Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Chaos Space Marines (section)

===Troops===
*'''Accursed Cultists:''' So 9E saw a whole new set of models for the cultists no one wanted, and one of them just happened to be the mutant rabble who never really had an actual model, outside the old Forge World line. If you're expecting anything stronger than a mere cultist, don't - T4 doesn't mean shit when you have a barely-there 6+ save with 6+++ FNP and the inability to hide in transports doesn't help either. Instead, you take them because it's almost hard to get rid of these the unit. Each turn gives them the ability to resurrect flat 3 mutants, though that won’t help the moment you’re shot at anything with a single point of armor piercing. Also included is their 6" bubble of -1 Leadership which doesn’t do much for them compared to Possessed, Warp Talons, or a Daemon Prince.
**Accompanying the mutants are Accursed Cultist Torments, bloated and hyper-mutated abominations who act as bigger walls with 3 wounds, and you can rez one each turn instead of the mutants. Their offensive prowess is far more decent with 2d3 AP-2 D2 attacks but still hitting 50% of the time. They suffer the same flaw as their lesser kin where they die to any slight armor piercing. You’re better off running spawns for their regeneration.
*'''Cultist Mob''': Took a one-point price hike in 9th Edition. Cultists can now be set for melee or range with no changes in points, though unlike Legionaries, you achieve the same damage from shooting as getting into combat without being punched back. In honesty don't run them as melee, as other units are always going to be much better at it. The unit is also pretty much calling out to be ranged too, since Cultists have access to free special range weapons but not special melee weapons. As far as these choices go, Flamers make them a bit more reliable when up close, while Heavy Stubbers are an upgrade if you plan to camp objectives or push out enemy Deepstrikes with them. New to this edition is the Grenade Launcher, giving them something high-powered with AP-1 but held back by its swingy d3 damage. As a GEQ, unit they come with alot of problems: first they're T3, 6+ save means that they die frequently and often; whilst the current cover systems guarantees that anything larger than a MSU is going to struggle to get the benefit. Also, more are going to run away the moment they start dropping, as with their terrible Ld of 5 (6 with the Champion) you shall find them wanting, especially if they are left alone somewhere without support. It's not all negatives however; Cultists easily snowball into a semi-comparable threat when under the various buffs that other Chaos units can provide. They especially synergize well with Dark Apostles who fix their low leadership while providing a 50% chance to hit them. This can be improved further with them acting as a bodyguard to a Cold and Heartless Iron Warriors unit with their strat. A Sorcerer or Balefire Tome nearby can throw on Prescience for a slightly more threatening autogun bulletstorm. It can still be easy for your opponent to efficently get rid of them even without blast weapons; if they do commit such firepower, it's just cheap Cultists. At least it wasn’t Abaddon or a Helbrute, right?
**Blobs and hordes took a hit in 9th Edition, so huge cultist bombs will require serious micro-management, especially with unit coherency.
**Cultists did not receive a new lease on life, and are the same as they were in 8th edition. With a Dark Communion to gather basic buffs to a squad and 2 kinds of accursed cultists to utilize; there were tons of possibilities for aspiring players. Then the codex came out and the rules for Cultist-related armies was quickly tossed into the toilet thanks to Mere Mortals and an arbitrary selection of stratagems, relics, and warlord traits that the Cults are allowed to use.
*'''Legionaries''': Legionaries, as they're now called, are now thrice the price of a mob cultist. For that, you now receive, well, a lot: with 2 wounds and a staggering 3 attacks per model (so you'll '''always''' have more punches than bolt shots) along with power armour and bolt weapons. They are stronger, tougher, and more accurate up close and at range and they get a slew of new options, like equipping a guy with a Heavy Chainaxe, putting a Daemon Blade on your champ, and making one guy a psyker with a Balefire Tome. Critically, you cannot substitute cultists for CSM unless you load up on elites and heavy support, but expect to pay a premium there; comparatively, Legionaries are a cost-effective all-rounder {{WH40kKeyword|CORE}} choice versus Raptors, Chosen, Havocs, Bikers, or Terminators. If you're looking for a solid melee Troops choice, this is it: a chainsword-wielding legionary pumping out 4 attacks per dude will tear down anyone they run into. Add in some specialist melee weapons and you will chew through most things with relative ease. Keep in mind though that unlike the last editions of this book, you are now capped at a maximum of 10 legionaries per squad, so if you were hoping to build a legionary bomb in this edition, sorry!
**They are now the only unit in the codex that's able to Shoot/Fight again with a stratagem at 2CP. It is pricey, but a nice trick to have in your backpocket. Imagine the look on your opponent's face when they charge your 10-man squad of Slaaneshi Legionaries only to have them fight first ''then'' fight again. 
**Tzeentch boys with an Icon have better heavy weapons because of the extra pip of AP, but Khornates get S5 ''and'' AP2 chainswords. Slaaneshi boys with icons get to hit on 2s/3s with their Heavy Chainaxes/Power Fists. 
**Most builds tend to be based around MSU squads with an optional Tome/Heavy Weapon or Fist on sergeant if kitted for melee with the relevant marks. Full sized units work best kitted for melee (given the new caps on special weapons) if you take Khorne and chainswords, a fist on the champion, additional heavy chainaxe and icon. There’s also an argument to be made for going Slaanesh and taking a tome for psychic shenanigans at the cost of extra strength and AP.
*'''Traitor Guardsmen Squad''': What we wanted was a whole Codex, but we'll have to settle for this for now: the rank-and-file from the Kill Team Moroch boxset. They're only slightly better than cultists with a standard Ld 6, 7 with the Sergeant, and lack any rules for any of the Kill Team squad specialists, but have pretty much all the options of loyalist guardsmen. One top of the flamer and grenade launcher that the Cultists could already buy, you can also purchase a meltagun and plasma gun (serious suicide unit weapons here) as well as a sniper rifle in case you seriously think that you can rely on cultists to act as snipers. For the Sergeant, he has the standard range of auto, bolt, and plasma options for pistols and chain or power for swords. Or, he can sacrifice melee power entirely for a boltgun, which you should, these guys aren't any good in CC anyways. 
**Sharing the Cultists keyword, Guardsmen can be buffed by anything that would also buff Cultists, and you can also grab a Vox-Caster as well at no cost, robbing a cultist of a different gun but allowing the Renegade Enforcer's special rule to apply anywhere within 24" of that not-Commissar.
**With that said, you’re better off running them for your selected chaff because of their better stats, weapon options, and a bit more rules to work with compared to the cheaper commonfolk.