Chaos Space marine psyker tactics (part 2)

For the last article in the Chaos Psychic Power tactics series, we will look at the 3 special characters in the Chaos army list that can use psychic powers. First, on Chaos spacial characters in general. They are generally pretty good in all size of games (Well, except for Abaddon the Despoiler, but I have heard that he is utterly beast in 'Ard Boyz size games, and Arhiman, which we will discuss later). So, here they are:


Typhus, Herald of Nurgle

Apart from having an amazing name, and a cool model, Typhus is rather awesome in game terms. He has the Manreaper, a weapon that is both a Nurgle Daemon weapon (Poisoned wounding on 4+) and a force Weapon, meaning that he will be able to kill most anything. He also has the psychic powers Nurgle's Rot and Wind of Chaos, one of which he can use, and then still use his force weapon in the Assault phase. He also does not have to take Psychic tests when using these two powers, making him even more worth his 225 points. So, how to use him. There are two things you can do with him: You can deepstrike him, with some other Chaos terminators with the Mark of Nurgle right next to a horde, and then use Nurgle's Rot to full effect. Then you have to tough out a round of shooting and assault, which shouldn't be hard, with 4 wounds, toughness 5 and feel no pain. The other way you can use him is to put him and 4 Nurgle terminators into a land raider, and then just run them towards the enemy as fast as possible. I know this sounds risky with all the meltaguns that are going around nowadays, but with a little luck, you can get into combat before the enemy has a chance to shoot.


Ahriman, Exile of the Thousand Sons

Possibly a little weaker in combat then Typhus, Ahriman is still a solid choice. The same statline as a Chaos Sorcerer, but with a bolt pistol that fires inferno bolts, and can use up to 3 psychic powers per turn. He also has all of the Chaos Psychic powers, except for Lash of Submission and Nurgle's Rot. This means that, in a game, he will be able to use 15-21 psychic powers. Of course, this means a lot of psychic tests. I have seen Ahriman's head explode countless times, and even more when facing Eldar with Runes of Warding. He's also 250 points, but arguably a little weaker than Typhus. I don't know if I would take him, although a gamer I know takes him regularly, so I guess it depends on the person.



Huron Blackheart

Arguably the most popular of the three, Huron is also the most versatile. Although his main function is not that of a Psyker, he is technically one, because he has a familiar, who allows him to use the Warptime power. He has a chaos lord's statline, but a rather cool array of weapons, with a power weapon, and a power fist with a built-in Heavy Flamer, making him very nice against hordes. Add this to warptime, and you have a problem on your hands, especially as he is only 170 points.

Chaos Space marine psyker tactics (part 1)

So, for the second installment in the Chaos psychic tactics, we will look at the first 2 of the 5 models in the Chaos army that can use them.


Chaos Sorcerer:

A very nice unit, I usually lead my army with one. They are base 100 points, have a formidable statline, and have a good amount of Psychic powers to choose from. Some of the upgrades available are:

Terminator Armor: Pretty good option.
Daemonic mount: Only if you have a supporting unit with them.
Bike: Good.
Jump Pack: If you have raptors, why not?
Mark of Slaanesh: Definitely a good option, and only 5 points!
Mark of Tzeentch: Expensive, but gives him more protection, and doubles his psychic power output.
Mark of Nurgle: Very annoying to the enemy, also allows you to take Nurgle's rot, an extremely good power.
Plasma pistol: No way.
Meltabombs: If you have 5 points, why not?
Personal icon: Only if you have deepstrikers.
Familiar: Useful, and only 5 points.

I think that the best combo you can take is as follows:

Chaos sorcerer w/ Mark of Slaanesh, Lash of Submission, Meltabombs - 130 points.

Cheaper than most psykers, and with a Force Weapon and Initiative 6, I have used one of these to annihilate characters with impunity.
Daemon Prince

Arguably the best HQ choice in the Chaos codex, the Daemon Prince comes at 110 points base, with a completely beast statline, and the option to become a psyker. Some of the options:

Wings: Take these, you must have them.
Mark of Khorne: Extra attack, but keeps you from taking psychic powers
Mark of Slaanesh: Very cheap, and enhances the Prince very well. also can take Lash of Submission.
Mark of Nurgle: Slightly more expensive, but makes him all but immune to small-arms fire.
Mark of Tzeentch: About on par with the Mark of Nurgle, and also allows you to use and take two psychic powers per turn.

Here is the optimised Daemon Prince, as I see it.

Daemon prince with Wings, mark of Slaanesh, lash of submission: 155 points.

For the same points as an Eldar Avatar, you get a unit that can happily assault and enemy on turn one, by using Lash of Submission to pull them closer, and then using that 18" assault range to fly the rest of the way, and slaughter whatever is stupid enough to stand up to it. Known as the Lash Prince, an army list based around two of these monsters will go far in a tournament

Chaos Space marine Psychic powers tactics

For today's article, we will look at the Psychic powers available to the scions of the Ruinous Powers, and how best to use them in a game. To start off with, Psychic powers. Usually very powerful on the tabletop, if a little unpredictable. Many armies also have wargear that can negate the effectiveness of Psychic powers, such as Psychic Hoods, runic weapons, etc. But, if you look past all these caveats, they are quite useful, Chaos Space Marine ones more so than usual. Let's take a look:

Doombolt:

Cheap, and usually effective, Doombolt is a good option for Tzeentchians who have need of a second power, or if you know you will be going up against marines. There are, however, better powers out there, which explains why Doombolt is so rarely taken.

Warptime:

An excellent power for a mere 20-25 points. It's an especially good power for Daemon Princes, but useful for everyone. It allows you to reroll all failed rolls to hit and wound for the entire turn. A very tasty power for CC oriented character.

Gift of Chaos:

The most hilarious psychic power in the game, it has a chance of turning your enemy's most powerful character into a Chaos Spawn. This will hardly ever work, but there are several approaches to using this power. the first one is to use it again and again against the enemy's most powerful character, until you succeed in killing him. Alternatively, you can cast this on a model in a low-toughness, cheap unit, such as imperial Guardsmen, or Gretchin, and the Spawn will most likely slaughter the entire unit, or at least hold it up for a turn or two. It is a bit pricey at 30 points, but worth every one.

Wind of Chaos:

Pretty much a powered-up flamer, the Wind of Chaos can be useful. With a taemplate range, always wounding on a 4+, and allowing no armor saves or cover saves, it is a great marine-killer. In fact, I have seen this power wipe out entire marine/terminator squads in one shot. The one thing which keeps it from being more popular is the hefty 30 point price tag.

Lash of Submission:

Lash is widely considered to be the best psychic power in the game. I, personally, will not go into battle without at least one lash-wielder. It allows you to move an enemy unit 2d6 inches in whatever direction you want, potentially shoving a dangerous unit away from your army, bringing a unit into assault range, or bringing them into a tight mass, ready to be obliterated by a Vindicator or, well, Obliterator plasma cannons. All this for a mere 20 points.

Nurgle's Rot:

Another beautifully cheap and useful power, Nurgle's rot is the bane of all horde armies. Every model within 6" suffering a S3 hit? Can break the back of any horde with ease. For only 15 points, a total bargain.

Bolt of Change:

Last, but not least, comes the ever-popular Bolt of Change. Commonly seen on Thousand Son aspiring Sorcerers, this is a great transport killing power. With a moderately long range, high strength and AP 1, it will punch right thorough Rhinos, Chimeras, Trukks, you name it! A little on the high end of affordable for 25 points, still worth taking.

The next article will be on the Special Character psykers available to the forces of Chaos.