The Chaos Space Marines of the 41st Millennium continue to fight the Long War against their ancient foes of the Imperium – furthering the agendas of their fiendish commanders and the Chaos Gods themselves.
Are these baleful warriors mere puppets of mutated flesh and warped armour, or are they spiky masters of their own devilish destiny? It’s all a matter of perspective, but at least they can throw their lot in with one of the Dark Gods for powerful boons known as Marks of Chaos.
Codex: Chaos Space Marines is short moments away from escaping the Eye of Terror and racing to pre-order this weekend, and it’s full of diabolical new rules for making the army of your (most depraved) dreams.
When fielding a Battle-forged army composed of any Chaos Space Marines Detachments, you can upgrade any CHAOS UNDIVIDED CORE or CHARACTER choice with a malefic Mark of Chaos for the appropriate points or Power Rating cost.
Cultists do not get this luxury, as they are simply too low in the pecking order, whereas the new Daemon Prince must take a Mark of Chaos – they didn’t get those horns and spiky sentient cleavers without making a demonic deal.
There is more small print too. You lose the CHAOS UNDIVIDED keyword, PSYKERS cannot take the Mark of Khorne for obvious reasons – though PRIESTS can* – Emperor’s Children units must have a Mark of Slaanesh, and you also need to give up your blackened and broken soul for all eternity. See, just silly little details.
So what do these glorious Marks of Chaos confer to you and your brutal band of Long War veterans? It’s easy – you get two bounteous gifts that best represent each of the Dark Gods on the tabletop.
Take those seductive soldiers of Slaanesh for starters – their Mark of Slaanesh bamboozles the enemy. Not only do you get to fight first if you’re close enough, but if you’re wise enough to bring an ICON bearer along – you get to boost those hit rolls too!
Favouring straight-up brutality, those who bear the Mark of Khorne unsurprisingly get enhanced Strength in combat if they charge, have been charged, or perform a Heroic Intervention – you can’t reap skulls without getting stuck in.**
Once again, if the unit has the ICON keyword, then any melee attack they perform is further enhanced as the bloodthirsty power of Khorne ups the Armour Penetration. All of this means that smashing apart the misguided weaklings of the Imperium is going to be more satisfying than ever for those power-hungry Chosen.
Those blessed with the Mark of Nurgle or Mark of Tzeentch also get their own unique abilities, lending you a smidgeon of their particular powers. Make sure you check back later in the week to find out what the other two have to offer your Chaos Space Marines, and to witness the re-emergence of a certain top-knotted despot.
To employ these offerings in battle you’ll have to wait until Codex: Chaos Space Marines is delivered into whatever collection of limbs and appendages the gods have gifted you. It won’t be long because it’s up for pre-order this weekend!***
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* Someone needs to tell Khorne that if he intervenes with daemonic power due to a prayer, that’s essentially magic. But it won’t be us.
** Technically, you can harvest them post-battle, but it’s not really as exciting.
*** Please be careful when handling your book with serrated talons, unctuous tentacles, and pustule-ridden hands.