1750 Chaos - Hydra Dominatus!

[DWest]

So I have been rocking this list since the new CSM came out, and it's done very well for me, but I want to get opinions and feedback, because a) my local meta is strange- think lots of Grey Knights and lots of . . . Tau; and b) my dice luck is also strange: most recent game was vs Tau I deep-striked the Warp Talons squad and then took a pie shot from a Hammerhead and managed to make only 1 of 5 armor saves, which leads me to wonder if I've rolled unusually well, or is the list as solid as I think?

The army is painted up as Alpha Legion, with a substantial leavening of Dark Angels models where appropriate; not solely to make the Dark Vengeance box pull double-duty, but also because impersonating a Chapter who already is seen as being dark, mysterious, and dangerous seems a very "Alpha Legion" thing to do. And yes I had way too much fun with the Alpha Legion's "we are all Alpharius" schtick.

HQ: Lord Alpharius . . . 160 points
Chaos Lord w/ Mark of Slannesh, 2x Lightning Claw, Melta Bombs, Sigil of Corruption, Gift of Mutation, Jump Pack.
-Alpharius joins the Warp Talons and either deep-strikes or bounces around as needed.

HQ: Dark Apostle Alpharius, The Voice of Truth . . . 120 points
Dark Apostle w/ Mark of Tzeentch.
-Alpharius hangs out with the Cultists to make sure they stay where I put them.


Troop: Chaos Marines . . . 205 points
10 models; 2 Plasma Guns, Icon of Vengeance, Champion w/ Power Weapon.
-This squad is walking, but they make a solid mid-field harasser so far.

Troop: Noise Marines . . . 295 points
12 models; 7 Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster, Icon of Excess.
-Either to hold a back-field objective or stand across from an enemy objective. This squad *does* *not* *die*, unless Crowe jumps on it, and even then it took him 4 turns.

Troop: Cultists . . . 120 points
20 models; Mark of Tzeentch. 2 Flamers.
-Mark makes these guys surprisingly durable, and I only need 1 still alive to take an objective. Flamers are there to dissuade casual assaults or to remove enemies from objectives that rightfully belong to the Alpha Legion.


Fast Attack: Heldrake . . . 170 points
Baleflamer.
-This thing is overpowered. I'm tempted to replace all the terrain on the opponent's side of the field with thatched-roof cottages and see if they get the joke.

Fast Attack: Warp Talons . . . 170 points
5 models; Champion w/ Gift of Mutation.
-This is the unit I'm most concerned about, although they did turn 2 squads of Purifiers into hamburger first game out.


Heavy Support: Defiler . . . 200 points
replace Reaper AC w/ Power Fist, Dirge Caster.
-My Defiler has been extraordinarially lucky, and I love being able to serve pie clear across the table.

Heavy Support: Forgefiend . . . 175 points
2x Hades Autocannon.
-So far this guy has not earned his keep. I'm hoping that will change.

Heavy Support: Vindicator . . . 135 points
Daemonic Possession.
-More pie! Pie for the pie god!

[apahllo]

The forge fiend is good but only if you put it in the enemy's face and drop 3 s8 plasma pies. This would go well with your pie theme.
I have had a hard time seeing warp talons a great, to many ifs for me but if they ain't broke...

I'd drop the talons, upgrade the forge fiend to pc's and trade your normal marines for noisy ones, same squad layout as the one you already have in there. What ever points you have left could be dumped into the cultist squad for guns or more models.
The drake is boss, I need one or two my self. But not enough by it self, ageis line with either las or quad gun is great anti air. I made my guard gun out of the auto cannons from forge/mauler kit and went for a mauler myself.

Alpha legion is dope dude, I'd love to see some pics if you have them painted.

[DWest]

I might try the plasmas over hades ACs, but I'm slightly concerned on overheat. I'd say I want to use the Hades AC to chew up things like Rhinos, but I can't seem to roll to hit, so don't know if that matters. The 'fiend is fully magnetized, so it can always become a Mauler if needed.

I'm shying away from all Noise Marines, if only because I want there to still be some purple-n-green in the army. Warp Talons are staying in, at least until I can get 1-2 more games and get a decent average on their effectiveness. Otherwise I have a CSM squad and a variant Lord w/ the Burning Brand ("Oh, this thing?" says Alpharius VOT, "I found it in the toolshed out back. Here, go make yourself useful.") and a Rhino for them if I need to do a swap.

If I did get an Aegis line, how does it sound to run the Voice of Truth guy as a dead-stock Lord to ride herd on the cultists and fire the gun?

[Darsolith]

If you do an aegis defense line make sure whoever mans the gun has a better BS than the cultists, for sure
You're already sporting some BS3 on big guns. You may want to look at replacing those warp talons(the models are awesome, I know!) with a second Heldrake if you have the means. It costs the same and is so much...MORE. I love that NM squad but a second really would detract from your overall theme. Hope your Warp Talons are trying to grab some cover, or better yet remain totally hidden, when they deepstrike in.

[Learn2Eel]

I might try the plasmas over hades ACs, but I'm slightly concerned on overheat. I'd say I want to use the Hades AC to chew up things like Rhinos, but I can't seem to roll to hit, so don't know if that matters. The 'fiend is fully magnetized, so it can always become a Mauler if needed.

I'm shying away from all Noise Marines, if only because I want there to still be some purple-n-green in the army. Warp Talons are staying in, at least until I can get 1-2 more games and get a decent average on their effectiveness. Otherwise I have a CSM squad and a variant Lord w/ the Burning Brand ("Oh, this thing?" says Alpharius VOT, "I found it in the toolshed out back. Here, go make yourself useful.") and a Rhino for them if I need to do a swap.

If I did get an Aegis line, how does it sound to run the Voice of Truth guy as a dead-stock Lord to ride herd on the cultists and fire the gun?

Trust me, you won't mind if the Forgefiend overheats. After rolling a 1, you then get a 4+ save, a subsequent 5+ invulnerable save and a 5+ It Will Not Die save. If you fail all of that, your Forgefiend probably deserves to die lol. I like the Autocannons for the sheer firepower you put out - you average the same or more hits than a Psybolt Dread - but no twin-linked means you can be really stuffed over by a bad roll.

I'd recommend switching the Warp Talons for a Heldrake too.