[Aseran]

My question, as for how to paint and organize my separate squads of Chaos Bikers and Raptors, is half game mechanics, half based on pure opinion/acknowledgement of fluff, if anyone so cares to share what they think. Because I'm sitting here with some highly unpainted, unassembled models, and can't make up my stupid mind.

Points for Slaaneshi Raptors:
1. Extra initiative can only be helpful for guys who're likely to be first seeing combat.
2. The Raptors are described as being sadistic thrillseekers who attach amplifiers to their jetpacks to frighten their opponents with loud screams as they attack. Very Slaaneshi indeed.
3. One HQ in my army is a winged Slaaneshi Sorcerer, and the Raptors can serve as useful cohorts so he's not as easy a target while he works his foul Lash of Submission trickery.
4. As such, they'll more likelyhover about the battlefield taking shots at weak points like Raptors are described as doing in the fluff, rather than charge straight into combat like Khornates would.

Points for Khornate Raptors:
1. Extra attacks on guys who can get within assault range relatively fast sound pretty brutal. One equipped with Lightning Claws is going to be even nastier to face.
2. Red and bronze color scheme way easier to visualize on Raptor models than pink and black.

Points for Slaaneshi Bikers:
1. Reminscent of Doomrider. Everyone loves Doomrider.
2. Neon colors on bikes sounds good to me.
3. Are going to serve as easy targets, but like with other idea, extra initiative very likely to be useful when assault is (rather quickly) engaged.
4. Daemonette-dropping demon-bombing icon-bearers. Much like Doomrider, everyone loves Daemonettes. Even though this really makes no difference in the current codex.

Points for Khornate Bikers:
1. Again, more attacks.
2. Khorne Berserkers very likely to be deployed via Rhino; Bikers would make a useful escort for said Rhino, and I can't see guys in Slaanesh colors wanting to help the Berserkers out much.
3. Can also serve as more viable cohorts to a Juggernaut-mounted, Daemon Weapon-wielding Khornate Chaos Lord (1/3rd chance of making himself explode, 2/3rd chance of being a pure mutilation-machine. I likes them odds).

Anyway, so yeah. I guess really...what just sounds cooler? What'll look better painted? What useful aspects of the mix of gear and Icon am I probably overlooking? How else can such units help serve a greater army of similar aesthetic overall? Help me make up my mind!!

[deadnightwarrior]

Me, being a Slaaneshi player myself would go for Slaanesh over Khorne. In some, probably most cases, I'd rather have that extra attack than plus one to initiative as, in my experience, CSM strike first against most enemies anyway. But painting with bright pinks in contrast to the black looks so much cooler if done well, and is so much more interesting to paint than just reds on gold, I know as I used a Khorne army with the previous dex. I also prefer the idea of Slaanesh raptors as you described. But if you don't like the look of pink raptors, you could always paint them in the standard gold wiith possibly their left shoulders pink? I think that could work. Plus, with Slaanesh raptors, you could provide a retinue to the sorcerer protecting him for longer enabling maximum use of the dreaded lash. Of course I suppose there's nothing stopping you from mixing the marks as well. Khorne bikers and Slaanesh raptors I think would be best.

[Wired]

If I'm building it as an all-takers army, Khorne or nurgle. that way the points are not THAT Waisted if I take Slaneesh and meet an Eldar army. However if I have a choice ahead of time? Nurgle or Slaneesh, depending.

I will run nurgle bikers until they come out with an faq saying that the toughness benefits do not stack

[F3AR]

I go Khorne on both. Probably because I fight terminators and Tau alot. Alas, the extra intiative does nothing.

[33rd Sirican Redbacks]

I personally like nurgle on my raptors, it makes them damned hard to kill in combat for races with S3, also they can bounce off small arms fire easily.

[Dezart Fox]

Yeah but the only problem with that is nurgles the most expensive choice, for the raptors, out of the two I would probably go for.. neither, personally i like cheap good troops, true the extra attack or initiative might help but there already good as they are, raptors are cheap
as for the bikes i would probably go khorne, an extra attack will do ore than initiative, bikes are in smaller groups, hence there are less attacks,

[Solarius Scorch]

Maybe it's not very on topic, but I'd like to point out that colours is not necessarily an issue. Aseran, I can see that your colour scheme is pretty much decided at this point, and you are going for the classical legion colours. However, for the sake of general discussion, with the new codex (actually, one of the things I like about it) we have lots and lots of new colour schemes for different warbands.
Actually, that was the case even before. Still with the old codex, I decided to play Emperor's Children, but i didn't like their standard colour scheme that much. Instead, I made dark pink my main colour, accompanied by white and some dark red. That's the Slaaneshi scheme for my army.
With the new codex, I decided to add some other cult marines, too. For Berserkers, I decided on black with red (Something like Swords of Khargoth, see page 24). For Plague Marines, I am experimenting with dirty whites complemented by light green. I haven't decided on Thousand Sons yet.
Be original! Let loose your designing skills!

[Aseran]

Originally Posted by Solarius Scorch

Maybe it's not very on topic, but I'd like to point out that colours is not necessarily an issue. Aseran, I can see that your colour scheme is pretty much decided at this point, and you are going for the classical legion colours. However, for the sake of general discussion, with the new codex (actually, one of the things I like about it) we have lots and lots of new colour schemes for different warbands.
Actually, that was the case even before. Still with the old codex, I decided to play Emperor's Children, but i didn't like their standard colour scheme that much. Instead, I made dark pink my main colour, accompanied by white and some dark red. That's the Slaaneshi scheme for my army.
With the new codex, I decided to add some other cult marines, too. For Berserkers, I decided on black with red (Something like Swords of Khargoth, see page 24). For Plague Marines, I am experimenting with dirty whites complemented by light green. I haven't decided on Thousand Sons yet.
Be original! Let loose your designing skills!

Actually, I hear ya! The basic "theme" behind my army is going to be that a number of different warbands from a few of the classic Traitor Legions have formed a (somewhat loose) coalition for the purpose of mutually wreaking havoc on the Imperium (the ultimate aim I've not decided yet), the ringleaders of this band of misfits being a conniving and ambitious Sorcerer of Slaanesh, a perpetually masked Alpha Legion commander (who will show up as multiple unit types on the battlefield from game to game, being Alpha Legion--love 'em), and an opportunistic Thousand Sons Librarian (with his beloved pet Defiler).

The only Legion colors remaining purely classical are those of the Khornates (Red and bronze! It just works!) and the Tzeentchians (The blue and gold I find to be very eye-catching). The Slaaneshi, though I picture them having been borne of the Emperor's Children, are going to be incorporating more deep purples and blues as opposed to pink and flesh tones, and maybe some golden trimmings here and there. I want to play up the "overly opulent" theme (or otherwise, the bling) of Slaanesh devotees. The Alpha Legion members incorporate a bit more green into their ensemble than the tradition dark blue-and-silver combo. They've got a few mutated ones with pseudo-reptilian traits that are meant to echo their "Hydra" heraldry.

I haven't thought of what to do with any Nurglites, if they join up. I was tossing around the idea of giving them a "Fallen Angels" (i.e. Dark Angels) theme, with their "Fall" being-all-too-literally evident in the wasted and corroded state of their bodies, armor, and weapons. (Plus the DA-style robes give them a neat 'Grim Reaper' feel.) I can't recall if the Plague Marine boxes are plastic or metal, though, so I dunno how easy that conversion'd be (yes, I'm THAT new to this).

I appreciate a response like that, for sure. To me this is an art project before it is a gaming endeavor, though I like to think I'm contemplating practical use of all these miniature scoundrels as well as aiming to make them look good.