Editing Khorne Berzerkers (section)

==Tabletop History==
Berserkers (or ''Berzerkers'' if you prefer) trace their origins back to Rogue Trader and are arguably one of the few units from then to basically survive the retconning rampant throughout other units in the game, largely in terms of fluff and spirit. Their crunch and effectiveness however have varied throughout the editions but they have always been described as angry motherfuckers that have no fear, just all anger - built for close combat exclusively.

===Second Edition===
This is the one neckbeards think happy thoughts about. Frenzied, shitload of attacks, [[chainaxe]]s, kickass weapon skill - mmmmm... Notable here was that these basically ported rules over from Fantasy and the Aspiring Champion could take a Bloodletter's sword for gear. Fun times!

They could also take relatively less Khornate weaponry like Bolters, Meltaguns and Flamers if you're into that sort of thing, you freakin' scumbag.

===Third Edition===
This is where things get confusing. Though 3E nerfed everything when it landed and the Berserkers were no exception, there was a stitch in the rules - just how much strength does an individual Berserker have? Some said 5, some said 6: again, the rules said they had the Mark of Khorne which granted +1S back in the day, but Games Workshop had to point out that this bonus was included in the profile. Regardless, they were stronger and had more attacks than a CSM as well as being fearless. Unfortunately, their signature [[chainaxe]]s were effectively sticks so bummer about that. A quirk with this edition is that if your chaos lord had the Mark of Khorne, you could take these guys in the new troops slot, so that was cool too.

Then the infamous 3.5 book hit and... well, Berserkers actually didn't get blasted into the sky with cheese. They were good sure, but not seriously OP as they were just upgrades for various CSM units. Their [[chainaxe]]s were Ork [[Choppa]]s and the Mark of Khorne bestowed fearlessness, +1 attack and if played in the World Eaters army, lost all options for heavy and special weapons except [[Plasma Pistol|plasma pistols]]. Basically, the Berserkers themselves weren't that great but at this time there were also Berserker bikers, chosen, terminators and possessed, which was pretty fucking cool. Oh, and some of those could take veteran skills, which was almost always Furious Charge because of course it was.

===Fourth Edition===
Aw shucks, well that happened didn't it? No more Berserker anythings but MEQs on foot with no extra sauce and their [[chainaxe]]s are sticks again. However, they got moved to the Troops slot permanently which was cool plus they got a higher WS 5 and Furious Charge. Overall, not bad for a price bump to 21 pts./model but with all the things included, it was actually a bit of a steal from the previous codex. Unfortunately, they were overshadowed by Plague Marines, who were just more survivable for only costing 2 pts./ model more. Berserkers would languish for an edition before getting an update in 6th...

===Sixth Edition===
This is the painful part; they were basically regular Chaos Space Marines with close combat weapons and [[Bolt Pistol|bolt pistols]] (which they use as good clubbing instruments). They retained their higher Weapon Skill, Fearless, and Furious Charge from the last time around, as well as the Mark of Khorne, which now gave them Rage and Counter-Attack. They could hypothetically butcher in melee if they could get there and assuming they had the charge. Their price tag got cut to 19 points per model, but with poor transport options (expensive [[Land Raider]] or assault-ramp-less [[Rhino]]), and then came the overall nerfing of melee in 7th Edition (and the sheer fragility of one wound MEQs in the current meta), it's very difficult to get them there. In their defense, the most Zerky CSM squad will be 20p cheaper, but not Fearless or at WS5. So it's always more worth it to take regular Zerks, which scored in 7th and changed Counter-Attack so it no longer requires a Ld test. Also MoK Lord [[Kharn|or this fun guy]] made them Troops.

7th Edition also saw them show up as part of the Khorne Daemonkin codex, allowing them to be fielded as troops alongside Bloodletters without using allied detachments. While everything listed above still applied, you're now forced to take at eight models at minimum, making even a bare unit less affordable than in the CSM codex. While these berzeerkers can benefit from the various loci of the heralds as well as the army-wide blood tithe rules, the unit itself gets nothing new.

===Eighth Edition===
Berzerkers have been buffed back into the little close combat monsters they should always have been. They now have a base Strength of 5, which can be increased to 6 with a [[Chainaxe]] (which also has -1 AP). Alternatively a regular [[Chainsword]] (with no armor modifier) gives them an additional attack (on their 2 base). Chainaxes can either replace their Chainsword or their [[Bolt Pistol]]. Even better, the Blood For The Blood God ability allows Berzerkers to fight ''twice'' in each Fight Phase (yours and your opponent's), meaning a single Berzerker will be hitting 4 times at S6 or 6 times at S5 every fight phase depending on your loadout.
*Alternatively, give them both chainaxes and chainswords, and strike with four S6 AP-1 attacks AND two S5 AP0 attacks.

===Ninth Edition===
[[File:Khorne-Berzerkers-9th.jpg||thumb|lright|Plastic for the plastic addicts]]
Hey, remember that time back in third where you could field berzerker everything? Would you like to do that again? And no, not that stupid Khorne Daemonkin abortion from 7th edition that nobody liked nor asked for, how about a legit World Eaters Codex or Supplement? Well guess what - thank Khorne because the World Eaters get their own book in ninth!

*On top of that the nearly 20-year old berzerker kit, one of the longest-serving plastic kits in 40k, is ''finally'' being replaced with a snazzy new version. No more conversions necessary for berzerkers that don't look like ass compared to the new models.
*To tide people over between the release of Codex:CSM and Codex:WE geedubs released supplemental rules per White Dwarf, which saw Berzerkers receiving the same increase in stats as all marines, with the caveat that equipment is now streamlined to "berzerker chain weapons" and pistols for the whole squad, no sword/axe combo for you.
*Judging by the preview of the squad on the right we can assume weapon/pistol baseline as before, with some new two handed weapons to sprinkle in your squads (and add incentive to buy the new kit).