Goatboy’s Bonus 40K: Chaos Shock Assault
We got the new Marine previews and I’m happy to see some Chaos love coming at the same time. Let’s see what Shock Assault means for CHAOS!
The Chaos Basics
Now we don’t know who all get it beyond just Chaos Space Marines based on the info given, but since it seems to follow Bolter drill, we can guess it will work with Chaos Space Marine infantry, bikers, terminators, and Helbrutes. Which, of course, means that Chaos Space Marines have some exciting things to look forward to with models/units gaining an extra attack. They also said the Thousand Sons and Death Guard both get this which seems pretty cool as well.
Death Guard Buffs
First – let’s look at some of the currently used models that would benefit. There are a lot of Chaos armies that use some Blightlord Terminators as a nice anvil/hammer unit. Adding an extra attack is pretty dang powerful for these guys because you can easily kit them out with some extra attack options. That Flail of Corruption seems pretty primed to do a decent amount of damage – it goes up to 3d3 attacks from a single model. Add in some crazy rules about wounds not going away, and you have a model that has an excellent chance to throw out a ton of damage to a simple unit.
Speaking of the Flail – how do some Plague Marines look with some fun Psychic powers, stratagems, and other combos to produce a rather mean little close combat unit? I had some fun with a seven-man unit running around and throwing grenades plus close combat ability with two knives, so it makes sense that we’ll be seeing more of these in the upcoming months. I still wish they had two wounds, but a few seven-man squads in Rhinos could be interesting to have floating around. Combo’d with the grenade trick, and you’ve got a unit that could pump out a ton of damage. Just in time for people to try and get those random Plague Marine packs.
Regular Joe CSMs
Dreads & Walkers
On the regular Chaos Space Marine front, it feels like most things get a benefit. We all know how much I love me some Contemptor dreads with Soul Burners. These guys are coming in hot with six attacks on the charge/getting charged now, so it could be worth it to field them again. They can do a number on any mean ol’ knight running around. I wish my close combat Leviathan dreads either had an option to get rid of the Heavy Flamers or got cheaper. I can still dream as they sit on my table top with their claws going snip snip. There is some thought on using cheap Helbrutes as mini Monstrous Creatures to run around, soak up damage, and getting some licks in.
Berzerkers
We all know how good this rule is for basic Khorne Berzerkers as with the ability to generate three assault phases is pretty powerful when you basically gain +3 attacks on each model. It also seems good for other legions’ Smash Captains as they can always utilize an extra Thunder Hammer attack to hopefully ignore that dreaded roll of a 2. Lucky for us, the initial Bolter Drill rules take out the Lord Discordants as even though adding an extra attack for them is just overkill it would be somewhat annoying.
Maybe Not Tzaangors
Speaking of things like that – let’s hope that the Tzaangors do not gain it as they really shouldn’t be Chaos Space Marines as well. That thought might end up coming to the unit, but who knows? The current Chaos Builds that are winning seem to love a ton of Plaguebearers backed up by a warp dropping unit of Bloodletters to clean things up. I get the feeling that won’t change too much for them, but having an extra attack might see the Supreme T.Sons command turn into a cheap Battalion.
Plain Jane CSMs
I am excited to think of the power Chaos Space Marines bikers get as you have a unit that could be set up to double shoot and throw out a decent amount of close combat attacks. With the unit backed up by Veterans of the Long War (still one of the best stratagems in the game) plus Prescience they could do a whole heck of a lot of damage to screens and other units. We call it the Bullet + Chainsaw murder ballad.
Termys
The last thing to kind of chat about is how Terminators might end up being useful. They can already be set up with the Combi-Bolter/Weapon death, but now having an extra Chainaxe attack means they are a pretty brutal little unit. Even the Thousand Sons Terminators seem to be better with an extra attack to help them chew through whatever they shuffle up against.
Poor Possessed…
Oh and yeah – while an extra attack is cool for Possessed it still doesn’t make them good enough. They just don’t have any way to get there and start the damage process without taking a ton of wounds in the process. I know we all have fever dreams where we combo them up with extra attacks, better wounding, and even a waterfall of mortal wounds. They still won’t work like you’d like them too.
~Until next time – thanks GW for giving my Chaos guys some rules to help me justify playing Chaos Space Marines and my Red Corsairs army. Heck – that 20 man unit of recycling jerks might work out. A ton of boaters, some extra attacks, and coming from the Shadows seems pretty dang spicy.
