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

===Heavy Support===
*'''Chaos [[Land Raider]]''': The Big One. The Iron Beast of Unholy Destruction. It's the Land Raider, and the logical choice for adding something HUEG to your army that can blow shit up and bring your big boys along for the fun. Somehow, they made a land raider good. Well, sorta. You're paying 265 points for something whose max output is being a [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]] that refuses to die, so you're going to have to build a list around such a big investment and make it worth it. 
**Now a whopping T9, with a 2+ save supported by armour of contempt. Can carry 10 guys, with possessed and terminators taking 2 slots each. Now has Soulshatter Lascannons that hit for d6+2 damage, making it actually somewhat threatening. Take it in Iron Warriors and give it -1 to wound, making meltas wound on 6s, lascannons on 5s, and railguns on 4s. This thing properly supported is not worth the effort to kill, so fill it with your favourite melee blender and just push it up the board tanking everything.
*'''Chaos [[Predator]]''': This is your tank. Got a big buff for 9th, making it maybe viable. There are two major roles that a Predator can fill. Anti-tank, or anti-infantry (or to a lesser degree, both). For the anti-tank role, you can grab a las-pred armed with 2 brand new soulshatter lascannons, for 2 d6+2 shots on top of the sponson-mounted bog-standard ones to blow tanks apart. You can give it a Combi-X of your choice and/or a havoc launcher. It is also totally fine as is without them too. For the anti-infantry role, you can have the Dakka-pred armed with the much improved "Predator Autocannon" and two Heavy Bolter sponsons. You can also choose to do a mix and match of both by picking one of each layout (Heavy Bolters with a Lascannon turret mainly) and shooting each weapons at whatever its best optimised for. That said, mix N' matching is generally a bad idea because spliting your fire each round usually means that you're not killing stuff fast enough, or at the very least slower than if you had specialised the Predator into anti-tank or anti-infantry. 
**Predators compete in a clogged heavy support role between Mauler Fiends, Havocs, Defilers and Land Raiders, but remain an attractive choice if you can't think what to put into a list.
**Recieved a boost in Arks of Omen, Heavy Bolter sponsons are now free, can take free havoc launchers and pintle-mounted weapons, and lascannons took a points drop, though this comes at the cost of having lost Armour of Contempt.
*'''Chaos [[Vindicator]]''': Stuck in a bit of a niche killing very heavy infantry and monsters, far from useless however. Seems the warpsmiths have been tinkering with their shells because it now hits for a nasty d3+3 damage, as well as having -4 AP. T5 infantry and below are going to suffer, and vehicles are going to take a beating from that much firepower (make sure to focus on Vehicles/Monsters first). Benefits from Combi-Weapons and Havoc Launcher quite well, in particular a combi-melta supplements the Vindicator's anti-vehicle firepower nicely letting it drive forward and tanking light-arms shots effectively (being T8), even more so now that these options are free. Take it if you want something to spearhead a vehicular assault; the close range firepower will serve you well. Its main gun has "Blast" which can be quite useful against hordes while still threatening tougher units, this also has great syngergy with Iron Warriors' Methodical annihilation to reroll a damage roll, count enemy squads as twice the size for blast, and shoot in combat. Definitely pay up for a siege shield (it’s free now), getting a 2+ save makes you far more durable vs anti tank weapons.
*'''[[Defiler]]''': This is a big, stompy, killy daemon engine that will inevitably draw enemy fire because of how threatening it is. They can be pretty destructive for their cost (which went up some 20pts in the transition). What we've got now is a solid block of wounds protected by a 5++, regeneration, and Smoke launchers (yes, it is the only daemon engine to rock smokes), festooned with various now accurate guns, and punchy to boot (A5 now). Daemonforge strat is now changed to hit on 2s, and good riddance, because daemon engines can now hit shit without being glorified spiky CP sinks. Its array of guns can threaten armour, infantry, and anything in between, and even stock it is surprisingly menacing, particularly with its D3 howitzer. For melee it can get extra tentacles, although they grew in price and do less damage now. A backline anchor or a close assault vehicle, big metal crab here can do it all in style.
**Because Defilers don't have bases, any part of the model can be used to measure distances. This is especially important in melee, where you can actually attack from your claws. This (depending on the pose of your model) can mean that you can actually reach support characters behind units. Don't forget that you can only attack units you declared a charge against if you're charging though.
*'''[[Forgefiend]]''': The Dakkafiend, now given a lease on life in 9th edition, turning a frankly garbage dinobot into a competent fire support platform, with a hefty price hike in the process. This here daemon engine is reasonably tough and comes with two flavours of gun: buff Hades autocannons (now with full range and an extra point of AP) and ''Ecto''plasma cannons (with extra range and flat D3 Blast), one of which can replace the damn thing's face. Is that metal or what. Said upgrade is not strictly necessary since both guns have different range bands and Strength, making them suited for different targets. Still, Dakkafiend is a convenient source of heavy plasma cannons (that never get hot), which have their niche, while Hades are just souped-up autocannons that need no introduction. Just keep that thing away from melee, and it will happily gun medium-sized shit down for you.
*'''[[Havoc|Havocs]]''': Now come only in squads of 5 with an improved Toughness of 5 which, make no mistake, does not make up at all for the loss of extra bodies. They must take 4 heavy weapons, and treat Heavy Bolters and Lascannons as the default loadout. In addition, they can move and fire heavy weapons with no penalties to Hit, drastically enhancing their mobility. 
** They are T5 because they have fight other marines to get their heavy weapons and it shows. Against [[bolter]] fire or the [[shoota|like]]. This sounds great until you run into a proper Guard gun line, which doesn't care about the difference between T4 & T5. 
**'''Havoc Autocannons''' The cheap and direct option with a bonus AP compared to the standard model, Havoc Autocannons are solid for their 48 inch range, decent str and 2 damage a piece shots. They wont outright kill a big unit or vehicle but it will repeatedly punch holes into it from a safe distance. Great for pissing off primaris and sniping overextending troops off objectives. ''Yup, chaos snipers wield autocannons''
**'''Heavy Bolters''' Competes with the Autocannon, but unlike the Loyalist Autocannon, doesn't invalidate it. You gain 1 shot, but lose range, AP, and S. Where the Autocannon is the MEQ-killing Sniper, the Heavy Bolter provides suppressing fire. 12 shots at S5 AP-1 D2 is tempting, but you're only going to be scoring exploding 6s in the first turn and most players will try to avoid giving you LOS/Range in the first turn. Very situational.
**'''Reaper Chaincannon''' 24" 8 Shots S5 AP-1 D1, Reaper Chaincannons are ''statistically'' your best option for killing most types of infantry, but is really ham-strung by its middling range and the fact that it's only D1. Just like the Heavy Bolters, 8-32 S5 shots is ''amazing'' for proccing LTGB, but you have to be within 24" to make the most out of it, and AoC really made it inefficient against MEQ. This is ''probably'' better on Legionaries because the 24" overlaps with their bolters, and you're not really going to feel that -1 to hit when you've got 8 shots. Havocs should spend their points on long-ranged weapons. 
**'''Missile Launchers''' are now the most flexible weapon, they're almost as good as the Lascannon against heavy targets, but not that useless against everything else. This is the weapon you want in smaller games, when you don't know your opponent or you want just one Havoc squad to fire support your army and want to move on on other stuff. The perfect "what if" weapon. Do note that if you know what your opponent's bringing then it's actually the least appealing option as Lascannons outperform it against armour, Heavy Bolters outperform it against Infantry, though you might want to keep at least one hanging around if flyers are giving you a hard time, simply because the Flakk Missile stratagem is a thing.
**'''Lascannons''' are decent against heavy targets, monsters, and overextended characters. It does its job very well but isn't point efficient against other targets.
*'''[[Maulerfiend]]''':  The Choppafiend, fast and capable of cracking open any tank it comes in contact with, now ''vastly'' improved for the same price. With WS3+ and 6A at S7x2 AP-3 Dd3+3, this thing is a freaking turbocharged can-opener that will eat light vehicles for breakfast. Said 6A also don't degrade now. For kit it's got Magma cutters, which are a pair of full-on inferno pistols (except Assault, not that it matters much, all vehicles shoot in melee now), or Lasher tendrils, which still grant a huge pile of extra attacks albeit at D1 and cost extra. You basically choose between straight up more damage to your intended targets and chaff-clearing potential in case you get bogged down on the way there. Both choices are very solid for such a cheap and vicious unit. Oh, and it ignores Charge penalties now because why not.
*'''[[Obliterators]]''': The big and shooty boys are back, and are no longer Randumb! 5" move, but they can still deepstrike, and have 5 wounds and 4 attacks at Sx2(10) AP-3 D3. But that's not why you take them, you take them for all the Fleshmetal guns they have, which now have 3 profiles, with something for every occasion:
**'''Warphail''': 24" Heavy D6 + '''9''' S5 AP-1 D1 attacks for mulching GEQs and Boyz.
**'''Ruinous Salvo''': 24" Heavy D3+3 autocannon-ish shots (S7 AP-2 D2), the D2 being excellent for taking out marines and the extra pip of AP for AOC.
**'''Focused Malice''': 24" Heavy D3 S9 AP-3 D4, which is pretty good for breaking vehicles when it gets through.
**Obliterators also get Big Guns Never Tire but with a different name (''Unrelenting Firepower''), letting them shoot in melee or on the move as if they were vehicles. 
**Because of their <Daemonkin> keyword, they can benefit from a '''Master of Possession'''. Apply Warp Marked on an enemy to guarantee a 2+ to wound or even [[awesome|bring back a destroyed 90 point model for free]] if the squad still exists. Overall, a very solid unit when you want something shot off the board, regardless of what it is.
**If you're wondering where Mutilators went, don't bother, hardly anybody took them, they were just a waste of a heavy slot. Obliterators now do the jobs of both. Plus you have Maulerfiends to round out your detachment regardless. 
*'''Chaos [[Vindicator]] Laser Destroyer <sup>[Forge World]</sup>''': This bad boy cannibalizes tanks. You should almost always supercharge the Laser Volley Cannon because the odds of rolling a 1 is small and a single MW (that happens ''after'' shooting) is peanuts. For the same reason, don't be afraid to move this vehicle around.
*'''Chaos [[Land Raider Achilles]] <sup>[Forge World] [Martial Legacy]</sup>''': Your land raider on steroids with 2 twin multi-meltas and a massive soulburner bombard that has a range of 48" with 2D3 shots. Not only is it capable of dealing massive damage and mortal wounds, it has an inbuilt 4++ which can be buffed to a 3++ if you give it Mark of Tzeentch and cast the spell off. You WILL lose friends playing it this way as you shouldn't have to be reminded how much of a pain in the ass a land raider with a 3++ is to get rid of. The only downsides are its increased cost and very limited transport capacity (6 infantry models). Put Chosen in it rocking plasma spam and send them off to kill heavier infantry while you deal with vehicles/whatever survives them (meltas for vehicles, soulburner for survivors).
**As of the Current FAQ the Achilles does not have Daemonic Machine Spirit like the vanilla Land Raider, meaning it will suffer penalties for moving and shooting. This particularly sucks ass since your soulburner is heavy, so try to find a way to put Prescience on it if you can, or use Blasphemous Machines to remove this penalty.
*'''Chaos [[Land Raider Proteus]] <sup>[Forge World] [Martial Legacy]</sup>''': For a bit more points you get a LR with some fantastic additional abilities. Standard loadout but boosted combat ability and regen, its Phylactery is good if you're going Night Lords or want to further debuff a unit hit by a butcher cannon, as well as making your opponent want to deep-strike their anti-armour outside of rapid-fire/melta range. Definitely worth considering if you want to travel somewhere with a unit like Chosen without worry of them being taken out by assholes who drop down and overcharge plasma into your ass. Also note that since its melee is boosted, it does better with assault units or other units who need to get in close as that allows it to get a charge off itself, hopefully heal from the damage and continue being a massive pain in your opponent's ass. Make sure to grab a havoc launcher, otherwise its default loadout is pretty good.
**As of the current FAQ, the Proteus does not have Daemonic Machine Spirit like the Vanilla Land Raider, meaning it will suffer penalties for moving and shooting. You can use Blasphemous Machines to remove this if you want/need to, sucks you need a CP to do it.
*'''Chaos [[Rapier Armoured Carrier|Rapier Battery]] <sup>[Forge World]</sup>''': You will likely take these for the cheap Laser Destroyer and blow enemy vehicles apart (a trio of them can royally fuck up a Knight). The quad heavy bolter's good against infantry blobs, and the graviton cannon will fuck up marines. All the weapons it can carry are good, but what you gain in point saving you lose in durability. These have stats on par with a generic character but without Look Out Sir, so keep them well hid. Lastly never forget to have some sort of aura affecting it, missing with its heavier shots is devastating.
*'''Chaos [[Whirlwind#Deimos_Pattern_Whirlwind_Scorpius|Scorpius]] <sup>[Forge World] [Martial Legacy]</sup>''': Chaos finally gets a, somewhat expensive (points and monetary), Whirlwind. The Scorpius Multi-Launcher is your main investment here allowing you to lob 3D3 Str 6 AP-2 D2 shots into the fray without needing LOS. Upgrades come in the form of an additional combi-weapon and a Havoc Launcher - but you aren't going to do that since you want it hiding all game and standing still - As doing so lets you fire the Multi-Launcher a Second Time. Like the other Hellforged it has a boosted melee ability, though you really don't want it there as staying still to fire twice at targets is way better, just get a Warpsmith/Hellwright if you want/need to repair it, and save the infernal hunger for if enemy units stray too close to you.
**For modelling purposes a Whirlwind with a third party turret should be fine for most opponents.
*'''Chaos [[Sicaran Battle Tank]] <sup>[Forge World] [Martial Legacy]</sup>:''' a Series of Relic tanks, having an improved rhino-land raider-hybrid chassis with 14W and 2+Sv. The downside is they all have Martial Legacy. In addition to its main gun and a single Heavy Bolter, you can grab 2 sponson-mounted Heavy Bolters or 2 Lascannons, a hunter-killer missile, and a pintle-mounted Storm Bolter, if you crave more dakka. The Sicaran Battle Tank has lost its anti-skimmer special rules and got nothing in return, meaning its essentially a souped-up predator. Comparatively you get an improved statline, and on the main cannon you get max shots and a better pip of AP (fuck you Salamanders). Whether those are worth the extra points cost and CP will be up to you.
*'''Chaos [[Sicaran Venator]] <sup>[Forge World] [Martial Legacy]</sup>:''' The Venator will <strike>rape</strike> explode any vehicle it looks at. Of the sponson options, go with the Lascannons. They have the same range and want to shoot the same targets as the main cannon, which will assist with securing utter deletion of your enemies. Unfortunately this tank is extremely similar to the Vindicator Laser Destroyer, which is arguably the better vehicle. Field the Venator if you can afford to buy the sponsons, can make good use of the better range, and want to bring a vehicle with a much <strike>bigger cock</strike> cooler design.
*'''Chaos [[Sicaran Punisher]] <sup>[Forge World] [Martial Legacy]</sup>:''' The draw is the Punisher Rotary Cannon- 18 S6 Ap-1 D1 shots guaranteed to make any hordes within 36" hate life. Enjoy making Orks and Tyranids cry.
*'''Chaos [[Sicaran Arcus]]''': Another Sicaran variant, acting like a bigger Whirlwind Scorpius, this one is armed with a multi-launcher. 48" Heavy 2d6 with S6 AP-1 D2 Blast and ignores LOS. if your taking an Arcus over a Scorpius, your trying to make the most out of that 1 CP and heavy slot buy butting sponsion weapon on it.
*'''Chaos [[Sicaran Omega]]''': Its Omega Plasma Array has two modes; in its normal mode, which is 36" Heavy 6 S8 Ap -3 D2 and gain +1S & D on overcharge but a MW on 1s to hit. Being a threat to TEU and vehicles while the Venator is pure vehicles and titanic units.
*'''Chaos Predator (legends)<sup>[Forge World]</sup>''': It's a Predator with some extra rules and guns. Standard Pred weapons with the ability to choose Flamestorm Cannon to bubbles up those pesky Primaris Marines, Magna-melta Cannon, a super multi-melta and bad idea that won't make its points back, and C-beam cannon that should be skipped as it's not as good as a Lascannon no matter how FW try to sell it to you. Surprisingly this is one of the few models that have characteristics that improve as it takes damage, and as such you'd do well to choose something that allows it to close in while ignoring the modifiers to its BS, making the flamers shoe-ins for the role. The plasma destroyer can also work well for softening up a unit so that the Predator can finish them off itself, in turn allowing it to heal thanks to Machina Malifica.
**Per the FAQ, you can't use the Kill Shot Stratagem with Hellforged Predators.
**A rather terrifying way to use this thing is with the Flamestorm Cannon, Two Heavy Flamers, and a Combi-flamer. T1, advance and pop smoke, warptime if you need to. T2, blaze away with your autohitting flame weapons, which don't give a damn about degrading accuracy, and charge for 5+D3 attacks as S6 AP-3, (with Hateful Assault and Rage-fueled Rampage). The more damage it takes, the more killy it is in melee, and since Hellforged models don't give a damn about spam like Relics do, spam two to three of these things (and become That Guy).