The new Chaos Space Marines supplement updates the Codex: Chaos Space Marines in several ways and adds a lot of utility to both the normal Chaos Space Marine and also the Black Legion forces.
Giving Monster Hunter and Tank Hunter to Predator units of 3, and indeed allowing them to BE units of three is new. Many people have said in the past that if they didn't take up three slots, they might well take three tanks. The number one inequity in the Chaos Codex is against Eldar, in many peoples view. Giving Chaos a unit of LasCannon predators means you can really lay down the pain on a WraithKnight, and make it count. All large targets are on notice now, as it poses a very legitimate threat plus keeps the slots free for Obliterator Cults or other heavies you might want.
Traitors Hate also allows the triple Vindicator option as well now. I am somewhat less enthused there. I feel and always have felt that the range on them makes them very good as reserves but poor as mainline battle tanks, and are much more a deterrent than an actual offensive weapon. Having said that, if you reserve them and bring them on now, and IF all three are in range and able to fire (the wording here is sloppy and does not make clear that all three must be in range of the target) it can fire an apocalyptic blast that gains the Ignores Cover special rule. Well needless to say, that is really good against a lot of things. Multi wound models and those that rely heavily on cover will not like that. You could take an entire Optimized Stealth Cadre off the board with just one blast. Strategically, it's a strong move against Space Wulfen as well, who rely on getting to you and they tend to end up clumped after their initial target is dead. In fact there aren't many targets that would like it very much. It doesn't solve the basic inequity between Chaos and Eldar as much as the Predators do, but lets face it: it's pretty damn fun to drop that template on someones horrified visage.
The big finds in the Traitors Hate book though aren't these admittedly significant changes. The Formations that the book features are very good. I'll start with the Core designated units, and first among them is the Black Crusade Detachment. Like the Decurion and the many similar "super detachments" like it, this one has all new Command Benefits that reach into every Detachment that is a part of the super detachment.
You get to re-roll Warlord traits, you get Hatred against the armies of the Imperium, and you get Veterans of the Long War for free. Now this last piece is useful right away because Detachments that are said to be Black Legion must take Veterans of the Long War. In essence, you get to be Black Legion for free if you put them in the super formation. How important is that? I calculated my old Chaos Space Marine Night Lords list and how I had them set up (because I wanted the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night in my life), and this saved about 100 points! Not all armies are built with Black Legion in mind of course, but for those who do, or who sorely wished they could if not for the added tax, this Black Crusade "super detachment" will be a big and welcome thing.
The Path to Glory Command Benefit is super cool. You start getting Chaos Boons every single turn! This is actually a big deal because the Chaos boons are by and large extremely useful and they represent serious upgrades in most cases. The best thing is, you don't have to kill anything to get the Chaos Boon. Just assign it. Even better, this dovetails with the new Chaos Warband Formations ability (the Core Formation you will want to use in a Black Crusade super detachments if you're going to play it as a Black Legion army), which essentially lets you gain one or both of the boons you roll, your choice... which is really a buffer against becoming a spawn and makes your characters become really powerful, really fast.
The Black Crusade super detachment requires you to take a Chaos Warband Formation, consisting of 1 Chaos Lord, 1-3 Chosen, Terminators or Possessed, 2-6 Chaos Marine units. 1-3 Raptor, Warp Talon or Chaos Bikers and 1-3 havocs or Helbrutes. That is actually a fairly significant tax except that every single thing in the Chaos Warband Formation gets the Objective Secured rule! Unlike some super formations, this particular benefit is specific to the units in the Chaos Warband, but it is a REALLY significant benefit.
Now my personal list wouldn't benefit as much from this Formation because being forced to slot in an extra Helbrute and a Terminator Squad to make it work (for me) would be tough to do; but this Formation is ideal for a lot of people since so much of this is commonly in normal Chaos Space Marine forces.
Two other "Core" Formnations exist besides just the Chaos Warband Formation. You may also choose instead the Maelstrom of Gore or Lost and the Damned Formations as your Core.
For those who own a lot of cultists, or who have older IG converted armies, this is kind of fun. A Dark Apostle and 4-9 Cultists units are the Formation. A Tide of Traitors is one of their Formation benefits, which says that when destroyed, you get another identical unit in ongoing reserve on a 4+. What is amazing from an objective stealing standpoint is that these new units are outflankers! That allows you to push them forward heedless of the danger and then later in the game go after objectives. Opponents of this Formation will want objective markers as far from the flanks as they can place them. Even more compelling as a reason to consider it is that the Dark Apostle makes everyone zealot within 6" of him from that Formation. So imagine them rushing forward, never breaking, clogging up units, taking up space; and when the enemy is in poor position and over committed to killing them, the units just return for more, over and over again. Talk about not knowing where the enemy is coming from!
If Khorne is your thing, the Maelstrom of Gore is your answer. Kharn the Betrayer and 4-8 berzerker units later and you're golden. People actually have enough of these models in some cases to field it straight up and it's cool to see this much maligned, but much loved, Chaos character get the treatment. The Formation gets Blood Crazed, which is Fleet, but even better is, they get +3" to their charges. Yikes. We've seen this have a significant impact on Skitarii and other armies, and even slaanesh units within the Codex: Chaops Space Marines. Getting away from the Khornites just got dicey. The Red Rain Formation Benefit is insane. It basically says that before anything moves (in your turn), if you're engaged you get to pile in and attack for free with no response from the enemy allowed! This takes away some of the worry about being strung out as you deploy them in large circles to avoid blasts. Enemies charging them to take advantage of their defensive posture (and to steal the berzerkers charge attacks) will have a rude awakening when the Khorne berzerkers shred the unit that assaulted them, then move shoot and assault again! SURPRISE! It might be the only time an enemy ever wants to assault the berzerkers and then use the Hit and Run rule on their own turn; because doing that avoids being assaulted three times in two combat phases! Whether the enemy does or doesn't Hit and Run against it, its a nasty ability.
The destruction Kharne himself can cause doing this alone is pretty impressive when you consider the math and it also means that downing a WraithKnight is much easier because it doesn't get to fight back before you try to kill it an extra time. That will come as at least some consolation to players who have seen the WraithKight inconveniently smash into, hide in combat and then free themselves from helpless flattened berzerkers.
So the Chaos Space Marines now have some pretty beefy Core choices to place inside the Black Crusade Detachment. If you have experience using these Formations I would love to hear about it in the comments below.
