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What are the Best Chaos Space Marines Legions?
As loved as the Legions are loved in the Imperium (while acknowledging that they are 100% as bad as the bad guys and essentially all war criminals), the Space Marines are equally reviled. Starting at the (or earlier in the cases of some–we’re looking at you Angron) the Legions have devoted themselves to the Gods, Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh to one degree or another. At the very least they have become corrupted by and exist in a state of hatred, vengeance, and have only a desire to kill, maim and destroy.
But which is the best? And what are the best Units? We’ve broken it down both in terms of which are the most powerful (and least powerful) and which Space Marines are simply the coolest?
So grab your gold trim-painting brush–we’re in for a little heresy!
#1
In our ranking as the best Chaos Space Marines chapter, the Death Guard. Unlike the Word Bearers and the , the has undoubtedly picked a side, and that is with the Nurgle. Much as the Thousand Sons’ were imprisoned in their armor in an effort to save them, the have been imprisoned in bodies of decay, mutation, plague, and contagion. And worst of all? They love it. Aside from the Orks you will never see a happier army than the , with twisted smiles on their face as they embrace the swollen and pus-oozing bodies that they now inhabit.
Incredibly durable, because it’s just so hard to kill something that is already riddled with wounds and infection, the Plague Marines rely on their Disgustingly Resilient to keep them alive when their toughness and armor saves can’t. They are strong, slow, zombie-like (indeed, one of the most powerful units, point-for-point, are the Poxwalkers, which are essentially plague zombies).
They worship Nurgle, who they sometimes refer to as Papa Nurgle or Grandfather Nurgle, and they’re surrounded by hordes of little diseased goblins called Nurglings.
They are led by Mortarion, one of the best Lords of War there is (and one of the best models around).
Best of the : This is a tie between Mortarion (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES) and Poxwalkers (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
#2
The are the remnants of the Sons of Horus (previously known as the Luna Wolves). They are considered to the be unifying force in all of the Legions, under the banner of Abaddon the Despoiler. Abaddon picked up the remnants of the Sons of Horus after the Heresy failed and fled to the Eye of Terror, where he gathered his troops and regained his strength. It is the that leads the Space Marines to battle now, when they are acting as one.
The does not devote itself to a single , but are rather similar to Undivided. They recruit their troops from everywhere, from traitor legions, from specialist units like the Khorne Berzerkers or the Plague Marines, from daemons and even from loyalist worlds. Because of this, the has no specialty, and are thus very flexible. You have a lot of room to play different units, to try different strategies, and to combine forces in ways you’ve never before tried.
Basically, whenever the lore has need for , as a force, to do something on a grand scale, you’ve got the , and Abaddon especially, at the center of it.
Best of the : It’s gotta be Abaddon the Despoiler (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
#3. World Eaters
We’ve already written quite a bit about the World Eaters as we expect, given some rumor leaks in 2021 that have been remarkably accurate, that the World Eaters will get their own codex in 2022 and, hopefully, Angron will get himself his own model.
The World Eaters are devoted to Khorne (“Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!”) and they are satisfied with nothing more than the utter annihilation of anything they meet. This is due, in large part, to the Butcher’s Nails that they have embedded in their head. These nails (cybernetic implants) were originally given to Angron on his homeworld when he was made a gladiator. These implants cause increased aggression and blood lust, boosting adrenaline and making it so that the only way to relieve the pain CAUSED by the nails is to INFLICT pain on others.
They go after the biggest thing on the field and challenge it to combat, because, as with Warhammer 40k itself, with the World Eaters, there is only war.
The World Eaters are known for the Khorne Berzerkers who are everything that the World Eaters troops are only more so. The Khorne Berzerkers (which are not solely part of the World Eaters but make up part of any , especially the ) are as frightening to their comrades as they are to the enemy and will just as happily take a chain axe to a World Eater as they’ll take a chain axe to an Ultramarine.
Aside from Angron, the champion of the World Eaters is Kharn the Betrayer, who served pre-heresy in a role of calming Angron down from his fits of rage, but now he is every bit as bloodthirsty and cruel as his master. He wields a chain axe called Gorechild.
Currently, the World Eaters have few of their own and indeed are a disorganized bunch as you would expect from such a wild and ferocious legion. But I expect that their story will soon be expanded, and the World Eaters will be on the move again.
Best from the World Eaters: Kharn the Betrayer (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
#4 Iron Warriors
The original rivals to the Imperial Fists, even while they were loyal, because the Iron Warriors were masters of the siege (while the Imperial Fists were masters of defense). This rivalry was, in part, the reason that their Primarch, Perturabo, turned traitor. The Iron Warriors helped to lay siege to the Imperial Fists’ defenses in the Siege of Terra. After the , Perturabo constructed the most well defended construction ever devised, the Eternal Fortress, solely for the purpose of luring Rogal Dorn to come and fight him. The fight was brutal, with Dorn never giving up and the Imperial Fists being nearly destroyed before Gulliman of the Ultramarines came in to help in the battle. The battle earned Perturabo a place as a Daemon Primarch.
Like the Iron Hands, the Iron Warriors are masters of cybernetics and replace limbs and attach large mechanical arms to their bodies. While other Space Marines will receive mutations from the Gods, the Iron Warriors will chop off their mutated limb and replace it with a metal one.
The Iron Hands have close ties with the Dark Mechanicum and develop new villainous weaponry to go to battle against the loyalist Space Marines.
Best of the Iron Warriors: Vindicator (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
#5
The are a mystery and that is their main selling point. There are conspiracy theories upon conspiracy theories that the are not Space Marines at all. It’s often impossible to tell just what they are, what they’re doing, or why they’re doing it. Even their Primarch is a mystery: is it just Alpharius, or is it also Omegon?
As masters of deception, the attacks and makes it appear as though it was someone else doing the attacking. They strike a world, and when the survivors emerge they’ll insist that the enemy was the Eldar or the T’au.
As such, they don’t typically get a lot of love on the tabletop because matched play is just not the ‘s style. But that doesn’t mean they’re not powerful.
Best from the : Hard to pick as they don’t have anything dedicated. I’m going to give it to the Raptors for being quick and sneaky (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
#6. Thousand Sons
The Thousand Sons are gorgeous models to paint, and I think that every Warhammer 40k player has at least thought of trying their hand at the . But just as it takes a deft hand to paint them well, it takes a good player to lead them into battle. The Thousand Sons, led by Magnus the Red and Ahriman, are first and foremost a army, and magic and psykers are an essential part of any Thousand Sons force. Likewise are daemons. While some Legions may not cavort with daemons on the battlefield, the Thousand Sons nearly always do.
With the blessings of the Warp as their greatest weapon, they will summon daemons, cause your men to fight among themselves, and generally wreak havoc on the enemy with the sorcerers on their floating discs. In this they are led by Ahriman the most powerful sorcerer of the Thousand Sons right behind Magnus the Red. Prior to the , Ahriman was the Thousand Sons’ Chief Librarian, now turning all of his psychic attention on Tzeentch of the .
, and their comrades the Scarab Assault Terminators, are nothing more than animated power armor, their souls forever trapped inside their armor by Ahriman in a spell that went horribly wrong (or right, depending on your view). The Marines were being mutated by the Warp and in an effort to stop it, Ahriman used all his power and daemonic ritual to seal the Marines in their armor, becoming mindless automatons. They can still act and respond to orders, but they have no spirit, no soul.
Magnus the Red leads them, though in gameplay Magnus is generally considered not worth the points as a huge .
Best of the Thousand Sons: (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
#7 Word Bearers
The Word Bearers are interesting because they were, it appears, the very first force to turn traitor–some seventy years before Horus himself turned. Lorgar is their leader, a pitiless and miserly cleric who preached, ironically, of the godhood of the Emperor–back while the Emperor was very much a living man and wanted to stamp out all religion, especially the deification of himself.
Lorgar himself ascended to , (which means there a good chance that we may one day see a Lorgar daemon Primarch model alongside Magnus and Mortarion). But Lorgar serves Undivided. He no longer really leads the Word Bearers as he has cloistered himself away in a special part of the Warp. The Word Bearers are therefore led by servants who are equally as religious as Lorgar, such as the . Still, under this leadership the Word Bearers have remained unified, unlike the World Eaters, and now they seek a religious goal the opposite of what Lorgar originally preached: that the Emperor of Mankind is now the Corpse Emperor and that true worship is found with the gods.
Best from the Word Bearers: (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
#8 Night Lords
Another worshipper of Undivided, the Night Lords were crazy back before the . Their Primarch, Konrad Curze, led the Night Lords–while they were still loyalists–to be as bloodthirsty as possible, but for a reason: the Night Lords are terrorists. Their primary weapon is fear, and they instill fear by covering their armor in the skin and bones of their dead (and, of course, the winged-bay helmets which are KINDA silly).
The Night Lords are less armies of warriors as they are bands of torturers and cannibals. They delight in death and are eager to dish it out, but they serve no great purpose as a group, they have no mission. They are not led by a Primarch or even much of a leader. Konrad Curze was hunted down and killed by an assassin. And now the Night Lords fight foes who are weaker than they are, rarely going toe-to-toe with someone equal in strength.
If they have a strategy, it is that of stealth. They move quickly and silently, attacking quickly and mercilessly, and then vanishing into the night.
Best from the Night Lords: Night Lords (BUY FROM GAMES WORKSHOP)
#9. Emperor’s Children
The Emperor’s Children are crazed lunatic Space Marines who are devoted to Slaanesh, the of excess. Because of this devotion, the Emperor’s Children are absolute hedonists, always in pursuit of pleasure, and finding their pleasure most often in the torture and killing of others.
The Emperor’s Children are notable for their unconventional weaponry, namely sonic weapons, which sometimes are seen as big speakers but most notably seen as electric guitar guns. It would be hard to explain what the Emperor’s Children are without seeing this picture of them here.
Being one of the Legions that is devoted to a they are rarely seen without daemons, and the daemons of Slaanesh are wild and bizarre, androgynous with crab-like pincers and tentacles.
But, in their hedonism, they rarely find the will to go to actual war and instead prey on the weak who they can absolutely dominate, subjugate, torture, and ultimately kill.
Best of the Emperor’s Children: Noise (BUY FROM AMAZON | BUY FROM ELEMENT GAMES)
What do you think? Disagree with our rankings? Leave a comment below!