Daemons, Part 1

I always wanted to play Daemons when they first came out, but one thing about the army always distressed me: Everything deploys via deep strike (AKA Daemonic Assault). It didn't make any sense to me. Why does GW call this rule 'Daemonic Assault' if my daemons can't assault when they enter play? I guess calling it 'Daemonic Non-Assault' just doesn't sound as cool. Furthermore, I didn't quite grasp the point of an assault army having such a blatant weakness.

The more I thought about it and read, the more mistaken I was. Yes, if you deep strike your units out in the middle of nowhere and in the open, some, maybe even most will be killed. However, the invulnerable saves really help in this matter. Not to mention that Daemons seem to be the type of army that if you loose some models in the beginning of the game, the remaining few can still really ruin an opponents day in close combat.

For the base troops in my army, I have a particular fondness for Daemonettes. For the points cost, you really get a bargain. With fleet, rending, high initiative, and 4 attacks off a charge, these gals pack a punch, and the only real complaint I have about the unit is their low strength and frailty. You need to hug cover or get these ladies into combat ASAP.

For the colors, I have chosen Astronomicon Grey with a 50/50 highlight of Astronomicon/skull white. Any claws, horns, nails, whatever where done with an overbrushing of Regal Blue, highlighted with Enchanted blue. The hair follows this as well but with an added highlight of Hawk Turquoise. The armor bits were actually pretty fun to paint, as it gave me an excuse to use colors I'll probably never get to use again. Amethyst Purple, an old Citadel color from way back when, a purplish metallic. Parts of the armor where painted with that, followed by a highlight of straight Mithril Silver. Other parts of the armor were painted with Boltgun followed by Mithril highlights.

After finishing a squad of Daemonettes, I decided for something a little more brutal. Bloodletters fit the bill nicely. If I tie something up in hand to hand with the Daemonettes, the 'Letters should be able to paste whatever is left. The Furious Charge ability, power weapon attacks, marine strength/toughness are gravy! The only thing I needed to really worry about is making sure I got the charge, which can be problematic at times.

The colors on this squad were done in the quickest way possibly, using alot of drybrushing techniques that included a base of Mechrite Red, then Blood Red, followed by sparingly using some Blazing Orange. The horns and tongues were left black, highlighted with Codex Grey. The Hellblades were done with Tin Bitz, followed by Brazen Brass highlights on the pommels and handguards, the blade itself with some Mechrite/Blood applied at the raised edges. Any skulls were done with the Dheneb/Devlan/Dheneb. It's a very easy paint scheme, and makes the models look good.



Finally, we come to the big boy! Soul Grinders are friggin awesome models, with some pretty solid abilities to bring to the table. Excellent CC potential, Fleet, 50/50 shooting, and anti-armor/infantry upgrades makes for a mean model. The only problem I had with this model is the occasional odd look I got from passers-by for declaring a 'Tongue Attack' on something.

This model was another one I wanted to get done quick but look good. Drybrushing all around, with the skin - Regal/Enchanted/Ice/Skull White. The mechanized portion of the model is just Boltgun. Parts that were left black were highlighted with Codex Grey. The chaos emblems on the leg plates, chest, and abdomen were done with mithril silver, and the the outer edges were hit by a watered down Snakebite Leather, just to make it look a lil' dirty!

This is just a brief taste of the army, as I still have much more to paint. Masque, Fateweaver, and some oh-so-fun-to-assemble Tzeentch daemons will be making their way through my painting desk in the near future. Hopefully.

C&C welcome!

~Grendel