10/20/13: Finished: Alpha Legion Murder Sword Lord and Warp Talons

Hey guys!

So following close on the heels of the Skaven Screaming Bell was something for my personal collection! See, I don't get to play a lot of 40k these days; despite managing my FLGS, our 40k group is either fairly spread out or busy. Even less, I get to paint for myself! I decided to remedy that a bit by breaking out my Chaos Marines.

This is my beatstick unit for the army. Sure assault took a hit in 6th Edition, but there's no sense in doing it half-assed; go big or go home!

I run the Lord with Mark of Tzeentch, Sigil of Corruption (Shant turn down a 3++ save!), a Jump Pack, a Plasma Pistol, and the Murder Sword. Background is he's Arkos the Faithless (Siege of Vraks Alpha Legion Leader) who is currently hunting down the Dark Angels that messed up his Warband; most specifically, Azrael. He jumps in, causes a ton of wounds, and usually turns into a Spawn. But he's a blast to play.

The whole army is about the freehand, as you can see. Not entirely happy with his shoulderpad, but it works. I opted for a green phase effect, much like a Grey Knight's Force Weapon, to really hit home the dangerous nature of the Sword. His Jump Pack is magnetized too, so I can run him on foot, either as a standard lord or as Arkos from Imperial Armor 6. 

And the weird part of the army! When I picked up the new book, nothing really caught my eye. I was running a 5th Edition army with a 6th Edition book, and not really having any fun with it. I'd picked up the Aspiring Champion Clampack at Genghis-Con to give me some options, and one day while at work, I decided to grab a box of Warp Talons. Definitely a good way to get into the book!

Love the champion, I'm all for helmet-less leaders! The skintone is layered from Caliban Green, and mixed up with Pallid Wych Flesh. The most extreme highlights are pure Pallid Wych Flesh and a little white. I always buy the Boon of Mutation upgrade for him, just to see what nonsense he gets!

First two Warp Talons. I hated the head I'd put on the second one there originally (Its the reject MK4 helmet, he looks like he's grinning like an idiot), so I found one of the old Possessed heads and slapped it on there. Glad I did!

Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb! Didn't realize I'd done nearly the same model, just mirrored, til I started painting! Oh well, they're more filler than anything (tell that to their four Lightning Claw attacks!).

I've never used their blind special rule; pretty sure the only reliable way to do that is to run the Dimensional Key on something like a Daemon Prince so they don't scatter, but its kinda tricky. I prefer to hide the squad behind cover for a turn or two, then rocket them up and at something squishy. Five Hammer of Wrath attacks and essentially 26 attacks that demolish 3+ saves is nothing to sneeze at! The Warp Talons are definitely tricky to run, and they're by no means a hyper-competitive unit. But they're fun to rocket around the table protecting Arkos!

Ignore the unpainted terrain! I've shown him before, but this is my Alpha Legion familiar. Lets call him Roger; say hello Roger! Roger here is the little familiar model that comes in the Terminator Lord kit; after converting two Abaddons and a couple other models, I've got quite a supply of them lying around. These guys paint up quick, and make perfect markers for Combat or Spell Familiars! Probably only took half an hour to do. Its the little things that make your army, so get on it!

Alrighty! Next up is that Cygnar Charity group, along with some terrain, an Imperial Vulture, and what looks to be about 50 points of Khadorian goodness! Keep up!

Granesh