Jump to content

Making Archaon Viable with Tzeench Fatesworn Warband


Solvanic

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

After a lot of reading and research I have come up with this list to try to make my big Archaon viable. Tzeench gives him some nice advantages, mainly getting his spell of choice from either lore as well as using destiny dice (6s are really good on Slayer of Kings). All 10 units are Tzeench and Mortal, so they will all benefit from the 4 Fatemaster's command abilities. Having 4 fatemasters mean my chances of getting the lower numbers to reroll very significant (1-4 are way better than 5-6). In an ideal situation every model could reroll 1s,2s,3s and 4s on hits, wounds, charges, armor saves, archaons # of attacks and D6 damage! Every unit but Archaon takes full advantage of the (-) to (-1) rend from the formation. This is a VERY fast army (Fatemasters move 16, Archaon 12, Gorebeasts 8). 

 

Now where I need help. Suggestions! I am heavily considering running only 3 fatemasters, and using those points for more bodies? Would have to replace with another mortal Tzeench unit because I am at the minimum for the fatesworn battalion. I am also very interested in trying to run arcanite cabal as well, but I am fairly sure units cannot be part of more than 1 formation? Any other thoughts also appreciated :)

 

Leaders
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Archaon (700)
- General

Battleline
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)

Units
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)

Battalions
Fatesworn Warband (120)

Total: 2000/2000
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alternative list (although I would have to buy more chariots) that includes the cabal formation! This gives me 3 more spells of Tzeench which I feel like might be worth it, although all the fatesworn lose their rend. What do you all think?

Leaders
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Archaon (700)
- General

Battleline
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)

Units
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)

Battalions
Arcanite Cabal (50)
Fatesworn Warband (120)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about something like this?:

Archaon 700

Fatemaster 140

Fatemaster 140

Gaunt summoner 100

Chaos lord on daemonic mount tz mark 140

10 marauder tz mark 60

10 marauder tz mark 60

10 warrior, hand and shield, tz mark 180

10 warrior same as above 180

3 gorebeast chariots, tz mark, great weapon 300

2000 points, u have a very strong deathstar, gorebeasts with +1 to hit and -1 rend are brutal. Also destiny dice could help with charge rolls, making they explode attack more frequently. I thinm gaunt summoner is the strongest mage for 100 point.

Finally you have slightly more bodies and meatshields for ur centerpieces.

It's just a thrown idea, but i think it can be pretty effective. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And a third list without the fatesworn warband!

 

Leaders
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Fatemaster (140)
Archaon (700)
- General

Battleline
10 x Tzaangors (180)
10 x Tzaangors (180)
10 x Tzaangors (180)

Units

Battalions
Arcanite Cabal (50)

Total: 1990/2000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Arkiham said:

Tbh. Archaon is too expensive at anything less than 3000 points. Much more suited to 4-5k games than 2k.

He leaves your army too vulnerable to dying and just leaving him alone to them be swarmed.

 

You think Archaon will be too easy to kill? Even with all of his rerolls? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, shadowgra said:

What about something like this?:

Archaon 700

Fatemaster 140

Fatemaster 140

Gaunt summoner 100

Chaos lord on daemonic mount tz mark 140

10 marauder tz mark 60

10 marauder tz mark 60

10 warrior, hand and shield, tz mark 180

10 warrior same as above 180

3 gorebeast chariots, tz mark, great weapon 300

2000 points, u have a very strong deathstar, gorebeasts with +1 to hit and -1 rend are brutal. Also destiny dice could help with charge rolls, making they explode attack more frequently. I thinm gaunt summoner is the strongest mage for 100 point.

Finally you have slightly more bodies and meatshields for ur centerpieces.

It's just a thrown idea, but i think it can be pretty effective. 

I like this list, but I dont think Archaon is worth taking with only 2 fatesworn, I think its gotta be at least 3. Why take the lord on daemonic mount? His command ability doesnt seem like it will be very useful unless you are going to group the gorebeasts? In which case they are far less tactically useful in my opinion. Also the Marauders and gorebeasts are not nearly as effective without the fatesworn battalion which I dont think you have included here?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wooooops mb, make 1 warrior unit a marauder and there u have the points. Lord helps gorebeast to be killy

I will be sincere, i don't like fatemasters at all, i think that for these points u can take way more useful things, like sorcerer, gaunt, for 20 points more u have ogroid. I understand that they kinda work well with archaon, but i still don't like them (i mean, they do little damage) they save well, but what 's the point in taking them? How are u gonna match up against a skaven/sayl list? U just get blown up. 

The good thing into taking the lord is that u can count on another unit in order to do damage, the gorebeasts, which can deal an impressive amount of damage. Archaon isn't enough to win the game, simply because u bringing more heroes to make it worth, u make the whole army squishier

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Arkiham said:

Are you including the battalion cost into the lists ? It's like 120 isn't it ?

An you can't use traits with archaon as general, and non named heroes for items.

Ya the costs of the battalions are right there in the posts. I know Archaon cant use traits but the Fatemasters can still use items I am pretty sure. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, shadowgra said:

Wooooops mb, make 1 warrior unit a marauder and there u have the points. Lord helps gorebeast to be killy

I will be sincere, i don't like fatemasters at all, i think that for these points u can take way more useful things, like sorcerer, gaunt, for 20 points more u have ogroid. I understand that they kinda work well with archaon, but i still don't like them (i mean, they do little damage) they save well, but what 's the point in taking them? How are u gonna match up against a skaven/sayl list? U just get blown up. 

The good thing into taking the lord is that u can count on another unit in order to do damage, the gorebeasts, which can deal an impressive amount of damage. Archaon isn't enough to win the game, simply because u bringing more heroes to make it worth, u make the whole army squishier

In the first list the fatesworn will all have rend-1 to both attacks which will help their killiness a bit. I also think all the rerolls will mean almost everything will be rerolling all failed armor saves. The reason I am taking fatesworns is to take advantage of Archaon. The rerolls are hard to mathammer but with 4 fatesworn its fair to assume everyone will reroll 3/4s of their saves? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's definitely scope for a list here. However spamming an overpriced hero (the Fatemaster) who isn't a wizard (and Fatesworn doesn't make him a wizard) is unlikely to be the answer.

As much of a big part of Archaon's appeal is his command ability spam, the fact that he is a Tzeentch Mortal and Daemon allows him to take (I believe) a choice of either a Lore of Fate or Lore of Change spell (i.e. not both). Many of these are amazing with Archaon as the Caster (as is someone else casting Shield of Fate or the spell that grants +1 attack to one weapon on him). Due to the rule of one, you are not going to benefit much from the theoretical arcane bolt spam.

I would fill the Battalion with cheaper heroes a few units of Marauders and a unit of Warriors (18 as various people object to deploying a unit of 9 and I cannot be bothered to have the highly complicated argument every game). You need bodies to make up for the point sink that is Archaon to be competive in the Battleplans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Nico said:

There's definitely scope for a list here. However spamming an overpriced hero (the Fatemaster) is unlikely to be the answer.

As much of a big part of Archaon's appeal is his command ability spam, the fact that he is a Tzeentch Mortal and Daemon allows him to take (I believe) a choice of either a Lore of Fate or Lore of Change spell (i.e. not both). Many of these are amazing with Archaon as the Caster (as is someone else casting Shield of Fate on him). Due to the rule of one, you are not going to benefit from the theoretical arcane bolt spam.

I would fill the Battalion with cheaper heroes a few units of Marauders and a unit of Warriors (18 as various people object to deploying a unit of 9 and I cannot be bothered to have the highly complicated argument every game). You need bodies to make up for the point sink that is Archaon to be competive in the Battleplans.

Thanks for the response! I'm not sure Archaon's cost can be justified if you're not using his command ability? What heroes would you recommend? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just mean use one of them and maybe a Lord on Daemonic mount or even a Lord of Chaos (gives another reroll saves of one buff), rather than using 4 140 point heroes. What you want are wizards (or you can summon a LoC...).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been considering something similar to what Nico's been saying - potentially using a few command abilities with Archaon, but mostly getting some mileage out of him through the spells.

Leaders
Archaon (700)
- General
Chaos Lord On Daemonic Mount (140)
Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (120)
Fatemaster (140)

Battleline
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Hand Weapon & Shield
10 x Pink Horrors Of Tzeentch (140)
10 x Pink Horrors Of Tzeentch (140)

Units
10 x Chaos Knights (400)
- Chaos Glaives

Total: 1960/2000

 

Archaon would have the spell to give himself +1 to hit and wound (I imagine that works with destiny dice?), another could potentially have the spell to give slayer of kings an extra attack. Fatemaster and lord can use their command abilities and follow the big block of knights who are a huge tarpit,  and the gaunt summoner (on disc for extra fluffiness) could follow Archaon around.

Not a huge amount of models or wounds - and no ranged - so it wouldn't be super competitive but could be kind of fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, FunkyPunk said:

I've been considering something similar to what Nico's been saying - potentially using a few command abilities with Archaon, but mostly getting some mileage out of him through the spells.

Leaders
Archaon (700)
- General
Chaos Lord On Daemonic Mount (140)
Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (120)
Fatemaster (140)

Battleline
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Hand Weapon & Shield
10 x Pink Horrors Of Tzeentch (140)
10 x Pink Horrors Of Tzeentch (140)

Units
10 x Chaos Knights (400)
- Chaos Glaives

Total: 1960/2000

 

Archaon would have the spell to give himself +1 to hit and wound (I imagine that works with destiny dice?), another could potentially have the spell to give slayer of kings an extra attack. Fatemaster and lord can use their command abilities and follow the big block of knights who are a huge tarpit,  and the gaunt summoner (on disc for extra fluffiness) could follow Archaon around.

Not a huge amount of models or wounds - and no ranged - so it wouldn't be super competitive but could be kind of fun.

+1 to hit and wound is definitely the way to go I think, as it makes slayer of kings even more dangerous. I really appreciate your and @Nico, @shadowgra advice to not overdo the fatemaster. What do you all think of this list? 

Leaders
Archaon (700)
- General
Fatemaster (140) 
Gaunt Summoner (100) (probably glimpse of future or Arcane transformation ?)
Fatemaster (140)

Battleline
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)

Units
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)

Battalions
Fatesworn Warband (120) (Gives -1 rend to basically all weapons except a few of Archaon's, I think this is pretty huge for the viability of all the units)

Total: 2000/2000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like it more than the other lists. Although i still think that a list like that is really squishy, you have less than 50 bodies, and even if warriors have 5++ save, they won't do much in terms of offensive.

What about dropping mortals and fatesworn and go really heavy on magic? Loc can be pretty good since he boosts casting rolls, plus archaon throws in 2 spells each turn. In the end magic has more offensive power than any mortal list u will ever make as tzeentch.

I would go something like: archaon, loc, gaunt, some pink horrors as a core. Then u can fill the remaining points with basically everything u need: skyfires, tzaangors, warriors (?), marauder as chaff, sayl, stormfiends too. The benefits of going magic heavy is that multiple units in your army are big threaths, not only archaon. Also a lord of chaos can help him to survive more, with rerolling save of 1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

Leaders
Archaon (700)
- General
Fatemaster (140) 
Gaunt Summoner (100) (probably glimpse of future or Arcane transformation ?)
Fatemaster (140)

Battleline
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Warriors (180)
- Halberd & Shield
10 x Chaos Marauders (60)

Units
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)
1 x Chaos Gorebeast Chariots (100)

Battalions
Fatesworn Warband (120) (Gives -1 rend to basically all weapons except a few of Archaon's, I think this is pretty huge for the viability of all the units)

Total: 2000/2000

Looking better.

I don't see the value of Gorebeast Chariots personally (1 model for objective purposes). As you may not be able to deploy units of Warriors as 9 models (minimum unit size being stuck on a totem, not worth the argument every second game) - I would buff up at least one unit of Warriors to 20 (18 models) - Halberds are fine. Tick the 10 total units with Marauders and if you can nudge up the Gaunt Summoner to the one with the familiars (+1 cast as I recall) for 20 points and consider a summoning pool of 100 (for the Balewind Vortex so you have a partial counter to Kunning Rukk Arrer Boyz).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you tried the 320p archaon on horse. He also has the same abbilities as the 700p guy just not the dragon. I think hes kinda solid anyway and still get to use his sword against enemies. I know its not optimal but it frees up alot of points :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/31/2017 at 11:38 AM, Jesper77 said:

Have you tried the 320p archaon on horse. He also has the same abbilities as the 700p guy just not the dragon. I think hes kinda solid anyway and still get to use his sword against enemies. I know its not optimal but it frees up alot of points :) 

ya but I have the big one painted up really well and he's awesome so I'm trying to make a list with him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...