Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Renegades And Heretics

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This is the current 9th Edition's Renegades and Heretics tactics. 8th Edition Tactics are here. The rules themselves can be found in the Warhammer Legends community page.

Why Play Renegades & Heretics[edit]

Pros[edit]

  • You've got leftover units from the old Eye of Terror campaign that introduced Lost and the Damned, as well as some stuff from old CSM and IG codices (mostly good stuff).
  • You want to play GLORIOUS CHAOS but without fancy superhumans, cheesewalkers or daemons.
  • Modelling opportunities are simply amazing with this army. Even though the army is widely based on hordes, you can pick units basically from any model site, since renegades are very diverse. You can also use a load of your old Warhammer Fantasy bits. Between the resurrection of Genestealer cults, the new Necromunda, and the exploding industry of third-party models, you're practically swimming in bits ripe for conversion to make an army that's truly your own.
  • An army of literally Your Dudes. You can theme your army lore nearly any way you want. Mercenaries, corrupt Rogue Trader forces, sky pirates, beastmen - go wild!
  • Imperial Guard Heavy Support is some of the best in the game.

Cons[edit]

  • This army is only useful as an allied detachment because you have no WL traits, one regiment, and stratagems or command abilities besides the default. Any other army will outclass you by virtue of that alone. Finally got ObSec back in the update, thank the Dark Gods.
    • As if that's not enough, Renegades & Heretics have also been consigned to Warhammer Legends, meaning that there is no hope for any updates or supplements. With the recent reveals of the CSM 9E codex, it's likely you're just gonna get folded into the spiky boys as a mini-detachment in the vein of the Sisters of Silence forgotten.
  • If you don't like conversions, you're gonna hate this army. Many of the units in this army have no official kits, so kitbashing and conversions are a must. If you don't want to simply get Cultists or Guardsmen models and paint them as you wish, you'll have to basically build the army from scratch.
  • Over half of your roster is just Guard with competitive stuff docked - like grenades. Fighting Guard in particular will make you feel insecure.

Special Rules[edit]

As of the latest Imperial Armour Compendium and [1] update (FAQ'd as of 17-12-2020), GW and FW have made sweeping changes to this army list, starting with the rules.

  • Covenants of Chaos: Hardest hit by the update. Gone are god-specific covenants, replaced by a special rule that all listed infantry in the list from Warhammer Legends get: every time a unit with this rule fights, charges or heroically intervenes, get +1 S to your attacks. Basically army-wide Covenant of Khorne now, and you will learn to like it.
  • True Believers: Replaces the Fanatic rule found on Disciples and the Renegade Command Squad, who now automatically pass attrition tests. Disciple squads ought to be positioned and use independent of a Commander or Enforcer, allowing those two to buff the troops and Marauders. Command squads however need to be close to the action so their banners can buff your blobs.
  • Avalanche of Muscle/Rage: Possibly a wonky typo creating an unnecessary and frankly illogical division. Beast packs and Ogryn Brutes have Avalanche of Rage, granting them +1 attack and strength on the charge. Plague Ogryns have Avalanche of Muscle, which only grants them +1 attack if they've charged, which doesn't really make sense considering the name.
  • Combat Stimms: Found on Brutes and Plague Ogryns. Give yourself +1 attacks at the start of the fight phase until the end of the phase, but roll a D6 and on a 1, you lose an Ogryn. Sadly not as abusable as it was last time and Ogryns already have a lot of attacks. This only comes into play if you really need to drub something to death, like if you get into CC with a dreadnought or a squad of hammernators. Even then, you should be weighing up the possibility of losing a guy each time you roll.
  • Minions of Chaos: FAQ'd and thank fuck for that. ObSec for troops with Renegades and Heretics or Unaligned keyword, no more ambiguity.
  • Daemonic Ritual: Got characters? I hope you do, because they get to summon Daemons! Instead of moving, you can roll 3D6 for one of your Characters and call up that many Power Levels worth of angry deepstrikers. Take a Mortal Wound if you rolled a double, or D3 if you rolled a triple. Generally you should be playing safe and using cheap, easy to summon units like Troops, beasts or small groups of Daemonic Cavalry. Most of the Greater Daemons are nearly impossible to get onto the field this way. The Lord of War Daemons (An'Ggrath, Zarakynel, Aetaos'Rau'Keres and Scabeiathrax) get a variant rule called Arch-Daemonic Ritual, where you roll 9D6, but your Character blows up if you roll a triple; this would've been so much better if it was a perils instead of mortal wounds or instant death, because it would've given Malefic Lords a purpose outside of casting Smite. Take an extra Renegade Commander if you're gonna do this, losing a 25 point model won't hurt too much.

Warlord Traits[edit]

What Warlord Traits? Go get a real Warlord. No need to bother with those because Covenants don't require you to field a Renegade Commander as a Warlord!

  • Inspiring Leader: Friendly units within 6" of the Warlord add 1 to their Leadership. It does work on all stuff in allied detachments as well. It is still a bad idea though.

Psychic Powers[edit]

A tremendous loss of flavour from Warhammer Legends, gone are our three other psychic powers. Malefic Lords and Rogue Psyker covens now only know Smite and nothing else. If you want psykers, you want allies. Don't waste your time here...

Wargear[edit]

Now that random leadership has left us for good, these have all been reworked.

  • Chaos Sigil: Can be taken by Militia or Disciples. Lets your dudes re-roll a single 1 to-hit per face when they charge or were charged. Still unchanged after the update so deal with it. *cough*Cult Icon*cough*
  • Renegade Vox Caster: +1 Ld. Found on Militia, Command Squads and Disciples.

Unit Analysis[edit]

HQ[edit]

The Renegade HQ choices are all fairly reliable, and comparable to their Astra Militarum counterparts in most ways (and not in our favour), however they are fragile when compared to, for example, a SM Captain, and lack any form of save better than a 4+. Always keep them next to someone else and they can score a few choice hits in melee and maybe make a difference if given the opportunity.

  • Renegade Commander: A Traitor Astra Militarum Commander with no orders. No longer required to be a Warlord for the Covenants. They are absolutely necessary for an aggressive CC army due to a new Aura buff: the old Fanatic rule has been repurposed to let your dudes within 6" ignore modifiers in attrition tests. 5++ is their best save, but 4W 3A 3+ BS/WS on a guardsman statline is lackluster, so if you absolutely want to do glorious battle, make sure you charge anything weak enough for your squad to kill before it can strike back. In fact, just stand nearby and shout if you don't want to die to Guard Bayonets!, Fire Warrior pistols or that tank gunning you down in melee.
  • Malefic Lord: A Traitor Primaris Psyker with a worse statline, no weapons, no powers sans Smite but with a 4++. If he perils and survives he gets massive bonuses to his (otherwise nonexistent) melee, but wounds lost to perils (and no way to restore them) usually mean he dies before getting any good melee off. Rogue Psykers are better casters but die faster due to not being Characters. Both are bad.
  • Rogue Psyker Coven: Now cost flat 35pts per squad, which is pretty good for 15 wounds. They know only Smite and are pretty bad in any form of non-psychic combat, with only a 5++ to their name. Choir of Chaos lets them eat d3 MWs in exchange for d3 bonus to a psychic test, which makes these guys better than a Lord of Change at Smite spam. As long as you avoid lasguns and bolters that is. They have covenant access like anything else, but it's wasted on them because they absolutely suck in close combat.

Troops[edit]

Biggest improved overall, no more shoddy leadership, shitty WS/BS or other janky rules. Hello aggressive melee and decent shooting infantry! Bad news is that points costs have increased but the units themselves are mostly better for it. Verdict: Welcome to F-tier - this is NOT a competitive tournament army. You should only consider playing this if you're looking for a conversion challenge as official models have been discontinued at least an edition ago. If you're worried about WYSIWYG, you're either playing against the wrong people (ie, get better friends) or you're making a huge mistake. That is, in addition to playing R&H as anything but allies...

  • Renegade Cultists: Cultists from the CSM roster next over that exchange Mark of Chaos for the now generic Chaos Covenant; they are strictly better than CSM cultists because of the covenant and fared better than the other units here because they changed the least. Your cheap option in the discount wares section: 1pt less than Militia for 1 less Ld and no real options to speak of - strictly inferior to Militia. Can blob even harder than Militia but not as hard as Rabble. Use these to provide cheaper and more disposable small-arms support for mutant rabble or allied Berzerkers or Daemons; in a pinch, they can be thrown into the grinder of CC. Alternatively, they can be used to cheaply secure a backfield objective if you can't spring for Militia to cover Disciples or splat them along with a Militia squad. Cultists are flexible and disposable for a Renegades army and you should absolutely treat them as such.
  • Renegade Militia: Traitor Guardsmen with no orders and worse Save. They can take more actual guns than cultists, but those are tied to squad size and we don't get that 50% discount on special weapons Guard enjoys. Renegades do have a solid Leadership kit, but it gets pricey on MSU. Build for mixed close-support: heavy bolters, mortars, grenade launchers, plasmaguns and flamers, etc. Rush and camp down on objectives or support a backfield objective with maybe an autocannon or missile launcher. They fared alright in the changeover - there were already people out there who preferred to use Militia as blobs over mutants and now the choice seems somewhat justified.
  • Renegade Mutant Rabble: The most expensive Troops option of the three, and it's a tarpit. The 'I've got more bodies than you have bullets' type. Still get a random buff to M/A/T, now with no downside - not much of a "curse" now, eh? Max unit size is whooping 30, and make sure you don't leave home with fewer bodies - you are here to blob, and blob HARD. Your other troops are better at range, so pack the garbage like shotguns and stubguns and run screeching at the enemy's objective. It will be fun and quick. All in all, it's like someone wished for improved mutants on a monkey's paw and we got a pricey tarpit that gained little-to-no buffs to their survivability, a mild buff to their CC ability and buff to their shooting that literally nobody asked for!
    • A 'min' squad of those is 210pts. Add in 60 more for Enforcer and Commander to stop them from running. A Punisher Russ with frills is 210pts. A pair of Wyverns is 270pts. Being a mutant is not cost-effective, much like the rest of this army.
    • There's no escaping the MSU vs. blob debate and it applies to all these Troops choices. Clearly they were designed with blobbing in mind, but the advent of blasts will churn through blobs; conversely, small-arms fire will tear through their low toughness and trash saves so a small unit will not survive particularly well, either. Packing a battalion full of MSU Troops is not an efficient use of Troops slots nor is it exactly cost-effective, especially if you're going to be piling them into transports. Blobs can work out against Xenos who don't have much Blast to begin with, but Imperial armies are going to be a problem. On that front, Marines might struggle against MSU but Guard have enough guns of both kinds to whittle you down. Again, this is not a competitive list. YMMV if you build a few medium strength units, maybe.

Elites[edit]

Elites are the hammer of R&H armies, with all of the elite choices quite killy. They will be making your plays while your troops soak up the hits; also note that every one of these choices except Plague Ogryns has access to frag grenades. Taking a Renegade army of nothing but Vanguard detachments and Transports is a hilarious waste of CP in 9th edition, which you should be saving for overwatch if you're just fielding a dedicated R&H list. If you're doing the right thing and fielding them as allies, you're sadly gonna be burning 3 CP to field more than two elites (more like more than one elites because you are almost certainly taking an enforcer) so an allied vanguard detachment isn't a terrible idea per se.

  • Renegade Command Squad: A squad for boosting the morale of nearby units, or reducing enemy morale. Their Banners provide either allow anyone to heroically intervene (Apostate) or re-roll charge distances. Keeping them near the front lines is advisable, so that they can use their banners to full effect - if you just want their good WS/BS, you want the next option. Otherwise, give them a special weapon (heavy weapon optional) and get near close quarters so that you can give the banner benefits to nearby hordes/enemy squads.
  • Renegade Disciple Squad: 5-15 Veteran equivalents, with 3+ to shoot and hit in melee. Good for when you need accurate shooters and the best squads for taking Heavy weapons; these guys should be fielding lascannons and other high-power single-shot weapons to take advantage of their good shooting. Unfortunately, Can only take 1 special weapon and heavy weapon, so they lack the volume firepower of the militia, but can field up to 15 bodies to compensate.
  • Renegade Enforcer: Massively retooled, has a nearly identical statline to the Commander. Instead of killing D3 models whenever a squad is called on to take an attrition test, he now grants friendly core units +2 Ld. This combines very well with the Commander's aura that removes negative modifiers, and the two of them can make nearly unbreakable tarpit blobs. Can also take a shotgun for free or a ranged weapon along with a melee weapon; you will certainly be seeing close combat with this guy so build accordingly.
  • Renegade Marauder Squad: Another unit heavily re-worked from Warhammer Legends. They now have ALL the specialist doctrines at once: they re-roll to-hit rolls of 1 in CC, get +2 to their saves while in cover and a 4+ save along with frag and krak grenades. Gone is that stupid rule where they all die on a D6 roll of a 1 when they have to take a morale test, instead they gained Covenant of Chaos on top of all of their stuff! Models can take an autogun, shotgun, lasgun or an auto or laspistol and brutal assault weapon while two of them can switch out for a special weapon, including sniper rifles (no more heavy weapons, though). The Champ can take a boltgun or a pistol and CC weapon and the brutes? They came way down in price costing 14 points and a PL each (max 2 brutes per squad) and now they hit at S5 AP-2 with their 3 attacks and wounds. You will be torn between building them for sniping and cover camping or charging into CC, leaving two build types:
    • Close support: meltaguns and/or grenade launchers for special weapons (flamers are a bit of a waste on their high BS), shotguns and brutal assault weapons for the rank and file; tool the champ for close combat and grab two brutes. Think of them as nastier cultists or mutants.
    • Cover camping: sniper rifles and/or plasmaguns for special weapons, autoguns/lasguns and maybe a shotgun or two for defense for the rank and file; give the champ a bolter and brutes are optional for defense.
  • Renegade Ogryn Beast Handlers: 3-6 Hounds and an Ogryn Pack Master. The hounds lost that ability to reduce enemy morale, which is lame. The Ogryn Pack Master is equipped with a Ripper claw (S+1 AP-2 D2) and Mauler Goad (Suser AP-1 D1, but makes 3 additional attacks), meaning it also lost the ability to buff the hounds' attacks - which is also lame. These guys have taken a beating in the update as they lost their damage boosting special abilities. Their only saving grace is that they're less than half the cost per model of an Ogryn brute squad.
  • Renegade Ogryn Brutes: 3-12 Ogryns, but without guns. Have Ogryn weapons, which are S+1 AP-1 D2 and one guy can have a drill that does sx2 AP-2 D2. They have the same avalanche of rage ability as beasts plus combat stimms. They can take and deal multiple, reliable wounds. Remember, 3-4 wounds is all you need to bring most characters down and you get 12 attacks on the charge at S7, so if you want to remove an SM Captain, or a pesky Primaris squad, this is the unit. Keep in mind this is relying on them hitting first, so don't go charging a howling banshee squad and expect to come out on top (though at proper numbers you should).
  • Renegade Plague Ogryns: As 3-9 Ogryns above, they have a Covenant of Nurgle that gives them a full 6+++ FNP, their weapon is S+1 AP-2 D2 like the other brutes but now re-rolls a wound of 1. No longer do they explode on death, and they only get +1 attack on the charge instead of +1 A and S - bummer. They are interesting, able to deal out more damage melting away tarpits but contrasted with their generic brethren, they're actually better at taking down tougher targets - like vehicles. They cause more wounds and can withstand damage better than regular Ogryn brutes due to their special rules.

Dedicated Transports[edit]

  • Chimera: You know it, you love it. Gem of the mortal metal bawks world, can take 12 of your squishy goons, now with toughness, wounds, move values and variable statistics! Unfortunately, their price went up considerably; you've been warned. Still gets the job done, but its attacks depend on volume of fire over value. No AP on anything but the Heavy Bolt/Flamer. Flamer is a good option, since it doesn't suffer from the vehicle's accuracy decay as much, and as Renegades you aren't afraid of a little CQC are you?

Fast Attack[edit]

  • Hellhound: Set things on fire with a flame tank! Curiously, you have access to the hellhound variant guns like the Chem Cannon and Melta Cannon... But you should probably take the auto-hitting ones because your BS is garbage exactly the same as normal guard. Sadly, these don't bypass cover saves anymore, but cover saves aren't as strong either. Take the basic Hellhound for hordes of GEQ, otherwise there's the Bane Wolf, whose vicious Chem Cannon wounds everything that's not a vehicle on 2s, with improved AP (at the cost of range). Thanks to renegades straight up jacking the codex entry for these tanks the Devil Dog has benefited from the same buff the normal one got: its melta cannon is now assault type. This is a pretty big boost and turns that option from worthless into one of our most reliable anti tank weapons. Zip up 12", fire away, and watch anything tank shaped melt. Sadly the hull mounted multi melta is still heavy so always take the heavy flamer for defense.
  • Scout Sentinel: These will probably be your main source of anti-infantry Heavy Weapons, because your normal heavy weapons teams are terrible shots. A T5 chassis is okay, but you are still vulnerable to small-arms, especially with a 4+ save. The scout move can be used to keep your sentinels out of danger if, for example, the enemy player steals initiative, so that is a plus. You will take this sentinel mostly for speed, so take rapid fire weapons like the multilaser, Autocannon, or Heavy Flamer (Or frag missiles from the Missile Launcher if you are feeling lucky). These will likely get focus fired at the start of the game if you don't have enough other threatening targets, but they do have 6 wounds each and no damage table, so taking a few wounds is not a problem. With Outrider Detachments you can take nothing but HQs and Sentinels, which actually isn't too bad of a army build if you organize it properly.
  • Armored Sentinels: These will probably be your main source of anti-tank seeing as to the fact that they can plop themselves in cover without being afraid of wasting the scout sentinel's extra maneuverability. Plasma cannons make them good at clearing up heavy infantry, Autocannons are good versatility, for both infantry and light vehicle targets. Lascannon/Missile Launcher are your best bet for taking out enemy armored vehicles and monstrous creatures, but will draw a heck of a lot of fire, so keep them in covered positions. If you are only going to take only one group of sentinels, the Missile Launchers are good options, since they can thin out enemy infantry squads quite nicely, and also deal with most armored targets. Lascannon is good for popping heavy tanks, where the 3+ wound -3 AP really matters.
  • Salamander: Cute little light tank with guns otherwise found on sentinels or heavy weapons squads. Pricier, tank-y-er than either; great if you have the points and are not otherwise concerned about getting bogged down in CC as these things will get bogged down in CC.
  • THE THING THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED - The gribbly beasts you know and love from the CSM codex make a return, this time in the FA slot and come with chaos covenant for +1 strength in CC! Still have the D6 random attacks, 4 Wounds and an armor save of 5+ with no uptick in points (actually got a points decrease). The D3 table of mutations has mostly stayed the same. 1 gives your punches AP-4, 2 gives you +2 attacks, and 3 lets you re-roll failed wounds in close combat. Take a full unit of the gribbly bastards and harass your opponent's flank and squishier heavy weapons teams with anywhere from 5 to 30 S5 AP-2 attacks. Got a pretty sizable nerf to their speed though, going from 12" to 7" movement, but you still slightly outspeed most basic infantry. As of Warhammer Legends, these came down even further in price down to 23 pts. each!

Flyers[edit]

  • Valkyrie: The original bad bitch of the skies can hold 12 Infantry; Ogryns of any variation count as 3 models. Any infantry with the Renegades & Heretics keyword count. Transports can hold multiple units now, so have fun! Even better, Grav-Chute Deployment allows you to put anybody the bad bitch can carry 9" away from the enemy...after the Valkyrie's 20" minimum move. Can you say 'turn 1 charge with ogryns?' And to top it all off it has 2 MORE wounds than a Leman Russ tank (though 1 less toughness). Cue the music!
    • Note: On the firepower side of things, hellstrike missiles are no longer one-use only (but you can fire only 1 per turn), and the multiple rocket pod is a nice infantry muncher. However, the Valkyrie isn't immune to the penalties for firing heavy weapons on the move, and being Airborne it HAS to move, so it'll be shooting like an Ork most of the time (unless you hover but then you can also be shot at normally and/or charged by flying stuff). Spring for Multiple Rocket Pods, multilasers and door gunners with Heavy Bolters to power through the penalty. But it also may hover. So if you really want to kill something, you may switch to hover mode and let go. But prepare to die afterwards, since all the Flyer buffs are then gone like the wind.
    • Other Note: The Grav-Chute deployment still only counts as a disembarkation from a transport, allowing you your normal movement afterwards with your marauders, or your 4 Renegade Ogryn Brutes for that charge... Ogryn can fit in Valkyries, just not Vendettas (which doesn’t matter, since we don’t have access to those anyway).
  • Arvus Lighter: Actually not a bad choice for delivering units and taking heavy weapon. Gets a 3+ save, and BS 4+, and Does not have a damage table. In addition 8 woulds with an 3 up and hard to hit is never bad for a T6 flyer. It's not going to win any killing contests, but it will get your models where they need to go, and can take some potshots along the way. Also hilariously lacks the supersonic trait, which means you can do 180 degree turns all day, without having to worry about flying off the table. Twin Autocannons or Twin Heavy Stubbers seems to be the best choice for weapons, but taking the Multilasers or Twin Hellstrikes is always optional. Cheap enough to warrant being used as a tanky flying Heavy weapons team after you deliver your cargo. Unfortunately cannot transport Ogryns of any variety.

Heavy Support[edit]

  • Renegade Heavy Weapons Squad: A pair of Militia with a heavy stubber that can should immediately be swapped for a bigger gun; unlike loyalists can be taken with up to six teams in a single unit. FAR more reliable now that they hit on 4+ but their covenant is wasted. Note they have the points listed to take a Quad Launcher but it's clearly a typo, as they can't legally take one via the datasheet. Regardless, 48" guns are the preferred weapon for these guys, so plop them at the furthest possible range - if they get shot, they are dead; springing for a bunker is not bad either. You're better off fielding more tanks or allies if you have Militia MSUs, though.
  • Leman Russ Battle Tanks: The sturdiest tank in the galaxy, point-for-point. It's a big tank; it does big tank things. Kit it out properly from the laundry list of big guns and it won't disappoint. Options of filling include Battle cannon (your generalist blast gun), Exterminator (for those filthy autocannon-hating xenos), Eradicator (battle cannon scaled down against heavy infantry), Vanquisher (for when you want to lose a tank duel), Demolisher (for when you want to watch something get pasted pointblank), Executioner (twin plasma cannon effectively, marines love those) and Punisher (a bullet hose to end all bullet hoses). For dressing we've got bog-standard Heavy bolters and flamers, as well as Plasma cannons, now-improved Multi-meltas, and a Lascannon. Getting the right combination of cannons for the occasion is the key to success with this unit. That, and trying to stay under half speed (which does degrade as you take damage!) - Grinding Advance is one of the best rules in the entire game.
  • Basilisk: One of your better units for hitting hard targets, the old Basilisk is back in action. Sitting at 125 points, its one of our more efficient units for hitting targets with 2+ wounds from across the table. Focus on that last bit - keep it away from enemy units.
  • Wyvern: It is four Mortars that reroll to-wound mounted on Chimera tracks. Point it at anything smaller than a marine, and Wyvern will reduce it to appropriately-coloured confetti. Just keep it away from enemy fire. Wyvern is a simple machine like that.
  • Hydra: The original AAA is back in action! This time it brings four Autocannons that are +1 to hit against FLY units and -1 against anything else, so aim it high at Blood Angels, Eldar of any colour, Tau, 'Crons, and that one opponent who just loves Fly spam. Ironically, it is not cost-effective against heavy-duty Aircraft like Stormravens.
  • Forge World
  • Earthshaker Carriage Battery: Still 4 less wounds than a Basilisk. Still 10pts more expensive. No more separate crew or ability to shoot in melee due to Immobile. Hard pass.
  • (Armageddon-pattern) Medusa: Effectively a vindicator, but always has D6 shots, at the cost of D3 damage, and 1 less toughness (Which is compensated for by the gun shooting 12 inches further. Similar enough to be replaced by the vindicator if it fits your style better, but as with everything on this list YMMV.
  • Medusa Carriage Battery: Same deal as with the Earthshaker, this is a stationary Medusa cannon that has less wounds and costs the same. This one is crewed, so one more downside to a pile of downsides. Hard pass.
  • Griffon: A Str6 AP -1, 2d6 taking the highest dice shots, ignores cover and line of sight on a Chimera EQ chassis. A strong little weapon platform, especially since it can move and shoot without much penalty other than -1 to hit. Keep it in the back, or with your other light vehicles like your Chimeras for the extra firepower. Good for killing T3 infantry squads and light vehicles, but for marines the volume of fire of the Wyvern is better.
  • Malcador Tank Family: Down(?)-graded from Lord of War to Heavy Support, the light-super-heavy tanks of the Malcador family has been smiled upon in 8th by the removal of weapon facing. This means the bizarre fixed-transfer casement the main gun sits in (and the fact that the sponsons can't train forward) no longer limits its shooting ability; also gone is the chance to break down every time it moves, apparently they finally fixed the engines on these things. The Demolisher cannons have Grinding Advance, as well. Note: The Valdor tank destroyer is still taking a Lord of War, so no spamming Neutron Lasers (not that you could spam a tank this size anyway).
  • Malcador Heavy Tank: The basic Malcador is a Russ on a steroid binge - 18 wounds instead of 12 (this is standard across all Malcadors), and it can carry autocannons or lascannons in the sponsons.
  • Malcador Defender: Now we're talkin'! In a remarkable display of foresight, the Defender eschews the nerfed turret weapons of its brothers for an interwar-style turret fitted with five(!) heavy bolters. Two more on the sponson mounts make for a bullet hose to rival the Stormlord - at 21 shots, it can chew up blobs but good! It also adds 1 to its overwatch hit rolls, making it a very solid charge deterrent to protect your gunline. Shame Chaos Covenants don't effect Vehicles, or else Tzeentch's Covenant would be outright mean. A demolisher cannon is still present on the hull for tougher targets.
  • Rapier Laser Destroyer Battery: Got nerfed hard and went from auto-include to nope. Twin-linked is gone but it still fires only one shot; so there is no chance to reroll that 4+ except CPs. Still the gun is S12 and if the shot hits on a roll of 3-5 it does 2D6 damage and on a 6 it's upped to 3D6 (so you could hypothetically one-shot a Land Raider but it is highly unlikely). The price got almost doubled to 74 points for one gun and a crew of two. The rapier has 3 wounds now but unfortunately is only T5. Mathhammer says it will only beat out a team of lascannons (of similar cost) against 2+ models, models of T6 and below, and 3+ models of T9 and above. Not worth buying, but if you have it, save it for the really tough stuff.
    • Alternate opinion: These are all valid criticisms and Forgeworld should really refund the money of any poor soul who bought these in the twilight days of 7th Edition, but putting this out here: if this thing does hit, it will kill almost anything you point it at.
    • It is also more durable than a lascannon in general, as the crew can't be targeted unless they are the closest model (even by sniper fire). It also helps you out by adding the one thing R&H need: Infantry based mid range Anti-Tank firepower. The insane wound potential also helps as a selling point, since 2d6 wounds is the average, and the gun has potential to do more on a good roll. It may be niche, but this gun fits nicely with renegades.
  • Heavy Mortar Battery: Another crewed gun, the Heavy Mortar hits like a midway between a normal mortar and the Earthshaker Cannon. Unfortunately it takes after the latter in price - 72 points for a 3-man team and the gun carriage. Potentially viable if you've got the models, but nothing special.
  • Heavy Quad Launcher Battery: Also known as the Thudd Gun. Invented by a race of abhumans whose worlds were lost to the Tyranids sometime in the mid-M40s (it's not clear) and much beloved by Grim loyalists, 8th Edition's Thudd Gun behaves like a Wyvern's quad-gun, without the rerolls to wound (perhaps it doesn't use airburst ammunition?). It's also the exact same cost as a Wyvern, sans the heavy bolter the latter gets with its Chimera mobile platform. Workable if you have it, not worth the money if you don't.
  • Colossus Bombard: Finally gaining the toughness of the Leman Russ chassis it's mounted on, the Colossus still ignores cover, though that doesn't do as much now. Downside, it costs as much as a Leman Russ, too. The mortar itself has gotten a HUGE range increase (In fact this might be a typo - 240 inches), and hits like a Heavy Mortar with slightly better AP. It fires twice as many shots, too.

Lords of War[edit]

  • Baneblade: The galaxy's premier super-heavy tank has been lucky this edition, with almost-universal reductions in points, retention of fire points, amazing toughness, and the addition of the Steel Behemoth rule. The Steel Behemoth rule is especially powerful on Baneblades; Versus targets in melee it may fire its twin heavy flamers and twin heavy bolters like pistols, targeting foes within 1" - this makes a fully-armed Baneblade one of the meanest models in the game in close quarters, dealing out an average of 31 hits, at S5 AP-1 - and that's before it uses its adamantium tracks, which swing at s9 ap-2 for d3 damage up to 9 times. And those flamers hit on overwatch, too. All variants have a twin heavy bolter on the hull, and may take up to 4 sponsons, each with a lascannon and a twin heavy flamer/twin heavy bolter.
    • Baneblade: First of the turreted variants, and the only one available to you as a R&H player (though with the removal of facing that's not as relevant anymore), the original Baneblade packs the mighty Baneblade Cannon, an autocannon, and a hull Demolisher Cannon. Old but gold.
    • Ally this majestic fucker to Chaos Daemons. It is hilarious.
  • Forge World
  • Macharius Family: the middle child of the super heavy tanks, the Macharius series starts to wield titan-sized guns, while the non-tank variants of the chassis bring to the field some of the largest transport capacities in the game. FAQ ADDED THEM TO THE R&H LIST
    • Macharius Heavy Tank: Suffers from a lot of the problems that the Leman Russ suffers from, and it doesn't even get to ignore the -1 penalty for firing its main weapon on the move. It has the potential to deal a lot of damage, but like the Leman Russ battle cannon, the likelihood of it actually doing anything isn't that high. If you really have your heart set on this tank, consider the Macharius Vanquisher as an alternative.
    • Macharius Omega: Its plasma blast gun is pretty amazing, especially if you can keep it still. Only 1 mortal wound per to-hit roll of 1 on the supercharged firing mode, and even if you play it safe, each shot is still doing as much damage as a normal supercharged plasma gun shot, but with much better range. Consider this if facing big squads of MEQ... now, if only FW still made the model for it.
    • Macharius Vanquisher: Two Vanquisher shots are better than one, and if all else fails, you can fire this as a slightly less potent version of the twin battle cannon that the Macharius Heavy Tank has, making this a more versatile choice. It's still nothing to write home about in the grand scheme of things, but at least you get two shots for the Vanquisher cannon instead of 1.
    • Macharius Vulcan: The Vulcan Mega Bolter retains the ability to spin up to maximum speed if the tank hasn't moved, doubling its rate of fire to 30. On a S6 AP-2 gun, that's some SERIOUS pain. With 15 hits on average, you'll be mowing down entire GEQ squads with an average of 12.5 wounds per shooting phase. This is a nice tank to have up your sleeve when that Ork player floods the board with Boyz.
  • Minotaur Artillery Tank: One of the two variants of the Malcador chassis that retains the Lord of War title...Though you could be forgiven for not noticing, since it's had two Earthshaker cannons mounted on it. Backwards. Simultaneously the coolest thing on treads and an ungodly abortion only Hereteks could love, and boy do they. Has two heavy bolters mounted on it...somewhere. As a side effect of mashing two Basilisks together it gains Steel Behemoth and a 5+ Invulnerable save against shooting attacks (which is copy-pasted from the Gorgon's entry, because the two are such similar machines...Bravo, Forge World!). The durability comes at a cost: for the firepower of two Basilisks it's almost as expensive as three.
  • Valdor Tank Destroyer: Recently added to the R&H list in the latest FAQ (in the Forces of Chaos book instead of the Forces of the Astra Militarum where our rules are, but still counts!) The other Malcador variant that's still a Lord of War, the Valdor is to vehicles what the Infernus is to infantry. It packs a Neutron Laser Projector, a cannon that hits plenty hard, fires more than one shot and gets damage rerolls vs vehicles (who also take a -1 shooting penalty if the shot damages them). Be wary: the reactor powering this thing is closer to a bomb than an engine. When killed, the Valdor explodes on a 2+, inflicting D6 mortal wounds on everything within 2d6". Sadly, it's too pricey to be taken just for the spectacular not-a-deathstrike suicide attack.

Allies[edit]

  • Chaos Space Marines: The obvious choice for both fluff and tabletop reasons, as they can make up for your lack of heavy infantry and specialists with their own, and your vehicles and Troops choices are slightly better then their options. It's a win-win! But wait - there's more! Thousand Sons and Death Guard have since been split off from CSM into their own codex with malt liquor and hookers so now you have those as options as well.
    • Death Guard: Gets you the tankiest heavy infantry and a plethora of Nurgle daemon engines, as well as those plague zombies.
    • Thousand Sons: Their heavy infantry pack inferno weaponry. Or you can take even more bodies of weird birdmen and monsters that are way better than your guys in close combat. Also, really buff your psychic phase.
  • Chaos Daemons: Good for adding monsters and melee-specialists to your force. Your characters can also summon Daemons, so keep that in mind if you play Narrative or Open.
    • Note: Both Daemons and CSM bring their sick-ass Daemon engines for you to incorporate into an allied detachment.
  • Renegade Knights: For when you're tired of fucking around and just wanna throw down with an appropriately-stompy ass-kicker. What renegade knights lack in subtlety they compensate with raw power. They hit and wound way better than anything you can field and are only limited by their price.

Tactics[edit]

Army Building[edit]

Warhammer Legends has erased some of the jankiest shit that was lurking around in this list at the expense of even more of the flavour that R&H had during 7th. Certainly, your troops costs will go up but their value has increased tremendously.

Your troops have a decidedly more CC focus due to Chaos Covenant so you want to build as much of your list to get into close combat as you can. Elites are quite good for you, but cannot give you the numbers to tarpit squads like your troops can and will. Rather you will meatshield with troops choices only to have a hardier Elites or an allied CC specialist slam into them. What you will find yourself doing is likely building large slabs of infantry to throw as hard and fast at your opponent as possible, backed by tanks and elites.

Terrain and Positioning[edit]

As Renegades you have to take into consideration the fact that none of your troops choices have better than a 6+ save, and most of your elites don't have better than 5+. Using cover to its full potential is important to making this army work, so you should try to keep your troops concealed so they don't take to many casualties from small arms fire. Remember to ask your opponent what you should use to define what units are in ruins at the start of the game, whether that be the base of the ruin, being within it's walls, or on it's battlements, as well as whether the ruin has to be between the enemy shooting and your models. When it comes to enemy big guns, your security is in being out of LOS(5+ saves in cover won't protect you against anything of decent strength and AP). After that's been worked out, keep a few things in mind:

1. Be willing to charge out of ruins; overwatch occurs before the charge so keep any terrain modifiers to your save in mind.

2. Charge from just under 9 inches away if the enemy has flamers and you don't want to take casualties; Flamers have a range of 8 and are designed to kill hordes with weak armor saves like yours in overwatch, so watch yourself. You still only have to roll an 8 if you charge in this manner, and with coven of Slaanesh units this is hardly a problem.

3. Keep your horde on the other side of a debris, such as a crater, from a unit you that is a melee threat to them, this will give you more time to focus fire on the model, so that you can thin it out before risking a melee that you ultimately don't want. Make sure to keep your unit at least the enemy's movement +12 away, and keep the crater as close to your unit as possible, so that the enemy unit would have to charge through the crater, and incur the -2 penalty.

4. Keep deep striking units in mind, especially if you are taking a lot of heavy support vehicles like basilisks and Leman Russes. Deep striking terminators or assault marines can come from anywhere 9 inches away, so keep your models bubble wrapped or make sure that your tanks have infantry models every 7 inches or so to act as a no deepstrike bubble. DO NOT SURROUND YOUR TANK WITH MODELS WITHIN 4 INCHES OF IT, BECAUSE THE ENEMY CAN CHARGE THAT UNIT INSTEAD, AND THEN CONSOLIDATE INTO MELEE WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

5. Consider taking the new CSM Noctilith Crown. Just by being there, it provides all CHAOS units within 6" (extended to 9" turn 2 and 12" turn 3 onwards) with a 5+ invulnerable save, making your Russes, Wyverns, Basilisks, Heavy Weapons Teams and any other detritus/cultists/kitchen sinks that little bit more resilient, especially when taken in conjunction with the Nurgle 6++ coven on infantry sadly nurgle coven is only on plague ogryns. There is an argument to say that this can be blown up, but with 14 wounds, a 3+ save and a 5+ invulnerable save (and only 100 points), if someone is pointing their heavy weapons at IT, rather than your expensive units, it is already doing its job well. It is worth pointing out that like our IG cousins, we are quite cheap, and so this fortification (at 100 points) also does not take too much away from your potential damage output.

Things to Note[edit]

The Renegades and Heretics section is in desperate need of an FAQ or Revision. Warhammer Legends has fixed most of these bugs.

  1. The list was poorly reviewed, with troops being able to replace nonexistent weapons, weapons being take able on models that aren't part of the unit, and models being able to take from the "Pistol" list when there is only a ranged weapon list containing pistols. If you play this army, make sure you don't play it with That Guy, and you have respect for your opponent and follow the RAI.
  2. One particular issue is that the list allows you to take vehicles from Index: Imperium 2, and Imperial Armour:AM, which in a few cases do not exist. It also is unclear if you are allowed to take any vehicle with the keyword, or only those units (given that some units on the list exist, but are under different names, such as the Medusa)
  • This has been radically altered by Warhammer Legends.
  1. So this is my call-out to Forgeworld: Conduct a thorough revision/review of the LatD list, and check for errors and places where clarity is lacking. Given how cheap the book is, I'm sure consumers would be willing to pay to own a reviewed copy, or if a future more thorough release with more models is in the works. [FAQ is out, cleans up some things (eg CHARACTER keywords, adds Armageddon Medusa) but leaves others unanswered (the weird Medusa entry is still on the list for one, autopistols are still 6" range for Renegades but 12" for everyone else, etc)]
  • Also done via Warhammer Legends.
  1. Optimistic View: They had a R&H army out a week after release, which was not the case for Eldar corsairs, the other major FW army. Corsairs were always meant to be an allied force for Craftworld/Dark Eldar, so this is not too surprising, however based on how the R&H army was written, and the fact that some of the content they used to posses (Demagogue Devotions, most notably.) is not in the book, and the growing emphasis on Chaos VS Imperium, I would not be surprised if R&H got their own IA book, or a re-release in the next major Chaos IA Supplement. The growing emphasis on chapter tactics on the Warhammer community would also go hand in hand with this, so i would not be surprised to see a complete R&H list in an upcoming IA:Chaos book, including demagogue devotions and other customization options which are intrinsic to the army.
    1. Alternate Hypothesis: GW might be cooking up a codex release for the Renegades and Heretics, a la the Lost and the Damned. Totally speculative but this could be a possibility given the new narrative emphasis on Chaos.
    2. Another Hypothesis: Seeing as Forgeworld has recently stopped selling conversion kits and has admitted to having no current plans towards updating the Renegades and Heretics list, we may be out of luck. Sorry fellow heretics.
    3. Another Hypothesis: GW has announced and revealed their latest boxed set "Blackstone Fortress", this set contains traitor guardsmen and 40k beastmen, as well as new generic chaos space marine miniatures, this may be indicative of RaH being "absorbed" into the regular chaos list or a new version that will be supported by GW rather than FW, so there may still be hope for us Lost and Damned in the 42nd Millenium
  • Hopeful view - The introduction of Negavolts and Beastmen might be a signal of new and game changing units with *gasp* official models.
    1. A Fourth Hypothesis: The fact that plastic Krieg are now a thing that exist, could be indicative of other FW lines being moved over to GW, which could mean a later release for our heretical sods.

Conversions[edit]

General Advice

The GS Cultist Neophyte Hybrid Squads (of both types) are generally good starting points. Just remember to remove the cult symbols and replace them with your own. Skulls are good replacements if you have a few spares. Additionally, Beastmen Gors/Ungors, do well with conversions.

Heads:

  • Chaos Bloodreaver heads
  • Chaos Marauder Horseman heads
  • Warriors of Chaos heads
  • Various Imperial heads, Including Tempestus Scions.
  • Chaos Raptor heads (For those Marauders that take Carapace Armor)
  • Beastmen Gors or Ungors

Torsos/Legs:

  • Generic Guardsman torsos/Legs
  • Genestealer Cult Neophyte Hybrids (Non Guardsman) torsos/Legs
  • Space Marine Scouts with Sniper Rifles (again, for Marauders mostly)
  • Beastmen again for mutant rabble
  • WH Fantasy Skeletons, if you want your force to be an army of the dead. They even have similar statlines.

Weapons

  • Genestealer Neophytes have autoguns which work quite well, and shotguns too. They also have 1 autopistol in every box. The Acolytes have better access to autopistols if you want them.
  • Chaos cultists have plenty of autopistols and autoguns, and Brutal melee weapons
  • Guardsmen lasguns work just fine, and a box of guardsman infantry also has two chainswords, and two flamers and grenade launchers.
  • Snipers from the Marine scouts kit work too, just find out what you're going to do with the rest of the kit.

Arms

  • Pretty much any mortal humans. FW sells some weapon/arm packs that work quite well.

General

  • Crypt Ghouls, Zombies and Pox-walkers also work well as Mutant Rabble
  • Tempestus Scions obviously work perfectly for Renegade Marauders with the Heretek docterine.
  • Kasrkin Stormtrooper models are also good for Marauders, as they have a good tacticool soldier look.
  • Minotaurs/Bullgors from AoS make good Ogryns. Likewise, Chaos Warhounds or Razorgors make good Mauler Hounds
  • Necromunda Ogryn gangers are the closest you will get to an official renegade ogryn kit in plastic.

Gellerpox Infected[edit]

While not technically part of Forge World's Renegades and Heretics list, the Gellerpox Infected introduced in Kill-Team: Rogue Trader are thematically similar to them and aren't large enough as a faction for their own article, so here they are. Like the Elucidian Starstriders introduced alongside them, they're likely to struggle in larger games due to their small detachment size and near-total lack of shooting but they make a fluffy set of allies to any Nurgle force and have the classic Nurglite resilience to help get them into melee.

Special Rules[edit]

  • Disgustingly Resilient: Papa Nurgle's trademark FnP on a 5+.
  • Vulgrar's Followers: Requires Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed to take effect. If Vulgrar is present, he must be set up first; any units with this rule must be set up together afterwards within 6" of him.

Warlord Trait[edit]

If Vulgrar is your army's warlord, you get the Twisted Brilliance Warlord Trait.

  • Twisted Brilliance: If your army is Battle-forged, you receive an additional 3 Command Points that CAN ONLY be spent on Gellerpox Infected Stratagems. Probably unlikely to happen given the prevalence of CP factory armies, but could be useful in smaller games where CP is at a premium.

Stratagems[edit]

  • Mutoid Infestation (1 CP): At the end of the Movement Phase, choose a Mutoid Vermin unit that has been destroyed and set it back up within 12" of a friendly Gellerpox Infected unit. Normally this kind of Stratagem would be lackluster due to the need to pay reinforcement points, but the Mutoid Vermin units cost so little that it won't matter much.
  • Machine Glitch (1 CP): After a unit of Glitchlings fights in the Fight phase, choose an enemy vehicle within 1" of it and roll a d6 for each model in the unit. The vehicle takes a mortal wound for each 4+ rolled.
  • Fiery Demise (1 CP): If Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed is slain, roll a d6 for each unit within 6" of him. Those units suffer a mortal wound on a 4+.
  • Gellershift (1 CP): Instead of moving the Vox-Shamblers normally, you can remove them from the battlefield and deep strike them at the end of the movement phase.
  • Corruption and Decay (1 CP): In the fight phase, select an enemy unit within 3" of a Gellerpox Infected unit. That unit now takes +1 to wound from all Gellerpox Infected models in your army.
  • Insane Gibberings (1 CP): In the psychic phase, enemy psykers subtract 1 from psychic tests if they are within 18" of Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed.
  • Rancid Vomit (1 CP): In the shooting phase, choose a Hullbreakers unit and then choose an enemy unit within 6" visible to that Hullbreakers unit. Roll 3d6; the enemy suffers a mortal wound for each 5+ rolled.
  • Twisted Blessings (1 CP): At the end of the Movement phase, a Hullbreakers model regains one wound.

Unit Analysis[edit]

All units below include the stipulation that 'Only one of this unit can be included in your army.' so unfortunately you cannot spam a horde of Hullbreakers to run around the field causing havoc.

HQ[edit]

  • Vulgrar Thrice Cursed: A lummox of a mutant with 6+/5++ (and Disgustingly Resilient of course), 4 attacks, 5 wounds, and 5" movement. He allows all Gellerpox Infected near him to re-roll hit rolls of 1 and penalizes enemies within 6" with Ld -1. His belly flamer gives him a little bit of defense against enemies trying to charge him, but he should rely on his Fleshripper Claws more often than not (essentially a D2 Power Axe). If he dies anyway, don't forget about Fiery Demise for one last "fuck you".

Troops[edit]

  • The Vox-Shamblers: These guys have profiles similar to a Poxwalker's, but with better WS and T, a 6+ armor save, -1AP on their melee weapons, and access to Frag Grenades. More importantly, their Gellercaust Masks grant them a 5+ invulnerable save and allow them to inflict a mortal wound on anyone who attacks them in the Fight phase if they roll an unmodified 6 for their save.
  • Glitchlings: What Nurglings would be like if they weren't Swarms. Like Nurglings, they've got Daemonic for 5+ invulnerable saves but suffer from Squishable and can re-roll 1s to wound from their attacks. Instead of Mischief Makers, they get Weapon Glitch, which imposes a -1 to hit to all ranged attacks made against them. Machine Glitch lets them act as the closest thing the Gellerpox Infected have to anti-vehicle damage, but odds are they won't last long after using it.

Elites[edit]

  • The Hullbreakers: Your heavy hitters, each of which have an AP-2 D2 melee weapon (Gnasher-Screamer's also re-rolls failed wounds), S/T of 5, 3 attacks (4 for Gnasher-Screamer), and 4 wounds. Unfortunately they don't have any kind of invulnerable save, but they do get Vulgrar's Ld debuff and Twisted Blessings can keep them alive.

Fast Attack[edit]

All of these share the Mutoid Vermin rule, which causes them to not take up a slot if Vulgrar is in the same detachment as they are.

  • Eyestinger Swarms: Wimpy and somewhat unreliable due to having d3 attacks, but 10" speed is blazing fast for anything related to Nurgle and they auto-wound on a hit roll of 6. Despite only having a 7+ armor save, they are deceptively resilient because they force a -1 hit penalty against everything that attacks them and restore a slain model at the start of every turn.
  • Cursemites: Not quite as speedy as the Eyestinger Swarms, but 8" is still respectably fast, especially since they re-roll failed charges and can make a 6" move when consolidating or piling in. Additionally, their Bloodsucking Proboscises cause each hit roll of 6 to act as 2 hits.
  • Sludge-Grubs: The slowest of the Mutoid Vermin, but compensates with better Strength, AP-1, and the possession of an actual ranged weapon. When killed in the Fight phase, they have a chance of inflicting mortal wounds on their attackers.

Tactics[edit]

Vulgrar and the Hullbreakers are the stars of this show. Punchy, durable and bringing yet another source of Leadership shredding nastiness to Chaos' extensive arsenal. The big issue is getting them into a position where they can start dealing damage, as they are sluggish and lack any sort of transport or deep strike ability. Your best bet is try to use your smaller minions to run ahead and try and tie up shooty squads that would otherwise perforate your big guys. Glitchlings are resistant to being shot, Mites are very fast, Eyestingers are both and Vox-shamblers have their deep strike stratagem. None of them are especially killy, but they'll hold the fort down for long enough, provided they don't engage with an elite hybrid unit like Terminators or Custodes. If you can, try to run Vulgrar and Co. alongside some CSM or R&H armour big enough to give them some cover.

Servants of the Abyss[edit]

Just like the Gellerpox Infected, the Servants of the Abyss From Blackstone Fortress are another warband that fit in here (even if their leader is a Kayhoss Spess Merheen). They too will struggle in larger games due to their small detachment size, but they're a nice fluffy choice to run along any other Chaos army. Otherwise, you can just pick and choose what you like.

HQ[edit]

  • Obsidius Mallex - A Chaos Lord with a Thunder Hammer (unique in itself since CSMs normally don't get Thunder Hammers) and a plasma pistol. Has a downside that his Chaos Lord aura can only buff BLACK LEGION. Despite his hefty price tag at 102 points, he is more survivable than a Terminator Lord with a 4+ invuln and his whopping 5 wounds. If you are already playing BLACK LEGION, he's a good choice to accompany Abby for cheap; otherwise, if you have some extra points left over, throw him in with some Noise Marines and whatever else you need to fill in gaps in a Vanguard. Nothing exceptional, but a pretty solid choice overall.
  • Traitor Commissar - same stats as a loyalist commissar but 11pts more than one with similar gear (bolt pistol, powerfist and a 5++ save). But he makes up with it in abilities. Enforcer - Traitor guard within 6" can use his ld. Forward for the dark gods - at the start of the movement phase he can kill a traitor guardsman or guardswoman to give the rest of their squad +3 to advance and charge rolls for the turn. This means a 16" average charge for the turn to tie up a unit quickly. Since a flamer is a assault weapon they will have a 18.5" average threat range to finish off a wounded unit. Note: There is no referance to a limit on how many you can take so is the best way to get a cheap battalion.

Troop[edit]

  • Traitor Guardsman - Literally just Cultists. That said, they have twice the armour save at 5+, higher ld, are a little less expensive with the stipulation that you can't customize them so your stuck with 3x melee+pistol(including the sergeant), 3x lasguns and a flamer also you can have a max of 2 units of 7 of them. Overall way better than csm cultists but not as good as SoA cultists, but not going to win you any games although good if you need some cheap troops.
  • Black Legionnaires - A unit of Chaos Space Marines, but only two can be taken. Their bolters and bolt pistols with chainswords leaves them pretty lackluster, if versatile. That said, in an army of low-save, morale-vulnerable hordes, having a single unit of morale-immune Marines to sit back and hold objectives is somewhat appealing, especially considering the pair costs only 26 points.
  • Chaos Beastmen - A unit of very choppy MEQs. They have the unique - and appealing - ability in which every time they charge, they gain one attack and one strength. Additionally every time they fight (RAW implies this includes your opponents fight phase), they gain an extra attack in melee. This makes them an ultimate suicide berzerkers - costing only 24 points for the squad of 4, it would be quite practical to have them running behind a moving gunline of mutant rabble, who would soak up stray gunfire and overwatch, then follow up the charge with these monsters. The gods have blessed us indeed.
  • Cultists - A unit of 7 cultists with autoguns, frag & krak grenades, a grenade launcher and a heavy stubber while the leader has a chainsword & stub carbine (18", pistol 3 str 4). These guys and girls give some decent firesupport for cqc army for only 35 points, A bargain for the amount of special weapons they have. Sit them in the on objectives while other units hold the enemy back or make a full detachment of these which sadly cannot be buffed but still cheaper than any other troop choice in the game and decent guns. Has the slaves to mallex rule so if you take mallex they don't take a detachment slot.

Elite[edit]

  • Rogue Psyker - These guys might take the place of the Rogue Psyker Coven as highly efficient Smite machines, even if they are more vulnerable. For 30 points, you get 4/5 of the wounds you get in a Coven, with the downside that every roll of doubles results in a peril. That said, you get more survivability due to having the character keyword for 5 points less than the cost of a Coven, albeit with slightly less reliability for Smite spam. Overall, bound to be good unit, and hopefully the limit of two is eventually lifted.
  • Negavolt Cultists - Literally just a unit of four electro priests with a 6+ save in addition to the 5+ FNP. In an already melee focused Chaos meta, they are a hard pass. It might be a good idea to mount these fuckers on 25mm bases and call them Heretek Marauders, since their walking poses would make that easier than the regular electro priest's standing.
  • Chaos Ogryn - at 65pts its pricey for a single Ogryn but its a character so is likely to get into combat if you screen well enough. Has the same stats and abilities as an scummy loyalist Ogyrn bodyguard (but bodyguards for traitor commissars only) + each turn it heals a wound off itself and gets +2 to movement on a roll of 6+. It has 2 melee weapons, one us a free hit before the rest of the attacks at ap -2 damage 2 and if it hits you may reroll attack rolls against that target from this ogryn. The other weapon is a powermaul with 2 damage. This guy is made to sit behind the lines with his commissar and villainy intervene against elite units like terminators and mounted units. Note: There is no mention on a limit on how many of these guys you can take so fill your muddy boots with these guys.
  • Firebrand cultist - at 30 points these guys would of made great hq choices but are sadly competing for an elite slot(he has the slaves to mallex rule so if you take mallex he doesn't take a slot) . He has a Hellfire staff (8", assault d6, str 5, ap-1, 2 damage and auto hits) which is good against elite units like primarius and Terminators. He has marine stats with 3 attacks and wounds and a 4+ save but don't let him get into melee unless you really have to since other than the staff he only has frag and krak grenades and a Las pistol.

Tactics[edit]

  • Traitorous20: basically the best way to run geq anyway (especially since we have no warlord traits, stratagems or relics) will set you back less than 200 points and get +5 cp. 2x Traitor commissars, 2x traitor guard and 1 beastmen. Not as cheap or as much bodies as the R&H disloyal32 but it is stronger, faster and tougher thanks to 5+ armour and hitting on better than 5+ and Forward for the dark gods. Mainly for cp generation, it can also be quiet fighty in smaller games. To save points swap a unit of traitor guard for Black Legionnaires but it will make a Traitor commissar bored. Also remember they can summon deamons. You can also include a vanguard of mallex + 3 elites (chaos Ogryns, rogue psychers etc) to add some punch and another cp. A Black legion detachment with mallex will still buff the servants of the abyss as well as give you something to spend the cp on.

Unaligned Units[edit]

The Blackstone Fortress sets have introduced a few beasties with the UNALIGNED Keyword, allowing you to pick them up in pretty much any army without issue, but possibly only in a separate detachment. They would probably fit well into a Dark Eldar Army as fluffy exotic toys, or perhaps as the personal pets of an Inquisitor or Rogue Trader. These guys are also the only way to take Janus Draik in a Matched Play game without burning CP. They don't really fit anywhere else, but in the interest of getting shit done, here they stay until there's enough universal stuff to choose from.

Troops

  • Spindle Drones: For 60 points a pop, you get 4 W2, A2 MEQs with a somewhat disappointing 18" S3 pistol. Even if that weren't already a bargain, for the same reason as the Black Legionnaires above, they have a special ability similar to the Chaos Beastmen also in the pack, but much easier to manage - for every Spindle Drone that is wounded or dies, the remaining Spindle Drones gain +1 to their strength, damage, and AP. This may not sound amazing at first, but Marine players, either of the Loyalist or Chaos variety, should be used to MSU management. It should be second nature to ca/tg/irls like us to delegate wounds to a Space Marine squad, especially in the last year with our new W2 Primaris boys. If you keep them just out of trouble, which shouldn't be too hard given their T4, S4 and 4+ save, these guys can become excellent monster and character killers, becoming the suicide bomb of your dreams. Unfortunately, you can only take along a single squad of these guys at the moment, but if your gaming group is against you taking more of these guys to accompany your guardian drones, you should probably find a new gaming group.

Elites

  • Ambull: The big bad beetle has made his debut. Clocking in at a very reasonable 70 points, this murder machine comes with a sturdy statline, with 6 Strength and Toughness, 7 Wounds and a 3+ Armour save. Combined with it's ability to regen D3 Wounds each round, your opponent will have to play for keeps or this thing will never fucking die. In combat it only has it's Enormous Claws, not that it needs anything else, swinging 4 times with Strength User, AP-3 and a tooth cracking D3 damage, hitting on a very respectable 3+! But that's not all, folks! As a cherry on top, your bug can burrow underground, removing itself from play and deep striking on your next turn! Don't feel like sending it running across the field to get gunned down? Use that otherwise wasted turn to keep it nice and safe before pulling a vertical Cool-Aid Man most anywhere you please! Best part is that unlike the Spindle Drones above, you can take multiples of these nightmares!
  • Borewyrm Infestation: Swarms of adorable baby xeno horrors, coming in singles or a pair. Surprisingly durable, with Toughness 4, 2 Wounds, a 4+ save and Hard to Hit (-1 to Ranged attacks). They aren't overly impressive in a fight, only having 3 S3 CCW attacks, though it does jump up to AP-2 on a Wound roll of 6+. They carry the same Rapid Tunneling rule that the adult Ambull has, which is good, because they're only have a Move of 4". By no means game winners, but they are cheap as chips, only a dozen points a pop, and they could certainly Deep Strike in an unexpected place and tie up a shooty unit you don't want gunning your units down.
  • Guardian Drones: These bad boys clock in at 90 points for 7 wounds at T6 with a 5+++ FnP and a 3+ save, an AP-3 Havoc launcher, and a 18" D4 lascannon. If all of that wasn't enough, they also grant spindle drones around them S+3 AP-3 and D+3 to their eyeball blasters. It's really a shame about unaligned units lack of support in tournament play, because these guys would be a solid choice for a lot of odd lists.
  • The Archivist: The Zoats return, hurrah! Though the coming of the prodigal son was hyped up, on the tabletop the Archivist somewhat falls short, with his inclusion in an army being dubious at best, as befitting the manipulative Zoats. Statted at 5", S4/T5, 3+ BS/WS, 6W, 4A, 9Ld, and 3+, the Archivist can take a fair amount of abuse before he collapses. Ability-wise, he only comes with a 3" -1 LD aura to both enemies AND allies, which alone makes him very not very compelling to bring. This is balanced, however, with some of the sickest weapons. Stocked with an 18" melta pistol and an S10 storm hammer, he'll at least be able to kick some ass, despite his detrimental ability.

Gallery[edit]

  • Example Conversions For Marauders

    Example Conversions For Marauders

  • Remember to use the infernal command Vox for official calls only kids!

    Remember to use the infernal command Vox for official calls only kids!


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