do all CSM elites suck ?

I have been trying to fit some elites in my army ,and find all the csm elites realy crap.
Am I missing something ?

To the book!

Chosen:
Kind of meh, as there is little to no benefit to going beyond minimum squad size with them. They have access to good melee tech, but no real way to connect with their target short of grabbing a Land Raider.

Possessed:
Fearless, Fleet, and Daemon are all nice rules, and a 3+ Sv with Str 5 is nothing to scoff at, but the lack of any kind of special melee weapons is a bit of a downer. Still, MoT gives them a 4++ or MoN makes them 5++/T5, both of which can be a pain for your opponent, as demonstrated yesterday.

Chaos Terminators:
9 points a head cheaper than their Grey Knight cousins, and coming with cool models from Forge World like the Death Shroud. They can tech into melee on the cheap, but have limited options for ranged potential. Still, a Heavy Flamer for 10 points isn't bad if you're going for a dedicated melee squad.

Helbrute:
The FAQ dropping it down 5 points helped this guy a bit, making my preferred load-out only cost 115 points (that being Reaper Autocannon and Missile Launcher). The Crazed special rule can lead to some very crazy shooting, but requires it to take a hit to the face and survive.

Mutilator:
Slow and purposeful is a bit of a kick in the junk for these guys, as their complete lack of shooting and no way to assault off of an infiltrate, outflank, or deep strike gives them nothing else to do on the turn they arrive. However, they are a pretty good at grabbing hate from your opponent's shooting, as no one wants to be stuck in melee that has access to that many kinds of weapons and a 2+/5++.

Khorne Berzerkers:
The chain axe option is kind of crap, as anything with a decent armor save still gets it, and you don't even get a Str boost out of the deal like you would with a power axe. The only shooting to be expected out of this unit is pre-assault and overwatch, which is to be expected for a dedicated melee squad. The pistols are a one up over the Mutilators, however, and Fearless is pretty boss.

Thousand Sons.
4++ with AP 3 bolters is nothing to scoff at, especially with an in built Sorcerer and Fearless. Easily the most expensive of the four cultist troops. Not being able to get Breath of Chaos from the only school the Sorcerer is allowed to roll on kind of sucks, and there are probably better things a Sorcerer could be doing than hitting himself over the head hoping to get +1 to his save, or an Icy Aura.

Plague Marines:
These piles of pus in Power Armor come with T5 and a 5+ FNP. CRAZY durable. Throw in Fearless and a Poisoned(4+) weapon, you have arguably one of the best troop replacement choices in the Codex.

Noise Marines:
While ringing in initially cheaper than the Plague Marines, you know you want those Salvo, Ignores cover guns for 3 points a head. While only T4, they have the ability to pick up FNP via the banner for 30 points. The recent FAQ that lets them take one Blast Master at 5 and two at 10 makes these guys the other big contender for best troop replacement choice.


There's my two cents on the elites slot.

Yes they all suck.

You could make an argument for Noise Marines, Plague Marines, and Terminators (maybe).

But, Noise Marines and Plague Marines are better if they're taken as troops, Terminators, you're better off taking Oblits if you've got the heavy slots (which you already take... sooo... moar Oblits?)

I've played Mutilators, they do well every other game, but they're terrible.

Hellbrutes are pretty stinky, unless you take maybe 3 plasma cannon ones? Or three 100pt Multi-Melta ones? You'll be coughing up first blood though.

EDIT: I'll sell you my DV Helbrute for like... $15 if you want it. Although, I have to get permission from teh kid though.

I think I am just going to go wirh some bare bones termies.
Throw some more 2+ saves out there for cheap .

Fiends and Beasts of Nurgle seem pretty darned good. They're like Fast Attack choices that got moved to elites. :-)

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Possessed are an interesting concept, but ultimately fall flat, not very resilient, and fleet is a bit of an ugly duckling in that army, as you don't have an independent character that also has fleet to send 'em in with.

Gulsnick wrote:I think I am just going to go wirh some bare bones termies.
Throw some more 2+ saves out there for cheap .

Now I am considering a 3rd unit of spawn , they just seem better than the termies

i like noise marines

very fancy guns

The marked marines are all good... aside from twins... if you have a lord making them scoring.

Otherwise they are all unplayable. Its not that any single unit is so horrible in its own right. It's that scoring is so important in 6th edition and spending any points in non-scoring elites takes away from the ever dwindling pool you have to spend on troops/FA/HS. All of which are better buys this edition

System Commander wrote:If possessed could buy rending claws again.. I think that would go a long way to making them playable.. power weapons, +1 attack, reroll misses..not worth those points being in power amour. Id be intested to see how the Grimoire would help them, but Im guessing not all that much. I dont fail invuls with them, I just fail all their power amour saves..

Although if you gave them the mark of tznech that would give them a 2++

Except, my possessed are all red and gold and wearing khorne symbols and banners.. doh !

Plus I'm sure the grimoire would never work for them. I have used the portalglyph a few times and have had great luck.. not so much when I played Voth last week.. didn't have a chance to do much before Belial and the deathwing termies came in and took it out...