It's been a little while since both Chaos Space Marine and Dark Angels codices came out to great fanfare which generally turned to disappointment. I won't review the Dark Angels codex, because it isn't one I use often enough to comment, but aside from the really sub par flyers, it strikes me as being very decent for 6th. Now further forward onto chaos!
First lets discuss the obvious controversy, Mr. Heldrake. When the book first released only a few of us realized how good this thing is. Then the arguing started, is it 90 degree firing arc, is it 180, maybe even 360? I was always in the 180 camp myself, as I am with the Necron Doomscythe. When the FAQ hit the fan, Chaos had a bonafide marine killer via Mr. "I shoot fire out my ass" Heldrake with his 360 line of sight. While I don't agree with it, I will abuse the hell out of it. Now onto the review.
There are several areas where Chaos Space Marines came out ahead, mainly fast attack and headquarters. The special characters are all pretty good, and Huron and Abaddon are great. Generic HQs like the sorcerer, the lord and the Dark Apostle are also great. In fast attack, CSM has come out on top of any other codex in the game, maybe even better than Tyranid elite choices. You've got the astounding Heldrake, great bikes and spawn, and really solid raptors with the only stinker being warp talons. Here's where the virtual gold ends, as we now delve into the sub par troop choices. Yes, we get cheap chaos marines, but being 1 point less than a dark angel with better weapon options is a real buzz kill If you don't realize how big a game changer a rule like "And They Shall Know No Fear" is, you don't know the game. with no reliable way to get fearless or ld 10, chaos really suffers compared to Dark Angels. This is almost mitigated by the super cheap cultist. While cultists aren't honestly good in and of themselves, they can be used to great effect and comparing them to things like termagants or imperial guard troops isn't fair, as CSM doesn't have those available. You could easily ally in some Imperial Guard units, but then you kill off your other ally options. Cultists are a tool, and as a tool they enhance the codex. Now we have the classic FOC swaps of cult troops and chosen, but honestly with the lord taxes most of the options aren't that appealing. Speaking of elites, we have many units that could have been so great, but fell flat. My expectations for chosen were high, but points cost or the lack of fearless killed that. Terminators are a very middle ground unit. Not great at anything, but a Swiss army knife you can use to do many things well. Mutilators are a filler unit in the codex and do nothing that an obliterator can't do, but with the benefit of having no guns. Possessed honestly aren't bad at all, and could be really good if you get them into combat. With only an expensive land raider as a delivery system, that's easier said than done. Heavy support is crowded with no astounding choices, but some very very solid ones. Predators are still good and av 13 in 6th isn't as bad as feared. My favorite of the new models, the Maulerfiend is a great unit, fast as hell, mean as shit and carrying tentacles that make any hentai fan giddy. For what it does, it's also a cheap unit with a measure of survivability. Havocs, obliterators and forge fiends are all solid choices, although obliterators cost more and forge fiends are overpriced for what you get (the model helps this by the "rule of cool".) We have left the Defiler, Vindicator and the land raider for last as while none are BAD per sa, they are all sub par choices and might be situational at best.
All in all, it isn't a great codex, but it is a good codex and as 6th edition continues on, it might be solid. With the accelerated pace of Games Workshop releasing a codex or army book every month, we should know quickly how well Chaos Space Marine stacks up. Tau are due beginning of April, so let's hope the rumors are kind.
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