Codex: Chaos Space Marines

Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition

by Games Workshop

For ten thousand years, the Chaos Space Marines have waged near-constant war on the galaxy that cast them out. Genetically augmented post-humans clad in baroque power armour, these ancient warriors are festooned with the battle scars and trophies of their treachery, marked by the blessings of foul entities from beyond reality. From the veteran murderers of Renegade Chapters to the Traitor Legions of horrific legend, the Heretic Astartes fight for vengeance, for glory, for the sheer madness of battle.

Led by the champions of Chaos – from towering Daemon Princes to malevolent Sorcerers – squads of veteran Legionaries fight alongside growling battle tanks, surrounded by teeming mobs of cultists and mutants desperate to impress their dark masters. Whether mortal, machine, or Marine, all are worthy vessels to be possessed body and soul by daemons of the warp, bringing doom to their foes as gargoyle-mouthed Daemon Engines or hideous and deadly Possessed. Such armies are the deadliest threat to the Imperium of Mankind, their Long War born from the bitterest of hatreds.

This expansive book is a must-have guide for those who collect and play the corrupt Astartes known as Chaos Space Marines. It contains all the rules needed to play a Chaos Space Marine army – including a host of iconic Legions – along with a forbidden library of lore. Learn about the initial seeds of betrayal, the glorious Black Crusades of Abaddon the Despoiler, the hazards of daemon worlds, and the most infamous Traitor Legions and Renegade Chapters of the Chaos Space Marines.

Inside this 184-page hardback book, you'll find:

– In-depth background information on the Chaos Space Marines, from the first days of the Horus Heresy to the damned empires rising across Imperium Nihilus
– Gorgeous artwork featuring hellish visions of wrack and ruin wrought by the veterans of the Long War
– All the rules you need to play a Chaos Space Marine army, including 44 datasheets covering the lowliest Cultist and mightiest Daemon Prince, plus 15 psychic powers, a range of in-depth Legion rules, Prayers to the Dark Gods, Marks of Chaos, and more
– Rules for Crusade campaigns and narrative games that let your champions pursue daemonhood – or suffer spawndom – as they burn, maim, and kill their foes
– An 'Eavy Metal showcase featuring literal Legions of gorgeously painted Chaos Space Marine miniatures

184 pages, Hardcover

Published July 2, 2022

About the author

Games Workshop Group PLC (often abbreviated as GW) is a British miniature wargaming manufacturing company. Games Workshop is best known as developer and publisher of the tabletop wargames Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.

Reviews

[T R Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 9th edition version of Codex: Chaos Space Marines contains rules that allow player to bring the six of the First Founding Traitor Legions (the Death Guard, Thousand Sons & World Eaters having their own books), as well as the Red Corsairs and the Creations of Bile to the tabletop. Both the main rules and the Narrative Crusade rules are set out by Legion before moving to the general rules that are applicable to all the sub-factions covered. While the rules themselves seem good (particularly the Glory Crusade rules) I was a little disappointed that the book didn’t include the option of customising sub-faction traits as many of the previous Codices from this edition have done

The background section includes a brief overview of the Chaos Space Marine faction as a whole, as well as the units they field, before moving onto brief piece on each of the sub-factions covered. While this section doesn’t go into great detail, it is still quite interesting to read, and brings the lore for the faction up to date with the latest edition of the game. Of particular not is the six page short story, the Traitor’s Tarot, that does a very good job of showing the diversity of fates that await Traitor Astartes.