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I think it might be better to start with the base Troops since these will be the benchmark against which the rest of the Codex is measured. You take a HQ to support your core, rather than build your army to support the HQ.
Chaos Space Marines:
Strengths:
- Cheapest cost for a MEQ profile currently in the game. S4/T4/3+ still goes a long way.
- Versatile and adaptable. Equally competent in either shooting or assault, or can pay to perform both. Grenades and Pistols as base equipment ensures you are rarely left in a situation where they cannot contribute. Decent selection of heavy/special weapons to specialise in particular fields, plus the options for a Combi-weapon on both the Champion and Rhino (if applicable).
- For a very minor cost you can benefit from +1Ld and Hatred against a sizable portion of the 40k armies.
- Marks allow specialisation above and beyond what other Codices can produce from their fighting infantry.
- Potential for Fearless if willing to pay for an Icon or escorting HQ
- Capacity for 2 special weapons is generally a more useful option than 1 Special/1 Heavy because it keeps you mobile.
- Opportunities to Infiltrate with Huron or Ahriman in the list, which can be nice to drop large squads on your enemies doorstep.
- Opportunities for Fabius to improve the unit, offering substantial benefits to the squad.
Weaknesses:
- While you keep the profile, you lose the special rules, and some would argue that these are worth more than you save. ATSKNF, Combat Squads and Chapter Tactics all carry significant impact for a Scoring unit that needs to hold an objective.
- Marks are good but they cost points. Even within that, Tzeentch can be immediately discarded as useless. Slaanesh and Khorne help but remain expensive while being irrelevant in quite a few matchups. Slaanesh won't help against Orks or Necrons, Khorne won't help if you can't reach combat etc.
Nurgle remains the best because it is universally applicable. However it is also very expensive and arguably outmatched by the competing Plague Marines internally, or Iron Hand Chapter Tactics externally.
- Icons are nice until they get killed, which is annoyingly easy for many armies.
- Forced to pay for the Champion, meaning that the cheaper cost can be deceptive. In smaller sizes they can cost more than the Loyalist equivalents while lacking many of their options.
- Champion of Chaos is arguably a handicap. Your Champion is obliged to throw himself at enemy characters who are often much more dangerous than a lowly squad sergeant, while the other Marines get to twiddle their thumbs and watch. For your troubles, the Champion also carries the best Ld and so you'll often lose your Champion to a solo character, and then need a lower Ld test with an additional -1 penalty for losing.
- Lack of transport options. You have a Rhino, or can spend a Heavy Support slot for the extremely mediocre Land Raider. Other than that, you are walking.
- Smaller selection of weapon options compared with other Marines. Grav Guns, Plasma Cannons and Multi Meltas are all extremely useful weapons to have access to, arguably more so than the Reaper Cannon you receive instead.
Opportunities:
- Backbone unit, versatile and adaptable. Never really caught in a situation where they are worthless.
- 2 Plasma Guns and a Combi-Plas makes for a nice unit to hunker down and take potshots from an objective.
- A smaller squad can pack 3 Melta-shots from a Rhino chassis at a decent cost, so can go marauding through enemy armour.
- A Lord is a fairly cheap attachment to provide Fearless, a melee improvement and a much harder target to remove by Challenges.
- Makes a decent assault element when given the Mark of Khorne and a delivery system.
Threats:
- Any solo characters or Monstrous characters. Expect to be charged, challenged and afflicted with a -1 Break check. You'll often lose the squad at that point. If you don't, he remains locked in assault and thus cannot be shot. The following combat, you can expect a much harsher break penalty and the release of his character just in time to charge again.
- Melee units that are better than you. You have no support against being Swept and so expect to lose the whole squad when assaulted by the likes of Death Company, Daemons and Tyranids.
- Precision Fire. A great deal of points can be wrapped up in the Champion, special weapons and Icon Bearer. The rest of the models tend to be warm bodies to hide the real damage dealers.
- Anything that can remove a Rhino. You are not a fast unit and once your mobility is taken, you are stuck footslogging with models that are generally not tough enough to survive it.
Cultists
Strengths:
- Cheap! As a model they come in at Grot prices, squeaking below even Guardsmen. When all you need is a warm body sitting on an objective, Cultists will get it done at the best price.
- Surprisingly good melee output considering the cost. 2 Attacks each at bargain-bin prices add up very quickly. Expect losses before you swing but volume of attacks can drag even Marines down. Even the Apostle can find a use here, granting Hatred to buckets of attacks.
- Opportunities for Fearless when attached to a Lord or Apostle. Very nice to have considering their woeful defensive stats and mediocre leadership.
- Disposable. An enemy Terminator is going to kill you whether you are a T6/3+ Nurgle Biker or a T3/- Cultist. Similarly, who cares how bad your stats are when the Daemon Prince is going to mulch a significantly pricier unit just as hard. When enemies rely on few, strong shots, these guys lose nothing while providing 3-4 times the bodies.
- Plague Zombies are a fantastic unit if you have Typhus knocking around, going fully into the 'cheap scoring Fearless meat' that you want from a Cultist.
- Opportunities to Infiltrate with Huron and Ahriman.
Weaknesses:
- Woeful stats. You very much get what you pay for here and even a Guard squad will fight them off.
- Eager to run. Unless you have a HQ to accompany them, they are very easy to scare and can drop an objective at the worst possible moment.
- Poor options. Heavy Stubbers and Autoguns tend to inflate the cost for minimal results. All of the Marks are awful in their own ways and almost always a worse option than simply buying more models. The only real consideration is for a Flamer to Overwatch a long-range charge and buy yourself a turn's reaction time.
- Forced to pay for the Champion and so deceptively expensive. The popular 10-man minimum size is actually the same cost as Guardsmen, except you lose Flak Armour, Grenades, Orders and trade your Lasgun for a knife.
- Lack of transport options. No Rhino access and the Land Raider deserves better assault troops than these.
Opportunities:
- HQ Escort. Cultists love being Fearless, Lords love having 35 excess wounds to hide behind. Particularly nice for Kharn since you don't really care if he butchers them.
- Minimal Scoring requirements. When you have Heldrakes, Daemon Princes and Obliterators to do the killing, is the opponent really going to care about the 10 guys cowering in the corner?
- Minimal Ally requirements. A single squad of 10 plus HQ, and you've just gained access to Heldrakes and Obliterators. Delicious.
- Choke the board with Zombies. Take Typhus, take hordes of the undead and allow your opponent to enjoy his deployment zone, because he doesn't have much room to move into.
Threats:
- Everything. Everything is a threat to Cultists. You will lose every firefight and most combats. Just take enough bodies to absorb the casualties and keep on losing forever.
- Anything that Ignores Cover will typically obliterate your Scoring potential.
- Anything with the potential to kill a Chaos Lord and subsequently run down the Cultists.
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O & G 4000 pts
CSM 6300 pts
2000 pts
