The Creations of Bile are the marine warbands who have sold their souls to Fabius Bile, the Spider, exchanging their services or materiel for the kinds of genetic augmentations that you just know will have consequences down the road. First introduced in late 8th edition with Psychic Awakening: The War of the Spider, the Creations of Bile give you fewer options from a Stratagem, traits, and relics standpoint, but give you one of the most powerful subfaction traits in the game. For this reason they’ve been among the most competitive options for Chaos Space Marines.

Legion Overview

Creations of Bile armies have seen a ton of competitive success, owing in large part to a Legion Trait that’s just very good and benefits a huge number of units. On top of that the Creations of Bile have some good tricks with Stratagems and a decent secondary objective that can help them when it comes to scoring.

Strengths

Legion Trait. Creations of Bile have a pretty great legion trait that gives standard profile marines a huge boost. It’s possibly the strongest legion traits that Chaos Space Marines have access to and it makes Chaos Space Marines – an army which was already good at melee – even better.
Melee. That trait is really good and it makes your melee threats so much better. +1 Strength is particularly potent for S4 units which become S5 and get effectively +1 to Wound vs T4, T5, and T8. This makes units like Raptors, Bikes, and Warp Talons even better. On top of that, your units fight on death, ensuring there’s no way an opponent can prevent them from fighting by say, just fighting them first in melee.
Extra speed. An extra 1″ of Movement may not seem like a lot but it’s a big deal on slower units like Terminators and helps turn Helbrutes into decently fast runners. Having Possessed which can move 10” is also incredibly scary, and CORE units can use the Auto-Stimulants Stratagem to Advance and Charge, giving them an extra boost (and even the option for turn 1 charges with units like Bikers!).
A Playable Faction Secondary Objective. Specimens for the Spider isn’t amazing but it’s very playable. Most importantly it’s a Purge the Enemy secondary, meaning it won’t likely be replacing another decent secondary like Raise the Banners High.

Weaknesses

Shooting. The Creations of Bile give you nothing to boost shooting and in fact this is an army that leans so heavily into melee it’ll often come across as a bit one-dimensional. It’s really good at killing things in melee, though.
Being shot. Creations Of Bile are very powerful into melee matchups with their fight-on-death mechanic, but none of their tools do anything to prevent being shot at range.
Relics. The Creations of Bile relics are pretty lackluster, so you’ll likely end up ignoring them in favor of the core Chaos Marine relics.

Legion Trait: Experimental Enhancements

Add 1” to the Move characteristic of models with this trait and add 1 to the Strength characteristic of models with this trait.
Each time a model with this trait is destroyed by a melee attack, if that model has not fought this phase, don’t remove it from play. The destroyed model can fight after the attacking model’s unit has finished making attacks, and is then removed from play. When making these attacks the model is considered to have 1 wound remaining for the purposes of degrading profiles.

This is incredibly, amazingly good. It’s a huge boost to your melee output on a large number of units, helping you both get into position more easily and ensuring that you’ll do more damage. The fight on death means that there’s no way to escape taking hits from your units, helping ensure your units always have a chance to generate some value if your opponent tries to kill them in melee, even if they get the drop on you first. This is great on Possessed, where a 10” move makes getting early charges much easier, but will give you the most value on units that rely on S4 attacks in melee – Bikers, Raptors, and Warp Talons, most specifically. The extra inch of movement is also great on Terminators and Obliterators, who can use all the help they can get moving around the table. A

Warlord Traits

Similar to the Red Corsairs, Creations of Bile have three options for Warlord Traits, and they’re great for your melee monster characters.

Surgical Precision. When this WARLORD makes a melee attack, on an unmodified hit roll of 4+, the attack automatically wounds the target and the Armour Penetration of that attack is improved by 1. This is a really good trait and while it doesn’t combo with Flames of Spite, it does combo well with Ul’o’cca, the Black to create a Daemon weapon that does extra AP and mortal wounds on every 4+ to hit. Mathematically, this is likely a little worse than Flames of Spite + Ul’o’cca, though getting your attacks to AP-4 with a Lord Discordant will make a solid difference against some units. It also combos very well with the Tzeentch daemon weapon Q’oak to ignore invulnerable saves. A

Prime Test Subject. Add 1 to the Strength, Toughness, and Wounds characteristics of this WARLORD. This is very good, particularly on a Daemon Prince. You don’t want to give it to a Lord Discordant – giving him 10W makes him vulnerable to being shot because he loses Look Out, Sir – but having a T7 Daemon Prince who can fight at S9 with a sword is extremely good, and lets you consider options other than G’holl’ax, such as Q’o’ak (which does not allow invulnerable saves). A-

Twisted Regeneration. Once per battle, when this WARLORD is destroyed, you can choose to regenerate them instead of using any other rules that are triggered when they’re destroyed (i.e. fighting). Mark the warlord’s position then at the end of the phase roll a D6; on a 2+ the Warlord stands back up as close as possible to where they were but outside Engagement Range with D3 wounds remaining. This is another great survival buff to have in your back pocket, and a 2+ roll is pretty dependable. This can be especially solid on a Lord Discordant, who can get back up and then heal another wound on your turn. Combos well with Pact of Flesh as well to recoup more health and demoralize opponents. A

Relics

Creations of Bile have three relics to choose from, with the same names as the set they had in War of the Spider. They’re just OK.

- Helm of All-Seeing. While a model with this is on the battlefield, you can roll one D6 each time your opponent spends a CP to use a Stratagem; if you roll a 5+ you gain a Command Point. This is OK. It will probably pay for itself over the course of a game against opponents who start with more than 1-2 CP, but it’s not guaranteed to produce surplus value, so your mileage may vary. C

Living Carapace. INFANTRY model only. Once per battle, when an attack is allocated to the bearer, you can activate this relic. If you do, reduce the damage of attacks allocated to that bearer to 1 for the rest of the phase (the characteristic becomes 1). This is pretty solid, but that infantry designation reduces its effectiveness quite a bit. B

Hyper-Growth Bolts. Replaces a model’s bolt weapon. When you shoot with the bearer, you can opt for them to fire a single shot with a hyper-growth bolt. If you score a hit, unless the target is a vehicle, the AP of that shot is -1 and the damage becomes D3+3. This is OK. The AP-1 bit isn’t great, but it’s an improvement over AP0 you normally get on CSM bolt weapons. If you found yourself with a ton of leftover CP, you might use this to upgrade a bolt pistol on a Character or unit champion. Because this is a CSM army, you will never find yourself with leftover CP to spend on this. C+

Stratagems

The Creations of Bile have four Stratagems to work with, but what they have is pretty solid and gives you lots to work with. It helps that they all cost 1 CP, making them much more usable in-game compared to the STratagems offered by other legions.

Monstrous Visages (Battle Tactic, 1 CP). Use in the Fight phase, when a CREATIONS OF BILE CORE, DAEMONKIN, or CHARACTER unit from your army is picked as the target of an attack. Until the end of the phase, whenever an attack is made against that unit, subtract 1 from the hit roll. This is just good, solid defense, and it can go on all of the units you want to use it on, including Daemon Princes, Lords Discordant, Terminators, Possessed, and Masters of Executions. Throw it out whenever you’re about to get hit by a unit that could cause problems if they hit in melee. A
Taken Alive (Epic Deed, 1 CP). Use in the Fight phase, when the enemy WARLORD is killed by a melee attack made by a CREATIONS OF BILE model in your army. For the rest of the battle, every unit in your opponent’s army gets -1 Leadership, can’t use the Insane Bravery Stratagem, and can’t use any rules to re-roll a Morale test. This is just OK. It’s a fine enough perk if you manage to kill someone’s Warlord in melee early, but it’s a big hoop to jump through and by the time you do kill an enemy Warlord, Morale just may not matter all that much. Even when you do get a chance to use it, you might have better uses for that CP. C+
The Masters Are Watching (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP). Use in the Command phase. Pick one CREATIONS OF BILE INFANTRY unit and one CREATIONS OF BILE CHARACTER model visible to that unit. Until the end of the turn that INFANTRY unit is considered to be in range of any or all of the following Aura abilities that CHARACTER model has: Lord of Chaos, Aspire to Glory, Demagogue. This can be handy for getting your Daemon Prince’s aura across the table to get re-roll 1s on a key unit, but that’s pretty much the only way you’re going to be using it. B
Auto-Stimulants (Wargear, 1 CP). Use at the start of your Charge phase. Pick one CREATIONS OF BILE CORE unit from your army. Until the end of the phase, that unit is eligible to declare a charge in a turn in which it advanced. This is stellar, and immediately makes Bikes and Raptors that much better on top of the boosts they get from the Legion Trait. The fact that it doesn’t affect Possessed or characters is a bummer, but it’s a really powerful ability, and worth building around. A+

Secondary Objective: Specimens For the Spider

Purge the Enemy

If you pick this objective, score VP for each of the following at the end of each battle round: 3 VP if one or more CHARACTER or MONSTER units were destroyed by a melee attack made by a CREATIONS OF BILE model from your army this battle round, and score 2 VP if one or more non-CHARACTER, MONSTER, or VEHICLE units were destroyed by a melee attack made by a CREATIONS OF BILE model during the round. At the end of the battle, score an extra VP if one or more ADEPTUS ASTARTES, SANCTIC ASTARTES, or HERETIC ASTARTES units were destroyed by a melee attack from a CREATIONS OF BILE model from your army.

This is pretty solid, and it’s in a category that’s helpful – Purge can sometimes be difficult to pick a secondary in if you aren’t up against an army offering max points for Bring it Down. The melee designation doesn’t really matter, since you’re going to build your army to mash into the opponent early and often in melee, and that’ll be your plan to kill things generally. That means that taking this is really just about having the targets available in your opponent’s army. It’ll generally be solid against marine armies, and it’s great against Tyranids, where you’ll have lots of MONSTER options to work with. That said, you do generally want to make sure you’ll have a good chance to pick up one or two characters or Monsters in melee before you take this, as otherwise it can easily end up only scoring you 6-8 points, and that’s not great. B+

Notable Units

There’s the one obvious special character for us to cover (Fabius), but there are also a number of units in the Creations of Bile that are worth special mention.

Fabius Bile

Fabius continued his run of small improvements heading into the 9th edition version of Codex: Chaos Space Marines, starting with a significantly improved statline that gives him WS and BS 2+, S5, 6 wounds, 6 attacks, and Ld 10. He gets a further durability boost from TheChirurgeon, which gives him a 5+ roll to ignore wounds and heals him for D3 every Command phase, and he comes with an acolyte goober who can tank a single attack as well.

Offensively, Bile is OK in combat. His Chirurgeon gives him 4 extra S4 AP-1, 1 damage attacks, and the Rod of Torment gives him S5 AP-2, 3-damage swings to work with, and that’s all very solid, plus his pistol has a decent profile and 3 shots.

Where Bile really shines is his ability to enhance warriors. As an action, Bile can, at the end of your Movement phase, enhance a CORE INFANTRY unit within 3” that doesn’t have the MARK OF CHAOS or an enhancement already. This finishes at the end of your Shooting phase if the unit is still within 3” of bile. When it finishes, you roll a D3, and can roll 2D3 instead of one if your Acolyte is alive (you just pick the result you like more when you do this). On a 1 the unit gets +1 Strength; on a 2 they get +1 Toughness, and on a 3 they get +1 Attack. The +1 Attack result is the real money option here, useful on every unit in the game and something you’d really want on a unit of Raptors or Bikes, though +1 Toughness on Terminators, Chosen, or Raptors is great as well, particularly when paired with the Black Rune. Unfortunately that “does not have a Mark of Chaos” rider is a deal-breaker, since every big unit you want to take typically wants a Mark to improve their output. The fact that he can’t enhance units like Possessed or Accursed Cultists is also a big letdown from both a crunch and flavor perspective.

And that’s pretty much it, which is a shame – if Bile had a re-roll 1s Aura or a Chapter Master Command phase ability, he might be playable in an Agents of Bile list; as-is he’s more of a novelty, and one reason Creations of Bile list have been so successful competitively is that they no longer have to take him.

Bikers

Bikers are the biggest winners in Creations of Bile, bar none. As a S4 unit, they benefit massively from the +1 Strength bonus, and as a CORE unit which auto-advances 6” they get a massive boost from the Auto-Stimulants Stratagem, plus defensive boosts from Monstrous Visages. With the ability to trivially travel 21” in a turn before Charging, they make Turn 1 charges something you can reliably plan around, and they’re tough enough to hang out and survive a few hits back and hold objectives deep in enemy territory. They’re great for scoring Behind Enemy Lines and Engage on All Fronts as well. Khorne Bikers in particular shine in COB, as the +1 Strength stacks with the Legion trait to make them S6 on the charge, scything through T3-T5 bodies with ease.

Raptors

Raptors are the other big winners in Creations of Bile, and very much enjoy being able to move 13” and hit at S5 in melee at no additional cost. They’re a bit more versatile than Bikers owing to smaller bases and the FLY keyword, but nowhere near as tough. Still, small units of Raptors can do solid work and trade up against tougher units. The only reason you don’t see them in more Bile lists is because Warp Talons are just a better option thanks to their improved attacks, wounding, and AP.

Warp Talons

While they can’t advance and charge, Warp Talons really like being S5 and having a 13” move, and they also love the ability to fight on death. The extra attacks, AP, and ability to re-roll wounds makes Warp Talons a stronger include in most lists than Raptors, and that’s before you remember that they can prevent enemy units from falling back, protecting the unit and tying up key threats. This helps solve COB’s biggest weakness, shooting armies.

Possessed

While being S6 doesn’t do a ton for Possessed, you know what does? Having a 10” move and fighting on Death. Possessed are an absolute nightmare in Creations of Bile, as you’re basically screwed if they touch you, regardless of whether you hit them first.

Lords Discordant

Lords Discordant are a strong unit and a nasty add to any list despite their 9th edition points increase and they’re even better in Creations of Bile, where the +1 Strength bonus helps them clear some important thresholds, getting them to S8 with +1 to wound on the charge if they’re Khorne and keeping them at S7 in later rounds of combat. The fact that they fight on death means you’re less concerned than usual about them being charged, and frees them up to consider relics other than the Intoxicating Elixir.. If you’re bringing a Lord Discordant in a Creations of Bile list he’s not really going to gain much besides being a bit of a solo murdermonster—and that’s still a great thing. Even though COB don’t have any daemon engine specific synergies, he is still a strong add.

Helbrutes

Helbrutes in Creations of Bile aren’t amazing, but they’re also under-appreciated. Having a 7” move and base Strength of 7 matters to the unit more than you’d think, since it means they can hit at S8 with a power scourge and the extra speed – and the ability to advance and charge thanks to being CORE – means they can close distances very quickly in a pinch and cause some problems.

Playing Creations of Bile

The Creations of Bile are a melee army, pure and simple. The strategy, such as it is, is to hold backfield objectives with Cultists and Legionaries as needed while pressing forward and controlling the middle with a Black Rune terminator block and Abaddon or a replacement threat, while pressuring the opponent early in their own deployment zone with a combination of Possessed, Warp Talons, and Bikers, supported by a melee character.

If there’s something to watch out for here, it’s shooting: While nobody wants to charge your Possessed/melee threats thanks to their fight last ability, it won’t stop them from shooting you off the table. You’ll want to keep your melee threats protected until they can make their charges, then use melee as a shield to prevent opponents from shooting. That’s typically an area where Warp Talons will come in, as they can either tie up key shooting threats or charge something with Possessed to help prevent it from falling back.

Some Lists

There are quite a few successful Creations of Bile lists to choose from, and they’ve had a lot of success recently in different iterations. You can be successful both with and without Abaddon and/or a Daemon detachment, which is more than some other Legions can say.

Dom Maidlow’s List

Dom won 1st place at the Into the Hellstorm X GT with this list in Mid-November. It’s notable for not including Abaddon, showing how Creations of Bile can get on just fine with a larger core of 3-wound Infantry for midtable control.

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [108 PL, 1CP, 1,997pts] ++

Legion: Creations of Bile

+ HQ + (Name: Nurgle Matthew)

Daemon Prince with Wings [11 PL, -2CP, 180pts]: 5.-6. Twisted Regeneration, G’holl’ax, the Decayed, Hellforged sword, Malefic talons, Mark of Nurgle, Stratagem: Relic, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Warlord, Warptime, Wings

(Name : Lemmy )Dark Apostle [5 PL, 95pts]: Accursed crozius, Bolt pistol, Chaos Undivided, Frag & Krak grenades, Illusory Supplication
. 2x Dark Disciple: 2x Close combat weapon

(Name: Disco Stu)Lord Discordant on Helstalker [10 PL, -2CP, 190pts]: 1. Flames of Spite, Aspiring Lord, Baleflamer, Bladed limbs, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades, Gifts of Chaos, Gorget of Eternal Hate, Impaler chainglaive, Mark of Tzeentch, Mechatendrils, Techno-virus injector

+ Troops +

Accursed Cultists [6 PL, 105pts]
. 10x Mutant: 10x Blasphemous appendages
. 3x Torment: 3x Hideous mutations

Cultists Mob [2 PL, 50pts]
. 9x Chaos Cultist w/ cultist firearm: 9x Cultist firearm, 9x Frag & Krak grenades
. Cultist Champion: Frag & Krak grenades
. . Autopistol and brutal assault weapon: Autopistol, Brutal assault weapon

Legionaries [7 PL, 125pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
. Aspiring Champion: Astartes chainsword, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades
. 3x Marine w/ astartes chainsword: 3x Astartes chainsword, 3x Bolt pistol, 3x Frag & Krak grenades
. Marine w/ balefire tome: Balefire tome, Bolt pistol, Delightful Agonies ,Precience , Frag & Krak grenades

Legionaries [7 PL, 110pts]: Chaos Icon, Mark of Khorne
. Aspiring Champion: Astartes chainsword, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades
. 4x Marine w/ astartes chainsword: 4x Astartes chainsword, 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

+ Elites +

Chosen [15 PL, -1CP, 270pts]: Chaos Icon, Mark of Slaanesh
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen Champion: Accursed weapon, Black Rune of Damnation, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades, Trophies of the Long War
. Chosen w/ power fist: Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades, Power fist
. Chosen w/ power fist: Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades, Power fist

Chosen [15 PL, 270pts]: Chaos Icon, Mark of Khorne
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen Champion: Accursed weapon, Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades
. Chosen w/ power fist: Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades, Power fist
. Chosen w/ power fist: Bolt pistol, Boltgun, Frag & Krak grenades, Power fist

Possessed [7 PL, 140pts]
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations
. Possessed Champion: Hideous mutations

Rubric Marines [7 PL, 132pts]
. Aspiring Sorcerer: Force stave, Smite, Warpflame pistol, Warptime
. 4x Rubric Marine w/ warpflamer: 4x Warpflamer

+ Fast Attack +

Warp Talons [7 PL, 140pts]
. 4x Warp Talon: 4x Warp claws
. Warp Talon Champion: Warp claws

++ Total: [108 PL, 1CP, 1,997pts] ++

The Standout Features

A Nurgle Daemon Prince with Twisted Regeneration and G’holl’ax
Two big units of Chosen – one with the Black Rune and Mark of Slaanesh and one with the Mark fo Khorne
A unit of Warp Talons
A Lord Discordant with Flames of Spite and the Gorget of Eternal Hate

Playing This List

This list shows well how Chaos Marine armies can trade out durable midboard holders, swapping out Black Rune Terminators for two big units of Chosen. One has the Black Rune and Mark of Slaanesh, and it’ll be the more defensive of the two units, likely benefitting from Illusory Supplication on the Dark Apostle. Meanwhile the other has the Mark of Khorne to give it S7 attacks on the charge with Accursed weapons and S10 with power fists. Both are tough units to shift thanks to having 3-wound bodies. Here the Rubrics can provide more support for midtable brawling, throwing out D6+2 shots each of their AP-2 warpflamers. They don’t get the legion trait bonus, but they can get around perfectly well with Warptime instead.

In another interesting twist, Dom completely dropped the Master of Possession and the benefit of Delightful Agonies in favor of a second beatstick character. Here he’s bringing a G’holl’ax Nurgle Daemon Prince with Twisted Regeneration to get back up the first time he dies and a Lord Discordant with Flames of Spite to throw out mortal wounds. The Gorget makes the Lord Discordant much more durable while also giving it an even more hateful way to die, tossing out extra mortals after it finishes any fighting on death it’s set up to do.

Videnthe Elthar’s List

Videnthe took this list to a 1st-place finish at the GT de Egara. It’s a more traditional Creations of Bile list in that it brings Abaddon and Black Rune Terminators.

++ Battalion Detachment -3CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [88 PL, -7CP, 1,700pts] ++

Legion: Creations of Bile

+ HQ +

Daemon Prince with Wings [11 PL, -2CP, 180pts]: 5.-6. Twisted Regeneration, Aspiring Lord, G’holl’ax, the Decayed, Hellforged sword, Mark of Nurgle, Stratagem: Relic, Warptime, Wings

Dark Apostle [6 PL, 110pts]: Illusory Supplication, Mark of Slaanesh
. 2x Dark Disciple: 2x Close combat weapon

Master of Possession [7 PL, -1CP, 120pts]: Gifts of Chaos, Liber Hereticus, Mark of Slaanesh, Mutated Invigoration, Pact of Flesh

+ Troops +

Cultists Mob [2 PL, 50pts]
. 9x Chaos Cultist w/ cultist firearm: 9x Cultist firearm, 9x Frag & Krak grenades
. Cultist Champion
. . Autopistol and brutal assault weapon

Legionaries [6 PL, 90pts]: Chaos Undivided
. Aspiring Champion: Bolt pistol, Boltgun
. 4x Marine w/ boltgun: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Boltgun, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

+ Elites +

Chaos Terminator Squad [19 PL, -1CP, 400pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-melta, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-melta, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-melta, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Chainfist, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Terminator Champion: Black Rune of Damnation, Combi-melta, Power fist, Trophies of the Long War

Possessed [7 PL, 140pts]: Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations

+ Fast Attack +

Warp Talons [7 PL, 140pts]: Warp Talon Champion
. 4x Warp Talon: 4x Warp claws

++ Supreme Command Detachment +3CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [15 PL, 8CP, 300pts] ++

Legion: Black Legion

+ Primarch | Daemon Primarch | Supreme Commander +

Abaddon the Despoiler [15 PL, -1CP, 300pts]: 3. Merciless Overseer, 5. Eternal Vendetta, 6. Paragon of Hatred, Stratagem: Warlord Trait

++ Total: [103 PL, 1CP, 2,000pts] ++

The Standout Features

Abaddon
Three units of Warp Talons
Black Rune Terminators
Two units of Possessed

Playing This List

This list has some real speed, running three units of Warp Talons which can quickly get into combat and cause problems. At worst they trade up efficiently and at best they tie up key units and take out important threats early on, pushing an enemy back into their deployment zone all game. They’re supported by two units of Possessed, while a big unit of Black Rune Terminators and Abaddon work the middle of the table. Both can get support from the Apostle and the Master of Possession casting Delightful Agonies and Pact of Flesh.

Goatboy’s List

This is the list Thomas “Goatboy” Reidy took to a 7th-place finish at the GW Open Kansas City event in November. It runs heavy on bikes and larger units of Possessed, and shows an interesting alternative to other top lists we’ve seen.

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [106 PL, 2,000pts, 1CP] ++

Legion: Creations of Bile

+ HQ +

Dark Apostle [6 PL, 110pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
. 2x Dark Disciple: 2x Close combat weapon

Master of Possession [7 PL, 120pts, -1CP]: Cursed Earth, Gifts of Chaos, Liber Hereticus, Mark of Slaanesh, Pact of Flesh

+ Troops +

Cultist Mob [2 PL, 50pts]
. 9x Chaos Cultist w/ cultist firearm: 9x Cultist firearm, 9x Frag & Krak grenades
. Cultist Champion
. . Autopistol and brutal assault weapon

Legionaries [6 PL, 110pts]: Chaos Undivided
. Aspiring Champion: Bolt pistol, Boltgun
. Marine w/ balefire tome: Balefire tome, Diabolic Strength
. 3x Marine w/ boltgun: 3x Bolt pistol, 3x Boltgun, 3x Frag & Krak grenades

Legionaries [6 PL, 90pts]: Chaos Undivided
. Aspiring Champion: Bolt pistol, Boltgun
. 4x Marine w/ boltgun: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Boltgun, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

+ Elites +

Chaos Terminator Squad [19 PL, 365pts, -1CP]: Mark of Slaanesh
. Chaos Terminator: Chainfist, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Heavy flamer
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Heavy flamer
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Terminator Champion: Black Rune of Damnation, Chainfist, Combi-bolter, Trophies of the Long War

Master of Executions [4 PL, 65pts, -2CP]: 1. Flames of Spite, Chaos Undivided, Stratagem: Relic, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Ul’o’cca, the Black, Warlord

Possessed [14 PL, 280pts]: Possessed Champion
. 9x Possessed: 9x Hideous mutations

+ Fast Attack +

Chaos Bikers [11 PL, 175pts, -1CP]: Chaos Icon, Mark of Khorne
. Biker Champion: Power maul, The Black Mace, Trophies of the Long War
. 4x Chaos Biker w/ astartes chainsword: 4x Astartes chainsword, 4x Combi-bolter, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

Chaos Spawn [3 PL, 75pts]
. 3x Chaos Spawn: 3x Hideous mutations

++ Total: [106 PL, 1CP, 2,000pts] ++

The Standout Features

Three 10-model units of Possessed to support a 10-model Terminator brick
A unit of bikers to get aggressive early
A Flames of Spite Master of Executions

Playing This List

Goatboy: I think the joke from the weekend was there was no way I had this many 3-wound models in an army full of characters and other fun things. Still it all fit per the army building programs out there and fulfilled my goal of being a very aggressive army. Thankfully I didn’t hit my “problem” match up until after I got to the top 16 with Mani and his massive amount of flamers mixed with Mortal wounds. I think he killed almost 19 models in one turn of the game due to very high psychic rolls, damage from bolters, and just his army’s desire to murder all my gross friends.

I went with this build as it gives me a lot of board control and going 10 man strong units of Possessed meant that if I hit any other assault heavy stuff I could easily control my model pulls to ensure I always kept someone touching the enemy model and let as many “dirty bros” fight on death as I could. It also meant I covered a ton of the table and gave other armies issues trying to stop me from scoring Grind them Down. Most of the time I took Grind Them Down, Banners, and Specimens of the Spider for my Secondary’s because I am always pushing forward to get into the opponent’s business and hopefully stealing all their candy. The Possessed couldn’t advance and charge so most of the time their 10 inch move was used to get on an objective and drop my flag in hopes the enemy would move away due to the nature of dealing with 10 Possessed. The Terminators would move with the Possessed to create a really nasty little middle murder box full of creepy Marines and Chunky Terminators getting in the way.

The Master of Executions was one of the more fun models in the list with his ability to Heroically Intervening 6”, his wounds causing Mortals, and just randomly popping back up after dying. Most games he earned more than his 65 points whether he punched out a Carnifex or just started chewing thru Admech guys. I wasn’t a fan of the Bikes as I didn’t feel I could just throw them into the enemy like I wanted too. They either planned for it or were set up in a way that they had to stay back as a weak 3rd assault wave.

I like to play aggressive armies where the plan is to force opponents into unfortunate decisions – move up to try and get rid of the monsters in the way or get pushed back. This is why I liked the Bile list as it plays to my style with the ability to be forgiven for getting too close to an army or units that might be too tough for other armies to chew thru. Plus it let me roll a ton of dice and cackle as I count all the chaos symbols that showed up. It is a simple army and not getting a ton of time to play during the week means I can just shut off my brain and push my plastic toys forward.

Where to Read More

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Start Competing: Creations of Bile Tactics (Updated 12/27/2022)

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Legion Trait: Experimental Enhancements

Warlord Traits