The Black Legion are here in the latest Chaos rules teaser from Games Workshop. Come find out the latest rules and abilities on the XVI legion.
Leading up to the release of the new Chaos Space Marine Codex, Games Workshop will be giving the Chaos chapters the same dose of teasers the Space Marine chapters got. Let’s see what they had to say about the Black Legion.
The Black Legion combine a ferocious hatred for the Imperium with rigid organisation and discipline. In the new Codex: Chaos Space Marines, the Black Legion are manoeuvrable, versatile and have one of the best characters in the game as a force multiplier.
The Trait
Black Crusaders is a subtle but useful bonus that’s best on your core infantry. A Chaos Space Marines army with this trait will be able to make maximum use of Chosen, Terminators and standard Chaos Space Marines, capable of pulling back rapidly from dangerous units or closing in on the enemy while whittling them down with hails of firepower.
Abaddon the Despoiler
Abaddon deserves special highlighting as a key element in any Black Legion force; indeed, he’s as much a part of your Legion Trait as anything else. Abaddon is one of the strongest characters in the game, capable of dealing enormous damage in close combat, allowing huge swathes of your army to essentially ignore Morale and providing vital re-rolls to hit. He even gives you a couple of extra Command Points.
This guy is the force multiplier that’s going to make Black Legion armies incredibly flexible and incredibly deadly. At the head of a rapidly advancing spearhead of Black Legion troops, he’ll make sure your shots are hitting and your larger squads aren’t breaking. Even Cultists are going to pack more of a punch fighting alongside the Despoiler.
Finally, Abaddon’s (or any other Black Legion character’s) Warlord Trait is First Among Traitors:
Death to the False Emperor is already a powerful ability, and this means you’ll be triggering additional attacks on a 5+… that’s 1/3rd of the time! It’s also very important if you’re going to be using Chaos Terminators – while these guys usually won’t be able to gain additional attacks with their power fists due to the -1 modifier to hit, with this trait, they’ll be able to. It’s basically like a free Icon of Excess for all your units.
Abaddon was already a force to be reckoned with on the table top, but these abilities are just giving you all the more reason to steer clear of him if you can. Black Crusaders is giving everyone with that ability +1 to their Leadership and changes all Rapid Fire weapons to Assault Weapons until the end of the round if they advanced that turn. This is really going to help you get Abaddon and friends in close, and the two extra command points from The Warmaster will give you a little something extra in case you need to do a command reroll to pass a failed charge or attack.
Then we come across First Amongst Traitors which makes it so the Death to the False Emperor ability triggers an extra attack for units within 6″ of your Warlord on a 5+ instead of a 6+. This just became an offensive heavy army very quick.
Best Units
Chosen with plasma guns have always been a popular pick in Chaos Space Marines armies, and in the Black Legion they’re free to close in on your enemy while laying down a hail of armour piercing fire before charging and unleashing a high volume of attacks. If you’re feeling brave, the presence of Abaddon should mitigate the risk of an overcharged plasma weapon attack.
Standard Chaos Space Marines are superb in a Black Legion army. You’ll be able to advance up the field while laying down a devastating hail of bolter fire, and, thanks to the improved Leadership of Black Legion units, you’ll be able to take them in full-sized squads of 20. Combined with the Let the Galaxy Burn Stratagem, these line infantry will be deadly. Alternatively, keep Abaddon nearby to ignore morale and let the squad re-roll their hits for free.
It’s worth noting that with the new Chaos Space Marines codex, Noise Marines, Plague Marines, Berzerkers and Rubric Marines are available to a much wider range of Chaos Legions. The Black Legion has always been renowned for bringing together Chaos Space Marines from far and wide in its warbands, and any of the “cult marines” make for a strong choice in the army. Rubric Marines are a particularly potent pick, able to fire their armour-piercing inferno boltguns on the move thanks to Black Crusaders.
Let the Galaxy Burn can be a devastating Stratagem if use at the right time. If used, it’s going to allow all Black Legion Infantry to re-roll all hit rolls of 1 in the Shooting or Fight phase. Additionally, if the unit is a Chaos Space Marine squad you can re-roll all failed hit rolls instead.
How to play them
Fill out your Troops choices with Chaos Space Marines and your Elites with Chosen or Terminators. Form up around Abbadon and begin moving up the field – either closing in on objectives or getting into close combat with vulnerable targets. This is an army where positioning to capitalise on powerful aura abilities is going to be key – use your Advance move to make sure that every unit is benefitting from Abaddon’s command.
The Black Legion rules seem pretty decent, and kinda makes you want to keep your distance from them. They’re going to be an extremely hard hitting, offensive heavy army.
What are your thoughts on the latest update for the Black Legion? Let us know in the comments below.
