STOP: This guide is out of date! You can now find up-to-date details on how to play this faction in our guide to playing Chaos Space Marines. Check out Start Competing: Chaos Space Marines here.

The underappreciated scholars of the Chaos Legions, the Word Bearers were punching bags for a long time but the 9th edition Codex: Chaos Space Marines gave them some new life in the form of sweet legion rules that make them a terror in melee combat. If you like the fanaticism of the Black Templars but want that in the service of the dark gods, the Word Bearers are for you.

Legion Overview

Strengths

• Fantastic Legion Trait: The Word Bearers have the strongest individual legion trait of any of the traitor legions from a pure power standpoint. Sure, there are other factors that keep them from being the most powerful legion, but they get a lot of mileage out of re-rolling all their hits on the first round of combat.
• Psychic Support: Word Bearers are the only legion to offer real support to their Psykers, with Warlord Traits, Stratagems, and Relics that benefit their psykers, plus a secondary objective that keys off them.
• Support for Daemonkin: Daemonkin get some huge buffs out of Word Bearers, specifically the Master of the Union Warlord Trait buff, which gives a single unit per turn +1 Strength and improves their AP by 1. The faction also gives you a way to make any character into a Daemonkin unit.
• Apostle Support: Word Bearers are also the only legion that offers real support to its Dark Apostles, in the same way.
• Melee: With tricks for buffing daemons and daemonkin, building and protecting powerful characters, and a legion trait that offers a powerful buff in the first round of combat, the Word Bearers push you hard into melee. That’s OK, though – melee is what Chaos Space Marines do best.
• Secondary Objective: The Word Bearers actually have a decent, playable secondary objective to work with. Yes, it’s unfortunately a Shadow Operations objective, but it’s very workable and competitive with Banners.
• Relics: Word Bearers have an incredibly strong set of Relics, with the Baleful Icon in particular being worth building around. 

Weaknesses

• Shooting: The downside to having great melee support is that your shooting support just isn’t there. This pushes you into a specific style of play with Word Bearers and can make certain matchups a little more difficult as your lists will tend to skew hard in one direction. And on the flip side, Word Bearers don’t have a ton of protection against shooting and can be vulnerable to being blasted off the board.

Rules

Legion Trait: Profane Zeal

Each time a model with this trait makes a melee attack, if that model’s unit made a charge move, was charged, or performed a Heroic Intervention this turn, you can re-roll that attack’s hit roll. Also, each time a model with this trait would lose a wound as the result of a mortal wound, roll one D6; on a 5+ that wound is not lost.

This is fantastic. It’s a huge output boost for your units in melee, turning units that hit on a 3+ from landing 67% of their attacks to 89% of them, while also letting you fish for 6s to proc abilities like Let the Galaxy Burn. Getting this defensively is also a big help, making your units dangerous to charge and gang up on. The mortal wound protection is also a very solid bonus, helping mitigate one of the biggest weaknesses faced by your Terminators, Chosen, and Possessed. Every part of this is useful.

Warlord Traits

The Word Bearers Warlord Traits are OK. Exalted Possession is the clear winner among them, and does exactly the kind of thing that I wish Word Bearers could just do to any CHARACTER as a stratagem.

1. The Voice of Lorgar. Add 3” to the range of this Warlord’s aura abilities (except for those from Psychic powers), and each time the Warlord chants a prayer or uses an ability in your Command phase that specifies a range, you can add 3” to the range of that ability or prayer. This is a neat way to get more range on your prayers and a cute trick for getting 12” distance on cursing vehicles with a Lord Discordant, but ultimately you just have more, better options to work with that will beat this out, and you can just take two Apostles to get better coverage if you really need it. That said, if you are taking this, it’s to combine it with the Baleful Icon for a 9” no re-rolls aura. C+
2. Exalted Possession. Your Warlord gains the DAEMON and DAEMONKIN keywords (if it didn’t already have them), gets a 4+ invulnerable save against ranged attacks, and gets +2” movement, and gets +1 Strength, Attacks, and Wounds. That’s a lot of bonuses, and it’s a damn solid upgrade on a character. This would be money on a Lord Discordant… if giving it to him didn’t mean making him 10 wounds and losing out on Look Out, Sir. But it’s fantastic on a number of other units, including Daemon Princes (who like the boost to Strength and movement) and Apostles/Masters of Possession (who can use the movement buff to keep up with Possessed or get to the middle of the table faster). A
3. Daemonic Whispers. Each time this Warlord chants a prayer that is heard, completes an action or psychic action, or manifests a psychic power, roll one D6; if the result is greater than the current battle round number, you gain 1 Command point. On average, if you get off one action/cast/prayer per turn, this will get you 2.5 CP per game. Your chances certainly go up if you can get off more, but realistically you’re likely spending 1 CP for this to get 3-4 back at most. That’s not a bad trade – it’ll likely pay for itself – so the question is just whether you want to make the tradeoff of pregame CP for more later. B-
4. Master of the Union. In your Command phase, pick one friendly WORD BEARERS DAEMONKIN unit within 6” and until your next Command phase that unit gets +1 Strength and each time a model in that unit makes a melee attack, improve the AP of the attack by 1. This is incredibly good, and you basically want to take it every time you take Word Bearers so you can buff units of Possessed. Combine it with Mutated Invigoration to get your units to S7 AP-3 attacks. A+
5. Diabolist. Your opponent can’t re-roll wound rolls for attacks made against this Warlord, and each time the warlord would lose a wound, roll a D6 and on a 5+ the wound isn’t lost. This is really solid, and a great buff on a Lord Discordant or Daemon Prince that wants to get stuck in combat. It also helps make up for the fact that the Baleful Icon doesn’t provide no-rerolls coverage to your Daemon Princes/Lord Discordants. A-
6. Hate-Fuelled Demagogue. In the Command phase you can pick a friendly WORD BEARERS unit within 6”. Until your next command phase, if that unit is a CULTISTS unit it gains Let the Galaxy Burn, and each time a model in that unit makes an attack, it’s considered to be engaged in Wanton Slaughter. This is a cute way to get more out of your Accursed Cultists, but since they don’t benefit from Profane Zeal, the value you get out of giving a single unit of Cultists exploding 6s to hit is minimal. It’s cool for giving a unit of Possessed exploding 6’s on turn 1 or turn 2, but Word Bearers aren’t really an army that gets in combat turn 1, so you’re realistically bringing an entire Warlord Trait for exploding 6’s on 1 unit for 1 turn. You’ve got so many better uses of pre-game CP in Word Bearers. C

Stratagems

The Word Bearers have a solid set of Stratagems, with a pair of surprising defensive buffs to keep characters on the battlefield.

• Cursed Despoilers (Battle Tactic, 2 CP). Used in the Shooting phase, when a Word Bearers CORE or DAEMONKIN unit that is engaged in Wanton Massacre is selected to Shoot. Pick an enemy unit within 12” and in range of an objective marker. Each time a HERETIC ASTARTES model in that WORD BEARERS unit makes an attack with a Rapid Fire, Assault, or Pistol weapon against that enemy unit, an unmodified hit roll of 4-5 scores 1 additional hit (this combines with Wanton Massacre to give you exploding hit son 4+). This is a pretty narrow Stratagem in terms of use – you get the maximum value on this out of either a big brick of terminators armed with combi-plasmas or Noise Marines. And while Noise marines that explode on 4s is pretty solid, spending 2 CP each time you shoot probably makes this too costly to build around. C+
• Fanatic Zealotry (Battle Tactic, 1 CP). Use in your Command phase to pick a CULTISTS unit in your army within 12” of a friendly WORD BEARERS CHARACTER. Until your next Command phase, you can re-roll charge rolls for that unit and each time a model in that unit makes a melee attack, you can re-roll the hit roll. This is pretty solid – 1 CP for both effects is a reasonable rate, and going from 50% hit rates to 75% is a big jump. Best used on a max-size unit of Accursed Cultists. B-
• Revered Hosts (Battle Tactic, 2 CP). Use in the Fight phase when a WORD BEARERS DAEMON unit is selected to fight. Until the end of the phase, each time a model in that unit makes a melee attack, you can re-roll the wound roll. This is fire, and it’s mathematically superior to Veterans of the Long War (+1 to wound) in every situation except for going up against targets with Toughness 10 or where you’d be wounding on a 6. It also can be used on Vehicles. Anyone else want to give a Lord Of Skulls full wound rerolls? A
• Vengeance for Monarchia (Battle Tactic, 1 CP). Use in the Fight phase when a Word Bearers unit is fighting. Until the end of the phase, HERETIC ASTARTES models in that unit can re-roll hits and wounds against ULTRAMARINES units. Welp, they couldn’t all be winners. Helpful if you ever go up against Guilliman, I guess. D
• Dark Pact (Epic Deed, 1 CP). Use in any phase when a WORD BEARERS INFANTRY CHARACTER model from your army dies. Instead of using other rules that trigger on death, you can choose to have that model make a dark pact. Mark where they were, then at the end of the phase roll a D6; on a 4+ they stand up as close as possible to where they were, but outside Engagement Range, with D3 wounds remaining. Each model can only be picked for this Stratagem once per battle. This is a nice little trick to have in your back pocket when you lose an Apostle or Master of Possession, particularly on your opponent’s turn. It won’t always work, but when it does it’ll be money. A
• Malevolent Covenant (Epic Deed, 1 CP). Use in the Psychic phase, when a WORD BEARERS PSYKER unit in your army fails a Psychic test. You can choose to have that PSYKER suffer 1 mortal wound. If you do, this Stratagem costs 1 CP instead of 2. In either case, that test is considered to have been passed with a minimum required charge, without a double, and cannot be denied by Deny the Witch tests. This is a very solid way to get something important though, but note that it requires you fail the test first – if your opponent just denies your cast, you’re going to be out of luck here. Still, it’s a good trick to have, and it’s better when you need to cast harder spells like Prescience – in fact, using it on your Legionaries to ensure a backfield Prescience goes off on a key unit is a great use for this. B+
• Apostle of the Dark Council (Requisition, 1 CP). Use before the battle (and only once, or twice if you’re playing a Strike Force or Onslaught battle). Pick one WORD BEARERS PRIEST unit in your army. They get +1 Leadership and the Dark Council ability, which lets them re-roll the dice to determine if their prayer was heard. When combined with the Dark Disciples, this makes it near impossible to fail a prayer (1/36 odds), and makes the whole process much more reliable. And having Ld 11 you can share with nearby units isn’t too shabby either, particularly if you’re going up against Chaos Knights or Chaos Daemons. Adding reliability to your prayers is so huge, and the only thing holding this back in some lists is that Word Bearers love bringing Daemonkin units that don’t benefit from a Dark Apostle.  B
• Hexagrammatic Ward (Wargear, 1 CP). Use in any phase when an attack is allocated to a WORD BEARERS model in your army (note that this is used before you roll your save roll, so you can’t wait to see if you make your invuln before using this). The Damage characteristic of that attack is changed to 0. You can only use this Stratagem once, or twice in a Strike Force or Onslaught battle. This is money for avoiding big hits, and will get you some real value on units like the Lord of Skulls, where casually shrugging off a railgun or two per game early will ensure you make it to the fight later on. It’s just a great ability to have in your back pocket against meaty high-damage attacks, though note that it won’t protect you from mortal wounds. A

There are several very, very good Word Bearers Relics and all of them do something interesting at the very least. The only dud in the group is the Book of the Reviler and there’s plenty here to consider.

• Eightfold-Cursed Crozius. Replaces an accursed crozius, accursed weapon, or power maul with one that’s S+2, AP-2, 3 damage, and each time you make an attack, if the bearer is a PRIEST and the target isn’t a VEHICLE or MONSTER, a successful hit automatically wounds the target. Obviously, you want this on an Apostle if you take it in order to get advantage of that powerful add-on ability. This is a very good weapon for a unit that mostly doesn’t want to be in melee and you will likely find you don’t have the CP to spare for it. B-
• Crown of the Blasphemer. Can be given to a CULTISTS model. This relic gives your unit a 4+ invulnerable save and once per battle, before making a saving throw for the bearer, it can use this relic. If it does, then it gets a 3+ invulnerable save until the end of the phase. This is a solid defensive buff option for a Lord Discordant or a Daemon Prince, but you’re probably better off investing your CP into offensive buffs for them. B
• Malefic Tome. Psyker only. The bearer knows one additional psychic power from one of the disciplines it can access, and it gets +1 to casts. This is huge – getting +1 to cast is a massive bonus that helps smooth out the variance for a ton of powers, pushing them from 50/50 propositions to something much more reliable. The only reason this might not go on your Master of Possession is because you’re giving him a Baleful Icon instead. Note that this gives you an extra power but not an extra cast, so this goes best on a Tzeentch psyker so you can use the stratagem to cast an extra power. A
• Epistle of Lorgar. PRIEST only. The bearer knows an additional prayer, and in your Command phase, if the bearer is on the battlefield, they can chant an additional prayer they know that hasn’t already been chanted by a friendly model this turn. This is also massive, giving you a dramatic boost on effectiveness for your Dark Apostle. Alongside the Tome, this also goes in every Word Bearers army that includes a Dark Apostle. A
• Ashen Axe. Replaces a power axe, exalted power axe, daemonic axe, accursed weapon, or axe of dismemberment with one that’s S+2, AP-3, 2 damage and each time you fight, if you destroy any enemy models with the weapon, roll 2D6. If you equal or exceed the Leadership of the destroyed model’s unit, then for the rest of the battle that unit fights last and can’t Advance or Fall Back. That is an incredibly nasty debuff, but it’s typically going to be contingent on rolling an 8+ or 9+ to make it work. If you could give this to a Possessed, it’d be perfect. As-is, it’s an interesting option for something like the champion in a unit of Chosen. B-
• The Armour Diabolus. The bearer has a Save Characteristic of 2+, and each time an enemy unit shoots or fights and the bearer was selected as a target of any of that unit’s attacks, then after those attacks are done, roll a D6 for each wound you lost: For every 4+ the attacking unit suffers a mortal wound, and if the bearer is destroyed by those attacks, before you remove it from play roll a D6 and on a 4+ the attacking unit takes D3 mortal wounds. This is OK. If you take it, it’s more for the 2+ save you can give to a Daemon Prince than anything else, which is nothing to sneeze at. The other stuff is just an added bonus. C+
• Baleful Icon. The bearer gets the Baleful Icon (Aura) ability – While a friendly WORD BEARERS INFANTRY unit is within 6”, each time a melee attack is made against that unit, your opponent cannot re-roll the hit roll, wound roll, or damage roll. This is really good protection for your units, and can combine with The Voice of Lorgar for an effective 19” bubble to prevent enemies from re-rolling hits/wounds/damage. Yeah, it’s only for Infantry, but that’s damn good protection for your Terminators and Possessed. This has a place in every single Word Bearers list. A+

Secondary Objective: Exalt the Dark Gods

Shadow Operations

If you pick this objective, keep an Exalt the Dark Gods tally and add 1 to it each time a WORD BEARERS unit from your army does the Exalt the Dark Gods (Action). One WORD BEARERS INFANTRY unit from your army can start to perform this at the end of your Movement phase if it is wholly within 6” of the center of the battlefield. WORD BEARERS PSYKER units can still manifest powers while performing this action without it failing. If the unit doing the action is a Dark Apostle or Master of Possession, it finishes at the end of your turn. Otherwise, it’s completed at the start of your next Command phase. In any case it only completes if the unit stays wholly within 6” of the center and no enemy units (excluding AIRCRAFT) are wholly within 6” of the Center. At the end of the game you score 2 VP for 1 tally, 5 VP for 2, 9 VP for 3, and 15 VP if you hit 4+.

This is decent. The fact that you can do it while casting and finish it at the end of your turn with a MoP or Dark Apostle makes it very achievable, and on most missions your objective will be to hold the center of the table anyways with units of Terminators and Possessed. The important thing to remember is that you can start the action with enemies that are wholly within 6” of the center; they just need to be gone by the end of the turn in order to complete it. This has enough play to consider over Banners, and the advantage is that it has more upside, making it a solid play in some missions and against some opponents. Just remember that a character’s Aura abilities stop working while they are performing an action! This may make it worth bringing a back-up Master of Possession, with the added bonus that it can still cast while the other Master of Possession does Psychic Actions like Interrogation (you can’t do a psychic action and a regular action with the same unit in the same turn).

Overall, this is an OK alternative to Banners, but not necessarily any better – it has more upside, but takes some planning to make it work, and you may find it’s just not worth giving up aura support to do the action with your army’s key characters. It’s best used on missions like Abandoned Sanctuaries, where you don’t have enough objectives you can safely hold to take banners.

Notable Units

Possessed

Possessed are the stars of the show in any Word Bearers army, and most competitive lists will start with 2-3 units of five, while recent successful lists run 5/5/10, or 5/5/however many fit. They’re already one of the book’s best units, but buffing them with Master of the Union and the Baleful Icon makes them even deadlier.

Master of Possession

Already a must-take in most competitive lists, the Master of Possession is doubly important in Word Bearers, where his ability to buff the army’s units of Possessed is of paramount importance. Current successful lists run a Master of Possession with the Baleful Icon and the Master of the Union Warlord Trait, using him as an incredible buff machine for nearby Possessed. He’ll need Pact of Flesh but the second power is more up in the air. Mutated Invigoration is great for taking down bigger targets, while Cursed Earth is more of a durability play.

Warp Talons

Don’t sleep on Warp Talons, the other, less appreciated DAEMONKIN melee units in the book. Warp Talons have even more speed and can be nasty trading pieces, and a +1 strength and AP boost is arguably even better on them since going from S4 to S5 is typically more meaningful than going from 5 to 6. They also love getting hit re-rolls to go with their wound re-rolls. Drop them on the table and treat them like tactical missile strikes, attacking weak points in the enemy line and trading up against more expensive targets. The ability to (sometimes) prevent Fall Back also helps your Word Bearers stay on the board in difficult shooting matchups.

Dark Apostle

Dark Apostles have a lot of great tricks in Word Bearers, and the most important of them is the Epistle of Lorgar, which gives them an extra prayer and the ability to double chant. While you can definitely build a solid Word Bearers list without a Dark Apostle, taking one with Apostle of the Dark Council, Epistle of Lorgar, Illusory Supplication, the Mark of Slaanesh, and Soultearer Portent gives you the ability to drop offensive, defensive, and movement buffs on units as you need, and you can pretty much guarantee you’ll get them off when you need them. The downside is that these prayers don’t do anything for your Possessed, so if you’re going this route your army needs to have a unit of Terminators to work with.

Dreadclaw Drop Pod

Dreadclaws aren’t particularly better in Word Bearers, but they do have one notable use, which is letting you drop into the middle of the table on turn 1 so you can get off a first-turn activation on the Exalt the Dark Gods Secondary objective, and that’s a pretty solid reason to consider one.

Playing Word Bearers

Successful competitive Word Bearers armies tend to be built around a large number of Possessed, with support from Warp Talons as additional fast DAEMONKIN threats. They’ll always be running a Master of Possession, but may not always run a Dark Apostle – it’ll depend on the list and what it’s trying to do. Although the Word Bearers’ trait activates even when a unit is charged, it’ll largely behoove a Word Bearers player to be aggressive, taking fast melee units across the table quickly and early.

Because Word Bearers have more support for Possessed and the ability to drop more free defensive buffs on a unit, they may opt for a large unit of Possessed with the Black Rune over a unit of Terminators as a unit to rush to the middle of the board and hold ground while bullying enemy units off objectives. In this capacity Possessed can be even more deadly and nearly as resilient. 

Sample Lists

Despite having a decent secondary objective, Word Bearers aren’t at the top of the competitive list for Chaos Space Marines – they sit about fourth, behind Emperor’s Children, Creations of Bile, and Black Legion. Still, there’s plenty to like about the faction and strong ways to build around them.

Dennis Boss’ Word Bearers

Dennis took this list to a 4th place finish at the RedFox GT in October, losing in the final round to Imperial Knights.

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [105 PL, , 2,000pts] ++

Legion: Word Bearers

+ HQ +

Daemon Prince with Wings [11 PL, -1CP, 180pts]: Death Hex, G’holl’ax, the Decayed, Gifts of Chaos, Hellforged sword, Mark of Nurgle, Wings

Lord Discordant on Helstalker [9 PL, -2CP, 175pts]: 1. Flames of Spite, Aspiring Lord, Baleflamer, Chaos Undivided, Gifts of Chaos, Techno-virus injector, Ul’o’cca, the Black

Master of Possession [7 PL, -2CP, 120pts]: 4. Master of the Union, Baleful Icon, Cursed Earth, Mark of Tzeentch, Pact of Flesh, Stratagem: Relic, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Warlord

+ 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, 115pts]: Chaos Icon, Chaos Undivided
. Aspiring Champion: Astartes chainsword, Bolt pistol
. 3x Marine w/ astartes chainsword: 3x Astartes chainsword, 3x Bolt pistol, 3x Frag & Krak grenades
. Marine w/ balefire tome: Balefire tome, Prescience

Legionaries [6 PL, 95pts]: Chaos Icon, Chaos Undivided
. Aspiring Champion: Astartes chainsword, Bolt pistol
. 4x Marine w/ astartes chainsword: 4x Astartes chainsword, 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

+ Elites +

Possessed [14 PL, -1CP, 285pts]: Chaos Icon
. 9x Possessed: 9x Hideous mutations
. Possessed Champion: Black Rune of Damnation, Trophies of the Long War

Possessed [7 PL, 145pts]: Chaos Icon, Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations

Possessed [7 PL, 145pts]: Chaos Icon, Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations

+ Fast Attack +

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

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

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

+ Heavy Support +

Obliterators [15 PL, 270pts]
. 3x Obliterator: 3x Crushing fists, 3x Fleshmetal guns

++ Total: [105 PL, 2,000pts] ++

Standout Features

• A 10-model unit of Possessed with the Black Rune takes the place of a Terminator unit
• A Master of Possession with Master of the Union and Baleful Icon
• Nurgle Daemon Prince with G’holl’ax
• Flames of Spite + Ul’o’cca Lord Discordant 
• 3 units of Warp Talons

Playing This List

Dennis’ list trades out a 10-man unit of Terminators for a 10-man unit of Possessed sporting the Black Rune. The Icon here is an important add, since Possessed top out at Ld 9 (compared to 10 for the Terminators), and so are a bit more susceptible to losses. They’ll be supported by the Master of Possession, who uses the Baleful Icon and Master of the Union bonus to buff them, plus Cursed Earth and Pact of Flesh to keep them on the table. 

Flanking these possessed is an army of fast, deadly threats. There are two more units of 5 Possessed, three units of Warp Talons, and a Winged Daemon Prince and Lord Discordant kitted out to murder things in melee. Rounding out the list is some support from a unit of Obliterators who are likely to catch the occasional Prescience buff from the Balefire tome Legionaries.

Liam Callebout’s List

Liam’s list, which he piloted to third place at the Southampton Brawl in October, looks a bit more traditional, sporting a 10-model blob of Terminators, but packs a Dark Apostle.

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [104 PL, 2,000pts, -6CP] ++

Legion: Word Bearers

+ HQ +

Daemon Prince with Wings [11 PL, 180pts, -1CP]: G’holl’ax, the Decayed, Gifts of Chaos, Hellforged sword, Mark of Nurgle, Warptime, Wings

Dark Apostle [6 PL, 110pts, -3CP]: 3. Daemonic Whispers, Apostle of the Dark Council, Epistle of Lorgar, Illusory Supplication, Mark of Slaanesh, Soultearer Portent, Stratagem: Relic, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Warlord
. 2x Dark Disciple: 2x Close combat weapon

Master of Possession [7 PL, 120pts, -1CP]: Baleful Icon, Gifts of Chaos, 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

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 [7 PL, 135pts]: Chaos Icon, Mark of Slaanesh
. Aspiring Champion: Astartes chainsword, Tainted chainaxe
. 3x Marine w/ astartes chainsword: 3x Astartes chainsword, 3x Bolt pistol, 3x Frag & Krak grenades
. Marine w/ balefire tome: Balefire tome, Prescience

+ Elites +

Chaos Terminator Squad [19 PL, 370pts, -1CP]: Mark of Slaanesh
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Accursed weapon
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Accursed weapon
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Terminator Champion: Accursed weapon, Black Rune of Damnation, Combi-bolter, Trophies of the Long War

Possessed [7 PL, 145pts]: Chaos Icon, Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations

Possessed [7 PL, 145pts]: Chaos Icon, Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations

Possessed [7 PL, 145pts]: Chaos Icon, Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations

+ Fast Attack +

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

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

+ Heavy Support +

Obliterators [15 PL, 270pts]
. 3x Obliterator: 3x Crushing fists, 3x Fleshmetal guns

++ Total: [104 PL, -6CP, 2,000pts] ++

Standout Features

• A Dark Apostle with Epistle and Apostle of the Dark Council
• A Baleful Icon Master of Possession
• 3 units of Warp Talons
• A unit of Obliterators

Playing This List

Liam’s list is a bit more traditional in that it’s using Terminators for midtable control, but he’s still supporting them with 3 units of Possessed and two units of Warp Talons. The other trade Liam makes is swapping out the Lord Discordant for a super-buffed Dark Apostle – this Apostle takes Epistle and Dark Council for near-guaranteed double prayers every turn, and he’s thrown in Daemonic Whispers to get some extra XP out of the deal as well, since it’s basically free CP on rounds 1-3. 

Where to Read More

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