Goatboy here to ask: “If I could do anything to fix Chaos Space Marines in 2026 – what would I do?”
Goatboy here and as we get to the end of the year I sat thinking in my cave hobby nonsense and wondered “If I could do anything for Chaos Space Marines – what would I do?” Now you would think I would just do something big. But instead I want to think of small things that could help elevate the CSM codex into something matching the other armies out there. We have seen all the Cult Legion books come out and Marines get a bunch of updates so why not tweak the original bad boys of the 40K universe?
I think there are three things holding Chaos Space Marines back a bit. The initial one is really caused by CSMs coming out as one of the first codexes. As an edition gets moving along the powers that be figure out what they need to do with each new release. You can see this in how a lot of the other codexes have really pushed an elite style brawler unit in all the releases. These are the midrange bullies that come around and punch up into things. They could be a bit tough but most of the time they are designed to be a nice midrange set of damage dealers like Sword Brethren for the Black Templars or the Eightbound chassis’s for the World Eaters.
Brawler Units That Aren’t All That
Right now in CSM the units that fit this type of design are the Chosen, The Terminators, and the Possessed. Each of these units try to fit the current mold but each are missing a few things to help them out. I can’t fix the one glaring issue which is unit size but we can easily fix the other parts of this which is their damage potential. They all feel so weak in what they can do damage wise when you compare them to the other mini bully unit in the Legionaries and their two heavy weapons mixed with Character heavy weapon.
I think the real issue is in how Accursed Weapons are just not set up stats-wise correctly. You can see in all the other marine options that unless the unit has Damage 2 for the melee profile they are essentially worthless when attached to an elite body. They cost too much, do too little, and end up not being a keystone unit for the army. The profile really needs AP-2 and Damage 2 to really be worth it.
Could you imagine seeing Possessed at AP-2 and Chosen with Damage 2 on their attacks? You could increase their cost a bit if needed but it would really make them a truly scary unit to have on the battlefield and a true Elite powerhouse. It would be just a simple upgrade and help match these units to what is currently “good” in the meta.
Dark Pacts – Uggg…
The next update I think we need to talk about is how Dark Pacts – while good – are a pain in the butt to roll. It can be such a bummer to watch as you Dark Pacts your way to so many wounds on your units. I wonder if shifting it from a D3 Mortal wounds to just a flat 1 would make this too powerful? I also think the old way of shooting then seeing if you complete your Dark Pact might be a better way to go. It gives the player less “sadness” as you continue into your interaction.
I don’t know if moving it to after the completion would work as Pactbound needs that level of control to make it not the best detachment for CSM. I truly feel making the wounds less of an issue would be better. It would allow you to not lose a full model when failing and lets the Dark Pacts interaction feel the same.
Chaos Rhinos – Tune Up Time!
Finally let’s update the Chaos Rhino. Each of the cult books have unique Rhinos and it feels like CSM just missed the boat with their default troop box. Their only ability is to self repair which is a power that gets forgotten so much of the time. Which leaves me thinking that this box of doom needs something else to spice it up a bit.
The other cults each have something that improves on what their army likes to do. You have the World Eaters who let you get out early. The Thousand Sons one gives unit that disembark a +1 to hit and wound. The Emperor’s Children one lets you advance and let people out. The Death Guard Rhino gives any unit that shoots at something it shot at a reroll to wound. All of these are not back breaking so it has me thinking what can we do with the regular Chaos Space Marine Rhino to give it a cool ability?
Why not let it give out an Aura of +1 to the Dark Pacts roll. This would be a very simple and army unique option that could be extremely helpful. It is specifically linked to Dark Pacts so it won’t help with normal Leadership tests. It is only for units that get to do Dark Pacts so any of the Cult troops that join up with a CSM army won’t get help from this. It isn’t too powerful and helps keep the army damage curve inline and gives you a reason to utilize the Rhinos to help their friends out.
What do you think about these 3 CSM ideas? Are they too powerful? Would they help give CSM a nice little push? Or should I just wait for the rumored refresh coming down the pipeline?
Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I’ve been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on – or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.