Codex: Crimson Slaughter

G'day everyone! 

So the supplement Codex: Crimson Slaughter has been released, and there are actually quite a number of interesting rules/wargear that have come with it. So let's have a look at a few of the differences, shall we?

Army wide special rules:

May not take Chaos Artefacts - have to choice from Relics of the Crimson Slaughter 

Harbingers of the Torment - ALL models in a Crimson Slaughter Detachment have the Fear special rule. 

Slave to the Voices - In a Crimson Slaughter detachment, all units of Possessed are Troops choices instead of Elite Choices. In edition, they do not roll on the 'Vessels of Chaos' table in the CSM codes, but instead on the following table at the beginning of each controlling players turn:

1 - 2: The unit, and any vehicle they are embarked on, gain the shrouded special rule

3 - 4: The units type is changed to Beasts

5 - 6: Units invulnerable save is increased to 3+, and they gain the Rending Special Rule. 

Renegades of the Dark Milenium: the only models that may purchase the Veterans of the Long War upgrade are Khorne Bezerkers, Noise Marines and Plague Marines. 

So, nothing too amazing there. Possessed as troops certainly isn't something that people will madly jump at, but giving every model in the detachment Fear is certainly a welcome upgrade. 

Warlord Traits:

1 - Warlord and any unit he joins has Hatred. Against Dark Angels, this is in every round of combat. 

2 - All enemy units within 12" suffer -1 to their leadership. In addition, enemy units within 12" suffer a -2 leadership penalty when taking Fear tests. 

3 - Warlord has Furious Charge and Rage. If the warlord, or any model in a unit he joins, is within 12" of an enemy model at the start of the shooting phase, they may not shoot and must attempt to assault in the ensuring assault phase. 

4 - Warlord and any unit joined gains the Crusader special rule. 

5 - Enemy models in base contact with the warlord take D6 str 3 AP - hits at the Initiative step of 10 in each assault phase 

6 - Warlord gains Shrouded 

So those warlord rants aren't actually that bad. The -2 penalty to enemy Fear tests is nice (if you aren't playing Space Marines, who are of course immune) and the various combat buffs are welcome, but definitely not something to scream and shout about. Shrouded is always going to be a nice addition and would go well with something like a Spawn star. 

Some interesting wargear:

Balestar of Mannon

- Chaos Sorcerer only. 

- The bearer may generate powers from the Divination discipline, and re-rolls failed phychic tests. However, he nor any unit he has joined may benefit from Deny the Witch modifiers. 

Daemonheart

- May not be taken by a Daemon Prince 

- 2+ Armour Save

- It will not die 

So Divination is brought to Chaos Space Marines without the need of Allies... That I'm sure is a very welcome addition to many players. This is also brought on a very solid casting platform (rerolling failed powers). And finally some sort of Artificer armour! It will not die also makes your now-even-more-badass Chaos Lord... Well, even more badass. 

I'll update this post soon with some of the other Wargear options but hope you like what you see so far! The guys and I will try to write up some sample lists and see where this will sit in with competitive gaming. 

Alles gute, 

TommyH