News: No news is good news...

Login  |  Register

 

Search |

Edit | Delete |

Chaos Space Marine Tactica [PROOF READING]

Submitted By: Date: August 22, 2004, 02:40:47 PM Views: 3265
Summary:  
Tactica Chaos Space Marines (the troop choice)

It is worth taking the time to give a more in-depth look at our most common model: the regular, basic and reliable Chaos Space Marine (called CSM in this article). Some people love them and some people only take basic squads of them. Let's examine it in more details.

First the statistics. A CSM's statistics are basically the same as a Loyalist SM but with an increased leadership value. This help compensating the absence of the "And they shall know no fear" rules. Two things will strike you as being very different from the loyalists SM. CSM can be in squads of 5 to 20, unlike SM, which can be in squads of 5-10. CSM can be equipped with a bolter, a bolter and close combat weapon (useless unless you are a Plague Marine) or bolt pistol and close combat weapon (which gives two base attacks to your marines).

The possibility to have squads of up to 20 is quite useful. Most of the times you will use squads of 10 or less because it fits in transport vehicles. Against some opponents or for specific missions you might want infantry on foot. In games above 1500 points it might be a good idea to sometimes have very big squads. I once played a squad of 18 CSM in a tournament. People were very afraid of them. They attracted a lot of firepower, which was the goal. Of course they all have to shoot at the same target but getting rid of such a squad will require a lot of the enemy's firepower.

The best part of CSM is the fact that they can be equipped for close combat with their two base attacks, unlike loyalist SM. A CSM ends up with 3 attacks on the charge, not something to be laughed at. In my experience I have come to point where I find bolter-equipped CSM almost useless. Most Chaos armies are close combat-oriented or at least pretty good at it. Also, most of the games end up in close combat by turn 3 or 4. Having such strong troops that can have 2 attacks in close combat is a blessing. You will lose the advantage of having a bolter but until they fix the rapid fire rules this is no big deal. A bolter isn't incredibly useful unless you face horde armies with low saves. In such a case you need to stand still and let them come at you while you shoot them with your bolters. Against Orks and Tyranids I think bolters have their use but once those opponents get in close combat you might prefer to have two base attacks instead of one. Personally I will rarely field bolter-equipped CSM anymore. In a tournament, where you can't change your army list between games and don't know what you are going to face, CSM equipped for close combat will be much more efficient in general.

Marks of Chaos

Now let's have a look at the options available to a CSM squad. First, the Marks of Chaos. ALWAYS at least give them at least the Mark of Chaos Undivided. It's cheap and very efficient. You don't want CSM to run away since they can't regroup below 50% like their Imperial cousins. If you give them the other Marks of Chaos then refer to the proper tactical articles for details about them because each marks requires wholly different tactics.

Weapon options

Then come the weapon options. You can have one lascannon, or missile launcher, or autocannon or heavy bolter. You can also have one or two plasmagun, or meltagun, or flamer or plasma pistol. Pretty good choice if you ask me. A word of warning on giving your squads heavy weapons (weapons that cannot be used when you move). It is tempting to give a lascannon to each and every squad for 15 points. Just remember that you cannot use if you moved in the same turn. It will be very tempting on many occasions to stop moving and shoot your lascannon (or other heavy weapon). It can be quite efficient but remember that your average 10-men squad with a champion costs around 200 points. That means that those 200 points won't be doing anything for a turn to fire a weapon that hits less then 70% of time and might have no effect at all with a little bad luck. You might regret it when the end of the game comes and you are short 4-5 inches to reach the objective. I personally do not give heavy weapons to my squads anymore but that is just my opinion based on personal experience. With plasmaguns, flamers or meltaguns at least I can now move and fire them. Of course their range is much shorter but I am never tempted to stand still and fire my single heavy weapon.

A good balance between both would be to take two big squads of CSM (10 or more) equipped with special weapons only and then have 2-3 small squads of 5-7 CSM equipped with lascannons and such that will stay in the back and shoot. This way those small squads will around 90-125 points and you can even give them the tank hunter skill to take care of tanks! Some people say it is cheesy to have squads with the minimum amount of CSM in them just to get cheap heavy weapons. I agree, to an extent. If all you had were such minimal squads then you are a bad player. But if you have 2-3 big squads and 2-3 minimal squads then it's a good balance I think. You didn't try to simply abuse the rules and 6 lascannons with tank hunter skill for 105 points per squad (which is what it costs for a 5-men squad with a lascannon and the tank hunter skill). It's all a question of balance.

CSM can also be equipped with frag and krak grenades. I personally never take those options as I find them rather useless or, more precisely, rarely useful. If you play on a board with a lot of cover you might enjoy frag grenades but otherwise I would leave them home.

Veteran skills

Next come the veteran skills. CSM without any Mark of Chaos can take as many veteran skills as desired. Those with a Mark can usually take only one or none. The choice of skill depends on the goal your squad will serve. Personally I rarely use them, except for tank hunter in small squads with lascannons. Furious charge is a popular choice for assault armies. Personally I find it rather expensive for a skill that will be used only once or twice in a game (rarely do you see squads that charge more then twice in a game). Infiltrate is precious when you play missions that allow it. I wouldn't take it if you don't know if the infiltrate special rule will be used. If you know the mission in advance and it allows Infiltrators then go ahead and take it. It's a great skill and is usually worth it's price, unless you play a static, defensive and shooting-oriented army. Just remember not to overload your CSM with veteran skills. They price increases very quickly.

Transport

CSM can also take a rhino as a transport is there is less then ten of them. Rhinos are great transport. Cheap, fast and reliable. They blow up easily but who cares: you only paid 50 points for them. Extra armor and smoke launcher are almost essential options to give them. For a measly 8 points you increased their survivability by miles. For squads that are designed for close combat a rhino is almost essential unless, again, you face an army that will most likely rush toward you like Orks and Tyranids.

Aspiring champion

Last but not least comes the Aspiring Champion. Having a Champion is a good idea for squads that will go in close combat. First because it's leadership is higher and second because Champions can be equipped in many different ways. They have access to daemonic gifts, almost all wargear and can also be upgraded to sorcerers. For details on wargear, daemonic gifts or sorcerers please refer to the appropriate article because I will not go in details about all the different options. I will list here what I think is the most useful and versatile configuration for a close combat Aspiring Champion, at the same time keeping him rather cheap. A bolt pistol, a power fist and daemonic mutation is all your Champion requires to do it's job. For 53 points you get a model with 4 base attacks. You can drop the daemonic mutation but if you do the math you will realize that ONE power fist attack has the same effect as FIVE normal attacks (i.e. the same chance to cause wounds). Note that these statistics have been calculated if the Champion is facing a Space Marine. Against high toughness opponents or very weak opponents these statistics will change drastically). So you basically pay 10 points for daemonic mutation to replicate the effect of 2.5 CSM in close combat (which would cost 40-45 points).

Of course nobody is forcing you to use this configuration for your Aspiring Champion. This is just the best way to equip him for tournaments and games where you don't know what you are going to face. The power fist gives the squad the possibility to do some vehicle busting and tackle Dreadnoughts and Wraithlords in close combat and still have a chance to win. It gives your squad versatility. Against specific opponents you might prefer a power weapon, or a sorcerer or even no Champion at all. It's your choice. Against other marines, Necrons or in a tournament a power fist is a 15 points investment that usually pays back for itself very early in the game.

Now how do you use those CSM in a game? First it all depends one how you equipped them. They will either be used as a shooting force or a close combat force. CSM are what you should use to protect your more expensive units. They should receive the biggest part of the enemy's firepower. Deploy them to hide your precious units and send forward those designed for close combat. Always try to avoid sending them in close combat against hordes like Orks or Tyranids. A 3+ with a toughness of 4 is very good but not when the opponent has 40 attacks against you. Be smart. CSM are cheap and strong but you can't allow yourself to waste them, they're not Ork Boyz or Tyranid Gaunts! In general, CSM equipped for close combat (even without a Champion with power fist) will beat SM in close combat because they get more attacks. Try to avoid getting into close combat with SM or Necrons unless you have a power fist or at least a power weapon. You WILL beat them but it might take you so long that the game will be almost over by then. You precious CSM sure have uses more crucial then wasting 3 or 4 turns on a simple Tactical squad. With a power fist or power weapon that Tactical squad is as good as dead, unless it also has those weapons.

In summary, CSM require a bit of planning in designing them. You have many options available and should dedicate a given squad to a given purpose. You can mix CSM with bolters and CSM with close combat weapon and bolt pistol in the same squad but you will then dilute your shooting power AND dilute your close combat power. Concentrate on one aspect. A squad dedicated to close combat has no uses for a lascannon. A squad that will stay back and shot it's lascannon has no use for a flamer or can easily survive without an Aspiring Champion.

Now that you know how to use your basic troop effectively you can experiment with different configuration. Some people like to have only a few big squads of 15-20 CSM, others will prefer the flexibility of six small squads. It will be yours to discover what fits your playing style. The guidelines listed here are just to open your eyes on the many possibilities offered by our most common troops choice. It is now in your hands to lead them to battle in the name of CHAOS!

Lord Silverthorn
Rating: This article has not been rated yet.

Comments




Powered by EzPortal