Building an army list. (Astral Claws)

Ok guys! With Forge World releasing updated character stats while also adding and clarifying Chapter Tactics for the chapters they support I finally have the information I need to build an Astral Claws army list.

Links:
Chapter Tactics
Character Update

Let's start with what we know for sure about the Astral Claws. They are lead by Lugft Huron.



HQ:
Lugft Huron

Great! That was easy.

The reason I am not opting for one of their other HQs at this point is pretty much just fluff. I have the model and it looks great, but it never performed well as a single Lightning Claw on a Terminator normally doesn't do much and neither did his Orbital Bombardment for that matter.

What else do we know about the Astral Claws? 

They prefer lightning strikes!

Their new Chapter Tactics takes this into account giving Bikes, "Skilled Rider" and Fast Skimmers, "Scout". So what do we do? Let's add Bikes and Speeders?

Fast Attack:
2x Land Speeders each with 2 Multi-Meltas
8x Bikes with 2 Melta Guns & an Attack Bike with Multi-Melta
5x Bikes with 2 Plasma Guns

That should do! We can have up to 4 units here if we Combat Squad the large bike unit with the Attack Bike. This also give us quite a bit of anti-armor with the 5 Multi-Meltas and 2 Melta Guns. With "Scout" the Multi-Melta Land Speeders should be able to get into a good position for turn 1 shooting.

So what are we lacking right now?

Troops! And the more the better!

Huron was a tyrant and had a vast number of men at his disposal so the more troops we can get in the better. They also need to fit in well with the Lightning Strike tactics that they employ.

Troops:
10x Tactical Marines w/Flamer, Multi-Melta, Drop Pod
10x Tactical Marines w/Flamer, Multi-Melta, Drop Pod
10x Tactical Marines w/Flamer, Multi-Melta, Drop Pod
10x Scouts w/ 4x Sniper Rifles and 1x Heavy Bolter with Hellfire Shells
                       4x Combat Knifes, 1x Power Fist/Combi-Melta (Sgt.)
                       and a Land Speeder Storm with Multi-Melta


So why did I go with these troops?

Well this gives us 40 bodies and up to 8 scoring units. The ability to Combat Squad is a strong one and needs to be used effectively. It gives us the option to keep few large squads for "Purge the Alien" and helping to deny "First Blood" while giving us the option to have more units for the Objective Missions.

What are their roles?

Well the Tacticals are meant to clear infantry off of objectives and assist with destroying vehicles while the Scouts are meant to harass infantry with the Snipers and Heavy Bolter and Armored Units with the Meltas and Power Fist on the Sgt. and Land Speeder (which also gains the "Scout" redeploy for being a Fast Skimmer).

How does this play into the army theme?

Simply put, they are fast! The Land Speeder Storm will take a combat squad of Scouts and move across the table in conjunction with the other speeders and the bikes. While half the Drop Pods arrive on turn 1 to lend their supporting fire. The Sniper Scouts act as a "Spotter" unit. Their role is to make it hard for an enemy to infiltrate near my army as well as to pin down any unit that breaks away from the main pack.

What's Left?

Well let's throw in a fun unit of Huron's Veterans!

Elites:
5x Sternguard Veterans with 2 Heavy Flamers and a Power Sword Sgt.  in a Drop Pod

Really? Why?

Well for 2 reasons Fun and Theme. Huron is to slow to walk as everything else is on bikes or in speeders or Drop Pods (except for the snipers), so he needed a place to ride. Huron would not go anywhere without an escort of some of his finest warriors, so Sternguard fit that bill as well as Honor Guard, Vanguard and Terminators. So why did I go with Sternguard over the other choices? Well because Huron comes with a Heavy Flamer and Sternguard are one of the only places our infantry can get Heavy Flamers... so ya! HEAVY FLAMERS!

I have been a big fan of Flamers for years but have never gotten a chance to really use Heavy Flamers in infantry units. Most of the time it was your standard flamer on CSM or in a Tac Squad. But with Sternguard they can take 2 Heavy Flamers in a 5-man unit and arrive vis Drop Pod! What's not to love? Hitting multiple models automatically and ignoring cover them they great against almost any unit with a Toughness Value, Yes including Terminators. This is one reasons I played my army as "Counts As" Salamanders for most of their existence (my armies, not the Salamanders).

So in the end what do we get?

HQ:
Lugft Huron

Fast Attack:
2x Land Speeders each with 2 Multi-Meltas
8x Bikes with 2 Melta Guns & an Attack Bike with Multi-Melta
5x Bikes with 2 Plasma Guns

Troops:
10x Tactical Marines w/Flamer, Multi-Melta, Drop Pod
10x Tactical Marines w/Flamer, Multi-Melta, Drop Pod
10x Tactical Marines w/Flamer, Multi-Melta, Drop Pod
10x Scouts w/ 4x Sniper Rifles and 1x Heavy Bolter with Hellfire Shells
                       4x Combat Knifes, 1x Power Fist/Combi-Melta (Sgt.)
                       and a Land Speeder Storm with Multi-Melta

Elites:
5x Sternguard Veterans with 2 Heavy Flamers and a Power Sword Sgt. in a Drop Pod

=1750 points

This army looks like it will pack a nice punch. With a large amount of Flamers and Meltas people may mistake it for a Salamanders army, but we know better. Salamanders don't use Bikes and Land Speeders like the Astral Claws do.

If you enjoyed this article please let me know another list you would like me to build.

Till Next Time!
Dracus OUT!