Chaos Space Marines: A Maulerfiend Preview

Chaos Space Marines Maulerfiend. The hell-forged brother of the Forgefiend Daemon Engine I talked about yesterday. Unlike the Forgefiend, the Maulerfiend likes to get stuck in close and personal. I could not talk about one without mentioning the other, now could I. The Maulerfiend, after all, graces the cover of this month’s White Dwarf. Reason enough to take a look!

The Maulerfiend. Evil Warhounds of Chaos. Will Eat Fortress.

Big, supernatural and often evil dog-like beasts certainly is a tradition in fantasy. The old Norse had Fenrisulfr. Tolkien’s Silmarillion had Carcharoth. Harry Potter had The Grim. Now, Chaos Space Marines have the Maulerfiend.

Carcharoth, the Red Maw, he is named in the tales of those days, and Anfauglir, the Jaws of Thirst. And Morgoth set him to lie unsleeping before the doors of Angband, lest Huan come.

J.R.R. Tolkien – The Silmarillion

Of course, Forgefiends already are described as animal-like monstrosities that race across the battle-field on piston-driven joints. But their cannons and guns keep them somewhat grounded in the warmachine corner. The visuals Games Workshop creates for the Maulerfiends clearly make them the most animal-like Daemon Engines in the Chaos Space Marines’ new arsenal. Maulerfiends ”thunder towards the foe like giant attack beasts loosend from the leash” or clamber up the sheer walls of enemy emplacements to pry them open like a vicious dog trying to force its way into a cardboard box.

Enough talk. Let’s enjoy the background for the Chaos Space Marines Maulerfiend:

How will the Maulerfiend perform on the table?

So how will the cover-boy fare on the table? To be honest, I am not quite sure. Like the Defiler and Forgefiend, the Maulerfiend fights with the Kung Fu skills of a regular Guardsman. I feel this is likely hurting a Daemon Engine dedicated to close combat more than one dedicated to plastering the battlefield with template weapons.

The Maulerfiend does have a few nifty additions, however, that may balance its lack of skills. Besides the fact that the Maulerfiend is a Walker with two power fists that is! Here is what the current White Dwarf had to say on this matter.

In addition to its power fists, the Maulerfiend also has a pair of magma cutters, which have the look of heavy-duty acetylene torches and are designed to slice through armour close up. While these are its standard armament, there is also the option to swap the blazing heat of the magma cutters for the lasher tendrils also included in the kit.

What’s more? A 12″ move in the Movement phase? Fleet? Not slowed by terrain? The one-nasty-turn Daemonforge rule seen with the Forgefiend? All of them. And together these rules make the Maulerfiend more akin to a masssive close-combat bullet that a Chaos general would spring at your enemy at an opportune moment, and less a “traditional” close-combat beast.

It will be interesting to see how this will work out in a Warhammer 40k game.

What’s your take on the Maulerfiend? Share your thoughts and leave a comment below!

Z.