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Good Day,

I was hoping to get some help and advice build my Chaos Army, this is pretty much my first time building a list and I have never played the game, so I really don't know for sure what is great or not. Where applicable, the Mark of Chaos is {Tzeentch} and the Legion is {Alpha Legion}. I have a Brigade Detachment (9 Command Points) and have a total of 10 command points due to Arkos. I wanted a smaller, elite force with large tactical flexibility, like the Alpha Legion.

HQ 1: Lord Arkos (Warlord) w/ Black Blade, Combi-Melta, Frag and Krak Grenades - 105pts

HQ 2: Herald of Tzeentch on Burning Chariot - 130pts

HQ 3: Dark Apostle w/ Combi-Flamer, Power Maul, Frag and Krak Grenades - 87pts

Troops 1: 5x Chaos Space Marine w/ Plasma Pistol, Power Sword and Heavy Bolter - 86pts

Troops 2: 5x Chaos Space Marine w/ Plasma Pistol, Power Sword and Heavy Bolter - 86pts

Troops 3: 5x Chaos Space Marine w/ Plasma Pistol, Power Sword and Heavy Bolter - 86pts

Troops 4: 5x Chaos Space Marine w/ Plasma Pistol, Power Sword and Heavy Bolter - 86pts

Troops 5: 5x Chaos Space Marine w/ Plasma Pistol, Power Sword and Heavy Bolter - 86pts

Troops 6: 5x Chaos Space Marine w/ Plasma Pistol, Power Sword and Heavy Bolter - 86pts

Elites 1: Chaos Decimator w/ Soulburner Petard x2 - 150pts

Elites 2: Chaos Decimator w/ Soulburner Petard x2 - 150pts

Elites 3: 5x Noise Marines w/ Sonic Blaster x3, Blastmaster, Doom Siren - 142pts

Fast Attack 2: 3x Chaos Bikers w/ Combi-Bolter x3, Combi-Melta, Meltagun x2 - 152pts

Fast Attack 2: 3x Chaos Bikers w/ Combi-Bolter x3, Combi-Melta, Meltagun x2 - 152pts

Fast Attack 3: Blood Slaughterer of Khorne w/ Slaughter Blade, Impaler Harpoon - 180pts

Heavy Support 1: Hellforged Rapier Battery w/ Quad Heavy Bolter, 2x Chaos Space Marine Crew - 82pts

Heavy Support 2: Hellforged Rapier Battery w/ Quad Heavy Bolter, 2x Chaos Space Marine Crew - 82pts

Heavy Support 3: Hellforged Rapier Battery w/ Ectoplasma Cannon, 2x Chaos Space Marine Crew - 72pts

Please, Please!! any help is appreciated, tear it to pieces, I really want to get into the hobby and have to start somewhere. I am ok with changing anything except Arkos, I really want him as my HQ.

Thanks!!
-Colt

Arkos.. is an .. interesting? Choice here. He does not have the usual lord buff of rerolling hits , instead he boosts speed.
Which is great .. But not sure this gunline is really gaining anything. Adding a normal Lord ir DP could greatly help shooting output.

Agreed. For gunline astartes you want a Lord (ideally near your rapiers). A lord for the decimators will also make them far more effective given the serious potency of each of their shots. I'd almost never take standard chaos marines as they're easily outperformed. For the price of all of them, you could take 100 brimstones (2 pts for 4+ invuln is far better for objectives than 13 pts for 3+ armour given how common rending weapons are) and still have about 350 pts left over. A blood slaughter is fairly expensive for what it does, especially when you consider the cost of a giant spawn. An ectoplasm cannon is easily the worst gun for rapiers as it's 3 shots and each one inflicts a mortal wound (and it's 24" - which sucks for a gunline). Better off dropping that and using the remaining points from the marines to get a fire raptor. If you're willing to dabble in renegades then you could greatly improve this list as they can add a lot through cheap artillery and marauder spam.

Thanks for the replies!

Arkos.. is an .. interesting? Choice here. He does not have the usual lord buff of rerolling hits , instead he boosts speed.
Which is great .. But not sure this gunline is really gaining anything. Adding a normal Lord ir DP could greatly help shooting output.

Technically, he wouldn't boost my speed either, since as far as I can tell his buff only affects The Faithless, not Alpha Legion. I get what your'e saying though, I think a Lord could work well since i'm very ranged focused.

For the price of all of them, you could take 100 brimstones (2 pts for 4+ invuln is far better for objectives than 13 pts for 3+ armour given how common rending weapons are) and still have about 350 pts left over.

I did not realize you could take brimstones, I thought you had to take the Pink Horrors and pay for reserve points? Are CSM really that bad?

A blood slaughter is fairly expensive for what it does, especially when you consider the cost of a giant spawn

Sadly, the Giant Spawn (Which I love) is Heavy Support, and the Blood Slaughterer was FA. Would it be worth adding another 3 Bikes in his spot to save the 28 points? I also kinda like the Warp Talons, which would be 140pts. Advice?

An ectoplasm cannon is easily the worst gun for rapiers as it's 3 shots and each one inflicts a mortal wound (and it's 24" - which sucks for a gunline)

I agree, I just didn't have ten points for the Quad Heavy Bolter, with the changes to brimstones I should be able to fix that. OR you mentioned...

Better off dropping that and using the remaining points from the marines to get a fire raptor.

I can do that, and I like the Fire Raptor, but i still need to keep 3 Heavy Supports to keep the Brigade Detachment requirements.

Thank you for the help!!

I'm optimistic the faction keywords on the FW characters will be fixed in the incoming faq.
At any rate , nothing is stopping you from calling all your Legion units The faithless. It's an alpha legion sub faction anyway, and it's not like there are rules for alpha legion.

Texas Red wrote:
this is pretty much my first time building a list and I have never played the game, so I really don't know for sure what is great or not.

For a first game, this is really a lot to keep track of. You have 15 units and 3 HQs (which confer some re-rolls onto nearby units). Are you going to be able to keep track of al of that? Maybe, but I would have had a tough time when I started. I would really recommend some smaller games to get a feel for different types of units and how you like to play your game. This list has some good synergies but at the same time is all over the place. It contains no units I would expect for Alpha Legion (lots of cultists, Raptors, and Warp Talons) and lots of things I wouldn't expect at all (Noise marines, Blood Slaughter, and Rapier Batteries).

Frontline gaming has a recent article about list building in 8th edition, which may be helpful: https://www.frontlinegaming.org/2017/07/02/writing-an-effective-list-in-8th-edition-40k/

In the mean time, I would suggest playing some small games with varied units for get a feel for them and how you like to play. Slow moving and hard-hitting vs. highly mobile, flyers vs. no flyers, horde vs. specialized, etc.

Have fun!

Technically, he wouldn't boost my speed either, since as far as I can tell his buff only affects The Faithless, not Alpha Legion. I get what your'e saying though, I think a Lord could work well since i'm very ranged focused.

Call them all Faithless, and now he can.

I did not realize you could take brimstones, I thought you had to take the Pink Horrors and pay for reserve points? Are CSM really that bad?

They have a lot of good units, but if you want a powerful (cheesy WAAC) chaos list you're best off mixing and matching between astartes, daemons and renegades.

Sadly, the Giant Spawn (Which I love) is Heavy Support, and the Blood Slaughterer was FA. Would it be worth adding another 3 Bikes in his spot to save the 28 points? I also kinda like the Warp Talons, which would be 140pts. Advice?

You're possibly stretching yourself too thin with a brigade. You may be better dropping down to a battalion and taking the other detachments that allow for lots of elites or FA. Warp talons are expensive, and only have melee attacks. They'll drop down 9" away from the enemy and will struggle to make the charge - meaning that they're sitting ducks until your next turn.

I can do that, and I like the Fire Raptor, but i still need to keep 3 Heavy Supports to keep the Brigade Detachment requirements.

This is another example of where you may be hampering your armies effectiveness by taking a brigade. More CP at the expense of an optimum list is seldom a good trade-off.

Thanks again for the advice!!

nothing is stopping you from calling all your Legion units The faithless. It's an alpha legion sub faction anyway, and it's not like there are rules for alpha legion.

Did not know this, thank you for the info!

Frontline gaming has a recent article about list building in 8th edition, which may be helpful

Thank you for the link! This should be very helpful, and thanks for the advice, I get what your saying about everything to keep track of, I think I may do some different detachments.

They have a lot of good units, but if you want a powerful (cheesy WAAC) chaos list you're best off mixing and matching between astartes, daemons and renegades.

I meant the Troop Unit CSM, not the army as a whole. Where are the rules for renegades?

You're possibly stretching yourself too thin with a brigade. You may be better dropping down to a battalion and taking the other detachments that allow for lots of elites or FA. Warp talons are expensive, and only have melee attacks. They'll drop down 9" away from the enemy and will struggle to make the charge - meaning that they're sitting ducks until your next turn.

Yea I'm second guessing the Brigade now. Would the Warp Talons work with the Sorceror in Terminator Armor who can cast Warp Speed? That should nearly guarantee a charge?

Texas Red wrote:
I meant the Troop Unit CSM, not the army as a whole. Where are the rules for renegades?

Oddly enough they are in the IA Index for Astra Militarum