Jump to content

AoS 2 - Slaves to Darkness 2 Discussion


Overread

Recommended Posts

7 minutes ago, Browncoat89 said:

Hey guys, I'm new to this thread. I actually have a Chaos Dwarf army but, seeing as how we have been compendium for a while and may get discontinued, I have been working on builiding a Slaves to Darkness army with them to still be able to use my army. I have a lot of great substitutions in the army, but basically I'll be running my heavily armored dwarves and black orcs as chaos warriors and chosen with all of my mauraders  being represented by hobgoblin slaves. I want to run either Cabalists or Ravagers but it seems like the general consensus is that the Ravagers are going to be must stronger in the meta, is that correct? What are some of the big synergies in both of those armies I should look out for as I am building my list? Thanks for the help, the chaos dwarf army is so outdated they have hardly had any allegience abilities, no endless spells, etc so I'm having to catch up on some of that.

Welcome to this Thread 😃

 

 In fact, the strongest faction in Slaves to Darkness are Despoilers and Host of the Everchosen. Despoilers have an 18" General`s bubble, a 5+ ward for your General and some very useful items. Host of the Everchosen give a real push to Archaon and Varanguard and Archaon gets a lot of strong special rules.

The synergies to look for in this book are the mark synergies, so that you should concentrate on one mark and play according to your mark. 

If you have Slaanesh as mark, you should play more Slaanesh heroes, if you play Khorne, a large proportion of the army`s power relies on your General. 

Furthermore, there are strong synergies connected to the Warshrine, especially the undivided buff is very universal and strong. A Chaos Lord on foot synergises as well very well with all Slaves to Darkness units giving them double pile-ins for a CP. The Khorne Demon Prince has a strong command ability, Marauders are one of the best, if not the best unit in this faction, whereas every army fancies a Sorcerer Lord on foot or on Manticor. And not to forget Be`lakor, who alone can win games by messing up the enemy`s plans. 

 

Cabalists can also be very strong, their Magic buff is really useful. However, every time I build a Ravager list, I got something missing, because the Endless spells are not very cheap. And you need endless spells to push the Darkfire Demonrift, mostly those cheap 20-30 points-spells. Gaunt summoner and Be`lakor are good additions to a Cabalist list, as they can cast two spells and the Gaunt summoner can summon a unit of Horrors or other demons. Furthermore, Kairos Fateweaver can be a strong addition to a Cabalist army, because he is a very good caster, making the lower casting dice the same as the higher. And he knows all warscroll spells of the sorcerers around him, which is especially good for Chaos Sorcerer Lords. 

 

However, try to make up a list of the miniatures you have, before you buy new ones. Discuss them here and then you will find your list that is fun for you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Salyx said:

Welcome to this Thread 😃

 

 In fact, the strongest faction in Slaves to Darkness are Despoilers and Host of the Everchosen. Despoilers have an 18" General`s bubble, a 5+ ward for your General and some very useful items. Host of the Everchosen give a real push to Archaon and Varanguard and Archaon gets a lot of strong special rules.

The synergies to look for in this book are the mark synergies, so that you should concentrate on one mark and play according to your mark. 

If you have Slaanesh as mark, you should play more Slaanesh heroes, if you play Khorne, a large proportion of the army`s power relies on your General. 

Furthermore, there are strong synergies connected to the Warshrine, especially the undivided buff is very universal and strong. A Chaos Lord on foot synergises as well very well with all Slaves to Darkness units giving them double pile-ins for a CP. The Khorne Demon Prince has a strong command ability, Marauders are one of the best, if not the best unit in this faction, whereas every army fancies a Sorcerer Lord on foot or on Manticor. And not to forget Be`lakor, who alone can win games by messing up the enemy`s plans. 

 

Cabalists can also be very strong, their Magic buff is really useful. However, every time I build a Ravager list, I got something missing, because the Endless spells are not very cheap. And you need endless spells to push the Darkfire Demonrift, mostly those cheap 20-30 points-spells. Gaunt summoner and Be`lakor are good additions to a Cabalist list, as they can cast two spells and the Gaunt summoner can summon a unit of Horrors or other demons. Furthermore, Kairos Fateweaver can be a strong addition to a Cabalist army, because he is a very good caster, making the lower casting dice the same as the higher. And he knows all warscroll spells of the sorcerers around him, which is especially good for Chaos Sorcerer Lords. 

 

However, try to make up a list of the miniatures you have, before you buy new ones. Discuss them here and then you will find your list that is fun for you. 

Yeah I just found a list on twitter of 8 of the StD lists that have placed the highest in competitions and it seemed pretty evenly spread, 2 everchosen lists, 3 despoilers, 1 cabalist, 2 ravagers. I know it is early on and a lot of the meta is still getting sorted out, but based on the chaos dwarf models I have I could run that cabalist list and only have to pick up a warshrine, the two ravagers lists I could run with just a warshrine and maybe a couple cavalry units as long as I can successfully switch the bases on my existing cav. The cavalry I currently have for the chaos dwarves, the bull centaur renders are huge models, I am hoping to find a way to run them as chaos knights but I'm worried about them fitting. They are on 90x52 bases and the knights are on 75x42. 

Slaves to Darkness Lists.png

Edited by Browncoat89
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So this is another attempt with the advice I have. The Giant is just for looks and has nothing to do with a certain non chaos army stomping its way here soon.. definitely not some sneaky preparation.  But I think i have managed to fit in the Ruinbringer battalion by using marauders in the actual list and I will save my Iron Golems for crawling on the board edges to try and hold objectives. Ogroid and Crusher are both flair more than use I understand too.

Allegiance: Slaves to Darkness
- Damned Legion: Ravagers
Mortal Realm: Chamon
Chaos Lord on Karkadrak (250)
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (110)
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
Ogroid Myrmidon (140)
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
1 x Chaos Chariots (120)
- Greatblades
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
1 x Chaos Chariots (120)
- Greatblades
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
5 x Chaos Knights (180)
- Cursed Lance
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
5 x Chaos Marauder Horsemen (90)
- Javelin & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
5 x Chaos Marauder Horsemen (90)
- Javelin & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
15 x Chaos Warriors (300)
- Hand Weapon & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
1 x Fomoroid Crusher (100)
Chaos Warshrine (170)
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
Aleguzzler Gargant (160)
- Allies
Ruinbringer Warband (140)

Total: 1970 / 2000
Extra Command Points: 1
Allies: 160 / 400
Wounds: 135

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I've been building a few variations on my Ravagers list, which I know is not top-tier competitive, but I'd like to make at least decent without abandoning the stuff that makes me really interested in the army, which is the classic Warriors of Chaos vibe. Currently, I'm running a bunch of heroes, a Ruinbringer Warband consisting of 10x Chaos Knights and 3 units of 5x Marauder Horsemen, and a foot unit of some kind in pretty much every variation--I've been really trying to fit in a Warshrine, because I know those are amazing, but points are tight. It did well enough locally before local gaming came to a halt due to COVID, and I'm thinking about what to do with the foot unit to prepare something for the future.

I've been mostly using 15x Warriors with Runeshields, which have been incredibly tanky once placed on an objective, but hit like wet noodles relative to their 300 pt cost. I'm debating swapping them for Greatblade-using Warriors, who retain most of the tankiness, and can put out a lot more damage against many targets, especially if I give them some kind of buff to make up for the reduced accuracy--Daemonic Power is an obvious choice if the Knights or a combat hero is out of position, and if I can fit in the Warshrine, that's a possible second full re-roll buff. The third option is 10x Chosen, which are a lot less tanky but a little faster and a lot more killy.

Of course, the final option is getting rid of the foot unit entirely, but then I have no anvil, and just an assortment of hammers of various sizes. And most of the hammers in StD aren't that strong. My Karkadrak Lord with Dimensional Blade does nasty work, but he can't carry a battle alone.

EDIT TO ADD: Foot Marauders are straight up not an option without a kit update.

Edited by RocketPropelledGrenade
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Browncoat89 said:

Yeah I just found a list on twitter of 8 of the StD lists that have placed the highest in competitions and it seemed pretty evenly spread, 2 everchosen lists, 3 despoilers, 1 cabalist, 2 ravagers. I know it is early on and a lot of the meta is still getting sorted out, but based on the chaos dwarf models I have I could run that cabalist list and only have to pick up a warshrine, the two ravagers lists I could run with just a warshrine and maybe a couple cavalry units as long as I can successfully switch the bases on my existing cav. The cavalry I currently have for the chaos dwarves, the bull centaur renders are huge models, I am hoping to find a way to run them as chaos knights but I'm worried about them fitting. They are on 90x52 bases and the knights are on 75x42. 

Slaves to Darkness Lists.png

I ran this list for Tomorrow Burns 2

Came third overall (including soft scores) 5th with pure game scoring I think. The marauders won me the games every time. So much damage from them and Archaons ability to pile in when they die was awesome. A lot of the time I didn’t see who was going next, as it wouldn’t have changed how I needed to score points. But the times you do use it and find out your getting the double, you just go all out charge and just make a mess of things. 

B593B2B3-741F-4A9B-B781-123CFEA5E1D2.png

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, RocketPropelledGrenade said:

So, I've been building a few variations on my Ravagers list, which I know is not top-tier competitive, but I'd like to make at least decent without abandoning the stuff that makes me really interested in the army, which is the classic Warriors of Chaos vibe. Currently, I'm running a bunch of heroes, a Ruinbringer Warband consisting of 10x Chaos Knights and 3 units of 5x Marauder Horsemen, and a foot unit of some kind in pretty much every variation--I've been really trying to fit in a Warshrine, because I know those are amazing, but points are tight. It did well enough locally before local gaming came to a halt due to COVID, and I'm thinking about what to do with the foot unit to prepare something for the future.

I've been mostly using 15x Warriors with Runeshields, which have been incredibly tanky once placed on an objective, but hit like wet noodles relative to their 300 pt cost. I'm debating swapping them for Greatblade-using Warriors, who retain most of the tankiness, and can put out a lot more damage against many targets, especially if I give them some kind of buff to make up for the reduced accuracy--Daemonic Power is an obvious choice if the Knights or a combat hero is out of position, and if I can fit in the Warshrine, that's a possible second full re-roll buff. The third option is 10x Chosen, which are a lot less tanky but a little faster and a lot more killy.

Of course, the final option is getting rid of the foot unit entirely, but then I have no anvil, and just an assortment of hammers of various sizes. And most of the hammers in StD aren't that strong. My Karkadrak Lord with Dimensional Blade does nasty work, but he can't carry a battle alone.

EDIT TO ADD: Foot Marauders are straight up not an option without a kit update.

Honestly i'd probs use the spire tyrants models (when they come out), or just tinker with some bloodreavers for marauders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok this might be odd to ask but does anyone know if the blood bowl teams will go on 25mm bases at all please? Never seen the models in person.

I was just thinking I might use the Nurgle team as a base for my marauders. Just depends if they will fit on a 25mm base- it say they come with 32mm. Thanks for reading.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, TaurielBlack said:

Honestly i'd probs use the spire tyrants models (when they come out), or just tinker with some bloodreavers for marauders.

Noted, but I genuinely meant it about the new kit--my hobby progress is slow enough without having to do 40 models worth of conversions. In fact, I'd prefer to avoid fielding a block of 40 Marauders even with a new kit because of how long they would take to paint relative to a much smaller number of much cooler armored minis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been tweaking my list for how it will look if I do go about making it a bit more extreme and following advice on what is useless and what performs better too. 

Allegiance: Slaves to Darkness
- Damned Legion: Despoilers
Mortal Realm: Chamon
Slaves to Darkness Daemon Prince (210)
- General
- Axe
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
Chaos Lord on Karkadrak (250)
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (110)
- Mark of Chaos: Undivided
2 x Chaos Chariots (240)
- Greatblades
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
5 x Chaos Knights (180)
- Cursed Lance
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
5 x Chaos Marauder Horsemen (90)
- Javelin & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
5 x Chaos Marauder Horsemen (90)
- Javelin & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
40 x Chaos Marauders (300)
- Axes & Shields
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
10 x Chaos Warriors (200)
- Hand Weapon & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Khorne
Chaos Warshrine (170)
- Mark of Chaos: Undivided
Ruinbringer Warband (140)

Total: 1980 / 2000
Extra Command Points: 1
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 143

With this I have to drop the warriors back down to a 10 man squad and it allow me to upgrade the Orgoid myrmidon to a Daemon Prince and the Giant and Crusher go for a walk to make space for the horde of Marauders. Otherwise it remains fairly focused on the Ruinbringer Warband for the most part and I think if the Prince is used I could be better leaning towards Despoiler Legion over Ravagers. This does lose me three chaff cultist squads which could hurt an already low model count army but I don't really know from playing very little. Also unsure if its better running Chariots as a pack or separately to fish for mortals or get more bang for my buck if boosted with CP.

Any advice would be appreciated too! (Marauders will look suspiciously like a ragtag group of Golems and Tyrants, and the temptation to promote the Ogroid is hard not to follow)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple notes:

--I have had very bad experiences with the Cursed Lances on Knights. They don't kill enough to clear anything out on the charge, and they are basically just wiffle bats off the charge. Ensorcelled Weapons have staying power, and aren't slouches on the charge either, especially in a Ruinbringer Warband.

--Always take Chariots in multiple units. The Ruinbringer bonus being multiplied is good, as you note. Not risking losing a 120 point model to battleshock like you would in a larger unit is even better!

--I wouldn't take a 10-strong unit of warriors, generally, as keeping the re-roll on saves without tying up your sorcerer to babysit is very important. You're already fine on Battleline, so I'd just drop them entirely if you can't fit in 15. Maybe upgrade the sorcerer to ride a manticore, or take another foot hero (basic Chaos Lord or a second Chaos Sorcerer Lord are both good). Probably grab the extra command point for 50 pts with the savings as well, as you can't generate them all that easily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking for comments on my new Cabalist List.

If I have a good magic phase then I think this list has the potential to do quite well. Might get a sprinkling of mortal wounds from the Warshrine battalion as well.

All comments are welcome but mostly I'm interested in recommendations for my 2 artifacts as I really don't know what to take. This list doesn't have much use for CP or melee weapons; are there any artifacts out there that boost spell casting or generally help a magic oriented army? I could go the Cabalist items for a once-per-battle auto unbind and auto succeed on a ritual but wondering if there are better options out there?

Allegiance: Slaves to Darkness
- Damned Legion: Cabalists

Leaders
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (110)
- General
- Command Trait: Mighty Ritualist
- Artefact: ??????
- Mark of Chaos: Undivided
- Spell: Whispers of Chaos
Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore (260)
- Artefact: ???????
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
- Spell: Binding Damnation
Be'Lakor (240)
- Spell: Mask of Darkness
Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (240)
- Allies

Battleline
20 x Chaos Marauders (150)
- Axes & Shields
- Mark of Chaos: Undivided
15 x Chaos Warriors (300)
- Halberd & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
5 x Chaos Marauder Horsemen (90)
- Javelin & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Undivided
5 x Chaos Marauder Horsemen (90)
- Javelin & Shield
- Mark of Chaos: Undivided

Behemoths
Chaos Warshrine (170)
- Mark of Chaos: Undivided

Battalions
Godswrath Warband (180)

Endless Spells / Terrain / CPs
Darkfire Daemonrift (50)
Aethervoid Pendulum (50)
The Burning Head (30)
Ravenak's Gnashing Jaws (30)
Malevolent Maelstrom (10)

Total: 2000 / 2000
Extra Command Points: 1
Allies: 240 / 400
Wounds: 112

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm coming over to Slaves from BoC :) Just a quick one about the Darkoath Chieftain which I think is an obvious yes but worth confirming as I don't want to miss out on any MWs - does he have to be alive at the end of the combat phase for the ability deathblow to work?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Forehead said:

I'm coming over to Slaves from BoC :) Just a quick one about the Darkoath Chieftain which I think is an obvious yes but worth confirming as I don't want to miss out on any MWs - does he have to be alive at the end of the combat phase for the ability deathblow to work?

Yes, since the least part of the ability requires you to measure distance from "this model" he would need to be on the board.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am building towards an Archaon Sorc on Manticore, 6 Varanguard and 40 Marauders build.

Couple questions.

Would 80 Marauders and 3 Varanguard be better?

Assuming I keep the current breakdown would two units of 3 Varanguard and a blob of 40 marauders be the way to go?

Or would 6 Varanguard and two units of 20 Marauders be better. Tempted by being able to launch one Marauder unit and still have a screen and having all 6 Varanguard get reroll saves from the Sorc.

Cheers.

Edited by Eldarain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Eldarain said:

I am building towards an Archaon Sorc on Manticore, 6 Varanguard and 40 Marauders build.

Couple questions.

Would 80 Marauders and 3 Varanguard be better?

Assuming I keep the current breakdown would two units of 3 Varanguard and a blob of 40 marauders be the way to go?

Or would 6 Varanguard and two units of 20 Marauders be better. Tempted by being able to launch one Marauder unit and still have a screen and having all 6 Varanguard get reroll saves from the Sorc.

Cheers.

Imo all those options work well!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi everyone, 

I've been trying to build a series of test lists before returning to Age of Sigmar after a long absence at university. 

In the past I used to play a Warriors of Chaos army that pressured quickly with multiple tough hammers. Essentially a list that  could put itself in my opponents face, gain board control and make them take tough decisions. I like to place my opponent under pressure with a variety of melee based options as my playstyle. 

As such, I've been looking to build a competitive Slaves to Darkness army that would fit the bill. If of course this is not possible with the new StD, I could look elsewhere. However, I've made a cohesive attempt with a Cabalists / Nurgle / Marauder centric army.

Please let me know your thoughts on the list and the validity of running StD in such a manner competitively in the current meta.

Cheers folks

Screenshot_20200429-174104_Drive.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, WeeDaveSoutar said:

Please let me know your thoughts on the list and the validity of running StD in such a manner competitively in the current meta.

I hope this isn't bad manners to mention in the StD thread, but I believe I play Slaves units in Khorne allegiance in the way you describe. Slaves units get the opportunity to shine offensively in Khorne. But you need Khorne units too...

PS: Were you a Khorne-marked Chaos Warriors with Halberds kind of guy? Those were the days. 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Eldarain said:

The Mantic Clansmen I'm using as Marauders for those who are interested.

Those look good!  Do you have a pic of the next to Chaos Warriors or a Chaos Lord on Foot or something for size reference?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, begleysm said:

Those look good!  Do you have a pic of the next to Chaos Warriors or a Chaos Lord on Foot or something for size reference?

The Dwarf being the most accurate comparison as the Warrior is on a bit of masonry.

IMG_20200226_001104.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...