The new Chaos Space Marine codex is upon us, and while the basics are roughly the same as the last version, there's been a lot of changes in the specifics. What does this mean for Slaanesh CSM players like me? Let's take a look at the changes for those followers of the Dark Prince of Excess:
- Daemon Princes are out as must-takes, Chaos Lords are in: Let's face it - in the old CSM codex, Daemon Princes were very underpriced for what they offered. They're now priced a bit more appropriately, and they have an awesome statline and some nice mark-specific benefits to boot. They're not bad choices by any means. However, as a sole HQ choice for a Slaanesh CSM army, they're a poor choice because they don't shift around your FoC at all. To make Noise Marines troops, you have to take either a Slaanesh-marked Chaos Lord or Lucius the Undying. In a larger game, a Daemon Prince isn't a bad choice for secondary HQ if you have the points to spare.
- Lucius is awesome now: Speaking of Lucius, he went from kind of lackluster to all kinds of neat. Mostly, he functions similarly to how he did before - his wargear still causes hits if he makes saves, still reduces his foe's attacks by 1, and still gives him a doom siren - but with the addition of his challenge-specific rules, he's now better than your average Chaos Lord. Having as many attacks as his opponent's weapon skill in a challenge gives him a solid opportunity to whittle someone down in a challenge, and at Initiative 6 he's going to hit before most enemies. Throw in the addition of Shred (making those hits more likely to count), Hatred for Space Marines, and that he moves the FoC like other Slaanesh lords, and you get a nasty package that can cause some real hurt for your opponent's characters.
- Marks and Icons are much better: This codex fixes one of my biggest gripes with the previous version - marks are no longer tied to icons. You don't have have to worry about losing the Initiative bonus from your mark if the icon bearer bites it. It also opens up more units to being marked, which at this point is pretty much anything that's not a vehicle. On top of that, the Slaanesh-specific Icon of Excess is easily the best one in the book, and makes large squads more resilient than ever. Why should Nurgle get all the Feel No Pain fun? It's fluffy and fantastic. Combine the Mark, the Icon, and Fabius Bile (also thematically appropriate) on a 20-man CSM squad, and you can get a very nasty scoring close-combat squad that will be all but impossible to dislodge from an objective.
- No more Lash, but still some good psychic powers:Yes, Lash of Submission is gone, so old-school Slaanesh psychic shenanigans are off the table. Warptime's gone as well, but it had lost a lot of its bite a couple of FAQs ago. Instead, we get a Slaanesh-specific psychic power selection that, while random, is still solid. We've got Hysterical Frenzy, a nice set of random close-combat buffs; Symphony of Pain, a handy debuff that also makes our sonic weapons better; and Ecstatic Seizures, a power that makes the entire enemy unit hit itself. The last one is Warp Charge 2, so your base sorcerers don't have to worry about accidentally getting it. If you don't like either of those, or you already have the one you want, the Primaris power isn't bad either. Having an Str 4/AP 4/Assault 4/Blind/Concussive/Pinning power at 24" gives you a chance to lock down an enemy unit for a turn. Once you've got your required Slaaneshi powers, there's always Biomancy and Telepathy. Oh, and Pyromancy, but it's definitely the weakest of our options. If you still want that Lash-like ability, though, you can always try allying in a Herald of Slaanesh with Pavane.
- Noise Marines are more affordable: Another important change is that Noise Marines got priced closer to where they should be. 17 points each is much more reasonable, and while I'd love to have seen sonic weapons made into a free swap for a bolter, it wasn't likely to happen. A 3-point charge is much more reasonable, though, getting them kitted out for the price of a stock Noise Marine in the previous codex. Champions aren't optional, but since they're thrown into the base unit cost, you barely notice. They've also got the option to take the Icon of Excess, so you can get them FNP if you desire.
- Sonic Weapons are better and worse: While I like the reduced cost of Noise Blasters, I do miss them being Assault weapons. While making them Salvo weapons standardizes their functionality with the ruleset, it does nerf them a little bit by not allowing you to fire them on the charge. Of course, the trade-off is that they gain Ignores Cover, which might actually be worth it; there's no hiding from these guns. Blastmasters are functionally identical, and they've also gained Ignores Cover, but they're still a bit overpriced at 30 points. Not as horribly overpriced as before, true, but still more than I'd likely want to pay. Doom Sirens, of course, are still awesome and almost a required upgrade. While it's not technically a weapon, I'll also throw the Dirge Caster into the mix. Whereas before they were related to tank shock and barely useful, they're fantastic now, since they prevent Overwatch for enemy units within 6". Sending a tank with a Dirge Caster ahead of an assaulting unit lets you charge in without taking fire. Defilers can also take them, so if you can get within a 6" charge range during movement, you can safely charge in with it without having to fear the random melta shot killing it before it arrives.
One thing I will note, however, is that just converting your old list to the new codex won't work. For example, take an old 1850 list of mine:
HQ: Daemon Prince w/Mark of Slaanesh, Sorcerer, Warptime, Wings (160)
Elites: 5 Terminator Champions w/Lightning Claws, Icon of Slaanesh in a Land Raider (485)
Elites: 6 Chosen w/2 Flamers, 3 Meltaguns, Icon of Slaanesh in a Rhino (203)
Troops: 6 Noise Marines w/Blastmaster, Personal Icon in a Rhino (200)
Troops: 5 Noise Marines w/Sonic Blasters, Noise Champion w/Doom Siren, Power Weapon, Melta Bombs in a Rhino (230)
Troops: 5 Noise Marines w/Sonic Blasters, Noise Champion w/Doom Siren, Power Weapon, Melta Bombs in a Rhino (230)
Heavy Support: Predator w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons (130)
Heavy Support: Predator w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons (130)
Other: 6 Summoned Lesser Daemons (78)
There's already a few problems with this as is. Summoned Daemons are gone, Noise Marines aren't troops, Daemon Princes don't make them troops, my Terminator squad is all wrong (too many champs), and a couple of squads have no champs at all. Trying to make it legal, well, here's what you end up with.
HQ: Daemon Prince w/Mark of Slaanesh, Psyker Mastery 1, Wings, Armor Save (240)
HQ: Chaos Lord w/ Terminator Armor, Power Weapon, Combi-Melta, Veterans, Mark of Slaanesh (132)
Elite: 3 Terminators, 1 Terminator Champ w/Lightning Claws, Mark of Slaanesh, Icon of Excess in Land Raider w/Dirge Caster (457)
Elite: 5 Chosen w/2 Flamers, 3 Meltaguns, 1 Chosen Champ, Mark of Slaanesh, Icon of Excess, Veterans, Rhino (242)
Troops: 5 Noise Marines w/Sonic Blasters, 1 Noise Champ w/Doom Siren, Power Weapon, Veterans (163)
Troops: 5 Noise Marines w/Sonic Blasters, 1 Noise Champ w/Doom Siren, Power Weapon, Veterans (163)
Troops: 5 Noise Marine, 1 Noise Champ w/Power Weapon, Veterans, Rhino w/ Dirge Caster (173)
Heavy Support: Predator w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons (115)
Heavy Support: Predator w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons (115)
Allies: Chaos Daemons
HQ: Herald of Slaanesh w/Soporific Musk, Transfixing Gaze (70)
Troops: 5 Daemonettes (70)
That's 1,940 points, and the smaller unit size across the army is going to work against it, especially for assault-only units like the tiny Daemonette squad. I've also lost the Blastmaster, since I don't have 10 Noise Marines in the squad carrying it anymore (although as I noted above, that's not necessarily a major loss). I also have precious little to work against flyers, larger assault units will eat me alive, and as awesome as the DP is, it doesn't bring enough to the table for its point cost and slot. What can we do to switch this around, make it a bit nastier, and still keep it nice and fluffy? How about something like this:
HQ: Lucius the Eternal (165)
Elite: 4 Terminators w/2 Lightning Claws, 1 Terminator Champ w/2 Lightning Claws, Veterans, Mark of Slaanesh, Icon of Excess (262)
Troops: 9 Noise Marines w/Sonic Blasters, 1 Noise Champ w/Doom Siren, Power Weapon, Veterans (247)
Troops: 9 Noise Marines w/Sonic Blasters, 1 Noise Champ w/Doom Siren, Power Weapon, Veterans (247)
Troops: 8 Chaos Marines w/Close Combat Weapons (no Bolters), 1 Aspiring Champ, Mark of Slaanesh, Veterans, Icon of Excess, Rhino w/ Dirge Caster (224)
Heavy Support: 4 Havocs w/Missile Launchers (2x Flakk Missiles), 1 Aspiring Champ, Veterans (160)
Heavy Support: Predator w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons (115)
Heavy Support: Land Raider w/Dirge Caster (235)
Allies: Chaos Daemons
HQ: Herald of Slaanesh w/Transfixing Gaze (55)
Troops: 10 Daemonettes (140)
This is what a 6th-Edition version of that same list might look like. It's not necessarily a killer tournament list, and we've made a couple of trade-offs here and there, but it's much more tailored to the newer rules. You've got a couple of dedicated shooting units, a couple of dedicated assault units with Feel No Pain (with Lucius the Challenge Machine riding in the Rhino), some anti-air support, and a larger unit of Daemons to work with. We've also moved the Land Raider to being a Heavy Support slot so it counts as scoring in Big Guns Never Tire. This list can surely be tinkered with and improved, but it shows a start for where Slaanesh CSM armies could go in this edition. We haven't even gotten to some of the other toys, like Bikers and Raptors and the Fiends and such...