lance

Witchseekers (65 Points)

  • 1x Witchseeker Sister Superior

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Witchseeker flamer

  • 4x Witchseeker

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 4x Witchseeker flamer