In battle, Daemon Princes are best kept protected until theyre needed, advancing behind a steady line of infantry, ready to jump over and decimate opponents that get too close, or to make important counter-charges. You may have been able to get away with ignoring objectives in 8th, but you definitely cant in 9th; you need a plan to take objectives and hold them for several turns and that means durable units that can survive being out in the open. On that note, theres a neat combo with this guy and theMindveilrelic in Alpha Legion, where you can use it to have him phase through terrain, making him significantly more maneuverable on dense tables like those using the GW US Open layout. Any value these guys picked up from a points drop last year to 15 points per model was essentially erased when Armour of Contempt hit, making AP-1 on melee attacks pretty much worthless. Cannot be shot alongside any other type of weapon. A Terminator Armour Sorcerer can also serve as a means of castingPierce the Veilin an opponents deployment zone multiple times per game (while also scoringBehind Enemy Lines)in a pinch, though this shouldnt be your primary strategy. That ends up leaving the Word Bearers as the main place you can get some mileage out of a mid-sized unit simply because of the ability to slam the damage 2 button whenever relevant. Summoning isntthatcommon, but it has seen a bit more play in 9th Edition because it gives you some flexibility. They also know two prayers one of your choosing, plus theDark Zealotryprayer, and they get a third god-specific one if you give them a mark of Chaos. It also traded its bombs for an ability called Infernal bomb, which lets you drop bombs on a unit as you pass over them once per game for a chance to do mortal wounds. The firing models target is within half the weapons maximum range. If youre going this route, keep them cheap upgrade to a Chainaxe if you want, but dont waste points on someone who wont really be in combat except to counter-charge. The Hellforged Scorpius Whirlwind launcher is pretty solid and its the only indirect fire option Chaos Space Marines get, but doesnt carry the AP bonus its loyalist counterpart enjoyed and doesnt do a lot to support the current melee-heavy strategies of the army. It cannot make a shooting attack against operative D, as while that operative is within. Clocking in at 465 points with a Hades Gatling Cannon and an Ichor Cannon (the proper loadout), the real cost of these is that theyre Lords of War and have to go into a Superheavy Detachment, costing you a lot of CP out of the gate. Youll usually want either a Patrol or Battalion in your army and these are OK to fill the mandatory slots there (and can be worth taking in greater numbers in Alpha Legion, Creations of Bile, or Red Corsairs) but otherwise theyre functional but unexciting. The downside is that it can now degrade to a 5+ BS and it has that peskyMartial Legacyrule, but overall this is still better. you start souping in Daemons, Thousand Sons, or Death Guard: Is the second publication of the faction Codex (it has a white skull with a II on its cover) and has all of the basic factions rules and datasheets. While not an ironclad rule, its a good idea to think really hard about taking a unit that lets your opponent score 13+ on Abhor, Assassination, or Bring it Down. Tau Empire (Hunter Cadre) Kill Team Tactics, Competitive Innovations in the Mortal Realms: Chaos Reigns, Age of Sigmar July FAQs: The Goonhammer Hot Take, Song of Ice and Fire: House Lannister Updated. This means taking fast or deep striking infantry to have ways to Deploy Scramblers across the board, or having a plan for scoring Behind Enemy Lines or Engage on All Fronts, or having amble infantry to either Retrieve Octarius Data or Raise the Banners. Do you think that Imperial space marines are kind of lame? Shooting daemon engines tend to still be melee monsters, and so have to pay for the ability to do both while only being able to do one at a time effectively. Each time this weapon is selected to make a shooting attack with, select one of the profiles below to use: In the rare instance that bases prevent an intended target from being Visible to the. Any Chaos Space Marine may replace his boltgun with a chainsword. Possessed were the superstars of late 8th Edition Chaos lists, but the transition to 9th Edition has, sadly, torpedoed them. Slaanesh Aligned Chaos Warband. So while those are still pretty bad, Greater Possessed dont have much value. The Chaos Contemptor initially flew under the radar after Imperial Armour Index came out but recently theyve exploded in popularity as lower-toughness targets have become more of a meta-wide threat. This used to be a no-brainer pick for the Autocannon, but since the baleflamer came down to 20 points (from 30), its a much closer choice. Take advantage of this by using them when theyll have the greatest effects, i.e. Space Marines have Chapters, Chaos Space Marines have Legions. This isnt the ideal use for them, but there are worse things you could do with an HQ slot. Their only major downside is that they only have 4 base attacks, but they benefit from bothHateful Assaultand the ability to take a pair ofMalefic Talons,which is the way youll want to run them most of the time and gives them +3 attacks. That being said, they do still have some things to recommend them. Models equipped with a storm shield, a relic shield or a combat shield (or a Relic that replaces one of these shields). N.B. Changes to mission secondary objectives have had major impacts on army building, particularly for armies that want to bring psykers or lots of characters. The upside is that this means you can get a lot more value out of fewer berserkers a squad of five sword + axe berserkers with a lightning claw champion will put in enough work to kill most things it charges fighting twice. You can draw an imaginary, unobstructed straight line (known as a Visibility line) 1 mm wide from the head of the active operatives miniature to any part of the miniature of the intended target (not its base). These guys were so powerful they had to be nerfed not one, not two, butthree timesover the course of 8th edition, and just when things had been re-adjusted back to moderately OK, 9th Edition put a vicious bullet in their head by hiking them to 6ppm, though now that has been corrected and theyve been mercifully dropped back down to 5 points per model, a cost we can all live with. A model makes attacks using the close combat weapon profile if it has no other melee weapons. In particular, note the following changes: Chaos Space Marines are, sadly, one of the games worst armies. This is primarily a review of the units and options that are specific to Chaos Space Marines, but Chaos Space Marines often see play in Chaos Soup armies, and well be covering some of those cases as well. The deceitful strategies of the Alpha Legion are as illusive as a shadow and as tangled as a nest of vipers. The big drawback to them is that the Master of Possession himself is unable to take a jump pack or teleport in, so these powers are severely limited by how far you can move the caster. Basically, what Abaddon has with Drachnyen, and like with Drachnyen, many of the Daemon Weapons have abilities that key off the roll. Fortunately for us, there are very few Chaos Space Marine units in that category. Berzerkers 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. The belligerency of some Adeptus Astartes machine spirits makes them unyielding foes to face. Flakk missiles are designed to eliminate light aircraft by unleashing a payload of shrapnel that shreds armour and ruptures vital systems. Able to scuttle forward and reliably destroy enemy targets in melee especially marines while controlling the board and sometimes maybe hitting things with its guns, the Defiler is a nasty piece of work, even when not accompanied by a Lord Discordant. Clog up their guns with the flesh and bones of the weak. The big change for Decimators is that theyve gone from being an 8-wound model to a 12-wound one, and that means they have a degrading profile now. Long-hidden heavier weapons are broken out by the cults leaders and assigned to favoured warriors when the time comes. Several of these also have replacement options for Daemon Princes as well, so they arent just for Chaos Lords. Overall Helbrutes are OK but not amazing and are outclassed by Contemptors when it comes to shooting and infantry when it comes to melee. 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 harms way until you need them to jump over both screens and tear something up. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Chaos Space Marines now have access to the same Deredeo/Leviathan as loyalists, at the same cost. All Daemon Princes count as being the same unit for the Rule of Three, but with 9ths list-building rules you arent that likely to run into that as a blocker. The poor Land Raider is still about 100 points too expensive to be worth using in most games, and almost everything youd want to transport in it can just teleport into the battlefield anyways. They do also benefit from Legion Traits but only a few of the legion traits even matter to them, namely World Eaters (+1 Attack on the charge), Alpha Legion (-1 to be hit outside of 12), Flawless Host (exploding 6s cause extra hits in melee), and the Red Corsairs (Advance and charge in the same turn). 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. Its got some play over in Thousand Sons, where you can give it a 5+ invulnerable save, but less to recommend it in Chaos Space Marines. Each time the bearer fights, it makes 1 additional attack with this weapon. Above all though, Obliterators need support. The champion can take up to two weapons chosen from the following list: One of the champions weapons can be chosen from the following list: Combi-bolter used in the following datasheets: The ASTRA MILITARUM and VEHICLE keywords are used in the following Astra Militarum datasheets: The ADEPTUS ASTARTES keyword is used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The SANCTIC ASTARTES keyword is used in the following Grey Knights datasheets: The datasheets using HERETIC ASTARTES keyword can be found in the following Factions: The HERETIC ASTARTES keyword is used in the following datasheets: The ADEPTA SORORITAS keyword is used in the following Adepta Sororitas datasheets: The CELESTIAN SACRESANTS keyword is used in the following Adepta Sororitas datasheets: The NEMESIS DREADKNIGHT keyword is used in the following Grey Knights datasheets: The CHAOS keyword is used in the following Chaos Space Marines datasheets: The KHORNENURGLETZEENTCHSLAANESH keyword is used in the following Chaos Space Marines datasheets: The HERETIC ASTARTES keyword is used in the following Chaos Space Marines datasheets: The ALPHA LEGIONBLACK LEGIONEMPERORS CHILDRENIRON WARRIORSNIGHT LORDSWORD BEARERSWORLD EATERSCREATIONS OF BILEBRAZEN BEASTSCRIMSON SLAUGHTERFLAWLESS HOSTPURGERED CORSAIRSSCOURGED keyword is used in the following Chaos Space Marines datasheets: The VEHICLE keyword is used in the following Chaos Space Marines datasheets: The CHAOS CULTISTS keyword is used in the following Chaos Space Marines datasheets: Heavy bolter used in the following datasheets: The TERMINATOR keyword is used in the following Chaos Space Marines datasheets: Plasma pistol used in the following datasheets: The seething hatred that Chaos Space Marines harbour for the Corpse Emperor and his weakling Imperium is a weapon unto itself. Chaos Space Marines have access to an OK number of Stratagems through their Codex, and access to a significantly larger number through The Book of Fire, though those are gated/specific to certain subfactions so well cover those separately as we cover the Chaos Legions in their own articles. Since the release of Vigilus Ablaze, Chaos Space Marines have had access to Prayers to the Dark Gods, a series of buffs and debuffs that they can call upon during games. That modified aspect means youll want to stay far, far away from weapons that give you -1 to hit like Thunder Hammers and Power Fists, but youve got plenty of high volume options that work plenty well here. Warp Talons had a brief time in the sun following the release of Faith and Fury but since the loss of Specialist Detachments havent had much play. That said, its really easy to go down this road and realize youd just be better off playing Thousand Sons. The ASTRA MILITARUM and VEHICLE keywords are used in the following Astra Militarum datasheets: The ADEPTUS ASTARTES keyword is used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The SANCTIC ASTARTES keyword is used in the following Grey Knights datasheets: The datasheets using HERETIC ASTARTES keyword can be found in the following Factions: The HERETIC ASTARTES keyword is used in the following datasheets: The ADEPTA SORORITAS keyword is used in the following Adepta Sororitas datasheets: The CELESTIAN SACRESANTS keyword is used in the following Adepta Sororitas datasheets: The NEMESIS DREADKNIGHT keyword is used in the following Grey Knights datasheets: The IMPERIUM keyword is used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The ARTILLERY keyword is used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The BLACK TEMPLARSBLOOD ANGELSDARK ANGELSDEATHWATCHIMPERIAL FISTSIRON HANDSRAVEN GUARDSALAMANDERSSPACE WOLVESULTRAMARINESWHITE SCARSASTRAL CLAWSBLOOD RAVENSCARCHARODONSCRIMSON FISTSEMPERORS SPEARSEXECUTIONERSEXORCISTSFIRE ANGELSFIRE HAWKSFLESH TEARERSHOWLING GRIFFONSLAMENTERSMANTIS WARRIORSMARINES ERRANTMINOTAURSNOVAMARINESRAPTORSRED SCORPIONSSILVER TEMPLARSSONS OF MEDUSASTAR PHANTOMSTIGER CLAWSTOME KEEPERSWOLFSPEAR and CORE keywords are used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The IRON HANDS and VEHICLE keywords are used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The IMPERIAL FISTS and CORE keywords are used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The SALAMANDERS and CORE keywords are used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The SALAMANDERS and CHARACTER keywords are used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The BLACK TEMPLARSBLOOD ANGELSDARK ANGELSDEATHWATCHIMPERIAL FISTSIRON HANDSRAVEN GUARDSALAMANDERSSPACE WOLVESULTRAMARINESWHITE SCARSASTRAL CLAWSBLOOD RAVENSCARCHARODONSCRIMSON FISTSEMPERORS SPEARSEXECUTIONERSEXORCISTSFIRE ANGELSFIRE HAWKSFLESH TEARERSHOWLING GRIFFONSLAMENTERSMANTIS WARRIORSMARINES ERRANTMINOTAURSNOVAMARINESRAPTORSRED SCORPIONSSILVER TEMPLARSSONS OF MEDUSASTAR PHANTOMSTIGER CLAWSTOME KEEPERSWOLFSPEAR keyword is used in the following Space Marines datasheets: The datasheets using AGENT OF THE IMPERIUM keyword can be found in the following Factions: The AGENT OF THE IMPERIUM keyword is used in the following datasheets: When the Adeptus Astartes fight, they employ a set of combat doctrines to eliminate the enemy. Since the FAQ, these have shown up in a few successful lists, sometimes as a one-off and sometimes running the full trio. Putting two squads of Havocs into a Rhino can provide some solid value for an Iron Warriors army. Now much cheaper thanks to the Imperial Armour Compendium update down in cost from 450 points base to 340 before you take the quad heavy bolters or twin lascannons. These rules, though marginal for many other factions, were a major crux of c. 9th editions emphasis on holding objectives and controlling the table put a premium on melee units (good for CSM) and durability (not so good). Theres a ton of ground to cover, so rather than try and put it all in one article, weve chosen to put each legion and subfaction into its own section. Chaos Space Marines follow the strongest and most merciless of their kind to battle. If you select both, then each time an attack is made with this weapon this phase, subtract 1 from that attacks, Before selecting targets, select one or two of the profiles below to make attacks with (you can only select one of the plasma gun profiles). Its rare to see a Chaos Space Marines list (or even a Chaos list) not packing a Sorcerer or two, though as a unit theyve lost some utility thanks to the changes to psychic powers making them only affect units so their value in soup lists is extremely limited. They can be particularly nasty in Alpha Legion armies, where they can Fall Back and shoot withFeigned Retreat, or in Iron Warriors, where they can useTank Huntersto re-roll wounds against vehicles. Finally note that Daemon Princes also have a re-roll 1s to hit aura like Chaos Lords, but it also works on all DAEMONS with the same mark, so it works cross-faction. If you roll doubles, you take a mortal wound, and if you roll triples, you suffer D3 mortal wounds. In this guide, youll find everything you need to know about the army, the units, the relics and powers, and how to play them in 9th edition. 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. While the 1 wound Chaos Marine issue has become a meme at this point, its also kind of working in the armys favor now 1-wound Chaos Space Marines and Chosen have now become very points-efficient in a meta that often pays for 2-damage weapons. Chaos Space Marines have a number of different Daemon Engines to build around, although daemon engine-heavy armies have fallen out of vogue recently. The good news is that you can mitigate this by taking aSorcerer in Terminator Armour, which gives him the ability to teleport into battle, +1 wound, a 2+ save, and a 5+ invulnerable save, making them much more durable and giving them some better shooting options. Again with the points changes, this means that youre looking at lightning claw + combi-plasma or lightning claw + combi-melta as your ideal loadout if youre paying ot upgrade these, and it will usually be worth doing if youre planning to take a large squad. They also dont really have any inbuilt delivery mechanisms, and that kind of brings us round to the problem with them theyre not goodenoughwithout substantial investment into buffs, but a full unit ends up too vulnerable to justify that investment. Disappear and reappear for the final strike. Also note that the goal here isnt to provide a comprehensive listing of every unit; well be glossing over those that are so terrible they dont really merit consideration in a competitive list. Thats pretty bad! The Sicaran is in a weird place. First up, they get 8 Movement, which is great, and helps them to make use of their strong melee options, mostly the power scourge, which gives them a healthy number of attacks. 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. If a Blast weapon targets a unit that has between 6 and 10 models, it always makes a minimum of 3 attacks. Noise Marines are the Slaanesh-devoted Elite unit in the Chaos Codex, armed with Sonic Blasters that ignore cover and act as upgrades over standard marine bolters (though less so now thatBolter Discipline/Malicious Volleysexists). Berzerkers are very strong but your biggest challenge is going to be getting them into combat. Melee-focused daemon engines tend to lack the sheer volume of attacks you need, especially while theyre still hitting on a 4+. For Chaos Space Marines, you have access to two disciplines: The Dark Hereticus discipline and the Malefic discipline. Its probably too expensive to be worth fielding competitively, but its at least better than it was. This was a bit of an odd change; Helbrutes got a bit more expensive when rocking double fists, but otherwise got cheaper for most of their option combos double power scourge Helbrutes are now 10 points cheaper, and Scourge + Hammer Helbrutes are 15 points cheaper. Double number of attacks made if target is within half range. There was a lot of excitement around Havocs and their wonderful new models when the 2nd Codex came out for Chaos Space Marines. You also may want a pair of powerfists/chainfists to hit bigger targets with, but you can skip the heavy weapons upgrade the heavy flamer still isnt quite good enough and whiel the AP-2 Reaper autocannon is a solid pick, you want these guys more as melee fighters. 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 theyre very efficiently costed. Theyre more often used to hold two squads of five Berserkers or Havocs these days than a full squad of 10 models. Thats a bit of a shame because the basic function of Possessed, which is to be a bully melee unit, is something 9th Edition tends to reward, but Possessed mostly dont get there as-is. Chaos cults foment rebellion and betrayal on thousands of worlds. Select one, Use this Stratagem during deployment, when you set up a, Before selecting targets, select one or both of the profiles below to make attacks with. After making the shooting attack against operative A, it makes a shooting attack against operative B and C, determining if they are a valid target as normal. In this section well cover the main rules for the army, starting with the factions army-wide special rules, then diving into the Stratagems, Warlord Traits, Relics, and powers available to all Chaos Space Marines, and then well finish off with a look at each of the traitor legion options, their subfaction-specific rules, powers, Stratagems, and relics, and how they stack up against each other. 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), Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones and TheArmorOfContempt, Mugginns (Michael O), MildNorman and Swiftblade93, Jules Merton OHare, Crab-stuffed Mushrooms, Dan "The Sex Cannon" Boyd, MasterSlowPoke and Kevin Fowler, Malicious Volleys (formerly Bolter Discipline), Strategies for Playing Chaos Space Marines, 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: Death Guard Tactics (Updated 5/16/2022), incredibly official Goonhammer store on RedBubble. To pick a legion, you replace your keyword with a Legion of your choice (it cant be Death Guard or Thousand Sons, who have their own rules). This is a surprisingly viable strategy, especially when you can back it up with support from obsec cultists or marines. If you read through the whole thing, you have this authors eternal thanks. A Chaos Icon will run you 5-10 points, and which one you get depends on whether your unit has an Allegiance to a Chaos God. Sensing when an enemy is weakened and fearing for its survival, the Wolfspear emerge from the shadows for a rapid strike. has the rules and datasheets for Forge World units like the Dreadclaw Drop Pod, Terrax Termite Pattern Assault Drill, and the Decimator. If successfully manifested, resolve the psychic powers effects. These used to be nothing to write home about but thanks to the Imperial Armour Compendium update are suddenly worth talking about and considering. That said, they also have play in World Eaters and Red Corsairs, where you can useApoplectic Frenzyor the Red Corsairs legion trait to get them into a turn 1 charge the ability to throw a unit of five of them at an enemys lines on turn 1 with 4 to 5 attacks each is pretty solid. 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. Fulgrims scions are renowned for their blade-craft. As with the other daemon engines, one of the bigger downsides to these is the 4+ WS and BS, so Venomcrawlers basically need to be paired with one or more Lords Discordant. They dont necessarilyneedto charge out of deep strike the ability to turn off Overwatch when doing so isnt particularly valuable these days but theyre fragile enough that you will want to protect them if youre starting with them on the table. The visceral sensation of every fresh kill causes the warriors of the Emperors Children to enter an ecstatic frenzy of butchery and dismemberment. Aggression stimulators implanted into the brains of the World Eaters drive them into uncontrollable rages. This models Dreadnought combat weapon can be replaced with 1 great wolf claw. Units that Fall Back cannot shoot or manifest psychic powers this turn unless they are, You cannot select the same psychic power more than once per battle round, unless that power is. With the ability to take Jump Packs and Thunder hammers, plus a variety of other weapon options, Chaos Lords can be potent melee units, and take on the Smash Lord configuration, maximizing their damage output with a thunder hammer and chainsword, or with a suitably brutal relic like. During the first battle round, the Devastator Doctrine is active for your army. They can take special weapons like meltaguns and plasma guns, but their real value is most likely as a 15-model blob sporting chainswords. The battle cry of the Emperors Spears is the call that precedes their red work. In their base format, they work as backline support, lending auras to shooting units. Most of the prayers are very good, and give you a lot of utility. With Daemon Engines and Obliterators being really priced to move in 9th Edition hes an increasingly popular choice, and if you have a strategy thats going in hard on either of these (or still using Possessed) you should almost always take one. These blood-soaked warriors seek to become the favoured of the gods. It also means you need a way to clear enemies off an objective and capture it that turn and that will typically require melee units. Give them an Icon of Excess to turn them into a particularly deadly melee unit. Chaos Space Marines have some great units that are fairly fragile and in the case of the Lord Discordant, frustratingly easy to target. Theyre 20pts each for a 2W, T4 3+/5++ model, have a unit-wide random attack characteristic of d3 and hit at a reasonable AP-2, but are hampered by only being D1. If you dont have CP to spend on VotLW with them and youre not getting them some kind of re-rolls, youre going to be disappointed by them. Leave the transport close to or on objectives and if it gets blown up you can drop everyone out of the vehicle onto the objective and cement your control over it. So if, when determining how many attacks are made with that weapon, the dice rolled results in less than 3 attacks being made, make 3 attacks instead. With Toughness 7, 12 wounds and a 5+ invulnerable save, theyre surprisingly resilient, and as non-AIRCRAFT, theyre fantastic for gumming up an opponents board and controlling movement, since their flying bases cant be moved over by enemy units. Their ability to fight twice per turn is crazy deadly, especially when each one comes with S5 and 2 Attacks base and can be kitted out with a chainaxe and chainsword to get them to 4 attacks each on the charge (although as of the Astartes Chainsword update theres probably an argument you can save a point per model and not bother with the axe). If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Each time an attack is made with this weapon profile, that attack automatically hits the target. Some rare rules will require you to select a point that is Visible (e.g. The presence of these black-clad killers can force any challenger to back down, lest the wrath of the Emperor be visited upon them. CP re-rolls now affect significantly fewer rolls, making many abilities much riskier you can no longer CP re-roll a daemon weapons bonus, for example and making charges out of deep strike more difficult.