Warhammer 40k - Chaos Space Marines Chaos Bikers -- GW-43-08 (2019)

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Dark Apostle [5 PL, 95pts, -3CP]: 3. Daemonic Whispers, Chaos Undivided, Eight-fold Cursed Crozius, Epistle of Lorgar, Gifts of Chaos, Illusory Supplication, Soultearer Portent, Stratagem: Relic, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Warlord Let’s start with the minor stuff, which is the stuff related to Chaos Knights. The new FAQs for Chaos Knights and Engine War only update weapons profiles, including one relic in Engine War. The big updates here make meltaguns even better for War Dogs, since they can have a more consistent damage output. Overall these are minor changes, but nice to have. They shouldn’t dramatically change the faction or its outlook.

I didn't go for Creations of Bile, even though that fight in death if you haven't fought yet would have been sweat. +S1 would have also been nice for the venomcrawlers, but not needed at all. See, the one downside of all these fancy new tank builds is that it means Eldar players can just go super top heavy on Avatars and Wraithguard and still blow everyone up. Despicable. Well done Ryan. The Best of the Rest By the start of Day 2, we were down to 118 undefeated players and with the exception of Drukhari and (pure) Thousand Sons every army had at least 1 undefeated player left. Chaos soup and T’au Empire had taken the lead in contenders, with 14 and 12 undefeated left respectively. Tyranids were one of the two boogeymen going into this event along with Chaos Soup. They had a 58.6% win rate through the Nephilim season, and came close to matching this with a 57.0% win rate at LVO. Tyranids were notably absent in the top 8 of the event, with the last contender being Art of War’s Alex Macdougall who lost in the shadow round to Evan Tomchin’s T’au. Alessandro Liessem – Asuryani: An unusual Craftworlds build using lots of the tools popular in Hail, but instead running as Masterful Shots and Vengeful to amp various Aspect Warriors up across multiple phases.Keith Berry – Adepta Sororitas: All-rounder Sisters with a couple of big Arco-Flagellant squads alongside the usual mix of guns, nuns and Warsuits. Pressures objectives good, you know the drill. The small Warrior unit is interesting – my assumption is that they’re there when you need a lot of body count on an objective against something like Knights, and they’re not terrible in that role given you want to pay the troop tax. I do also think Time’s Arrow is well postioned in the metagame right now, so being able to have two C’tan plugging away at it from turn one if needed is nice. The Best of the Rest Biker Chaos Champions can be armed with Plasma Pistols and Power Swords or Powerfists, and can also be equipped with a Melta Bomb. These Champions can also be mutated by their exposure to the Warp and as a result of the "gifts" bestowed upon them by the Gods of Chaos. The Assault Bike itself offers little protection to its operator, and as such all Chaos Space Marine Bikers wear their Power Armour at all times. A member of a Chaos Assault Bike Squad may also take into battle an Icon of Chaos, and may also carry Marks of Chaos.

Jannik Roettgen – Craftworlds & Harlequins: A ferocious Biel Tan/Twilight Saeedath mix, with loads of small Aspect Warrior units and a large Troupe from the clown side. Federico Liessem – Tyranids: Psychic-heavy Leviathan Goodstuff, with three units of Zoanthropes and lots of other bodies on top. Chaos Bikers also make use of weapons that have long since vanished from most Space Marine armouries, such as Power Scythes and Chain Axes. Power Mauls are Strength +3. Potentially one of the real sleeper hits (pun intended) of the melee weapons update, power mauls suddenly making S7 Terminators (albeit for 5 points a pop) is a pretty tasty proposition. The perpetual curse here is being a 1 damage weapon, which significantly hurts them, but if you’re running Creations of Bile taking your Terminators to S8 gets them over an important threshold that may compensate for that. Another weapon that is suddenly worth a second look. Tens of thousands of years later when Szarekh did return, the new Phaeron of the Stars notified his lord that the force still existed. Having awakened centuries earlier the crypteks on the moon had many years to prepare the force. Ranks upon ranks of destroyers had been carefully cultivated for one purpose. Extermination. The galaxy had changed in Szarekh’s absence. This time the force wouldn’t just be used on his own rebellious subjects but the cretin who occupied his galaxy as well.

Innes Wilson – Chaos Space Marines (Slaves to Darkness) – 1st Place

Heavy Bolters and Twin Heavy Bolters are now 2 damage. This is another big change that turns the heavy bolter into something pretty fearsome. It immediately makes twin heavy bolters worth consideration on Helbrutes , since 6 AP-1 2 damage shots can really put a hurt on some units, and it also makes Heavy Bolter Havocs worth a second look, since the 36″ range and upgraded damage profile arguably make heavy bolters a better option that Reaper Chaincannons. Primaris Chaplain on Bike [8 PL, -2CP, 150pts]: 4. Mantra of Strength, 6. Canticle of Hate (Aura), Benediction of Fury, Chapter Command: Master of Sanctity, Litany of Hate, Stratagem: Hero of the Chapter, Stratagem: Relic, The Imperium’s Sword Obliterators - 270 pts (Shoot down enemy tanks, transports and clear any bubble wrap units. 3rd Secondary) Mike McTyre – Blood Angels (GTF): Hull and melee Blood Angels – Vindicators, Gladiators and a Land Raider as crunch, Aggressors, Death Company and VanVets for aggro. Use your Bike Squads as a blade, striking the enemy and turning aside his counter-blows in equal measure. But in all things, beware that speed is nothing without direction, just as the mightiest weapon is worthless without careful aim. A biker's stance should always be resolute and dauntless, but never immobile or rigid. Speed is his advantage, and surprise his deadliest weapon. In fluidity he will find success, and in success he will find renown."

Using a lighter metallic color, such as Ironbreaker, apply highlights to the edges and raised areas of the armor. Drybrushing is a great technique for this step. Dip a dry brush into the paint, then wipe off most of the paint on a tissue. Lightly brush the raised areas to catch the edges, adding a metallic sheen. Infernal Gateway being able to be casted twice also lets you do massive spike damage if your opponent clusters too closely together (D3 mortal wounds to everything within 3” of the target unit, or flat 3 mortal wounds if you cast on a 12+). An ancient Raven Guard Space Marine Legion Mark IV Outrider Assault Bike armed with a set of twin-linked Bolters While the Assault Bike itself is only lightly armed by most Adeptus Astartes vehicle standards, the vehicle's real firepower comes from its rider, who is always equipped with Frag Grenades, and can also employ Krak Grenades. Originally, Assault Bikes were simply seen as another piece of hardware to its Chaos Space Marine operator, but over thousands of Terran years of exposure to the Warp, man and machine have become almost a single entity, much like the crew and pilots of other Chaos Vehicles.Otherwise, these changes aren’t much of consideration for Death Guard, who tended to lean heavily on other options. There’s some consideration to be made for combi-meltas and power fists now, which have a more reliable damage output, and bubotic axes and baleswords now look a spot worse next to the power weapon cousins.