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Point 1: I am a total newcomer both to tabletop gaming & 40k so please be gentle!

Point 2: I have chosen to play Chaos because I love the lore, even though I'm aware the army list has several weak spots at present.

Point 3: I will only be playing local friendly games, no hardcore tournaments.

So I have recently bought the CSM codex, 40k rulebook & the Chaos half of the DV boxset. I do not intend to buy any other supplements but rather to focus on building & painting a Nurgle-themed army for use in small-scale social games.

Am I right in thinking that a passable CSM strategy (for a novice) is to flood the table with expendable cultists & use them to hold objectives/ soak up fire, then use more elite units to actually dish out damage (bikers/ terminators/ Raptors etc)?

SaltySeaDog wrote:
Point 1: I am a total newcomer both to tabletop gaming & 40k so please be gentle!

Point 2: I have chosen to play Chaos because I love the lore, even though I'm aware the army list has several weak spots at present.

Point 3: I will only be playing local friendly games, no hardcore tournaments.

So I have recently bought the CSM codex, 40k rulebook & the Chaos half of the DV boxset. I do not intend to buy any other supplements but rather to focus on building & painting a Nurgle-themed army for use in small-scale social games.

Am I right in thinking that a passable CSM strategy (for a novice) is to flood the table with expendable cultists & use them to hold objectives/ soak up fire, then use more elite units to actually dish out damage (bikers/ terminators/ Raptors etc)?

Bolded the important bit. You'll do fine.

That being said, there is a TASTY formation in Traitor's Hate that lets your Cultists respawn on a 4+. Something to consider-but if you don't feel like being more supplements, don't.

Cultists + sorconclave + Kharn deathstars can do good even in cutthroat enviroment.

You should be ok for now. Just know that the supplements will add extra flavour for when you want to delve into the game a bit further. They don't fundamentally change much in the way the game is played though if that's your concern. They merely provide you with more (and more up-to-date) options to play with. The Traitor Legion supplement that is coming in like two weeks should be particularly interesting (hopefully lol).

Oh yeah! there is an whole army list from FW built around cultist. The host of the undying? I believe is what its call. Its in the Siege of V'rax book. Its crazy awesome.

It will be fine because of one additional reason - if you intend to use Typhus, the "Big Boss" of Nurgle-based CSM armies, you can turn every Cultist unit into Zombies - ditching their shooting weapon, but giving them some additonal stats and FnP.
But even without him it will make a balanced and enjoyable army to play - Plague Marines, toughest dudes in your codex, Bikers with T6, Sorcerer spamming few very nasty spells, and overall really cool feel to your force. And simple, yet cool looking painting scheme.

Cultists themselves don't kill that much (though buffs help then "finish off" small units), but make good screeners/objective campers while the rest of your army kills stuff.

I'm not a fan of Typhus myself due to his cost, slowness, and being melee-only. That said, Fearless Cultists can be a useful tarpit against some units (not ones with "blender" high attack output, or stuff that stomps).

Another fun formation is the Helcult. You take two units of Cultists, and a Helbrute. In exchange, the Cultists are Fearless, and even if the Helbrute is destroyed, they simply become Zealots instead. Less of a tax than typhus and you still can do flamers/marks.