[Deneris]

I've noticed that many people don't take, or even like the new Chaos Spawn, while others, like myself, can't get enough of them. In this analysis, I propose to look at the pros and cons of the Chaos Spawn in 40k.

The "Cons" of Spawn:
Cost: For the same points, you could have two Chosen marines, two regular marines, two Noise Marines, two raptors, or even a biker.

Lack of Armor: The Spawn tend to get shot to pieces by even boltguns/lasguns.

Speed: Slow and Purposeful/Fleet means they might only travel two inches in a round on a poor roll.

Options: None. Can't be given a Mark, or even some form of distance weapon, like a breath weapon.

Anti-Armor: The Spawn, with only S5, will struggle to penetrate the larger tanks. Even a rhino would be a difficult nut to crack.

Assault: Quite random. Even on the charge, it's likely to get only a few attacks.

The Spawn Walks Alone: They can no longer be taken as "ablative wounds" for Chaos Lords. They can also be misled by "decoy" units, as Spawn must ALWAYS head towards the nearest visible enemy unit.




The "Pros" of Spawn:
Toughness: A natural T5 gives them immunity to instant death from everything below a railgun (Or other s10 weapon). Three wounds also allows them to last longer versus heavy weapons than an equal points cost of marines.

Speed: As 'Beasts', they have a 12" assault move, so along with Fleet/Normal movement, then can potentially move up to 24" a round. And they also don't take up Fast Attack spots in the Force Organization chart; they don't take up ANY spots.

Meatshield: The Spawn can force the enemy to make target priority rolls, which might save more valuable units behind them from incoming fire.

"Spell Spawn": A useful tactic is to "Spawnify" a low toughness enemy model, such as a drone/gaunt/guardsman/guardian, which INSTANTLY puts the new Spawn into assault. Great if you can use it to block lines of sight, or clog a line of advancement of the enemy.

Assault: Spawn are fearless, and on a good roll can get 7 S5 attacks on the charge.

The Model: The new Spawn models, are, frankly, quite cool, and easy to work with. There's no reason why every Chaos Lord could've have different looking spawns from each other.

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I hope this breakdown helps those who are deciding whether or not to use the new Chaos Spawn in a game.

[Grindgobble Witherfume]

I know for sure that I am going to use as many as I can. I always use 10 in my LatD army, I will most likely do the same in Chaos Marines. Thanks for the overview.

[Deneris]

Originally Posted by Grindgobble Witherfume

I know for sure that I am going to use as many as I can. I always use 10 in my LatD army, I will most likely do the same in Chaos Marines. Thanks for the overview.

My pleasure.

I have 6 of the gribbly buggers assembled, and use them all whenever I get the chance- the models were a joy to work with AND paint.

[Trogdor]

You did not even mention the mindless-rule, which makes the spawns worthless. They will alwys move towards the closest enemy unit, making it more than easy for the opponent to take them for a walk... and the T5 will not protect long enough...

If it would at least score... but not even that. I do not recommend taking this unit in a serious environment. But in a friendly, non-competetive game there is nothing wrong with it.

[Deneris]

Originally Posted by Trogdor

You did not even mention the mindless-rule, which makes the spawns worthless. They will alwys move towards the closest enemy unit, making it more than easy for the opponent to take them for a walk... and the T5 will not protect long enough...

If it would at least score... but not even that. I do not recommend taking this unit in a serious environment. But in a friendly, non-competetive game there is nothing wrong with it.

Actually, I DID mention the mindless bit:

The Spawn Walks Alone: They can no longer be taken as "ablative wounds" for Chaos Lords. They can also be misled by "decoy" units, as Spawn must ALWAYS head towards the nearest visible enemy unit.

But thanks for the input .

[Trogdor]

Ooops... sorry, I overread that bit. But I still think you should emphasize this drawback more, as it is the main thing that nerfes the spawn.

[Hyena031]

To avoid the mindless curse of the spawn simply run a super cheap rhino as a screen as the latest WHITE DWARF shows. THis way you are now controlling where the spawn are going not your opponent.

[Trogdor]

So, we invest another 35 pts to justify the taking of one mediocre (at best) unit for 40 pts? And keep the fact in mind that the new chaos is VERY costy. 35 pts are nothing to be just used without a second thought.

but someone who really wants to use the spwan does not look at effectiveness, I guess. Then the rhino screen will be a good idea.

As I already said: In fun games amongst friends with anyone fielding unusual combinations this might be fun. But stay away from it if you want to win!

[Weirdfish-jr]

I read about the rhino screen in white dwarf as well. The idea seems to work pretty well so it seems worth a try at least before we completly dismiss the chaos spawn.

[ShasVre_Koyaan_KiVak]

Originally Posted by Weirdfish-jr

I read about the rhino screen in white dwarf as well. The idea seems to work pretty well so it seems worth a try at least before we completly dismiss the chaos spawn.

That's not really the point. Trogdor is saying that it will work, but it will cost too much to be worth doing.