ARMY SHOWCASE: The Dragons Teeth Of Drek

“We’ve got this!”

 

Drek is a hive world in the D43 sub-sector that survived Old Night and has remained intact through the Horus Heresy through society-wide dependence on a drug called, “Balm.” The oligarchy which rules Drek in the Emperor’s name long ago introduced the drug into the planet’s food supply, producing a world of addicts. Balm produces little in the way of euphoria, but instead burns out the Pineal gland of the user in a matter of years. Should a long-term user of Balm cease intake, their bones begin to dissolve in a matter of days, leaving the user drowning in their own unsupported organs as their blood quickly turns toxic with minerals. There is only one penalty for lawbreaking on Drek: starvation.

This army was my 2019 Nova project. Just about every militia army is bespoke in some fashion due to the simple fact that there isn’t an official range for them from GW. I tried pushing this aspect as far as I could with this force. My Grenadier squads are from Anvil Industries, ,my Infantry are from Victoria Miniatures, my heavy weapon teams are a mix of parts from both companies, my Force Commander is from Artel Miniatures, and my Thunderbolt Fighter was from a Kickstarter.

My two Infantry Squads serve principally as meat shields for more important units. Using the Alchem Jackers provenance means they’re unlikely to run away, no matter what I throw them at.
SInce Drek survived Old Night more or less intact, I often use the Merchant Princeling warlord trait to represent this, making this Lascannon support squad’s weapons AP1.
The humble multi-laser isn’t very imposing by itself, but a squad of three rapier carriers is a mere 105 pts and puts out 18 twin-linked S6 shots a turn. They’re very useful against Monstrous Creatures and horde armies with poor armor saves.
My Force Commander, charnabal sabre and blast pistol in hand. He’s accompanied by the elite Grenadiers of the Drek militia, the Serenoid. This unit benefits from the Survivors of the Dark Age provenance with 3+ armor and Advanced Weapons, making their lasrifles and rotor cannons Strength 4.
My Discipline Masters keep a scatter gun handy in case anyone thinks of running.

I don’t have much in the way of tanks in this force, but the Stormhammer is an auto take. BS4 with a Stormhammer Cannon, Twin Battlecannon, and Seven lascannons is devastating. Not to mention, the Super-Heavy Command Tank upgrade is the perfect boost to militia.
For the points, the Thunderbolt Fighter might be the best flyer in the game. I generally equip this guy with four Hellstrike missiles to deal with any heavy units that get near the lines of infantry.

These servo automata are armed with plasma fusils. Give the Adept with them an Augury Scanner and they make a excellent area denial unit.
The artillery battery is the real star of this force. Three medusas with Bastion Breacher shells are superb tank killers. The fact that the unit has 24 wounds at T7 with a 3+ armor save is certainly helpful as well.

This project was a solid eight months of painting and collecting. They took a good deal longer to assemble and paint than a more conventional force, but the payoff in terms of fun on the table and hobby satisfaction can’t be overstated. I won’t put up the army list I brought to Nova because it was honestly too hard of a list. I’m in the process of adding some Sentinels and more artillery to the list and might drop the Storm Hammer in favor of a Sub-Orbital wing of Avenger fighters.

But….. there are rumors of rebellion on Drek. Cults in thrall to the Ruinous Powers have grown among the miserable populace. That’s right, the next expansion of the Drek militia will be a force of cultist militia!

As always, thanks for your time. I’ll try to put up another article once The Dregs of Drek are assembled. Stay safe, stay healthy, and get painting.

P.S. Anvil Industries, Victoria Miniatures, and Artel Miniatures are superb companies with great customer service that are still in operation as of this writing.

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