Cowabunga III
Starting point
I started out with Warhammer Fantasy 5th edition back in 1996, and at that time 2nd edition 40K was in full swing. I remember being captivated by the first 40K battle report I read in the first White Dwarf I got, the Imperial Guard vs Eldar one in issue 202. Such awesome models and terrain! But, since I was already invested in Fantasy (and a poor student) it wasn’t really possible to get into 40K as well at that time. I did get into 40K about a year after the release of 3rd edition, but I sadly never got to play a game of 2nd edition. However, I have always nurtured the idea to one day build and paint a 2nd edition force, complete with Goblin green bases and red guns! Perhaps now the time has come…
For some reason I had collected a few of the metal Chaos Space Marines from 2nd edition and they have been sitting in my bitz box for over 20 years now. When I learned of this painting challenge I started thinking about ways to build an army with these Marines as a starting point. My goal was to build an army with models I liked the look of, and for it to feature as many different models as possible. I was not that worried about battlefield effectiveness to be honest! A few purchases on eBay and Facebook later I had a viable 1000 point force. What about the colour scheme? Well, if I was going to do a 2nd edition Chaos Space Marine army, it just had to be the posterboys of that era: the Night Lords!
The idea for the backstory of this force sprung from a 3rd edition battle report where a Night Lords force battled the Imperial Guard in a Cityfight game. I decided to adopt the Chaos Lord and Sorcerer featured in the backstory and make them the leaders of my warband which I named The Heralds of Darkness. This warband recently aided the rebels in the Khai-Zhan uprising (968.M41) in the Cadian sector, where they battled their way through the city of Vogen. After being driven off by Imperial reinforcements the Night Lords escaped into the Warp. Now, on the run from the Imperium, the Night Lords are once more in search of new hunting grounds. Perhaps Khardasian Prime could be a suitable target…
Army list
Night Lords Chaos Space Marines
“The Heralds of Darkness”
Gorsameth Sul
1x Chaos Lord 91
Terminator armour, Lightning Claw, Combi-bolter 53
Total:144 points
Asuramandos Sul
1x Chaos Sorcerer 52
Total: 52 points
Jago Valcoran
1x Chaos Icon Bearer 55
Total: 55 points
Squad Ghuul
3x Chaos Terminators 153
Reaper Autocannon 25
Powerfist 8
Combi-flamer 6
Power mace 4
Combi-melta 6
Total: 202
Squad Kalex
1x Aspiring Champion 30
Chainsword 2
Plasma pistol 5
7x Chaos Space Marines 175
Plasma gun 8
Heavy Bolter 12
5x Boltguns 15
Total: 247 points
Squad Koth
3x Chaos Space Marines 75
Autocannon 20
Missile Launcher 35
Lascannon 35
Total: 165
Squad Mawdrym
3x Chaos Space Marine Bikers 135
Total: 135
Army total: 1000 points
Slices
Slice 1: Chaos Lord, Icon Bearer & Sorcerer
Slice 2: Terminator Squad
Slice 3: Chaos Space Marine Squad
Slice 4: Chaos Space Marine Heavy Weapon Squad
Slice 5: Bike Squad
Month 1 (December)
Warning klaxons blared and the bridge was bathed in the red glow of emergency lights as the Night Lords vessel exited the Warp.
”Captain, status report!”
Asuramandos Sul gave the command and moved over to the holographic system map that was being rendered by the ship’s cogitators.
”Real space transition successful my Lord! All readings are normal.”
The captain sounded noticeably relieved as he relayed the information.
”I’ll never get used to that,” complained Jago Valcoran as he joined the sorcerer at the strategium.
”Warp-sick, Jago?” The sorcerer laughed. ”I would have thought…”
Silence suddenly fell across the room as Gorsameth Sul stomped onto the bridge in his massive suit of Terminator armour.
”What do you have for us, Asuramandos?” he bellowed as he strode towards his two fellow Night Lords.
”The system is called Khardasian, brother. Fairly unremarkable save for the capital world of Khardasian Prime”, the sorcerer replied.
”Imperial records classify it as a civilised world with significant industrial capacity. There should be plenty of potential targets for us on the surface”, Asuramandos continued.
”Very well then”, Gorsameth said. ”Helmsman, set course for Khardasian Prime! Let us see what this world has to offer…”
My slice for the first month consists of the three models that make up the command section of my Night Lords army: a Chaos Lord, a Sorcerer and an Icon Bearer. It took me far longer to finish these than I had anticipated, even though I started early. There’s a fair amount of detail on them, and I had to come up with the colour scheme as I went along, so that may explain why it took the time it did. Also, as they are three very different models, I could not rely on the old ”assembly line” method. Now that I have the colour scheme in place, I’m confident that I’ll be able to paint the next set of models a bit faster!
Gorsameth Sul
Chaos Lord (91)
Terminator armour, Lightning Claw, Combi-bolter (53)
Total: 144 points
Gorsameth Sul is the leader of the warband and desires nothing more than the complete downfall of the Imperium. Leading from the front and clad in a suit of hulking Terminator armour, he is an imposing sight on the battlefield. His brother Asuramandos may dictate the warband’s movements, but it is ultimately Gorsameth who commands the respect of their minions.
Asuramandos Sul
Chaos Sorcerer (52)
Total: 52 points
Asuramandos Sul is the warband’s Sorcerer, and the more level-headed of the two brothers. Highly pragmatic and with a razor-sharp intellect; Asuramandos is the architect behind the warband’s overall strategy. By studying the currents of the Warp, he decides when and where to strike.
Jago Valcoran
Chaos Icon Bearer (55)
Total: 55 points
Jago Valcoran is a long-time henchman of the Sul brothers, and has been given the honour of carrying the warband’s icon into battle.
Month 2 (January)
It was well past midnight and the spaceport lay silent in the darkness. A few lamps here and there cut through the gloom, but this did little to ease the mood of the guards on the night shift. Though relatively small, the spaceport still had respectable defensible capabilities. A perimeter of electrified fences and several bunkers protected the facility, along with several anti-air batteries.
Suddenly three dark shapes emerged from the shadowy treeline close to the easternmost bunker. The startled security guards opened fire on the hulking figures, but this seemed to have little effect. With lasgun shots pattering harmlessly of their massive suits of armour, the Night Lords Terminators returned fire. The squad’s Reaper Autocannon churned out a stream of high-calibre shells that tore into the bunker.
The three Terminators stalked through the facility, hunting down the remaining guards. Those that had not already fled had taken refuge in the last intact bunker on the western side of the spaceport. As he advanced the commlink in Azvar Ghuul’s visor blinked, indicating an incoming transmission. He activated the link, and it responded with a hiss of static.
”Channel open,” Ghuul snapped.
”This is Gorsameth. Report!”
”Resistance minimal.” Ghuul gritted his teeth as he unleashed a melta blast on the remaining bunker’s plasteel door. He continued. ”Air defenses disabled. Spaceport secured.”
A flamer blast from one of his brothers silenced the last of the hapless defenders.
”Excellent,” Gorsameth replied. ”Stormbirds launching now.”
On the bridge of his warship the Chaos Lord smiled to himself. With a spaceport now under the Night Lords’ control, the campaign could begin in earnest.+++
My second slice consists of a squad of three Night Lords Terminators! They are armed with a variety of deadly weapons for both ranged and close combat. Since I painted a Chaos Lord in Terminator armour last month, it was mostly a matter of using the same colours again. These are probably my favourite models from the 2nd edition Chaos Space Marine range. I always thought they looked suitably powerful and imposing!
Squad Ghuul
3x Chaos Terminators (153)
1x Reaper autocannon (25)
1x Power fist (8)
1x Combi-melta (6)
1x Combi-flamer (6)
1x Power mace (4)
Total: 202 points
Squad Ghuul serve as the bodyguards and enforcers of Gorsameth Sul and they usually accompany him wherever he goes. On the battlefield they advance steadily on the enemy, unleashing a relentless hail of fire as they go.
Month 3 (February)
The road winding through the valley below was littered with the burning wreckage of Khardasian PDF vehicles. From their vantage point on a boulder-strewn slope high above, the Night Lords of Squad Koth had a good view of the main route towards the newly captured space port. The squad’s heavy weapons had so far repulsed every attempt to break through, but the enemy showed no sign of attempting a different approach. That would cost them dearly.
Shar Koth used the lull in the fighting to change the nearly depleted power cells in his trusty Lascannon. The weapon and its raging machine spirit had been his companion since the days of the Horus Heresy, and for a moment his mind drifted to past battles and victories. They had fought together for so long now that the weapon almost felt like an extension of his own body. Sometimes Koth could almost hear the machine spirit whisper directly into his mind.
++Kill…Destroy…Annihilate++
A faint rumble of engines in the distance snapped him out of his thoughts. His enhanced hearing told him that yet another assault was on the way. Koth made the final checks on his weapon and sent a warning to his squad over the comm-link. This was going to be a long day…
My third slice consists of a squad of three Night Lords Chaos Space Marines with heavy weapons. I wanted to include as many of the heavy weapon-wielding Chaos Marines in the warband as I could, as I really like the look of them! The squad could of course do with a few extra bodies to soak up casualties, but that will have to wait until the army gets expanded in the future.
Squad Koth
3x Chaos Space Marines (75)
1x Autocannon (20)
1x Missile Launcher (35)
1x Lascannon (35)
Total: 165 points
The heavy weapon specialists of Squad Koth provide the warband with long range fire support. They take great joy in obliterating armoured vehicles and bringing down monstrous creatures from afar.
Month 4 (March)
”This is Squad Koth. Come in Squad Mawdrym.”
”Aye. This is Mawdrym.”
”We are holding the valley for now, but a flanking force is coming up through a small canyon to the west. If they break through…”
”They won’t, we’ll see to that.”Jakr Mawdrym cut the link and signalled his squad to mount up. He hit the ignition on his bike and felt the engine roar into life.
”Come brothers! We have prey to catch!
The bikers took off at full throttle. The hunt was on.
My fourth slice consists of a squad of three Night Lords Chaos Space Marines Bikes. These models consist of the plastic Space Marine bike with Chaos-themed metal add-ons. Metal bits stuck to plastic models is seldom a great fit, but I found these models went together surprisingly well. I did not have as much time to spend on these as I would have liked, but I can always come back later and add some more details!
Squad Mawdrym
3x Chaos Space Marine Bikers (135)
Total: 135
The bikers of Squad Mawdrym serve as the eyes and ears of the warband. They specialise in lightning assaults behind enemy lines and outflanking maneuvers.
Month 5 (April)
I have to use my mulligan this month I’m afraid. I was unable to get anything finished for the challenge, since the Chaos Dwarf Great Taurus I worked on consumed all of my hobby time!
I did manage to assemble and spray undercoat my final slice of eight Chaos Space Marines though, so I should be all set for the final month. I hope…
Month 6 (May)
My fifth and final slice consists of a squad of seven Night Lords Chaos Space Marines led by an Aspiring Champion! One Chaos Marine carries a Plasma Gun, while another is armed with a Heavy Bolter.
Squad Kalex
1x Aspiring Champion 30
Chainsword 2
Plasma pistol 5
7x Chaos Space Marines 175
Plasma gun 8
Heavy Bolter 12
5x Boltguns 15
Total: 247 points
Squad Kalex, led by the embittered Jahan Kalex, form the backbone of the warband. They perform vital tasks such as seizing and holding positions, providing fire support and, if need be, advancing upon the enemy and taking the fight to them.
Finished Army
As this is the final month, I have also taken a photo of the completed 1000 point Night Lords army! I decided to go all in and set up my models with my painted backdrop, an Imperial Firebase and a lot of jungle scenery.
A big thanks to Dr. The Viking for running this lovely challenge, and thanks to all the wonderful participants for a lot of inspiration and motivation!
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