Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Chaos Space Marines
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This is the current 10th Edition's Chaos Space Marine tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.
Why Play Chaos Space Marines
Faction Rules
- Dark Pacts: Any time one of your units makes an attack, you can choose to make an offering to the dark gods, giving either Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1. After you resolve your hits, you have to pass a Leadership test or suffer d3 mortal wounds. While not the wisest take on cultists, but the marines could make use of this - especially if you grab an icon to re-roll their Ld test.
- The Lost and the Damned: The rule that lets you attach Khorne Berserkers, Plague Marines and Rubric Marines despite no longer sharing a codex. This gives them the Heretic Astartes keyword instead of whatever they used to have. That said, it's only presumed that they get Dark Pacts, since their datasheets only have their faction rules. It's also uncertain if anyone can attach to them due to the limitations of the Leader rule.
Detachments
Slaves to Darkness
Special Rules
- Marks of Chaos: Every non-epic hero unit without any of the following keywords must be assigned one; khorne psyker is an illegal pairing, and 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.
- Khorne: If you use Dark Pacts in the Fight Phase to gain Lethal Hits, you critically hit on a 5+.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Devastating Wounds just fine. The same is true if you're wielding a weapon with Sustained Hits 1 built in, like a Heavy Bolter.
- 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.
Stratagems
- Dark Obscuration (1 CP): When an enemy tries to shoot at one of your units, that unit gains Stealth for some extra protection. Nurgle units take this a step further by preventing enemies from attacking them unless they're within 12".
Equipment
Unit Analysis
As per the Daemon index, you can have 1/4 of your army in points be Chaos Daemons. As per the Adeptus Titanicus index, you can have up to 1 Chaos Titan model. See those tactica pages for an in-depth analysis, but remember, in both cases anything you field will lose its Faction rules (what happens in terms of Detachment rules will still be Detachment-specific, but you'll have to pick a CSM Detachment).
Characters
Epic Heroes
- Abaddon the Despoiler: One of the very few to have lost out in tankiness, being nerfed to T5 with the same W9 and 2+/4++. Dark Destiny at least makes using Dark Pacts a good idea as passing the associated Leadership test lets him roll another d6 and win 1 CP. The Warmaster lets him pick from one of three different 6" buff auras: Paragon of Hatred lets friendly units re-roll to hit, Mark of Chaos Ascendant shares his 4++ save with friendly Infantry and Mounted units, Lord of the Chaos Legions lets friendly units re-roll Leadership and Battleshock tests.
- His combat loadout remains quite the threat and then some. The Talon of Horus remains plenty terrifying with a barrage of S7 AP-3 with Devastating Wounds while the strapped-on Combi-Bolter remaining S5 AP-1 D2 with Sustained Hits 1. Drach'nyen, however, got an absolutely monstrous buff, now being upped to Strength FOURTEEN AP-4 D3, also with Devastating Wounds - and all without any drawbacks that come with being a Daemon Weapon.
- Lucius the Eternal: If he is your warlord, you can only take slaanesh Chaos Daemons.
Battleline
- Cultists:
- Legionaries: As the frontliners of your forces, they deservedly get plenty of variety in weapons, with so many guns they don't all even fit on the card. Among the ones more unique to the unit is the Balefire Tome, which used to make the unit psychic but now just gives a rather basic 18" A2 S5 AP-1 gun.
- While they're plenty useful at range, their Veterans of the Long War ability strangely only lets them re-roll 1s to wound in melee (or re-roll all wounds if they're on an objective). Part of the issue is that they've undergone the great consolidation of weapons, now stuck with either their S4 CCWs or Chainswords if they want an extra attack and AP-1, with the sergeant having the option for an S5 AP-2 Accursed Weapon instead of the variety of power weapons. You can also take an S8 AP-2 D2 Heavy Melee weapon in case you have the heavy chainaxe from the more recent Legionaries box.
Infantry
Vehicles
- Chaos Predator Annihilator:
- Chaos Predator Destructor:
- Chaos Vindicator:
- Khorne Lord of Skulls:
Walkers
- Defiler:
- Forgefiend: Has weapon options, but assuming you pay attention to the rules, it'll always have 1 ectoplasma cannon and 2 autocannons - both with Devastating Wounds. You'll also be constantly Dark Pacting for Sustained Hits 1, so make sure your trio of these have a Warpsmith babysitter.
- Helbrute: An absolutely critical piece of your Tzeentch/Nurgle army, this dude has a 6" aura letting everyone in it (including him) get both Dark Pact benefits at once, not just one.
- Maulerfiend:
- Venomcrawler:
Transports
- Chaos Land Raider:
Dedicated Transports
- Chaos Rhino:
Aircraft
- Heldrake:
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