Editing Warhammer 40,000/5th Edition Tactics/Chaos Space Marines (section)

==Why Play Chaos Space Marines==
*  Cool models - The Cult squads look badass, it has to be said. Likewise a lot of the Sorcerer and Lord models, and the special characters. Personally, I always found Obliterators and Raptors way cooler than Devastators and Assault Mehreens too, but that's just me. Plus damn near any vehicle looks sexier when it's bristling with spikes, blades, and severed heads on trophy racks.
* Pretty good [[choppa]] and [[dakka]] options. All Chaos Marines except for Thousand Sons boast an additional Melee attack over their loyalist counterparts (check their wargear lists), and it takes little (a Mark for the most part) to turn it into a solid assault unit. Though they lack Plasma Cannons, Chaos Marines boast a ton of units with Autocannons, which gives them better overall utility against light vehicles and heavy infantry units (such as IG Stormtroopers). Putting it simply, you have a ''lot'' of options.
* Cult squads offer even more options. Khorne Berserkers are rape-tastic close-combat units, even though they're no longer the unstoppable murder machines they were in editions past. Noise Marines can drown enemies in mid-range firepower, with access to an improved Plasma Cannon in the Blastmaster as part of the bargain (this is, however, pricey). Plague Marines and Thousand Sons, whilst both extremely expensive (especially the latter) offer tough-as-balls units for holding objectives and soaking up enemy fire, with the Plague Marines laughing off antipersonnel fire, and the Thousand Sons capable of ignoring your average Battle Cannon shot - and both of them offer good firepower, either in the conventional Bolter/Special Weapon flavor (Plague Marines) or with AP3 Bolter and Sorcery flavor (Sons). 
* Marks - Marks of Chaos give a good choice of customization for your squads. For a relatively small investment of points (though the Nurgle/Tzeentch marks can get pricey), they allow a quick retooling of a squad, giving it additional Initiative (Slaanesh), Attacks (Khorne), Toughness (Nurgle), or an improvement to their invulnerable saves - or a 6+ Invuln save, if the unit didn't already have one (Tzeentch). Most of these are cheaper than investing in a cult squad, or can customize units to make them better in specific combat situations. This means you can have T4(6) bikes racing around ignoring infantry fire or racing in and hitting units with four attacks each, Raptors with high Initiative killing whole units without retaliation or simply drowning them in forty attacks, and Possessed tooled to be even better assaulters than they already are. Marks make already-good Chaos units very, very scary.
* Lash of Submission - Flying Lash Princes make a mockery of all cover. Why? Because cover doesn't count when your opponent is literally dictating where your units move on his turns. Games Workshop even admitted that they didn't count on how players would use this.
* Gift of Chaos - because turning your opponent's Farseer into [[Chaos Spawn|that which must never be mentioned]] is hilarious.
* You're better than the loyalists in Apocalypse games because you get fucking Titans and lots of sweet Forgeworld loving in the form of flyers and Daemon Engines. You're part of the Apocalypse Quintet along with the Imperial Guard, Eldar, Orks, and Tyranids, to which all other apocalypse armies are measured against. Be warned, you are comparatively lacking in long ranged heavy artillery, so even in Apocalypse, you are best served by getting close to [[RIP AND TEAR]].  
* You're likely to be next in line to get a codex in 6th ed, after four years of having an increasingly less potent codex that has by now become virtually useless.