Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello, coming back into the 40k Hobby after 5th edition and having a hard time understanding all the army changes.

From what I see on the GW Site, there are extra codex's for each army (Such as Black Legion and the Crimson Slaughter for CSM).
What are these codex's and do I need them to play certain CSM units? I also read something online about "Dataslates/Datasheets?" for the Hellbrute dreadnought.

Finally, how does the whole "I play 3 armies in 1" thing work? (For example, I see many people talking about mixing different armies. \\

Thanks for all the help!

Alright, easy questions first. Crimson Slaughter and Black Legion are only Supplements. They have zero new units, just added rules to existing units. For instance, Crimson Slaughter makes Possessed into Troops instead of Elites and you can pay a few points to give one unit of Chosen the rule Preferred Enemy. The big reason to take these Supplements are for new Artifacts. If you don't like any of the CSM Artifacts, take a look at these books when you see them in the store. But, Supplements have MAYBE six pages of actual rules. They are very rarely worth the money unless you LOVE the fluff of these armies.

Dataslates are smaller versions. Some are unique units, like the Fallen Dark Angel Cypher or the Daemon Be'Lakor, and you need those rules to use that Character because they are not in the Codex. Helbrute Dataslate gives you Formations. We'll get to that in a minute. It can be thought of as bite size codecies with rules of the unit and new ways to use them. Helbrute actually has some good ones. It's considered one of the few that is actually worth the purchase. Keep in mind, these are all optional and you can make an army out of JUST the codex too. But, Forge World also makes books that adds units. Specifically Imperial Armour 13 and Imperial Armour Vraks to a lesser extent.

Playing 'three armies in one' has to do with Detachments. For instance, I can play an army using Crimson Slaughter CAD (the old Force Org Chart and you can find this Detachment in the Rulebook), The Purge Detachment (a special Forge World Detachment from an Imperial Armour book that still uses Chaos Space Marine models) and the Helcult (a Formation in the Helbrute Dataslate). Each one of these has a special rule called Command Benefits and selecting which unit goes where (because they can't belong to more than one Detachment) can change the way to use that unit. And Detachments don't have to be from the same Faction (army) either. I could do Eldar CAD, the Helcult and an Imperial Knight Detachment and still be legal. All in the same army controlled by me against one opponent. It is confusing at first, but it is really simple when you get the hang of it. It's not restrictive at all.

ninja'ed

Just in case you missed that, there's also Khorne daemonkin. It mixes daemons and CSMtogether in a single book.

I'd take a look at 1d4 chan chaos tactics to get an idea of the supplements. There's really not much more to them than a handful of artifacts. Black Legion especially. I don't even use the supplement to play black legion even though I already give everything veteran status.

 SharkoutofWata wrote:
Alright, easy questions first. Crimson Slaughter and Black Legion are only Supplements. They have zero new units, just added rules to existing units. For instance, Crimson Slaughter makes Possessed into Troops instead of Elites and you can pay a few points to give one unit of Chosen the rule Preferred Enemy. The big reason to take these Supplements are for new Artifacts. If you don't like any of the CSM Artifacts, take a look at these books when you see them in the store. But, Supplements have MAYBE six pages of actual rules. They are very rarely worth the money unless you LOVE the fluff of these armies.

The big reason of the supplements is getting extra info on how a chapter can turn renegade and survive, or to learn how Abaddon reunited his legion, fortified his position in the Eye of Terror, began the arduous process of collecting doomsday weapons and artefacts he will need to lay the imperium low and finally how he has gained the favour of the majority of the big players in chaos (i.e. all the gods, most of the daemon primarchs, the legions and so on).

The supplements also include artwork detailing different factions in the Black Legion and so on. Gamewise you also get the option to attempt a roll off against your opponent to play one of your army's special scenarios instead of the regular eternal war ones (don't require opponent's consent anymore than anything else in 40k). In addition to this there are a few narrative scenarios that let you relive key moments of your army's history (these are with opponents consent/preplanning).

If you prefer the old fashioned codex style fluff to novels that are over-focussed on individuals the supplements are a good purchase. If you are more rules orientated or prefer receiving fluff in storybook form these maybe aren't for you.