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Hey guys,

I recently have been getting tired of playing my gun line IG army and am looking to switch things up a bit. My friend got the DV set and let me play with the chaos and offered them to me. I enjoyed the game we played and since I have the models, I'm thinking about starting a CSM army.

But I can't quite get totally on board I don't know why, I need some convincing. How fun are they to play? Is the codex playable and not just a few certain units are must takes? Will it be a far enough change from my IG? Any second wave releases coming?

I want a more in your face close combat/ rhino rush typed force that is mean in mid range fire fights and killer in assault. Can CSM provide me with this?

Thanks,
Cory

They will definately be a different playstyl than IG. You can horde up with cultists, but they won't have nearly the same supporting fire as an IG army. There's lots of good units in the army. Plague marines are nasty, and cultists are crazy cheap. Lords are very customizable, and sorcerers can give you some good psychic support/defense without costing you an arm and a leg. Your fast attack choises are all good, with the exception of warp talons, and the Heldrake is outstanding. Obliterators are awesome heavy support choices, as they can deal with basically anything, and while most people are saying defilers aren't worth it, that battle cannon can really cause some damage.

If you're looking for mid range/CC, Kharn with some berzerkers in a LR is a pretty nasty combo. Plague marines are super tough and can put up some good dakka, and will can take down MEQ and monstrous creatures in close combat pretty well thanks to their plague knives. A horde of cultists can do some damage at close range too, if for no other reason than volume of attacks, just be sure to stick someone in with them to keep them from running off, because you're going to take quite a few casualties.

Personally I find them a really fun army with lots of good options. You do have to be careful with the upgrades though. a regular CSM squad with some special weapons, extra ccw, a mark and an icon can quickly get into the 300 or even 400 point range, and they still die like marines.

The simple answer - yes, you should start CSM.

I LOVE my CSM. I've had them since 4th ed. You hear some pissing and moaning about the new book, but SURPRISE! All the pissing and moaning is coming from the same guys who piss and moan about everything anyway.

It's a solid book. No, there isn't any one build. Plague Marines and Heldrakes are really really strong, and yes, a lot of people spam them, but almost every single unit in the dex is worth of consideration. There aren't many no-brainer choices or units that make absolutely no sense.

All I can tell you is that I absolutely love my Chaos army, and I've got four armies to choose from. It's easily my most "fun" army.

Yes.
You can dip into the basic space marine model ranges for traitor or recent traitor chapters or really dive into some of the awesome CSM models. The Heldrake is a good started for 10 (Well closer to £40). Avoid the Defiler model, its a glorified shoe box on legs (crying out for a decent conversion or new model) and is quite expensive in point terms for what it is capable of.

You may be a little disappointed with Rhino rushes but that just the 6th ed for you. Lots of little buffs with the marks and standards to taylor the force with.

Awesome

They are fun to play especially if you stick to themes. But you certainly dont HAVE to do that and can mix and match. They have some quite devastating HQ units that are really satisfying and rewarding to play when they carve entire units to pieces (Abaddon, Kharne, Typhus).

If you have to ask, the answer is no.

Go look at the models. If you'd have fun painting them, then go for it!

 iheartlargeblasttemplates wrote:
Hey guys,

I recently have been getting tired of playing my gun line IG army and am looking to switch things up a bit. My friend got the DV set and let me play with the chaos and offered them to me. I enjoyed the game we played and since I have the models, I'm thinking about starting a CSM army.

But I can't quite get totally on board I don't know why, I need some convincing. How fun are they to play? Is the codex playable and not just a few certain units are must takes? Will it be a far enough change from my IG? Any second wave releases coming?

I want a more in your face close combat/ rhino rush typed force that is mean in mid range fire fights and killer in assault. Can CSM provide me with this?

Thanks,
Cory

Keep in mind that most chaos miniatures cannot keep up with the awesome DV set (although the amazing FW conversion sets help in that regard ). The codex itself, while somewhat bland, is perfectly servicable and has access to one of the best flyers currently avaiable.

although i have a large chaos army i say no. maybe try a Xenos race. the CSM like the SM are too similar to IG, weapons wise. to get a whole new perspective on the game why not try tyranids? they have alot of interesting units, the only unit most people will swear by that is negative/dodgy/not good is raveners. personally i love the glass-unit backed up by x3 trygons and you have a DS death squad. what you want to do in that scenario is reject your instincts, and redeploy your trygons in front of your raveners. it is not as if your trygon would gain cover from an ravener, and it has multiple wounds and relative high T value. shooty things shouldn't be a worry for this tactics unless it is ordnance. otherwise redeploy raveners/trygon in terrain and treat them as extremely mobile killy and stompy lictor wall

 iheartlargeblasttemplates wrote:
Hey guys,

I recently have been getting tired of playing my gun line IG army and am looking to switch things up a bit. My friend got the DV set and let me play with the chaos and offered them to me. I enjoyed the game we played and since I have the models, I'm thinking about starting a CSM army.

But I can't quite get totally on board I don't know why, I need some convincing. How fun are they to play? Is the codex playable and not just a few certain units are must takes? Will it be a far enough change from my IG? Any second wave releases coming?

I want a more in your face close combat/ rhino rush typed force that is mean in mid range fire fights and killer in assault. Can CSM provide me with this?

Thanks,
Cory

I'm a SM guy, but like there counterparts the CSM can be quite flexible although alot of there stuff leans towards CC. The demonengines seem quite destructive (aparently standard demons are not amazing) But its entirely up to you. I have some friends who play IG and there tactics are few, CSM can maul there enemys with the infamous chainaxe, blast them to pieces with lascannons or use psyhic powers to cook them. I have no experience with them but they look like a formidable army when used correcty

 Orkimedes1000 wrote:
although i have a large chaos army i say no. maybe try a Xenos race. the CSM like the SM are too similar to IG, weapons wise...

This is fundamentally wrong. Not a single Marine book plays similar to another. Yes, they may share the same wargear, transports, and statlines, but that's where the similarities end.

OP: CSM are extremely capable in exactly with the description of what you're looking for in this army. In fact, what you're looking for in CSM is where they excel. When built correctly, CSM is an absolute force to be reckoned with, because they are the strongest Marine book in assault by a long shot. The army is designed to shoot on the way to assaulting the enemy and blowing them away there.

 iheartlargeblasttemplates wrote:
Hey guys,

But I can't quite get totally on board I don't know why, I need some convincing. How fun are they to play? Is the codex playable and not just a few certain units are must takes? Will it be a far enough change from my IG? Any second wave releases coming?

I want a more in your face close combat/ rhino rush typed force that is mean in mid range fire fights and killer in assault. Can CSM provide me with this?

Thanks,
Cory

The codex is very solid and playable. They can be very different from the IG, they obviously have some different tools.

I am not sure that much of anything is "killer in assault" in 6th edition. Assault wasnt that great in 5th, and 6th has a few wrinkles that make assault a bit of a challenge. You cant jump out of a rhino and assault, of course. Also it is going to be quite interesting to find out the Tau rules. Really ugly rumors there if you are an assault army (support overwatch fire from nearby squads, overwatch fire at normal BS)

yeah I love my Chaos, however... I find they do play best as Gunline, if you gotta win. I'm still trying to break out of that mold myself. Just wish we could get drop pods.

they are fun though and the DV figures are beautiful (Yet to start painting mine... still).

But you may want to think on your theme before picking your units. I've a tonne of elites now that won't see the light of day now that they're not troops.

The above poster saying Nids, now that might be interesting. But... you won't even get to ally with them.

 AresX8 wrote:

 Orkimedes1000 wrote:
although i have a large chaos army i say no. maybe try a Xenos race. the CSM like the SM are too similar to IG, weapons wise...

This is fundamentally wrong. Not a single Marine book plays similar to another. Yes, they may share the same wargear, transports, and statlines, but that's where the similarities end.

OP: CSM are extremely capable in exactly with the description of what you're looking for in this army. In fact, what you're looking for in CSM is where they excel. When built correctly, CSM is an absolute force to be reckoned with, because they are the strongest Marine book in assault by a long shot. The army is designed to shoot on the way to assaulting the enemy and blowing them away there.

while your right they fundamentally play different a blood angels bolt pistol acts in a similar fashion as a IG Bolt pistol or for that matter a ultramarines lightning claws act the same (or similar) to a BA lightning claw equiv. wheras a tyranid army plays 100% differently to either IG/SM that is the point i was making. also they (nids) do not share weapons with any other race. example a blood angel will not use a bonesword and have it count as a bonesword.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 iheartlargeblasttemplates wrote:
Hey guys,

I recently have been getting tired of playing my gun line IG army and am looking to switch things up a bit. My friend got the DV set and let me play with the chaos and offered them to me. I enjoyed the game we played and since I have the models, I'm thinking about starting a CSM army.

But I can't quite get totally on board I don't know why, I need some convincing. How fun are they to play? Is the codex playable and not just a few certain units are must takes? Will it be a far enough change from my IG? Any second wave releases coming?

I want a more in your face close combat/ rhino rush typed force that is mean in mid range fire fights and killer in assault. Can CSM provide me with this?

Thanks,
Cory

As a question on how fun they are? well imho they are in my top 5 "most fun" to play lists.

I find myself in agreement with Orkimedes.

If you want something fun and different, go for Orks, Tyranids, or Daemons. Space Marine players may huff and puff but at the end of the day their books (and yes, my CSM as well) are similar. Get good force concentration into the middle, with enough support to deal with threats your troops cannot handel. I mean yes. If you play in an all MEQ meta (most Locales), then Wolves and BA start to seem very different [like somebody locked in a box with 200 pictures of Biden eating a sandwich], but an Eldar or Nid army will be completely different on a more fundamental level.

They are vastly different from IG, but still more similar to them than Xenos. Orks, Nids, or Daemons will be the most refreshing armies to play if you crave CQC

Thanks for all the help guys! Your comments are really appreciated.

I've been thinking maybe just expanding my guard and trying a mech play style to change it up. But it sounds like chaos are a valid option.

There isn't really a better time to start CSM. New book, and cheap models off ebay from the new starter set

CSM are a great army to use if you crave different playstyles (assaulting, mid-range fire-fights,...etc.), or want unique and cool models. I have the DV stuff, and I am getting thousand sons, for allies to my daemons.

Yeah, its a good time to start CSM. They have some decent builds and can ally with CD or Tau which also got new codices.

CSM has lots of fun builds. I run 3 small squads of noise marines, spawn, maulerfiends and daemonettes and it does quite well. The codex is what you make of it.

yesss join chaos child......

but seriously yes they are great, very varied play style, very versatile and good range of allies

good background and good amount of freedom for creating you own background for your army.

Not to mention you can ally with the IG units you already have. Chaos is all about fluff, though. If you love the dark gods and playing the bad guy, you'll love them. You will be hard pressed to find a more customizable army. Tons of variety, both in models and rules.

Munga wrote:
Not to mention you can ally with the IG units you already have. Chaos is all about fluff, though. If you love the dark gods and playing the bad guy, you'll love them. You will be hard pressed to find a more customizable army. Tons of variety, both in models and rules.

this guy is right listen to him.

I loved playing CSM in 5th but the newer Codex was a very large let down sadly :(

What with most of our units simply being outshone in their specialized fields, (IE CSM:Terminators vs SM:SW Terminators, and CSM:Land Raider vs Any of the Loyalist variants)

If you like the fluff behind them, go for it, but as said above, ally's would probably be your best bet.