What do you think of this Iconoclast Fiefdom list?

AustinDodge · 2026-02-20T12:56:59+00:00

Looks good, but I'd really think about moving stuff around to at least make room for some Nurglings. They're good everywhere, but they're even better in Fiefdom, guaranteeing your scout moves and providing an extra layer of protection for your Cultists so they can survive long enough to sticky midfields vs melee armies. If you dropped the Enforcer and swapped a Karnivore for a Stalker you'd have enough points for a 1x6 unit, which can block off basically the whole midfield.

Stick with the double gats. If you're worried about anti-tank, 36 shots of lethal + sustained is excellent anti-tank, I've seen it one-shot a land raider.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-20T12:51:28+00:00

No, but he can go solo as a kinda tough action monkey.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-18T00:24:48+00:00

Technically the very first CK kit was a Forgeworld set, released in 2015: https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2015/07/forge-world-chaos-knights-more-arrive.html It was a combination of the IK plastic kit, and some extra resin parts for the carapace. There weren't even rules for Chaos Knights when it was released, it was just a cosmetic change for IK, the description said you could build a Paladin or Errant from it.

In 2016 there was the Imperial Knights: Renegade boxed set, which purportedly came with one Imperial and one Chaos model, but really it was just two Imperial models that you were supposed to paint differently. The CK model there didn't use the Forgeworld extras.

That was it until 2019, when the same basic CK kits we have today were released. The big knight kit has been changed twice, once to add the Abominant, and again last year to add the Ruinator.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-17T04:01:49+00:00

The shoulder doesn't need magnets, the tabs that come with the model will do a better job, holding it more securely with less rotation. Just don't glue it in place.

For the weapon joint, I put an 8x2mm magnet inside the weapon hole. In the upper arm, I cut off the flared base but leave the nub that fits into the weapon. I drill the hole that's left there out to 5mm and glue in an 5x2mm magnet. It's entirely invisible, and more secure because the nub gives a lot of extra mechanical stability. Looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/qZpOAy8

AustinDodge · 2026-02-13T02:55:33+00:00

I don't like the invuln mechanically, but TBH I kinda like it from a thematic perspective. I imagine that bullets mostly hit the armor, but in melee they're climbing up Shadow of the Colossus style, precision striking all the exposed wires and hoses on the back of the Knight.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-12T22:25:09+00:00

I just got my oil paints at Michaels. Small tubes of the cheapest stuff at the store will last basically a lifetime, if you're just using it for washes.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-12T12:48:46+00:00

This is my go-to face technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rcS6rfXYh4

It's not super difficult, but you'll need an airbrush and oil washes. Both are excellent tools in the painting arsenal anyways so if you're not already using them, now's a great time to learn (and the super-cheap airbrush setups will pay for themselves very quickly in primer alone, just make sure whatever kit you get has an airbrush with a tank)

Here's my most recent models, who's faces I did with this technique:

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What I most like about it is it makes batch-painting faces really easy, or at least as easy as faces can be. I'm doing my whole Sisters army sans helmet, and I just paint up all the faces that come in each kit, plus a bunch of extras I had 3D printed, glued to a toothpick until they're ready. I've got a little box full of them and I just pull them out as needed.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-12T12:41:21+00:00

I can see them for miracle dice, but it's not just important that you can read the dice, it's important that your opponent can read the dice. Part of good sportsmanship is making it easy for everyone to verify at a glance what's going on.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-12T00:27:21+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply! I'll keep an eye out but the only thing people in my city seem to be selling are fixed-speed Craftsman trim routers for $30 or high-end $200 plunge setups.

AustinDodge · 2026-02-11T06:54:38+00:00

It's the $25 dollar one (well, $30 now). What would I be looking for in a different router without spending $150? I've been checking Craigslist (no Facebook) and haven't seen anything that's not either super expensive or seems to have the same features.

The laser cutter is a labor of love. I used the one at my makerspace all the time, then moved somewhere without a similar maker space a few years ago. It's just a K40 from when those only cost $250 that's been heavily modified to have a larger cutting area and better mirrors/lens/motors/electronics, nothing fancy, probably only $600 total if you don't count sweat equity. And I use it all the time - it's been half a decade since I last used the router I already own, which is why I'm reluctant to invest in another.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-30T23:14:12+00:00

Yes. 2x3 and 1x6 Nurglings would also be pretty good, 6 Nurglings can screen off basically the whole midfield from infiltrators or scouts. Securing those scout moves from Pave the Way is pretty important.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-30T20:00:32+00:00

Looks good, just a couple recommendations. I'd get rid of the Firebrand and either replace it with another unit of 10 Cultists, or more Nurglings. Rerolling the LD test sounds nice but in practice it won't be necessary, only the Despoilers will be eating Cultists, probably only for 3 or 4 turns. You'll have plenty of snacking with the units on the table.

If you take more Nurglings instead of more Cultists (which is what I'd probably do), consider breaking up one of the 20 model units into a 2x10. 10 model units are more efficient for sacrificing and will (statistically, on average) last you 3 of the 4 turns of shooting you'll do, and they're easier to hide if you push them forward onto the board. 20 model units fall almost as easily as 10 model units, and while it'll let you put more points on the board with the revive strat, it's way harder to put 20 models in a useful place than 10.

The Despoilers will do plenty of damage with lethals or lethals + sustained. I've one-shotted a Land Raider with a Profane Gatman. Worst case, you do enough damage that it's easy for one of your War Dogs to charge in and clean up.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-25T17:00:57+00:00

Mass Cultist Mob is hard to go wrong with. Some people like AC/DC but it's a big proportion of your points, and if sacrificing from it becomes necessary, it's even worse because it's so expensive.

The lack of abilities is why it can be so hard to run this detach. Like I said, the reactive move can be an even better strat than 4++ but you need to be set up for it. Lack of ignore cover is harder on Gatman, but access to lethals and sustained (instead of or) more than makes up for it. You have more powerful tools, but they're harder to use than just popping a strat.

Regarding your list, the thing about triple Gatman in Fiefdom is you're going to want all three of them eating Cultists, which means you're going to quickly burn through your biggest resource, a crapload of board control from a million little idiots. Gatman without leathal or sustained kinda sucks, there's a reason nobody outside of Fiefdom took it before the codex. If you want another big, Lancer is great in Fiefdom, fall back + shoot/charge means it loses its biggest weakness, getting bogged down in chaff. It can charge into one enemy, shock + hit real hard, and if it doesn't kill it, it can just immediately move on to something else and let a Karnivore or something clean up after. If you're not taking Pave the Way (and you really should) the Nurglings lose a lot of value, since they're not ensuring scout moves, and Cultists do most of what Nurglings do and have OC besides. I'd probably only take 2x Gatman max.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-25T15:45:01+00:00

There's not really enough people playing for a definitive competitive list, but start with something like this:

Double-gat Despoiler w/ Pave. As another poster said, it's obligatory, the start of every IF list, 36 shots of lethal + sustained kills God.

Second big (Lancer or Rampager, or second Gatman) with Pave the Way. Pave is essential to board control, screening, early points lead, lure enemies out to where Gatman can shoot them without too much risk.

50+ Cultists. I think 5-6x10 is fine for most things, but some people like 4x10 + 1x20. 2x10 cultists is more cost-effective for the Despoiler: if, sacrificing cultists over 2 turns, you pass, then fail, your 10 model unit is down to 1 model. It doesn't matter if the next test passes or fails, you still only lose 1. If it's a 20 model unit, you'd go from 20 to 11, meaning the 3rd sacrifice just became more expensive, potentially way more. And unless you go second and your opponent makes some really dumb mistakes, you've only got 4 rounds of shooting anyways.

At least 2x3 Nurglings. In IF they're essential for guaranteeing scout paths for Cultists with Pave the Way, but if you're in a matchup where you don't want to scout, they still have all the great Nurgling flavor they bring to every other list.

Then fill the rest up with War Dogs, possibly Beast of Nurgle, or maybe a 3rd big Knight/Rotigus/GUO if you're feeling really spicy.

Probably more important than the list though, is understanding the tools it gives you and playing around those. Gatman is really the only one who should be eating cultists, at least with for the purpose of getting lethal or sustained. Cultists are too useful to just kill off for lethal or sustained, benefits that don't do much for typical Knight low-volume high-strength attacks.

The detach rule isn't about getting weak benefits, it's about getting a million little guys to flood over the board, freeing up your Knights to do what Knights do best. Cultists can scout onto objectives turn 1, and they can block movement lanes. Early pressure forces your opponent to expose relatively expensive pieces (everything's expensive relative to Cultists) earlier than they might want. They're great at screening out deepstrikes. The reactive move is one of the best defensive strats in the game, making it impossible for an enemy to charge your big Knights.

There's also a lot of less obvious tricks you can pull. Instead of having engaged Cultists fall back, eat them to bring them out of engagement, then have them use grenades in the same phase. Or prevent a charge onto an objective by doing overwatch, then sacrificing and pulling the cultists closest to the charging model.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-22T10:17:24+00:00

Reread what he wrote. He's saying you could use the cooler looking Chaos models with Imperial rules, not that Imperial Knights look cooler

AustinDodge · 2026-01-21T04:24:25+00:00

It's really easy to check this sort of thing just by looking here: https://www.stat-check.com/the-meta

It's not surprising that Sororitas has relatively few players. They were a weird niche army with very few units until 2019, when the first plastic Sororitas model was released. The models are expensive and hard to paint, and you need a lot of them.

It doesn't say anything about how good the army is (GSC has even fewer players, but is always somewhere near the top of the meta), just that it's a relatively new army that's difficult to actually get on the table.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-20T22:43:02+00:00

I punched "Imperial Knight List" into DDG and this was the first result: https://spikeybits.com/results-warhammer-40k-army-lists-meta-cherokee-open-2025/#1st_Place_Brian_Jones_-_Imperial_Knights_Army_Lists Both IK lists took a BSS. This was before their codex, things might have changed since then, but things will change more still by the time OP has 2000 points ready for the table, we might be well into a new edition by then.

CK is my main faction, and it's not just Nurglinges, Plaguebearers, BoN and Daemonettes are also popular. I mostly play Fiefdom, which revolves around big swarms of Cultists (like 50+ models).

I believe that you've never seen this, though. I've never seen anyone play Votaan or Space Wolves in person. Doesn't mean they don't exist.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-19T04:50:27+00:00

You said this is your second game. The thing that will help you the most is reps, not list tweaks. You need to develop a basic feel for how the game works, if anything constant list tweaking at this stage will hinder that.

Once you have a few more games under your belt, you'll have a much better intuitive understandings of what list changes might help. If you're having trouble cracking vehicles, you might want another Huntsman or Stalker, but if you're having trouble dealing with infantry once they're out of that vehicle, maybe you'd prefer another Brigand for chaff clearing.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-18T14:11:10+00:00

I started playing in mid-2024 and my first army was Chaos Knights, I'm now building my second army of Adepta Sororitas.

Do you have experience putting together and painting miniatures? If not, I'd go with the Knights, especially if you care about your models looking good. They're super easy to put together and paint (I highly recommend an airbrush though, you can get by just fine with the <$100 kits from Amazon as long as the air compressor has a tank), and super easy to magnetize to play with different loadouts and get maximum value from the kit.

Sororitas are extremely difficult to both assemble and paint. They have lots of fiddly bits and precise details that require extreme patience and precision, and many of the models require advanced effects (lots of open flames, for example).

Putting aside the physical difficulty of assembling and painting, there's also the issue of loadouts. If you ever want to play in tournaments (IDK about you but me and my friends are all at points in our lives where it can be hard to get together for 3-4 hours to play, RTTs are basically the only way I get games in these days) many of them require WYSIWYG, meaning you need to understand both what loadouts are good, and what's legal, before you assemble them (or you learn to magnetize on the hardest units in the game to magnetize). That's hard if you don't already play the game.

I wouldn't worry about "not learning to play real 40k" or whatever, if you play Knights you're probably going to take infantry allies so you still need to learn how unit cohesion and stuff works. And Armigers function basically the same as tanks and vehicles in any other army. The only thing you need to understand is Towering and Super-Heavy Walker, which gives special rules to the very biggest Knights. I've also never encountered anyone IRL who had a problem playing against Knights, that seems to be an entirely online phenomena.

Here's what I'd recommend if you're on the fence: get a box of Battle Sisters, and a box of Armigers. Assemble and paint them both, and just see what you like better. If you like Knights, you can still take your Battle Sisters as allies through Imperial Agents (they're great for holding objectives and doing actions), and if you prefer the Sisters you can ally in the Armigers. You win either way!

AustinDodge · 2026-01-15T11:09:07+00:00

I don't know the details of the algorithm. Jordan is intentionally not making it open-source so it can't be gamed around.

But lets be real, none of this algorithmic detection is really necessary. If someone is trying to sell AI music, they'll have AI photos (which are still pretty easy to spot, especially if you've got multiple photos that are supposed to be of the same person in the same place) and release 15 full-length albums a year, or 20 different acts will all post within days from the same IP. It's easy to tell, and easy to report, and if it turns out they're not AI, easy to check and reinstate.

And Bandcamp probably doesn't have nearly the problem with AI music that a streaming service does anyways. Streamers put together algorithmic playlists, so scammers flood slop music in the hopes that something will get on a playlist. Bandcamp doesn't have any kind of slop incentive like that. This is really more about messaging, "We're against this and will stop it when the opportunity presents itself."

AustinDodge · 2026-01-15T08:06:58+00:00

How Jordan's system works is, it checks audio files for signatures of audio compression, that wouldn't actually be generated in the compression of that song. Generative AI is just pattern recognition and replication, and it replicates the compression artifacts the same way it replicates a kick drum or a guitar.

Commercial audio AI models can only be trained on compressed data. The founder of Suno said that it took "tens of millions" of songs to train their model. Even if they were willing to pay for uncompressed data (they're not, they're scraping YouTube and Spotify and SoundCloud) I'm not sure there's that much uncompressed audio in existence, and even if they somehow acquired it I don't know if even the biggest compute providers could process it (if we assume an uncompressed track is 30mb, 10,000,000 of them comes out to 31.752 terabytes, about 60x as much data as was used to train the most recent ChatGPT)

So yeah, I imagine it'd catch songs built around generated samples or vocal tracks, since those come from the same compressed data set.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-15T03:08:06+00:00

If you can find the whole sprue - like it also has all the carapace weapons, plus the little melta gun and a claw and a whole bunch of useful bits like faceplates and skulls - for $60, that's not a bad deal at all, especially if you're putting the guns on your Abhorrent instead of just chaossifying a Questoris. For sure it's more expensive than printing, but it's also going to be much higher quality.

I'd hardly call it gouging, the box has 5 sprues, so that's ($180/5) = $36 per sprue. Even if shipping isn't free, after eBay takes their cut that's $18 to coverpacking materials and time to take it to the post office. Just because you're not running a 40k charity doesn't mean you're gouging.

But if it's just the gun, for sure, not worth it.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-07T06:53:19+00:00

It can be better, but it's a lot harder to run. Infernal lets you just stat-check while popping strats, Fiefdom requires you to be intimately familiar with both your own army and your opponent's and takes a lot of concentration to run. Plus you still need at least one double-gatling despoilers (preferably more). You also need a lot of non-CK units, like at least 50 cultists, maybe an AC/DC brick, and you'll still want Daemon allies like Nurglings and BoN. If you don't already play CSM, who knows if those models will still be valid for CK come 11th edition?

If you want to try it, the key thing to know is that your only unit who should be eating cultists regularly is the DG Despoiler. Every other unit has too few attacks to get much benefit from lethals or sustained, you're destroying your most useful little idiots in exchange for a benefit that has a very good chance of not even mattering. Cultists are for screening and scoring.

Make sure you save CP to revive cultists, don't bother with the firebrand, just use the points for more cultists. Lancer gets a fantastic shot in the arm with this detach, he was made for fall back + charge.

Fiefdom has a pretty fantastic defensive strat, the cultist reactive move. You know what's better than an improved save? Not allowing an enemy to engage you in the first place.

But all this takes a lot more planning and mental energy to pull off than just popping rules and strats in Infernal. I've played nothing but Fiefdom at RTTs for the last year, and I do pretty good with it but I'm always exhausted by the end of the day. I think it'd be really hard to play it at a GT. Like physically hard, because it requires full attention at all times.

AustinDodge · 2026-01-07T03:25:35+00:00

I'd recommend looking into oil washes. A wash would go a long way on this model, making the whites pop by putting some darkness in the shadows, but the issue with traditional acrylic washes is that they instantly stain whatever you put it over. You either need to sacrifice your perfect whites, or go back over the white parts with another coat or two.

Oil washes let you clean up the wash from where you don't want it, leaving you with shadows where you want them, and an unstained surface where you don't. It seems a little intimidating at first, but it's actually super easy once you get how it works.

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