40K Deep Thought: Chaos Legions – How Exactly?
Today lets talk about some ugly truths of the Warhammer 40k universe and what we hope for its brighter future. Lets talk about the Chaos Legions and exactly what we want to see.
First the ugly. It’s no secret that the Chaos Codex is not well liked. Coming on the heels of the old super dense 4th Edition Chaos Codex, it was one of the first of the “slim and trim” codex redesigns first heralded in the Dark Angels book. To say it came as a shock to the existing Chaos playerbase, many of whom had existing Legion armies which were now illegal and possibly contained now entirely missing units (Basilisks, Alpha Legion Cultists) would be an understatement.
We say we all want to see Chaos restored to its former glory, but we have been given one odd gift in the meantime. Over the last few years a whole slew of Horus Heresy novels have emerged which have shed light on the Chaos Legions, unveiling details that had never seen the light of day. From the existence of the Lupercal, to the Deathshroud, to the Word Bearer’s large dispensation of robots, all manner of neat little details have been revealed.
So what I want you to really think about is how would you REALLY want to see the Chaos Legions represented. These are proud (if twisted) organizations, with histories dating back over 10000 years, and with access to all manner of now lost or forgotten equipment. Many have particular grudges with the Loyalist chapters.
I want you to tell us how you would organize a Legion codex, and try your hand at designing the special rules you would like to see any particular Legion get. To get you started, here is the master list of exactly who we’re talking about.
Legion III – Emperor’s Children
Legion IV – Iron Warriors
Legion VIII – Night Lords
Legion XII – World Eaters
Legion XIV – Death Guard
Legion XV – Thousand Sons
Legion XVI – Black Legion/Son
Legion XVII – Word Bearers
Legion XX – Alpha Legion
In particular, meld the fluff with the rules, and try to achieve a cool rules balance without making your favorite Legion supersoldiers compared to what we already see out there. People don’t hate the current Chaos Codex because its not effective, but because its bland – so fix it!
