Ordos Xenos

[Just_Me]

As far as I’m concerned, the Alien Hunters really don’t get enough face time, they are a very cool and interesting organization, but they barely get a peep. Even most of the background on Inquisitor factionalism seemed to assume only Malleus or Hereticus. Fortunately, the new Dark Heresy books finally seem to be shining the limelight on the Xenos.

Now in spite of their total lack of coverage (Dark Eldar, Necrons and Sororitas can cry all they want about not getting updated, Xenos never even got a codex ), I have always had a love for them. So a while back when I was flush with a new unspent paycheck, Eisenhorn and Ravenor fresh in my mind, and the Pound beginning to falter, I took the plunge and ordered the Solomon Lok model and resolved to start an Ordos Xenos force. Well, it’s been slow going and other projects have intruded, but I am finally approaching the 1k mark for my Alien Hunters.

Because we don’t have our own codex, or even a neutral codex, I decided to use the Hereticus codex, as it seemed the least pigeon-holed between the two. However, while I chose gear and units from the Witch Hunters list, I restricted myself to items that were available (or had identical equivalents) on both lists, the only exception being I gave my acolyte (represented by the Cal Jerico model from Necromunda) a shotgun to represent his twin pistols. I also made choices that were “tech based” rather than “faith based;” no penitents or preachers, no flaming brands or the like, my Inquisitor and his band are heavy on the servitor and servo-skull models. I also took the lowly Inquisitorial Storm Troopers as troops choices.

At this point the army consists of:
• Inquisitor Lord and retinue (Combat servitors, servo-skull familiars, and tech servitor sage, along with one human acolyte)
• Inquisitor with retinue (plasma and heavy bolter gun servitors and sage for heavy fire support)
• Death cultists
• Inquisitorial Storm Troopers (one five man unit with flamers, one ten man unit with plasma)
• Orbital strike (could be fun, and as my Inquisitor’s fluff gives him his own ship, albeit a small one, it makes sense)

Just the other day I purchased a box of Kroot online that I will include with the mercenary rules to finish it out to around 1,000 points (oh, did I mention he was a radical?)

Now I am not really interested in a tactical analysis of my list strength (though I will listen if you really want to give one), hence why it appears in this forum. Instead I am interested in what people think of the list in terms of fluff, does it seem like it would be believable as a Xenos list? What advice do you have to make it more so? Has anyone else done Xenos, and if so how did they do theirs?

[miteyheroes]

You could add a Deathwatch Kill Team or two? Either using the old rules, or using Sternguard rules? Mind you, they're probably less Radical and more Puritan. Less likely to fight alongside Kroot!

Hmm, if you wanted to go REALLY radical you could use random new alien races as the Inquisitor's retinue, or as flagellants or SoBs? Maybe "Faith" could be a weird Alien psychic power or something?

Anyway, the Ordo Xenos are a cool concept. Go for it!

[energongoodie]

I'd love a xenos army too. Jervis Johnson said there is something in the works when he visited my local GW last year. I think there will be a codex covering all the branches of the Inquisition.

[Melissia]

If you want a radical, why not include some mercenaries? Kroot and Orks are the most common. Eldar also occasionally sell their services, most commonly the piratical elements/corsairs.

[Duke]

I know it might be too late, but I really think you could better represent Xenos hunters with Sternguard...

Duke

[Just_Me]

I picked the Kroot mercenaries because I felt that it communicated "radical" quite well.

As some of you suggested I have been considering adding a unit of Deathwatch, preferably with the old killteam rules. For one thing, as long as there are a set of rules for the Deathwatch from GW out there (however outdated and iffy they my be), for another it would give me access to the hellfire bolts and suspensors for the heavy bolter and some differant special ammo for the bolters, at the cost of hellfire rounds and a few others for the boltguns.

It is true I would have to come up with some interpretations for the older rules mentioned in the deathwatch article, but I think it can be made to work with a modicum of effort. Most of all it lets me take them in my list within the rules, something the allies rules won't allow me to do for sternguard. One of the things I was trying to do here was prove that there is enough flexibility within GW's rules to make this list within them (even if those rules are weird and pseudo-official).

As for the justification of including Deathwatch, I don't really think it's insurmountable, the fluff seem to establish that the Deathwatch are slightly more willing to countenance their Inquisitor's more questionable schemes than Sisters or Grey Knights; in the first Dawn of War book Deathwatch helped to steal a fragment of the Wailing Doom for their Inquisitor's experimentation, as I understand it in Warrior Coven the Deathwatch fought alongside the Eldar as part of a longstanding pact, and Kryptman had a force of Deathwatch who stayed loyal to him and helped him to lead Leviathan into Ork space even after he was branded a radical and cast out by the Inquisition. In short I seems that the Deathwatch are more mentally flexible than the other Chambers Militant, so I don't think they would be out of place in a radical Ordos Xenos force.

Oh, and for those who care about such things, my Inquisitor adheres to the Xenos Hybris philosophy (it's in Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods). The sort summary is he believes in understanding aliens and learning from them, and that humanity has no choice but to work with some alien species if they are to continue to survive.

[Nabterayl]

This is a semi-tactical question, but why the sage? Witch hunter inquisitors aren't exactly shooty. I know that Solomon Lok comes with a sage model, but what does he need BS5 for?

If you decide to do Deathwatch, I agree with Duke that the Sternguard rules are probably the place to look. Since it looks like you're just doing a kill-team, though, have you considered grabbing some Valkyries from IA2? I don't know much about the OX, but it seems to me that of all the inquisitorial forces they'd have the greatest need for conventional high technology, and Valkyries seem like they'd fit the bill. OX kill-teams have always struck me as the most commando-like of all inquisitorial house troops as well, and Valkyries fit that bill as well.

Plus (and again semi-tactical), they could let your storm troopers pack some meltaguns for extra anti-vehicle punch, while they handle the anti-infantry duties.

[miteyheroes]

You could have Sternguard if you constructed the force as SM Army with allied Inquisition and Kroot?

But yes. Probably just using old-skool Kill Team rules is the way forward.

[eagleboy7259]

Deathwatch Kill Team with a radical Inquistor? I'd have to imagine Xenos hating marines would have a problem working with the Kroot, similar to the radical Malleus Inquistors not having access to GK because of the demonhosts. I just hope and pray codex inquistion / heros of the imperium or whatever is more than just a myth and gets here sometime soon. I miss taking my demonhunters to regular action

[Just_Me]

This is a semi-tactical question, but why the sage? Witch hunter inquisitors aren't exactly shooty. I know that Solomon Lok comes with a sage model, but what does he need BS5 for?

If you decide to do Deathwatch, I agree with Duke that the Sternguard rules are probably the place to look. Since it looks like you're just doing a kill-team, though, have you considered grabbing some Valkyries from IA2? I don't know much about the OX, but it seems to me that of all the inquisitorial forces they'd have the greatest need for conventional high technology, and Valkyries seem like they'd fit the bill. OX kill-teams have always struck me as the most commando-like of all inquisitorial house troops as well, and Valkyries fit that bill as well.

Actually I use the servo skull with the scroll as a familiar, I am using the technical servitor model from forgeworld as a sage in that unit. I have a sage in there because a) it looks cool, and b) so he can make best use of Scourging, a potentially very nasty psychic power. I have however been thinking of moving that sage over to my elite Inquisitor unit, to give them two sages and a reroll. Currently he has one sage (the one from Cotreaz's set) and I wanted to add the Lexmechanic model from the Witch Hunter retinue, but I can't approve the cost of buying the whole box for one or two models, and I haven't found it separate yet...

I would love to give the entire force Valkyries as transports as I whole-heartedly agree that they fit very well, but the issue there is a $$ one, those Valkyries are expensive suckers...