Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Chaos Space Marines (section)

===[[Alpha Legion]]===
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[[File:AlphaLegion.jpg|100px|left|]]
In the grim darkness of the far future, there is no such thing as Truth.

Thematically the Alpha Legion are known for their mastery of Deception, Covert Ops, Sabotage, and Information Warfare. 

Crunchwise they have a resemblance of that, but instead have many abilities to aid encirclement, outflanking, and messing with the opponent instead of being more stealthy than the Night Lords. Still, the to-hit penalties they inflict on opponents and the fact that this can be stacked with other effects give them a surprising amount of durability. It's one of the strongest army traits in the game, turning units like Leviathan Dreadnoughts into nigh-invincible murder machines. Their goodies do A LOT of things to annoy the opponent: warlord whack-a-mole,  midgame redeployment, Deepstrike denial, and forcing opponents to spend extra CP. The Sons of the Hydra will make a great ally to Chaos lists that want some extra potential for shenanigans. 
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*'''Legion Trait: ''Hidden in Plain Sight'':''' Your opponent must subtract 1 from their hit rolls when targeting units with this trait if they are more than 12" away. This is insanely powerful and fantastic on anything, especially Helbrutes, and even better: Hellforged Dreadnoughts. Don't forget enemy plasma and the like overheats on ones and twos should they decide to super-charge, so running Termies is not as bad as it would normally be. Also amazing if you are playing a kind of gunline or artillery based army.
*'''Warlord Traits:'''
**'''''I am [[Alpharius]]'':''' In addition to this Warlord trait, your warlord generates a random universal CSM Warlord trait. If your warlord is slain, you may immediately select another {{Template:W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION CHARACTER}} in your army to take their place and generate a Warlord trait for them (including this one). If the mission you are playing grants victory points for slaying the enemy Warlord, your opponent will only achieve that objective if all {{Template:W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION CHARACTERS}} in your army have been slain. Adaptable, and it's always hilarious to see an enemy's attempt at Slay the Warlord to turn into a fucked up game of Whack-A-Mole.
**'''''Clandestine'':''' -1 to hit the warlord.
**'''''Headhunter'':''' The warlord can snipe characters and to add a cherry on top, causes mortal wounds on unmodified 6's.
**'''''Master of Diversion'':''' At the start of the first battle round, before the first turn begins, select up to 3 other {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION}} units and redeploy them following the usual deployment rules. Let's you kind of bait out your opponents deployment choices.
**'''''Cult Leader'':''' Makes cultists slightly more dangerous! Any Cultists within 6" of the warlord that roll a 6 to wound improves their weapons AP by -1.
**'''''Faceless Commander'':''' Once per battle at the end of your movement phase you can remove the warlord from the battlefield and redeploy them within 3" of a friendly {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION INFANTRY}} unit and more than 9" away from enemy models.
*'''Stratagems''':
**'''''Forward Operatives (1CP)'':''' Use this Stratagem during deployment, when you set up an {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION INFANTRY}} unit from your army. At the start of the first battle round but before the first turn begins, you can move that unit up to 9". It cannot end this move within 9" of any enemy models. If both players have units that can move before the first turn begins, the player who is taking the first turn moves their units first. Each unit can only be selected for this Stratagem once per battle. It can, theoretically, help get a turn one charge off with something like a Berzerker blob squad, as in some standard deployments the distance between you and your opponent is between 12-24 inches. It can also be used to counter deploy to a degree, or even move your dudes onto an objective very early. As this happens at the start of the first battle round you can use this on an elite squad and then, depending upon who gets first turn, throw them forwards or get them behind cover or LOS blocking terrain.
***You can't spam this onto the same unit, but because it's not used during a phase, you ''can'' spam it across multiple units.  This'll get expensive fast if you use it on small units like buffing HQs, but it can be great for e.g. getting 3 units of chaincannon havocs into position, if you have the CP.
**'''''Conceal (2CP)'':''' Use at the start of the opponents shooting phase. pick one {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION INFANTRY}} unit. until the end of that phase enemy models can only target that unit if it's the closest visible target.
**'''''Sabotaged Armoury (1CP)'':''' Wanna see a tank go up in fireworks? If you trigger this as an enemy rolls to see if their tank blows, you add +3 to their roll and block them from re-rolling. Hope you got those bitches all in place.
**'''''Scrambled Coordinates (1CP)'':''' Use in your opponents movement phase, when an enemy unit is being set up as reinforcements but before it is placed on the battlefield. That unit must be set up more than 12" away from any {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION}} units in your army.
**'''''Renascent Infiltration (1CP)'':''' Use at the end of your movement phase. Select one {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION INFANTRY}} unit that is more than 3" away from any enemy models and did not arrive as reinforcements that turn. Remove that unit from the battlefield. At the end of your next movement phase set that unit up on the battlefield again more than 9" away from any enemy models.
**'''''Ambush (2CP)'':''' use in your opponents movement phase. After an enemy unit is set up as reinforcements, select one {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION}} unit from your army within 18" of that unit to shoot at that unit.
**'''''Feigned Threat (1CP)'':''' Use in your movement phase, when you fall back with an {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION}} unit it can still shoot this turn.
**'''''We are Alpharius (1CP)'':''' Use before the battle after nominating your warlord. Pick another {{W40kKeyword|ALPHA LEGION CHARACTER}} from your army that isn't your warlord and give that character a warlord trait. Very similar to the Black Legion's Council of traitors with more flexibility at the cost of only one additional WT instead of two.
*'''Relics''':
**'''''Blade of the Hydra'':''' Replaces a model's chainsword. With a profile of S+1 AP-2 and a flat 2 damage, a solid close combat option, never mind the D3 instead of 1 extra attacks it gives you. Fun fact: this weapon is exactly the same as the loyalist Relic "Teeth of Terra." Coincidence? I think not!
**'''''Drakescale Plate'':''' {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} model only. Provides a 2+ armor save and a 5+ FNP against mortal wounds. Very good, but sadly cannot be taken by a DP.
**'''''Mindveil'':''' at the start of your movement phase the model with this relic can roll 3D6 and the result becomes that model's move characteristic until end of turn. They can also move across other models and terrain as if they're not there, they can charge across other models other than buildings as if they're not there & the bearer can charge in a turn that they fell back.
**'''''Hydra's Wail'':''' Once per battle at the start of the battle round if the bearer of this relic is on the battlefield. Until the end of the battle round when your opponent spends command points to use a stratagem roll a D6. On a 4+ your opponent must spend one extra CP to use that stratagem.
**'''''Viper's Bite'':''' Replaces a combi-bolter. 24" Rapid fire 2 S5 AP-3 2 damage.
**'''''Hydra's Teeth'':''' Model with a bolt weapon only. The bolt weapons of the bearer automatically hit, always wound on a 2+ unless targeting a {{W40kKeyword|VEHICLE}} or {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} in which case it wounds on a 6+. units also do not receive the benefit of cover to their save's against that bolt weapon. (Consider a character in terminator armour with this and the Headhunter warlord trait - targeting a character with 4 automatic hits, wounding on 2s, and no cover allowed).
**'''''Shadeblade'':''' Model with power/force sword only. S+1 AP-3 D3 damage and attacks made against the bearer are at -1.
*'''Tactics:''' Here are some tactics that are better off being used in an Alpha Legion army than any other.
**'''''And for my next magic trick...'':''' Build yourself a Deathstar, get a Nurgle Sorcerer and a Dark Apostle. Now all you need to do is use Benediction of Darkness and Miasma of Pestilence on it. Congrats, most Imperial Guard now cannot hit you. Play at night to make most Space Marines unable to hit you.
**'''''Alpha Strike'':''' Assuming your Berzerkers are 24" away from the enemy after deployment, Forward Operatives makes that 15". Your move makes that 9". A Sorcerer Lord on a bike can keep up with these guys, giving them Prescience and Warptime. Your Berzerkers now only have to make a ''3" charge on turn 1.'' Don't forget Veterans of the Long War and Death to the False Emperor and to multi-charge everything in range if you'll survive the overwatch, cos you probably want three combat steps with these guys at this point. And, if your opponent goes first your Alpha Legion trait probably saves some Berzerker lives too.
**'''''Ultimate Character Hunter'':''' Take a Sorcerer on a Bike. Give it the Headhunter warlord trait, an extra Combi-Bolter, and the Hydra's Teeth relic. Give it Warptime and any other power you want. You now how a model that can zip around the table, freely target character, auto-hitting with 8 shots at 24" range, wounding on 2+, and ignoring cover. While not super scary on paper, this can be enough to take out backline buffing characters and disrupt enemy gameplans. Give it the Mark of Slaanesh and use the shoot twice strategem to get 16 shots.
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