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Long time lurker, first time poster ... but looking to start a CSM army and hoping for some feedback.

This list is primarily for casual games, but I'd still like to be efficient as possible while still having fun with the fluff.

My local group frequently uses Forgeworld, and the meta consists of a few Space Marine armies (Space Wolves, Iron Hands, Black Templar), Tyranids (Genestealers), Necrons (Of various sorts), Orks (Using that Battlewagon infiltrating formation), and Tau (New player, still building models up).

That being said, here's what I'm looking at:


CSM - CAD

HQ

Sorcerer - 60 (Naked, taken as a tax for the moment)


Troops

10x Cultists - 50 (Tax)
10x Cultists - 50 (Tax)


FA

Dreadclaw - 100 (For the chosen to drop, scoot if needed, then unload)
Heldrake - 170 (Part of the AA and good for MEQ)


HS

Chaos Sicarian - 215 (Went kinda crazy on extras here ... but I really like this for a multi-purpose tank. Provides some AA as well as anti-infantry and gives most vehicles some grief.)
-Armoured Ceramite, Heavy bolter sponsons, Rending Ammo for the HB's

2x Chaos Vindicator - 162 each (Running next to the LoW listed below, making a mobile gunline while the Sicarian picks off stragglers and more mobile targets)
-Combi-bolter, Daemonic Possession, Havoc Launcher, Siege Shield


LoW


Typhon - 400 (Center of the tank line and hopefully the back-breaker of the army. Might want to spend a few points here to buy a few more weapons to lower the chance of losing the main cannon)
-Armoured Ceramite, Daemonic Possession


Crimson Slaughter - AD


HQ

Chaos Lord - 220 (Nurgle Biker lord. Possible target of point removal for other things as excess points were originally spent here. Will roll with the Chaos Spawn listed below)
-Bike, Daemonheart, Gift of Mutation, LC, PF, MoN, SoC, The Slaughter's Horns


Troops

10x Cultists - 50 (Tax)


Elites

5x Chosen - 150 (Hop in the Dreadclaw to drop turn one and light up some TEQ or FMC, or even a light vehicle if needed. Might go combi plas here as they probably won't live long enough for another round of shooting.)
- 4x Plasma gun


FA

3x Chaos Spawn - 108 (Chaos Lord escort)
- MoN


Fortification

ADL - 100 (AA, manned by cult squad/s, Can more than one hide here?)
- Quad Gun


I had originally went with the CSM + Crimson Slaughter to bring more FA and HS slots ... but I'm still a little mixed up on how best to utilize that. I might even be better off going with just a single CAD and saving the points I have tied up in the Taxes here and there. I had also considered ay one point running a Warpsmith with some cultists behind the tanks to repair as need but I'm not so sure that'd be a decent use of points.

Anyway, feel free to gimme various thoughts, ideas and criticisms!

(Just listed the upgrades that were bought for the models, I wasn't too sure on how detailed I needed/was allowed to be.)

You have a lot of taxes, the army is basically 4 tanks plus 2 tiny squads of 4 (the spawn and lord) and 5 (the chosen)

I am not very familiar with the 3 forgeworld things you have taken, so all I can really say is you better have a lot of synergy, because at 2000 points your opponents are really going to punish you for having such a small army I feel.

If you are using IA13 then go balls to the walls relic predator, and get as many things you can git with malfeic ammunition.

I do not understand why you got2 cad when you can fit it all in1 cad.

U are using 3 fa, and 3 hs. What are you tryin to exploit?

Crimson Slaughter as main.

Hq
Lord on bike with upgrades

Elite
Chosen wit 4 plasmaguns? Save 20 pts by switchin to melta

Troop
2 mini cultists

Fast attack
Dread claw for the chosen
Helturkey
Spawns for biker lord

Heavy support
Sicaran
vindi
Vindi

LoW
Typhoon (what slot?)

Fort
Adl+quadgun

Now you can use the points for plague marines with pair of plasmaguns.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Think about which units can get rending ammo. SPAM THEM!

Ahoy, fellow Iron Warrior!

Remember the Vindicators cant shoot with the Havoc Launcher if they fire their Demolishers. So basically those Havoc Launchers are just 12pts apiece weapon destroyed counters, but you already have the combi bolter for 5 points for that. Also Siege Shields are not worth the extra 5 pts from Dozer Blades IMO. If you roll two consecutive ones, then that vehicle had deserved to get immobilised

Other than that, I'm not sure if the Dreadclaw is a good idea for a Plasma Chosen unit. We have deepstriking combi-plasma wielding terminators or even Obliterators with TL Plasmaguns and a whole lot of others to do what those 5 chosen can do, only better and potentially for less. I'd say either make those Chosen CQC specialists, so they can use the Assault Vehicle to their advantage, or just replace them with termies or oblits for the same utility.

With the excess points and what you can gain from losing the tax from having two detachments, invest in something that can keep objectives and is hard to remove. This is usually either Plague Marines or a large blob of Slaanesh CSMs with the Icon of Drugs.

Between the Sicaran and the Drake you should have enough AA. So maybe you might want to reinvest that Quad Gun somewhere else and use a comms relay instead for more reliable reserves?

Thanks for the advice, folks.

I like the Chosen as they were, but I certainly agree they're a bit point intensive for their role. I think I'll swap them from a Termicide squad to get a similar effect for fewer points.

I think I said something somewhere in my post about not knowing why I had them in separate detachments ... but regardless, I fixed that idiocy and made it into one to save points. By doing so, I grabbed two Plague Marine squads in Rhino's to harass and snatch objectives as needed.

With that and the changes to the Vindi's (Thanks for the tips there as well!) I'm sitting at 1969/2000. Here's what that looks like:

Crimson Slaughter - CAD

HQ

Chaos Lord - 220
-Bike, Daemonheart, Gift of Mutation, LC, PF, MoN, SoC, The Slaughter's Horns


Troops

5x Plague Marines - 177
-Rhino w/ Havok, 2x Flamer

5x Plague Marine - 207
-Rhino w/ Havok, 2x Plasma gun


Elites

3x Terminators - 112
-Combi-Plasma


FA

3x Chaos Spawn - 108
- MoN

Heldrake - 170


HS

Chaos Sicarian - 215 (Went kinda crazy on extras here ... but I really like this for a multi-purpose tank. Provides some AA as well as anti-infantry and gives most vehicles some grief.)
-Armoured Ceramite, Heavy bolter sponsons, Rending Ammo for the HB's

2x Chaos Vindicator - 145 each
-Combi-bolter, Daemonic Possession, Dozer Blades


LoW
Typhon - 400
-Armoured Ceramite, Daemonic Possession


Fortification

ADL - 70
- Comms Relay


So, I have 31 points left like this. What should I do with them? Do I have to have a squad in the ADL to use the Comms Relay? Should I even take the ADL at this point? With the points from that, I'd have 101 left for ... something.

Thanks again and in advance, guys!

(And for the Iron Warriors fans ... "Iron within, Iron without!!")

Drop the Gift of Mutation and a hml on the rhino of the flamers, you have 22 pts more total of 53pts, get a cultist squad.

Not too sure why you're taking Daemonic possession on the Typhon, since superheavies are immune to the stunned/shaken that Daemonic posession protects against IIRC. You're actually paying points to reduce your BS.

Not sure the coms relay is worth it just for the drake and termies. If you drop that, you'd have enough points for a helbrute to add to your armour count, or by dropping the gift on the lord as well, you'd have enough points for another squad of termies with combi weapons.

Alright, with dropping the Demonic Possession on the Typhon, the gift on the Lord, and the ADL, I have 153 left over. The way I see it, I could grab another squad of termies w/ combi-stuff, a Hellbrute, a Hell Blade or even another vanilla squad of Plague Marines in a Rhino.

But which of these is really going to get me what I'm lacking in? I'm leaning towards the Plague Marines for another ObSec unit on the field.

(Thanks Filch and Drasius for the tips again!)

A few of options;

3 minimum units of cultists. Keep em in reserve or out of LOS, gives lots of options for your opponents to waste shots on or face lot of scoring threats turn 5+

Minimum cultists and an ADL w/quadgun, helps shore up your anti air since you're relying on d3+1 Str 7 vector strikes and whatever 6's the sicaran can manage at the moment, plus you get some scoring that can make use of the cover save and freely gtg without worrying about losing anything from their shooting.

Another unit of spawn to distract from your lord, or to provide more ablative wounds when the other units runs out.

Drop the pair of havok launchers and grab another heldrake for more vector strikes and hot burninating action.

Drop 1 havok launcher and have another 5 man plauge marine with double flamers in a rhino cause you've only got 10 obsec guys in flimsy transports

If you're using FW, then a blight drone would fit in quite nicely. More armour saturation and a battlecannon, reaper and flamer are never bad choices.

The hellblade with 6 TL rending shots for 115 solves all your anti air problems as long as you get it onto the field after your opponent has his air up since 2 HP of AV11 doesn't stretch too far.

I'd be looking at the extra PM squad with double flamers in a rhino as the best choice overall.

I concur with the PM option; dropping the havok launchers on the rhino's and the other drops gave me enough to field three PM squads in rhino's, two with 2x flamers and one with 2x plasma. I still have 10pts left over, so I could grab a combi-weapon on one of the PM champs or get the gift back on the Lord, I suppose.

Get Melta Bombs for the PM champs on the flamer squads. You can never know when you're going to need Armourbane