The Exorcists 2nd Company

All of this time indoors has really done wonders for my pile of shame. There was a good month at the beginning there where I didn't do anything; the shock of everything that was happening during lockdown really got to me. I think I just sought distraction. But, eventually the painting bug bit me and I started cranking out models like crazy.

I've been working on my Exorcists as a side project for the last couple of years. The old Space Marines Codex depicted the archetypal Exorcists as red with a black power pack and gold trim:

At the time, I did not know that the yellow/gold trim on the pauldrons was indicative of a Space Marine from the 2nd Company, so I painted up my troops like the picture. I inadvertently chose my Company for all of my forces. I kind of wish I had gone with 5th, because black would lean into the whole muted color scheme I ended up on. But my guys are the 2nd Company, proud and strong.

I dedicated a lot of my painting time in the last six weeks to working towards having 3000 points painted in anticipation for a big ol' Apocalypse game against my brother when this is all through.

So here's what I have painted!

CHAPTER MASTER APOLLODORUS
The Chapter Master of the Exorcists hasn't been established in the lore, so I went ahead and cast Apollodorus in the role. I always spend the 2 CP to run him as the Chapter Master, and him exclusively. Gravis Armor makes this dude incredibly survivable. T5 and 7 wounds is tough to get through. Usually he only ever dies because a Sorcerer or two has breached the lines and kills him with mortal wounds. He is eternally loyal to Inquisitor Felencia, often times deferring to her as commander of a battle force.

LIEUTENANT SENNACHERIB
Sennacherib used to be the sergeant of Squad Sennacherib (now Squad Soroush). In one battle he watched as his whole squad was killed by warp lightning, leaving him alone in the ruins of a church. But he did not bend. He did not flee. He rushed out of cover to slay the Exalted Sorcerer Maatzer before the wicked psyker could deliver the killing blow to Chapter Master Apollodorus. For his heroics, he was promoted to lieutenant, and I painted a stripe on his helmet.

CHAPLAIN ACHERON
I am really proud of how Acheron turned out. Acheron is the voice of faith and loyalty for the 2nd Company. He hasn't ever... done much, of anything. In any game. Before the new Marine Codex, I would teleport him in alongside my Terminators and he'd give them all rerolls for their thunder hammers, but these days, with Litanies... eh, I haven't really found his niche. I'll keep on bringing him to games and mixing up his abilities. I'm sure I'll figure something out. He will continue to faithfully serve his chapter and the Emperor.

PRIMARIS CAPTAIN
I just recently finished this guy, so he does not have a name yet. This was my first attempt at doing OSL, too, and I think it turned out alright. He's only played in one game and he killed himself while overcharging his plasma pistol.

Holy over-saturation, Batman. 

SANCTIARCH ESARHADDON
The High Chaplain of the Exorcists. I've yet to field him in a game, and with all the negative chatter about Chaplain Dreadnoughts I've been nervous to. He doesn't have the lascannons that most people associate with the terrifying Space Marines meta lists. He just wants to run up the field screaming apoplectically. Kitbashing this guy was really fun.

INQUISITOR FELENCIA
My Inquisitor and her retinue. Technically not a Space Marine, but Felencia makes it into all of my games with the Exorcists. She was one of my first models, and I could never really find a place for her in my Grey Knights lists, so I try to fit her in with the Exorcists. Lore-wise, it makes sense for an Inquisitor to be attached to the Chapter, and Felencia's abilities jive really well with my Space Marines. The Ordo Malleus psychic power Power Through Knowledge can give a squad of Intercessors a 5++, which can be handy in a pinch. My Space Marines are also much more static than my Grey Knights -- Where my Sons of Titans are always moving and teleporting around the board, my Exorcists like to castle up and stonk heretics from across the board. Felencia is happy to lead them.

EPISTOLARY AZRA LUTEMN
So far the only representation of my Chapter's librarius. I really did not like the hooded head of the stock Phobos Librarian. Too mall-goth for my taste. So I gave him Voldus' head and transplanted a gorget from some other Space Marine. Azra Lutemn hasn't made much of an appearance on the table. I should change that. Having another psyker would be very valuable.

3rd SQUAD, VETERAN INTERCESSORS
I love these guys. Seconded from the 1st Company, this Veteran Intercessor Squad is tasked with defending the Chapter Master from whatever foul forces challenge his mastery of the battlefield. Sergeant Khurshid has six attacks on the charge, which is insane. He also manages to find himself facing off against enemy characters all of the damn time. As a veteran of the Death Watch, he has definitely made a name for himself in the 2nd Company.

SQUAD THEUDEGISKLOS
Some of my first models. Originally I made all of my Intercessors with the idea of making a battalion to support my Grey Knights and give them some much needed CP.

SQUAD LEOFSIGE
These guys were my Kill Team during a campaign back in summer of 2018. Poor Leofsige suffered a fall a few months back and his precious nameplate snapped. :(

SQUAD SOROUSH
I just finished Sergeant Soroush a week or so ago. His nameplate is on the way. I'm hoping that he will really wreck up some Chaos tanks with that power fist of his. The other Intercessors in this squad were some of the first I painted for this army, and when contrasted with Soroush you can really see how my scheme for my Exorcists has changed. The darker, muted red is a much nicer effect, I think, and really gives the gothic daemon-possessed look that I want. Also it makes us look less like Blood Angels.

SCOUT SQUAD
I've never liked the Scout models. I built some Tac Marines and left off the pauldrons and power packs, and I think it turned out pretty okay. They are noticeably smaller than my Intercessors, which is good from a tabletop perspective because they have half the wounds. I should build more Scouts, since the Exorcists have three whole Scout Companies.

INFILTRATOR SQUAD
These were the guys from the Shadowspear boxed set. I like the variety of poses and roles in the squad. The Helix Adept in particular was very fun to paint. One thing that I am always irked by is the similarity in the Primaris models. Sometimes I can't tell an opponent's Intercessors from his Infiltrators, and I plan my entire deep strike strategy assuming I can come in 9" away. I'm a firm proponent of gameplay ease being paramount when modeling and painting, so I've decided that all of my Phobos dudes are going to have black limbs to sufficiently distinguish them from my Primaris guys in normal Mark X Tacticus armor. Hopefully people will be able to tell these guys are Infiltrators at a glance.

COMPANY CHAMPION SOHRAB
One time, a Mawloc popped up out of the ground right in my backline amidst all my tanks, and Sohrab heroically intervened into it like a badass. He got devoured, but it was a cool moment.

CONTEMPTOR DREADNOUGHT
This is just the standard Contemptor that comes in the GW plastic kit. It is not very posable, especially compared to the beautiful Forge World Contemptors. The kit was so static and dull, in fact, that I based coated it and neglected it for the better part of the year. Were it not for quarantine, I would never have painted him.

HONORED BROTHER SEREBOT
Look at this Dreadnought with the Legends loadout! This guy has three heavy flamers. He was the first Exorcists vehicle I made. His first match was against Tyranids, and boy did he crisp hoards of bugs. Regular Dreads don't get nearly as much table time as Redemptors and all the fancy FW Dreads, but Honored Brother Serebot will always have a place in my games.

ASSAULT TERMINATORS
Fun fact about this squad: I built them in an excited rush without thinking about what they were gonna have besides THUNDER HAMMERS, and I didn't notice that I'd spread the sergeant's bits across the whole squad. One guy has his storm shield, another has his helmet, another has his hammer, and the guy in the middle has his winged crux. Also one of them has a Custodes shield, because... no reason. I thought it looked cool.

SUPRESSOR SQUAD
Another kit from the Shadowspear box. I didn't like the jumpy fins that they had, or the helmets. So I gave them beakies and traditional jump packs, and put IG autocannon drums on the sides of their weapons. Suppressors are interesting. I think they're really fun and cheap, but I've never seen them do anything on the tabletop. Maybe plink off a wound here or there, but they just aren't very killy.

TARANTULA SENTRY GUNS
I painted these up specifically to fill the Fast Attack slots of a Brigade.

PREDATOR DESTRUCTOR
Tanks are really cool. The Rhino chassis is really cool. Thus Predators are really, really cool. They are so much fun to build and paint. They're another model that just dies immediately on the tabletop, but I bring them because they look awesome accompanying my troops into battle.

PREDATOR ANNIHILATOR
Another Predator, this one covered in lascannons. This one has been with the Chapter for centuries. It has slain Greater Daemons. It's one of the first models I did for my Exorcists, and still sports the bright red of my earlier paintjobs.

HELLBLASTERS
I just finished painting these guys on Wednesday this week, before my game against Harlequins. I'm debating on whether or not I want to do the OSL effect on their guns that I did on the Captain. Maybe, but I like how clean they look right now. I still need to etch runes and scripture into their armor, but other than that they are finished.

THUNDERFIRE CANNON
A thud gun and its accompanying Techmarine, and all of his little helper servitors making sure it is all nice and shiny for battle.

LEVIATHAN DREADNOUGHT
The Exorcists have only been around for about 5,000 years, so they do not have any Leviathan Dreadnoughts at their disposal. Only the First Founding Chapters claim to have such fearsome weapons. A few centuries ago an Inquisitor Ordinary discovered this particular Leviathan rampaging across the surface of a feudal world near the Eye of Terror. The locals said it was an ancient monster, an immortal beast that slaughtered everything it beheld. The warrior interred within the Dreadnought had long since gone completely mad and the Inquisitor found no success in attempting communication. The Inquisitor Ordinary suspected that, based off of its coloration and iconography, the Leviathan originally belonged to the Thousand Sons Legion before the days of the Heresy. The Inquisitor Ordinary deemed it necessary to destroy the mindless beast, but some last minute interrogation of the locals revealed that the Leviathan seemed to seek out witches and the possessed in particular. It destroyed all in its path, but it was ravenously drawn to the presence of psykers. The Inquisitor Ordinary realized this could be utilized in the Ordo Malleus' eternal war against the Archenemy, and he captured the Dreadnought. He entrusted the deployment of the beast to Chapter Master Apollodorus, urging him to only release it when the situation was at its most dire.

IMPULSOR
The ride of Squad Soroush, equipped with a heavy stubber and that anti-air gun I forget the name of.

IMPULSOR
The dedicated transport for my recently finished squad of Hellblasters, equipped with a shield dome to hopefully keep them alive on the way to the front lines.

XIPHON INTERCEPTOR
Another model I finished in the last few weeks. Four lascannons raining from the sky will hopefully put a dent in the Thousand Sons bigger daemons when we at last get around to our plagues-end game.

Exorcists vs Harlequins

Lockdown has been tough here in Seattle. I haven't done a battle report in months because of it. In fact, I think it's been three months since I've even played a game. It has been eating at me something fierce. Yesterday, my friend and I decided to risk exposure and attempt a game. I set up my table out in my driveway, lathered up in hand sanitizer and sunscreen, threw on a mask, and prepared to fight against Harlequins.

Fortunately it was a beautiful day. Almost too hot, even! I was worried for some of my resin models when the sun was at its highest.

The sun-scorched wastes of Zaharan VI.

I love setting up battlefields. I'd recently finished these desert buildings and I was excited to actually get to set them up. I took a page from Winters SEO's playbook and scattered aquarium rocks everywhere. We decided to play a Maelstrom game at 2000 points and jump right in after some face-to-face chatter (something I've also been missing fiercely).

A twist for my army! In the last few months I've been painting like crazy, but I haven't been painting Grey Knights. Instead, I've been reddening my brushes and painting up their only possible successor chapter. This is the blog debut of my Exorcists Chapter!

I really love these guys. I have about 3000 points painted, and so I scrounged up my favorite models to face against the Rillietann. It's a hodgepodge, but mostly good units. I have some Suppressors for long range shooting, some Infiltrators in case he decides to Webway Strike, Heckblasters to take care of bikes, a Xiphon Interceptor to also handle bikes, and just a ton of bolter fire. I've also got Inquisitor Felencia in there as my Warlord. I know that it is tactically a terrible call to make the Inquisitor the Warlord because then I don't get a free Space Marine relic, but with the lore surrounding the Exorcists it seems almost blasphemous for my Inquisitor to not be leading the force. I'll sacrifice tactics for fluff any day of the week.

As a non-First Founding Chapter, I utilized the Successor Chapter Tactics rules for my Exorcists. I gave them Warded so that they have a 5+++ against mortal wounds (which is on brand for them; their armor is covered in runes and glyphs), but I couldn't really decide on the second tactic. I ultimately went with Stoic (+1 Ld) to represent the fact that they are fearless and unshakeable. I think this was a bad choice. I would love to hear some recommendations for a fluffy option, if anyone has any ideas.

Too many bikes?

My buddy brought an absolute assload of Harlequin bikes. Each of those has those vicious haywire cannons that just tear through vehicles with mortal wounds. My Warded FNP was going to come in handy. Each Starweaver transport had five clowns with fusion pistols, as well, so he had a ton of damage output. He was utilizing the new rules from White Dwarf which give his six characters all sorts of new abilities--many of which were incredibly defensive.

Gorgeous models.

His Warlord was the Shadowseer on the left there, named Morrigan Fatedancer. If he played his psychic powers and stratagems right, he could give her a 9" bubble that made all his Harlequins have a 6+++ FNP and -1 to being wounded. Everyone talks about how Harlequins are glass cannons and they have to rely on a coin flip invuln save, but I think this was a good a way to give them some incredible survivability. As he told me this, I was really wishing I had brought along some snipers to take out Morrigan.

We rolled off, and I chose to be the Attacker. I was set to deploy first and go first, so I deployed accordingly. My plan was to rush forward with my Xiphon and my two Impulsors which were loaded with Heckblasters, Intercessors with a power fist, and my Primaris Captain with a power fist. I castled up all my shooting around Lieutenant Sennacherib and Inquisitor Felencia, with the intention of the Inquisitor giving one of my units a 5++ with her psychic power Power Through Knowledge and using Wisdom of the Ancients on my Contemptor Dreadnought to provide the reroll aura while my Captain was away. If all went well, I'd pop his transports and leave his fusion pistol Troupes back in his deployment zone while my firebase took shots at his bikes. My Tarantulas could easily pick off the Troupes as they rushed up the board.

Definitely too many bikes.

He deployed very aggressively. Morrigan Fatedancer is in the middle there, providing her defensive buffs to his entire army.

Then he seized the initiative.

Oof

My vehicles didn't stand a chance. I had banked on going first, and it cost me. Prepared Positions did nothing to prepare my light tanks against the storm of mortal wounds and AP-4 meltas coming their way. He erased both Impulsors and dropped my Predator to 1 wound with ease. The plethora of shuriken cannons ate away at my Xiphon's wounds as well, bracketing it much sooner than I wanted.

I did my best to salvage my position. Fortunately none of my models died when their transports exploded, so I pushed my Heckblasters and the Captain forward to try and take out as many bikes as possible before he erased what was left of my vehicles. Unfortunately I chose to overcharge, and all Harlequin bikes and transports have an innate -1 to being hit. Even with the Captain's rerolls I lost two Heckblasters, and also the Captain himself because I overcharged his plasma pistol for some fucking reason.

Dammit.

My inexperience with Space Marines became immediately evident. I don't know anything about this army! I should never have overcharged when I had a 1/3 chance to just kill myself! I have played nothing but Grey Knights for the past year. That and the unexpected seizing meant this was going to be an extremely uphill battle. Ugh. My Xiphon was still in the game, though, so I threw all his shots into one of the transports in the back with the hopes of popping it.

"Hitting on 3s..."

Hm. Well, alright, that one wasn't my fault, at least. If the Captain was still around, maybe this would have been different.

At the end of turn one shooting, I had only killed two bikes.

I rushed forward and got my Contemptor stuck in along side some Veterans. The deluge of attacks from Intercessors with the Veteran strat took out two more bikes, and the Contemptor felled another. So I'd killed five of eighteen bikes. He struck back and laid waste to my Space Marines in melee.

Turn two he didn't move much. His bikes shot apart my Intercessors on the right flank and prepared to charge my plasma boys.

All of the defenses protecting my commanding forces had been eradicated, and my Warlord was exposed.

The clown cars moved in and just began mopping up everything. The sky was full of bikes that couldn't be shot and just shot apart everything. I didn't have any way to effectively retaliate.

Impulse buying is healthy.

My forces were slaughtered. Warded helped a bit against the mortal wounds from psychic powers and haywire cannons, but it wasn't nearly enough.

"Oh fuck--"

Inquisitor Felencia took shuriken cannons to the face, and then Chaplain Acheron was incinerated by fusion pistols.

Blood on the sand.

By the end of turn two, my Dead Pile looked like this:

Which was easily most of my army. When my Terminators finally touched down on my turn, there was nothing for them to reinforce.

"Is this... did we show up to the right place?"

"Oh shit!"

"Oh, shit."

I cannot overstate how totally the Harlequins ruined me. It was a bloodbath. I think I only completely killed one unit the entire game. My one redeeming moment was when Khurshid, the Sergeant of my Veteran Intercessors, survived two fight phases against the coked-up psychopath that is the Solitaire known as the Whisper of Antioch. Khurshid just kept passing his saves, and managed to take off two wounds from the Whisper of Antioch before the Solitaire decided the fight wasn't worth his time and fell back on the next turn to kill something else. I consider that a victory for Khurshid.

I think I had two models on the table after turn three. We called it before the sun set.

What a lovely afternoon of cocktails, 40k, and sunshine. I don't even mind that I got thrashed like a chew toy. It was just so nice to play again and catch up with a friend. We managed to keep our distance from each other and wear masks the entire time. I think this was a successful experiment, and I really look forward to playing someone else next week. But, man, I need to do some more list crafting with my Exorcists.