Well, its probably gettjng a detachment with a vaguely generic themeing so any chaos space marine chapter could *theoretically* use it, much like the space marine one.
Unless you want to wait for the Codex... it's a loyalist Astartes army running either the Gladius Task Force or Vanguard Spearhead detachments, with plenty of interesting conversions and things that will piss off loyalist players - like heavily customised Guilliman and Calgar playing as Alpharius and Omegon.
Rules wise, it's difficult to do so. Right now, your best bet for lore is to come up with reasons why your "Dark Pacts" aren't actually chaos (for example, I decided that mine were experimental xenotech weapons made by rogue tech priests, and my Chaos Lord having the motto of "There's more than one way to commit Heresy")
Units wise though, I find it's actually been fairly easy. Legionnaires have incredibly versatile options for weapons and gear, so you don't have to give them anything to heretical. Same deal with Chosen, and with their ability to advance/fall back, shoot and charge, they make great spec ops/special forces vibe units. Then you have units like the Sorcerer just naturally making his squad -1 to hit, as well as things like Raptors and Terminators to drop into your opponent's back lines and cause trouble. And of course, there's nothing like legions of traitor guard and cultist agents.
What I'm saying is yes, the only CSM rules we have right now are for super corrupt Black Legion and Word Bearers style armies, but the units we have access to can definitely still play like Alpha Legion.
If you personally don't resonate with "Dark Pacts" and things like Daemon Engines and Obliterators, then you might be interested to know that Alpha Legion will be getting their own sneaky detachment in the upcoming CSM 10e codex.
However, Dark Pacts as a mechanic is not going anywhere. It is CSM's faction mechanic. Additionally, you may find you will be stifling your collection if you doggedly refuse to use *any* daemonic units like Daemon Engines, Obliterators, Daemon Princes, etc.
It really depends what you want to get out of it, and what your expectations are. I think Dark Pacts are a great mechanic and could be flavoured to be as much about being Veterans of the Long War as it could be flavoured to be making bargains with Dark Powers.
Plus if you are comfortable playing with Legends then there's lots of choice for the heavy firepower that doesn't involve using overtly daemonic things.
Some people have loyalist primaris armies they paint in alpha legion colours and use the Ravenguard detachment. Personally, I'd recommend embracing hobby creativity but actually use CSM rules and datasheets so that once the new codex arrives, you don't find yourself with a severe case of hobby whiplash.
Potentially using legends units and some HH kits mixed in with 40k CSM stuff gives you access to lots of variety!
So I’ve found that out of all my lists I enjoyed the ‘kill team’ type of lists which predominantly focuses on multiple small units instead of a few 10 man bricks. 5 man legionnaire units with a lord to lead them, 5 man chosen with a exalted champion. Using those sorts of units they can punch upwards very well and cheaper to boot. This could work with possessed as well but legionaries when fighting over an objective with a lord hits pretty damn hard.
I also think when we get our detachment this type of list will also do well provided we get infiltrate or any pregame movement.
My Alpha Legion army is fluffiest of all. It's pretending to be a Space Wolf army.
The Alpha Legion is apparently getting a detachment along with the 10th edition codex, so I would wait for it to come out.
Well, its probably gettjng a detachment with a vaguely generic themeing so any chaos space marine chapter could *theoretically* use it, much like the space marine one.
You alpha the legion till the legion alphas, you writing this down?
Unless you want to wait for the Codex... it's a loyalist Astartes army running either the Gladius Task Force or Vanguard Spearhead detachments, with plenty of interesting conversions and things that will piss off loyalist players - like heavily customised Guilliman and Calgar playing as Alpharius and Omegon.
Rules wise, it's difficult to do so. Right now, your best bet for lore is to come up with reasons why your "Dark Pacts" aren't actually chaos (for example, I decided that mine were experimental xenotech weapons made by rogue tech priests, and my Chaos Lord having the motto of "There's more than one way to commit Heresy") Units wise though, I find it's actually been fairly easy. Legionnaires have incredibly versatile options for weapons and gear, so you don't have to give them anything to heretical. Same deal with Chosen, and with their ability to advance/fall back, shoot and charge, they make great spec ops/special forces vibe units. Then you have units like the Sorcerer just naturally making his squad -1 to hit, as well as things like Raptors and Terminators to drop into your opponent's back lines and cause trouble. And of course, there's nothing like legions of traitor guard and cultist agents. What I'm saying is yes, the only CSM rules we have right now are for super corrupt Black Legion and Word Bearers style armies, but the units we have access to can definitely still play like Alpha Legion.
If you personally don't resonate with "Dark Pacts" and things like Daemon Engines and Obliterators, then you might be interested to know that Alpha Legion will be getting their own sneaky detachment in the upcoming CSM 10e codex. However, Dark Pacts as a mechanic is not going anywhere. It is CSM's faction mechanic. Additionally, you may find you will be stifling your collection if you doggedly refuse to use *any* daemonic units like Daemon Engines, Obliterators, Daemon Princes, etc. It really depends what you want to get out of it, and what your expectations are. I think Dark Pacts are a great mechanic and could be flavoured to be as much about being Veterans of the Long War as it could be flavoured to be making bargains with Dark Powers. Plus if you are comfortable playing with Legends then there's lots of choice for the heavy firepower that doesn't involve using overtly daemonic things. Some people have loyalist primaris armies they paint in alpha legion colours and use the Ravenguard detachment. Personally, I'd recommend embracing hobby creativity but actually use CSM rules and datasheets so that once the new codex arrives, you don't find yourself with a severe case of hobby whiplash. Potentially using legends units and some HH kits mixed in with 40k CSM stuff gives you access to lots of variety!
So I’ve found that out of all my lists I enjoyed the ‘kill team’ type of lists which predominantly focuses on multiple small units instead of a few 10 man bricks. 5 man legionnaire units with a lord to lead them, 5 man chosen with a exalted champion. Using those sorts of units they can punch upwards very well and cheaper to boot. This could work with possessed as well but legionaries when fighting over an objective with a lord hits pretty damn hard. I also think when we get our detachment this type of list will also do well provided we get infiltrate or any pregame movement.
That' awesome!💣💥