With the rise of the 5th edition nids and the increase in power that ork hoards received, lists have evolved in 3 ways.
A: They have become mobile to take objectives
B: They need solutions to Tough critters and heavy vehicles
C: They need to be able to thin hoards quickly and efficiently.
Today's bit of writing is largely concerned with the last point. As more than half the missions in the 5th ed ruledbook are down to objectives, taking and holding them has become more important. Although we have seen a increased reliance on troop choice for these jobs there is a alternative.
Taking multiple large squads is very expensive points wise and can leave you with few points to spare for the multple other niches that need filling in your army. Most marine players run 3 scoring units, either 3 10 man squads, 2 10 man squads + 5 man squad or another alternative scoring unit. Bearing this in mind I've recently started fielding the following squad.
10 Chaos Space Marines
Icon Of Chaos Glory
4x Heavy Bolter
The squad is reasonably cheap and pumps out 12 S5 Shots, and 6 S4 shots all at 24". Once the enemy closes to rapidfire range this increases to 12 S4 shots and 12 S5 shots. With the prevalance of cover saves in 5th edition I have definately found the increased volume of fire superior to my previous plasmagun setup. At this point I often upgrade the squad to a Aspiring champion + powerfist. This prevents 2 things, First I can't be tank shocked out of cover as easily and secondly dreadnaughts and other powerful walkers arn't AS much a threat anymore. The above squad is great for taking out light infantry (ork masses) or trying to keep down the never ending waves that Tervigons spawn. Bearing in mind not all places on the table have cover, so if you catch a unit of light infantry in the open you can badly maul or destroy them. Due to the number of shots not even marine units can stay in their line of sight for too long, especially when combat squaded.
The squad above still can't hold objectives though, so to reinforce them there are two methods. Method one involves using a small troop squad (5 men no upgrades) and literally just hunkering down in cover. This isn't ideal but for 75 points isn't all that bad. Concentrated fire from the enemy can leave you without anything scoring though, especially against a canny player. The second option is to use a mobile squad of some sort, either a deepstriking troop squad or a vehicle mounted squad that comes in on the 4th turn or so.
My Tagteam partner of choice for the Havoc squad is the lesser daemon entry. They Deepstrike (well get summoned anyways), they can use the Icon the Havocs are carrying and they won't be around to get shot on the opening turns of the game ensuring that they will be intact to hold the objective when they arrive. Add to this the fact that they are fearless and reasonably cheap (by CSM codex standards) and they make a great support unit for this squad. They also come in squads as small as 5, meaning you can easily fit 2 units of 5 into your list. 130 Points for two scoring units is not bad at all.
Now to top all this off, many CSM players field rhino borne squads of one description or another. Plague Marines, Khorne Berserkers or even just regular old CSM squads all regularly streak across the table to get to grips with the enemy. But occasionally the fickle finger of fate will finger you, leaving one or multiple Rhino squads stranded on your side of the table. You have to march across the table absorbing casualties, often only able to take close and midfield objectives. In this case the Lesser daemons provide a safety net as they can deepstrike on to enemy objectives either contesting them (if held by the enemy) or to flat out take the objective. Posts and opinions welcome.
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