After painting the Lion, my son and I planned for a game in the middle of the week (work schedules are a real obstacle these days), but we didn't get the chance due to having company. This gave me time to introspecting on my recent success (or lack thereof) with my Chaos Marines. I've used the new codex three times, twice against his Dark Angels and once against the Black Templars, and I was convincingly annihilated each time. My conclusion- I suck at Chaos!
The Leaders
I always use my Daemon Prince. For decades, I got owned across tables all around the nation by heretic players and their Daemon Princes, so I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder for this guy. Now that I'm also a heretic player, I feel the obligation to put him in my lists. In previous editions, this was always a good choice. These days are different and he shouldn't be an auto-include now. In fact, the difference between the winged one and the normal one is more than the just the ability to fly.
The winged version is a lower Toughness, making him only slightly more vulnerable to mid-strength weapons compared to the other guy. But he causes 'impact hits' when he charges, which makes that extra movement really helpful. Unfortunately, his wings make him hard to hide so it's always only a matter of time before he's eliminated by those mid-strength bullets. The walker is tougher, but his most important trait is spreading the Shadow of Chaos and giving allies nearby the Stealth rule, making all of them harder to hit! That matters enough that I asked my son to paint up the foot-version for our game.
Next up are my Terminator characters- the Lord and the Sorcerer. The Lord is a beat-stick and has always 'traded up', so he's definitely my leader even when the Daemon Prince is involved. But the real hero is my Sorcerer- giving his bodyguard squad faster movement with his Warptime power. Unfortunately, this leads that squad to being a 'minesweeper' and being eliminated after a trade. Not bad, but that's a lot of points spent for less results.
I used to be a big believer in the Defiler, despite the common impression. The unit is little more than an over-costed Dreadnought with a weaker Battle Cannon on the front, with options for more weapons. I've tried to use this a couple of times, but it doesn't seem to destroy anything, so it has become a tarpit. And a tarpit does not a victory earn!
Being a little disappointed in the Defiler, I'm not entertaining the use of Helbrutes (Chaos Dreadnoughts). While they're not the most game-breaking unit in the game, their ability to inspire nearby allies to use BOTH of the Dark Pacts abilities is really handy- especially for those Possessed that need all the help they can get.
Troops and other units
Speaking of Possessed- they are by far my favorite unit in the codex! More than simply Imperial marines with spikes and chains, these guys actually reflect the boons of following the Dark Gods. These guys are tough and can be dangerous when going up against stock troopers. The problem that they have is they don't have a lot of high-strength attacks. This means that they need to make Dark Pacts or use their once-per-game ability (or both!) to really cause any damage. Add in a Master of Possessions to buff them, and they're almost the most powerful unit in the game! But the unit comes with the character- and dice roll-taxes to reach that effectiveness.
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| by Diego Gisbert Llorens |
Now we get to the Terminators again. Regular Chaos squads are cheap but don't do anything other than take and hold objectives, while Raptors and Havocs are a lot of points but almost always underwhelm. Terminators come with the resilience and firepower to be worth their points and can serve as a tarpit or a damage-dealer. But they come with that character-tax as well, so it's always a bit of an investment. Unlike most other units, the Terminators are actually fun, meaning that they often exceed expectations and, just as often, fall short.
Next comes the Obliterators. While Havocs carry the heavy weapons (and can move and shoot without penalty- pretty handy!), they go down quick and aren't often around long enough to get their points back. Obliterators, on the other hand, are as resilient as they come and can lay down blistering salvoes to wipe out troops and vehicles with ease. Better- they can deep strike! I only use them occasionally, but I think they need to make it into every list now.
Finally, the infantry I love to use most often includes my Daemon Prince's bodyguard- the Warp Talons. I converted my own (I still think GW's models are terrible at representing what a Warp Talon is supposed to be- a warp-mutated Raptor that's more daemon than warrior now), using the old Possessed bodies and wings. Unfortunately, this unit is terrible on the tabletop. I've tried all the tricks (including having a Defiler nearby to 'interrupt' and keep his buddies alive) and I'm always disappointed. Even against regular line-troops, they don't do much. But they have wings and move quickly, so I like them.
Well, this is where it gets fun. Obviously, I use the least-good units but they don't suck as bad as most people think. Plus, the theme of "not just Imperial Marines with spikes and chains" is key for me as I already play enough of the good guys. I want something different, and including all the daemonically-infused stuff is a great way to keep that theme. My dice-rolling is typically bad, but not so much that it would result in a 100% loss rate with this army. At least with one exception-
DARK PACTS!!!
Chaos Space Marines have the ability to gain 'sustained hits' or 'lethal hits' simply by taking a Leadership test. This is great- increasing the unit's effectiveness (with the roll of 6's to hit, of course) and doesn't require special wargear or other upgrades. They just pray to their Dark Gods and suddenly have more super superpowers. Unfortunately, failing that Ld check results in a sacrifice that causes up to three Mortal Wounds to the unit. Guess who can't pass a 2d6 check, requiring a '6', with rerolls? This guy! Worse, both my Terminators and my Possessed happen to roll a '3' each time they wound themselves, meaning they lose 20% of their output before they even attack! Yeah, that's not good. In two of the three losses, I did more damage to my own army than my opponent did. Wow.
With the extra time (hopefully we can play this weekend), I'll be 'finessing' an army list. If I can break my unhealthy adherence to the 'fluff', maybe I'll use different units and see more success. But it's not my unit selection that's killing me, it's me! Pray better, heretics. Pray better.
Let me know what advice you may have below or if you have a similar situation with one of your armies. As always- Happy Gaming!
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