If you want to overwhelm your foes with numbers then these are the battleline units you need to make a HORDE of bodies!
Goatboy here and with the new mission updates the question I have”is are we going to start seeing a horde Battleline army show up?” Is it time to pull out the wave of 3+ bodies and over the table in a tide of extra effort mission scorers? Is it truly time to bring out all my Plague Marines and Rhinos and charge head first into battle?
The real reason I ask this is due to friends chatting with me about the ideas of taking as many 3+ bodies in armies where they are a decent unit. A unit that can do some damage, score some points, and are point efficient enough to be worth taking over better non-Battleline options. Ya know those armies that had cheap little units that showed up in the new edition boxes and you somehow got a crap ton of during your trading/purchasing/market place scouring days.
Editor’s Note: Goatboy didn’t specify which new edition launch box…just sayin’
The Best Battline?
I really think the true way to judge any of these Battleline options is to see if they are easily less than 10 points a wound, can fit in a cheap transport, and somehow do decent damage in whatever phase they are designed for. This leads me to thinking that the only real good options in that direction is most likely the Marine bodies. They normally have ability to do damage, ability to take damage, and get some kind of cool vehicle to use.
The best three right now for my dollar are Plague Marines, Legionaries, and Rubric Marines. Each of these options either skew to one side for damage or are a truly efficient all a rounder to be a threat. They also have the ability to get a character or two shoved in to allow this lowly unit to actually become more than just a vehicle to carry a special weapon, a giant heavy sword, or just some option to throw mental lasers thru.
The Rubric Marine Horde
The shooting skewed option is the Rubric Marines. You get the access to four jerks with their Psychic leader, gain a Cabal Point, and can do a lot of damage if need be. It is the more expensive of the options and most likely one of the ones you go up to 10 models, get more damage potential, and throw in a Character to help double up Cabal actions as needed. You throw in a Rhino and a 10 man unit comes out to 285 points which pushes it a bit but does give you a nice 10 man unit to do things. Really it is the ability to do Rituals, cool Strats, and just having guns that can hurt stuff that makes this unit pretty powerful. I hope they don’t get any lower and cause a wave of Rhino Rushing Thousand Sons getting their dust all over the table.
The Plague Marine Horde
The Plague Marines are a really interesting unit in that they have a 5 man option, 7 man option, and 10 man option. Almost all of them are set up to have a lot more access to damaging shooting weapons, gaining some heavy close combat weapons, and having Character options that really amp up their power. Really it is an all a rounder style build that seems to make these guys something to think about.
A 90 point 5 man unit is a threat to most things with options to push it towards punching you or just being a very annoying Overwatch friend. You throw in a Rhino and a 60 points Character and you got something scary to look at. Heck you throw in 2 x 5 man units, loaded up with shooting weapons and characters with flamer weapons and you got something that most armies just don’t have. A very deadly troop based torrent platform that can sticky objectives and take a punch to the face. As Mortarion isn’t needed nearly as much and the Death Guard players look towards other options we might finally see the Plague Marine rush as opponents try to figure out a way from the stinky bois gumming up the table.
Chaos Legionnaire Horde
Finally we have Legionaries as the newly updated unit on the table top. They initially came in pretty cheap and while it is a shame they gained 10 points I still think they have their place. They are surely set up to be an assault version for this trifecta of Chaos Battleline options with their ability to take two Heavy Close Combat weapons and then a plethora of chain swords. You mix in some reroll ability if going near an objective and you got a little 90 point unit that can come out, wreck things a bit, and be a pain in the butt. You have 2 true character options to add to this with the Chaos Lord or Master of Executions for your close combat fancies. I keep thinking as we play with the new missions we might start to see your CSM builds take 2-3 units with a helpful Chosen block to make sure that we can move close, punch things well, and just be a pain in the butt.
Other Options?
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What other Battleline options are you liking? I wish the Khorne Berzerkers were a bit cheaper as while they are not terrible they do feel overcosted when compared to the other options. I wonder if they just made 5 man units cheaper and left the 10 man higher to help combat some of the ability to “get in engagement” range if they get shot. It is a hard thing to judge really with the removal of the every turn relic Reroll mechanic in World Eaters for their Blessings table and the need to get as many Icons of Khorne on objectives to get Angron back a few times. Will just have to wait and see as time continues on and we investigate the Pariah Nexus some more.
Goatboy likes the CHAOS Horde — what horde units do you love for your own Battleline?
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Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I’ve been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on – or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.
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