40k Editorial – Lamenting the Black Legion
Hi everyone – it is your friendly neighborhood Black Blow Fly lamenting the current state of Chaos… NOT!
I have seen some negative criticism directed towards the new supplement. My philosophy is be thankful for small favors… They are better than nothing! For those still feeling the pain maybe your hope will be answered by another upcoming supplement and here’s to hoping. In the mean time I’m planning to continue playing my Chaos Marines with some Chaos Space Marines. I don’t really want to waste my time lamenting, wish listing or other such rumination… It is all about kicking some arse, taking names and most of all having fun.
I am sure the supplement is not what some were hoping for by any stretch and I understand how some of the Chaos vets feel. To be honest though the unit Chaos Space Marines were never all that great. Back in fourth edition you could run five man squads with a lascannon and plasmagun – for me that was as good as they got… A cheap scoring unit (not that scoring was all that important back then) with some good ranged shooting and decent leadership. I think it’s a mistake from a competitive point of view to sink a lot of points into these units. They were also okay as an assault unit back then since you could still simply equip them with bolt pistols and chainswords.
I prefer more elite units from the codex such as Berserkers, Chosen and Plague Marines. If only players would more appreciate the good things. You definitely pay for what you get. The Plague Marine is a beast now… a squad of five with a naked champion and two special weapons in a Rhino is an awesome unit – T5, power armor and FNP makes them very hard to eliminate and they have won me my share of games simply by sticking around to the end and scoring. Berserkers are really good too but need a Land Raider with a Dirge Caster to work. The codex has everything you need to win. It’s just the game has changed a lot this edition so it’s still throwing some for a loop.
Skulls for the Skull God
Here is a list I quickly put together using the new supplement with Daemons as an ally. I think it’s a fairly easy army to play – move forward, assault and then profit. Note that all CSM Khornate units are eight in number to adhere to ancient forgotten ways. Kharn joins the Chosen by the way (math… Blarggggg !!!). Heh .
Kharn
6x Chosen (Troop)
2x flamer, plasma pistol, power axe
Champion – power fist, lightning claw, boltgun
Mark of Khorne, Icon of Wrath, VotLW
The new supplement converts Chosen to troops and I have found they work quite well as a retinue… for example Kharn makes them Fearless. Dual flamers are the bane of T3 squishy units like Tau and Eldar… They will rightly fear this unit. You’ve also got a power axe on a non character model with a good number of attacks. The plasma pistol is there mostly for theme.
Chaos Land Raider
Dozer Blade, Dirge Caster
7x Berserker
Champion – Spineshiver Blade (30)
Icon of Wrath, VotLW
This is the new Artefact that is a daemon weapon – +1I, S: User, AP3
This turns the champion into a real meat grinder – he will be striking first versus most enemy units plus the daemon weapon grants d6 extra attacks. It’s only 30 points… Only 5 more points than a power fist. The champion actually has a higher damage output than Kharn versus many enemy units you often see now. This saves a lot of points that don’t have to go into another HQ choice. Of course if you roll a one for the daemon mastery test his goose is cooked but if you’re really worried about it then keep the champion armed with a chain axe so you have the option not to use Spineshiver. Another big bonus is WS5, most often you’ll be hitting on a 3+ in melee. Finally you have the built in S5 on the charge due to Furious Assault. Very powerful and lots of strong synergy !
Someone said a Chaos champion does not have access to Artefacts but I couldn’t find anything to support that claim. If this is true then I’d simply take another Chaos Lord – they are very cheap for what you get and highly customizable.
Chaos Land Raider
Dozer Blade, Dirge Caster
7x Berserker
Champion – Power Sword
Icon of Wrath, VotLW
Chaos Land Raider
Dozer Blade, Dirge Caster
Heldrake
Bale Flamer
Heldrake
Bale Flamer
Herald of Khorne
Juggernaught, Axe of Khorne
12x Flesh Hound
10x Plaguebearer
Personally I’m not a fan of the new Bloodletters so I took the ever reliable Plaguebearers for my daemonic troop choice. The Herald attached to Flesh Hounds is a very well proven unit… Very fast and very choppy.
Three Land Raiders are the breaking point for most armies in the current meta. Some opponents can stop one fairly reliably but the third one always hits the saturation point… Money in the bank. By turn two for Dawn of War or Vanguard Strike deployments you should be well into charge range of enemy units. The two Heldrakes will force the enemy not to be able to focus fire on the Land Raiders after the first turn… It’s a little dirty but then again the current enemy is Tau and Eldar. The Herald attached to the daemons moves up behind the Land Raiders for solid cover. Plaguebearers sit back on a home turf objective marker… Most armies won’t be able to shoot them much with three Land Raiders barreling straight up into their grill and two Heldrakes barbecuing them three ways to Sunday. This army is all about putting as much pressure as possible on your opponent as quickly as possible. You want to literally overwhelm with more units than they can handle. The greater the pressure the more likely is your opponent to make mistakes.
If you don’t like Heldrakes for whatever reason that is fine… You’ve got over 300 points to play with if you drop them both. For example take another squad of Obliterators or ally with CSM for a fourth Land Raider. There are plenty of great options.
Grandpa Nurgle
Next is my most current Nurgle army (non Black Legion). This army requires more skill to play competitively but it definitely has its advantages. I got bored playing the Land Raider rush and decided to finally go back to Nurgle. Say what you want about the codex but you can’t deny this one has a lot more flavor than its predecessor and that’s the primary reason why I enjoy playing CSM again now.
Chaos Space Marines – Primary Detachment
Chaos Lord – Mark of Nurgle, blight grenades, bike, Black Mace, power axe, Sigil of Corruption
Sorcerer – Mark of Nurgle, blight grenades, bike, force axe, Sigil of Corruption, Level 3 Psyker, Spell Familiar
3x Chaos Space Marine biker – 2x plasmagun
Champion – power fist
Mark of Nurgle
6x Plague Marine – flamer/meltagun
Rhino – Havoc Launcher, Dozer Blade
6x Plague Marine – flamer/meltagun
Rhino – Havoc Launcher, Dozer Blade
3x Obliterator – Mark of Nurgle
Chaos Daemons – Allied Detachment
Daemon Prince – Nurgle, wings, warp forged armor, Level 3 Psyker, 2x Greater Reward, Bale Sword
10x Plaguebearer
10x Plaguebearer
4x Plague Drone – Proboscis, Death’s Head
Plaguebringer – Ether Blade
I have had some success with this list but its still in the experimental stage. I really like biker units and they add speed to the army which is very powerful when combined with the natural resiliency of Nurgle. I think this is a unique list and I really like that aspect. The army can match the speed of Eldar and absorb the punishment. It takes some time to master and that is okay by me.
Imperial Guard as an Ally
If you happen to be competitively minded then Imperial Guard might be a good choice as an ally for you versus say daemons. There are three standard units that will always serve you well:
• Veteran squad (Troop)
• Vendetta
• Manticore
We all know just how good these units are. They’ve been around for a long time and they are all well proven. Basically you can cherry pick from the IG codex and these three are quite cheap for what you get. You can have some fun with the veterans too… I run mine with a mole launcher, shotguns and heavy flamer.
The Chaos Legions have access to their militia just like Imperial Astartes. Have fun with it. I love dropping pie plates on xenos scum and I happen to know they don’t like it which makes it even more fun… Heh !
If you enjoy using flyers then you need enough to overwhelm enemy intercepting units. You are going to see lots of armies with a small squad of eldar Dark Reapers manning an Icarus lascannon tucked away behind an Aegis Defense Line with a Farseer casting Guide or Prescience on them. The exarch (BS5) ignores jinking cover saves and can take Fast Shot for two shots… It’s an absolute nightmare for most flyers. The best defense though is a good offense – get up into their grill quick and burninate !
In Closing…
Like I said I like some Chaos Space Marines in my Chaos Space Marine armies. Chosen with the appropriate Mark, Berserkers and Plague Marines are all great units well worth their points… Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. Chosen greatly benefit from an attached character for the buffs so they are an excellent retinue and using the new supplement they also score as well – you don’t have to pay the Abbadon tax anymore if you don’t want to.
Is Black Legion the best supplement? No but there are definitely some good things to be had and let’s be honest – it’s only the third supplement released so far in this edition. I have seen some Iyanden armies but so far not one Farsight Enclave.
It’s all about what you can do with what you’ve got to work with it at hand. My advice is don’t let other people discourage you. Both Chaos Space Marines and Daemons are very popular now and for good reason. They work quite well together and have a lot of options. I don’t think any other armies have access to a greater variety of scoring units.
I am not a meta list kind of player so that makes Chaos even more appealing to me. I will continue to think outside the proverbial box and believe me when I say I want to profit. I will take my licks and learn. That might sound counter intuitive but then again it’s a good thing to bring a fresh look to the game from most any vantage point.
Have fun with it !
