Lightning Claw vs Power Sword

There's been endless debate since the release of the new Chaos Space Marines codex on whether one should take a Lightning Claw or Power Sword on their Aspiring Champions.

Algebraic!

Now, first of all, why not any of the other Power Weapons? Well, the Power Axe may be AP2, but it strikes at Initiative 1, and on a guy who must issue Challenges, that's a very, very bad idea because he'll often be dead before he gets to strike. A Power Lance is really not that great for Chaos Space Marines because it only works on the charge, and you won't always be getting the charge. Plus, if you don't win in the first round, its effectiveness drops by a load. The last one is the Power Maul. Honestly, the Power Maul isn't all that bad, but I personally don't think it's such a great option on your Aspiring Champions because you won't be ignoring armour most of the time, so you'll probably die and your opponent won't.

That all said, Axes and Mauls are both great choices on Terminators in my opinion, but for now we're just focusing on your basic squad leader, whether he's in a Raptor squad, Chaos Space Marine squad, Noise Marine squad or whatever.

So, let's get down to the math!

We're going to assume your basic champ, so Initiative 4, WS4, 2 attacks and weapon + Pistol against a standard Space Marine opponent (since, let's face it, these are the most common opponents). We're also assuming you got the charge.

Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 0.75 wounds before re-rolls, another 0.375 after the re-rolls, coming to a total of 1.125 wounds at AP3, so a dead enemy Sergeant.

Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 1 wound, so one dead Sergeant.

Now the difference may seem pretty miniscule, but when it comes down to it, the Lightning Claw is far more reliable and will fairly consistently net you at least one wound, while the Power Sword, which may give you more chances to cause wounds, doesn't give you those re-rolls, so if you fail you're pretty much screwed.

But, just to make sure, let's see what happens against Terminators, T3 and T5 opponents.

Terminators
Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 1.125 total wounds, coming to 0.1875 dead Terminators.

Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 1 wound, 0.1666... dead Terminators.

T3 Opponents (e.g. Eldar Exarch)
Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 1 wound before re-rolls, 0.333... with re-rolls, coming to 1.333... dead T3 unit champions.

Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 1.333... unsaved wounds.

T5 Opponents (e.g. Plague Champion)
Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 0.5 wounds before re-rolls, 0.333... with re-rolls, coming to 0.8333... dead T5 opponents.


Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 0.666... wounds caused.

Alright, so it's pretty clear the Lightning Claw is the superior offensive weapon, but since making this post it was brought to my attention by Zeruel13 over in this thread on MiniWarGaming that, as a defensive weapon, the Power Sword is actually better.

Here's a copy/paste of the math Zeruel provided:
Against MEQ (WS4/T4)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 1.13 wounds caused (0.18 unsaved vs 2+ armour)
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 0.75 wounds caused (0.12 unsaved vs 2+ armour)

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 1 wound caused (.16 unsaved vs 2+ armour)
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 0.75 wounds caused (0.12 unsaved vs 2+ armour)

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 1.66 wounds caused (0.55 unsaved vs 3+ or 0.27 unsaved vs 2+ armour)
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1.25 wounds caused (0.41 unsaved vs 3+ or 0.2 unsaved vs 2+ armour)

Against GEQ (WS3/T3)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 1.79 wounds caused
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 1.19 wounds caused

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 1.79 wounds caused
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 2.22 wounds caused
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1.67 wounds caused

Against EEQ (WS4/T3)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 0.89 wounds caused

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 1.05 wounds caused

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 1.66 wounds caused
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1.25 wounds caused

Against Biker MEQ (WS4/T5)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 0.83 wounds caused
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 0.55 wounds caused

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 0.66 wound caused
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 0.5 wounds caused

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused (0.44 unsaved vs 3+)
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1 wound caused (0.33 unsaved vs 3+)

He's included the Power Maul as well, because Zeruel believes it's an equally viable option. Personally I disagree, but I guess that's a matter of opinion and what you face.

With Zeruel's information taken into account, I'll be taking Lightning Claws every time on units made for the charge (CCW Chaos Space Marines, Berzerkers, Raptors) while on units that are meant to be shooting a little more up close (anything with a Plasma Gun) then the Power Weapon is definitely going to be my weapon of choice. I still don't think I'll take either on my Noise Marines though, because I'd be taking the Doom Siren first and another 15 points on top of that is just too much for a shooty unit, especially one sitting back 24".
But, like, that's just my opinion man.

Which one are you going to take?

Help! My Doomwheels Won't Stop Owning!

Seriously, I had another 1500 game yesterday against a Dwarf player and my Doomwheels wrecked face. Together they destroyed a Cannon, a unit of Thunderers and helped defeat a unit of Long Beards that my Slaves had held up. It may not sound like much, but the only units they didn't have a hand in destroying were a unit of Warriors or whatever the basic Dwarf Core with Great Weapons is called (defeated by some Death Frenzied Skavenslaves) and the Organ Gun (destroyed by the same unit of Slaves).

Bare in mind, I'm not saying I'm the greatest player here, just that Doomwheels are amazing. It's quite frustrating when all the Internet-kings-of-fucking-everything-Warhammer waltz in and declare that a unit sucks because some other douchebag on the Internet said so. Doomwheels are insane, especially at lower points levels, and at higher points levels they have the benefit of being cheaper than Hell Pit Abominations, allowing for a pair of Cannons.

No more need be said...

That said, my Warpfire Throwers have consistently being doing nothing. They just don't have the time to fire when I'm rushing Slaves in and then Doomwheels into the side, so I've changed my 1500 point Skaven list up a bit and added in some Plague Censer Bearers.

I'm going in the 1500 Fantasy tournament at my store next month to really test out my list. Half of it is still unpainted, so I think my chances of winning overall are quite slim, but it'll still be nice to test out how the list plays in a more serious environment. At 1500 my Skaven are still currently undefeated, but I hardly think that's much to brag about until I throw it against some serious competition. Fingers crossed though!

That aside, I also ordered a pair of Noise Marine Sonic Weapon kits, so hopefully in about a week or two I'll be able to turn my Chaos Space Marines into Noise Marines and start causing some serious headaches.

Hang around and I should be able to get some WiP pics of my Noise Marines in the next couple of weeks.

Flakk Missiles vs Autocannons and Quad-gun

In the new Chaos book, Havocs can take Flakk Missiles with their Missile Launchers so they can fire at Flyers with S7 AP4 shots, but is it really worth it over just taking Autocannons and an Aegis Defence Line with a Quad-gun?

Mathematical!

So two units of 5 Havocs with 4 Missile Launchers and Flakk Missiles comes in at 175 points a unit, or 350 points for the two of them. So you get 8 shots at a Flyer a turn after it has had a chance to shoot you, which nets you 5.333... hits and 2.666... glances and penetrates against AV11, so slightly less than a single Flyer in one turn.

Two units of Havocs with 4 Autocannons are 115 points each, or 230 points together, and then the Aegis Defence Line with a Quad-gun is 100 points on top of that, coming in at 20 points less than the Missile Launcher Havocs. The major benefit of this kit is that you get to shoot at the Flyer when it comes in and before it even has a chance to shoot at you. The Quad-gun being fired at BS4 with TL will get you 3.444... hits alone and 1.7222... glances/pens. Then on your turn the 8 Autocannons will hit 1.333... times, getting you another 0.666... Glances/Pens against the same AV11 vehicle. This all comes out to slightly less glances/penetrates than the Flakk Missiles, but it does come in at 20 points cheaper and gives you vastly superior firepower against transports and other lightly armoured vehicles.

With that all in mind, I think I'll be going for the Autocannon Havocs and Aegis Defence Line every time because while they do slightly less against Flyers, they also cost less, do far more against transports and infantry and the Quad-gun gives you a slight chance to take the enemy Flyer down before it even gets a chance to shoot.

Just some food for thought.

Heavy Firepower Slaaneshi Foot List

A little bit of background never hurt...

When I started with Chaos Space Marines, Slaanesh was easily my favourite of the gods, and I was looking forward to building a pretty boss Emperors Children Army. But then I found out that Noise Marines and just about all things Slaanesh sucked in the last book, so I turned to Nurgle instead. Then I was going to do some Word Bearers, or maybe a Tzeentch army, but after looking through the new book, neither of those really provided the kind of firepower I was looking for.

So, here we are, all the way back at Slaanesh. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit stoked about it.

HQ - 165pts.
Lucius the Eternal - 165pts.

Troops - 824pts.
9 Chaos Space Marines - Replace Bolters with Close Combat Weapons, Lightning Claw, Gift of Mutation, Melta Bombs, Mark of Slaanesh, Icon of Excess - 200pts.
10 Noise Marines - 9 Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster, Icon of Excess - 267pts.
10 Noise Marines - 9 Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster, Icon of Excess - 267pts.
20 Chaos Cultists - 90pts.

Fast Attack - 350pts.
Heldrake - Baleflamer - 170pts.
3 Chaos Bikers - 2 Meltaguns - 90pts.
3 Chaos Bikers - 2 Meltaguns - 90pts.

Heavy Support - 405pts.
5 Havocs - 4 Missile Launchers, Flakk Missiles - 175pts.
5 Havocs - 4 Autocannons - 115pts.
5 Havocs - 4 Autocannons - 115pts.

TOTAL - 1749pts.

The only unit that I feel is slightly out of place in this list is the unit of combat-oriented Chaos Space Marines, but I don't feel comfortable wasting Lucius's combat prowess with another unit of Noise Marines sitting back.

I also loathe painting vehicles to such an extent that I'd rather gimp myself and not take them than having to spend the few hours to paint them up (the Heldrake being the exception). Luckily, I feel that this edition really favours more bodies on the field than anything and I think it'll hardly be much of an issue, if it is one at all.

Lastly, it should be noted that whilst I said in my review of the codex that 2 Flyers should be taken minimum, I wouldn't be able to take all that I'd like in the list if I did that and I think that it should turn out fine with just one, provided you have the right amount of anti-Flyer. Time will tell I guess...

This is still only a draft for the moment, but it should be pretty close to what I want in the end. Now I just need to get building!

Feedback is welcome as always!

Chaos Space Marines Codex Review

Well, here's the review I promised! Hope you enjoy it.

Huron got a lot better this edition.

Overall
Overall the book is fantastic and there's definitely going to be plentiful styles and builds for both fluffy and competitive armies. The vast majority of the book is easily worth it and even some of the formerly more terrible units make it into the "useable" zone, including Spawn!

The Chaos Boon Table is fantastic and all 3 gods that use psychic powers get their own psychic tables. Throw in a smattering of Chaos Gifts, some cool new rules and units and you'd be hard pressed being disappointed with the book.

The Chaos Vehicles upgrades are also fantastic. Dirge Caster stops enemy units within 6" from firing Overwatch whilst Destroyer Blades allow you to cause D6 S5 hits to a unit when you Tank Shock them.

Named Characters
There's very, very little to be disappointed about in this section, except for the complete lack of anyone new (no Cypher...). All of the named characters are at least better than they were, though the only ones you might see in competitive lists are Kharn, Fabius Bile, Huron and maybe Ahriman (being the only Mastery Level 4 Psyker currently). Though I do suspect someone will come up with an uber-list with Abaddon and a whole bunch of Chosen, but I'd personally leave him to friendly games.

Back to Fabius Bile: he seems very good now. He comes at S5 with 5 attacks and inflicts Instant Death with his combat attacks, while boasting a 18" Poison (2+)  Assault 3 shooting attack. He also has FnP. Unfortunately though, he's still only Initiative 4 and has no Invul. But ultimately, the icing on the cake is that you can make a single unit of Chaos Space Marines in the same army as him +1 Strength and Fearless for absolutely no extra cost and no negative side effects of any kind. Swap out the Bolters on this unit for Close Combat weapons, give the Champ a Lightning Claw and give them whatever Mark you please, plus the Icon if you feel it's worth it, and you've got yourself a pretty brutal unit. Obviously Mark of Khorne and Icon of Wrath are the obvious choices for the unit, making them an absolute machine in combat. The Champ will be hitting with 5 Attacks at S6, AP3 with rerolls To Wound for the first round of combat. Even Independent Characters are going to fear that should you not feel comfortable throwing Fabius himself in there.

Typhus can make Cultists Zombies if you wish for no cost, giving them Slow and Purposeful and FnP, but they can't shoot. There is a dispute over this though, as the rule states that they may not choose any options, and in the new codex extra models are options, so some could argue that as per RAW you cannot take more than the minimum unit of 10. Whether this was intended or not, we'll have to see. I personally don't think it was meant that way, but I'd still advise staying away from Zombies until the FAQ is released.

HQ
Chaos Lords are going to be king in challenges, and considering they must issue them, that's a very, very good thing. Daemon Weapons still hurt you on the roll of a 1 when determining extra attacks, but the new rules for them a very nice. I don't think I'd use any of them outside of friendly games though. Burning Brand of Skalathrax, the flamer Kharn used when he started attacking his own guys, is also an option. It's a S4, AP3 Flamer with Torrent. I like it plenty. Back to Lords though, my personal favourite current combo is Terminator Armour, Sigil of Corruption, Power Fist/Power Weapon/Pair of Lightning Claw and a Mark of Tzeentch. This gives him a 2+/3++ save and some simple but effective armour-cutting weapons. I'll be rocking the Power Fist myself.

Sorcerers are way cheaper at 60 points, and you can get up to 2 more Mastery Levels at 25 points each for a Mastery Level 3 psyker. All of the god-specific psychic tables are absolutely fantastic, though Slaanesh is so far my least favourite whilst Nurgle's 5-6 option is definitely my favourite. It probably depends on the army you're playing and what kind of Synergy you need though.

It is indeed true that Daemon Princes don't have Eternal Warrior and they cannot be T6 with a Mark of Nurgle. Instead they must be a Daemon of one of the gods, which gives them an ability + Hatred (a certain type of Chaos Daemon here, depending on god). Being Flying MC's though, I think they still have their uses, but they are certainly expensive. I'm not so sure about them yet.

Now onto the new guys, the one's most people are probably most curious about. Warpsmiths seem decent, though I'd only run them as a secondary character after a Lord or Sorcerer is in the list, but the Dark Apostles are utterly lame. Yes, it's crushing, but it's the truth. Everyone within 6" gets to use his leadership of 10 and any models in the same unit that roll on the Chaos Boon Table get to reroll the result. Lame. He also has an AP4 weapon, because we totally need help killing those Dire Avengers and Fire Warriors in combat, right?

Troops
So in the troops section we're left with just Chaos Space Marines and Cultists, both of which are fairly cheap and both of which are definitely going to be making it into 90% of non-themed lists. A unit of 10 Chaos Space Marines can just be given a pair of Plasma Guns at 170 points, or you can completely kit them out with Marks, Icons, Special Weapons and all that jazz and reach over 268 points (though anything over that is probably getting into the zone of "retarded-for-the-sake-of-being-retarded" kits) for the 10 of them.

Meanwhile, 20 Chaos Cultists will rarely be costing you more than 120 points. I'll definitely be running at least one unit in every list I make.

Elites
By golly is the Elites section packed. You've got Chosen, Possessed, Terminators, Helbrute, Mutilators, and the 4 Cult units. Obviously you can unlock one of the Cult units as a Troops choice with a Lord/Sorcerer with the appropriate Mark or the appropriate named character, so I guess that's a mostly moot point.


Every single Elite choice is useable. Chaos Terminators with Power Fists cost 2 points less than enemy shooty Terminators and while they miss out on Assault 2 weapons for inferior ranged firepower, they are more accurate and are the superior choice when within 12" thanks to their now 2 TL shots versus the standard Termies still 2 non-TL shots. I think Chaos Terminators are going to be a good option this edition, either with MoT or Slaanesh and Icon for FnP, however I think the Slaanesh and Icon combo is crazy expensive. I'll probably stick to no mark or Tzeentch.

Possessed are great now, but are still crazy expensive, so it makes it hard to justify them outside of friendly games. The Helbrute is the Dreadnought replacement and is actually useable now. Yay! I'm not too taken by the Mutilators because I think I could spend points better elsewhere, but they're still good.

Fast Attack
Too bad you've pretty much got to take those Flyers to be competitive. They are definitely good, but in my opinion it's either 2-3 or none. One will just get nailed way too fast. You could take a Daemon Prince for your HQ instead of one if you wanted and save some points, but I'd just go with those Heldrakes. Luckily you can also give them Baleflamers and dominate infantry like no tomorrow with those S6 AP3 Torrent Templates.

As for the last FA slot, everything is viable. Raptors are essentially the same before, but gain Fear and are only 17 points a piece. Bikers got the same kind of treatment, and 3 of them with 2 Meltaguns is only 90 points. You could make them T6 for an additional 18 points too, if you so choose. They're definitely a solid unit now.

Then you've got the Warp Talons. As I mentioned in my last post about the codex, they work great with the Dimensional Key. They're a bit like Possessed though; they look great, they beat things down in combat like no tomorrow, but they also cost a huge amount of points. Worth taking, but not tournament material.

Heavy Support
Most of the old stuff stayed about the same, maybe getting a little cheaper. The Predator costs more base but the options are much cheaper. Oblits are 5 points cheaper and have access to Assault Cannons but can't fire the same weapon twice. Nothing really worthy of note with the old stuff except the Havocs, who are the first unit who can take Flakk Missiles. They're S7, AP4 Skyfire and you can fire them out of your Missile Launchers. Unfortunately they come at an additional cost, but I have 2 units of 5 Havocs in every version of my list with 4 Missile Launchers and Flakk Missiles. Combine them with 2 Flyers and the sky is yours. They also make taking the Baleflamer over the Hades Autocannon on your BS3 Flyer a much easier choice. Defilers are also better but more expensive.

The new stuff though... Well the Fiends are both fantastic. The Forgefiend can fire 3 S8, AP2 Blasts per turn at 200 points whilst the Maulerfiend is a Walker that moves 12" a turn and is designed to dominate vehicles in combat. It doesn't have any guns, but it'll wreck anything with an AV value that it touches.

All of the Daemon Engines are incredibly survivable with a 5++ save and the ability to regenerate a Hull Point with It Will Not Die.

Conclusion
Absolutely amazing book. Gamers and fluff buffs will be happy alike with the options and versatility available to the Codex. I couldn't have asked for much better honestly.

It'll still be a little time before we work out what will rule the tournament scene and what you shouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, but we'll get there.

So that's all I've got for now! Thanks for reading through all my waffling and half-finished thoughts.

I know I promised lists, but I'm not even finished yet. It's nearly there though and should be up in the next couple of days. It's a difficult thing to work through though with so many options.

Rhinos are exactly the same, in case you were wondering.

I can't really cover everything properly in the post, so if you have any more specific questions on units, rules or whatever, feel free to ask!

Chaos Space Marines New Codex - First Impressions

I've had a little time to go through the codex so far and check out all the cool new rules and units and whatnot, and I've got to tell you: I'm extremely happy.

I won't do a proper review of the codex until I've actually had more time with the book (some time early next week), but for now I'll just give my thoughts and let you know a few of the things I've noticed.

If the rest of the 6th edition books are like this one, it will be a good edition.

First of all, the positives. Overall, the book is so far beyond that pathetic excuse for a codex that is Codex: Chaos Space Marines 4th Edition that they're not even comparable. As is typical of anything Phil Kelly touches, the book has some very nice synergy and almost all of the units are balanced if not tournament worthy. A lot of things got much cheaper, like our regular Chaos Space Marines, Lords, Sorcerers and Raptors, while some things did get a bit more expensive, but gained some new rules and things that ultimately justify the cost.

That's not to say that Chaos Space Marines will now be able to horde up, because as far as I can see, the book really is designed for you to personalise your army with fairly tremendous amounts of upgrades and options.

All of the new additions to the book are very nice. The Maulerfiend is a Walker that gets to move 12" and ignores cover, while the Warp Talons cause any enemies within 6" to count as being hit by a weapon with the Blind USR. There's also an item that allows friendly units to not scatter when deep-striking, which has some pretty obvious synergy with the Warp Talons. The unfortunate thing is that the model with the item must have caused a wound in close combat in order to activate the Key, so it does seem a little more like a gimmick than anything, because in a lot of cases your Warp Talons will be in from reserves before you get to activate it. It'd be worth trying out in friendly games though.

Now, there are a few unfortunate things, as with all codecies. First of all, Land Raiders are 10 points more expensive than last edition and gained absolutely no new special rules. Terminators got the same kind of treatment, now costing an extra point each, although Terminators are better this edition of 40k, so I'm assuming that's why they were upped in cost, but I still don't think it was warranted. Dark Apostles are lacklustre at best, which annoyed me quite severely because I was looking to do a Word Bearers army. Maybe I'll just have to run one without the Apostle. Thousand Sons got the shaft once again and Defilers are now 45 points more than before, although they are quite boss...

Despite the few downsides, overall the book is absolutely insane. I'm having a hard time writing lists of 1850 points because I simply can't fit everything I want in.

Check back in a couple of days and I'll have a more in-depth review of the book, complete with a couple of lists and my thoughts on how to deal with what looks like the most likely 6th edition meta!

Planning For the Upcoming Chaos Space Marines Codex... Why?

Alright, so I've seen a few posts on various internet forums about people building up brand new Chaos Lords, fully kitted and painted in preperation for the new codex, as well as ordering every damn new shiny thing GW drops and so on.

Because Word Bearers are boss.

Now Chaos Space Marines were my first army, and I'm definitely excited for the new codex. I mean, I've been waiting 2 years to have a book actually worthy of Chaos, and it finally looks like it's here, but I'm not going to build myself an entire new Chaos Lord or order any of the new models until I actually have the book and have mostly worked out my army list. Who wants to kit their Lord wrong and find that they've got to either got to play with him how he is, not happy with how he perfoms in game, or have to wreck your nice paint job removing the incorrect parts and replacing them with what he should have? I certainly don't.

This is a damn expensive hobby, and I for one am not wasting any cash on anything I don't plan on playing with, nor am I going to paint up a model to find that I don't want to use him as is. I think doing up generic CSM squads or Terminators or whatever is fine, because those are some pretty safe options, but I definitely don't think you should be ordering too many toys or building any new Lords just yet.

Thoughts? Comments?