Want a second opinion on all the new Chaos Space Marines? Jstove is here with his two cents on all the new units about to reinforce the Traitor Legions.
Jstove here, and today we’re talking about Chaos again. Because screw the corpse worshipers.
In Vigilus news, Corpse worshipers are getting new autocannons and new sniper rifles so they can shoot the minions of the true gods from further and further away. Proving once again that if Space Marines weren’t cowards, they’d be Chaos Space Marines.
But as much as I love to talk about the biggest chokes in marine history since Sanguinius, today is a day of joyous speculation for Chaos.
Vigilus Is the Best Thing For CSM Players
While the Marine players all hop and down and cry about their old Marines getting squatted or their new toys being cool, something beautiful is happening in the Chaos codex. We’re getting new toys, and they may or may not be good, but that’s not important. What’s important is that Vigilus is making our old toys BETTER. It’s out with the new and in with the old as Abaddon comes to town.
Let’s talk about who’s getting upgraded, and why it’s great.
Plastic Obliterators Hit the Gym and Make Huge Gains
Swolebliterators, in addition to going from being the worst looking models ever to the new hotness, have made huge gains. They’ve grown a point of Toughness to take them back up to their pre-eighth edition stats, gotten their power fists back, and most importantly, have each gained 2 extra shots on their fleshmetal guns.
They will probably go up in point cost as a result of their gains, but a 50% increase in firepower is worth more than just points in my book. Since Obliterators were always expensive and could only be fielded in units of 3 to start with, increasing the volume of fire per model is the only way this unit could get better. If you wanna get big, you need to increase your protein intake!
Naturally, this is a big hit for everyone who already had Obliterators and doesn’t need to buy new ones, and an even bigger hit for hobbyists that made their own Swolebliterators out of centurions, who are now appropriately sized for the new hotness.
Havocs Are Coming Back in Plastic
The biggest workhorse that every Chaos player knew about in the Heavy Support section of Codex CSM was the Obliterator, who we now know is bulking up to fight Ric Flair at Summer Slam.
The second biggest workhorse, or the stealth workhorse you could say, are the Havocs. The only problem that Havocs have, however, is that they’ve always been robbed of their rightful crown as kings of cheap and effective firepower by garbage models. Autocannons, the first choice in Havoc firepower, have always been pewter or resin. These models were either out of reach or just not worth the money and effort for the average hobbyist. Players could just easily turn to firepower models that were more accessible.
But with Vigilus comes new plastic Havocs. Even before the new rotary cannon was spoiled, we already have proof of a plastic autocannon Havoc in the Shadowspear box. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chaos faithful, we are getting Havoc autocannons.
Why is this a big deal? Even though Havocs strictly aren’t as good as loyalist Devastators. And Obliterators are hulking out to take the jobs of every firepower unit in codex CSM, the answer is that the autocannon is perfect, and Chaos Marines are an infantry-synergy army.
Plastic Autocannons Are Perfect For Chaos
The autocannon is strong, has penetration, damage, and volume of fire. plus it’s reasonably costed. If you could only write one army list that you had to use for the rest of your life and never buy models again, you would fill it with autocannons. It’s the “jack of all trades” gun that can comfortably threaten any model.
More importantly, in the hands of an infantry model, it levels up. Through Endless Cacophony and Vets of the Long War, Havocs can compete with Obliterators on cost alone.
This is something that every Chaos marine player always knew in the back of their heads, but was unable to make work… Because it meant custom ordering resin autocannon bits from GW or buying Iron Havocs from Forgeworld and waiting for them to ship across the pond.
Furthermore, the newly spoiled rotary cannon that just went up is practically guaranteed to be a heater. Because of the vets and cacophony combo, of course. My baseless speculation is that it will be a sidegrade to a heavy bolter. It will probably lack the strength but make it up in volume. Keep in mind that when we talk about weapon strength in Chaos armies, we don’t look at the weapon’s strength value. We look at the wound roll against the target. Because in Chaos, you’re always plotting where you’re going to drop Veterans of the Long War for maximum return. This means that the volume of fire is always a safe bet.
Keep your Codex Handy & Watch For That Old Hotness
While the Loyalists sit around worrying about how they’re going to fit new toys into their list, the Chaos faithful are stacked on the back end for units on the shelf that are waiting to come down to the table. As much as I like the new units in the loyalist side of the box, I’m way happier with what Shadowspear and Vigilus are doing for Chaos. Rather than replacing old units, the new rules are re-vitalizing and re-accessing staple units we already had available. That’s a way better deal for the Chaos player.
