True, the older Chaos models had a uniquely weird look. Nowadays it a bit more "brutal barbarian from the north", though I appreciate some of the Nurgle stuff they've put out - the hoofs, fly-eyes, pipes are suitably other-worldly.
In the meanwhile I've played another battle with the Empire yesterday. It was a 3k points a side affair against Dwarfs. Standard pitched battle, with our regular house rules (combined profiles for monsters/chariots, no move-or-fire for infantry).
I deployed a halberdier horde on my left flank (against the corner the dwarfs were castling in), suported by a War Altar, 2 Captasusi and some small shooters. The right flank - intended to be the sledgehammer swinging inside - consisted of a solid squadron of IC Knights led by a Warrior Priest and 2 smaller units: demigryph knights and regular cavalry. Some shooting support was stationed on a central hill.
The Dwarfs were quite typical - 5 warmachines (2 cannons, 2 catapults, 1 organ gun), protected by 2 solid infantry blocks (21 hammerers, 38 longbeards). 2 Gyrocopters and a unit of Miners were included to interfere with the Empire assault.
A mid game shot:
I obviously advanced under heavy fire, but was quite lucky with my rolls and most of the army made it to the enemy line.
My halberdiers blundered in the first encounter, failing to support a charge by the War Altar and IC Knights against the Longbeard horde. In the end my units had to retreat, though were not pursued.
On the other flank, the hammerers ruled supreme. They've quickly dealt with my small Knight unit and then sent the Demigryphs running.
Both back lines were under heavy attacks. My Pegasus Riders assaulted the Dwarf War Machines but had a hard time killing them (damn you stubborn T4 crews!). The Miners, meanwhile, entered right next to my artillery and wiped them out, with the Swordsmen babysitters providing but token resistance (they did pass 3/5 parry saves though, infuriating my opponent!)
The halberdiers managed to clash with the Longbeards eventually, precipitating a deadly grind. In the end both units were wiped out - only my BSB, the Dwarf BSB and the War Altar were left standing.
The Hammerers did meet their match in the Steam Tank - the behemoth crashed into the tightly packed Dwarfs and ground them all down as the battle came to an end.
The IC Knights, having rallied twice, went on a rampage through the remaining Dwarfs, killing some Irondrakes among others:
[...] One rogue choice I would pick for it would be spearmen with moranian wayward shard. Early turns -> big monsters / flying menaces destroyes gun batteries. Spearmen comes in mid game to break steadfast / generate combat resolution for the protecting dwarf blocks.
.
