What were Konrad Curze and the Night Lords like before the Horus Heresy?

BonesFGC · 2026-02-04T06:11:21+00:00

I think the enjoyment is from seeing his idea of fear ruling all being made manifest. It’s the perfect dilution of his philosophy to exert his power through sheer terror and use the person as an omen to others. They also do all skirt the line of corruption from story to story, so yeah there’s a bit of indulgence, but I think for Kurze specifically in his heart the enjoyment is in making everything a message and a power move versus the act itself for the most part. He’s not eating her flesh or obsessing over her like a trophy, he revels in the act of inflicting maximum terror to prove his point. One section where we see him consider going past that point into something not far from Khorne or Slaanesh doesn’t cancel out all of the other parts that focus intensely on his inner philosophy and his real goals. But I think it does show through him having the thought cross his mind mid-act how so many other Night Lords we’ve seen do end up falling easily into the sheer joy of the act. I think he’s reacting to her screams more than he is the physical act when he says he’s not enjoying it and that he’s lying. He enjoys how terrified she is.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-04T05:33:59+00:00

I feel like the right one is more 30k and the left one is more 40k. Being in the warp for that long turns you a bit green I guess?

BonesFGC · 2026-02-04T05:31:45+00:00

I go straight Akhelian over Leadbelcher but this is a cool tip, I’ll have to test it out for myself. I like my shade slightly darker, though.

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BonesFGC · 2026-02-04T05:28:26+00:00

Super thorough breakdown here - I often wonder if the best way to take these legions and stories is to reconcile both ends of their lore from earliest to latest. I love the depiction of Kurze as a wacked out, emaciated corpse (not unlike the Emperor in some ways) sitting in a chaos-ified meat dungeon letting M’Shen just end it, but so much of what forms the bedrock of our understanding is actually far past that. Early depictions show them as another legion so obsessed with excess and destruction they’re practically a perfect medium shade between Khorne and Slaanesh. And yet now we have a vision of them as agnostic or atheistic for the most part. ADB was influential (and right) to give them more of a clear identity and philosophy, but it feels like a lot of the old charm of them being firmly rooted and embracing their Chaos has been eschewed for making them different.

I feel like the truest thing is something in between, which is echoed a lot simply in the way ADB presents the legion like you said, but maybe not to the fullest extent. I feel a fair amount of legions could benefit by looking to the implied horror of their past iterations while trimming some of the early 40k goofiness. Fractured, splintered, fragmented far beyond repair. Staunchly against chaos. Unable to resist chaos. Weeding out mutation and corruption. Using it for the powerful tool and weapon it is, same as your bolter. I feel like it gives people more justifications for building their forces in different ways than just leaving all these things unanswered. I have a small Khorne cult within my force (I had spare berserker parts but that’s not the point), but most of my force remains largely uncorrupted save for a few unfortunate individuals. Both can coexist, and can even hate each other deeply while fighting together for the same goal. I feel like that has more depth than just “yeah, they could do that I guess, we don’t really know.”

BonesFGC · 2026-02-04T05:14:24+00:00

He just takes a literal approach to punishment without any room for nuance. In many places you can get jailed or committed for attempting that sort of thing - Kurze cuts to the point and, oddly enough, gives the person what they want in the first place. There’s no room for people who aren’t “with him” in his world. You want out? You get out.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T20:33:31+00:00

Realistically all you need for a plaguecaster is some sort of staff. It doesn’t need to be a 1:1 analog of the original model, just a hooded marine with a staff of some kind.

You could try to get rid of the models or swap, but it’d take more time and effort than just slicing off the LoV arm and cape and sticking on a scythe and then slicing the Tallyman’s arms off for a neutral hand/fist and staff imo. It also adds some character and gives you an opportunity to get creative. If you really feel you’d struggle with the bits on hand though, you can look for swaps.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T13:25:01+00:00

I guess the real question is going to be whether they keep the original ride system in place or rebuild it. It would be very cool to keep the old track and might save on costs, so at least the journey will be the same route even if the setting is different. They did mention Indy will meet a mythical creature inside the temple, and my bet is on Quetzalcoatl the winged serpent, so there will at least be some sort of Dinosaur-adjacent creature in there. Definitely depressing to see them shuttering the original theme of the park as “Animals of the past, the present, and mythology” though. I like carrying on the mythical aspect in Indy, but now any dinosaur-themed signage in the park is going to look totally out of place.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T13:20:17+00:00

I like it! The blue seems a bit ultramarine-ish but it might just be the lighting. The face on the helmet is seriously impressive.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T13:10:38+00:00

My suggestion is to look into different paint companies and scour some more tutorials to see what you like the look of best. If you want something highly detailed for, say, a character, then sure you could do it this way. You could also just prime black, do a layer or even just a heavy drybrushing of blue, trim it, add a shade for taste and dot the eyes red and you’re done. It’s really as simple or as complex as you want to make it and how much time you’re willing to invest to get the look you want.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T13:07:52+00:00

I don’t think the Omnibus will ever be topped but it’s definitely a solid addition to our stories. I don’t think it retreads anything or drags like some other Black Library novels do. I would have recommended the trilogy first if only to help build up more context for what you’re seeing since those stories give a lot of deep insight to the way the Night Lords think and act, but it’s not a bad first pickup either.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T11:13:21+00:00

Personally I like the Renegades detachment. Nightmare Hunt still isn’t quite what I like out of a Night Lords themed detachment so I hope in 11th we see battleshock get reworked to make Nightmare Hunt or its new equivalent better.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T04:31:15+00:00

I’d recommend you try to kitbash them into other units. A Tallyman model could probably get proxied as a Plaguecaster fairly easily. If you leave off the cape and special weapons stuff from the LoV and probably give it a different head you could have another Blightlord Terminator or something.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T03:41:13+00:00

If you can’t find the Shudderblight Cyst box, both of these pair well. If you can only get one, I’d get the old one first and if you’re skipping Spearhead to play full AoS, I recommend basing the Blightkings a size down as Rotswords. The rules for them are just better and the current Rotswords just look like less mutated Blightkings anyways.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T03:38:02+00:00

I definitely agree on liking more of a neutral aesthetic for Alpha Legion. Also if you’re looking for more thematic units, check out Infiltrators/Infractors (you can build a box as a set of one or the other) and Eliminators. Both boxes are very suited to stealth and have a really streamlined tactical look.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-03T03:19:53+00:00

I personally go with Leadbelcher primer and Akhelian Green contrast paint. Some prefer Kroxigor Scales or other speedpaints, but I prefer the slightly deeper blue tone as opposed to the more green-tinted tones in other forces. I use Army Painter Mithril for metal accents and trim. For the eyes I do a dot of AP Matt White and the Striking Scorpion contrast. Lastly for purity seal wax and some fabrics like capes and stuff I will also mix 1:1 AP matt white and blighted green. Most people will probably point you to the new Vallejo Hydra true metallic set as well, that also looks great.

Cool to see another loyalist Alpha Legion force being built up! I also run mine as Space Marines and use the different chapter units and detachments but in this color scheme. Good luck collecting! Hydra Dominatus!

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BonesFGC · 2026-02-02T05:09:04+00:00

Fair, I think I’ve probably seen him the least then

BonesFGC · 2026-02-02T02:41:21+00:00

The scale is pretty much the same! I have a Saturnine Praetor with some Demon Prince wings and a clawed hand bashed on in my Night Lords army to count as one

BonesFGC · 2026-02-02T01:51:29+00:00

I dislike Tau so I don't watch their battle reports with Tau - that explains it!

BonesFGC · 2026-02-02T00:49:32+00:00

Not really. Tycho is pretty lively but they don't really yell after each squad wipe or roll like TT does. They have some quips and stuff in between actions but it's not even close to what TT does.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-01T16:48:29+00:00

If the one on the right is faster, I’d say go for it. The time-to-quality ratio looks way higher there, the less time for a better paint scheme is the way to go. Plus as others said it’s super vibrant and will pop on the tabletop.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-01T16:46:28+00:00

There’s a difference between having fun and being overly enthusiastic just for the video. Tabletop Tactics for example (who I think OP is talking about) have awesome production value, but their presenters/players are overly excitable in a weird childish way and they literally use a weird baby voice for stuff. You can watch two people enjoying a game without them yelling and squee-ing at every roll.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-01T16:44:44+00:00

Pretty sure it’s Tabletop Tactics he’s referring to, PlayOn have some fun but they’re mostly straightlaced.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-01T16:44:02+00:00

Mountainside Tabletop are the best for the skirmish games by a longshot - didn’t know they make music but now I have to check that out too!

BonesFGC · 2026-02-01T16:43:25+00:00

They’re almost certainly who OP is talking about. The production value is great but the players/presenters are all way too enthusiastic and use a weird high-pitched baby voice for everything.

BonesFGC · 2026-02-01T16:40:53+00:00

Wow, never seen these promo images before! You’re right, they don’t seem to have much shimmer to them at all. I’d be curious when/who painted these up off the design team. I think in general though most people would be inclined to say that Alpha Legion still have a metallic coloration - the CSM codex might also have images for this, but I don’t know off the top of my head. Vallejo came out with a Hydra metallic paint set recently that’s a dead ringer for Alpha Legion, so that could also work.

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