Blog Wars is constantly evolving with the changing state of 40k and whilst Forgeworld units still aren't allowed (maybe next time Alex???), with the addition of Knights in the mainstream, some other super-heavy Lord of War's are now legal.
I really wanted to do something different for this Blog Wars - I've been lucky enough to win the painting competition (both army and character) quite a few times, so don't feel like I could enter again without changing things up. The state of the CSM codex means that unless I want to move away from my fluffy Iron Warriors (for example to a Nurgle-themed list) I don't really have that many options for what I can take (you could argue I have the entire codex to choose from, but with only 2 core Troops and a few super-expensive characters that will actually stand a chance in-game, I think I am pretty limited).
As such, I present to you....quite possibly the most dangerous tournament list ever! I say dangerous - that's because if you can't deal with the one main threat, I will probably break some face - but if you can deal with it...the remainder my army is pretty useless.
HQ:
Abaddon 265pts
Troops:
16 Cultists (Autopistols & CCWs) - in Hellcult formation 74pts
16 Cultists (Autopistols & CCWs) - in Hellcult formation 74pts
Elites:
Helbrute (Multimelta & Power Fist) - in Hellcult formation 100pts
3 Terminators (2 x Power Axes & 1 x Power Sword) 95pts
Heavy:
3 Obliterators (Mark of Nurgle) 228pts
Lord of War:
Lord of Skulls (Daemongore Cannon & Skullhurler) 1013pts (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Total: 1849pts
So - more than half my points in a single model - but it is a beast! For the uninitiated, the Lord of Skulls is a super-heavy walker, Daemon (so 5++), 9HPs, Thunderblitz, It Will Not Die, Fleet, 4 attacks basic, Rage (+2 attacks on the charge) and a nifty rule that gives an extra attack for each HP lost - which you keep even if you regen the HPs (this thing potentially has up to 14 attacks). It is armed with a Helstorm weapon (16.5inch flamer) that is S9 AP3 Primary & Instant Death, a 10inch blast weapon that is S9 AP3 Primary with Gnaw (re-roll successful saves) and a D-weapon in combat. I have had several games now where this thing has caused 20+ HPs of damage in a single round of combat! Anything that doesn't have a 2+ save or decent invun, should be afraid indeed.
There are downsides - it's a super heavy walker, so can be tarpitted...and whilst I3 is enough to ease any worries about Thunderhammer Terminators, going up against an I4 Knight with a D weapon can cause some buttock clenching moments during dice rolls (there is roughly a 10% chance a Knight will be able to kill me outright in combat before I can swing back). There is also the worry of Grav and Haywire weapons, but they can be mitigated against a little (reserving, meat shields etc).
The rest of the army is pretty inconsequential; the Hellcult formation gives me Fearless cultists for objective grabbing and meat shielding, the Obliterators are ALWAYS the most resilient unit of any game I have ever played (to the point I did actually toy with the idea of running a Black Legion list to take four units of them...) and Abaddon is the only choice of CSM character that is worth taking to a tournament IMO (although I would have much preferred a tooled-up Warpsmith for fluffy and repair reasons).
I've had a few games with the list now and whilst they were against very similar Knight-based lists, I have managed to come out on top - so what do you guys think - it would be great to get your thoughts on how you would tackle it and what I should be afraid of.
Wish us luck!