New Chaos Lists

[Auxryn]

Most of you probably haven't seen the new Codex yet, but for those of you who have:

What are your thoughts on the new Codex?

I always thought Possessed seemed cool and was always disappointed that they seemed such a point sink. That hasn't changed.

I always loved Obliterators so I am happy that they now get Assault Cannons, but sad that they are S4 T4 instead of 5. It makes them seem much more like just regular terminators with big guns.

The Sword of Murder really strikes my imagination. I can see that getting some use.

The only Skyfire I saw was that Havocs could purchase flakk missiles, which didn't terribly surprise me. Though now that I think about it I'm sad that Obliterators don't have any Skyfire weapons.

[Primarch]

Obliterators were T4 in the previous codex. In 5th ed. Obliterators were one of the staples of the Chaos book. Giving them skyfire would have ensured that this was true in the new codex as well. Right now, Skyfire is limited to dedicated AA guns, other flyers and a very small handful of units.

For its points cost, I dont see the murder sword being chosen very often. It's not bad, but it is basically a power weapon, except for when you attack the chosen model with it. Since you have to declare who it is targetting at the beginning of the game, your opponent wont make it easy for you to use it.

IMHO the biggest changes are moving all of the cult troops to Elite and unlocking them as troops with the correct HQ choice. It really forces you to do a generic army or a mono-god army, you can't mix and match as much as before.

Possessed got better in that now you dont get random powers that you can't use. But they are still a points sink. I want them to be good too.

[me_in_japan]

It really forces you to do a generic army or a mono-god army, you can't mix and match as much as before.

huzzah! praise nurgle!

Possessed got better in that now you dont get random powers that you can't use.

huzzah!

But they are still a points sink. I want them to be good too.

boo! (still gonna use mine anyway)

[Admiral-Badruck]

The Nurgle possessed should be great. And as long as you are facing fun themed armies you don't need to worry about it. I will be happy to see your Nurgle dread oh wait they call them he'll brutes now.

[Auxryn]

Plague zombies and cultists are a welcome addition as well. Much like adding gretchins to a space marine army. I think they would kill grots pretty well in close combat, though they haven't got Frags which can be a problem.
Their primary purpose of course is to catch bullets and tarpit enemies, which the zombies should be even better than Scarabs at.
I just realized that the plague zombies will (barring a FAQ) have a Zombie Champion who can fight Zombie Challenges and receive Zombie Warp Gifts if he somehow wins. That would be hilarious.

At this point if I were going to make Chaos Marine allies I would probably pick Typhon with a group of Plague Marines as an honor guard and some zombies to act as a screen. That group could draw a ton of fire as it trundles across the board.

Back in the day I wanted the make a Tzeentch-themed army, but Rubric marines still seem to be a bad idea. Sad.

[frans]

Back in the day I wanted the make a Tzeentch-themed army, but Rubric marines still seem to be a bad idea. Sad.

Well lets think about this one: Thousand sons still very expensive. But you will face much more space marines running around on foot, (don't forget Grey knights and Necrons). They are not an optimal choice but I would definitely say that they are much more interesting in 6th. Maybe not part of an ETC-list but I would say fully playable.

[frans]

We had a long discussion this Saturday down at our club. The most general thought from the ETC-players is that it is a very balanced list. Lots of different options and a more solid choice then before.

The book looks great, I would almost say that I could keep it on my coffe-table and my wife would not protest.

Since the last GW faq Necron have completely run over all the tournaments here in Sweden. The good thing is that everyone that painted up a grey knight army don't need to buy new paint.

[Auxryn]

What I've been hearing on podcasts is that the major armies people have been seeing are Necrons, Grey Knights, Space Wolves, and Imperial Guard. The first two being the primary presence.
With the addition of allies in 6th ed, some of the 2nd-tier armies are getting a second lease on life as allied detatchments. Taking tau allies to get broadsides, etc.

Generally the newest books tend to be the most competitive (Codex Creep) so I would guess we will see a fair amount of Chaos for the immediate future, and of course a lot of power armor. There is very little among the primary codexes with anything worse than a 4+ save.

Perhaps a Tzeentchian list with daemon allies is doable. I don't see how it would be great though. Of course, you guys are free to try anything you like.

Here's something I just noticed: Heavy support slots are rather precious in the new list. You will probably want some Havocs to help deal with flyers, particularly the Cron Air list. Obliterators are heavy support as well, and of course you will want some of those. Then you have all the new daemon machines in addition to the standard space marine tanks. Lots of good options there. If you take Chaos allies, you can only choose one.

[Primarch]

Competition for slots is the sign of a good codex. When all of the options look good and you have to think about which one to take, you know you will get a lot of use out of it. Similarly, when you look at a codex and all of the choices are clear due to either one stand out unit or a lacck of choice, the army will quickly become bland and boring. From the looks of things, the Chaos book is definitely in the first category.

[me_in_japan]

*insert MiJ's usual comments re: list building to win vs list building for fun*


Meh, it's getting old, I know. But I still think it.