The Y-Mod Series is a weekly modification of some of
40k's worst units in the game. These are units that are shunned by almost every player, in almost every version of the game. In Y-Mod, I attempt to "fix" these units in a way that makes them usable to at least a portion of the gaming population, while still not so powerful that tournament lists would use them. Try to assume that the points costs remain the same, or close to the same. I'm also not going to massively change the unit's role, and will try to keep it in the same "space" as before.
On with the show!
The Chaos Space Marine
Admit it, you saw this coming. Mostly because everyone's got an opinion on this guy. I think if you were able to do a poll of the internets to find out which unit has been "modded" the most by people thinking of how to make them better, the stock and barrel Chaos Space Marine would come out at #1. And yet, the Chaos Space Marine is, to the untrained eye, almost indistinguishable from their loyalist brothers, the Space Marines.
How can this be so jarring?
Trust me, it's not just And They Shall Know No Fear (or
ATSKNF for short). Yes, that's a big part, but it's not only that. For those who only happened here because it's their first foray on Dakka Dakka after hearing about this thing called "
40k", Space Marines have
ATSKNF, which makes them immune to fear, automatically regroup if they fall back, and be immune to being cut down when losing close combat. Two of those aren't that big a deal, but the third comes up pretty frequently, and is one of the reasons that people claim "close combat is dead" when talking about ways to actually win against opponents by means of board-wipes. Against a unit of 10 Space Marines, you need to kill 10 Space Marines. Against a unit of 10 Chaos Space Marines, you might only need to kill 1 Chaos Space Marine.
But the problem runs deeper. For one, Space Marines have, over the years, acquired more and more options within their base codex, while Chaos Space Marines have, paradoxically, received fewer and fewer. Space Marines can take Chapter Tactics, Combat Squads, have Formations, have more and better dedicated transports, and have a larger list of wargear options. Chaos can take Marks and Banners though, which is something that Space Marines can't. Ultimately, this makes Space Marines "better" by virtue of being able to be a more targeted and efficient delivery system for useful special weapons. Chaos Space Marines, meanwhile, are a bit more "classic" Space Marine... they have mean stuff, but are a bit more like crusaders, walking through fire and steel to reach their target and beat them.
I think this is what makes them so much worse, but it's a precarious cliff. Not only would a better delivery system make Chaos Space Marines potentially more efficient "weapon delivery systems", but changing the Chaos Space Marine's base stats would reflect on any and every other "Chaos Space Marine"-based unit; from Havocs, to Bikers, to even the Chaos Lord himself.
The Y-Mod
Chaos Space Marine WS4 - BS4 - S4 - T4 - W1 - I4 - A1 - Ld8 - Sv3+
Aspiring Champion WS4 - BS4 - S4 - T4 - W1 - I4 - A2 - Ld9 - Sv3+
Unit Type: Infantry
Unit Composition: 5 Chaos Space Marines
Weapons:
Bolter
Bolt Pistol
Offensive Grenades
Defensive Grenades
Special Rules:
Ruinations: Whenever a unit of Chaos Space Marines claims an objective marker, their controller may choose which type of Mysterious Objective it is. This may change an objective marker's current Mysterious Objective type.
Champion of Chaos (Aspiring Champion Only)
Options:
This unit may purchase Marks of Chaos. The entire unit must be upgraded with the same Mark.
- Mark of Khorne
- Mark of Nurgle
- Mark of Slaanesh
- Mark of Tzeentch
One Chaos Space Marine may replace their bolter with one of the following special weapons:
- Combi-Bolter
- Combi-Weapon (flamer, plasma, or melta)
- Flamer
- Plasma Gun
- Power Weapon
- Meltagun
One Chaos Space Marine may replace their bolter with one of the following heavy weapons:
- Heavy Bolter
- Heavy Combi-Bolter (heavy flamer, plasma cannon, or multi-melta)
- Heavy Flamer
- Lascannon
- Plasma Cannon
- Power Fist
- Missile Launcher
- Multi-Melta
One Chaos Space Marine may purchase one of the following icons:
- Icon of Wrath (model must have Mark of Khorne)
- Icon of Flame (model must have Mark of Tzeentch)
- Icon of Despair (model must have Mark of Nurgle)
- Icon of Excess (model must have Mark of Slaanesh)
- Icon of Vengeance (model must not have a Mark of Chaos)
The unit may purchase the following additional special rules:
- Fleet
- Hatred
- Infiltrate
- Preferred Enemy (Imperials)
- Scout
- Tank Hunters & Monster Hunters
You may purchase up to fifteen additional Chaos Space Marines. If the unit numbers 10 or more models, they may purchase an additional weapon from either the special weapons or heavy weapon options.
One Chaos Space Marine may be upgraded to an Aspiring Champion. The Aspiring Champion may purchase items from the Chaos Armoury.
The unit may purchase one of the following dedicated transports:
- Chaos Rhino
The Breakdown:
This was really, really tricky. There's just so many things you could do with these guys to fix them, but by my self-imposed rules I couldn't touch the Marks of Chaos, the Banners, or the Transports. Changing those was out of the question (I'm only allowed to edit the unit's own army list entry and give new weapons), but I so SO wanted to! An open-topped transport would be sweet, and some of those icons and marks are just... well they're terrible.
I had to ask myself the question, "What makes a bad guy?" in regards to
40k. I figured that the "good guys" in
40k are pretty reactive in their play-style. They are able to adapt to the situation better, whereas regularly "bad guys" armies in
40k are more about coming in with a plan that must be thwarted. This was all well and good for telling me what NOT to do (don't give them better movement, don't let them just be stronger), but it didn't really offer too much for telling me what to do. I tinkered with giving them Scout, or Infiltrate, or even the ability to move or shoot before the first turn. Another idea I toyed with would be the ability to swap models between squads before the first turn began (being able to make
de-facto veterans in the process), but none of those things felt right for your stock Chaos Space Marine. Too advanced.
Ultimately, I came up with a few minor changes that I think would go a long way towards seeing these guys be cool again. First off, I've introduced the Ruinations special rule. I know, it's not a great name. That's a common criticism here. You come up with better ones
(and I mean that as a challenge I want to see accepted! I need inspiration!). This special rule allows Chaos Space Marines to always be a bit better, and makes them care about the objective markers in new and interesting ways. It is reactive (since you can "claim" an objective marker each turn, even if its the same one), but makes it feel like the Chaos Space Marines got a plan, which I think is pretty cool. Being able to re-roll 1's to hit when shooting, or claiming an objective and making it a grav-wave generator right when you need it is pretty effective without being game-breaking.
The other major difference is giving the Chaos Space Marines just so.. many.. more options. This is like going back to 3.5 edition - options to take additional special rules, and more weapon options. I'm hoping some of you also spotted a new weapon option; the Heavy Combi-Bolter! I'm pretty sure it's self-explanatory, but I think it's a great idea that fits very much in line with the combi-bolters that are a mainstay of Chaos forces. A Heavy Bolter, like a regular bolter, isn't great - but also isn't bad! Like many special weapons, sometimes you only get a single chance to fire it, and using it at that one best moment is all you're really looking for.
Comments/Suggestions
As always, comments and suggestions are welcome! If you want to see me "fix" a unit, go ahead and let me know which unit you think needs a Y-Mod!
