A few years ago I started thinking about making another CSM army, at first I was drawn to Tzeench, because I thought AP 3 bolters of the Thousand Sons were killer. Then on a whim I put a squad of Noise Marines in a pick up game and fell in love. I became a firm believer more shots was better then fewer shots even with AP factored in. Thousand Sons seemed like a one trick pony. It was the flexibility of Noise Marines that was the deciding factor, so it was then I laid the ground work for a new army.
When designing a Chaos Space Marine army around Slaanesh you have no choice, but to start with Noise Marines, then the sounds of anguish can truely flow. Let’s look the stat line of Noise Marines.
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Two things can be gleaned by the Noise Marine profile, I5 and pts/model of 20. On paper they are cheapest of the Cult Marines. This brings us to the first dilemma, the upgrades Noise Marines have. The main option is the Sonic Blaster which is a 5 point upgrade for each Noise Marine, which instantly makes them the most expensive troop selection in the codex.
Is it worth it?
Sonic Blaster: range 24″ str 4, AP 5 Assault 2/Heavy 3
It is basically a super shooty bolter. The Sonic Blaster is important for three reasons.
- It allows you to shoot and assault in the same turn.
- It allows you to move and still fire at max range
- It allows you to stand and fire three times in a turn.
These reasons make Noise Marines easily the best troop selection for small armes fire in the codex. It also makes them very expensive. The cost prohibit, forces you to select what roll each squad will play. It is the battle between flexibility vs. cost, that makes balancing Noise Marines their toughest challenge. Noise Marines are limited by not having access to any special weapons or heavy weapons standard for CSM.
What they do have is the Blastmaster.
Blastmaster: range 36″/48″ str 5/8, AP 4/3 Assault/2 Heavy 1 Blast
Now besides being named for one cool character in Mad Max, the Blastermaster is a pretty potent weapon. Only one Noise Marine per squad can wield it and it fits into the Noise Marine pension for shooting. Like almost everything Noise Marine there is a catch, that being the Blastermaster point cost of 40! It is the single most expensive piece of equipment for any troop choice in the game. That is the cost of 2 Noise Marines in itself. What the Blastmaster does accomplish though, is the ability for Noise Marines to destroy transports and MEQs effectively. The Blastmaster is also a nasty enough weapon that your opponent cannot just ignore it.
The most fun I have is with the Noise Champion and its special weapon, the Doom Siren.
Doom Siren: Template, Str 5, AP 3, Assault 1
This is a great weapon, especially in 5th ed. Since everything in the game now gets cover. With the revival of bike armies also the Doom Siren is excellent. It wounds on 4s and negates turbo boost. At only 15pts it is a fair price to pay. The champion also has access to the standard variety of options for any champion in the codex.
Having played many games of 5th ed now I have to come some realizations. One, there is never enough redundancy, with cover and vehicles things are just harder to kill. The other is that close combat is truly brutal. So where does this leave Noise Marines? They seem to have the first part covered.
As for close combat Noise Marine I5 and being Fearless are key. This combination allows Noise Marines to be effective when assaulting and survive when being assaulted. Unless you are fighting a highly specialized unit with high initiative or Monstrous Creatures, Noise Marines will bring the pain.
They have better stats then most Eldar units. Against Tactical squads they have more attacks. More importantly, Noise Marines take attacks away from your opponent, which is decisive. By no means are Noise Marines a Khorne Berserker, they are though an effective close combat unit and I often surprise my opponents with their effectiveness.
Next time, I will be discussing the different builds for your Noise Marine squads and how to use them.