Terminators are basically just good right now, and you should enjoy them as they are while excitedly anticipating their future upgrade to 3W. Chaos Space Marines can still get there when combined with Daemons, but ultimately they don’t have nearly the breadth of strategies to work with that 8th edition afforded and there isn’t as much going for them. Almost every unit in the Chaos Space Marines army has the keyword, which can be replaced by one of KHORNE, TZEENTCH, NURGLE, or SLAANESH, allowing the unit to devote itself to a Chaos god. you can’t re-roll hit rolls of 1 for attacks with the Axe of Blind Fury and instead 1s are allocated to a friendly unit within 1″ if there is one. Again, mostly an OK trade. The Dark Hereticus discipline is the stronger of the two and available to most of your psykers, while the Malefic discipline is only available to Masters of Possession. Chaos Space Marines now have access to the same Contemptor/Deredeo/Leviathan as loyalists, at the same cost. – The priest regains D3 lost wounds. If you want something for cracking powerful characters there are going to be better options – even against stuff that’s in the sweet spot of “has an invulnerable save” and “has few enough wounds to be threatened by this” you’re probably better off just throwing out a ton of 2- and 3-damage attacks for them to save against. One of two serious combat monsters that Chaos Space Marines have access to in the HQ slot (along with Lords Discordant), Daemon Princes – almost always taken with wings – are combat blenders that combine a great statline – S7, T6, and a 3+ save – with 8 wounds, meaning they can sit comfortably behind other units and out of harm’s way until you need them to jump over both screens and tear something up. This is solid when it’s on and worthless when it’s not. >>77438645 >‘Now who is the better hunter?' Even with a gun buff Vindicators aren’t good enough to make this work; they aren’t fast enough or tough enough to make this reliable, and they aren’t good enough on their own to make it worth it if you lose a Vindicator on turn 1 and can’t use this stratagem. Your Warlord gets +1 Wound and ignores incoming damage on a 6+++. These have better range and offer 8 shots instead of 4, but trade out AP and damage and the ability to do mortal wounds. These towering spider-like Daemon Engines are hosts to parasitic entities that infest the tides of the Warp, preying upon stray souls and lesser Daemons alike. Pick a model within 2″; it takes a mortal wound. Until your next psychic phase, that unit can’t take invulnerable saves. This makes them invaluable support units for casting Warptime on a key melee unit, or a buff like Prescience or Delightful Agonies. They can come in squads of up to 20 and can include one Blastmaster under 10 models or two at more than 10; these act as souped-up Missile Launchers, with modes that are good for big targets and small, and they’re very efficiently costed. The Master of Executions is a pretty straightforward unit otherwise, packing a solid weapon in the Axe of Dismemberment. Note that, unlike with Space Marines, not all legion rules are fully faction-locked. If every unit in a detachment has the same Legion keyword, then Legion Traits apply to all INFANTRY (excluding Cultists), BIKERS, HELBRUTES, and CHARACTERS in that detachment. Ul’’O’Cca, The Black Axe – Replaces a Power/Force/Demonic Axe with one that has a profile of S User, Ap 0, D1, but it causes a mortal wound in addition to your other damage every time you roll an unmodified 4+ on your wound rolls. Otherwise, it’s situationally OK on Possessed or Bikes, and you’ll usually want to spend your CP elsewhere. Double number of attacks made if target is within half range. Chaos Space Marine armies have access to a large variety of subfactions, each with their own special rules called. Unlike Space Marines’ litanies, prayers happen at the start of the Battle Round, which is great for. We’ve put a load of sample lists into our legion pages, and will add more here in the coming months. rule now, making it so that including them in a detachment increases its cost by 1 CP. Daemon Weapons are basically Relic weapons except they have the Daemon Weapon rule, which has you roll a D6 the first time you choose a model to fight each Fight phase. Fabius doesn’t belong to any legion, and can be included in a Legion detachment without breaking Legion traits, but the other thing he does for you is, when he’s your warlord, is allow you to instead turn any units in your army into CREATIONS OF BILE, who are effectively a legion of their own with their own relics and stratagems. Enter your email to get the very latest - news, promotions, hobby tips and more from Games Workshop. Basically veteran Chaos Space Marine squads, Chosen have all the issues that CSM squads have, but cost 1 point per model more, get +1 attack and lose out on ObSec by virtue of being Elites. There are also another six Renegade chapters covered in Vigilus Ablaze to give you some alternate options for homebrew chapters, and finally a special group that follow Fabius Bile called The Creations of Bile. On the other side of things, Masters of Possession have access to the. Also note that the goal here isn’t to provide a comprehensive listing of every unit; we’ll be glossing over those that are so terrible they don’t really merit consideration in a competitive list. This can be helpful in a pinch but it’s a Stratagem that never sees use because you’re using your CP for everything else. Use at the end of your Shooting phase and pick a SLAANESH Infantry or Biker unit. Cool against Marines but completely worthless at all other times. The bad news is that includes degrading WS and BS attributes, but the good news is that they don’t hit that first bracket drop until they’re at 6 wounds remaining, which previously would have been the point where your Decimator had 2 wounds left, and regaining one per turn means it really only matters if you’re at 5 or fewer wounds. Your Warlord can attempt to deny an extra power each phase, and when they do they regain 1 lost wound each time they successfully deny. But even with new stratagems, some issues remain: The CSM subfaction traits don’t apply to Cultists or non-Helbrute vehicles, and many of them are just underwhelming to begin with (the Word Bearers’ ability is particularly heinous). Because each of those weapons is better than a chainaxe, there’s now no reason to ever take Chainaxe terminators again, and you should be looking at lightning claws almost all the time, since +1 attack and re-rolling wounds is better than the power sword’s +1 strength AP-3 effect most, if not all of the time. Terminators were a huge winner in the 9th Edition points updates and got another major boost in the January 2021 Munitorum Field Manual FAQ. These used to be nothing to write home about but thanks to the Imperial Armour Compendium update are suddenly worth talking about and considering. – SLAANESH model only. If you see something, or if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. You need a full detachment of a legion to unlock Legion traits and the Legion stratagems from Faith and Fury, but the relics and warlord traits from Faith and Fury plus the single stratagem for each legion that from the main codex only require you to have a Chaos Space Marine detachment (or a Chaos Space Marine warlord for the relics), so you can give a World Eaters Warlord the, warlord trait in a mixed detachment, or use the. One of the faction’s best Stratagems. That said, you can likely make a case for them in an Alpha Legion detachment, where the ability to redeploy them, move them forward pre-game, or fall back and shoot while having -1 to be hit is pretty solid. That being said, they do still have some things to recommend them. For both of these, any stratagems you’ve played for that phase will stay in effect through the additional round of fighting/shooting. This is kind of a double-edged sword however, as it means Chaos Space Marines armies are light on characters in the Elites slot, and so taking more than 3 will often mean having two detachments. , and in particular many of the best CSM units for melee do not particularly work well when the focus of melee combat is removing an enemy from an objective and holding it afterward. • For every ten models in the unit, one Rubric Marine may replace his inferno boltgun with a soulreaper cannon. If you are taking them, you’ll want to consider a transport for them, and Rhinos and drills both do just fine for this. Most of the prayers are very good, and give you a lot of utility. Now sitting at 135 points, it’s a more attractive option than it was before if you need a cheap unit to score Engage on All Fronts. The Iron Warriors have a few neat tricks to improve them, but they work pretty well in Alpha Legion or even Black Legion, where Abaddon’s full re-rolls aura helps them greatly. These used to be one of the strongest melee units in the game, but are starting to look a little left behind by things like Bladeguard Veterans. Take advantage of this by using them when they’ll have the greatest effects, i.e. That’s especially true if you bring along, on a Dark Apostle to give them a 5++, at which point they’re a fairly hefty blob, and start having a better chance of surviving for a, blowout. Wonderful for large blobs of Cultists who otherwise don’t really have a save at all. Instead, we’ll cover each section with a general discussion of the good units, relics and stratagems, point out any traps, and then discuss how these pieces fit into a competitive army. All Daemon Princes count as being the same unit for the Rule of Three, but with 9th’s list-building rules you aren’t that likely to run into that as a blocker. It’s rare to see a Chaos Space Marines list (or even a Chaos list) not packing a Sorcerer or two and as a unit they’re good enough to be worth souping in if you’re running a Death Guard army. Straight upgrade to any character you slap it on, especially Daemon Princes, Lord Discordants and Smash Lords, and it’s relevant on all three. That they can move through ruin walls and other BREACHABLE terrain as Beasts is a big improvement on their 8th edition lot. Faith and Fury gives you a few ways to upgrade them, giving them relics that can replace either talons (like the Rapacious Talons) or a Hellforged Sword/Daemonic Axe. Note that you choose a target for them, 9th edition was a boon for Defilers, where the combination of. Friendly models within 6″ have a 5+ invulnerable save. S User, AP -3 and D3 damage seems pretty meh compared to other relics. S +1 AP-4, 1 Damage. Note that you won’t need it if you’re running Red Corsairs, but in most other cases, this is a strong backup to have. Pick a friendly Chaos Spawn, Possessed, or Cult of Destruction (obliterators/mutilators) within 18″. Reaper Chaincannons are likely still the play here, where the volume of AP-1 shots makes them a better marine killer than heavy bolters or autocannons. This weapon automatically hits its target. The Chaos factions are rife with cross-faction synergies you should consider: Chaos Space Marines are a very CP-thirsty army; many of your tricks rely on multiple stratagems, with many of those costing 2 CP. WARHAMMER 40,000 – CODE: CHAOS SPACE MARINES 1 WARHAMMER 40,000 CODEX: CHAOS SPACE MARINES Official Update Version 2.1 Although we strive to ensure that our rules are perfect, sometimes mistakes do creep in, or the intent of a rule isn’t as clear as it might be. The model gets +1 to its Strength and Attacks. Grey Knights are really good right now, and they’re even better against Daemon-heavy Chaos armies. To pick a legion, you replace your keyword with a Legion of your choice (it can’t be Death Guard or Thousand Sons, who have their own rules). Chaos Space Marines can still get there when combined with Daemons, but ultimately they don’t have nearly the breadth of strategies to work with that 8th edition afforded and there isn’t as much going for them. With. The Decimator has a lot of value to offer in this new, beefier iteration. You can summon on turn 1. Just be careful about opening yourself up to, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), The Narrative Forge: Writing Better Battle Reports, Malicious Volleys (formerly Bolter Discipline), Build Armies that are Difficult to Pick Secondaries Against, Stack Effects With Endless Cacophony and Fury of Khorne, Getting Better at Warhammer 40,000: Upping Your Game, Getting Better at Warhammer 40,000: Understanding Probability, Start Competing: 40K Deployment Tactics – Surviving Turn Zero, Start Competing: This Game is Actually Not Bullshit – Playing From Behind and Hanging On When You Are Ahead, incredibly official Goonhammer store on RedBubble, Although they have their own Codexes, both. Tzeentch’s servants know well the empyrean’s currents. Until the start of your next psychic phase, that model gets +2 Strength and +1 Attack. Previously blessed with terrible rules and some of the game’s ugliest models, Mutilators are still ugly as sin but now have a lot of use thanks to being dirt cheap units that are fairly durable and can teleport in, making them excellent cheap ways of scoring the Linebreaker or Engage on All Fronts secondary objectives and as INFANTRY they can Deploy Scramblers to boot. On the other side of things, Masters of Possession have access to the Malefic discipline, which is mostly buffs for Legion DAEMON units. A unit of Teleporting 4W Infantry with 6 shots each firing Fleshmetal weapons at 24″, they can put out a lot of damage, they’re pretty tough thanks to having T5, 2+/5++ saves, and 4 wounds apiece. This isn’t the ideal use for them, but there are worse things you could do with an HQ slot. Most Chaos Space Marine psykers have access to the Dark Hereticus discipline, one of the strongest psychic disciplines in the game. On a 2+ you fight as normal. Upon death these servants may be given the honour of immolation as their body becomes a votive candle to their dark god. Can summon Daemons without ruining your Chaos Space Marines faction bonus (they won’t lose their legion trait if the whole detachment is from the same legion and the only daemons are ones that you summon), and 2. Like litanies, prayers succeed on a 3+, but this can be improved to a 2+ by spending 10 points on a couple of Dark Disciples, something you’re always going to want to do. You’ll want to support them with a Lord Discordant and a Chaos Lord when possible. While Dark Apostles aren’t quite as good in melee combat as the more versatile Space Marine Chaplains, they make up for it by being able to take Dark Disciples, which improve their prayer odds to 2+, and make it much easier to rely on casting something like. Chaos Space Marine armies have access to a large variety of subfactions, each with their own special rules called Legion Traits. Putting two squads of Havocs into a Rhino can provide some solid value for an Iron Warriors army. Pick a visible TZEENTCH Heretic Astartes unit within 18″. As a faction, Chaos Space Marines have access to some of the best melee units in the game, including Possessed, Berserkers, and Daemon Princes, and access to some great psychic powers, but tend to fall short when it comes to options for mobility and shooting options – most CSM transport options are over… Heldrakes were once noble fighter aircraft flown by Space Marine Techmarine pilots, though they are now something much more hideous. Chaos Space Marines have access to an OK number of Stratagems through their Codex, and access to a significantly larger number through supplements like Vigilus Ablaze and Faith and Fury, though those are gated/specific to certain subfactions so we’ll cover those separately as we cover the Chaos Legions in their own articles. That unit can immediately move as if it were the Movement phase. That being said, other chunky threats and Daemon Engines look a lot better in 9th, making a single one a more defensible choice. The triple whammy of losing Specialist Detachments, the addition of the Desperate Breakout Stratagem and the impact of Blast means that Possessed have plunged from being one of the best units in the army to a fringe choice at best. psychic power, ideally), can really give them staying power. Greater Possessed are pretty nasty in combat, but their real value is adding +1 Strength to nearby squads of Possessed or Daemon Engines. Do you generally feel OK about cavorting with daemons and making dark pacts with the ruinous powers that will pit you against each others’ pawns in a never ending game with the entire galaxy at stake? Rhinos are, at best, serviceable but the one transport you might really want to look at is the Terrax Termite Assault Drill, which can deliver your Berzerkers right to their target on turn 2 and will stick around to become a threat in its own right (especially with its new statline). On the low end, this can turn you into a Chaos Spawn (2) and on the high end you can become a Daemon Prince (12), though note that this result may be worse than what you had if the unit rolling was a special character. This is also very, very good. You get these free if your Apostle has a mark. When cast, you can immediately attempt to summon a unit of DAEMONS to the battlefield using the Daemonic Ritual ability as if it were the Movement phase and when you do so, you roll 4 dice instead of 3 and can’t summon any mortal wounds as a result of doubles or triples. Although 180 points is steep for a transport, the Chaos Terrax-Pattern Termite makes up for it by being an absolute monster once it arrives on the table, demanding opponents deal with it as well as its deadly contents. Namely that it’s big, hard to deploy, and will sit in your deployment zone all game while the majority of your units want to be pushing toward the middle fo the table grabbing objectives. The flyer also comes with 2 twin Hellstrike launchers that have a nice Heavy 2 S8 AP-3 3 damage profile and against other AIRCRAFT they do +1 damage and D3+3 damage. Great on big squads, great on big WS/BS 4+ Daemon Engines, great for targeting flyers. More useful overall than +2 Strength or regaining D3 wounds as it helps you avoid losing them in the first place pretty well and stops you from being wounded on a 2+ by most attackers. The Greater Brass Scorpion dropped 75 points in the Imperial Armour Compendium while going up to 28 wounds.It has some nasty tricks up its sleeve, like the ability to shrug off psychic powers on a 4+ and a pair of Helcrusher claws that give it some very deadly melee options. They also may have a bit of utility as melee units armed with AP-1 chainswords in some armies, but ultimately losing Obsec is really what hurts these guys. Chaos Terminators are great targets for Veterans of the Long War, and often want to be Slaanesh so they can use Endless Cacophony. Scourge of a thousand tables. The downside is that it can now degrade to a 5+ BS and it has that pesky Martial Legacy rule, but overall this is still better. This is a great way to boost a unit’s longevity, and works on anything in your army with the keyword, making it great for making things like daemon engines and large squads of Possessed more survivable.