So first there was the Chaos book which got largely slammed except for the Heldrake. Supplements started coming out and after a so-so Iyanden and a pretty strong Farsight, everyone was hopeful. Then Black Legion came out. And the Iron Hands and the Imperial Fist ones followed by some really questionable Dataslates after the Tau one until we got the Tyranid ones. Things have turned around we hope! And thus we get to Crimson Slaughter. Which is actually, well decent.

Hyperbole aside, Crimson Slaughter is no Black Legion and although it’s not the “auto-replace of CSM” it’s a nice alternative if you can use what it provides.

Full rules and pictures here.

So, let’s start with the basics.

All of your units have Fear! Excellent… It comes in handy occasionally but don’t rely on it.

Your Possessed are Troops. They still suck. Oh new table – 1 = shrouded, including any vehicle they embark upon; 2 = become beasts; 3 = 3++ and Rending. All of those are solid options though some are much better than others and better in different places than others. Again, it’s a random table and Possessed are still really expensive. I can certainly see them getting more use but on the whole, less so. This would have been much better if it was a case of choose your power – 3++ is valuable when there is a ton of stuff ignoring your armor (like Heldrakes? Tau, etc.), Shrouded is great if there isn’t a lot of cover ignoring stuff your opponent has and of course Beasts are great in just being faster. But sometimes you want that 3++ and get Shrouded – Tau or Heldrakes, etc. don’t care – you still die just as easily. Random = bad.

Next – a unit of Chosen’s Champion can become special and the unit gains Preferred Enemy. Not a bad option but given you shouldn’t really be taken anything but small Chosen squads for max special weapon goodness, it’s not something you’re generally looking at paying 10 points for. Certainly not a bad option if you were already taken some Chosen but it just makes the unit a quicker target to fall.

Only Plagues, Zerkers and Noise Marines can take Veterans of the Long War. Again, not a huge thing as most units were not taking this but it’s an option lost. Something to keep in mind.

Allies – same as CSM and it clears up the supplement/parent issue again; yes you can – as Battle Brothers. Necrons, Daemons and IG are all still viable, etc. too.

Right then – Warlord Traits;

– Hatred for unit; consistent re-rolls against DA units. Solid. -1 Ld for enemy units within 12″ of Warlord; -2Ld for enemy units within 12″ of Warlord taking Fear tests. Also solid as it makes those tests come into play. Rage and Furious charge but if within 12″ of a unit, cannot shoot and must charge if possible. Bad; very very bad. Crusader. Meh. Models take D6 S3 hits each at I10 in combat. Meh amusing but not great. Shrouded. Solid.

Good options with the mix of so-so options and one really shit option. Not the worst table but no Tau table.

And then the Relics.

Crozius of Dark Covenant (30 pts) – +2S/AP4, Concussive and 6″ Zealot aura; not a huge fan

Blade of the Relentless (30 pts) – AP3 with added bonuses based upon kills (+1S, AP2, +1S and finally instant death); if you can charge this early to get +2S and AP2, solid weapon but that first combat its used as – blargh unless they are GEQs.

Slaughterer’s Horns (15 pts) – Furious Charge, Hammer of Wrath and Rage USRs. +1S, effective +2A on normal charging models is nice but not great.

Balestar of Mannon (25 pts) – Sorc gets to use Divination and re-rolls psychic tests but doesn’t get Deny the Witch bonus (who gives a flying hoot?). Primary reason you’d be looking at this supplement as Divination kicks ass.

Daemonheart (30 pts) – 2+ armor and IWND; not for Daemon Prince. Solid but without an improved invulnerable a bit pricey.

Prophet of the Voices (30 pts) – Deamon, Fearless and Fleet USRs and the Possessed table discussed before (but can only join Crimson Slaughter possessed units).

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Relics are generally not overpriced pieces of garbage which is a huge change – some can see a bit more use but the main thing is obviously the Balestar; things like Misfortune are such a game changer at times and the option to have it is great. The rest are obviously melee focused which is not what 6th edition is about and there are options like Black Mace which you are losing out on. Possessed Troops are a nice option but not something I imagine is going to flood the field, etc.

What’s nice to see is a theme has been taken and actually applied relatively well. Again, a lot probably isn’t the tip top best but it’s consistent across and other than the Balestar or the shitty Warlord Trait, you’re not pointing to something that is way better / worse than everything else in nearly every facet; something which has been common lately for Games Workshop. It adds more options to a CSM player’s arsenal which is always nice though some of that randomness removed would be nice…

We’ll see what it does but I don’t think it’ll sweep all normal CSM away; scoring Possessed isn’t strong enough without a price break.