Goatboy’s 40k Review – CSM – Yeah? or Meh?
Goatboy here again and I decided to just go through a quick CSM review. I really enjoy the codex and I think it really emphasizes the idea of balanced lists versus copy and paste nonsense.
Last week’s list was just me figuring out how to get as many robots in a list that actually might work. It does not resemble any of the lists I am currently working on for Feast of Blades or any future tournaments. So with that in mind let’s begin at the top with most likely the most important choice in your book – the HQ choice (second would be armor color – heh because you are going to be painting a lot of guys).
HQ Choice Review! ARRROOO!!! I am leading from the front!
Chaos Lord
I won’t go into some kind of number idea where I say something like 3 out of 5 swims/hooves/ninjas. I will say that this guy is very important to the book as he activates the Cult troops for his specific mark troops. With CSM having a very efficient troop choice this guy doesn’t need to be in every army but he will be in most. He is in my current army build and I have painted 2 different versions so far (screw you PF version on a bike and cheap like Darkwynn’s mom with just a mark on the foot version).
Verdict – Good – I lied, I will review Good/Bad/Meh.
Sorcerer Lord
I think you will see this guy more then you will see the Chaos Lord. The ability to create a level 3 caster is prety good and I think the MoS powers are some of the best. The other edition of having 3 powers out of one of the 3 book sets of powers is pretty interesting. He lost a wound but got a lot cheaper so look for him as an interesting utility character for your army.
Verdict – Good!!! If you are playing a fluffy World Eaters army then you won’t take him but expect him in almost every list. Mind bullets are coming at you!
Dark Apostle
I like this guy as he does a few interesting things for your army. Cultists are very important to the CSM list and this guy can allow you to field more expensive cultists that will benefit from his Fearless/Hatred combo he gives if he joins up. You also have a neat ability in his leadership bubble that will help keep those creepy guys staying put when they start to get bolter shells in their head. He also gets a lot of already added abilities that can help make him a neat option to have in your list. I do wish he was an elite choice as you would see him in most lists if he was there.
Verdict – Good – not in every list but he can be a big help for those non-casting lists.
Warpsmith
I am not so sure about this guy. He has some neat abilities but he doesn’t activate any troops nor does he do a whole lot. If you are running lots of robots he is useful but he is another option I wish was an Elite choice.
Verdict – Meh.
Daemon Prince
This guy lost a lot without Eternal warrior. He could be neat but he is really way too expensive to be worthwhile when you have better HQ choices, let alone better choices for your points. 6th edition is about boots on the group and I think this guy costs too much to be worth it. Though he is funny with a Black Mace (he is ap2 – smash makes it obvious that is how it works so deal with it getting hit by a large black… object and making some toughness tests.)
Verdict – Meh to Bad.
Special Characters
I can go over the SC but we all know what they do. I am not a big fan of taking one as I like to create my own CSM group. The one you will see a lot is Typhus as he activates two different troop choices and that is pretty interesting. The big thing is they lock in your warlord trait (except for Fabius and Lucius – both Emperor Childrens peeps… hrmmm) which is pretty powerful as you know what you are going to be able to do all the time.
Quick list of the Verdicts.
Abbadon – Good to Meh
If his marked activated all the cult troops he would be good.
Huron – Good to Meh
He has a locked in infiltrate Warlord trait which is good – could be interesting.
Kharn – Good to Meh
I always liked playing him – if you want to go Bezerkers he is not a bad choice.
Ahriman – Good to Meh
Expensive but he has a good warlord trait and can cast a lot.
Typhus – Good
This guy is the Coteaz of this book.
Lucius – Meh
Just no a whole lot interesting with this guy. If his weapon was AP 2 he could be neat.
Fabius Bile – Good to Meh
He is another interesting one. He is immune to PF but doesn’t have an armor ignoring weapon. Still he can create a really decent troop option for free and that is always good.
Troop Choice Review!!! Plus the Cult options that can be Troops!!!
Chaos Space Marines
The return of the 3+ horde. Think of these guys as a return to the old Necron warriors if you equipped them right. Starting at 13 points a piece you have an interesting option that could get very expensive or just left as a dirt cheap bit of awesome. Yes I know the lack of ATSKNF or Fearless is an issue but you can mitigate that with a Character attached or some special Icon upgrades. I really like how this unit has lots of options and you can completely customize your squad to fit your army.
Verdict – Good – Don’t go overboard as they need to stay efficient.
Cultists
These guys are what Chaos needed. You get a cheap option to help you hold your objectives, shoot your Quad gun, or just fill in that crucial bubble wrap you need. These guys are great and I think leaving them cheap is the best. The Autoguns options is bunk as it should be free but these guys will be in almost every list. You got a spare 50 points? Get yourself a troop choices that hides in reserves and comes out to help hold down the fort.
Verdict – Good – Expect to see at least one in every CSM army.
Thousand Sons
I was never a real fan of them before and I think they got a bit of a nerf with the lack of overwatch ability for being relentless. The mini sorcerer got cheaper but if they could overwatch this unit would be a great front bubble to help keep your enemy from getting too cheeky with our army.
Verdict – Meh.
Plague Marines
These guys are ok as they haven’t changed a lot. I think they are not the obvious choice for your CSM army and I see 1-2 in Typhus based armies. Nurgle took a bit of a hit so don’t expect these guys on the table tops too much. The Icon they get is not as interesting as the others so don’t look to spend your points on it. Still they can get two plasma guns and are annoying to deal with.
Verdict – Meh.
Khorne Berzerkers
They got a point drop and lost an attack from the last edition. I can see some use with an attached Killer Lord on a Jugger and if you mix in huron you might make your opponent sweat the second turn Charge that will come from 40 infilitrating Zerkers on their door step asking you to buy their magazines. Buy an attached Rhino with a Dirge Caster to ensure jerks won’t shoot your guys up as you charge in an do what Daddy Khorne likes.
Verdict – Good to Meh – Needs an army build to get to work properly.
Noise Marines
It isn’t surprising these got a bump from being meh in the last book. These guys are going to be in a lot of armies. In fact just expect to see a lot of dice picked up and rolled from the unit of sound guys with attached Endurance caster. Removing cover is extremely important as well as utilizing high rates of fire. Xenos armies will be worried as they are forced to take 30+ wounds from a full unit of sound lovely audiophiles.
Verdict – Good good good.
Chaos Rhino
Yeah look for this guy to not be in most armies. Rhinos are so last year and the one interesting thing with the CSM one is you can get a combi weapon and a Dirge caster. The Dirge caster will be important for your Berzerkers to get mixed into the fight. If you want to run Maulerfiends you will need Dirge Casters to make sure you don’t get a Meltagun in your robot face.
Verdict – Good – Some armies need em others do not.
Elites – Expensive Mofos!
Chosen
These guys get expensive. I really wish they would have just had a combined Terminator/Chosen block to allow for really customizable options. I think these guys cost too much. I really like the DV models for them and I just wish they gave your more options.
Verdict – Meh to Bad.
Possessed
I used to play a unit of these when I pulled out one of my many Chaos armies. They were fun and provided me a nice little blob of fearless jerks to run with Kharn when you could mix up the Marks and Characters. I like their new chart and think they could have a place in some lists if you wanted to add some crazy looking models. Still this book is about boots on the ground. It would be interesting to see a squad of 20 running up the field. hrm…
Verdict – Meh
Chaos Terminators
This edition is odd for Terminators. Their armor got better but the shooting phase has gotten much deadilier. I haven’t been afraid of the 2+ armor since most of my lists can pour out enough shots to break the dreaded d6 with a roll of a 1. Still it is one of the cheaper Terminator choices in the game. I do wish we could have gotten them as troops.
Verdict – Good to Meh.
Hellbrute
I really like how they fixed the dreadnought I just wish this edition was more friendly to them. I think they could have added It Will Not Die to help make this a better choice. There are some builds utilizing these guys as mobile firing stations and I think that might not be a bad option behind an Aegis defense line. I do like how cheap they are.
Verdict – Meh.
Mutilator
Why? I just don’t know what these models are for. Plus they look kind of dumb. Um… yeah just no.
Verdict – Bad
Fast Attack – ZOOM ZOOM!
Chaos Bikers
I really want to write it as Bikerz. That is the Ork in me. These guys are cheap as hell. In fact I keep going back to this option as a good enemy engager for your army. You Mark these guys Nurgle or Slaanesh, attach a lord and just go to town. I used to run a batch of Swift Claws with my Goats (thanks David Light for pointing me to this unit) and I think this unit is better then that one. Think of this unit.
Chaos Lord, Bike, Mark of Slaanesh, Boon of Mutation, Veteran of the Long War, Sigil of Corruption, The Black Mace
CSM Bikers X 10, Mark of Slaanesh, Veterans of the Long War, Plasma Gun X 2, Icon of Excess, Boon of Mutation, Power Weapon
It is big, it is annoying and it will be hard to deal with. They can shoot as needed, get FNP from most Weapons, and can hit hard.
Verdict – Good
Chaos Spawn
Wow these guys got a nice bump. If you have room then look for these guys as a good way to hold a unit stuck for a few turns. I like them and think there is a lot more to these guys then meets the eye. Think of them as a Lone Wolf that can run faster and get involved. Mark of Nurgle lets them last longer and just think of them as helpers to keep your Cultists alive longer.
Verdict – Good
Raptors
These guys are ok. I like how they cause Fear but without the ability to make them a Troop option I just don’t see them as taken in most lists. The new models are great though.
Verdict – Meh
Warp Talons
I almost wrote them as Wart Talons. That amused me. This unit doesn’t really do much for me.
Verdict – Bad
Heldrake
I think these guys are good. The Bale Flamer will allow you to remove stuck in units on objectives. You know those pesky guys with the killer cloaks in the woods? They don’t like to be set on fire. These guys are good and I think will see one to two in most armies.
Verdict – Good
Heavy Support
Havocs
These guys are good. They are cheap and have cheap weapon options. As 6th moves on with newer books we might see these guys go off army lists. Still they are cheap.
Verdict – Good
Obliterators
These guys are still good. They lost Fearless but can now be Toughness 5 so they will survive a lot longer. I like that they can make Assault Cannons and the issue of not being able to make the same weapon two turns in a row is ok as they got a high rate of fire gun. I am thinking will see these a lot as we all have some from the older CSM book.
Verdict – Good
Defiler
This model is interesting. I think it might actually be good as it has 4 HP, It Will Not Die, and can shoot a heck of a lot. He is expensive but it is something worth looking at once the shiney wears off the new models.
Verdict – Interesting – Good to Meh
Forgefiend/Maulerfiend
I added these together as I didn’t want to write two things. These are both interesting as it really depends on your area. Watch out for the regular Dreadnought as he will bust a cap in the asses of both of these models. These Forgefiend loves Aegis Defense lines. The Mauler moves very fast and could be fun to run up and do a form of the Shunt Punch with this unit.
Verdict – Good to Meh
Chaos Land Raider, Predator, Vindicator.
It is neat that if you demonically possess something it could eat one of your models. The Vindicator might make a comeback but really these guys are here due to older armies and will most likely just got back on the shelf. This edition is boots on the ground and I don’t see that changing much. Plus who wants to buy an expensive Land Raider.
Verdict – Meh
Next week I will look at more lists as it gets closer to Feast of Blades. I should have ti done in time and it should be a fun army. The only thing repeated is two Dragons and guys who believe in creepy stuff.
