I had recently obtained a copy of the 2nd edition Chaos Codex. I'd never played Chaos before 7th/8th edition. I was not interested in playing "bad guy" armies as a kid and I've always gravitated towards Loyalist Imperial forces or tragic alien races like Eldar and even the sadly misguided and naive Tau.
The book is loaded with information and has a lot to it. It definitely feels like a more fully realized book than the Ultramarines Codex (or even Space Wolves and Angels of Death, for that matter).
I decided to break protocol and adapt my small IV Legion (Iron Warriors) army for play in 2nd edition. I've been breaking even with them more or less, playing in a ladder style mini-campaign.
I was disappointed to see that Combi-Bolters, the predecessors of the Imperial Storm Bolter, are better in 2nd edition than Storm Bolters are. It's interesting how much Games Workshop focused on the Sustained Fire Dice in that edition. Combi-Bolters are Twin Linked: roll one time to hit and if you hit, roll twice to wound. That's effectively like rolling a '2' on the Sustained Fire Die *every time*. With the Malfunction mechanic working as it does, it's interesting to me how Storm Bolters are by comparison very unreliable and average 1.5 hits per shot (even taking into account that you can conceivably hit 3 times in one shot).
