40K Deep Thought: CSM Codex is Da Bomb!
So today I wanted to give you all my general take on what I think is the “sleeper hit” codex of 5th edition – Chaos Space Marines. I can already hear the howling, but hear me out…
If there is one codex more guaranteed to divide up the fans into the dueling love/hate camps its Chaos Space Marines. From the day it arrived in players hands, it had been bad-mouthed, tarnished, ripped apart, and ridiculed. But why?
More than any other reason, it’s failings are not so much in the book itself, but its comprarison to its last edition. More than any other codex, Chaos Space Marines was THE shining example of the “new-style slim/trim codex design ethos” replacing the “old-style hyper-options design ethos”
We’ve heard everything from the Cult Army adherants throwing bile, to Gav trying to defend his design decisions. In the end, however its stunning to see how often this book can win from everyday pickup games to the biggest tourneys.
While the book is indeed spartan in its unit options, and extremely restrained in its wargear compared to versions past, I can’t help but think that this is exactly its strength. In the final analysis, the Chaos Space marine codex presents a set of nasty, lethal units served up with no frills, at just the right point cost. They are presented in a maner that makes it very easy for a player to use self restraint and avoid the overgorging of superflous options that sinks so many other armylists and codices.
Lets go over just a handful of the “best of the best” in the codex to refresh our memory:
-Chaos Space Marines – loaded with enough basic equipment to make you wonder how they can even run, these guys are point per point perhaps the most solid troops choice in the game
-Terminators – just look at the price, nuff said.
-Daemon Princes – stripped down versions of the older codex’s ones, but still customizable, deadly, and priced to ruin many more expensive unit’s days reliably.
-Obliterators – a tad pricy, but you do have the best jack-of-all trades heavy support option in the game, able to make your army never suffer too badly from an unexpected opponent.
-Berzerkers – Move over Plague Marines, there is a new boss in town. Point per point, one of the best horde eliminators out there. These guys are the scrubbing bubbles of the tabletop.
–Summoned Lesser Daemon – The “sleeper hit” of 5th edition. Super cheap, scoring, flexible, able to assault after deepstriking, accurate, and not part of the force org. These guys were MOCKED when the codex first arrived, but now I can’t imagine a list without a squad or two, for objective insurance.
Are there stinkers in the codex, of course *cough* chaos spawn, but used with restraint, I think the forces of the Chaos Space Marines are definately one of the games unsung stars, and the tournament results would seem to support it.
~What are you thoughts on the CSM codex with 2 years of 5th edition under your belts. Do you still pine for the days of yore with pages and pages of wargear and options, or have you learned to love and respect it’s austere lethality? Me? I’m stocking up on more CSM units by the month!
