Raider Rush

OK, so finals are over, I've got a month off school, and I'm sitting in my dorm room alone on a Friday night blogging about 40K eating Starbursts. How the hell do I have a girlfriend?

Anyway: my thoughts on the third of the top CSM builds, Raider Rush. I personally play Raider Rush CSM because it suits my playstyle well. The basic idea is to take a couple Land Raiders, fill them up with Berzerkers, and just mug your enemy.

So what units do you need?

Daemon Prince: Unlike the other top CSM builds, there's only really room in here for one DP. I run the MoS, WT variety when I have 5 pts to spend, otherwise it's just WT. The DP really has to pick its battles in this build because there's only one. Of course, Berzerkers really help with the heavy lifting.

Termicide: Mandatory. Absolutely mandatory. For turn 2 or 3 zerk charges, you need something to open transports, especially Raiders and the like. If a Raider is moving, it can't fire very well if at all, and there's no other ranged antitank in the build.

Zerks: You've heard my thoughts on Zerks before, and they really shine here. With the Raiders giving you the ability to pick your charges, you can always have FC on if you play it smart. Remember that the Raider has side doors that you can assault from as well.

CSM/PM: More scoring units and a followup wave. 1 unit at 1500, 2 at 1750. See my thoughts below on CSM vs. PM. I actually like CSM in Raider Rush, though, because if you need to hit a Termicide later in the game, you can do it off an IoCG.

Land Raider: The backbone of the list. Most people will tell you to just barrel forward 12" per turn and charge ASAP. This doesn't really work. You can afford to take a turn and open transports with lascannons, then move forward as Termicide drops and charge the disembarked squads. Just don't expet the Raider to do it all-you either sit and shoot, move 6" and get a LC shot, or move 12" and assault.

That's Raider Rush. The build has trouble with a lot of common things, though, including Vulkan and just about every kind of Guard. Against an enemy that has to come to you or can't stop the Raiders in time, you'll win them all.