The Music of Chaos Marks

I figure I would share a few songs that I find associate well with Chaos as a nice "fun" article between all these reviews. I should have the Elites done later tonight....

Tzeench: 

Blue Oyster Cult: Veteran of the Psychic Wars

Slaanesh

Judas Priest: A touch of Evil

Khorne

Drowning Pool: Bodies

Nurgle

 

Disturbed: Down with the Sickness

What are your favorites? Share with the class!

Chaos Codex Review #3: Troops


This should be quick as there is just two options!

Chaos Space Marines: Try no to compare them to a Grey Hunter, they won't match up once you pay the 2 points for the extra close combat weapon, still another point and you can take +1 leaderhip and hatred. Then add a mark and some weapon options to me becomes stronger and more flexabile unit for the game. Oddly GW seems to discourage MSU with this unit build making it more worthwhile to invest in larger squads.

Chaos Cultists: Got Cultists? Take them! for 135 points I can pack in 35 cultists, take a character and they are fearless. Not as great as they used to be but oh what the hell! Cheap squads now for Chaos!

Chaos Codex Review Part 2: HQ Choices

HQ Choices:

Abbadon: He weighs in slightly less than Logan and packs a heavy punch and stat package that is impressive. Drach’nyen now still gives the Demon weapon rule plus a bonus to STR and AP making it a nasty Terminator Killer, the Talon of Horus drops in AP to 3 but allows him to hit like he has a power fist (but not striking last!) and grants Preferred Enemy to all units within range. If you have the points to spare he could be fun but there is more ideal choices. Still, it could be nice to have an HQ sit near all your Chaos units to allow them a reroll to hit in both shooting and close combat as well as to wound.

Kharn: Nothing to sneeze at here with up to 6 attacks with Gorechild at STR 6 and AP 2 and throw in Armorbane for giggles. He also has the ability to piss off psykers with his 2+ Deny the Witch. Yea, he still has the Betrayer special rule if you roll a 1 but who cares? Break him off from the unit and send him to town ripping apart units. Challenge? Oh yea, go ahead!

Huron Blackheart: This is another figure that may see more table time due to the simple price balance of his cost to his abilities. Having Master of Deception allowed him to deploy d3 units using Infiltrate. If you build a list around this concept he is a very strong option to consider for investment. Add in the fact he rolls a random psychic power every Chaos turn and has a power axe (for dealing with AP 2 targets in close combat) and the Tyrants claw (still a heavy flamer with +2 STR and AP 3, with Shred and Armorbane). This allows him to be a unit killer again on his own.

Ahriman: Perhaps the most powerful psyker in the game and cheaper than Najal of the Space Wolves! Able to toss out 4 psyker powers (if all level 1), able to shoot multiple witchfire powers and decent access to 4 psychic power groups. Plus to make him a fan favorite add the Warlord Trait Master of Deception to allow you to infiltrate d3 units again.

Typhus: Another quiet bad ass in the codex, lots of wounds, high Toughness, feel no pain and with the bumps to the Destroyer Hive to AP2, STR 4. OUCH! Plus he can convert cultists to plague zombies thus once again bringing back old school fearless, feel no pain and SAP undead to 40k!

Lucius: Well, if you want someone to be your man for clos ecombat, this is a fairly good pick for the points. He is able to wipe out a squad or handle a challenge on equel level but otherwise not all that impressive.

Fabius Bile: Hey, he no longer sucks! His Rod causes instant death, a character with Feel No Pain and can upgrade one squad to be Enhanced Warriors for no extra point cost. I can give +1 STR and Fearless to one Troop CSM unit? Bile may find his way into a few lists.

Chaos Lord: CHEAP! Need I say more? Well, once you load him up with some cool goodies he can become a huge point sponge. Build these guys wisely and they will treat you right!

Sorcerer: CHEAP! I can have up to a level 3 sorcerer for just 5 points higher than a Rune Priest with two powers (and able to use one!) throw in a 15 point spell familiar to reroll failed psychic tests and blam! Add a Mark of Tzeench and use him as your commander and you get Rubics as core troops!

Demon Prince: People bitched when they saw the point leap, sure you have to pay 205 now to get a base 3+ save, 5+ inv with wings.....I doubt people have REALLY looked at the WS and I now? Yea, look again and tell me they suck now sure they can be gunned down, Mark of Nurgle and Tzeench are a Daemon Prince's best friend. Swoop around and chew up units....

Warpsmith: To me this guy is a sleeper, play against an army that loves cover. Tear it down! need to fix something now? Yes you can! You get a nice package of weapons  with some great perks...enjoy with a twist of lime.

Dark Apostle: I missed this unit option for my Word Bearers, I love it, a radius Fearless character, nice! Plus he grants hate to the unit he joins...fair cheap for what you get, IMO a great buy! Plus if you plan to use the gift of mutation, keep everyone near the Dark Apostle, rerolls anyone?

Want to pretend to be an Assault Marine with a Jump Pack?

http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/most-expensvie-neiman-marcus-catalog-slideshow/-photo-2520305-180800457.html

Just $99,500.00 and you will need some water also, well one perk of living in Florida. Wonder if they have a payment plan or layaway?

Chaos Codex Review: Part 1

Well, after having a few days to read, review and look over various parts of the Codex I am ready to start with an overview of the Chaos Codex and my thoughts on the book.

First off Phil Kelly did a fantastic job, perhaps one of the best books GW has done in a long, long time. Unlike other codex books that there are a few good and then a great deal of crap for units this book has upped the balance slightly to allow for what I feel will be an army that you will find more variety with than any other on the table. I know are tired of the same crap army lists over and over. Oh, you have Grey Knights? Space Wolves? Imperial Guard? What template lists are you using is the common topic? Not only that, but the hardback version is also very nice and stands out as a quality book product compared to their past offerings.

What I really like most about this book the most is how they expanded the fluff slightly and updated things. Subtle things but still, there is more there than what seemed to be in the last codex.

Army Wide Rules:

Champions: Some people love this rule, some people hate it. I have to admit it fits the flavor of Chaos no matter what. So, in close combat you have to declare a challenge or accept one if issued first. So, the age of power fists on Champions is long gone. Time to rip them off and give them either power swords, mauls or lighting claws at this point if you want a chance to survive and if you don’t care hand them a chain sword and pat them on the power armor ass out the door to die. The first thing to look at is how often will your list be in close combat? If you are in it often, perhaps you should plan your list out, otherwise if you are more of a shooter list; it is ok to neglect the Champions in favor of focusing on other important aspects in your list. My only complaint about this is rolling on the “favors” or as I call them “party favors” chart if you kill something in close combat, so in theory it should be rare but still to me could drag the game slightly in a tournament setting rolling and bookkeeping constant changes. I am sure Army Builder will have the option to add the roll list to each champion and if you do, stock up on paper as your list will grow about x3 the current normal printed list. I am not sure how I feel about handing a codex to my opponent printed from Army Builder.

Veterans of the Long War: +1 Leadership and Hatred? Usually just for a point more on a standard CSM and a few more points for an Independent Character you can have this great perk. While the leadership is not needed for an IC the average Joe benefits from that with their lower leadership now of 8 on average. You could always take the banner to make your unit Fearless but that gets rather pricey (and works best for larger, more expensive units) and should only go to key units in the game where the benefit gets the best impact. Play Marines often? Shop Smart, Shop Chaos Mart.

Demon Weapons: Wow, they are more powerful than ever and yes, you will pay for them in huge point costs. Still, it is nice to at least roll a 1 and still swing (at penalty) instead of being screwed over. Roll a 2+ and it is happy days! Demon Weapons are squad killers as well as deadly weapons in a challenge against a character. The only downside is that you have to protect the model with it until he can get close enough to get into close combat. Second you have to wipe out all characters first in a challenge before you can wipe the squad. So, if they have a character to challenge you could get bogged down fighting some units. Think IG blobs for example as they have the ability to throw multiple sergeants at you keeping you busy the rest of the game. Your only hope then is to cause enough wounds to break, unless they are fearless or something else making them hard to break (stubborn for example).

Warlord Traits: This is the first book to assign Warlord Traits to specific characters instead of rolling for them. To me this fits but also limits options taking them, if you take a character with a specific Trait, you are more than likely taking them for that benefit among other thins.  Here are the traits and my thoughts:

Black Crusader: Warlord and all friendly units within 12” of the Warlord have Preferred Enemy. For now this is nice for allies “note the word friendly”. Yes, this will be FAQ’ed later. Until then take Abbadon and park him near a majority of your army and enjoy the rerolls of 1 to hit and wound.

Flames of Spite: All melee weapons in the unit have Soul Blaze. Crap here really.

Master of Deception: Infiltrate d3 infantry units. Note the key word there, infantry. So, no first turn charges but you could very easy put an army in someone’s face quickly or flank.

Hatred Incarnate: Warlord and unit have Hatred. So, saves you points on Veteran’s of the Long War. Otherwise useless also.

Lord of Terror: Fear, another yawn unless you have something that can modify leadership.

Exalted Champion: Reroll on the Boon Table, limited prospects here unless you plan to engage in challenges.

Marks of Chaos

Mark of Khorne: Rage (extra attack) and Counter-attack special rules. This is a great mark to give to general CSM units that are not Bezerkers, they are a slightly cheaper option with ranged ability unlike Khorne Bezerkers.

Mark of Nurgle: +1 Toughness (no longer unmodified!) a great choice for a Biker Unit, Obliterators or Characters, makes them tough as hell to instant kill now. Even the basic CSM benefits well if you are cost cutting and don’t care about the other perks that a Plague Marine gets. Havoks are another that would allow you to take some punishment and still stay in the fight no matter what.

Mark of Tzeentch: +1 to invulnerable save or 6+ if none. Obliterators and Characters stand the most to benefit from here. A simple 6+ to a standard CSM is just a waste when there are better marks to pick (unless you can roll 6’s like crazy).

Mark of Slaanesh: +1 Initiative. What? Wake me up here! This goes best on a few select items, one thing I can say NOT to waste points on is giving them to a Chaos Space Marine. Why? 13 points base and 2 for the mark, 2 more points and you get Fearless instead of spending 1 more point for Veterans of the Long War for that +1 Leadership. 

What do you think?

Chaos Codex Review and Thoughts Series

Later today (just rolled past midnight a moment ago) I will post my first part of a series of posts reviewing the Codex and imparting my own personal thoughts and insights into the codex as well. I am a long time Chaos player and I am just elated beyond words about this book and looking forward to some great games!

So, I will open with the question: Will you be playing Chaos and why? Are you an old school loyalist like me? Are you just jumping on the bandwagon of the latest codex? Or do you have other darker secrets to reveal? Let us know!

Chaos Deploys!

I got my order of Chaos goodies today and looking forward to the interesting mix of lists and perhaps the most refreshing codex to arrive in some time. Chaos was my first army and will always be a mainstay army for me.