Is Chaos now just a labor of love?

[Panzer]

That's true, DG are pretty strong this edition for now.

[firestorm40k]

This is an interesting discussion, as I am currently deliberating whether to make Chaos Marines my first 9th Ed army. When the new models were released I bought the Shadowspear Chaos models, a couple of boxes of CSM, and I have quite a few cultists to build, so I've got the bulk of my army I think. The question is, is it worth doing so before the CSM codex is released? I'm thinking probably not.

 

It has been said though, that Chaos are indeed a labour of love - I should know, I spent 7 years (most of 5th & 6th Editions) building up my Legion of Taurus. Although when I started it I had in mind a particular 'feel' for the army with the choice of units I wanted to build, paint and use, I quickly found there was a need to add units that didn't fit my original vision, in order for the army to be effective on the table top. So I added a few of those, and by the time 5th Ed was drawing to a close, I had reasonable success running a mixed list of CSM squads backed with Plague Marines, Berzerkers and Obliterators. Of course, 6th Ed changed that, and I had to take the Heldrake (a model I've never really warmed to) , in order to compete against the flyer spam that started to overwhelm that edition.

 

Where I had the most fun and satisfaction with that army though, was in campaigns and narrative games - over the 7 years I built the army's story as I built my collection. I could only tell you the outcome of a handful of competitive games I've played, win or lose - but I can remember each narrative game I played, even if they were disastrous losses. Heck, the last big game like that I played was a heavy loss for my army - but it was brilliant, mainly because of the moment one of my Chaos Lords slayed my mate's Chapter Master with the Murder Sword, which was followed by me rolling the Daemon Prince result on the Chaos Gifts table! Now, in the background of the Legion of Taurus, this character has become their supreme commander.

 

So it's worth considering if you want to a ) chase the meta, in which case you'll be re-doing the army almost every couple of months. Or do you b ) just build and paint the models you want, and focus on the narrative side (Crusade seems like a great way to do that)?

 

Because the meta is ever changing, but having an army that you have put creativity and commitment in to lasts, well, forever. You'll still have a collection - an army - you can be proud of, regardless how rules change.

[Gothical]

I am a firm believer that every army you build should be a labour of love - an investment in the general faction lore, the backstory to your particular army, unique conversions and painting choices all help you to keep going when the rules cycle into less-favourable conditions.

 

Following the announcements from Warhammer Community, the Chaos Space Marine faction is going to be in a pretty good place in 9th Edition - weapons are being enhanced which mostly helps (not that we use Multi-Meltas, but (Heavy)Flamers and Heavy Bolters we do) may necessitate changes to our own wargear (the Heavy Bolter may force changes on the Autocannon and its bigger cousins, for example).

 

For actual gaming I would wait until the Codex drops in order to have CSMs at wound-parity with their Loyalist counterparts and the new Primaris. At that point the combination of great multi-damage firepower mentioned previously finally gets properly tough infantry to hold the objectives (again combined with the tricks mentioned before) and even go toe-to-toe in combat with access to Astartes Chainswords and the customisation options of Chosen, Terminators etc.

[Special Officer Doofy]

Well I think the wounds buff and some wargear tweaks might be enough to convince people to join the dark side.

[Jings]

Yeah the bare minimum I wanted for CSM was 2 wounds and we're getting it, so I'm optimistic. I'm hoping CSM (or at least the Legions) get Veteran status to their statlines for the 2A across the board but that's just because I like getting my marines stuck in. I'll happily live with my 2W 2A+Chainsword Chosen and be running them heavily. 

 

Things are looking up but it's gonna be a long wait. It'll still be a labour of love until the Codex drops, but for the first time in a couple years it feels like we're lubing up for something good. 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Jings

[Celtic_cauldron]

I am a firm believer that every army you build should be a labour of love - an investment in the general faction lore, the backstory to your particular army, unique conversions and painting choices all help you to keep going when the rules cycle into less-favourable conditions. (...)

 

This.

 

I have been playing CSM since the very day of the release of the 2nd Ed. Codex excluding any other army since then. In my opinion Chaos is the faction that is the most perfect embodiment of our hobby: tremendous lore, exciting possibilities for conversions and paintings and a true challenge from a tactical perspective.

 

Playing Chaos is like fighting the Long War: sometimes we roll over any other faction and some others we struggle a lot to get a draw. It is not easy and takes time and efforts to really master the army. 

 

My piece of advice would be: wait for the new Codex, get some minis and give them a try on the battlefield on several occasions.

 

Celtic_Cauldron