Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Grand Legion of the Everchosen (section)

==Generic Characters==
'''Note:''' While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

When trying to decide whether to take a Warriors of Chaos, Beastman or Daemon equivalent in the same role, give the Magic Items available to each a quick browse as a tiebreaker.

===Lords===
*'''Beastlord:''' 65 points cheaper than a Chaos Lord and only slightly less killy (-2 WS, -2 I, -1 A), Beastlords can do well with a small bit of magical equipment and spread through a few Warrior units if you want to have several combat Lords without sacrificing your magic.

*'''Doombull:''' Oh daddy yes, the Doombull can now wreck havoc with monsters worthy of his skills. Use him in the same way you would in a Beastmen army. However, the new Legion rules means that he fits perfectly in a unit of Trolls. Give him the Blackened Plate and he'll grant the entire unit a 4+ ward against flaming attacks. Oh, and he gives them Frenzy via the Slaughter's Call special rule. Laugh when your trolls have five attacks, and are immune to fire based attacks, which was their only weakness before, and he actually beats out Chaos Lords for sheer number of models he can kill (which can spike even higher with proper items like the Ramhorn helm).

*'''Great Bray-Shaman:''' You'll likely see more of these pop up in order to give access to Lore of Beasts, something which Warriors of Chaos and Daemons of Chaos lacked.  He's got an extra point on Toughness over Sorcerer Lords, is cheaper, and can be built to be pretty decent in combat if you want to get extra power dice (see Tactics) though without Chaos Armour will need a Ward Save if you plan on getting him into combat.  Overall a better wizard if you just want one for increasing your strengths and shutting down the enemies magic, though Chaos Sorcerers get better mounts and have access to more varied Lores.

*'''[[Bloodthirster]]:''' The only Lord choice besides a Doombull who beats out a Chaos Lord in terms of sheer killyness. Expensive as hell (all four greater daemons are), but you were never going to outnumber the enemy anyway, and you're definitely getting what you pay for!  Now with three varieties thanks to End Times Archaon:
**'''Unfettered Fury:''' Basically the same Thirster you're already using.  Even the same cost.
**'''Insensate Rage:''' 100 more points for Frenzy, HKB, and a Great Weapon.  Simply put, if you charge it, it will DIE, no fucks given about ASL.  But 100 points?  Really?
**'''Wrath of [[Khorne]]:''' +150 points gives you a bevy of boosts.  Magic Resistance 3, Frenzy, Devastating Charge, Hatred (Characters) that gives him a bonus +3" when charging any.  He also gets an S5 Flaming Breath Weapon and a set of weapons giving it a middle-ground between his little brothers: +2S on the first round of Close Combat, and always issues an extra attack.

*'''[[Lord of Change]]:''' he's supposed to be the greater daemon of the god of magic, so you'd think he'd be a great wizard, but the current bland Daemon book makes him no better than the other two wizardy greaters.  He is automatically a level 2 wizard and can be upgraded to up to level 4, making him slightly cheaper (10 points) than the other casting greaters when fully upgraded.  He gets to reroll 1s on his channeling attempts, otherwise, he has no special advantages in terms of spellcasting; and only a couple of the random daemonic gifts affect spellcasting, so don't expect any help there.  He has access to Lore of Metal (which is OK) and Lore of Tzeentch (which is also OK, but wildly unpredictable).  Lastly, he's OK in combat, especially against units he can thunderstomp- however, he has Unstable, plus he can't dish out the same melee death as the Thirster or Keeper.  He's not all downside though- he can fly, and is fairly tough for non-cannons to kill (T6, W5, 5+ ward that can reroll 1s).  But if you're looking for a good spellcaster, you may want to look elsewhere.

*'''[[Great Unclean One]]:''' like Nurgle daemons tend to be, he's tougher than his comrades (+1T, +1W) but isn't all that great at combat (at least when compared to the other three greater daemons), although his Nurgle trait makes him harder to hit.  Ironically, he's particularly vulnerable to poison.  Is automatically a level 1 wizard but can be upgraded up to level 4; has access to two very good Lores- Nurgle and Death.

*'''[[Keeper of Secrets]]:''' arguably the most powerful of the four greater daemons.  Can dish out damage nearly on par with the Thirster, but can also be a devastating wizard.  Like the Unclean One, is level 1 but can be up to level 4.  (S)he can use Lore of Slaanesh (which can be surprisingly good) or Lore of Shadow (which is one of the better generic lores).

*'''[[Daemon Prince]], Daemons of Chaos Version:''' Inferior to the Warrior version seen below.  Has the same stat line and basic upgrades (flight, Chaos Armor, Wizard levels, Marks, etc).  The difference is the Daemon version is stuck with the random Daemonic Gifts charts rather than being able to reliably take magic items and mutations, and the Daemon version has the Unstable rule (Warrior does not).  To add insult to injury, the Daemon version is slightly more expensive!  Only take this guy if you like needlessly putting yourself at a disadvantage, or if you have some sort of fluff reason.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]], Warriors of Chaos Version:''' The same old unbreakable Daemon Prince from hell that everyone loves. The new rules for Lords means that you could potentially bring two of them to a 2000+ game, although doing so might make you suffer in other areas, just because you can stuff your force with Lords and Heroes, it doesn't mean that you should. Pretty much any of the 4 Gods make a brilliant unit, the Nurgle Death Prince is hated throughout the game, although the Tanky Tzeentch Prince with Lore of Metal is also pretty good. Don't forget Slaanesh, who can fly up first turn and Choir Bomb everything in sight. With a Chaos familiar and a level one wizard using Slaanesh, you are pretty much guaranteed to get Choir as your spell. Khorne is also handy, because not being a wizard makes you pretty cheap.

*'''Chaos Lord:''' The new Lord rules have been good for Chaos. You can now quite comfortably squeeze in a combat lord and a Level 4 in a 2000 point list. One of the best lords in the game, coat him in thick armour and a nice ward save and send him in at the deep end. Using Tzeentch can make you almost un-killable, Nurgle can make you un-hittable. Slaanesh isn't as popular because he has a meaty leadership 9, but if you are prone to running away like a sissy girl when your wardogs blow up then it may help you out. Khorne gives you an extra attack, which is always handy.  Chaos Lords don't usually need Magic Weapons thanks to their high statline, but If you don't want to give your Lord a special mount or specific Magic Weapon, you'll usually be better off paying the extra 25 points and getting a Doombull as their statline is better for the job.

*'''Chaos Sorcerer Lord:''' More expensive than his Beastman counterpart, but makes up for it by being able to take armour and respectable mounts.  Tool him up anyway you want, but make sure his armour save is 2+ or better and he has (at least) a 4+ ward save as  it's really easy for warriors to do and due to Eye of the Gods, he could very well end up in Challenges, though luckily for you, you are not a smelly elf mage in a cowardly robe. He is only Toughness and Strength 4, but you always give him unholy strike and sword of striking. A single attack with 2's to hit and 2's to wound (with d3 wounds to boot) means he's likely to ruin that smart ass character trying to pick on your wizard. If you want him just to get a tough lvl 4 wizard to defend against enemy magic you'll be better off with a Great Bray-Shaman.

===Heroes===
*'''Wargor:''' Unless you want a cheap BSB, you'll probably only see him around for his Beast Banner (which grants a unit +1S) which is pretty awesome in units of Warriors or units of Bestigors. He is fragile, so at least give him heavy armour, a shield and Gnarled Hide for a 2+ armour save. Even then make sure you have another character/champion in the unit, Eye of the Gods now applies to him and he has to declare and accept challenges- you don't want your BSB turning into a spawnnnnnnnaAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

*'''Gorebull:''' Not quite as good as a Doombull but decent none the less and makes for a cheap Chaos Lord stand-in. Like above, best used in units of Trolls with the Blackened Plate to make them immune to flaming attacks and frenzied.

*'''Bray-Shaman:''' A cheap scroll caddy, what every Chaos Warrior player wanted. You can make them level 1 and spam Wildform or Miasma on everything, or give one Shard of the Herdstone, surround him with a cluster of other Bray-Shamans (now that there's no duplication limit) and watch as your magic phase is better than your local elf player.  Remember you can't have any higher than 12 dice in the magic phase unless you are using the ''Khaine'' magic rules or Storm of Magic.

*'''Herald of Khorne:''' If you're going to be tossing around units of bloodletters and you want to make them better, then you need these guys; they're the only character that can join them.  They're pretty good at melee (especially when charging), although a little fragile (T4, W2, 6+/5++).

*'''Herald of Tzeentch:'''' Kind of a weird one.  He's the only Daemon character who can be a level 2 wizard and isn't a hyper expensive Lord.  Not great on his own, and not great in melee; his Loci are also odd- one is a throwaway that boosts the number of nearly useless Blue Horror tokens dead Horrors create; one gives him and his unit a random Strength value each turn; and the last gives +1S to Tzeentchy damage spells he or his Horror unit casts.  Additionally, Horrors are best used in a "Multiple Small Unit" (MSU) fashion- field many smaller, more expendable units so they can dominate the magic phase.  If you are taking one big unit of Horrors and are using the ''Khaine'' magic rules, then it's totally worth taking him with the "+1S spells" Locus; otherwise, the Bray-Shaman is probably a better choice for a cheap, low level wizard.

*'''Herald of Nurgle:'''  If you're going to be tossing around units of plaguebearers and you want to make them better, then you need these guys; they're the only character that can join them.  Very durable hero and surprisingly hard hitting, and can be upgraded to a level 1 wizard.   

*'''Herald of Slaanesh:''' If you're going to be tossing around units of daemonettes and you want to make them better, then you need these guys; they're the only character that can join them.  They're also decent fighters (they may have difficulty against high Toughness or well armored enemies), and can be upgraded to be a level 1 wizard; they are super fragile though (T3, W2, 5++).

*'''Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch:''' A web-supplement character, they are cheap and do provide you with an excellent range option! Their grapeshot is deadly (S = D6 +3) and they can march and shoot with a unit of flamers, stick a few around and clear all the chaff crap or aim at bigger, elite units.  They get Regeneration because of Warplame? Sure, it means nothing if you have sufficient numbers of Exalted Flamers. Oh, and Skull Cannons can deal with Regeneration save. 

*'''Exalted Hero:''' A slightly smaller and less angry Chaos Lord. Pretty good in combat and can also be a BSB. Again, give him some decent armour and a ward save, or use the Dawnstone.  Very adaptable, for example a BSB on a Chaos Steed with Halberd, Helm of Many Eyes, Dawnstone and poisonous slime gives him a 1+ re-rollable armour save keeps him well protected and has enough Strength to do decent damage... However, do not be tempted to spam multiples of them with the new rules, Ld 8 means that he will run away like a girl if he charges a steadfast unit, as even 4 kills is countered by three ranks and a banner.

*'''Chaos Sorcerer:''' Yet another sorcerer, aren't you spoilt for choices and it is only the hero slot. A little bit too expensive to be a scroll caddy, but you could give him the Skull of Katam. You might go insane, but no one is relying on your leadership anyway.

===Mounts===
Sadly, mounts cannot be taken cross-army. That does not mean however that they can't be in the same unit as each other though. 

*'''Razorgor Chariot:''' For starters, it's the only "mount" that Beastmen characters can take. Of course, with how crappy beastmen are in general, you're not likely to take many of them in the first place.

*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' It's a tough bombass chariot. NURGLE MARK IT. T6 with most things needing 4+'s to hit makes this guy stick.

*'''Chaos Warshrine:''' Put a sorcerer lord on it and park it behind your units.  Beware though.  It's a chariot and it cannot join units, and because enemy units can individually target your lord when he sits on top (though the 4+ save should protect him from all but archer or cannon spam).  If your lord does die the shrine is suddenly LD0, so beware.

*'''Chaos Steed:''' You know it you love it.  Your normal barded cavalry.  Take it for the +2 armor save and good mobility.

*'''Daemonic Mount:''' Better for heroes than lords, but still good regardless.  Your go-to monstrous mount.

*'''Chaos Chariot:'''  God YES. Nurgle mark makes these already tough chariots harder to kill. 

*'''Manticore:''' Would be great but is a huge target for cannons / literally anything in range of you.  Also - your lord can be targeted and the mount itself is deceptively squishy.

*'''Chaos Dragon:'''  Oh baby. 50% lords? Hello gorgeous. Put flaming breath on the rider for  2/3x2d6 auto hits in melee.

*'''Juggernaut of Khorne:'''  Khorne lords only.  Take Helm of Many Eyes and a strength buff and blend the fuck out of anyone stupid enough to stand in front of a unit of Skullcrushers with a chaos Khorn Lord.  That said - Daemonic Mount is probably a better option.

*'''Palanquin of Nurgle:'''  Cool but not great.  Park a BSB on this and keep him alive for a long time. Probably.  Also - the only current model that exists for them is the Daemon Epid-d-d-d-d-emus, and his model is... eh.

*'''Steed of Slaanesh:''' Wanna go fast?  This is the way to do it.  Great for those lords who want to be up the ass, rounding the third turn in the large intestine of your enemies on turn one.  Problem is that the mount doesn't really add any defenses, and there are few units to take him with that are really that good.  That said - taking a killy lord in a unit of hellstriders is a great way to ensure they get their bonuses before they are mercilessly killed.

*'''Disk of Tzeentch:''' Take Mark of Tzeentch, Charmed Shield, Talisman of Preservation, and Third Eye of Tzeentch on an Exalted Champion for an unkillable and highly mobile BSB.