Tactica CHAOS CULTISTS

Community!

This will be the first in a series of staff-moderated tactica threads. The goal? To provide you all with a DS staff-condoned reference for playing your squads! Everyone is free to share his thoughts on the squad under review. I will be updating the first and second post, making sure you won't have to go through the entire thread to find what you need.

So you think you know the Cultists like the back of your hand? Share your wisdom with us!



Undivided

Get two experience increases? Roll a +1 S and a new skill? Hello Heavy bolter. (Submitted by: DoZer)

Khorne

Slaanesh

Facing a bunch of Eldar squads in your area? Then this is the one for you. Move and strike just as fast as other Eldar, but with a better chance to rise in toughness. Slaanesh I feel should really be about Shooting and Scooting, and they just so happen to also be good at CC. Everything should be laying down a withering amount of firepower, and only get into CC when it is absolutely necessary. (Submitted by: DoZer)

Nurgle

Mark of Nurgle is always worthwhile. +1 to Toughness is huge in this game. That puts [a Chosen] almost on the level of the Space Marine. He's cheap, and can tar pit units in hand-to-hand, or shield Aspiring Champs to allow them to do there thing. (Submitted by: DoZer)

Tzeentch

5+ Inv......need I say more? Alright, more you say......how about choosing one psychic power. Or the ability to fly. (Submitted by: DoZer)



Officers

Chaos Space Marine
This guy needs to be in front. You do not have the toughness, nor the numbers to place recruits up front and expect to walk out alive. He needs to take the brunt of the fighting, getting in close where his high strength, toughness, and armor can be used to the best of it's abilities. (Submitted by: DoZer)

With Mark of Slaanesh:
Keep the CSM floating in the middle of your line, counter-attacking any units that get to close to your recruits and Officers (think of him like a sweeper in football (soccer for us Americans), cleaning up on the defense wherever he is needed). (Submitted by: DoZer)

Get this guy a Sonic Blaster ASAP. With potentially 4 shots a turn (if you position him right and don't move) you can unleash a hail of fire. At S4 AP5 most regular troops, regardless which squad, will die in droves. Don't be afraid of close combat, either. Sure, he may be focused on shooting, but with a bolt pistol and sword supplementing his Sonic Blaster, combined with WS4, T4 and a 4+ armor save and 2A... you really don't have that much to be afraid of, especially in the early campaign. Finally, get him a Space Marine Helmet soon, too. -1 cover save? Yes, please... (Submitted by Arachas)

With Mark of Nurgle:
Now that you have given him MoN, do not even BOTHER with the basic SM Helmet. Go right to the Helm of Pestilence. It can negate a critical hit once per game on a 3+, gives all the bonus's of a SM helmet except for the infra-red goggles (+1 to Armor Save, ignore stun on 4+). That is HUGE for you, since basically the only thing that can really bring down your Plague Marine is critical hits. Something else to think about, is taking the True Grit skill which allows you to use your Boltgun like a pistol in hand-to-hand, which will save you some credits. Your going to be taking a LOT of guys OOA with him, so Diseased Body dark gift is also something to look into. Another big one for you is to get the Manreaper (or what we affectionately call it, the Manraper). When using it you have the potential to regenerate any wounds that you had received. (Submitted by: DoZer)

Aspiring Champion
These guys need to be your shooters. Their higher BS over the Chosen is more ideal. They can plug a line, and guide your cultists to victory. But, do NOT get to happy with these guys. Play them smart, have them drop targets, but be wary of OOA results. These guys might take on your CSM, and this early in a campaign will see them dumped on there ass if you try to take on your leader. (Submitted by: DoZer)

With Undivided Mark:
I like the idea of [an] Undivided [Champion] with a Heavy Bolter, but if you only run one like that, then you don't stand a very good chance of getting that strength increase which is all important to use the Heavy Bolter. I would suggest, if you intend to get that Heavy Bolter, to run both Aspiring Champs with Undivided as it exponentially increases your chance to get it. Even if you only get the HWS skill, remember you can still use the Heavy Stubber. (Submitted by: DoZer)

Or make this guy your sniper. Give him a boltgun, rope and hook, the Hasted Fire Magazine, and a telescopic sight. Pick a spot with an elevated field of fire, and take two shots 30" away. (Submitted by: DoZer)

With Mark of Khorne:
Get this guy a chainaxe, likity split. Your mark of Khorne (+1 WS, +1A) puts you at WS5, the Chainaxe will give you another. Although it does not help you when you hit, it immenesly helps any attacks back at you. Get another WS increase, and anything WS3 or lower will be hitting you on 5+. Rage of Khorne and Permanent Daemon Talons are also something that you will definitely want (Rage of Khorne gives +1 WS, +1 A, +1 S upon the initial charge, Permanent Daemon Talons are exactly like it sounds). Carrying flash and smoke nades will also help this unit, as it can screen or blind any enemy units trying to hit him as he moves to get up close and personal. (Submitted by: DoZer)


Chosen
Probably my (ed: DoZer's) favorite unit. Reason being is you can customize these guys to do just about ANYTHING. You want CC guys in your officer class? Slap MoK on them and get a +1 WS and +1 A. Instantly better than your Aspiring champions in close combat. Give them a pistol and a CC weapon, and now you have base 2 attacks plus 1 for the off-hand. Give them an axe, and watch them cut down any units in there way (axe has the -1 to armor save, which this early in a campaign no one but for leaders of various squads has an armor save better than 6). (Submitted by: DoZer)

Recruits

Cultists

Second post reserved for future edits.

Clever... almost like the whole thing was planned in advance.

HAHA! In Arachas defense (not that he needs any), much of this stuff came from Laney's Dark Mechanicus discussion. I found that thread an eye opener ( ... and I helped making and testing the Squad!), so I'm VERY happy someone took the initiative of preserving this knowledge.

STICKY!

I thought I'd fill in some information at hand, so everyone would be able to see the general shape intended for the tactica. Laney's thread was a good starting point.

But we want tons more! Play with the Cultists and tell us what you think!

Funny. I was just about to post my first cultist list when I saw this thread.

I equiped both my Asp. Champs just with lasguns cause I wanted them to be Heavy-Bolter-totting maniacs. And what do you know. That's exactly what Dozer recommends.

My Chosen is tooled up for CC with swords, pistols, armour and MoK. Again, a thing he recommends.

Happy to see I'm doing something right

Skavenslayers Chaos Cultists Tactics

(If this should be its own thread, mods please move)

I will start by going over the different marks and how they work for the different Officers.

Mark of Chaos Undivided:
While Undivided at first seams a little boring and not as good compared to the other marks, there are a few options that work for the undecided... ehm.. I mean Undivided.

First is if you want a (to me) fluffy and fun squad, where every mark is represented, give the Leader MoCU and you can have the other officers all the different marks.

Other than this, it is the "cheap" options, since you dont pay for it.

Leader with MoCU:
To use the MoCU to its fullest, I think the best option is going for the Dark Gift Dermal Plating, which gives you a +1 to armor saves, effective making a model with, Space marine armor + helmet a "2+ save" (if attacked with a AP3 weapon, the Gift is not working).
Combine this with survival skills (Step Aside, Iron Jaw ect..) and you got a tank of a model.
This is also the best model to give the Power Fist, making him very dangerous.

Another option is make him a shooter, Heavy Weapon skill and a Heavy Bolter, but then you a "wasting" his good armor and stats.

Gift of the Dark Gods chart is also a bonus, but dont count to much on it, since you might not get the bouns you want at the right time.

Aspiring Champion with MoCU:
This is the best model to give MoCU, and bulid him as a shooter.
Give the model a Bolter, Hasten Fire Magazine and a scope (Telescopic is probaly best, but Reddot also work), then let him rip enemies apart from distance.
If you a lucky and he get +Strenght, Heavy Weapon skill and Heavy Bolter is the way to go.

Another options is to give him a Bolt Pistol, Hasten Fire Magazine and Telescopic sight. Give him Infiltration skill and watch him shot 3 S4 shots at 18" range.
Start him around middel of board, deploy him out af line of sight, 1st round move out in cover and Lay Low, from 2ed round start the killing
(This only works, if I understand the rules correct)

Chosen with MoCU:
I really dont think it worth it on a Chosen, only use it because of cheap option or using it to go for the "2+" armor save.

Chosen is also the only ones not getting Stealth skills, so maybe the Dark Gift, Sorcerous Deepstriking, but its just not worth it.

Mark of Nurgle:
I dont got a lot to say about MoN, it all pretty much says itself. Gives +1T, and we all know Toughness is KING in this game.
(Also Nurgle is my personally favorite God of Chaos.)

Leader with MoN:
This is the guy to give MoN, personally I think its the best Mark for the Leader.
Going from T4 to T5, is really good, it makes S3 attacks crits worse. (when you can only wound on a 6+, you can only get the 3 first results on the crit table, meaning not many options for penality on your armor save). Now you got your 3+ armor save almost all the time.

When going for skills, you can go for offensive skills, thinking that T5 is enough, or (and my personal option) go for more defencive skills, Step Aside, Iron Jaw and Avoidance, before offencive. Or just mix it up.

Dark Gifts dont seems really worth it, there are better options in normal skills, but they can be interesting, if you remember them (i would probaly forget them more then half the time)

True Git skill also seams like a wast, you are already S4 i combat, so better to go for other skills.

MoN is not the worst place for a Power Fist, with T5, maybe stacked with defencive skills, you are sure to get a punch in, but the Manreaper is just SO good, might be one of the best weapons ever. +3S, AP3 and regenerate lost wounds: YES please.

Aspiring Champion and Chosen with MoN:
With both the Champions and Chosen there are better options then MoN, its still a good Mark, just dont gives as much as other Marks, neither for CQC , range or mix specialist.

Mark of Khorne:
If you want to scream: "Blood for the bloodgod!!!" and charge mindless in the combat, then Khorne is your guy..
But serious, Khorne is great, +1 WS and +1 A is always good, Khorne is also one of the most popular Chaos Gods and mayby one of the best marks.

Leader with Mark of Khorne:
MoK makes the best CC model in the game even better, but it might be close to a overkill (this is also why I think MoN is better for the Leader).
WS5 S4 T4 W2 A3 - this is way better then what a Cadian hopes for with his officers and its just from game 1.
There is only 2 ways to go with this guy:

1: Chain Axe(s)
2: Berserker Glaive

Personlay I prefere 2 Chain Axes because of the + to WS and it gives a extra attack. 4 S5 attacks with WS6, only thing that can survive a charge from this guy is a MoN CSM, and that guy still might die fast.

The Dark Gift, Rage og Khorne should be taken a first option for obvious reasons.
The Blood Frenzy Khorne skill is also ok, but now I would start to look at defencive skills.

Aspiring Champion with Mark of Khorne:
You want them to be all fighty ? Then go for MoK, not much more to say, Chain Axes and you are good to go.
Personaly I want Aspiring Champs as "Jack of all trades" kinda guys, so I avoid MoK, but its still great.

Chosen with Mark of Khorne:
This is where the mark really shine and the best place for MoK. Chosen is ok' ish, but with MoK they become better them most Officers from other races.
Axes, Chain Axes and Chains is all good (and fluffy) choices for Chosen.

Only one thing left to say: "BLOOD FOR THE BLOODGOD!!!"

Mark of Slaanesh:
This is a really interesting Mark, its one of two Marks, that really change the playstyle of the Squad.
While +1 to M and I is not the greatest stats, it makes a model great a covering ground and climb buildings faster, making it perfect for a shooting Squad focusing on close range shooting (up to 18")
Just be carefull not to let your model get "stranded" away from the rest of the Squad, so that your Officers or Recruits are up against the entire enemy Squad.

I think Slaanesh should be build like a short range shooting Squad, charging in late finishing of the enemy, for as long as possible stay inside 12" (rapid fire range, execpt Leader) and when the enemy is weak enough, charge and kill.

Leader with Mark of Slaanesh:
For the Leader, get a Sonic Blaster asap, its the best way to equip this guy. The Sonic Blaster works like a Bolter, can only shoot 18", but can shoot twich at that range. Not good enough you say ?? If you dont move you can shoot up to 4 times !!
Telescopic Sight adds 6" to all shoot if standing still, up to 4 shoots at 24" = contester for best shooter in the game.

This guy should stay about 12-18" from the enemy, standing still and shoot as much as possibly, but be carefull not the get to far away for the rest af the team.
Get him a Chainsword or Powersword and dont be afraid of combat, you are still a monster.
The Needle of Desire, is not worth it on this guy, with S4 you normaly wound on a 3+ allready.

The Dark Gift, Fueled by Pain seems ok'ish, but I never liked skilles that count on you getting wounded, mayby for a multi-wound Chosen, but still, kinda meh...

The skill Aura of Temporal Disruption is great if you got more or all of your Officers with MoS, just remember it also affects your own Squad members (without MoS)

Aspiring Champion with Mark of Slaanesh:
I think MoS is the greatest Mark for a Champion, but that is because I like to use them as a "Jack of all trade" kinda guys, Chain/Power sword + Shotgun and they are great, the +M and I really helps them move around and shoot the enemys meatshields, or try to flanks around and distract the enemy, only to charge in after combat is established, do not use them as first line fighters. (If you want fullblooded shooters, MoCU is still better)

The Needle of Desire is ok'ish, but i still prefere Chain/Power sword, if you take a penalty on your S, then its starting to look better.

Chosen with Mark of Slaanesh:
The same things said about Champions can be said about Chosen, but mostly i would only use MoS here if going for full Slaanesh, just remember not to overvalue the +I in combat, it dont tip the balance as much as you might think.

Mark of Tzeentch:
This is the second Mark that really change how the Squad playes, but I also feel its the weakest Mark. (Being a Nurgle fan myself, i have to hate on The Changer of Ways and I also have a distaste for magic / psyker, but thats just personal)

You want a psyker ?? Simple MoT for the Leader.. Not more to say about that.

The +2 Invulnerable save is not really worth it, your armor save is better 9/10 times, but if attacked with a AP3 attack, its nice, but thats about it.

Possessed Bolt Pistol: The difference between this and a normal Bolt Pistol is not that great, but if you got MoT, why not.

Dark Gift, Deamonic Flight is pretty good, it lets you fly... One of the better Dark Gifts on the marked. Great for shooters or objective getters (Resource Hunt ex.)

Leader with Mark of Tzeentch:
Like above, MoT makes this guy a psyker... Use this guy like the MoS leader with Sonic Blaster, in a support role, staying about 12" away from the action, ready to charge in on later turns.

First item on your buy-list should be the Talisman of Tzeentzh, -2 on your difficulty rating, making even the hardest spell diffucult 7.

All of the spells is pretty good, all of them got a use and is well balanced.
Doombolt: Between 18" and 24", use this spell. Not super powerfull, but easy to cast. If equipt with Bolter then rather shoot.
Siren: Very situational, the best use is the round before you charge. Most of the game stay about 12"+ away, when you are ready for the charge, first move within 8" (charge range), use Siren, now that you are within Rapid Fire range (the enemys best option to kill you) and you are unkillable. Muhahahaha!!!!
Bolt of Change: This is probaly going to be your main spell, 2 S4 shot at 18", its all good. (Im a little confused about the Assault, but I think it means you dont get a penalty for moving, mayby only if walking)
Reckoning og Tzeentch: Team up with shooters and its powerfull. Most of the time its problay still better to use Bolt of Change, but combine it with a Champion with MoCU and a Heavy Bolter and its like shooting fish in a barrel.
Pink Fire of Tzeentch: S4 Flame Template.....

Warp Blade, its a Power Sword that gives a save vs other psykers for only a few credit more, get it, but Helmet and Talisman of Tzeentzh is more important.

Aspiring Champion and Chosen with Mark of Tzeentch:
MoT is pretty useless on these guys, only 2 exeptions is fluff and Dark Gift, Next Evolution letting them become psykers.

Other then that MoCU is just more powerfull, even with possibility with flying.

Round down of the Recruits will follow in another post. Hope its worth the read and feed back is always welcome

-Skavenslayer

Skavenslayers Chaos Cultists Tactics

Part 2: Recruits

Chaos Cultists:
This is the workhorse of the squard, the avarage run-of-the-mill lousy cheap fighter... Or as I call them: The Meatshields.

These guys only got two thing working for them, they cheap and theres plenty of them (limit 0+)
They are tactical flexible, having access to a lot of different weapons, but unfortunately they got below avarge stats, mostly notable with the WS2 and BS2.
For this reason and with my way of playing I only get them clubs and use them to screen my Officers and tie up enemys.

My reason for only giving them clubs is that the only thing working for them is there cheapness and giving them to mush or to expensive equipment, means fewer toys for the important models, the Officers.
But that dont mean there is no others build for them. I will go over the different uses and how to equipt them.

The Meatshield:
Anything form 0-2 clubs, I prefere the single club, combined with the Combat Knife, but they can also be bought with 2 clubs, I think this is starting to get to expensive, or bought "naked" with no weapons, to save the extra credits.
It important to remember, one club, might not be to expensive, but if you buy 5 Cultists, not getting them clubs, can save you 25 credits...
Also, if you find extra weapons, that no Officers can use, a free Axe or chain is still cheaper then a 5 credit club

The Shooters:
BS2 sucks, but since you dont got that many shooting options, giving a Rapid Fire weapon to Cultists is not the worst idea.
The only weapon I would ever consider is the autogun, everything but that is to expensive... If you get a Cultists group with +2 BS (BS4) and got the credit to spare, lasgus + hotshots power pack, but again its getting expensive.

There is no reason to buy melee weapons for the shooters, but if you find a free weapon no one can use, sure it can be used here.

If you get + WS/BS for a group of Cultists, take the +BS and swap equipment or buy autoguns, this is my personaly minium to get shooter Cultists.

The Gunslinger:
The hybrid or Jack-of-all-trades is a guy with pistol and a melee weapon, thinking he can do some short range shooting and some CC.. Unfortunately it dont work that great, again it ends up getting to expensive, and he will mostly be used like the meatshield, but cost more to replace.

If its something you really want to use, club and aoutpistol (cheapest) is the way to go, but overall the shooting will not be worth it. Mayby a shotgun and melee weapon, but again 25 credits and rarity 6, how often you got that lying around not being used by Officers.

Even if you find pistols that officers dont want, its probably better to just sell them.

The Support:
With a limited list of equipment, only the vox-caster got a purpose, give it to a Cultist and keep him close to a model wits: Heavy Stubber, Heavy Bolter, Grenade Launcher or even a Champion with normal Bolter and the re-roll can be helpfull.

Annihilators:
The Heavy Weapon Specialists of the Cultists, they are similar to the IG HWS, with a few execptions, they are a little cheaper, start at 0 xp, only WS2 (not a big deal), but most important they are not limited to pistols, therefore they can use autoguns.
Giving that your Cultists are such bad shooters, giving a Annihilator a autogun at start up is not a bad idea.

There are 3 specialist weapons to giva a Annihilator: Flamer, Heavy Stubber and Grenade Launcher.

Heavy Stubber: This is a great weapon, mulitple shots at S4, great at supporting your Officers.
If this is the way you want to go, hire a Annihilator at start up, give him Heavy Weapon skill and a autogun, then after the first game, you should be able to get a Heavy Stubber. Everybody should be able to buy one after the first game, rarity 7 and only 40 credit, this should be priority 1.

Flamer: I LOVE the Flamer, its really great at supporting at close combat squad like the Cultists are... And its so simple, hire a guy and give him a Flamer, only thing to remember, your enemy will target this guy fast, so make sure to hide him well, luckily you can walk out from hiding and burn away.
Using Flamer on both your annihiliators is not bad and my personaly favorite use

Grenade Launcher: I like to G. Launcher or atleast I want to like... Unfortunately its not very powerfull, but still have its uses, it can give support in the same way as the Heavy Stubber, hopefully your enemy will fear it and therefore spread out him squad, making it easier when combat begings, so you can pick off smaller groups and not fight everybody at once.

If you want the G. Launcher, get a Cultist wint Vox-caster to support you, allways remember to buy grenades, trust me, its easier to forget then you think... A last make sure your enemy fears it, exaggerate how dangerous it is

Saboteurs:
At the moment of writhing this, i have not used Saboteurs, mosly becaurse I have not made any models for them yet But Im not really a big fan of them either, mostly becaurse they will fill the same role as a Cultist, only costs 12 credit more for Infiltrate skill and +1WS, that is (to me) a lot of credit to pay for a meatshield, but that does not mean there arent some uses for them.

The Shooter:
Equipt with a Autogun, using his Infiltrate to start in a elevated location (in cover is possible) and give fire support.
The big plus here is Infiltrate, meaning he can shoot from turn one, instead of using a few rounds getting in position.
Downside is the low BS (2), but your Cultists also only got BS2. The WS3 can help if attacked.

The Fighter:
Equipt with a melee weapon, I prefere club for the cheapness, but anything will work, again remember a free Chain is still cheaper then a 5 credit club.
Use Infiltrate to get closer to the action, but be carefull, if isolated from the rest of the squad, Saboteurs will probaly die quick.
The best (to me mayby only) use is in combonation with Slaanesh fighters, starting a little forward on the board, the will not be left behind the M5 Slannesh guys.
If using Deamons same tactics apply as with Slaanesh fighters.

Deamons:
I have not used Deamons yet, Im not a fan of Deamons and dont know when/if I will ever make the models, but a tactics about them will come a some point, but I dont really know when.

-Skavenslayer

Awesome stuff Slavenslayer! Looking forward to the rest of your ideas!

One other thing to note is the very low squad count. Max of 14 with only 5 heroes.

You're not really looking for TLGT advances with your cultists, and only maybe with your specialists if you loose a hero in mid campaign. (replacing a fallen aspiring champion could start to take the sedition of the lieutenants rule out of your way). Your rare items will probably be going to your heroes, and you'll be outnumbered much of the time.

I really think this helps to balance out the awesome combat core in your squad.

Sweet! Now that's what I was going for.

Thanks a lot guys, glad you liked it, I appreciate the feedback, its a bigger work then I imagined at first, but will opdate it slowly when work allows me

I will probably go back later and re-read it again and go back and re-edit some places...

I did think of the only 5 heroes thing and not using TLGT, but must have forgot.
Diddent think of only 14 members, I know that its a low max, but not that it should be mentioned.
I will finish it with some overall tips and tactics, it will be mentioned there, the same goes for equipment ect...

Again glad you liked it

Edit: Just updated the Recruits with Saboteurs entry, will start work on a overall tactics and general uses/tips soon

-Skavenslayer