40K TACTICS: Against the Imperium, Chaos Edition
Now that the Xenos have been covered, on to the really fun stuff – Chaos.
Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Space Marines are probably my favorite army with an old Codex. That said, they really do show their age when facing the new Imperial books. In particular, all the non-Fearless units suffer due to the combination of no psychic defense and Psyker Battle Squads. Chaos Lords only have 5+ invulnerable saves as opposed to the 4+ saves even loyalist Captains get, and lets not even talk about Terminators.
Before we get into the 5 other choices, a few words on Cult Troops. Cult Troops are what make Chaos Space Marines work. Each type has certain strengths, and all have the same weakness – too expensive relative to Loyalists.
Plague Marines are a fairly common choice, both because they are durable and can have 2 Meltaguns in as few 5 models. Add in a Rhino and you have a very annoying and effective unit for the cost of a naked Tactical Marine Squad. I don’t favor this build, as I like the PF champion and hitting the Sacred Number of seven, but there is a lot to be said for efficiency. Plague Marines are a great choice for holding home objectives.
Khorne Berzerkers are my favorite cult troopers. I like 8, in a Rhino with a PF Skull Champion. Their weapon skill 5, number of attacks, and Furious Charge all make these the go-to guys for clearing out an IG Blob Squad or Stubborn Tactical Marines on an objective.
Noise Marines are the odd bird. Yes, you can kit them out with sonic weapons and deliver an enormous amount of fire. The problem is that this makes them as expensive as Plague Marines and only really good against Guard on foot – and those guys you can kill with your chainswords (in a much more satisfying way, I might add). Instead, get the Doom Siren on your Champion and head out to put S5 AP3 templates on Marines from the back of your Rhino. I like using Noise Marines as Reserved counter-assault units; they are especially good for killing Drop Podders and other annoyances.
Thousand Sons are essentially as durable as Plague Marines, due to their 4+ inv. saves (Plague Marines take fewer low strength poor AP losses, but T-sons are twice as survivable against all the Ordnance good AP weaponry, so it balances out). Coupled with AP3 Bolters, Thousand Sons are excellent at taking Marine bodies off the field. I give the Aspiring Sorceror Warptime, making these units excellent choices to use against Marine Heroes. That said, the cost of the Sorceror makes T-sons the least inviting Cult units to field.
After Cult Troopers, I like the following units:
1) Defiler, 2xCCW. These tear things apart, and the models are so impressive that many opponents will fire at them on turn 1, allowing the swarm of Rhinos the get closer undamaged.
2) Obilterators. Yes, these are pricey and prone to getting nailed by Demolishers, Vindicators, and Medusae. Obliterators still have excellent firepower and are not helpless in assault, making them a well-rounded supporting Heavy choice. I like to use them in pairs, deployed in terrain.
3) Raptors with 2 Meltaguns. Chaos doesn’t have Landspeeders. Raptors can do that job reasonably well and cheaply, with the added bonus of being able to assault and defeat most Guard squads after knocking them out of their transports. If you give the Raptors a Champion and a decent Mark (Khorne or Slaanesh), suddenly a small squad has a decent chance against most Marine units as well.
4) Summoned Lesser Daemons. Troop Choices. Fearless. Cheap and always in Reserve, Summoned Daemons can easily turn the tide, both as useful units for assaulting in unexpected places, and more importantly, reinforcement and coverage of objectives.
5) Possessed Space Marines. Oh, I know, these guys have let me down big time, too. And they don’t have grenades, a cardinal sin and sign of an antiquated book. And they are too expensive for what they bring to the battle. But Possessed look great, and well marked (and with a little luck) they can tear through an enemy force like nothing else. Possessed are certainly a suboptimal choice on paper, but I’ve had a huge amount of success with Khornate Possessed. I’m hoping that the random is taken from them next codex, or at least made more sensible, but even with their foibles, I love using them and get a lot of value from them on the table. Possessed make a great accompaniment for Kharn or Sorcerors.
Chaos Daemons
Every Imperial army has tricks that confound and abuse Daemons. The Imperial Guard has their enormous volume of fire, Space Marines have the dread Null Zone, and Sisters of Battle have their Rending faithful weapons and Daemon Lord killing Exorcists. But Chaos Daemons are hardest to play against Daemonhunter Inquisitors and their damnable mystics, not to mention Psycannons and Incinerators. Just the existence of Psycannons in the universe makes Fateweaver a losing proposition in competitive play.
So my favorite Chaos Daemons units are:
1) Flamers. Flamers are fast and have the ability to melt Terminators and paralyze vehicles. Both of which are must-haves in the Daemon codex.
2) Winged Daemon Princes of Tzeentch. Survivable and capable of dealing with vehicles and troops.
3) Plaguebearers. Innate toughness 5 and Feel No Pain means these are the best troop unit in the game for holding objectives.
4) Skarbrand. Because I like a fast game, and Daemons tend to have better CC than their enemies. This also makes assaulting fast-moving vehicles a much more viable option.
5) Fiends of Slaanesh. Fiends will almost always get the charge, and have great strength, rending, and an enormous number of attacks. Couple this with Skarbrand’s aura and a unit of Fiends can shread almost anything.
The trick to dealing with Imperials is focusing on what the Daemons do well – breaking things. Use Bolts of Tzeentch on vehicles to stall them, then pile in with Fiends to rip the vehicles and their contents apart. Use Flamers and other flying units as midfielders, to keep Imperial transports from delivering Troops onto objectives.
As always, your thoughts and success stories are welcomed.
