I'll tell you what; building armies with this new codex is a refreshing change - there are plenty of options! Here is something I am confident I would love to play.
Showing posts with label Chaos Space Marines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chaos Space Marines. Show all posts
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Resurrecting my Plague Marines III: Army Lists
I'll tell you what; building armies with this new codex is a refreshing change - there are plenty of options! Here is something I am confident I would love to play.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Resurrecting my Plague Marines II: The Unpainted
Following on from my previous post, here I am going to go through my unpainted / unassembled Chaos Space Marine models. These forces have been gathered from bargain purchases off Wargamer AU in the four years since I built the original army. These reserves have been patiently awaiting their chance to be unleashed on unsuspecting enemies and spread a little pestilence.
In general I love the assembly and modelling part of the hobby, but the level of detail I have gone to in this army makes some of the tasks a little onerous. Still with a new codex (well I don't actually have the codex but its starting to look like I'll have to pick it up) one can find the patience and energy to do what has to be done :)
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Resurrecting my Plague Marines I: The Painted
Well, well, well. A new Chaos Space Marines codex sees the light of days. Four years ago (or something to that effect) I was just getting back into 40k. I had harboured a fondness for the followers of Nurgle for a long time, and made the commitment to start a Nurgle army. My idea was to theme the force around a Chaos Sorcerer and his immediate retinue, supported by a horde of plague animate zombies brought back to life by the Sorcerer's will.
By the time I had got my shit together and bought a couple of CSM boxes, the new simplified codex wa released and my plans were in tatters. The best they could do was vary my zombies as Lesser Daemons, which didn't really work thematically. They (and my chaos lord) didn't have Feel No Pain damn it! I love my FNP. I built that force up to around 1200 points, before my "el cheapo" Crimson Fists force started to dominate my hobby time.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Squad Smackdown: Black Templars vs Chaos Space Marines
If you don't know the rules, here they are.
In the Red Corner: 8 Black Templar Initiates with 8 Neophytes, all armed with a bolt pistol and additional close combat weapon. The original marine horde squad frothing with righteous zeal.
In the Blue Corner: 9 Frenzied Khorne Bezerkers pulling at their chains in anticipation. Unrivaled on the charge, but either way this should be a slaughter fit for the blood god.
Neither squad has an advantage to get the charge.
The gates open!
In the Red Corner: 8 Black Templar Initiates with 8 Neophytes, all armed with a bolt pistol and additional close combat weapon. The original marine horde squad frothing with righteous zeal.
In the Blue Corner: 9 Frenzied Khorne Bezerkers pulling at their chains in anticipation. Unrivaled on the charge, but either way this should be a slaughter fit for the blood god.
Neither squad has an advantage to get the charge.
The gates open!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Six-pack of Themed 750pt Lists
Each year I have taken a different army: Plague Marines, then Vanilla Marines, then Tau last year. Here are the lists I am considering to take this year. The event is heavily comped, but that is panel comp so you get a fair score for your list, not an unfair score from a losing opponent. So bear in mind I'm trying to make lists that are interesting and fit to a theme, but still competitive.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Imperial (inc. Chaos) Heavy Weapons
The Imperium produces a number of bulkier weapons that require the might of a Space Marine, the teamwork of Guardsmen or mounting on a vehicle to be wielded effectively. Sit tight while I walk you through the stats for each of these weapons and their effectiveness in the current edition.
Heavy Bolter
36" S5 AP4 Assault 3
Let's start with the humble heavy bolter. Its stats favour inflicting casualties on light/medium infantry. It has little effect on its own, but when several are combined you will consistently force saves on the enemy. The range is decent but does mean that you won't be in range some times, which can really hurt when in an infantry unit. Suffers from the low utility of AP4 when everyone and his dog is getting a 4+ cover save, and its inability to threaten most transports - although could be nice against a Dark Eldar's Armour 10.
These days you will commonly only spot heavy bolters as sponsons on Predators or Leman Russes, or mounted on a Chimera chasis. Its rare to see them carrried around on foot as they are not effective when unsupported.
Assault cannon
24" S6 AP4 Heavy 4 Rending
The assault cannon is only available to Loyalist Marine armies, and even then it can only be taken on vehicles or by Terminators. This is necessary anyway because it's short range means that it must move forward and fire to be effective - so you shouldn't include it in a gunline. Good rate of fire and ability to rend means that the assault cannon can be a very effective weapon against vehicles - in fact it has a better chance of damaging AV 14 than a lascannon (when it's within range). It is also effective against any infantry, a good all-rounder. The king of heavy weapons in 4th edition, the assault cannon was brought into line with the Rending nerf of this edition and is now well balanced.
Assault cannons are commonly seen on drop pod Dreads as an alternative to the multi-melta (if Vulkan isn't around of course) and twin linked on the front of Land Raider Crusaders and Redeemers. The modern Terminator is more likely to be seen with a cyclone missile launcher, but Dark Angel and Black Templar Termis still prefer the assault cannon to their inferior cyclones.
Auto-cannon
48" S7 AP4 Heavy 2
The auto-cannon is like a baby lascannon, but trades in AP for a higher rate of fire. It is the ultimate imperial suppression fire weapon, with an excellent chance of damaging AV 11 and 12. With S7 it doubles as an excellent Monstrous Creature hunter. But with AP 4 it is still an ineffective marine killer.
These days the auto-cannon is a common sight on the battlefield due to it's effectiveness. Imperial guard squads will shoot them from the safety of their Chimera pillbox. Hydras and loyalist marine Dreads can rock two twin-linked 'cannons which can cause a lot of destruction! The Predator Destructor is a common choice too. Chaos marines can take auto-cannons as a heavy weapon choice unlike the loyalists, and it is a good weapon choice for their Crazy dreads too - just pop off a couple of frag missiles into the side of a nearby vehicle if you roll a 1 on the Crazed table.
Heavy Flamer
- S5 AP4 Template
When light/medium infantry are sitting smugly in cover, the heavy flamer provides the means to shift them. Ignoring both cover saves and 4+ armour saves is a deadly combination - especially against scouts that have gone to ground for a 2+ cover save! As all you have to do is wound, twin linking this weapon gives a very good chance of wiping an entire unit! Heavy flamers are usually mounted on vehicles. When that vehicle is fast you can quickly deliver that template-of- death to achieve optimal placement. Don't forget that with Strength 5 you also have a chance of damaging any light vehicles you can cover with your template.
Heavy flamers are a common site mounted on vehicles. They are especially effective on fast vehicles such as land speeders, Blood Angel razorbacks and even the Witchhunter Immolator (not actually fast), all of which can fire after moving 12". This greatly increases your ability to manoever the flamer to cause maximum casualties. Chimeras can take them instead of the heavy bolter option - the choice really depends on the rest of your army. Heavy flamers are also effective when deep struck in, which can be done by Dreadnoughts and Terminators. Finally they can be taken by Sternguard on foot, and a squad of 5 in a transport can make an effective BBQ.
Plasma cannon
36" S7 AP2 Heavy Blast Gets Hot!
Against the right opponent a plasma cannon can threaten enormous harm. Deep-striking Terminators, Marines just disembarked from a vehicle, and Blood Angels/Death Guard/Incubi with Feel No Pain are prime targets - there is the potential to remove several of these tough models from the table. There are obvious steps an opponent can take to mitigate this threat - staying in cover and spreading models out being the two most obvious - but you can use this to control their movement on the table. Don't forget that it can also be used effectively against transports if there are no better targets available. The 36" range prevents you from threatening the entire board with a plasma cannon from the deployment zone, so initial position is important. Finally, when carried by infantry there is a huge drawback - you have a 1/6 chance of not even getting to fire the cannon each round, with a chance of losing the model too.
The only infantry with access to plasma cannons are loyalist marines, but they are rarely chosen due to the problem of Gets Hot! Plasma cannons are best mounted on vehicles such as Dreadnoughts and Leman Russ or Sentinels. The Leman Russ Exterminator can launch 5 plasma cannon shots per turn - annihilating a target even if it is in cover!
Missile Launcher
krak 48" S8 AP3
frag 48" S4 AP6 Blast
Cheap and versatile, this is a commonly seen and very effective weapon with a table-spanning range. The krak missiles are great at damaging vehicles up to AV 12, and offer better value for money than the lascannon equivalent. Not so effective against higher AP though. They are also brilliant for doubling out T4 infantry with multiple wounds - Tyranid Warriors do not like them at all. Finally they are great to take wounds off monstrous creatures with good armour saves. The frag missiles are far more situational and should only be used against densely packed troops in cover. But it's a nice option to have. Don't forget the AP is only 6, not the 5 of bolter weaponry.
Missile launchers are very common in modern loyalist marine armies. They are the preferred weapon of choice for Devastator/Long Fang squads due to their value for money. Cyclone missile launchers and Typhoon missile launchers (whilst technically different weapons, they have the same stats except for an increased rate of fire) are a good choice for Terminator and Land Speeders respectively. Imperial Guard can pack missile launcher teams into their squads and on Sentinels, but in general they are less commonly seen. It's worth pointing out here the value of a missile launcher on a Chaos Dreadnought with the Crazed rule - you can shoot frags at a nearby tank with no risk of damage.
Multi-melta
24" S8 AP1 melta
If melta is king in 5th edition, then this must be the emperor of weapons! The same ability to kill transports but with twice the range means that the multi-melta can threaten a larger area of the board. But even with the extended range this is still an up-close-and-personal weapon - you will need to think hard about how you are going to get your multi-meltas into a position where they can get that double dice penetration roll. This is made a lot easier when mounted on a vehicle - infantry with a multi-melta fill a defensive roll, protecting an area (usually the midfield) with the threat of blowing stuff up. A single shot may easily miss though - they are far more effective when twin-linked or travelling in pairs.
Multi-meltas are common in the typical Space Marine army. They are most effective on land speeders, which can even deep strike and slag a tank without having to risk being shot down before. Droppod Dreadnoughts have a similar opportunity, but cost a lot more than a single land speeder. Dreads on foot can also use multi-meltas effectively, although they may have trouble getting into range for the first turn and might be better off running. Finally, Space Marines tactical squads can take one for free, jump in a Rhino which moves forward and pops smoke, thus threatening any enemy vehicle which wants to move forward into the middle of the table. Multi-meltas are less common in Imperial Guard armies, but may be taken as sponsons on a Leman Russ. Effective indeed, but getting close enough to use them exposes the tank to the enemy's own melta weaponry and assaulters, which are its weaknesses.
Lascannon
48" S9 AP2
The lascannon is an iconic imperial weapon, rightly feared by xenos everywhere. It features great range, Strength and AP; none are the best possible (ie the Tau railgun), but all are close. Although it can threaten Land Raiders and other AV14 tanks, this is usually not your best option - a marine's chance of causing damage at all is 1 in 6 per shot. Enough shots might get a result, but you are better off pointing these things at light and medium vehicles. The lascannon also shares the strengths of krak missiles, and in addition is also effective against Terminators. But you often pay a hefty price for that extra Strength, so think carefully before you splurge.
From a marine perspective, expect to see twin-linked lascannons on Land Raiders, Dreadnoughts, Razorbacks, and the single version in tactical squads. Devastators/Havoks won't touch them because of the excessive price. Imperial guard get a better price for lascannons in heavy weapon squads. Leman Russes carry a front mounted one, and Vendettas have three twin-linked 'cannons at a ridiculously cheap price.
Heavy Bolter
36" S5 AP4 Assault 3
Let's start with the humble heavy bolter. Its stats favour inflicting casualties on light/medium infantry. It has little effect on its own, but when several are combined you will consistently force saves on the enemy. The range is decent but does mean that you won't be in range some times, which can really hurt when in an infantry unit. Suffers from the low utility of AP4 when everyone and his dog is getting a 4+ cover save, and its inability to threaten most transports - although could be nice against a Dark Eldar's Armour 10.
These days you will commonly only spot heavy bolters as sponsons on Predators or Leman Russes, or mounted on a Chimera chasis. Its rare to see them carrried around on foot as they are not effective when unsupported.
Assault cannon
24" S6 AP4 Heavy 4 Rending
The assault cannon is only available to Loyalist Marine armies, and even then it can only be taken on vehicles or by Terminators. This is necessary anyway because it's short range means that it must move forward and fire to be effective - so you shouldn't include it in a gunline. Good rate of fire and ability to rend means that the assault cannon can be a very effective weapon against vehicles - in fact it has a better chance of damaging AV 14 than a lascannon (when it's within range). It is also effective against any infantry, a good all-rounder. The king of heavy weapons in 4th edition, the assault cannon was brought into line with the Rending nerf of this edition and is now well balanced.
Assault cannons are commonly seen on drop pod Dreads as an alternative to the multi-melta (if Vulkan isn't around of course) and twin linked on the front of Land Raider Crusaders and Redeemers. The modern Terminator is more likely to be seen with a cyclone missile launcher, but Dark Angel and Black Templar Termis still prefer the assault cannon to their inferior cyclones.
Auto-cannon
48" S7 AP4 Heavy 2
The auto-cannon is like a baby lascannon, but trades in AP for a higher rate of fire. It is the ultimate imperial suppression fire weapon, with an excellent chance of damaging AV 11 and 12. With S7 it doubles as an excellent Monstrous Creature hunter. But with AP 4 it is still an ineffective marine killer.
These days the auto-cannon is a common sight on the battlefield due to it's effectiveness. Imperial guard squads will shoot them from the safety of their Chimera pillbox. Hydras and loyalist marine Dreads can rock two twin-linked 'cannons which can cause a lot of destruction! The Predator Destructor is a common choice too. Chaos marines can take auto-cannons as a heavy weapon choice unlike the loyalists, and it is a good weapon choice for their Crazy dreads too - just pop off a couple of frag missiles into the side of a nearby vehicle if you roll a 1 on the Crazed table.
Heavy Flamer
- S5 AP4 Template
When light/medium infantry are sitting smugly in cover, the heavy flamer provides the means to shift them. Ignoring both cover saves and 4+ armour saves is a deadly combination - especially against scouts that have gone to ground for a 2+ cover save! As all you have to do is wound, twin linking this weapon gives a very good chance of wiping an entire unit! Heavy flamers are usually mounted on vehicles. When that vehicle is fast you can quickly deliver that template-of- death to achieve optimal placement. Don't forget that with Strength 5 you also have a chance of damaging any light vehicles you can cover with your template.
Heavy flamers are a common site mounted on vehicles. They are especially effective on fast vehicles such as land speeders, Blood Angel razorbacks and even the Witchhunter Immolator (not actually fast), all of which can fire after moving 12". This greatly increases your ability to manoever the flamer to cause maximum casualties. Chimeras can take them instead of the heavy bolter option - the choice really depends on the rest of your army. Heavy flamers are also effective when deep struck in, which can be done by Dreadnoughts and Terminators. Finally they can be taken by Sternguard on foot, and a squad of 5 in a transport can make an effective BBQ.
Plasma cannon
36" S7 AP2 Heavy Blast Gets Hot!
Against the right opponent a plasma cannon can threaten enormous harm. Deep-striking Terminators, Marines just disembarked from a vehicle, and Blood Angels/Death Guard/Incubi with Feel No Pain are prime targets - there is the potential to remove several of these tough models from the table. There are obvious steps an opponent can take to mitigate this threat - staying in cover and spreading models out being the two most obvious - but you can use this to control their movement on the table. Don't forget that it can also be used effectively against transports if there are no better targets available. The 36" range prevents you from threatening the entire board with a plasma cannon from the deployment zone, so initial position is important. Finally, when carried by infantry there is a huge drawback - you have a 1/6 chance of not even getting to fire the cannon each round, with a chance of losing the model too.
The only infantry with access to plasma cannons are loyalist marines, but they are rarely chosen due to the problem of Gets Hot! Plasma cannons are best mounted on vehicles such as Dreadnoughts and Leman Russ or Sentinels. The Leman Russ Exterminator can launch 5 plasma cannon shots per turn - annihilating a target even if it is in cover!
Missile Launcher
krak 48" S8 AP3
frag 48" S4 AP6 Blast
Cheap and versatile, this is a commonly seen and very effective weapon with a table-spanning range. The krak missiles are great at damaging vehicles up to AV 12, and offer better value for money than the lascannon equivalent. Not so effective against higher AP though. They are also brilliant for doubling out T4 infantry with multiple wounds - Tyranid Warriors do not like them at all. Finally they are great to take wounds off monstrous creatures with good armour saves. The frag missiles are far more situational and should only be used against densely packed troops in cover. But it's a nice option to have. Don't forget the AP is only 6, not the 5 of bolter weaponry.
Missile launchers are very common in modern loyalist marine armies. They are the preferred weapon of choice for Devastator/Long Fang squads due to their value for money. Cyclone missile launchers and Typhoon missile launchers (whilst technically different weapons, they have the same stats except for an increased rate of fire) are a good choice for Terminator and Land Speeders respectively. Imperial Guard can pack missile launcher teams into their squads and on Sentinels, but in general they are less commonly seen. It's worth pointing out here the value of a missile launcher on a Chaos Dreadnought with the Crazed rule - you can shoot frags at a nearby tank with no risk of damage.
Multi-melta
24" S8 AP1 melta
If melta is king in 5th edition, then this must be the emperor of weapons! The same ability to kill transports but with twice the range means that the multi-melta can threaten a larger area of the board. But even with the extended range this is still an up-close-and-personal weapon - you will need to think hard about how you are going to get your multi-meltas into a position where they can get that double dice penetration roll. This is made a lot easier when mounted on a vehicle - infantry with a multi-melta fill a defensive roll, protecting an area (usually the midfield) with the threat of blowing stuff up. A single shot may easily miss though - they are far more effective when twin-linked or travelling in pairs.
Multi-meltas are common in the typical Space Marine army. They are most effective on land speeders, which can even deep strike and slag a tank without having to risk being shot down before. Droppod Dreadnoughts have a similar opportunity, but cost a lot more than a single land speeder. Dreads on foot can also use multi-meltas effectively, although they may have trouble getting into range for the first turn and might be better off running. Finally, Space Marines tactical squads can take one for free, jump in a Rhino which moves forward and pops smoke, thus threatening any enemy vehicle which wants to move forward into the middle of the table. Multi-meltas are less common in Imperial Guard armies, but may be taken as sponsons on a Leman Russ. Effective indeed, but getting close enough to use them exposes the tank to the enemy's own melta weaponry and assaulters, which are its weaknesses.
Lascannon
48" S9 AP2
The lascannon is an iconic imperial weapon, rightly feared by xenos everywhere. It features great range, Strength and AP; none are the best possible (ie the Tau railgun), but all are close. Although it can threaten Land Raiders and other AV14 tanks, this is usually not your best option - a marine's chance of causing damage at all is 1 in 6 per shot. Enough shots might get a result, but you are better off pointing these things at light and medium vehicles. The lascannon also shares the strengths of krak missiles, and in addition is also effective against Terminators. But you often pay a hefty price for that extra Strength, so think carefully before you splurge.
From a marine perspective, expect to see twin-linked lascannons on Land Raiders, Dreadnoughts, Razorbacks, and the single version in tactical squads. Devastators/Havoks won't touch them because of the excessive price. Imperial guard get a better price for lascannons in heavy weapon squads. Leman Russes carry a front mounted one, and Vendettas have three twin-linked 'cannons at a ridiculously cheap price.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Justifications for Codex: Death Guard
(See my previous post for the codex discussed here)
First off I want to mention a few changes I made to my initial post, due to some great feedback from sonsoftaurus. I added the missing Typhus - with the Cloud of Flies rule and a 10 point price raise. The rest of the changes were to Plague Zombies. I clarified that they are destroyed when in reserve if there is no Zombie Lord for them to be raised by, and I added the missing Join Us! rule. I also removed the ability for Plague Zombies to score. This was done partly because it made sense in the fluff, but mainly to help differentiate their role on the battlefield with the much more expensive Plaguebearers. Now they are more of a throwaway unit which was how I imagined them being used.
Now let's start with the HQs. There are two important issues with the Prince/Lord/Sorcerer: upping the cost for feel no pain, and the removal of wing/bike options. Without raptors or bikers being included in the army it made sense that the commanders would also stat on foot. Losing wings from the Daemon Prince should counter any complaints about the addition of Feel No Pain. I charged the Lord and Sorcerer less for FNP because they can't be picked out of their unit for shooting so it is less valuable than on the prince.
The reason for reducing the cost of the Great Unclean One was because you need to kill a champion to bring him in to play, and that he must enter play through reserves. I instead built his cost up from that of the generic Greater Daemon in the CSM Codex.
I had to think a bit when deciding how to handle Lesser Daemons. I wanted to use the same rules as those in Codex: Chaos Daemons (to avoid confusion), but I wanted to avoid copying half that codex, without forcing the player to purchase a second codex to play their army. So I compromised - I included Plaguebearers, who feel iconic to me, and skipped the other Nurgle themed Daemons.
The decision to make Rhinos take up a fast attack slot was motivated by fluff, not balance. The Death Guard prefer to fight on foot and have little motivation to maintain their vehicles. This won't have much effect smaller games, but will force difficult decisions when building a larger force. With nothin else besides Spawn to select anyway it won't have s large impact.
I encountered a lot of resistance to including heavy weapon squads in a Death Guard force, with claims that it was unfluffy. I dispute this - sure they don't keep heavy weapons in basic troop squads, but I'm sure they have squads dedicated to long range support. My compromise is the Pandemics squad, able to take a couple of lascannons to make an all-infantry army at least feasible.
I made the decision to make the Daemonic Possession rule mandatory across all vehicles in the army. This represents the fact that the Death Guard do not spend time on maintenance - the only reason they are still running is because of the daemons that have made themselves at home. To this end I even added the rule to the Chaos Dreadnought, despite it not being an option in Codex: Chaos Space Marines. I also changed the terrible Crazed! rule to one with a Nurgle flavour. The new rule means that your Dread will only shoot at you enemies - but it also means they will only shoot two thirds of the time. Sure I have made it better, but that's only because it is so crap currently. This way it becomes a viable option.
The Vindicator is not a pre-Heresy vehicle, so the Death Guard should no have them in their arsenal. But about of Chaos players have probably picked up a couple for their army - and the concept of a short range vehicle really suits the nature of Plague Marines. I wanted to include an alternative use for the model, so the Regurgitator was born. This is one of very few vehicles in the game that have the ability to wipe power armoured troops in cover off the board. I based the profile on the Collosus - and the improved armour and possession of the Regurgitator is balanced by the short range and additional cost.
In general I tried to avoid adding army wide rules that would require extensive playtesting. The only two needed were Cloud of Flies (which I just borrowed from Codex: Chaos Daemons) and the plaguesword. This weapon wounds on a 2+, making it great against monstrous creatures and hordes but less effective against marines than a power sword.
Hope this helps shed some light on the motivation behind the design decisions in the 'dex. So anyone out there tempted to give this a go?
First off I want to mention a few changes I made to my initial post, due to some great feedback from sonsoftaurus. I added the missing Typhus - with the Cloud of Flies rule and a 10 point price raise. The rest of the changes were to Plague Zombies. I clarified that they are destroyed when in reserve if there is no Zombie Lord for them to be raised by, and I added the missing Join Us! rule. I also removed the ability for Plague Zombies to score. This was done partly because it made sense in the fluff, but mainly to help differentiate their role on the battlefield with the much more expensive Plaguebearers. Now they are more of a throwaway unit which was how I imagined them being used.
Now let's start with the HQs. There are two important issues with the Prince/Lord/Sorcerer: upping the cost for feel no pain, and the removal of wing/bike options. Without raptors or bikers being included in the army it made sense that the commanders would also stat on foot. Losing wings from the Daemon Prince should counter any complaints about the addition of Feel No Pain. I charged the Lord and Sorcerer less for FNP because they can't be picked out of their unit for shooting so it is less valuable than on the prince.
The reason for reducing the cost of the Great Unclean One was because you need to kill a champion to bring him in to play, and that he must enter play through reserves. I instead built his cost up from that of the generic Greater Daemon in the CSM Codex.
I had to think a bit when deciding how to handle Lesser Daemons. I wanted to use the same rules as those in Codex: Chaos Daemons (to avoid confusion), but I wanted to avoid copying half that codex, without forcing the player to purchase a second codex to play their army. So I compromised - I included Plaguebearers, who feel iconic to me, and skipped the other Nurgle themed Daemons.
The decision to make Rhinos take up a fast attack slot was motivated by fluff, not balance. The Death Guard prefer to fight on foot and have little motivation to maintain their vehicles. This won't have much effect smaller games, but will force difficult decisions when building a larger force. With nothin else besides Spawn to select anyway it won't have s large impact.
I encountered a lot of resistance to including heavy weapon squads in a Death Guard force, with claims that it was unfluffy. I dispute this - sure they don't keep heavy weapons in basic troop squads, but I'm sure they have squads dedicated to long range support. My compromise is the Pandemics squad, able to take a couple of lascannons to make an all-infantry army at least feasible.
I made the decision to make the Daemonic Possession rule mandatory across all vehicles in the army. This represents the fact that the Death Guard do not spend time on maintenance - the only reason they are still running is because of the daemons that have made themselves at home. To this end I even added the rule to the Chaos Dreadnought, despite it not being an option in Codex: Chaos Space Marines. I also changed the terrible Crazed! rule to one with a Nurgle flavour. The new rule means that your Dread will only shoot at you enemies - but it also means they will only shoot two thirds of the time. Sure I have made it better, but that's only because it is so crap currently. This way it becomes a viable option.
The Vindicator is not a pre-Heresy vehicle, so the Death Guard should no have them in their arsenal. But about of Chaos players have probably picked up a couple for their army - and the concept of a short range vehicle really suits the nature of Plague Marines. I wanted to include an alternative use for the model, so the Regurgitator was born. This is one of very few vehicles in the game that have the ability to wipe power armoured troops in cover off the board. I based the profile on the Collosus - and the improved armour and possession of the Regurgitator is balanced by the short range and additional cost.
In general I tried to avoid adding army wide rules that would require extensive playtesting. The only two needed were Cloud of Flies (which I just borrowed from Codex: Chaos Daemons) and the plaguesword. This weapon wounds on a 2+, making it great against monstrous creatures and hordes but less effective against marines than a power sword.
Hope this helps shed some light on the motivation behind the design decisions in the 'dex. So anyone out there tempted to give this a go?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Codex: Death Guard
The latest Chaos Space Marines codex left a bad taste in the mouths of many Chaos players, because it took way the ability to play cult armies in a consistent fashion. For example, an army of Plague Marines cannot be lead by a Chaos Lord with Feel No Pain; power armoured troops taken as Elite or Heavy Support are inferior to the basic troop selection, missing Feel No Pain and blight grenades. It's frustrating to have to deal with all these differences during a game. It makes it harder to immerse yourself in the game because you have to play an army that doesn't properly reflect the fluff.
Last year a group of us on WargamerAU started talking about how a Death Guard Codex could be created. What follows is the codex that I suggested, with a couple of tweaks. So thanks to the other people contributing to those threads, some of their ideas are included within.
I'll write a follow up post later this week to explain my design decisions...
Codex: Death Guard
by Plague Marine
The Death Guard are the diseased sons of Nurgle. They are the masters of infantry tactics and resilience, building their constitution with a diet of poisons. There is no force more stoic in the face of danger than these once-proud marines, now infected with the blessings of the Chaos god Nurgle. Their decaying armour and equipment is held together by pestilent growth and daemons of the warp.
From what we know of the Death Guard they are split into two major known forces. The majority serve their Daemon Prince - and Primarch - Mortarian. They occasionally venture forth from the Eye of Terror to cause death and destruction at a planetary scale. There is also the breakaway group that follow Typhus, the Host of the Destroyer Hive. They protect him as he spreads the Zombie Plague that has been claiming whole imperial worlds.
Rules
All units use the rules and options for a corresponding entry in Codex: Chaos Space Marines, with the listed exceptions.
Due to the infantry based nature of the Death guard, a fast attack slot is filled for every dedicated transport purchases for the army. See the fast attack section for more information.
For Lesser and Greater Daemons, follow the rules for summoning Daemons as per p61 of Codex: Chaos Space Marines.
Cloud of Flies: The models count as being equipped with offensive and defensive grenades
Plague Sword: a poisoned weapon that always wounds on a 2+.
HQ
Death Guard Daemon Prince - 150 pts
Use the rules and options for a Daemon Prince with the following modifications:
Death Guard Lord - 125 pts
Use the rules and options for a Chaos Lord with the following modifications:
Death Guard Sorcerer - 135 pts
Use the rules and options for a Chaos Sorcerer with the following modifications:
0-1 Great Unclean One - 130 pts
WS6 BS4 S6 T6 W5 I2 A4 Ld10 Sv-
Unit Type: Monstrous Creature
Greater Daemon, Fearless, Feel No Pain, Slow and Purposeful, Poison 2+, Cloud of Flies, 4+ invulnerable save
Typhus - 235 pts
Use the following modifications:
Elites
Death Guard Chosen - 26 pts each
Use the rules and options for Plague Marines with the following modifications:
Death Guard Terminators - 40 pts each
Use the rules and options for Chaos Terminators with the following modifications:
Death Guard Dreadnought - 110 pts each
Use the rules and options for a Chaos Dreadnought, with the following modifications:
2-5 - The player controls the model normally.
6 - Projectile Vomit: Must move and run towards nearest enemy, then an S3 poison template attack at nearest unit in front arc.
Troops
Plague Marines - 23 pts each
No rules modified.
Plaguebearers - 15 pts each
WS3 BS0 S3 T4(5) W1 I2 A1 Ld10 Sv-
Unit Type: Infantry
Unit Size: 5-20
Weapons: Plague sword (this Daemonic version is only Poison 4+)
Special Rules: Lesser Daemon, Fearless, Feel No Pain, Slow and Purposeful, Cloud of Flies, 5+ invulnerable save
Plague Zombies - 5 pts each
WS2 BS1 S3 T2 W1 I1 A1 Ld10 Sv-
Unit Type: Infantry
Unit Size: 10-30
Weapons: Count as having 2 close combat weapons, that are Poison 4+
Special Rules: Fearless, Feel No Pain, 5+ invulnerable save
Lord of the Zombies: When deploying Plague Zombies they must always be placed within the zone 12" from a Death Guard Lord or 18" from Typhus. If entering play from reserves they are deployed in the above zone using the deep strike rules but without scatter - and if no Zombie Lord is on the table they are destroyed. If at the start of the movement phase no model in the Plague Zombie unit is within the deployment radius of a Lord or Typhus, they become Slow and Purposeful.
Join Us!: At the end of every Assault phase during which the Plague Zombies have fought in close combat, before ‘pile in’ moves, roll a D6 for every casualty caused in the combat (friendly and enemy). On a roll of a 6, they are resurrected as a Plague Zombie – add a model to the Plague Zombie unit. If the Plague Zombies unit was wiped out that turn this rule has no effect. If multiple Plague Zombie units are involved in the same combat, evenly divide the new models between the units (Chaos player’s choice for any odd models).
Plague Zombies do not count as scoring. Your army must includes Typhus or a Death Guard Lord in order to allow Plague Zombies to be selected. Like Lesser Daemons they do not count towards your Troops allowance, so you may include any number of units in your force if they are allowed.
Fast Attack
Chaos Rhino - 55 pts
Use the following modifications:
Chaos Spawn - 30 pts each
Heavy Support
Death Guard Pandemics - 23 pts each
Use the rules and options for Plague Marines with the following modifications:
Chaos Predator - 90 pts
Use the following modifications:
Regurgitator - 165 pts
Use the rules for the Chaos Vindicator with the following modifications:
Chaos Land Raider - 240 pts
Use the following modifications:
Last year a group of us on WargamerAU started talking about how a Death Guard Codex could be created. What follows is the codex that I suggested, with a couple of tweaks. So thanks to the other people contributing to those threads, some of their ideas are included within.
I'll write a follow up post later this week to explain my design decisions...
Codex: Death Guard
by Plague Marine
- Requires Codex: Chaos Space Marines
- Rules for Plague Zombies taken from the Apocalypse Plague of Zombies data sheet.
- Rules for Plague Bearers and Great Unclean One taken from Codex: Chaos Daemons.
The Death Guard are the diseased sons of Nurgle. They are the masters of infantry tactics and resilience, building their constitution with a diet of poisons. There is no force more stoic in the face of danger than these once-proud marines, now infected with the blessings of the Chaos god Nurgle. Their decaying armour and equipment is held together by pestilent growth and daemons of the warp.
From what we know of the Death Guard they are split into two major known forces. The majority serve their Daemon Prince - and Primarch - Mortarian. They occasionally venture forth from the Eye of Terror to cause death and destruction at a planetary scale. There is also the breakaway group that follow Typhus, the Host of the Destroyer Hive. They protect him as he spreads the Zombie Plague that has been claiming whole imperial worlds.
Rules
All units use the rules and options for a corresponding entry in Codex: Chaos Space Marines, with the listed exceptions.
Due to the infantry based nature of the Death guard, a fast attack slot is filled for every dedicated transport purchases for the army. See the fast attack section for more information.
For Lesser and Greater Daemons, follow the rules for summoning Daemons as per p61 of Codex: Chaos Space Marines.
Cloud of Flies: The models count as being equipped with offensive and defensive grenades
Plague Sword: a poisoned weapon that always wounds on a 2+.
HQ
Death Guard Daemon Prince - 150 pts
Use the rules and options for a Daemon Prince with the following modifications:
- Mark of Nurgle (+1 Toughness) - included in base cost
- -1 Initiative
- Feel No Pain
- May not take wings
- May take Cloud of Flies for 10 pts
Death Guard Lord - 125 pts
Use the rules and options for a Chaos Lord with the following modifications:
- Mark of Nurgle (+1 Toughness) - included in base cost
- -1 Initiative
- Feel No Pain
- Blight grenades (if in power armour)
- May not take a bike, a jump pack or wings
- If in power armour, may replace close combat weapon with a plague sword for 10 points
- If you upgrade to Terminator armour, it only costs 25 pts
- If in Terminator armour, may replace power sword with plague sword for 5 pts less
- May take Cloud of Flies for 10 pts
Death Guard Sorcerer - 135 pts
Use the rules and options for a Chaos Sorcerer with the following modifications:
- Mark of Nurgle (+1 Toughness) - included in base cost
- -1 Initiative
- Feel No Pain
- Blight grenades (if in power armour)
- If you upgrade to Terminator armour, it only costs 10 points
- May take Cloud of Flies for 10 pts
- May not take a bike, a jump pack or wings
0-1 Great Unclean One - 130 pts
WS6 BS4 S6 T6 W5 I2 A4 Ld10 Sv-
Unit Type: Monstrous Creature
Greater Daemon, Fearless, Feel No Pain, Slow and Purposeful, Poison 2+, Cloud of Flies, 4+ invulnerable save
Typhus - 235 pts
Use the following modifications:
- Has the Cloud of Flies rule
Elites
Death Guard Chosen - 26 pts each
Use the rules and options for Plague Marines with the following modifications:
- The models have Infiltrate
- +1 Leadership
- Replace all weapon options with those from the Chaos Space Marine Chosen codex entry
- Any model with the optiont o take a power sword can instead take a plague sword for 10 points
Death Guard Terminators - 40 pts each
Use the rules and options for Chaos Terminators with the following modifications:
- Mark of Nurgle (+1 T)
- Feel No Pain
- -1 Initiative
- One model may be given a Personal Icon for 5 pts. No other Icons can be purchased
- Armed with a plague sword rather than a power sword. Any model may replace their plague sword with a power sword for 5 points
- You may take Cloud of Flies for the unit, at a cost of 5 points per model
Death Guard Dreadnought - 110 pts each
Use the rules and options for a Chaos Dreadnought, with the following modifications:
- Daemonic Possession
- Crazed roll is replaced by the following:
2-5 - The player controls the model normally.
6 - Projectile Vomit: Must move and run towards nearest enemy, then an S3 poison template attack at nearest unit in front arc.
Troops
Plague Marines - 23 pts each
No rules modified.
Plaguebearers - 15 pts each
WS3 BS0 S3 T4(5) W1 I2 A1 Ld10 Sv-
Unit Type: Infantry
Unit Size: 5-20
Weapons: Plague sword (this Daemonic version is only Poison 4+)
Special Rules: Lesser Daemon, Fearless, Feel No Pain, Slow and Purposeful, Cloud of Flies, 5+ invulnerable save
Plague Zombies - 5 pts each
WS2 BS1 S3 T2 W1 I1 A1 Ld10 Sv-
Unit Type: Infantry
Unit Size: 10-30
Weapons: Count as having 2 close combat weapons, that are Poison 4+
Special Rules: Fearless, Feel No Pain, 5+ invulnerable save
Lord of the Zombies: When deploying Plague Zombies they must always be placed within the zone 12" from a Death Guard Lord or 18" from Typhus. If entering play from reserves they are deployed in the above zone using the deep strike rules but without scatter - and if no Zombie Lord is on the table they are destroyed. If at the start of the movement phase no model in the Plague Zombie unit is within the deployment radius of a Lord or Typhus, they become Slow and Purposeful.
Join Us!: At the end of every Assault phase during which the Plague Zombies have fought in close combat, before ‘pile in’ moves, roll a D6 for every casualty caused in the combat (friendly and enemy). On a roll of a 6, they are resurrected as a Plague Zombie – add a model to the Plague Zombie unit. If the Plague Zombies unit was wiped out that turn this rule has no effect. If multiple Plague Zombie units are involved in the same combat, evenly divide the new models between the units (Chaos player’s choice for any odd models).
Plague Zombies do not count as scoring. Your army must includes Typhus or a Death Guard Lord in order to allow Plague Zombies to be selected. Like Lesser Daemons they do not count towards your Troops allowance, so you may include any number of units in your force if they are allowed.
Fast Attack
Chaos Rhino - 55 pts
Use the following modifications:
- Each Rhino taken as a dedicated transport also fills a fast attack slot.
- Daemonic Possession (included in base cost)
- Cannot take Dirge Caster
Chaos Spawn - 30 pts each
Heavy Support
Death Guard Pandemics - 23 pts each
Use the rules and options for Plague Marines with the following modifications:
- The models that can take a flamer, melta gun or plasma gun may instead take a lascannon for 35 pts, a missile launcher for 20 pts, an autocannon for 20 pts or a heavy bolter for 15 pts
Chaos Predator - 90 pts
Use the following modifications:
- Must take Daemonic Possession (included in base cost)
- Cannot take Dirge Caster
Regurgitator - 165 pts
Use the rules for the Chaos Vindicator with the following modifications:
- Must take Daemonic Possession (included in base cost)
- Replace the Demolisher Cannon with a Bile Cannon (S6 AP3 Ordinance 1 Large Blast). Units wounded by the Bile Cannon cannot take a cover save.
Chaos Land Raider - 240 pts
Use the following modifications:
- Must take Daemonic Possession (included in base cost)
- Cannot take Dirge Caster
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Plague Marines
When I got back into 40k in 2007, it was the Sons of Nurgle that had drawn me back in. I love these guys - they are oh so tough and can bring the pain too if you use them correctly. You can build an army around them that will frustrate your opponents as they shrug off shot after shot - assuming you are good at rolling high and hugging cover!
Rules
Let's start with comparing their statline with that of the standard Marine. Firstly of course they have +1 Toughness. This makes a huge difference to survivability against small arms fire, halving the wounds taken from S3 weapons. Even Fire Warriors only have a 50/50 chance of wounding when they hit. Note that this bonus is ignored for the purpose of determining instant death - which matters because of the Feel No Pain rule (see below).
To compensate, they take a penalty of -1 Initiative. This is significant, as it means that other Marines hit you first and that lesser soldiers usually get a chance to hit you simultaneously. They will take more hits in close combat than is usual for a marine - but this is mitigated by their amazing survivability (and blight grenades - see below).
Finally, they have the Leadership 9 and Fearless that is shared by all the cult Chaos Space Marine troops. With the fearless rule you will almost never need to take a Leadership test anyway. The great thing about Fearless is that it means you can rely on Plague Marines to always hold an objective - they will never run off it from shooting in the final turn of the game. Your opponent has to kill them all - and with Plague Marines that is a lot of shooting. In close combat they take extra wounds if they lose combat - but like Terminators they only have a 1/6 chance of not saving against it.
As if Toughness 5 wasn't good enough, they come with the Feel No Pain rule, giving them an additional 4+ save against most wounds. This combination makes Plague Marines three times more difficult to kill with bolter fire than a standard marine. Make sure that you understand the details of this rule: you can't take the save against any attack that would cause instant death (such as S8 krak missiles), or any attack that no model is allowed a save against (AP1 or 2, rending attacks, power weapons etc.). Plague Marines are the toughest thing to kill in your Chaos Space Marine army. The combination of Toughness 5, 3+ save and Feel No Pain is awesome.
Now is an appropriate time to talk about Plague Marines and cover. Cover is as important if not more important to these guys than other units in the Chaso Space Marine army. Why? Because their specialisation is in not dying, but AP1 and 2 weapons, and krak missiles, ignore all the extra abilities you have paid so much for. You must keep them in cover so that they can do their job (frustrating the enemy while you thank the blessings of Nurgle) throughout the entire game. Unless you want your opponent to be shooting his anti-tank at them instead of your Rhinos of course!
Like the standard Chaos Space Marine, Plague Marines come equipt with power armour, a bolter, a bolt pistol and a close combat weapon, and frag and krak grenades. In addition they have blight grenades, which count as defensive grenades. Defensive grenades remove the bonus attacks that an enemy gets from assaulting you. There are three rules complications with defensive grenades that should be addressed at this point:
Weapon Options
Plague Marines are the only power armoured troop squad in the game that can take two special weapons in a five man squad. This is especially powerful when you consider the 2 fire points of a Rhino - extra weapons and extra bodies are a waste when you are snug inside that protective box. So what can they take? The standard imperial fare: melta, plasma or flamer. This option is so good that I have never taken a Plague Marine squad without two special weapons.
Firstly, always choose the same special weapons for both marines. There is really no exception to this, and its a rule that applies to most units in 40k. Each turn you want to maximise the impact your squad has on the game. That second weapon makes a big difference in reliability. Trust me! I often see people take 1 melta and 1 flamer. 1 flamer can be effective against basic troops in cover. However 1 melta is not enough to be considered serious anti-tank - I'd rather take the second flamer so that the squad can potentially put a serious dent in a cheap and nasty horde unit. Don't water down the unit's effectiveness in its primary role.
Plasma and Feel No Pain are a marriage made in the warp. Plasma is generally considered overpriced in 5th edition, but the extra chance to save against the Gets Hot rule makes the plasma gun worth its points in the hands of the Plague Marine. Plasma suffers from the number and strength of cover saves available, but is still a very effective weapon, able to threaten marines on foot and light vehicles like the Rhino. It is an especially strong choice in low point games, where there are less vehicles and those that exist will usually have lower armour. As it has the longest range of the weapons available to you, it is the obvious choice for a unit on foot.
Melta is the of course the special weapon of choice in 5th edition, and Plague Marines are a great way to deliver it. Vehicles are hard to kill and a couple of melta guns have the potential to cut through the toughest armour like butter. Unlike other units that deliver melta guns into enemy lines, Plague Marines have a good chance of standing up to the contents of whatever transport you just blew up. Two meltas have approximately a 50% chance of destroying a Rhino when 6" or less away.
Flamers are the final special weapon available. It's a more specialised weapon, great for digging troops out of cover and for thinning out larger units of horde troops before they overwhelm you. They can be a useful tool to have in your toolbox, but you won't need more than one flamer equipped unit in your army. Use them if you are concerned about your ability to handle horde armies with lots of foot troops (eg Tyranids).
Oh yeah I nearly forgot - you could take 2 plasma pistols instead of special weapons. Never do this. Plasma pistols suck.
Other Options
The Rhino is ideally suited to the nature of the Plague Marine unit. As I have mentioned above, the 2 fire points matches the two special weapons they can carry (Note: the codex says that the Rhino has only 1 firepoint, but this is a misprint and corrected in the FAQ). Secondly, the Rhino provides a great deal of protection to the unit inside it. When that unit is Plague Marines it becomes incredibly difficult to kill. Thirdly, all the weapon options for the unit work best up close within 12" of the enemy - and the Rhino can get you there. Finally, the Rhino can take a combi-weapon that can complement the weapons chosen for the unit - such as a third melta shot when you move up into the killing zone.
More than anything else, the purchase of a Rhino will define the role of your Plague Marine unit. Without it, the unit is really only able to sit in your deployment zone and hold an objective. Without long ranged weaponry, this might result in the unit taking little part in the battle only to have the objective contested in the last turn by a fast moving unit it couldn't reach. I won't go into detail about the Rhino's options here - it deserves an article of its own and this is getting long enough already!
A difficult decisions to make when building a Plague Marine unit is whether or not to take a Plague Champion. Purchasing a Champion gives you an additional attack in close combat and an additional (basically useless) point of Leadership. The only time a plain Champion makes any sense is if you have also purchased a Greater Daemon. It is also not worth it to buy the Champion just for the chance to get a combi-weapon. That is what the Rhino is for. For the points I would much rather take an additional body.
What the Plague Champion does provide is the chance to add a power fist to your squad. The power fist gives the chance a much better chance against walkers in close combat, otherwise any squad that gets in combat with a walker will be very lucky indeed to survive (krak grenades mean you are hitting on 6s, glancing on 6s, with one attack per model). They also given a good chance to lay some wounds down on a monstrous creature. This is what you buy them for. Power fists do also give a good chance of busting up other vehicles, but krak grenades allow your normal marines to do so anyway. So - only take a power fist on a squad or two, and only if you don't have enough other units that can handle walkers for you. He makes the unit a lot more expensive.
Note that if you shell out the points for a Plague Champion, he can also take a combi-weapon (either matching the squads load out, or perhaps a combi-flamer). A combi-melta pushes your chance of killing a Rhino up to around 65% - but you need to get out of the tank to use it. My motto in these situations is "never get out of the tank", so I'd usually suggest that there is somewhere else in the list your points could be better spent - or maybe take a combi-flamer for late game objective mop up duty.
There are other weapons that a Plague Champion can take (power weapon, plasma pistol, twin-linked bolter, melta-bombs) but none of these are very effective (especially the I3 power sword) and should be left at home.
Finally the personal icon is used to allow deep strikers and daemons to enter near your unit without scatter. You can use this to drop a screen of daemons down to protect your plague marines from assault. Whether or not you take it depends on the other selections in your list. Note that it doesn't need to be given to the Champion - any marine can be equipped with it.
Example Units
There is a variety of ways to build an effective Plague Marine unit - you could spend anywhere between 115 and 400 points on the squad! Here are some of my preferred combinations.
The Melta Squad (180)
5 Plague Marines with 2 meltas, Rhino with combi-melta
3 melta shots without getting out of the Rhino. Once the transport gets busted they can move towards objectives or control the movement of enemy vehicles in the vicinity. You should take at least 2 of these.
The Assault Squad (322)
9 Plague Marines with 2 meltas, Plague Champion with power fist, combi-melta, Rhino with combi-melta
Just enough room left in the Rhino so that they can be joined by a Chaos Lord or Sorcerer. This squad moves forward and can successfully assault enemy close combat specialists. Even on foot it can survive several rounds of intense shooting whilst delivering its payload if you use cover correctly. You could switch the Champions combi-melta for a combi-flamer if you are better than me at hitting with meltaguns!
The Horde Thinning Squad (216)
7 Plague Marines with 2 flamers, Rhino with combi-flamer
Ideally they tank shock one side of a horde unit to bunch them up, then jump out of the Rhino and toast them with the three flamers.
The Cheap Objective Holder (145)
5 Plague Marines with 2 plasma guns.
If you can't find the room in your list for that final Rhino, then this squad can do a good job of holding an objective in cover in your deployment zone. They can even provide fire support once the enemy gets into your lines.
Thanks for reading this far. There is plenty of army level strategy I have intentionally left out. I may publish an article on pure Nurgle Chaos Space Marine tactics in the future. I hope that my thoughts have perhaps led to you rethinking some of the strategies and load outs you have been using with your Chosen of Nurgle!
Rules
Let's start with comparing their statline with that of the standard Marine. Firstly of course they have +1 Toughness. This makes a huge difference to survivability against small arms fire, halving the wounds taken from S3 weapons. Even Fire Warriors only have a 50/50 chance of wounding when they hit. Note that this bonus is ignored for the purpose of determining instant death - which matters because of the Feel No Pain rule (see below).
To compensate, they take a penalty of -1 Initiative. This is significant, as it means that other Marines hit you first and that lesser soldiers usually get a chance to hit you simultaneously. They will take more hits in close combat than is usual for a marine - but this is mitigated by their amazing survivability (and blight grenades - see below).
Finally, they have the Leadership 9 and Fearless that is shared by all the cult Chaos Space Marine troops. With the fearless rule you will almost never need to take a Leadership test anyway. The great thing about Fearless is that it means you can rely on Plague Marines to always hold an objective - they will never run off it from shooting in the final turn of the game. Your opponent has to kill them all - and with Plague Marines that is a lot of shooting. In close combat they take extra wounds if they lose combat - but like Terminators they only have a 1/6 chance of not saving against it.
As if Toughness 5 wasn't good enough, they come with the Feel No Pain rule, giving them an additional 4+ save against most wounds. This combination makes Plague Marines three times more difficult to kill with bolter fire than a standard marine. Make sure that you understand the details of this rule: you can't take the save against any attack that would cause instant death (such as S8 krak missiles), or any attack that no model is allowed a save against (AP1 or 2, rending attacks, power weapons etc.). Plague Marines are the toughest thing to kill in your Chaos Space Marine army. The combination of Toughness 5, 3+ save and Feel No Pain is awesome.
Now is an appropriate time to talk about Plague Marines and cover. Cover is as important if not more important to these guys than other units in the Chaso Space Marine army. Why? Because their specialisation is in not dying, but AP1 and 2 weapons, and krak missiles, ignore all the extra abilities you have paid so much for. You must keep them in cover so that they can do their job (frustrating the enemy while you thank the blessings of Nurgle) throughout the entire game. Unless you want your opponent to be shooting his anti-tank at them instead of your Rhinos of course!
Like the standard Chaos Space Marine, Plague Marines come equipt with power armour, a bolter, a bolt pistol and a close combat weapon, and frag and krak grenades. In addition they have blight grenades, which count as defensive grenades. Defensive grenades remove the bonus attacks that an enemy gets from assaulting you. There are three rules complications with defensive grenades that should be addressed at this point:
- Certain units get multiple bonus attacks when assaulting (eg Blood Claws). They do not get any of these bonus attacks when assaulting Plague Marines.
- Defensive grenades have no effect on other bonuses that a unit gets for assaulting, such as the +1S +1I from the Furious Charge rules.
- If a Plague Marine assaults a unit with the Counter Attack rule, then the assaulted unit does not get the bonus attack from the Counter Attack rule. This is controversial, but the Counter Attack rule says the model gets +1 A "exactly as if they too had assaulted that turn". My point being that if they had assaulted that turn, they wouldn't have got +1A. When you're playing a Space Wolf or Straken Guard opponent, make sure that you clear this up at the beginning of the game.
Weapon Options
Plague Marines are the only power armoured troop squad in the game that can take two special weapons in a five man squad. This is especially powerful when you consider the 2 fire points of a Rhino - extra weapons and extra bodies are a waste when you are snug inside that protective box. So what can they take? The standard imperial fare: melta, plasma or flamer. This option is so good that I have never taken a Plague Marine squad without two special weapons.
Firstly, always choose the same special weapons for both marines. There is really no exception to this, and its a rule that applies to most units in 40k. Each turn you want to maximise the impact your squad has on the game. That second weapon makes a big difference in reliability. Trust me! I often see people take 1 melta and 1 flamer. 1 flamer can be effective against basic troops in cover. However 1 melta is not enough to be considered serious anti-tank - I'd rather take the second flamer so that the squad can potentially put a serious dent in a cheap and nasty horde unit. Don't water down the unit's effectiveness in its primary role.
Plasma and Feel No Pain are a marriage made in the warp. Plasma is generally considered overpriced in 5th edition, but the extra chance to save against the Gets Hot rule makes the plasma gun worth its points in the hands of the Plague Marine. Plasma suffers from the number and strength of cover saves available, but is still a very effective weapon, able to threaten marines on foot and light vehicles like the Rhino. It is an especially strong choice in low point games, where there are less vehicles and those that exist will usually have lower armour. As it has the longest range of the weapons available to you, it is the obvious choice for a unit on foot.
Melta is the of course the special weapon of choice in 5th edition, and Plague Marines are a great way to deliver it. Vehicles are hard to kill and a couple of melta guns have the potential to cut through the toughest armour like butter. Unlike other units that deliver melta guns into enemy lines, Plague Marines have a good chance of standing up to the contents of whatever transport you just blew up. Two meltas have approximately a 50% chance of destroying a Rhino when 6" or less away.
Flamers are the final special weapon available. It's a more specialised weapon, great for digging troops out of cover and for thinning out larger units of horde troops before they overwhelm you. They can be a useful tool to have in your toolbox, but you won't need more than one flamer equipped unit in your army. Use them if you are concerned about your ability to handle horde armies with lots of foot troops (eg Tyranids).
Oh yeah I nearly forgot - you could take 2 plasma pistols instead of special weapons. Never do this. Plasma pistols suck.
Other Options
The Rhino is ideally suited to the nature of the Plague Marine unit. As I have mentioned above, the 2 fire points matches the two special weapons they can carry (Note: the codex says that the Rhino has only 1 firepoint, but this is a misprint and corrected in the FAQ). Secondly, the Rhino provides a great deal of protection to the unit inside it. When that unit is Plague Marines it becomes incredibly difficult to kill. Thirdly, all the weapon options for the unit work best up close within 12" of the enemy - and the Rhino can get you there. Finally, the Rhino can take a combi-weapon that can complement the weapons chosen for the unit - such as a third melta shot when you move up into the killing zone.
More than anything else, the purchase of a Rhino will define the role of your Plague Marine unit. Without it, the unit is really only able to sit in your deployment zone and hold an objective. Without long ranged weaponry, this might result in the unit taking little part in the battle only to have the objective contested in the last turn by a fast moving unit it couldn't reach. I won't go into detail about the Rhino's options here - it deserves an article of its own and this is getting long enough already!
A difficult decisions to make when building a Plague Marine unit is whether or not to take a Plague Champion. Purchasing a Champion gives you an additional attack in close combat and an additional (basically useless) point of Leadership. The only time a plain Champion makes any sense is if you have also purchased a Greater Daemon. It is also not worth it to buy the Champion just for the chance to get a combi-weapon. That is what the Rhino is for. For the points I would much rather take an additional body.
What the Plague Champion does provide is the chance to add a power fist to your squad. The power fist gives the chance a much better chance against walkers in close combat, otherwise any squad that gets in combat with a walker will be very lucky indeed to survive (krak grenades mean you are hitting on 6s, glancing on 6s, with one attack per model). They also given a good chance to lay some wounds down on a monstrous creature. This is what you buy them for. Power fists do also give a good chance of busting up other vehicles, but krak grenades allow your normal marines to do so anyway. So - only take a power fist on a squad or two, and only if you don't have enough other units that can handle walkers for you. He makes the unit a lot more expensive.
Note that if you shell out the points for a Plague Champion, he can also take a combi-weapon (either matching the squads load out, or perhaps a combi-flamer). A combi-melta pushes your chance of killing a Rhino up to around 65% - but you need to get out of the tank to use it. My motto in these situations is "never get out of the tank", so I'd usually suggest that there is somewhere else in the list your points could be better spent - or maybe take a combi-flamer for late game objective mop up duty.
There are other weapons that a Plague Champion can take (power weapon, plasma pistol, twin-linked bolter, melta-bombs) but none of these are very effective (especially the I3 power sword) and should be left at home.
Finally the personal icon is used to allow deep strikers and daemons to enter near your unit without scatter. You can use this to drop a screen of daemons down to protect your plague marines from assault. Whether or not you take it depends on the other selections in your list. Note that it doesn't need to be given to the Champion - any marine can be equipped with it.
Example Units
There is a variety of ways to build an effective Plague Marine unit - you could spend anywhere between 115 and 400 points on the squad! Here are some of my preferred combinations.
The Melta Squad (180)
5 Plague Marines with 2 meltas, Rhino with combi-melta
3 melta shots without getting out of the Rhino. Once the transport gets busted they can move towards objectives or control the movement of enemy vehicles in the vicinity. You should take at least 2 of these.
The Assault Squad (322)
9 Plague Marines with 2 meltas, Plague Champion with power fist, combi-melta, Rhino with combi-melta
Just enough room left in the Rhino so that they can be joined by a Chaos Lord or Sorcerer. This squad moves forward and can successfully assault enemy close combat specialists. Even on foot it can survive several rounds of intense shooting whilst delivering its payload if you use cover correctly. You could switch the Champions combi-melta for a combi-flamer if you are better than me at hitting with meltaguns!
The Horde Thinning Squad (216)
7 Plague Marines with 2 flamers, Rhino with combi-flamer
Ideally they tank shock one side of a horde unit to bunch them up, then jump out of the Rhino and toast them with the three flamers.
The Cheap Objective Holder (145)
5 Plague Marines with 2 plasma guns.
If you can't find the room in your list for that final Rhino, then this squad can do a good job of holding an objective in cover in your deployment zone. They can even provide fire support once the enemy gets into your lines.
Thanks for reading this far. There is plenty of army level strategy I have intentionally left out. I may publish an article on pure Nurgle Chaos Space Marine tactics in the future. I hope that my thoughts have perhaps led to you rethinking some of the strategies and load outs you have been using with your Chosen of Nurgle!
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