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Why do Chainswords have the same stats as a Close Combat weapon?

You'd think a weapon like that would at least have a AP of 5, or some special rule. Having only read 6th edition, I don't know if it's been any different in previous editions.

I mean the teeth of the weapon are suppose to be mono-ed, or close to it fluff wise right?

They used to have a special rule or two, now they are just CCWs.

Chainswords come standard in most infantry kits (SM, Guard, et cetera) and look great and heroic, so GW wants them to get use, but AP5 CCWs standard would be ridiculous.


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and it would make close combat overcomplicated for such an insignificant statistic to account for.

Ap 5 or 6 wouldnt be too crazy I mean its a giant combat chainsaw.

It would be like the chaos chain axes but ya they need some ap. I mean what combat knives dont ignore orc magic tshirts?

It should have some form of special rule making it sightly better than a combat blade, other wise whats the point using a chainsword if it's not going to anything. It's got the same rules as just smacking anothor guy with your bolt gun if I'm not mistaken.

 TheCaptain wrote:


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and it would make close combat overcomplicated for such an insignificant statistic to account for.

You mean like the Chainaxe upgrade for Zerkers.
Well AP4 is not quite as insignificant as ap5 but yea.

definately, while ap 5 isnt really that powerful, it would work really well against cultists, orks ect.

The ap4 is great if chainswords did that well then gg my ba win against anything that isnt marines woooow.

Ap5 is nice you can deal with nids and orcs as said. With the current rules I want to give my assault marines baseball bats. I think it would look funny and then the fact that he has a blunt object rather than a chainsaw on steroids would justify the no ap

In the RPGs the Chainsword does more damage and has a decent (even the non-spacemarine varients) penetration.

In Space Marine you can saw through enemy chaos marines.

And just visually comparing it to any Close Combat Weapon, you would totally take it cuz it looks like it'd mess peeps up!

Only Space Marines (and CSM) seem to wield these in great number, and would probably give them a bigger edge in CC though.

Could you imagine taking away a IG sergeant's chainsword, and handing him a shovel and saying "They have the same stats, you'll be fine! Now go kill them orks!"

And Orks

About half my Orks have Chain-bladed choppas. While we're wishlisting though lets make them AP3. Wouldn't want those SM to feel left out by an inexplicable imbalance in CC armour ignoral..

Also shovels can be mean fething weapons. They were used for battlefield decapitation in WW1

 Ascalam wrote:


Also shovels can be mean fething weapons. They were used for battlefield decapitation in WW1

But if you're going to go charge some orks... Shovel or Chainsword?

Seriously though orks have a 6+ save stop pickin apart our T-shirts ^^

Don't you think it's funny how a chainsword can apparently slice a chaos space marine in two but on table top it can't even get through an Orks shirt

Fluff-wise, sure. I'm all for it. In terms of game balance? No thanks. Marines don't really need even more options for armour penetration. My Orks or Eldar would shudder to face marines that could all buy chainswords with ap 5, even if it was 3 points a model. Just use your chainswords as power swords.

For me with my IG, giving Chainswords AP 5 would be kinda OTT. Not only do I have a lot of them, but then my Guardsmen wouldn't get a save in CC. And if they don't get a save in CC, when DO they get a save? How about orks? With a 6+ save, is there really even a point to having an Armor Save with them? I mean the only stuff that lacks an AP value that is seen really often is like, lasguns and some types of Chain Guns. The place where you see Chainswords the most are SM armies and they usually have bolters and things that have an AP value.

For balance and pure simplicity, just leave them as CCW's. Fluff wise? Sure why not, they are one handed chainsaws on steroids XD

It's more a matter of the fact that 40k is absurdly over-the-top in the power of their weapons, I think. Is a chainsword really as effective at penetrating armor as a .75-caliber armor-piercing rocket-propelled grenade? I don't think it would be, given what .50-caliber high-velocity bullets do to tanks in real life; but a boltgun (.75-caliber armor-piercing rocket-propelled grenades) is AP 5 too...

These aren't 7.62mm rifles and Kevlar we're dealing with here. If you think about Warhammer in context of real life it rapidly becomes clear that an Imperial Guardsman is drastically overarmored and far better equipped than any person in any real-life military, despite being a 'puny guardsman' with a 'flashlight' and a 't-shirt' in-game. Chainsaws might be better at penetrating modern armor than 40k chainswords are at penetrating 40k armor, but 40k armor is way better than modern armor, so...

How about giving the chainswords a "sort-of-rending" rule?

All to wound rolls of 6 are AP5?

I'd be cool with it if they gave my Orks their Choppa rule back and let the non-imperial chainblades do the same thing (and gave orks the ability to take chainswords/axes as an option.. they have the models dammit! )




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 Guardsmen Bob wrote:

 Ascalam wrote:


Also shovels can be mean fething weapons. They were used for battlefield decapitation in WW1

But if you're going to go charge some orks... Shovel or Chainsword?

Shovel. Because awesome!

'Get orf mah Laahnd!'

I dont believe chainswords should be anything better than a simple CCW... I do believe that Chain Axes should have been AP3... Because Zerkers are garbage...

Well in the absurdly overpowered "movie mariens" rules chainswords made you reroll passed armor saves if I recall correctly...I think they were also rending...

lets be real ap5 wouldnt do that much even against orks eldar or w.e is sv5+ even chain axes that are ap4 your going to be assaulting a cc unit into a non cc unit and its gonna get decimated by the number of attacks let alone if you pierce armour. Chain axes are garbage for their price whatever you assault with them will die with regular ccw the same with ap4. but thats my two cents.

Maybe I'm about to show off my newbie-ness here, buuuut

Why not Chainswords with AP6? I know this seems a little pointless, but hear me out.

So the Space Marines are already beasts in CC against squishies like Orks and Guard, right? So it doesn't really seem to make much of a difference if you're hacking a T-shirt apart with a Power Sword or a Chainsword, aside from Cost. And besides, would you really want to go toe-to-toe with SM's if you're fielding IG or Ork? Granted, Orks should definitely fair better than IG, and perhaps that mechanic could be worked on (like giving them AP6 Choppas), but seriously; If a Guard is going to get hit in Close Combat, by a Space Marine, they should die outright. Maybe get lucky when that 1 falls and the IG managed to hit the deck right before the Chainsword took his head off.

It seems like the gripe I'm seeing is "SM are too beast in CC." Yeah. It's cause they're space marines.

Talking about the Orks for a second: I know everyone makes the joke about T-Shirt saves, but the Orks are hardier than that. They're half fungus, half animal, they have few vital organs and thick skin that gets thicker and blacker with age.

So then Orks aren't saving because of their t-shirts. They're saving because of their thickness, which, if we're talking about getting chewed up by Chainswords, then Orks should take a 5+ to keep from getting insta-gibbed by Chainswords and allowing them a fighting chance against SM CC.

Now maybe this breaks a lot more, but if you think about it a little more, the Bolter is AP5, so that is still going to punch holes in an orks T-Shirt, while Close Combat is still a battle worth fighting.

All the chainsword needs is AP6, and if we're going to give that to other races like Orks and IG, I'd be fine with that too.

As a Chaos player, I think it's completely reasonable that the ceremonial daggers my Cultists have gets cut in half against a 7 foot, adamantium fiber bundle muscled Space Marine with whirling teeth of death.

On the note of customizing weapons, I wanna put guitars back on Noise Marines. And I'm totally going to steal the Bat and Shovels idea for my Chosen. XDDD

Maybe find some other garden tools like a Rake or an actual chainsaw. lol

Good stuff, Dakka. Ur the beastest.

So then Orks aren't saving because of their t-shirts. They're saving because of their thickness, which, if we're talking about getting chewed up by Chainswords, then Orks should take a 5+ to keep from getting insta-gibbed by Chainswords and allowing them a fighting chance against SM CC.


One issue with this : Orks don't get to take armour upgrades, as a whole. 6+ is all you get.

You can upgrade ONE unit to 4+ armour for 4 pts a model, and that's it.

Orks aren't meant to be squishy. Lightly armoured yes, but tough as nails.

ork boyz are not much tougher than a guardsman, I think that T4 6+ is fine, considering fluff and you can take 30 models for ~200 points. orks boyz are squishy.. its the nobs that are scary

 Ascalam wrote:
r battlefield decapitation in WW1

Does that mean I can argue that all my Kriegsmen CC attacks are Instant-Death because of shovel-decapitation?

Works for me

Krieg are awesome.


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 raiden wrote:
ork boyz are not much tougher than a guardsman, I think that T4 6+ is fine, considering fluff and you can take 30 models for ~200 points. orks boyz are squishy.. its the nobs that are scary

Um, yes they are They are beastly tough compared to regular humans.

A guardsman cannot be decapitated or blown up, and then stitched back together later and get back in the fight.

Orks are a LOT tougher than guardsmen. Hence the T 4 (same as SM). I'm fine with 6+ armour, but we don't need yet more things that ignore it in the game

bah, 1 marine is worth at least 10 ork boyz hehe. now.. a nob on the other hand..

Which is why Orks come in Economy Bulk Purchase, and Marines only come in fun-size