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I got a CSM box on the way but where should I go from here? Termies seem to be popular for black legion, of course i'll be getting Abaddon. I like the idea of having tons of CSM's. Also really like the forgefiend and hellbrute models. What are your suggestions for what I pick up down the road?

Also in the beginning I will be playing primarily against an ultramarines player who is a big fan of the new primaris stuff. Suggestions on fighting that?

Well, you seem to have a good starting grasp.

BL are generally all about the termi spearhead assault, generally lead by Abaddon. Deepstrike shenanigans ahoy.

Also, the old BL codex supplement said they were reknowned for swamping people with power armour as best as a power armour based army can do. Not sure how this holds with 8th ed however.

Black Legion is to Chaos Marines like what Ultramarines are to Space Marines. There's really no wrong way to play them because they embody the "vanilla" Chaos Space Marines. They're vast enough that there are different Black Legion Warbands that run the entire spectrum of CSM, so really just pick whatever models you like. There's really no wrong way to play them.

Yep, and if we're honest...despite people constantly saying everything is garbage (regardless of what it is) you still can't go terribly wrong with Space Marines. Very forgiving in both guises. Black Legion can take almost anything - play a few games, see what you feel is lacking and buy some units to address it; better yet buy some kits you think look cool.

 Elbows wrote:
Yep, and if we're honest...despite people constantly saying everything is garbage (regardless of what it is) you still can't go terribly wrong with Space Marines. Very forgiving in both guises. Black Legion can take almost anything - play a few games, see what you feel is lacking and buy some units to address it; better yet buy some kits you think look cool.

As a fellow Black Legion commander, I recommend the above to be true. Pick the models that you think are the coolest to play. Everything else will fall in line to play.

The 40k 8th edition rulebook and Codex Chaos Space Marines.

You'd be surprised how often someone asks me what to get next in their existing army only to act surprised when I ask them if they have their army's rule books.

As for fighting primaris marines, I imagine high-AP will still be desirable, along with weapons that deal 2 damage?

Obliterators are aaaawwweeesooomme right now. I have more than a few for my Black Legion collection. They are good against both vehicles and primaris, as their guns do D3 damage.

As others have mentioned, the basic power armor guys are solid.

When have oblits not been awesome? Except for that brief period between the codex and the index.

I'm actually building two Obliterator units right now. I had one and enjoyed it - sold it off painted to fund the other build. I'll never use more than one. The other unit will be there if I play someone who's being a dick...then maybe I'll bring it.

 MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
When have oblits not been awesome? Except for that brief period between the codex and the index.

I hear ya, but right now they are extra awesome, esp. with the mark of Slaanesh.

(Iirc some editions they kept their "natural" T4 for purposes of instant death, making them prime Lascannon targets. They were less awesome then.)

Abbadon is a great force multiplier, if just for the 2 CPs and the Fearless Aura that works on ALL friendly Heretic Astartes.

I think he would be great in a Cultist blob, autopassing morale, and then casting Tide of Traitors on the diminished unit. He can be a Chaos Guilliman of sorts giving rerolls to daemon engines and Predators. If Deepstriking, have him tear things up dropped with plasma termies or Obliterators.

the nice thing about Black Legion, is that they include everything Chaos. So you really can't go wrong. You start off with your basic force, but suddenly get interested in Death Guard... no problem, buy a few models, paint them in the same black and gold color scheme and ass them in. You could even run them as actual Death Guard if you want. In fact, since the Black legion contains warbands from every other traitor legion, you can have a single paint theme for any version of Chaos you want.

Well... the fact you can take anything in a Black Legion list isn't what makes it special. The auras that give rerolls to hit are what make it special. They make mediocre units good and turn the tide in battles.

Black Legion is the only Legion that can take Abaddon. If there's a place to go from the basic CSM box, it's to get Abaddon as an HQ. Rerolling all misses is a big deal, you put him in the center of a bunch of units and your army is suddenly a lot more effective.

If you like Helbrutes, go with them. Perfectly viable in a Black Legion list. I suggest you focus on Lascannons and power scourges with them, but that's just me. You may also want to look at Obliterators, which are very good. But there's a temptation to deep strike them outside of places where they would benefit from auras. Consider that when weighing your options.

As far as Primaris go - they are 2 wound marines with better guns. My advice is to focus on firepower when building your lists, volume of fire + multiwound guns will help.

My list is optimized around long-range firepower. i start each game being able to do about 22 lascannon shots + a ton of bolter shots for anything that gets close. It's been effective against the Primaris marines I've fought, there's nothing particularly special about them outside of the superior stats.