Help with Chaos Marines?

[Shadowbrand]

Hello, This is my first post here, I really hope i put this in the right place, Seeing as i see no other post's about this.

 

I play Chaos EC mostly, although i do field a outsider group of Nurgle Raptor's t5 Assault Marine's are no joke.

 

The majority of my troop choices are Noise Marine's I was not around for 4 ed when I could put Sonic Weapon's on Virtually Everything.

 

Many folks both on forums and at my Hobby shop think Noise Marine's are to Expensive, for awhile i fielded just that for Troop's but now i tend to mix it half Regular Marine's and Half Noise.

 

 

And yes i do field Lash Princes they are Slanneshi and help with the theme right?

 

I'd like some help with this is this a good Army to play in 5ed? are there way's I can make it still into the feel of EC and Competitive?

 

Sincerely

 

Shadowbrand

[Grey Mage]

Noise Marines are worth every point you pay for them even if you just grab the mark of slaanesh and call it good.

 

They get expensive when you start making devastators out of them. Stick to a doom siren and maybe 2 other sonic weapons at most... keep'em cheap.

 

Why are they so powerful? Thats simple enough- two attacks, three on the charge, and I 5. That means they go before 90% of their foes in this game, and they have twice the attacks of codex marines, or indeed most basic infantry. Throw in a cheap rhino with a combi-weapon *Id suggest a melta* and youve got a very flexable and fast basic trooper unit. Maybe a powerweapon and meltabombs, or a fist, on the champion.

 

Of course, you can keep the slaaneshi theme by giving your "normal" squads an Icon of Tzeentch... wich gets them many of the same benefits, but relies on that one guy staying alive.

 

But seriously, theres alot of similarities between your own force and say, my space wolves. One of those is that youll often carry the day by the strength, resilience, and flexability of your troops squads. So go ahead, givem a couple of special weapons to keep their options open, but above all get them on the field where they can do their jobs.

 

Another Similiarity is strong HQs- you have a viable sorceror, while I have more options. Here you luck out again, the mark of slaanesh is incredibly cheap for what it does, a Lord with twin lightning claws, slaanesh, and meltabombs runs a mere 130pts, and makes a great spearhead for your assaults.

 

blah blah blah... Im sure you know half of this already. So my advice is really to remember that your flexable. So look for tactical options that might not be obvious- sure, your only S 4 on the average guy, but you can glance that vehicle to death with 20+ attacks that hit automatically eh? The options you give your squads should reflect this strength.

 

As for the other units in a NM army I think Raptors are one of the most overlooked choices- I 5 assault marines are godly in CC, and the ability to throw down 2 special weapons in a fast squad makes them an excellant unit all around. If you take one, Id reccommend taking both, and with the paired weapons and speed Id reccommend meltaguns for taking out transports and softening up heavy targets like carnifexii and TDA. The ability to assault out of DS in PS scenarios is also pretty cool.

 

In the Elites section, way the benefits of Termicide squads against the potential for alot of CC goodness with I 5 Powerweapons on a heavy armor platform. Frankly the unit is flexable enough to do both... you just have to throw a few more bodies in it to make a viable CC unit.

 

Chosen can also make a good assault unit, with four CCW options or special options.

 

Lastly, do you have alot of ork players in your area? If so Id seriously consider giving a Lord with Blissgiver a try- instantdeath powerweapon is great against nobz of any flavor!

[Redbaron997]

I prefer my Noise Marines with 10 Sonic Blasters (and a Champ with gear if you want)

 

That way they can always move, shoot, and assault. And If I dont move then they can really throw the hammer down with 3 shots each.

[Drudge Dreadnought]

This should probably be in the Chaos or Slaanesh sections of the forums. Check there for other info.

 

I play a pure, fluffy slaanesh army myself, so i'll add some advice.

 

First, let me start by saying that a pure slaanesh force is not top tier competitive. The Chaos Codex only has two top tier competitive lists, being lash/termicide/plague marines or zerkers/oblit spam and chaoszilla (DPS, dreads, defilers). However you can make a strong viable list that will be fun to play and do you just fine unless you show up to a big tourny.

 

Second, most slaanesh stuff is geared at marine killing. Our initiative 5 is going to put you above marines and equal to most eldar units, but is wasted against most everything else where I4 is enough to go first. Also 2 of our 3 sonic weapons are ap3. So don't be surprised if a slaaneshi list stomps marines but then falters against other races. Of course, ~60% of players are marines so its all good :unsure:

 

The general concensus is that there are two ways to run noise marine based lists. The first is sonic blaster based water warrior lists. These are generally composed of lash sorcs/princes, lots of squads of noise marines with sonic blasters, and then oblits or another heavy support to provide the anti tank. These lists play a lot like grey knight lists. The basic idea with them is to walk backwards away from your opponents while shooting them to death with a massive deluge of str 4 shots. theJeske plays one of these lists, hopefully he'll give his insights. I have not played this style so i'll leave it to him or somone else who has played a proper nm water warrior list.

 

The second style is doom siren assault squads. A rhino, 8-10 marines, and a champ with a doom siren. Doom sirens are amazing killers against anything except terminators and vehicles. These squads are very strong anti meq, but their cost can make them inefficient against hordes. For example, you pay 3x as much for a doom siren than a flamer, but the doom siren's ap3 is wasted against horde armies where the flamer's ap5 is enough. This squad is also rather lacking if you don't get to fire the siren. They are vulnerable to being blown out of their transports and outmanuevered and then assaulted. The other weakness of a list based around these is that they can't pack proper anti tank like vanilla marine squads, plague marines, or even loyalsit tac marines can. One of the primary strengths of most chaos troops is that they can threaten anything. But noise marines are an anti infantry only unit, and so you must rely on plenty of heavy support to do things like pop tanks.

 

You can also run mixed squads of a doom siren and some blasters. This isn't especially efficient. That said, i do it. I run 2 8 man squads with power weapon and siren champs and 4 sonic blasters in a rhino. Probably not the most efficient thing to do, but its fluffy and flexible.

 

Another common use of noise marines squads is the blastmaster team. Blastmasters are very expensive, and so you really don't want them mixed into assault squads or sonic blaster squads who's strength is mobility. The best way to use the blastmaster is in a 5 man squad with nothing else camping your objective. Its a nice squad, but it is an easy kill point. I'd never take more than 1 in a list.

 

Never take body bags in sonic blaster squads. In 4th ed, this was a common practice. In a 10 man squad you'd only give 6 or so sonic blasters. Even then it wasn't a particularly good idea. Sonic blasters are very cheap. This isn't a devastator or havoc squad where the weapon costs over twice as much as the marine. The strength of sonic blaster squads is their mobility. If you have guys in there that have just regular bolters, then they are doing nothing. You can buy 4 sonic blasters for the cost of 1 marine. Don't use body bags.

 

Just for reference, here is my current list. Its a bit light on troops and i'm sure could be improved, but it isn't bad either. It has routinely stomped everybody i've fought except biker nobs and tank spam guard.

 

HQ - 315

 

165 - Daemon Prince: Wings, Wind of Chaos, Mark of Slaanesh

150 - Sorcerer: Wings, Lash of Submission, Melta Bombs, Mark of Slaanesh

 

Troops - 660

 

260 - Noise Marines x8: Champion, Power Weapon, Doom Siren, Sonic Blaster x4, Rhino

260 - Noise Marines x8: Champion, Power Weapon, Doom Siren, Sonic Blaster x4, Rhino

 

140 - Noise Marines x5: Blastmaster

 

Heavy Support - 525

 

150 - Defiler: Close Combat Weapons

150 - Defiler: Close Combat Weapons

225 - Obliterator x3

[DrDoom]

I use NM assault squads with Doom Sirens and they wreck marine players. The permanent I 5 keeps your opponent from striking with full strength. One of my regular opponents uses assault Marines and NM shut him down cold.

 

I'm trying a water list with some 1K Sons support and Lash Princes tomorrow and I'll let you know if I get mauled.

[Iron_Chaos_Brute]

Water NM is a difficult list to run; Jeske's the real expert.