Here's my Chaos Army Template, for newer players to make a good basic Chaos Army that can win games. :)
I've updated it completely for 5th edition.
Legend at bottom of this article.
Unit Critiques
Here I'm going to critique the Chaos units that aren't very good, so people understand why they aren't recommended.
Special Characters
Fabius Bile. He costs like a Demon Prince, hits like a grot.
Huron Blackheart. He costs like a Demon Prince, hits like a chaos sorcerer. Okay, a little bit better but still it's hard to bring him since he does little for your army but give it a pirate theme. Arrgh!
Lucius the Eternal. He costs like a Demon Prince, hits like a girly marine.
Typhus. Thinks he's bad, costs almost as much as Abaddon. Spend 50 more points, get Abaddon--he's far better. The reason I say this is because Typhus dies to instant kill hits and despite passing psychic tests auto-magically, he's still a slow terminator. Read below on how to actually use him effectively...
Ahriman. The chaos version of Eldrad, but only in points cost. His abilities won't win you games.
HQ
Chaos Lord. Dies to power fists or regular marines beating on him--T4 with 3+ save impresses nobody, mister! Cannot be psychic. Costs almost as much as a Demon Prince.
Is as useless in CC as a standard SM character.
Chaos Sorcerer. Dies to power fists or regular marines beating on him--T4 with 3+ save impresses nobody, mister! Demon Prince isn't BS3 anymore, so hiding and casting psychic powers is all he does. Is as useless in CC as a standard SM character. I think in higher points values (1850 and up) he can be used instead of a Demon Prince with success, but only as a Lash Sorcerer. The other Sorcerer builds are not as good, even Warptime has it's limits because he is still basically a Chaplain. Chaplains CAN do a lot of damage, but often as not...don't do squat. Especially against tougher units like Plague Marines or MC, the Sorcerer usually has to flee or get squished.
Greater Demon. Not a bad choice, but without flight....it's easily shot down/avoided. Even if dropped off using a bike unit, it's not very good.
Elites
Chosen: If you want a minimum sized squad with a Lascannon, that's what this is good for. They're not very good on the tabletop, infiltrate or not,
because when you get down to it moving 6" is a liability. Now that reserves can enter from the side, bringing a CC unit isn't something I'd do but you can bring a special weapon squad in for tank/infantry killing. Personally I'd just keep them on the board and give them a Rhino instead.
Dreadnoughts: Go crazy at the wrong time, have 12 armor so die to most anything.
Possessed: Ok, back to 1st version of these guys where the powers are random--but to really reinforce the fact that no one likes them, you roll AFTER you deploy them to see what they do. Oops, wrong power for where they are. Fleeting is fine, but what do they do without rending or power weapon attacks? You guessed it, nothing but die to enemy shooting.
Troops
Normal Chaos Space Marines...even with a mark, they aren't fearless. They don't get a 2nd heavy weapon option at 20 marines, so there's
literally nothing going for this unit. Regular Space Marines are better, because they know no fear.
Lesser Demons. No flavor, and not able to do much but get shot or assaulted away. Avoid at all costs. Some believe they can make for late game objective grabbing. Problem is, they have to have a Icon to summon in off of, and they have to fail a 4+ and a 3+ test to enter on turn 2. This means that they will probably be on the turn, and get shot up if they are just standing around.
Khorne Berserkers. Well, they were bad in the last edition. Now they don't even get a chance to fleet forward...so they are assault troops that move 6" a turn. Put them in a box, and wait for Khorne to be semi-good again next edition! Edit: Next edition is here. With a good 'run' on turn 1, and lash support...you can get these guys into combat, which is a good thing. That's all they are good at, and that's a bad thing. Overall, don't bring them--unless you are bringing Land Raiders. See the LR entry below.
Chaos Rhinos. Problem with these is you usually don't want to be IN them, so all they are are walking walls. I'd rather have more marines....and since they look cheap but with EA actually cost about the same as the last edition, they aren't any good for a Chaos army. Rhinos do not really give mobility. They give the illusion of it. Avoid them unless you want some walls for the other guy to blow up. Alot of Rhinos however can make a good mech list for Chaos, but though it offers many targets...that makes you vulnerable in KP games. I think if you run, you can make up for lack of rhinos. Unless you really really want some kind of mobile cover (until it's immobile and/or destroyed) I'd say leave small Rhino rush armies to Loyalist chapters. Chaos can do large Rhino rush lists too if they want to, but it's really just a variation of what Loyalists do.
Fast Attack
Chaos Spawn. Neat model. Totally worthless in-game. When they're 20 points, maybe. And scoring units, maybe. Need fleet, not slow and purposeful! lol Okay, so they can contest now. They still need to be Spawn of the Chaos gods so they DO something. Sadly, that bit of goodness went into the Chaos Demons book instead.
Spawn have fleet (Beast and Cavalry have these, now).
Heavy Support
Chaos Land Raider. Marines get POTM. Chaos lost theirs. Daemonic Possession grants you BS3, not exactly bad but not good either. I've played Eldar a long time. Twin-linked BS3 isn't a game-winner. So it's not bad, but isn't good either. For it's price, it costs too much--this is common among ALL Land Raiders. Edit: 5th edition is coming, and Land Raiders are very hard to stop. If you put 10 Khorne Berserkers into a Land Raider...it's a lot of crazy choppy that's hard to stop, especially x3. If you do do this, I'd highly recommend you run Chosen x3 with Lascannons to provide supporting fire...that and some Noise marines with sonic blasters and blastmasters to provide horde defense (and blastmasters punish marines thoroughly in 5th--especially with Lash). You should note that until Chaos gets redone their Land Raiders will basically be move 6" fire pillboxes or will be move 12" fire nothing troop transports.
Defiler: Armor 12, big cannon guarantees shots at it. Has a close combat option that requires it to not shoot! Dies quickly.
Chaos Vindicator: It's not that it's bad, indeed with Daemonic Possession it's downright dangerous. In Chaos lists, however, there are no Razorbacks, Venerable Dreads, Assault Cannon armed Land Speeders, or Assault Cannon armed Terminator squads to draw heavy weapons fire away from Chaos vehicles. There are only Demon Princes. Since heavy bolters and autocannons can kill those, you take all the missile launcher and lascannon fire into your 3 heavy vehicles--and then they die.
Chaos Predator: Same as the vindicator only difference is, you can't take daemonic possession because it reduces you to BS3 without twin-linking on all your weapons (or like on the Vindicator, it doesn't matter since you use a scatter die.) Loyalist marines get the same thing, so why run it? Are you playing 'spiky' marines, or Chaos?
Unit Recommendations
Here are the units you do want to take, and why.
Special Characters
Abaddon: He's a monster in close combat. He will kill everything else in the entire game. Units, characters, monstrous creatures. If they get near him, they'd better shoot him dead or pray you roll a 1 for his daemon weapon...else you're about to lose close combat when he's done with you. Now in 5th, nothing will kill him with any kind of ease (he is now immune to force weapons). He is a big threat coming out of a Land Raider. If you really just have to use Typhus, stick him in a Land Raider with Abaddon and go nuts. They will kill everything they hit. They are tough to kill in that combo.
Kharn: He doesn't suck anymore. Send him into skimmers. Send him into Land Raiders. Send him into IC's, MC's, and assault units. He kills them all equally well. Just don't help him in close combat! lol let him go off on his own and leave his escort behind when he charges. You can run Typhus with Kharn too. Kharn will win close combats for you. Typhus will punk big enemies with his force weapon.
HQs
Demon Princes: These guys are bad. Take two. Give them wings. After that, if you want to give them a Mark, go ahead. Not Khorne please, the Chaos Psychic powers are good. Nurgles rot, lash, warptime, and bolt of change all have a place. I favor Warptime and Mark of Slaanesh, but with DP almost any combination of Marks/Psychic powers is good.
Elites
Chaos Terminators. They aren't fearless. This is a serious drawback. They are LD10 however, so they will usually stay around. Mark of Nurgle for T5, Slaanesh for higher Init, or Tzeentch for a better invulnerable save. If you are going to bring Terminators, bring A LOT of them. See the template below for a guide on this.
Troops
Noise Marines. They can compete against I5 characters and troops, and give you a missile launcher and a power fist--plus against things like IG, horde nids, and Orks...sonic blasters are truly killy weapons. They can also morph from 2 shots with sonic blasters to CCW/BP and assault with 3 more attacks. They aren't the strongest but have their place.
Plague Marines. FNP. Blight grenades. T5. Fearless. Bring 12+ in a squad, give them a power fist. Give them meltaguns. Don't give them plasmaguns in large squads, only in small squads. I don't recommend small squads, but if you really want them go ahead. EC** will kill more stuff over time (except vehicles) with SB*** since they aren't a run up and shoot once unit. Plague Marines don't die to much, avoid battlecannons and S8+ weapons.
Thousand Sons. S4 missile launchers, 24" range. 2 shots at 12". 4+ Invulnerable save. Move and fire. Can't have a fist, but can have bolt of change on the sorc (I highly recommend it). These guys are weak in CC, but with a little help from the Noise or Plague Marines countercharging can stop an assault cold until you can drop your support units into the enemy and drive him off.
Fast Attack
Raptors. While they cannot be fearless, you can give them a mark. Personally I recommend Nurgle. T5 jump assault marines are no joke. Give them a couple meltaguns and a powerfist, and bring 15 of them. Like Terminators, bring A LOT if you are going to bring them at all.
Chaos Marine Bikers. Minimum sized units with 2 meltaguns are very useful. I don't run bikers anymore, but you can toss mark of nurgle on 'em and make them very tough. problem is, they are horrible in CC and not very good at shooting. I can't say they are bad units, so they are here with a big ? on them.
Heavy Support
Havocs. They aren't oblits, but they have their place. I don't favor them because I think running what are essentially Space Marine Devastators who know fear and running away to fight another day....aren't what I want in my Chaos army. Give them the mark of Nurgle or Tzeentch, and they'll be more survivable. Missile launcher Havocs are fine, but...I can't give my vote to anything but Oblits. They are just so much better in every way than Havocs are. If you just have to run Havocs, run chosen with meltaguns in front of them so the Havocs can focus on killing infantry and the chosen can use meltaguns to pop enemy transports.
Obliterators. Energy weapon, please! Move and fire. 2+ save really helps. These are your anti-tank units. Lots of armies bring tanks, that's what these guys are for. I use them because they are unique in the game, and I like that. The reason why you DO use Demon Princes at 1750 or less is giving the enemy lots of units to play with. No one wants two Demon Princes arriving in the front door, so your oblits will live longer (and do alot of damage) because the Demon Princes are being dealt with. In games of 1850 or more, Demon Princes become more of a liability because they are facing more firepower and cannot survive it. This does expose your oblits to more fire, but give them a 4+ cover save and they'll be fine.
Creating an Army
Now on to my template. You can do almost any kind of Chaos army with this, and have a good force. Just remember to keep your mix'n'match to a minimum. Chaos has more strength when you bring alot of 1 unit type. The 'must have' basics:
HQs
Demon Prince. Spend 160 points. You can get most things with these points. Always get flight, sorceror, and warptime at a minimum. If you want a mark-only power, get it. If you aren't getting nurgles rot or bolt of change, pick up mark of slaanesh for 5 points. I6 really helps. If you want Lash of Submission, this is the only way to get it. It works well enough against non-mechanized armies, but against mechanized armies it's not going to help you much.
Now get a 2nd Demon Prince, same as the first. The reason for Demon Princes is simple, they give your opponent MORE nasty toughness value units to shoot at--which means your Oblits (see above AND below) are more survivable. You should replace these with flying Chaos Sorcerors above 1850 point levels, so you don't give two KP up for nothing. Equip them the same. If you are playing competitively, you should replace warptime with Lash. That's one of the few competitive builds Chaos gets.
Heavy Support
Obliterators. I favor 2 Obliterators per squad. They are fearless, and killing 1 still leaves me with a scoring unit so you have to kill both to get any VPs or deny me a scoring unit. They are excellent when paired with 2 Demon Princes.
Now get a 2nd unit. Also of 2 obliterators.
And a third. Yep, 2 more Oblits.
If you are running no other vehicle killing in your army, you'll probably want 9 oblits. At 1750-2250, that is sufficient against most armies. Don't do it at 1500 or below though.
Results so Far
That's usually 770 points you've spent. You have a solid core, 6 obliterators and 2 demon princes (or 2 chaos sorcerors). Nobody likes to see it on the tabletop arrayed against them.
Complete the Army
Now, you have some choices to make.
What kind of army do you want to run, exactly? Do you want to sit back and shoot? Do you want to go forward and assault? Do you want to engage in firefights midfield?
Well, here's how you do all of those:
Sit and Shoot
Buy 2 units of EC** for 100 points apiece. No upgrades. Sit these guys near your oblits, and sacrifice them as necessary to protect the oblits. For 5th edition, you'll want to beef these squads up so you have around 8 in each. That means losing some termies, and that's ok. 1 termie and 1 reaper will pay for them. You can also skip EC** and go right to PM if you want to minimize your model count.
Buy a Terminator unit. Grab 10 terminators, 2 power fists and 2 reaper autocannons. That's 370 points. You can give them a Mark of Nurgle or Tzeentch if you really want, but that will cut down on your total Terminators.
Buy a 2nd Terminator unit, just like the first.
Now if you haven't gotten a mark, you've spent 940 points.
Buy a 3rd Terminator unit, and use up your points. I recommend 8 Terminators with a reaper, chain fist, and 2 combi-plasmas. 290 points. If you've bought marks, reconsider as more terminators = more terminators. lol The only reason for combi-plasma is to deal with MC and other terminators.
Assault
Again, Buy 2 units of EC** for 100 points apiece. No upgrades. Sit these guys near your oblits, and sacrifice them as necessary to protect the oblits. Same as above...for 5th edition, you'll want to beef these squads up so you have around 8 in each. That means losing raptors, and that's ok. You need some troops that will stay around. You can also skip EC** and go right to PM* if you want to minimize your model count.
Now here comes the tricky part. If you buy the mark of nurgle, you can only get two effective units of these guys. Or you can get 3 units. It really is a conundrum. I can recommend either version. One works with slightly more numbers and flexibility, the other is tough.
1: Buy 2 units of 20 Raptors, give them 2 meltaguns, powerfist/meltabombs, and icon of nurgle. Costs 515 points each.
2: Buy 3 units of 14 Raptors, give them 2 meltaguns, powerfist. Costs 340 points each.
Midfield Firefights
Two choices here, base your army on Plague Marines or on Emperor's Children (Noise Marines).
Khorne Zerkers are still the worst. Despite all their bonuses, they are the worst Kult.
Thousand Sons were good in 4th edition but now, not so much.
Here's how you run either version:
1: Buy 3 units of 16 Plague marines, give them 2 meltaguns (or plasmaguns, but I don't recommend it), power fist/meltabombs. Keep in mind PG cost more, so you'll have to lose a PM to take those on 2 of your units. I'd always keep at least 1 unit with Meltaguns, this unit is where you'd lose the extra PM from to buy the 4 PG. Costs 403 points each.
2: Buy 4 units of EC, 8 each. Blastmaster, Champ with Fist and Siren, 5 Sonic Blasters. An excellent all-around unit for only 280 points. I personally have given up on running any Champs at all, and just SB/BM the other guy to death with 7 marines (6 SB, 1 BM). Saves you 70 points--enough to grab another unit of troops. Tip: Use the EC** to block MC**** from your oblits, then charge your oblits in for their powerfists. Call them termies in a bottle.
Chaos Glory!
Now you have a solid army, which should give most armies pause as soon as you set it up. However, keep in mind that until 5th edition hits you will always have trouble with Mechanized forces, in this order: Eldar, IG, Tau, or anything else really. Here's why:
Mech Eldar
Mech Eldar will give you trouble because Plague Marines can't shoot down tanks very well. Thousand Sons anti-tank is limited to psychic attacks, which will probably kill your champions to a psychic attack (runes on a farseer cripples TS sorcerors). Khorne Berserkers can dish out alot of hits on tanks, but that's assuming the Zerkers actually get to the tanks. That's assuming quite alot. Emperor's Children can still do damage, but with only one S8 shot until you can penetrate skimmers it's not very useful. Well, now you can so it's a bit more useful. It makes for a good light/medium anti-vehicle shot if you need one, but that's about it. I suggest you use the Kult choices you do take should concentrate on killing enemy infantry. The Plague Marines are really the only troops who gained a boost with 5th edition, and killing tanks is something they are really good at in midfield with their meltaguns.
Mech IG
All the firepower the 2 subpar kult units have won't make a dent in a leman russ...and it's likely only the Noise Marines will ever really get to fire at one. The Plague Marines will knock out anything really. However you can direct all of your secondary anti-tank firepower at the AV12 chimeras/hellhounds/sentinels, and fire your oblits at the leman russes. So this isn't as big an issue.
Mech Tau
Used to be the weakest of the threats, as once you stun a Tau vehicle you can chop it up next turn (no cover save in close combat)...but now I'd say they are more dangerous than they used to be. Oblits take down Hammerheads once you get past the 4+ cover save, but it takes alot to do so. Meltaguns drop all Tau vehicles pretty much immediately. If you are using Meltas, well...they're pretty much dead. If you run into a mech Tau carbine move 6" fire everything at 18" army, you will be up a creek. At least YOU can also move and fire, but the Tau will give you a real headache if run properly.
Mech Anything Else
Be it Sisters or Marines, you can handle almost anything these armies can throw at you. There aren't many other Mech forces in the game really, and if it's a Chaos force...if you have this army and they have a Mech army, enjoy the easy win.
The End
And that's how, in my view, you can make varied Chaos lists around a stable core. Hope this helps new people.
Oh, before I forget, the author is Stelek
(that's me!).
Legend
* PM : Plague Marine. ** EC : Emperor's Childrens (Noise Marines). *** SB : Sonic Blaster. **** MC : Monstruous Creature.