Editing Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Chaos Space Marines (section)

===Slaves to Darkness===
====Special Rules====
*'''Marks of Chaos:''' Every non-{{W40Kkeyword|epic hero}} unit without any of the following keywords must be assigned one; {{W40Kkeyword|khorne psyker}} is an illegal pairing, and {{W40Kkeyword|characters}} can only Leader Bodyguards who have the same Mark keyword as them.  Each keyword also provides a special rule, all of which buff your hit rolls, so leave those '''Torrent''' weapons at home, folks.
**{{W40Kkeyword|Khorne}}: If you use Dark Pacts in the Fight Phase to gain ''[Lethal Hits]'', you critically hit on a 5+.
**{{W40Kkeyword|Nurgle}}: If you use Dark Pacts in the Shooting Phase to gain ''[Sustained Hits 1]'', you critically hit on a 5+.
***That means Nurgle particularly favors Combi-Weapons, the Infernal Gaze Sorcerer gun on Hazardous mode, Forgefiends regardless of guns, and the Fellgor Beastmen Corrupted Stave.
**{{W40Kkeyword|Slaanesh}}: If you use Dark Pacts in the Fight Phase to gain ''[Sustained Hits 1]'', you critically hit on a 5+.
***That means Slaanesh particularly favors Axes of Dismemberment, the Commune Stave on Dark Communes, Daemon and Warp Hammers, Heldrakes, and Possessed.
**{{W40Kkeyword|Tzeentch}}: If you use Dark Pacts in the Shooting Phase to gain ''[Lethal Hits]'', you critically hit on a 5+.
***That means Tzeentch particularly favors Fleshmetal Guns on warp hail mode, (Twin) Heavy Bolters, and Reaper Autocannons.
**{{W40Kkeyword|Chaos Undivided}}: Re-roll hit rolls of 1.
***Note that this means Khorne and Tzeentch have less use than the other three keywords for ''[Devastating Wounds]'', as their special buff makes critical wounds even less likely, and across the board you should be avoiding ''[Torrent]'' weapons.  
****If you use a Helbrute to pick up both Dark Pact abilities at once, Khorne and Tzeentch will like this just fine.  The same is true if you're wielding a weapon with ''[Sustained Hits 1]'' built in, like a Heavy Bolter.

====Stratagems====
<tabs>
<tab name="Battle Tactic">
*'''Infernal Rites (2 CP):''' Any attacks against one unit reduce their AP by 1. Twice as expensive as the loyalist equivalent, just in case you forgot who the favorites were.
*'''Profane Zeal (1 CP):''' One unit may re-roll any 1s to hit and/or to wound. If that unit was marked with {{W40Kkeyword|Chaos Undivided}}, [[cheese|re-roll any hit rolls and/or wound rolls]]. The stuff dreams are made of, you'll be using this every turn.
</tab>
<tab name="Epic Deed">
*'''Skinshift (1 CP):''' In the command phase, one unit regains 3 wounds. If marked with {{WH40Kkeyword|Tzeentch}}, one destroyed model that isn't a character can be returned to that unit [[awesome|''at full wounds'']]. Last edition's Master of Possession ''wishes'' it had something this good. Perfect for Obliterators, who also benefit greatly from being marked Tzeentch thanks to Dark Pact.
</tab>
<tab name="Strategic Ploy">
*'''Dark Obscuration (1 CP):''' When an enemy tries to shoot at one of your units, that unit gains ''Stealth'' for some extra protection. {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} units take this a step further by preventing enemies from attacking them unless they're within 12".
*'''Eternal Hate (1 CP):''' When one unit is attacked in melee, any models that die can make one last round of attacks before dying on a 4+. If that unit had the {{W40Kkeyword|Khorne}} mark, add 1 to that roll. 
*'''Unnatural Swiftness (1 CP):''' One unit can shoot and charge after falling back. If that unit was marked with {{W40Kkeyword|Slaanesh}}, it can shoot and charge after advancing as well. 
**This is broadly useful, but the Slaanesh mark kicks it into overdrive by making one unit capable of slingshotting itself across the board whilst remaining a threat the whole time. Venomcrawlers come to mind as the perfect target for this.
</tab>
</tabs>

====Enhancements====
*'''Eye of Tzeentch:''' {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} only, of course. Whenever the bearer's unit uses Dark Pacts, they also need to make a Leadership test for a free CP.
*'''Intoxicating Elixir:''' {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh}} only. Grants the bearer a 5+++ FNP and whenever they make a Dark Pact, one enemy they hit must take a battle-shock test.
**You don't want this on a Leader, since it really only benefits one model - instead, you want this on a model that would otherwise be taking heavy fire.  Since it keeps your Wounds up, you most likely want this on a Winged Daemon Prince, to make the most of having more Wounds remaining.
*'''Liber Hereticus:''' {{W40kKeyword|Chaos Undivided}} only. Using Dark Pacts grants the bearer's unit both ''[Sustained Hits 1]'' AND ''[Lethal Hits]'' at the same time, as if there was a Helbrute nearby.
*'''Orbs of Unlife:''' {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} only. At the end of the fight phase, roll a d6 for every enemy unit within 6" of the bearer, adding +1 if they used a Dark Pact on that turn. On a 4+, the enemy suffers d3 mortal wounds.
*'''Talisman of Burning Blood:''' {{W40kKeyword|Khorne}} only. Bearer's melee weapons gain +1 to Attacks and Strength. Whenever the bearer's unit makes a Dark Pact, the weapon instead adds +d3 to Attacks and Strength.
**You want this on a model with weapons that have '''Extra Attacks''' so the buff happens multiple times, meaning this is ideal on a Lord Discordant (how you will get the model into melee without it dying on the approach is, well, your problem).

====Tactics====

*Take Abaddon and a Nurgle Helbrute and mark all of your units to be of Tzeentch or Nurgle; re-roll even successful hits to fish for crits.  Now a BS3+ shooter will hit critically 5/9 (56%) of the time (and hit non-critically another 2/9 or 22% of the time); each critical hit is an automatic wound that must roll to penetrate and a hit that must roll to wound.
**Add Nurgle Forgefiends and fire in Hazardous mode so the hits that roll to wound are hoping to Devastate and ignore saves.
**Give Abaddon a Chaos Terminator escort full of combi-weapons and a reaper cannon; he has Chaos Undivided, so you can use the Profane Zeal strat to re-roll wound rolls on the whole unit to fish for critical wounds for Devastating Wounds. Odds are good Abbadon will refund the cost of the strat anyway.
***Then you can add a Chaos Lord in Terminator Armour with a second unit of Termies and the Liber Hereticus enhancement (make sure you mark the whole squad as Chaos Undivided): this use of Profane Zeal will work whether or not Abbadon uses it and will cost 0 CP, and since the entire thing is mobile, it doesn't need to deep strike anywhere near the rest of the army to function.  It won't hit as hard since you won't critically hit on 5+, but it'll still do pretty good work.
**Nurgle Vindicators are good in any list but will synergize with this combo as well - it's just that at S14 '''Lethal Hits''' is less significant.