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RULES / POINTS VERSION:
10th Edition, 2025 – 2026 Chapter Approved
December 2025 Balanced Dataslate and MFM Points Update
MATCHUP:
| Faction: | Detachment: |
| Chaos Space Marines | Chaos Cult |
| VS | |
| Faction: | Detachment: |
| Aeldari | Warhost |
MISSION:
| GW Mission | O |
| Primary | Terraform |
| Terrain Layout | GW Terrain Layout 2 |
| Deployment | Crucible of Battle |
LISTS:
CSM:
List
Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Cult
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Cypher (90 Points)
• 1x Cypher’s bolt pistol
• 1x Cypher’s plasma pistol
Dark Commune (110 Points)
• 1x Cult Demagogue
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Commune stave
◦ Enhancements: Cultist’s Brand
• 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 (100 Points)
• 1x Cult Demagogue
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Commune stave
◦ Enhancements: Warped Foresight
• 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 (105 Points)
• 1x Cult Demagogue
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Commune stave
◦ Enhancements: Incendiary Goad
• 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
Sorcerer in Terminator Armour (80 Points)
• 1x Chaos Familiar
• 1x Combi-weapon
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Infernal Gaze
Vashtorr the Arkifane (175 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Vashtorr’s claw
• 1x Vashtorr’s hammer
BATTLELINE
Cultist Mob (50 Points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
◦ 9x Autopistol
◦ 9x Brutal assault weapon
Cultist Mob (50 Points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
◦ 9x Autopistol
◦ 9x Brutal assault weapon
Cultist Mob (50 Points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
◦ 9x Autopistol
◦ 9x Brutal assault weapon
Cultist Mob (50 Points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
◦ 9x Autopistol
◦ 9x Brutal assault weapon
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
Accursed Cultists (195 Points)
• 10x Mutant
◦ 10x Blasphemous appendages
• 6x Torment
◦ 6x Hideous mutations
Chaos Predator Destructor (140 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-weapon
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 2x Lascannon
• 1x Predator autocannon
Chaos Predator Destructor (140 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-weapon
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 2x Lascannon
• 1x Predator autocannon
Chaos Vindicator (185 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Demolisher cannon
• 1x Havoc launcher
Raptors (90 Points)
• 1x Raptor Champion
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power fist
• 4x Raptor
◦ 2x Astartes chainsword
◦ 2x Bolt pistol
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Meltagun
◦ 1x Plasma gun
Aeldari:
List
Aeldari
Warhost
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Asurmen (125 Points)
• 1x Bloody Twins
• 1x Sword of Asur
Autarch (100 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Reaper launcher
• 1x Star glaive
• Enhancements: Timeless Strategist
Autarch (85 Points)
• 1x Reaper launcher
• 1x Star glaive
Fuegan (120 Points)
• 1x Fire Axe
• 1x Searsong
Jain Zar (120 Points)
• 1x Blade of Destruction
• 1x Silent Death
BATTLELINE
Storm Guardians (110 Points)
• 10x Storm Guardian
◦ 8x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Flamer
◦ 2x Fusion gun
◦ 2x Power sword
◦ 6x Shuriken pistol
• 1x Serpent’s Scale Platform
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Serpent shield
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Wave Serpent (125 Points)
• 1x Shuriken cannon
• 1x Twin scatter laser
• 1x Wraithbone hull
OTHER DATASHEETS
Dark Reapers (90 Points)
• 1x Aspect Shrine Token
• 1x Dark Reaper Exarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Reaper launcher
• 4x Dark Reaper
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Reaper launcher
Dark Reapers (90 Points)
• 1x Aspect Shrine Token
• 1x Dark Reaper Exarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Reaper launcher
• 4x Dark Reaper
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Reaper launcher
Dire Avengers (75 Points)
• 1x Aspect Shrine Token
• 1x Dire Avenger Exarch
◦ 2x Avenger shuriken catapult
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
• 4x Dire Avenger
◦ 4x Avenger shuriken catapult
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
Falcon (130 Points)
• 1x Bright lance
• 1x Pulse laser
• 1x Shuriken cannon
• 1x Wraithbone hull
Fire Dragons (120 Points)
• 1x Fire Dragon Exarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Exarch’s Dragon fusion gun
• 4x Fire Dragon
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Dragon fusion gun
Howling Banshees (95 Points)
• 1x Howling Banshee Exarch
◦ 1x Executioner
◦ 1x Shuriken pistol
• 4x Howling Banshee
◦ 4x Banshee blade
◦ 4x Shuriken pistol
Howling Banshees (95 Points)
• 1x Howling Banshee Exarch
◦ 1x Executioner
◦ 1x Shuriken pistol
• 4x Howling Banshee
◦ 4x Banshee blade
◦ 4x Shuriken pistol
Rangers (55 Points)
• 5x Ranger
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 5x Long rifle
◦ 5x Shuriken pistol
Rangers (55 Points)
• 5x Ranger
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 5x Long rifle
◦ 5x Shuriken pistol
Swooping Hawks (95 Points)
• 1x Swooping Hawk Exarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Hawk’s talon
• 4x Swooping Hawk
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Lasblaster
Swooping Hawks (95 Points)
• 1x Swooping Hawk Exarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Hawk’s talon
• 4x Swooping Hawk
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Lasblaster
Warp Spiders (105 Points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Exarch’s death spinner
• 4x Warp Spider
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Death spinner
Warp Spiders (105 Points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Exarch’s death spinner
• 4x Warp Spider
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Death spinner
FACTION SPECIFIC STRATEGIES:
CSM:
It took me a while to warm up to this detachment as I initially looked at it and thought “eww…….Cultists”. But once I started playing it, I fell in love with the sheer speed and ferocity that you can play it with.
The list isn’t complicated. Its 3 Accursed Cultist + Dark Commune (ACDC) bricks that rush up the field to tarpit and annihilate the opponent. They are backed up by 40 Cultists to do actions and sticky objectives while the tanks are providing covering fire. Lastly, Vastorr is there to be a “beat stick” that can either go out early or Deep Strike in later as needed and Cypher is there to shut down enemy Counter Offensive uses and do actions.
For the matchup, CSM’s team designed their pairings to get this list or Emperor’s Children into Aeldari. CSM likes this matchup a LOT as it has the volume of attacks to overwhelm the Aeldari and speed to swamp them. CSM doesn’t love the mission or board, but is still feeling confident going in to the game. The goal here is a wipeout 20-0 win.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | Dark Communes with Accursed Cultists |
| Transport / Infantry Combos: | None |
| Strategic Reserves: | Raptors |
| Sorcerer in Terminator Armour | |
| 1 unit of Cultist Mob | |
| Key Strategems: | Chosen For Glory – Used in your Shooting or Fight Phase to have one Damned unit from your army take a Desperate Pact. That unit can re-roll the Hit roll and, if the Desperate Pact was passed, re-roll the Wound roll. |
| Reckless Haste – Used in your Charge Phase to give a Damned unit Advance and Charge. | |
| Infernal Sacrifice – Used in the Fight Phase to have one Damned unit from your army take a Desperate Pact. That unit gets +1 attacks for melee weapons and, if the Desperate Pact was passed, +1 Strength to those weapons. In exchange, it takes D3 mortals on top of any Desperate Pact mortals. | |
| Key Combos: | Accursed Cultists + Howling Horde ability + Dark Commune + Faithful Flock ability + Dark Ritual ability + Chosen For Glory stratagem OR Infernal Sacrifice stratagem + Desperate Devotion detachment rule This is why you play this detachment. 20+ models with 5+ Invulnerable Saves that can access Advance and Charge with +2 to Move, Advance, and/or Charge into re-roll Hits (and potentially Wounds) and/or +1 attacks (and potentially +1 strength). It is NASTY! Even better when combined with the enhancements for a Scout move or re-roll Advance and Charge rolls. Also, that unit can make a Surge Move as well in the Opponent’s Shooting Phase. |
Aeldari:
Caveat to this game…..I am not an Aeldari player. My son has an Aeldari army and I will occasionally play games into it to stay current on how they are doing and how to play into them. I also am aware that most Aeldari players will say that Warhost is dead after the December 2025 Balanced Dataslate took away their ability to stack Aspect Shrines, Stratagems, and Battle Focus Tokens in a way to make Fuegan + Fire Dragons un-interactable and deadly.
All that said, I still find it hard to believe that a detachment with this much access to movement tricks will be bad, and so I want to try it out. The idea here is to run a bunch of Minimum Sized Units (MSU) that are very specialized and that I can trade or score well with. I’m also running most of them in pairs to ensure that I always have a unit for when I need it. Ideally, I’m using the Warp Spiders and Swooping Hawks to eat up the opponent’s “action monkeys” while also doing actions themselves, or with the Rangers. The Dark Reapers are there to control the Aeldari DZ and to spam long distance fire, while also giving me a great target for Webway Tunnel to potentially teleport around. Lastly, the Fire Dragons, Howling Banshees, and Dire Avengers are my “hammer units” that are looking to go out and disrupt the opponent. I’m not sure how optimal it is, but we’ll find out.
From a matchup perspective, I’m going to have to work real hard to avoid getting swamped by the CSM ACDC’s. In theory, I should be able to kite them thanks to the amount of movement and access to Fly that I have, but we’ll see how that works out in practice. Aeldari are probably looking at a bad matchup here and are going to have to move very precisely to avoid getting rolled. If I can get better than a 0-20, I will be thrilled.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos | Asurmen with Dire Avengers |
| Jain Zar with Howling Banshees | |
| Both Autarchs with Dark Reapers | |
| Fuegan with Fire Dragons | |
| Transport / Unit Combinations: | Asurmen + Dire Avengers in the Falcon |
| Fuegan + Fire Dragons and 5 Howling Banshees in a Wave Serpent | |
| Jain Zar + 5 Howling Banshees in a Wave Serpent | |
| Strategic Reserves: | Both units of Swooping Hawks |
| Key Stratagems: | Blitzing Firepower – Used in your Shooting Phase to give one unit Sustained Hits 1 within 12 inches of an enemy or Critical Hits on 5+ if the unit already has Sustained Hits. |
| Lightning Fast Reactions – Used your opponent’s Shooting or Fight Phase to give enemy units attacking a non-Wraith unit -1 to Hit. | |
| Fire and Fade – Used in your Shooting Phase just after a non-Wraith or Asurmen unit has shot to allow that unit to make a D6+1 inch Normal move. | |
| Webway Tunnel – Used at the End of your opponent’s Fight Phase to put an Infantry unit within 9 inches of a board edge into Reserves. | |
| Key Combos | Fuegan + Fire Dragons + Assured Destruction ability + Blitzing Firepower stratagem I realize it has been toned down, but Sustained Hits 1 on 5 Fire Dragons + Fuegan with an Aspect Token to “Flip a 6” for the Exarch and full re-roll to hits, wounds, and damage into Monsters and Vehicles is GROSS. Especially since combining it with the Battle Focus token buffs of this detachment and Assault on all the guns still gives you what feels like infinite deliverability. |
| Asurmen + Dire Avengers + Hand of Asuryan ability + Bladestorm ability + Falcon + Fire Support ability + Blitzing Firepower Similarly, activating Asurmen Bloody Twins Sustained Hits on 5+, if you are within 9 inches, and Devastating Wounds on anti-Infantry 5+ with full wound re-rolls is also GROSS. |
ROUND-BY-ROUND RECAP:
The game starts with Aeldari winning the roll off and choosing to have CSM deploy first since CSM has no Infiltrators and Aeldari want to be able to block CSM’s Scout Move with their Rangers. CSM deploys very aggressively with their ACDC’s and in a pseudo board control with the rest of their units. Their strategy is to keep the Aeldari in front of them with the Cultist Mobs and tanks so that the ACDC’s can rush them. Meanwhile, the Aeldari deploy a little bit more strategically with most of their units hiding and with easy access to terrain or a board edge. They also deploy their Rangers to block the CSM Scout Move while keeping the Asurmen’s unit behind it as a counter if the AC-DC’s just Charge the Rangers.
CSM wins the roll off to go first, which seems like what both wanted. The board state at the start of the game is shown below.
Board State: Start of the Battle
ROUND 1:
| Phase: | Go First: CSM |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| Command | -Draw Area Denial and Sabotage for Secondaries -Cultist 2 sticky Objective 2 |
| Movement | -ACDC 3 Desperate Pacts to Move on to Objective 3 -ACDC 2 Desperate Pacts to Move on to Objective 4 -Rangers 2 Reactive Move towards ACDC 2 to block Area Denial and Terraform action -ACDC 1 sets up Charge into Rangers 1 on Objective 5 -Cultists 1 Advance into midfield to screen out a Warp Spider Flickerjump -Predators and Vindicator move into shooting lanes -Cypher moves into terrain to Sabotage -Cultists 2 and 3 screen the CSM DZ |
| Shooting | -Cypher Sabotages -ACDC 3 Terraforms -Predator 1 and Vindicator kill Rangers 2 -ACDC 2 Terraforms |
| Charge | -ACDC 1 into Rangers 1 |
| Fight | -ACDC 1 kills Rangers 1 |
| End of Turn | -Score 5 on Secondaries -Terraform completes on 2 midfield objectives |
| Score at End | 15 |
CSM is following its plan by pushing out super aggressively and Terraforming the midfield early. They’ve potentially maxed secondaries this round, have screened out most of the board, and are positioned really well for a Round 2 “go turn”. The only downside is that Aeldari seem weirdly durable against shooting as the Wave Serpent tanked all lascannon shots and it took both a Predator and Vindicator to kill a single squad of Rangers. The board state in the middle of Round 1 is shown below.
Board State: Middle of Round 1
| Phase: | Go Second: Aeldari |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| Command | -Draw Secure No Man’s Land and Assassination for Secondaries -Storm Guardians sticky Objective 1 |
| Movement | -Warp Spiders 1 move to shoot ACDC 1 on Objective 5 -Warp Spiders 2 Flickerjump to setup shots into ACDC 1 and lose 1 model -Asurmen + Dire Avengers disembark from Falcon to setup shots on ACDC 1 -Falcon moves slightly to gain Line of Sight on ACDC 1 -Dark Reapers 1 move backwards to gain Line of Sight on ACDC 1 -Howling Banshees 1 disembark from Wave Serpent 1 and stage behind terrain -Wave Serpent 1 sets up a move block of ACDC 2 |
| Shooting | -Warp Spiders 1 and 2 kill 9 models in ACDC 1 (dang 5+ Invulnerable Save and 6+ FNP) -Falcon kills 2 models in ACDC 1 -Asurmen + Dire Avengers use Blitzing Fire and Hand of Asuryan to take ACDC 1 to 5 models -Dark Reapers 1 take ACDC 1 to 2 Torments and the Cult Demagogue -Wave Serpents 1 and 2 chip ACDC 3 |
| Charge | -None |
| Fight | -None |
| End of Turn | -Score 0 on Secondaries -Drop Secure No Man’s Land for 1 CP -CSM scores 3 for Secondaries |
| Score at End | 10 |
Aeldari is going to have to play the long game here. On one hand, this detachment’s movement abilities are insane and they were able to essentially kill one ACDC brick, which is great. On the other hand, it took an absurd amount of investment to take down that ACDC brick, which is worrisome long term. CSM is obviously coming in hard next turn, so the goal is to weather that storm by catching as much of it on the transports as possible. Ideally, one of the Warp Spider units can also finish off the ACDC 1 brick to score Assassination as well. I’d say that Aeldari is feeling nervous but OK going into round 2. The board state at the end of Round 1 is below.
Board State: End of Round 1
ROUND 2:
| Phase: | Go First: CSM |
| Score at Start | 18 |
| Command | -Draw Cleanse and Display of Might for Secondaries -All ACDC units use their Dark Ritual abilities to gain Advance + Charge and +1 to Hit, +1 to Wound for the turn -Score 12 on Primary |
| Movement | -ACDC 3 Desperate Pacts for +2 to Move towards Wave Serpent 2 -ACDC 2 Desperate Pacts for +2 to Move and +2 to Advance towards Wave Serpent 1 -ACDC 1 moves towards Falcon and stays out of Overwatch range -Cultist 1 moves onto Objective 4 to Cleanse -Vindicator moves onto Objective 3 -Predators move into shooting lanes -Cypher moves into terrain to Vect aura the center -Vashtorr and Cultists 2 and 3 screen the CSM DZ -Terminator Sorcerer Deep Strikes onto Objective 5 to Cleanse -Cultist 4 deploy from Reserves onto Objective 5 to Terraform -Raptors setup a Rapid Ingress block near Objective 3 |
| Shooting | -Predators kill Warp Spiders 2 while Wave Serpent 2 tanks all lascannon shots (again!) -Vindicator split fires to do 6 damage into Wave Serpent 1 and kill 2 models in Dark Reapers 1 |
| Charge | -ACDC 1 into Falcon -ACDC 2 Multi-Charges into Wave Serpent 1 and Howling Banshees 1 -ACDC 3 into Wave Serpent 2 |
| Fight | -Howling Banshees 1 kill 3 Mutants in ACDC 2 -ACDC 3 brings Wave Serpent 2 to 3 Wounds -ACDC 1 uses Chosen For Glory and Infernal Sacrifice to bring Falcon to 4 Wounds, but loses the Demagogue to Mortal Wounds, scoring the Aeldari 5 VP -ACDC 2 kills Wave Serpent 1 and 1 model in Howling Banshees 1 -3 Fire Dragons die disembarking from Wave Serpent 1 |
| End of Turn | -Score 9 on Secondaries -Score 3 for Terraform -Aeldari score 5 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 42 |
The game continues to go according to plan for CSM, but little mistakes continue to plague them. In this particular case, it was choosing to take the mortals on the Demagogue instead of a Torment, which resulted in a free 5 VP for Aeldari and tagging the Banshees instead of forcing them to Heroic. Nothing major, but these mistakes combined with Aeldari continuing to make more saves than expected could pile up as the game goes on. Board state in the middle of Round 2 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 2
| Phase: | Go Second: Aeldari |
| Score at Start | 15 |
| Command | -Draw Storm Hostile Objective and A Tempting Target for Secondaries -CSM chooses Objective 3 -Falcon and Wave Serpent 2 fail Battle Shock -Score 4 on Primary |
| Movement | -Warp Spiders 1 Flickerjump towards Objective 4 but lose 2 models -Asurmen + Dire Avengers move towards Objective 5 -Howling Banshees 1 use Feigned Retreat to Fall Back towards Objective 5 -Fuegan + Fire Dragons move out of Surge Move range of ACDC 2 -Jain Zar + Howling Banshees 2 disembark from Wave Serpent 2 and setup a Charge into ACDC 2 -Swooping Hawks 1 Deep Strike into Aeldari DZ and within Line of Sight of Objectives 4 and 5 plus ACDC 2 |
| Shooting | -Howling Banshees 1 and Asurmen + Dire Avengers kill Cultist 4 -Swooping Hawks 1 chip 1 model from ACDC 2 -ACDC 2 Surges 2 inches -Wave Serpent 2 split fires to chip Cultist 1 and ACDC 2 -Warp Spiders 1 kill Cultist 1 for 4 VP -Fuegan + Fire Dragons and both Dark Reaper units bring ACDC 2 down to 4 Torments + Demagogue |
| Charge | -Fuegan + Fire Dragons into ACDC 2 -Jain Zar + Howling Banshees 2 into ACDC 2 -Howling Banshees 1 into Terminator Sorcerer -Asurmen + Dire Avengers into Terminator Sorcerer |
| Fight | -Jain Zar + Howling Banshees 2 kill 3 Torments from ACDC 2 -CSM uses Counter Offensive on Terminator Sorcerer into Howling Banshees 1 and kills 1 model (waste of CP) -Fuegan kills the final 2 Torments and does 3 damage to the Demagogue in ACDC 2 -Asurmen kills the Terminator Sorcerer -ACDC 3 kills Wave Serpent 2 -ACDC 1 brings Falcon down to 1 Wound |
| End of Turn | -Score 4 on Secondaries -Drop A Tempting Target for 1 CP -CSM score 3 for Terraform |
| Score at End | 23 |
That was a decent turn for the Aeldari as they killed almost all of ACDC 2 while also keeping ACDC 1 tied up and taking back 2 midfield objectives. We’ll see if they can keep them as CSM has done a good job of killing anything that the Aeldari feels comfortable having sit on an objective and/or do actions. Also, ACDC 3 is now free to charge and positioned well for a big push towards the Aeldari home objective. Looks like this will be the deciding turn on whether or not this turns into a blow out. Board state at the end of Round 2 is below.
Board State: End of Round 2
ROUND 3:
| Phase: | Go First: CSM |
| Score at Start | 45 |
| Command | -Draw Marked For Death and Recover Assets for Secondaries -Aeldari mark Fire Dragons, Swooping Hawks 1, and Dark Reapers 1 -CSM marks Warp Spiders 1 -Score 8 on Primary |
| Movement | -ACDC 2 to Aeldari DZ to Recover Assets -Warp Spiders 1 Overwatch ACDC 2 to death, but it costs 2 CP thanks to Cypher -ACDC 3 sets up a Multi-Charge onto Objective 1 -Vindicator and Predator 2 to Objective 4 -Predator 1 towards Objective 5 -Vashtorr sets up a Charge onto Objective 5 -Cultist 3 Desperate Pacts to Objective 3 -Raptors screen the CSM DZ |
| Shooting | -Cypher and Cultist 2 Recover Assets for 3 VP -Vindicator kills 3 models in Howling Banshees 2 -Predator 1 kills Asurmen + Dire Avengers -Predator 2 kills Warp Spiders -ACDC 3 kills Howling Banshees 2 -Vashtorr kills Howling Banshees 1 |
| Charge | -ACDC 3 Multi-Charges Storm Guardians and Dark Reapers 2 |
| Fight | -ACDC 3 kills Dark Reapers 2 + Autarch but leaves 1 Storm Guardian alive -ACDC 1 kills the Falcon |
| End of Turn | -Score 5 on Secondaries -Score 3 for Terraform -Aeldari use Webway Tunnel to pick up Dark Reapers 1 |
| Score at End | 61 |
That was brutal for the Aeldari. It’s almost like all of the Shooting Phase whiffs for CSM in Rounds 1 and 2 overcorrected in Round 3 and they killed way more than expected. It was over-performance to the point where Vashtorr had nothing to Charge and therefore could not make Objective 5. Definitely “First World Problems” and now Aeldari is starting to panic…..queue Steve and Cousin Josh saying “Excellent!” like Mr Burns from The Simpsons. Board state in the middle of Round 3 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 3
| Phase: | Go Second: Aeldari |
| Score at Start | 23 |
| Command | -Draw Bring It Down and Sabotage for Secondaries -Score 0 on Primary |
| Movement | -Fuegan + Fire Dragons move onto Objective 4 and into Melta range of vehicles -Jain Zar sets up a Charge onto Objective 3 -Swooping Hawks 1 move into terrain to Sabotage -Dark Reapers 1 and Swooping Hawks 2 deploy into CSM DZ |
| Shooting | -Fuegan + Fire Dragons split fire and use Blitzing Firepower to kill Predator 2 and Vindicator for 4 VP….queue someone yelling “That’s OP!!” -Dark Reapers 1 kill Predator 1 -Swooping Hawks 2 kill half of Cultist 2 |
| Charge | -Jain Zar rolls “box cars” to make a long Charge onto Objective 3 |
| Fight | -Jain Zar kills 6 models in Cultist 3 -ACDC 3 finishes off the Storm Guardians |
| End of Turn | -Score 4 on Secondaries -CSM scores 3 for Terraform |
| Score at End | 27 |
Well dang. That was a pretty brutal Shooting Phase as well. Fuegan, 2 Fire Dragons, and then 4 Dark Reapers blew through 3 vehicles like they were nothing. The only saving grace for CSM is that the Aeldari had to focus so hard on killing this turn that they didn’t score many points. Also, I am thinking that Aeldari just made a big mistake with where they had the Swooping Hawks 1 Sabotage. We’ll see how it goes, but they might have been better off going to the terrain near ACDC 1 or cycling the card completely. Board state at the end of Round 3 is below.
Board State: End of Round 3
ROUND 4:
| Phase: | Go First: CSM |
| Score at Start | 64 |
| Command | -Draw A Tempting Target and Behind Enemy Lines for Secondaries -Aeldari select Objective 4 as Tempting Target -Score 12 on Primary |
| Movement | -ACDC 3 Desperate Pacts on Move and Advance to setup an easy Charge into Fuegan and Swooping Hawks 1 -Raptors setup a Charge into Jain Zar -Vashtorr to Objective 4 -ACDC 1 moves into the Aeldari DZ |
| Shooting | -Vashtorr kills 1 Fire Dragon |
| Charge | -Vashtorr into Fire Dragons -ACDC 3 into Fire Dragons and Swooping Hawks 1 -Raptors into Jain Zar |
| Fight | -Jain Zar kills 4 Raptors -ACDC 3 kills Fire Dragons, Fuegan, and Swooping Hawks 1 -Raptors and Cultist 3 whiff -Fuegan stands back up |
| End of Turn | -Score 9 on Secondaries -Score 3 on Terraform -Aeldari stuck with failed Sabotage -Aeldari use Webway Tunnels to pick up Dark Reapers 1 |
| Score at End | 88 |
Yup. Aeldari definitely made mistake with that Sabotage earlier and CSM made them pay for it. Meanwhile, CSM keeps doing what it has to do to run up the score in this game. Charging the Raptors into Jain Zar might have been a mistake, but at this point the goal is to deny Aeldari points by keeping them busy killing. Board state in the middle of Round 4 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 4
| Phase: | Go Second: Aeldari |
| Score at Start | 27 |
| Command | -Draw No Prisoners to go with Sabotage for Secondaries -Score 0 on Primary |
| Movement | -Swooping Hawks 2 move onto Objective 2 -Fuegan moves to Charge Cypher -Dark Reapers 1 deploy into terrain in CSM DZ to Sabotage |
| Shooting | -Vashtorr tanks Fuegan’s shooting -Swooping Hawks use Blitzing Firepower to kill Cultist 2 for 2 VP |
| Charge | -Fuegan into Cypher |
| Fight | -Jain Zar kills Raptors and Cultist 3 for 3 VP -Fuegan and Cypher whiff |
| End of Turn | -Score 5 on Secondaries -CSM scores 3 for Terraform |
| Score at End | 32 |
Ugh. At this point, this is looking like a 0-20 loss for Aeldari. There’s a few desperation plays left to try to salvage a 1-19, but it isn’t looking good. Board state at the end of Round 4 is below (I forgot to remove Cultist 3 and the last Raptor on Objective 3).
Board State: End of Round 4
ROUND 5:
| Phase: | Go First: CSM |
| Score at Start | 91 |
| Command | -Draw Assassination and Storm Hostile Objective for Secondaries -Score 4 to max Primary |
| Movement | -Vashtorr to Objective 3 |
| Shooting | -Vashtorr plinks 3 off Jain Zar -Fuegan tanks Cypher’s shots |
| Charge | -Vashtorr into Jain Zar |
| Fight | -Jain Zar does 4 Wounds to Vashtorr -Vashtorr kills Jain Zar for 9 VP -Fuegan kills Cypher |
| End of Turn | -Score 9 on Secondaries -Aeldari score 6 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 100 |
CSM has a perfect 100 on the board. Now it’s all on what Secondaries the Aeldari draw and how much Primary they can steal at the end of game. Board state in the middle of Round 5 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 5
| Phase: | Go Second: Aeldari |
| Score at Start | 38 |
| Command | -Draw Behind Enemy Lines and Area Denial for Secondaries -Drop Area Denial for Marked For Death |
| Movement | -Fuegan to Vashtorr and Objective 3 |
| Shooting | -Vashtorr tanks Fuegan’s shooting -Swooping Hawks 2 Terraform Objective 2 |
| Charge | -Fuegan into Vashtorr |
| Fight | -Fuegan whiffs |
| End of Turn | -Score 4 on Secondaries -Score 4 on Primary -Score 1 on Terraform |
| Score at End | 47 |
Sigh. It was right there for Fuegan to be the hero and flip the game to a 2-18 but Vashtorr made his saves. Board state in the middle of Round 5 is below.
Board State: End of Round 5
RESULT:
Singles Format: 100 – 47 CSM WIN
WTC Teams Format: 20 – 0 CSM WIN
GAME REVIEW:
Despite the score, this was an insanely fun game to play. Partly it was because of how much I love this CSM list and the ACDC bricks. Partly it’s because Aeldari’s movement tricks and killing power makes you feel like they are always on the brink of blowing the game open (see Round 3 Shooting Phase). I especially enjoyed the ending coming down to Fuegan vs Vashtorr with a 10 point swing on the line.
I would happily play both of these lists again and can see a scenario where the Aeldari list is pretty scary into opponents that are looking to pressure less and trade more.
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:
- CSM
- Just some minor mistakes early in the game around which targets to choose during shooting that probably left more Aeldari units than I should have alive.
- Aeldari
- Obviously I need more reps with the list as this was my first game with this detachment. For the future, I think I want to figure out how to screen better and deal with an army that tries to board control all of the detachment’s movement tricks. It may require some list changes, but we’ll see.
EARNED THEMSELF A NAME:
ACDC 3. Realistically it could have been any of the 3 ACDC bricks, but ACDC 3 was the one that broke through and then rampaged through the Aeldari DZ. The Aeldari had no answer for it and it is what kept them so far behind on points all game.
MAGNUS OF THE GAME:
Fuegan. I’m half joking because his Round 3 was gnarly, but he also whiffed hard in Rounds 4 and 5, specifically with 10 points on the line in the last turn of the game. He’s still an amazing model and datasheet, but did not perform in clutch time today.
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