For Dorn! For the Emperor!


And now we've come to Day Four of Nine Days Nine Legions, with the Siege Masters themselves, the Imperial Fists! The noble Sons of Dorn are coming to you in all their yellow glory. But before I begin, I must say this was a lot of fun. It was a unique challenge trying to draw out the character of the Imperial Fists from their rather drab portrayal in the most recent codex (Which is completely inaccurate to the actual character of the Legion, stoic does not mean a lump of bricks).


Hammer of Dorn
Codex: Space Marines
Point Total: 2000 pts

HQ
-Darnath Lysander - 200 pts

Elites
-5x Terminator Squad - 505 pts
-Cyclone Missile Launcher
-5x Chainfists
-Land Raider Redeemer
-Multi-Melta

Troops
-10x Tactical Squad - 235 pts
-Meltagun
-Missile Launcher
-Power Fist
-Rhino

-10x Tactical Squad - 235 pts
-Meltagun
-Missile Launcher
-Power Fist
-Rhino

-10x Tactical Squad - 235 pts
-Meltagun
-Missile Launcher
-Power Fist
-Rhino

Fast Attack
-5x Vanguard Veterans - 240 pts
-3x Power Swords (Including Sergeant)
-Storm Shield
-Razorback
-Assault Cannon
-Dozer Blade

Heavy Support
-Thunderfire Cannon - 100

-Thunderfire Cannon - 100
-Vindicator - 140
-Siege Shield
-Extra Armour

-End List-

Analysis:
-Darnath Lysander - Darnath Lysander, the Captain of the First Company of the Imperial Fists is one scary son of a Primarch. Looking at his statline alone, Lysander is more than enough to send anyone who would attempt to fight him running for the hills. But my personal favorite of his rules is Bolter Drill. Rerolls to hit with Storm Bolters? Fantastic. He also brings to the table the advantages of Stubborn, which is an extremely handy rule to have. Also, his Master-Crafted Thunder Hammer, The Fist of Dorn beats vehicles around like toys. Just saying.

-Terminator Squad - I know some of you are thinking i'm slightly nuts for not having Lysander with Thunder Hammer Terminators, but hear me out. First off, as Daryl from Beasts of War will tell you, Chainfists are awesome. Not only do they tear apart vehicles, but they fit the Imperial Fists fortification mentality perfectly. The ability to tear apart siege vehicles, and then punch throw walls, ala Power Fist is oh so very Fist. The Cyclone Missile Launcher is there to hammer any hordes or light armor you might come across, and i've put them in an LRR for a versatile mix of anti-horde and anti-mech fire for added posterity.

-Tactical Squads - I'm sure the armaments i've chosen are obvious in their combat benefit, but I chose these specific weapons to further the motif of the VII Legion. Meltaguns, if you've ever read the Ciaphas Cain novels (Which you should if you haven't!) you'll know that Meltaguns and walls do not get along very well at all. The Power Fists are there for that same reason, and the Missile Launchers, because as I imagine enemy forces clambering through trenches or passages, Imperial Fists will be raining a hail of missile fire upon them. Fitting.

-Vanguard Veterans - These at first, make absolutely no sense from a lore perspective to anyone with general knowledge of the Imperial Fists. However, if one takes to reading the novel Sons of Dorn (Which was meh at best, but did provide valuable background information about the Fists) then you'll learn that Imperial Fists have a long tradition of dueling with blades. Yeah, I had no idea either. So as I examined the rest of the elements in the list, I felt that a unit of lightly armed Vanguard Veterans would be just what was needed to pull the list together and serve as a counter attack unit to any attacks upon other units in the list.

-Thunderfire Cannon - I'm going to start this off with just saying how much I love this thing. Thunderfire Cannons are an essential part of any Imperial Fist force in my opinion. Not only does their codex have a handy quote from Lysander, but they also fit the role of mounted guns on fortifications perfectly. Literally. The varied ammunition the Thunderfire offers provides the ability to blow apart oncoming hordes with it's Surface Detonation, force enemy out of cover with Ignoring Cover ability of the Airburst, and slow down oncoming vehicles or elites to allow for repositioning of your forces with the tremor causing Subterranean Detonation.

-Vindicator - The Vindicator is a great unit, offering up powerful shots from it's Demolisher Cannon, but not something i'd normally put in a list. I chose it for this Imperial Fists force, because with the fire of the Twin Thunderfire Cannons to act as deterrents to anything that would attempt to get close to the Vindicator, this vehicle can lay down punishing blast after punishing blast at the enemy almost beyond reproach.

Closing Thoughts - This list was a lot of fun, I enjoyed the challenge of bringing out the character of the Fists, and I hope all you Fist players enjoyed it too! Stay tuned tomorrow for the Angels of Death, The Blood Angels!

Special thanks go to Starminer, my good friend and proofreader, who without i'd be posting unedited lists like an idiot. Check out his blog, Caution: Bonds Skin Instantly in my links! Another shout out to Crimthaan, for his help in the process as well.

2 comments:

Cc excellent list for my favorite Chapter it gets the Rancor709 seal of approval. really captures what it means to be a Stubborn yellow, Son of and Emperor.

June 26, 2010 at 9:01 PM  

Ciaphas... I really like this list. One of the things I like the most is the use of the thunderfire cannons. Not to many people use them cause they think they are crap. But there is nothing better than watching a horde player try when after a couple rounds of shooting from those things he has nothing left.

June 28, 2010 at 1:30 AM  

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