With the release of 10th edition now firmly behind us and more than a month of competitive games in the books it’s time to start taking a deeper look at each of the game’s factions. In this series we’ll talk about each faction, what they have to offer, how they play, and talk about a few list concepts to consider.

You can find all the Faction Focuses that we’ve published here.

In this article we’re looking at the largest Chaos faction, the Chaos Space Marines.

Why Should You Play This Faction?

The Chaos Space Marines offer a strong faction with a variety of different playstyles and a massive number of units to choose from. Chaos Space Marines may not be as melee-focused as they were in 9th edition but there’s still a lot to like about the faction and their ability to get around the table and kill units with a mix of ranged and melee attacks. While Chaos Space Marines aren’t in the upper tier of factions with Custodes, GSC, and Eldar, they do occupy a spot in the next tier, albeit on the lower level (slightly depending on who you ask). They’re a competitive faction which, in the right matchups, can pull a top 4 finish or even an event win. Playing CSM won’t give you the easy path to victory of Eldar, but you also won’t be (rightfully) hated by the world for playing them.

Five Things You Need to Know

• You’ve got options. Not everything in the Chaos Space Marines unit list is viable in a competitive setting, but there’s more than one build you can take to plausibly compete. You can even get away with not running Abaddon. I don’t know that I’d recommend it, but it’s an option. That said, there are a few units you’ll want to build around, in part because they’re just the faction’s best units. 
• Get used to making Pacts. The faction ability for Chaos Space Marines – the ability to make Pacts to improve your damage output – is incredibly useful, and pretty much always worth it. Expect to make pacts most of the time you’re shooting or fighting. That also means that you’re going to fail some and take mortal wounds a few times per game, just because of the odds.
• Marks are a big deal. The Chaos Space Marines Detachment gives you the ability to improve your Pacts and access specific Stratagems using Marks of Chaos. Each Mark has its use, and some are more suited to specific tasks and units. Some may change how you play specific units, and it may be worth taking two of a key unit with different marks to perform different tasks.
• You’re a bit of a glass cannon. On that note, it should be clear that Chaos Space Marines have the ability to put out quite a bit of damage – more than the average faction – by combining effects and dropping pacts on some very efficient units. And while the non-Cultist units aren’t fragile, they’re not super durable either, so you’ll need to plan carefully for when and how you use those units and make sure you’re trading up wherever possible when you lose them.
• Melee and shooting are both viable. While many armies struggle to use melee effectively in 10th Edition, CSM are one of the few armies that can do both very well. Units like Chosen, Possessed, and Abaddon can punch way up for their weight class, while units like Obliterators, Forgefiends, and Predators can shoot very hard. You’re not limited in your playstyle with CSM. 

What Are the Must-Have Units to Start This Faction?

There are some very powerful units in the Chaos Space Marines Index, and while you don’t need all of them, you will need to build around at least a few of them to have something competitively viable. Here are the units you’ll generally be looking at as you start to build your lists:

• Obliterators. Obliterators can put out a scary amount of firepower on their own, and their ability to Deep Strike means they can drop in near a key target and remove it from the table. They are also relatively durable and can either weather the return fire or avoid it altogether using the Dark Obscuration Stratagem. We’ll come back to that later.
• Forgefiends. Forgefiends have some very good damage output. They are able to combine Dark Pacts with their own Daemonic Ordnance ability to really push out some nasty damage. While most Forgefiends run triple Plasma to bring 3 separate Blast guns and get an eye-watering number of shots into elite infantry, the Gatling loadout can also do some real work. Most competitive CSM armies want at least one Forgefiend, and many run multiple.
• Abaddon the Despoiler. Abaddon may not be the indestructible murdermachine he was in 9th edition, but he’s still an incredibly powerful melee threat and force multiplier. Abaddon’s ability to let your other CSM units within 6” re-roll hit rolls helps improve their damage output and synergizes extremely well with the exploding hits or auto-wounds from the Dark Pacts. Abaddon also comes with all five marks, and imparts those onto whatever unit he joins. If you give him a Terminator bodyguard, that unit can dominate the midboard like few other units in the game. 
• Dark Commune. The Dark Commune is a sleeper good unit, giving a unit of Cultists or Accursed Cultists it joins a 5+ invulnerable save and the ability to Advance and Charge once per game and get +1 to hit and wound for the rest of the turn when doing so. This makes them great for turning Accursed Cutlists into surprise melee threats 
• Cultists & Accursed Cultists. Speaking of which, you’re going to need some Cultists. These are among your cheapest unit options, and 55 points gets you 10 models which can easily hide to make up for being Toughness 3. Their role as perfect backfield holders is made even more clear by their For the Dark Gods ability, which makes objectives they control “sticky,” i.e. you control them after they die until someone else does. This is especially important because too many armies in 10th have indirect fire that can kill your objective holders over 1 or 2 turns.
• Master of Possession. The Master of Possession is a great all-around unit. He’s got a nasty little Psychic attack (which he can buff) and he gives the units he joins +1 to Advance and Charge rolls and a 6+ feel no pain. This along with an 8” Movement makes him the perfect escort for some Possessed. They’re also very good with a unit of Chosen as well, since they can Advance and Charge and as such get +2” when working with a MoP.
• Chosen. Chosen are just a very solid unit, sporting 3W, accursed weapons (S5 AP-2), and the ability to charge after falling back or advancing. Give them combi-weapons to give them surprisingly deadly shooting as well. Being eligible to shoot after advancing or falling back also makes them surprisingly effective at playing the mission, as they can go very far out of a Rhino and then do things like Cleanse objectives. 
• Chaos Terminators. If you’re taking Abaddon, you often want him accompanied by a large (10 models) unit of Terminators. They give him a ton of ablative wounds to work with, and they’re just a solidly durable unit to work with besides.
• Vindicators. With a profile that is very effective into both elite infantry and monsters/vehicles, Vindicators hit very hard when given the Nurgle mark. They are also surprisingly durable with a 2+ save. Their weakness is their limited range, but at least they don’t mind being touched by the enemy–their special rule lets them continue firing their Blast weapon even at enemies in Engagement Range with it. 
• Lord Of Skulls. Everyone’s favorite tank/train/whatever the hell that thing is can do some real work in 10th Edition. Access to -1 to Hit means it is harder to shoot off, and it loves getting full hit rerolls near Abaddon and exploding 6’s (especially with a Warpsmith to top off any wounds as you lose them). 

There are a ton of other units you can work with outside of this bunch, providing varying levels of value. Possessed can be a solid alternative to chosen, trading their shooting output and versatility for more durability (T6 and a 5+ invulnerable save) and speed, plus 2-damage melee attacks that gain Devastating Wounds when they Dark Pact. This can make them solid for taking down tougher targets, and they’re likely to punch up in points if you can deliver them to the right target.

When it comes to utility action troops, Raptors can be a decent pick; a unit of 5 will only set you back 95 points and they come with the ability to Deep Strike plus a 12” FLY move. If you’re taking a unit, Haarken Worldclaimer is a solid addition, giving you more durability and damage output for the unit. He’s too pricey to include in every list that brings Raptors, but he is an option worth considering. 

On the vehicle side, there are plenty of decent options. Predators of both varieties have real play, with the autocannon and heavy bolters making them especially effective against opposing heavy infantry. Land Raiders feel very durable, and love being marked Nurgle and using Dark Obscuration to safely fire its Lascannons downrange while a payload of Possessed/Chosen/Legionaries up the board. 

CSM also have some very viable Character options. Chaos Lords of both varieties pair very well with units like Chosen or Terminators. The Terminator Sorceror also makes the rest of your army’s shooting more effective. Daemon Princes are a little bit more expensive than they should be, but the winged version hits very hard and loves being Slaanesh or Nurgle for their respective enhancements. Huron Blackheart is also an interesting option for the ability to redeploy Infantry and adding a bit of shenanigans to a unit like Chosen. 

How Does This Faction Secure Objectives?

Cultists give you a cheap option to secure objectives, while Accursed Cultists with Dark Communes are a more expensive but very worth it option. The ability to resurrect models in the Command Phase helps them retain control of objectives, and the ability to advance and charge helps them charge onto opposing objectives. 

Legionaries can fight well over objectives with opposing units in their weight class, but unfortunately there is little reason to run them when Chosen are only 15% more expensive and come with an additional wound and advance/fall back and shoot/charge. The classic Chaos Space Marine is a solid pick for friendly games, but is unlikely to make it into most competitive lists. 

Cypher is also an excellent objective holder because of his Lone Operative rule. If you want more Lone Operatives, allied Daemons are an option worth considering. The Changeling and Blue Scribes are worth considering in most lists, as will The Masque if its points cost goes down. 

How Does This Faction Handle Enemy Hordes?

Forgefiends with Plasma are your main anti-horde at range, as Blast and Devastating Wounds means that they’re going to shower enemy units with high AP damage and spilling over mortal wounds. Units like Terminators can also throw buckets of dice at the enemy, and if you don’t have better targets, your Obliterators can pivot to high volumes of worse shooting – though you typically want them for big targets.

But in practice, your main anti-horde will be melee. Units like Chosen and Possessed can drown enemy units in saves.

How Does This Faction Handle Enemy Tanks and Monsters?

CSM are very, very capable of shooting enemy Vehicles and Monsters to death. You have fewer options in melee, but can still rip open enemy armor with the right units. 

Obliterators are the first unit that comes to mind, and they’re excellent at cracking enemy armor in 10th. They have to get danger close for optimal use, but delivering flat 6-damage shots while within 12” is going to put serious hurt into any large unit in the game. 

The Mark Of Nurgle on units like Havocs with Lascannons, Vindicators, and Forgefiends means that you can generate enough high AP saves on enemy units to push through damage even if those targets have a good invulnerable save. Using Abaddon to give those units hit re-rolls gives you incredible consistency and smooths out the variance you might otherwise have with low-volume, high-damage shots. Many lists running Forgefiends also take Chaos Undivided on their first one so that they can unleash Profane Zeal – full hit and wound re-rolls with Devastating Wounds will turn large targets into a fine paste just as much as it will hordes.

For other units, the Mark Of Tzeentch is what helps turn any shooting unit into an anti-armour unit. Auto-wounding on a 5+ to Hit (using full re-rolls form Abaddon to fish for 5+ results) means any unit with good volume and/or damage can do serious damage regardless of your Strength characteristic. 

If the enemy unit needs to be dealt with in melee, Possessed are your best bet. It doesn’t matter what their Save or Invuln or Toughness are if you can hand them 20+ mortal wounds from a unit of Undivided Possessed given full Hit and Wound rerolls with Profane Zeal. Units like Chosen and Terminators can also use the Mark Of Khorne or Profane Zeal to punch up against harder targets in melee. 

What Combos Should You Build Around?

There are a few notable combos to think about building around as you create your Chaos Space Marines army. You may not typically see all of these in a single army, but seeing two of them is pretty common.

Obliterators with Profane Zeal and/or Dark Obscuration

Obliterators are one of the star units in the codex, but they need re-roll support to provided the kind of consistent output you need. You have two main choices for how to use them:

• Chaos Undivided. Marking your Obliterators Undivided gives them full rerolls from Profane Zeal and makes them incredibly consistent. In this format they’re your premier Knight destroyers. 
• Nurgle. If you’re going to do this the plan is usually to Deep Strike the Obliterators near Abaddon and combine his re-rolls with their ability to get Sustained Hits on a 5+ to score a huge volume of hits. When doing this, it’s very common to drop them more than 12” away from their target so you can use the Dark Obscuration Stratagem to keep them safe and untargetable after they arrive. This is also hilariously frustrating for opponents trying to hit them back after they take out a key target.

Possessed with Masters Of Possession

Possessed and a Master Of Possession go together perfectly. The Possessed unit ability to gain Devastating Wounds when the unit makes a Dark Pact also affects the attached Master Of Possession. The MOP has a surprisingly good gun with Precision and Anti-Psyker, and giving him Devastating Wounds means that he’ll trigger nasty critical wounds on a 2+. Annoyed by Ahriman or a Grey Knight Librarian? Attach a MOP to some Possessed and reliably snipe out the psyker character with 6 (or more if you got a 6 to hit with exploding hits!) mortal wounds. 

The 6+ Feel-No-Pain also stacks well with their 5+ invulnerable and 3 wounds apiece to make them surprisingly durable against 2- and 3-damage guns that would otherwise put a big dent in them. And of course, +1 to charge is always amazing on a melee unit (especially if the Possessed have the Mark of Slaanesh to also take advantage of the +1 to advance before they charge using the Unnatural Swiftness Stratagem).

Chosen

If you aren’t as keen on Possessed, you can also pair a Master of Possession with Chosen, who trade a bit of durability for shooting prowess and more versatility. In particular, they aren’t dependent on Unnatural Swiftness to Advance and Charge, and so can make better use of the MoP’s boost to advance and charge rolls while also taking advantage of the benefits of the Mark of Chaos Undivided. 

Chaos Lords also make good leaders for Chosen, where the ability to drop a free Stratagem on once per round on his unit makes the unit even more versatile, able to shrug off firepower with Infernal Rites or improve their output with Profane Zeal or fight on death with Eternal Hate. 

Abaddon with Terminators

Abaddon is great as a solo unit, but he can also attach to a Terminator unit to take them to the next level. Because Abaddon has all Marks and Marks just check for each keyword on a unit level, Abaddon can attach to a Terminator unit of any Mark and then give that unit access to the benefits of every Mark. 

This opens up a wild amount of synergies. Want to destroy Knights in melee? Give Abaddon and the Terminators full hit and wound rerolls with Profane Zeal and the Undivided Mark. Want to survive all game? Use Dark Obscuration and their Nurgle Mark. Want to revive models as they die? Use Skinshift and the Mark Of Tzeentch. They also have a much larger threat radius because they can advance and shoot/charge with their Slaanesh mark. The Khorne stratagem benefit is much smaller, but fighting on death on a 3+ instead of a 4+ is still a nice little buff. 

Adding Allies

Chaos Space Marines are a relatively elite army, so they can always benefit from Daemons to add some units to play the mission and screen. Why pay 55 or more units for a CSM unit to screen a corner or deepstrike for Behind Enemy Lines when some Nurglings can do that for only 40 points? 

As an army you don’t need any damage-dealing allies because your CSM already have the “doing damage” side of things completely covered. Focus on bringing cheap and mobile units to help you score units while your CSM focus on tabling the enemy. In no particular order, the Changeling, Blue Scribes, Nurglings, and Flamers are units to consider allying into your CSM army, as they give you cheap, versatile units to move around the table and score objectives.

Sample Lists

Alexandre Sacco’s 4th Place List from the Warmasters Championships

Alexandre Sacco took this list to a 4th place finish at the Warmasters Championships at this year’s WTC, taking down knights and GSC lists en route to a 5-0 start before drawing in round 6, winning in round 7, and finishing up 6-1-1.

”Alexandre’s

Many of the tricks we’ve mentioned above show up here, where the army uses solo Abaddon with a trio of Forgefiends – two Nurgle, one more free range with the Mark of Chaos Undivided – to stomp around near him and benefit from his aura. The army also has two units of Chosen with Chaos Lords which just offer incredibly scoring versatility. Undivided Obliterators give the army plenty of anti-vehicle punch, and Possessed act as fast mid-table punch threats which can trade up effectively against a number of units.

Arthur Tu’s 1st Place List from the Hammer of Wrath GT

Army List - Click to Expand

This list showcases just how broad your options are with Chaos Space Marine game plans right now, going for a highly aggressive melee focus and sticking to a few, easily-buffed shooting tools. Chaos Space Marines can put a lot of Advance/Charge on the table thanks to Chosen and the Dark Communes, and this list can crash into opponents at breakneck speed.

Final Thoughts

Chaos Space Marines are a fun army to play, and give you several options when it comes to deciding your playstyle and approach. They’re a competitive force in the game without being broken, which is a great spot to be.  The faction has a very bad matchup into Genestealer Cults, but outside of the GSC matchup they can hang tough with any army in the entire game. They even stand a better chance at beating Eldar than most other armies, which is a very valuable trait these days. And it will never stop being fun shooting enemy Knights with flat 6-damage shots from your Obliterators or shooting Custodes squads with flat 3-damage shots from your Forgefiends. 

That wraps up our look at Chaos Space Marines, but we’ve got more faction focus articles coming up so stay tuned over the coming weeks. And if you have any questions or feedback, drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.