Let’s cut right to the chase – Codex: Chaos Space Marines is coming out soon, and it has eight* Detachments in it. Eight! Aside from being one Detachment for each point of the Chaos star, this glut of army options allows you to pattern your heretical warband after some of the most notorious forces in the galaxy, from Traitor Legions to piratical renegades.
That means there’s a lot to get through in our usual preview, so today we’re going to try something a little different and answer a few burning questions Chaos players ask us all the time – through the medium of rules reveals.
Dear Warhammer Community, I want my Chaos Space Marines to get right up in the faces of the Imperial lapdogs, as fast as possible – which Detachment should I choose?
Many servants of the Dark Gods are content to run screaming across the battlefield with chainswords whirling, and while we commend their enthusiasm, a more considered approach can get your fighters closer, quicker. The Deceptors Detachment, for instance, is modelled after the Alpha Legion and their sneaky cells of clandestine operatives. These Masters of Misdirection can give a select few troops the Infiltrators ability, allowing them to creep close before battle begins.
If that all seems a bit quiet and fiddly, the Renegade Raiders Detachment throws caution to the wind. By giving your guns the Assault ability, you can avoid losing out on firepower while charging down the barrels of Imperial defensive lines, as your Raiders and Reavers Advance towards the enemy with reckless abandon.**
Dear Warhammer Community, my pathetic mortal Cultists are an embarrassment at the war council and the other Chaos Lords laugh at me. How do I make them better?
We’ve all been there. Luckily, the Chaos Cult Detachment has plenty of tools for turning weedy devotees into certified Khorne-pleasers. Their Detachment rule allows your DAMNED units to show their Desperate Devotion by racing into battle. It’s perfect for getting your relatively fragile hordes into close combat, where they can tie up enemy firepower… and as we all know, a few dead mortals along the way is an easy price to pay for victory.
Once you’ve sacrificed a few models on your way to the fight, the Incendiary Goad becomes a great Enhancement that boosts the ferocity of the favoured survivors. Coupled with the Infernal Sacrifice Stratagem, you can turn regular Cultists into outright murder machines, each swinging four times at Strength 5 – hilarious for catching out overconfident foes who they think their Space Marines are safe from mere rabble.
Dear Warhammer Community, I have no idea what I want my warband to actually do besides kill, maim, or burn. Is there anything that can boost up my regular Legionaries and let me stay flexible on the battlefield?
Absolutely, and not just because the Slaves to Darkness Detachment is returning from the Index with the snazzy new name Pactbound Zealots.*** The new Veterans of the Long War Detachment also leans into supporting your warband with rules that hearken back to their origins as disciplined Space Marines – namely, being pretty good at bringing down just about anything.
The Black Crusade Stratagem, for example, gives your Chaos Space Marines the focus needed to quick-march or drop back from close combat while still blasting away – and even supercharges regular bolt weapons so they can inflict Devastating Wounds. Combine that with the Let the Galaxy Burn Stratagem – yes, we know which Warmaster named these – and you’ll even strip away their cover and boost your flamers, so there’s no hiding from the storm of bolts and fire.
Dear Warhammer Community, I am a very strong and cool Chaos Lord. On an unrelated note, I am looking for an Enhancement that will make me more dangerous. Can you help?A fairly standard request, this, but we absolutely can. If you’re dead-set on smashing enemy vehicles to pieces you can’t do much better than the Fell-hammer Siege Host Detachment, which gives you the option of weapons forged with Iron Artifice. You’ll wound mighty war machines easily with low Strength, high Attacks weapons like the Terminator Lord’s lightning claws, or you can turn the regular Chaos Lord’s daemon hammer into a real Devastating Wounds dispenser.
If you’re the kind of Lord who enjoys breaking spirits as much as steel, strap on a jump pack and get stuck in with the terrifying Dread Talons Detachment. A set of Warp-fuelled Thrusters will keep you from having to stick around once you’ve slaughtered your fear-stricken foes, jetting out of reality before descending once more.
Of course, the classic Talisman of Burning Blood also returns from the Index in all its Khornate glory, boosting your skull-taking warlord to potentially ludicrous amounts of Strength and Attacks… so long as the dice are in your favour.
We hope these answers have been helpful. The Detachments mentioned above are also joined by the Soulforged Warpack Detachment, who tune up your monstrous machines with Vashtorr the Arkifane’s dastardly contracts and DAEMON VEHICLE augmentations.
In fact, you can go ahead and start planning your own Chaos incursion now, as Codex: Chaos Space Marines goes up for pre-order this Saturday alongside the devilish Dread Talons Battleforce and the elite Veterans of the Long War Battleforce. Death to the False Emperor!
* That’s even more than Codex: Space Marines had.
** They even have an Enhancement that gives a unit the Scouts 6” ability, for some pre-game movement shenanigans.
*** To better reflect their Marks of Chaos ability.