2k Chaos Space Marines - Am I Crazy For Not Waiting For the New Codex?
The long winded prologue
I’ve been playing various table top wargames on and off for the past 15 years, and, for all its flaws, 40k has given me the most pleasure over all that time. My problem is that (despite my many, many efforts) I’ve yet to find a 40k army that plays the way I’d like to play. While I identify as an “Imperial Guard Player”, the Imperium has lost a bit of its shine and I’ve started casting my eye over some of my older miniatures.
Now, I’ve not played Chaos Space Marines since Gav and Alessio made my Slaaneshi army literally unplayable with the current codex, but as luck would have it, one of my friends was having a clear-out and sold me his Emperor’s Children army (also badly mauled by the last codex change and banished to a dark box for the past five years). Death to the False Emperor!
I’ve not played Chaos in five years -- cut me some slack if my list sucks. I usually bend over backwards to appease the Chaos Gods by matching my squads to the relevant god’s sacred number (my old army had Six Squads of Six), and I’ve never even considered using a Predator before drafting this list – so needless to say, I’m not entirely happy with this list.
I don’t really want to go out and buy new models, but I do have a lot more models and a huge pile of bitz that didn’t make it into this list (the highlights being: a squad of plague marines; defiler; three Keepers of Secrets; seven raptors; two Havok squads; 2 obliterators; five bikes; 9 daemonettes and 2 bloodletters; 5 Chaos Lords/Really Cool Aspiring Champions; 3 icon bearers; two combi weapon terminators (with power mauls – ick); several plasma-guns, plasma-pistols and melta-guns; and more flamers than I can count). What I don’t have, are regular bolter armed chaos space marines. I have five regular CSM made up with bolters. I could maybe convert a few more at a push (by taking off raptor packs, nixing special weapons, borrowing Sisters of Battle minis from my wife or other extreme measures I don’t really want to resort to when there’s a new codex just around the corner).
Warlord – Chaos Lord 155
Terminator Armour
Mark of Slaanesh
Personal Icon
Blissgiver
Sorcerer 115
1 Telepathy Power
Mark of Slaanesh
4 Terminators 225
Champion – Power fist, Icon of Tzeentch
Chainfist & Reaper Autocannon
Power Axe x2
5 Noise Marines 195
1 Blastmaster
4 Sonic blasters
Rhino
5 Noise marines 195
Same again
9 Noise marines 270
4 Sonic Blasters
Champion with Power Sword, melta bombs and Doom Siren
Rhino
5 Raptors 120
2 melta-guns
3 Chaos Bikers 129
2 plasma-guns
Land Raider 220
Predator 70
Predator 70
9 Lesser Daemons (Daemonettes) 117
8 Lesser Daemons (Bloodletters) 104
Terminators ride up in the Land Raider with the Sorcerer and the large squad of Noise Marines in the Rhino as back-up. Summoned Daemons hopefully turning up as they hit the front lines. This is the main “Hammer” of the army.
Bikes are there to threaten “Scout-y/Infiltrate-y” type units – Assassins, Scouts, Stealth Suits, Chaos Chosen, etc. Also provides some mobile S7 shots for chasing down Dark Eldar. Could be thrown into combat if the Hammer really needs help, but they’re a bit squishy for that.
Predators flank the Land Raider. CSM really lack dedicated Anti-Air, autocannon Predators are cheap enough to feel like viable glance-death machines, and seem pretty non-threatening compared to the Land Raider bullet-magnet, so they might survive long enough to make back their points.
Raptors looking to Deep Strike and make back their points by taking out a tank, hopefully surviving long enough to join the Hammer element of the army. If they come in too early, the idea is to charge a soft target (like a Heavy Weapon’s squad) and hope they can hold out until the rest of the army reaches them.
The Blastmaster squads feel like the army’s weak link. Ideally I’m sitting these on the flanks of my army, up in some three story ruin where they can see the whole battlefield, with the Rhinos parked out of sight (ready for that last minute dash for the objectives). Realistically, I know the Hammer isn’t strong enough to take on Assault Based armies (‘Nids, Orks, Khorne) without serious softening up – and that’s where I’m hoping the Blastmasters will come in. (Plus I need something for Scarab Swarms, grr!) But they can’t snap shots at Flyers, they’re not great at popping vehicles and they’re more expensive than Lascannons. On the other hand, if there’s no cover, I can pile them into the Rhinos to make mobile fire-bases. Plus, if I’m fighting an army that dominates the shooting phase (Imperial Guard, Tau, most Eldar), they can ride along with the Hammer (five S4 attacks on the turn they charge before the enemy can strike back – sounds good to me).
Any help, comments, flaming troll posts or useful suggestions much appreciated.
