So the CSM codex is just around the corner.
Dark Vengeance had me pumped for it, even though I don't plan on getting any Chaos. I just looked forward to seeing what craziness was in store in the codex and what people came up with for conversions, paint schemes and whole armies (and ideally throwing down against a good mix of the 3).
Then there were preview pics for more models. Anything Marine/Infantry is pretty great. Those new Close Combat Mutilators look like they have Down Syndrome, but that's not awful. Nor is the lack of fluff behind them (Obliterators have a techno-virus, thus all the weapons. These are clearly based off Oblits, but need a new explanation, which would lead me to wonder "Why are they like oblits?" They look to more have a severe case of
Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis (SFW Wiki page, no pictures). But even that isn't terrible.
The Warpsmith is great. As is the Dark Apostle and Aspiring Champion (which is great to be in plastic). The Raptors are pretty sweet. I Still like the feel of the old ones as well though, and I would likely mix the two if I was building a Chaos Army. I wish they had done the Havocs and Oblits as plastics. Hopefully eventually they will, but what ever. I'd like to see new CSM and Khorne Beserker sculpts as well, but that isn't bad either.
And I have no idea of the rules yet either. They may be the greatest set of rules ever written. From what I have seen, they are pretty good (Warlord Traits and Boon Table). But the rules aren't all that make a release "good".
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| What I assume the special edition cover looks like. |
What is upsetting and ruins the codex, before it is even released is 3 models. You know the 3. The Heldrake, and the Forgefiend/Maulerfiend. I am not even that too dissapointed in the sculpts. Okay, well for the Heldrake at least, that Forgefiend without a face is pretty horrendous.
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| WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR FACE! |
These may play a critical role in the codex. We know that the codex needs a Flyer, but this guy?
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| CAW CAW CAW |
HE IS NOT THE ANSWER. Don't get me wrong, it looks cool. It look Chaotic. But it isn't CSM. It should have been released a few months ago along with the mini Chaos Daemons release. They need a flyer, and this is PERFECT for them. Daemons only have one Daemon engine, the Soul Grinder, why not more? Especially needed ones. As we have seen, 6th ed is an edition where shooting is needed more than CC. CD is almost entirely CC, so the Forgefiend fits a perfect roll in that codex, and the Heldrake would be the perfect flyer for them. And then the Maulerfiend just looks daemonic.
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| Chaos Biovore |
But these are not CSM units. Codex CSM needs to be the fallen forces of Humanity, not the forces born of the Warp. They still use equipment and technology based on Imperial tech. The biggest evidence of which is in Battlefleet Gothic to be honest. None of they ships are super crazy. Even the Planet Killer has some logic about it.
So yes, CSM does have one daemon engine, the Defiler, but that looks like it was built by humans and then possessed. The Fiends look half daemonic and half robotic, like the Soulgrinder, so they are clearly from the Warp. They may have worked if there had been Dark Mechanicus Adepts in the codex, but there aren't so it is a miss.
GW just really missed the mark here. We are talking about a codex of fallen humanity, many of them 10,000 years old. That's Heresy old. Wait a second. Isn't someone doing the Horus Heresy? Oh yes, Forge World is. Shouldn't Chaos being using alot of that tech? Yes they should. See what the design studios should've done is cooperated on the two projects a little. Codex CSM should have one or two heresy era vehicles, with possession/chaotic kit to them. Then FW could produce cleaner versions/conversion kits for the plastics (so people could afford it and be more likely to buy HH stuff) and produced complete kits of the more esoteric items and vehicles that didn't last or aren't that common. A perfect vehicle for GW to have done would have been a Predator Executioner (plasma pred), Jetbikes or a Spartan Assault Tank
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| Super Land Raider |
This thing hold 25 Space Marines. Sounds like a legion relic. Oh, and can't CSM take squads of up to 20 guys? Sounds like a great transport for them. And not too hard to make a plastic kit. And it fits with Space marines.It is PERFECT! Where this is not:
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| Polly wants a cracker |
These new models just totally miss the feel and mark that CSM should have. They belong in Codex Chaos Daemons, and I wish they had been incorporated into that instead. Plus, then instead of the ridiculous Dragon, CSM could have a real fighter, backed up by Fluff and Fans alike (and super easy to make a plastic kit of IMO).
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| This even looks like it flies better. |
