Ever since I acquired a Middlehammer Giant (the rather feral looking metal one who arrived with the sixth edition Greenskins book) I’ve had this fantasy of doing a Marauder tribe, led by that new female chieftain they’ve done for Age of Sigmar and with perhaps a lone Exalted Daemon fluttering around as her patron spirit. The Giant, of course, is her overgrown and perpetually drunk “big brother”, the heart and soul of the clan even if he was at the back when the brain cells were being handed out.
Angharad the Aghol begins her career as an Aspiring Champion, lowest of the low pointed, Unmarked and barely equipped. She remains as such in Warbands and Border Patrol games, acquiring either a Sorcerer pal or an Exalted Daemon patron and maybe a magic item or two during the move into 1000 pointers. At 1500 she levels up to Exalted Champion, at 2000 to Chaos Lord: perhaps a Daemon Prince beyond, or perhaps that fate will be reserved for her pal (actually, yes, he can reveal his true colours as the army grows, shucking off his mortal shell, or perhaps the Familiar is a possessing spirit that finally takes over: that works for me).
It’s very compelling and yet for some reason I can’t settle into an army list for it. I think it keeps getting tangled up with all the other thoughts I have on Chaos – that “Knights of Ashteth” concept I have knocking around that I originally came up with for some fanfiction I wrote when I was about fourteen a Black Legion force for Rogue Trader, and my longing to get a Greater Daemon onto the battlefield and “flip the script” by having the object of worship turn up to lead its followers. That might actually work better in a Beastman context, with a tribe worshipping Ashteth the Keeper of Secrets as the ultimate expression of the Gor form, and the Knights joining up alongside the Daemon itself as additional troop types. (And that’s a 2000 point army to sit alongside this now apparently discrete 3000 points of Marauders… to which I could add those Dragon Ogres I am apparently half crazed with.)
The thing is, Chaos lists are quite hard to build even if you’re sticking to one troop type. I find myself flirting and fiddling with Chaos armies and I can never quite get the sense of scale I want for them: there’s no redundancy. Everything has to be corners-and-costs-cut to fit into 2000 points and I end up with no extra units, no redundancy, no feeling of horde.
To be clear, I’d only do this if I were suddenly taken wealthy, and I’d be painting it forever and a day. BUT.
SMALL WARBAND 188/200
Angharad the Aghol 92
Aspiring Champion with shield
Men of the Aghol Tribe 96
4x4 Chaos Marauders with flails
LARGE WARBAND/BORDER PATROL 492/500
Angharad the Aghol 120
Aspiring Champion with Mark of Slaanesh
> Biting Blade, Enchanted Shield
Men of the Aghol Tribe 90
10 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Men of the Aghol Tribe 90
10 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
SMALL ARMY 997/1000
Angharad the Aghol 140
Exalted Champion with Mark of Slaanesh
> Biting Blade, Enchanted Shield
Aesmar the Pale 145
Sorcerer
> magic level 2
> Spell Familiar
> Dispel Scroll
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Oglaf the Giant 205
GROWING ARMY 1497/1500
Angharad the Aghol 170
Exalted Champion with Mark of Slaanesh
> Biting Blade, Enchanted Shield, Gaze of the Gods
Aesmar the Pale 165
Sorcerer with Mark of Slaanesh
> magic level 2
> Spell Familiar
> Dispel Scroll
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Hounds of Aesmar 30
5 Warhounds
Knights of Aesmar 285
5 Chaos Knights with Mark of Slaanesh
> Champion, musician and standard
> Rapturous Standard
Fiends of Aesmar 150
10 Furies
Oglaf the Giant 205
ARMY 1997/2000
Angharad the Aghol 285
Chaos Lord with Mark of Slaanesh
> Biting Blade, Enchanted Shield, Gaze of the Gods
Aesmar the Pale 370
Exalted Daemon of Slaanesh
> magic level 2
> Spell Breaker, Diabolic Splendour
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Hounds of Aghol 60
10 Warhounds
Knights of Aesmar 285
5 Chaos Knights with Mark of Slaanesh
> Champion, musician and standard
> Rapturous Standard
Fiends of Aesmar 300
20 Furies
Oglaf the Giant 205
HORDE 3000/3000
Angharad the Aghol 335
Chaos Lord with Mark of Slaanesh
> Biting Blade, Armour of Damnation, Enchanted Shield, Gaze of the Gods, Pendant of Slaanesh
Baalmung 346
Shaggoth Champion with Mark of Slaanesh
> great weapon, light armour
Grishnov the Pale 370
Exalted Daemon of Slaanesh
> magic level 2
> Spell Breaker, Diabolic Splendour
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Men of the Aghol Tribe 150
20 Marauders with flails
Champion, musician and standard
Champions of the Aghol Tribe 250
10 Chosen Warriors with Mark of Slaanesh
Champion, musiican and standard
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Aghol Outriders 96
5 Marauder Horsemen with spears and throwing spears
> musician
Hounds of Aesmar 60
10 Warhounds
Hounds of Baalmung 60
10 Warhounds
Knights of Aesmar 345
5 Chosen Knights with Mark of Slaanesh
Champion, musician and standard
> Rapturous Standard
Fiends of Aesmar 300
20 Furies
Oglaf the Giant 205
Sons of Baalmung 237
3 Dragon Ogres with great weapons and light armour
There it is. Very magic light, and will approach this deficiency by attempting to brutally murder enemy wizards as early as possible. Probably not very good, but it nails the sense of development, the path to glory that’s crucial to a Chaos warband. If the formatting’s a bit busted I can only apologise, it was three in the morning and I just wanted to get the lists written. I’ll fix it later. In the meantime, what do you think?