I agree with your points Aldaris, I was just trying to bring a bit of balance to the discussion
I rarely take icons, although the IoK sometimes makes an appearance, as in my last list. It is only as hard to kill as a champion and most of the time, you can avoid allocating wounds to that model. Most of the time I field two ten man CSM squads, one armed for long range, one for short.
I used to use T.Sons a lot more than I do these days. They used to be used all the time, but I find they make only around quarter of my lists these days. Sometimes it is nice to use them, I like the models. The real crippler is the vast cost the sorcerer is, especially with a compulsory power.
Relentless ap3 bolters are good weapons though! Just need a bit of planning, like putting objective markers in the open, to get the most out of them.
Chaos are not a top list, but I find they are relatively simple to build strongish lists. The real problem is there are only a handful of great choices in the list, Daemon Prince, Plague marines, Obliterators and possibly terminators. Most of the others are sub par compared to regular marines.
In a lot of ways I think chaos are lucky that cult troops come from troops, and not elites, as this allows you to build an effective list with just troops choices.
