Forgeworld just released this new monster for Chaos Space Marines to compete with the Contemptor pattern dreadnought for the vanilla lot. Obviously the model looks great. Reminds me of a tricked out dreadknight!
However Forgeworld also provided experimental rules for this model and it's the first breath of life i've seen come from Chaos in a long time. The rules are good. It's something i'd play!
The model comes in at a modest 155pts but what are you getting for this cost?
The wargear options are all decent. The Decimator Siege Claws provide an extra attack (included in the profile already) but ignore armor saves and allow the Decimator to reroll wounds (I would much prefer hits, but I digress) but also gives him 2D6 armor penetration which with str8 is nothing to shake a stick at! But wait! there is more! For each penetrating hit inflicted on a building or transport carrying troops, the unit inside suffers D6 Heavy flamer hits in addition to the vehicle damage. That's SICK!
What are the other weapon options you ask?
All pretty good, especially the Butcher Cannon and Storm Laser but are hurt by his BS3.
For his special rules he has demonic possession which means he ignores crew shaken and stunned (You take a -1 BS when you take that upgrade so that explains his 3 ballistic skill). Unholy Vigour is where this model gets interesting. Whenever he suffers a weapon destroyed or immobilized results, he ignores it on a 5+ (this is neat by itself, but wait there is more!) additionally, if he is destroyed, place him on his side and for each subsequent player turn on a roll of a 6 he comes back from the dead with all its weapons and mobility restored! This means that once he goes down, he remains a constant threat with the chance to come back from the dead. However on the roll of a 1, he is permanently destroyed.
You can also buy him a mark of chaos but it must match a mark that one of your independent characters have.
The Nurgle mark is particularly interesting. You not only get to reroll the 5+ to ignore a weapon destroyed or immobilized result but also his ability to come back from the dead.
He does have some fairly serious negatives. The most glaring, is his initiative. He'll be spanked if he goes up against a dreadnight or dreadnought. His side armor being an 11 is also fairly alarming. I understand that his BS is reduced by 1 due to the demonic possession but it really drops his competitiveness.
I would equip him with a Butcher Cannon and a Siege Claw. As much fun as the Siege Claws are, I know that if an opponent were to immobilize him with 2 Siege Claws they would ignore him for the rest of the game. If they destroyed him, he could come back as a threat, but being immobilized guarantees he'll be out of the fight for the rest of the game.
I really like this model. It's got unique rules that are just copy/pasted from the Space Marines, you have unique weapons and a great looking model. Chaos have been so stale for so long and with a new codex on the horizon, this gives me a bit of hope that it may actually be fun again!
