Detachment Focus: Cult of the Arkifane

In this series of articles we take a deep dive into a specific Detachment for a faction, covering the faction’s rules and upgrades and talking about how to build around that faction for competitive play. In this article, we’re covering the new Cult of the Arkifane Detachment for Chaos Space Marines.

Do you want another way to play Vashtorr? Was the Soulforged Warpack not enough for you? Did you feel like your non-Daemon vehicles were left out in the cold by that one, unable to truly enjoy what it had to offer without spending 1 CP and even then not getting a 5+ invulnerable save? Well good news - someone at Games Workshop heard your whining and now we have a new Detachment designed to fix those problems.

Before we dive in we'd like to thank Games Workshop for providing us with a preview copy of these rules for review purposes.

Detachment Overview

The Cult of the Arkifane is a Vashtorr-themed Detachment designed to help you get the most out of your vehicle units. It gives them the Daemon keyword and a 5+ invulnerable save while giving them a special keyword to key off of with Stratagems and abilities. As a Detachment rule, it's not quite as good as what you get with the additional damage buffs in the Soulforged Warpack, but philosophically this one is more about individual unit buffs that don't require taking mortal wounds, making it more durable in more ways than one.

Detachment Rule: Soul Forge Boons

HERETIC ASTARTES VEHICLE units in your army gain the DAEMON keyword.

HERETIC ASTARTES VEHICLE, LORD DISCORDANT, and VASHTORR THE ARKIFANE units in your army gain the SOUL FORGE keyword.

SOUL FORGE units in your army have a 5+ invulnerable save.

This is an interesting trio of effects, though they're not as powerful on their own as you'd hope. The CSM vehicles without the Daemon keyword/5+ invulnerable save are essentially Helbrutes, Predators, Rhinos, Vindicators, and Land Raiders, and of those, Helbrutes, Vindicators, and Land Raiders already have a 2+ armor save, making a 5+ invulnerable save much less useful on them as they're likely to have a 5+ against AP-4 shooting if they're in cover (though still meaningful against some of the game's nastiest shooting). It's going to be much more effective on Predators, which are some of your most cost-effective options to begin with.

What isn't shown here is the secondary impact; four of the Detachment Stratagems key off having the SOUL FORGE keyword, so you'll want to focus primarily on those units when you build your army. Fortunately, you can snag an extra SOUL FORGE Unit using the Cybinfernal Font Enhancement.

Also, it's weird that this doesn't include Warpsmiths, who seem like a unit supported by the Detachment otherwise.

Vashtorr the Arkifane. Credit: Rockfish

Enhancements

This is an OK suite of Stratagems. The Cybinfernal Font creates some really interesting options but otherwise the rest are relatively simple.

Wyredjinn (25 points) – Non-DAMNED model only. At the start of your Command phase if the bearer is on the table, roll a D6, and add +1 if the bearer is on an objective you control. On a 4+, you gain 1 CP.

This is solid but pricey. However, getting CP on a 3+ is better than you tend to see, and can make this more reliable than something like Abaddon's ability. CP generation isn't super common in Chaos Space Marines so it might be worth taking this if you're looking to use the Soul-Tally Offering Stratagem often.

Cybinfernal Font (20 points) – Non-DAMNED model only. Models in the bearer's unit have the SOUL FORGE keyword.

This is the most interesting Enhancement of the bunch; it both gives you some interesting Stratagem play with a unit that otherwise wouldn't have it but also imparts an invulnerable save on said unit - something you can only get from Abaddon. For that reason, the ideal unit for this Enhancement is something attached to a unit of Chosen. Chosen - with their 3+ Armor Saves and lack of an Invulnerable Save - tend to feel pretty squishy, and giving them an ability to shrug off high-AP attacks is a pretty big deal. Likewise, Raptors also benefit, and while Possessed come with a built-in 5+ invulnerable save, they really benefit from being able to re-roll wound rolls with Soul-Tally Offering.

This can also be interesting on a Master of Executions paired with a unit of Chosen and Fabius Bile so you can get them to Toughness 6 using the Unholy Fortitude Stratagem. That said, your big challenge there will be that adding the Master makes the unit too big to fit in a Rhino, and the added mobility and protection are likely to be better than the poential +1 Toughness.

Mark of the Soul Forges (20 points) – Non-DAMNED model only. Each time the bearer makes an attack, an unmodified 5+ scores a Critical Hit.

This is just a solid ability, and can be helpful for getting some value out of the limited number of attacks on your Lord Discordant. It's pretty straightforward.

Crown of Worms (15 points) – Warpsmith only. Add 3" to the range of his Master of Mechanisms and Enrage Machine Spirits abilities.

This is fine. Having a short range on the healing for a Warpsmith can be a pain in the ass, so being able to up that to 6" is pretty handy. On the other hand being able to force a Battle-shock test at 15" is a lot less useful, but for 15 points this isn't bad.

Credit: Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones

Stratagems

This is a suite of stratagems built for your SOUL FORGE units. Three can be used on more generic units, though one of those gets an extra benefit on Soul Forge units. They're a mix of offensive and defensive abilities.

Touch of the Arkifane (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used on one of your non-DAMNED units in any phase. Until the end of the phase when that unit makes a Dark Pact, it gets both abilities.

This is neat - it's something you normally need a Helbrute to get - and can help you pretty big when you're in a pinch. It's going to do better work when you combine it with the Mark of the Soul Forge enhancement for double effects on 5+.

Balefire Boon (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used in your Shooting phase or the Fight phase on a SOUL FORGE unit in your army. For the rest of the phase, that unit gets +1 AP on its attacks.

This is really good, and can help you push through high volumes of lower value shooting from something like a Predator, Forgefiend, Defiler, or even a unit of Terminators, Chosen, or Possessed with a Character rocking the Cybinfernal Font Enhancement. The biggest problem Possessed have is being AP-1 on their melee attacks and this can solve that problem pretty easily.

Soul-Tally Offering (Battle Tactic, 2 CP) – Used in your Shooting phase or the Fight phase on a SOUL FORGE unit in your army. For the rest of that phase, that unit can re-roll Wound rolls against a Character, Monster, or Vehicle targets.

This is expensive but very powerful. Re-rolling Wounds is huge, especially on things like Possessed, Forgefiends, and Terminators, where having the ability to fish for Devastating Wounds can make a huge difference in your output.

Biomechanoid Regeneration (Epic Deed, 1 CP) - Used in your Command phase on a non-DAMNED Unit. One model in that unit heals D3 wounds. Or 3 wounds, if it's a SOUL FORGE unit.

This one's OK. It's helpful to be able to regenerate wounds anywhere in your army and not just with the Warpsmith, and can help put you out of a bracket or just sand off some of that chip damage you took when you failed a Dark Pact. This won't rez dead models so don't bother trying to throw it on wounded Possessed/Chosen.

Forge-Fire Surge (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Used in your Movement phase, after one of your units advances. For the rest of your turn, that unit can Advance and shoot. If they're a SOUL FORGE unit, they can also charge.

Another important one, letting you get off Advance + charge move you need to make so many melee units work. That said, Advance and Shoot is really helpful for Obliterators, who need to advance to become mobile enough to chase down key targets.

Unholy Fortitude (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Used on a SOUL FORGE unit in your opponent's Shooting phase after they pick a target. For the rest of the phase that unit gets +1 Toughness.

Not quite as good as -1 to wound, but this can be huge for clearing some key Toughness/Strength breakpoints. It can take A Lord Discordant to T10, Predators to T11, Vindicators to T12, and your Enhancement-keyworded unit of Possessed to T7. putting someone on a 5+ to wound is a big jump in durability, so it's worth knowing when and where you can use this before a game starts.

Credit: Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones

Playing This Detachment

This is a bit of an odd Detachment; there's a decent amount of value in the Stratagems here for Daemon Engines but that's not really what the Detachment rule is pushing you to do; instead here you're being pushed to take non-Daemon vehicles, which can then benefit from the invulnerable save and Vashtorr's Unholy Mechanisms aura for +2 Strength on their weapons. And comparatively, the Daemon Engines here get some good Stratagems but nothing near as good as the insane damage buffs they get in Soulforged Warpack.

So you trade out raw power for efficiency: Forgefiends are still pretty expensive but Predators are dirt cheap, and when they suddenly have a 5+ invulnerable save and can get +2 Strength, they're much more deadly on the table. In particular, S11 Predator Autocannons really sing to me, and S14 Lascannons are nothing to sneeze at, either. Predators are the biggest winners in this Detachment, but Helbrutes, Rhinos, and Vindicators get a bit of love here as well and can operate more in the open when going up against AP-4 guns.

There's a big question about where to use the Cybinfernal Font in this army. I think your choices are either going to be a unit of Chosen, where giving them a 5+ invulnerable save makes them considerably more durable, or Possessed, where you are giving them the ability to Advance and Charge and get +1 AP and Toughness via Stratagems. It's an interesting trade-off, though I'd suggest that the Chosen lose out a bit given you can't pair them with Fabius Bile and you'll still need to put them in a Transport. That said, adding a Chaos Lord to the unit gives them some extra melee oomph they tend to need.

Strengths

Invulnerable Saves. Adding a 5+ invulnerable save to a unit that doesn't have one is a huge durability improvement, particularly on 3+ save models which otherwise struggle to stay on the table against the game's overtuned shooting units.
Versatile. This Detachment has a good mix of buffs to movement, durability, and damage output, ensuring you have something to work with regardless of your situation.
Shooting. Your best buffs here are to ranged attacks, and the units you'll want to bring most - Predators - are shooting units. Getting +1 AP or the ability to re-roll Wound rolls on your attacks can be huge.

Weaknesses

Daemon Engines. This Detachment does surprisingly little for your existing Daemon Engines. They get some good Stratagems, but nothing from the Detachment rule.
Movement. Outside of Advance and Shoot, there isn't much here in the way of movement buffs for your vehicles. Without a Stratagem to move through walls you may find yourself struggling to deploy and move an army that's heavy on tanks.
Infantry. The buffs here are primarily for vehicles and if you aren't taking the Cybinfernal Font, nothing here is going to do much for your Infantry models. You're going to be running skew lists here.

Credit: Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones

Sample Lists

For this test list I'm leaning hard into the Detachment rule, buffing Predators and just taking six of the damn things. The final version of this list probably wants more natural Daemon Engines somewhere, but I like to go hard on my first pass at lists and figure out how much is too much before I pare things back.

[expand title=”A sample List - Click to expand”]

vashtorr detachment test (2000 points)

Chaos Space Marines Strike Force (2000 points) Cult of the Arkifane

CHARACTERS

Master of Possession (85 points) • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Rite of Possession 1x Staff of possession • Enhancement: Cybinfernal Font

Vashtorr the Arkifane (175 points) • Warlord • 1x Vashtorr’s claw 1x Vashtorr’s hammer

Warpsmith (85 points) • 1x Flamer tendril 1x Forge weapon 1x Melta tendril 1x Plasma pistol • Enhancement: Crown of Worms

Warpsmith (70 points) • 1x Flamer tendril 1x Forge weapon 1x Melta tendril 1x Plasma pistol

BATTLELINE

Cultist Mob (50 points) • 1x Cultist Champion • 1x Autopistol 1x Brutal assault weapon • 9x Chaos Cultist • 9x Autopistol 9x Brutal assault weapon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Predator Annihilator (135 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Lascannon 1x Predator twin lascannon

Chaos Predator Annihilator (135 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Lascannon 1x Predator twin lascannon

Chaos Predator Annihilator (135 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Lascannon 1x Predator twin lascannon

Chaos Predator Destructor (140 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Lascannon 1x Predator autocannon

Chaos Predator Destructor (140 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Lascannon 1x Predator autocannon

Chaos Predator Destructor (140 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Lascannon 1x Predator autocannon

Helbrute (130 points) • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Helbrute fist 1x Multi-melta

Helbrute (130 points) • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Combi-bolter 1x Helbrute fist 1x Power scourge

Helbrute (130 points) • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Missile launcher 1x Twin lascannon

Possessed (240 points) • 1x Possessed Champion • 1x Hideous mutations • 9x Possessed • 9x Hideous mutations

ALLIED UNITS

Nurglings (40 points) • 3x Nurgling Swarm • 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Nurglings (40 points) • 3x Nurgling Swarm • 3x Diseased claws and teeth

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The idea is that they can travel in pairs with support from a Helbrute and/or Vashtorr, taking out key threats at a distance using Balefire Boon and Soul-Tally Offering to buff your damage output. The Nurglings are here for screening and to stop turn 1 charges into your tanks, while the Possessed are your melee pressure unit, able to Advance and Charge with Forge-Fire Surge and buff their AP with Balefire Boon. If you throw them at a big vehicle or character target you can instead use Soul-Tally Offering to let them fish for dev wounds on their attacks. The big question marks here are the Helbrutes - they just aren't good units, but they get the 5+ invulnerable save and help nearby units while giving me a melee counterpunch if something gets close. I suspect future iterations of this list cut them, however.

Final Thoughts

This is a weird one. It's another Chaos Space Marines skew Detachment, this time focusing on "normal" vehicles over daemon engines. It has some interesting play, and that 5+ invulnerable save is going to be huge in a few matchups, but it also feels like it may be an also-ran to Soulforged Warpack, where you just pay for the invulnerable save at the outset on vehicles which have more guns and better melee. I'm not sure anything in here compares to a Tempting Addendum Forgefiend, anyways.

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