Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Slaves to Darkness

Grand Alliance Chaos Slaves to Darkness

'

Lore Tactics General Tactics

The old warriors of chaos enter the Mortal Realms as the re-done Slaves to Darkness. The Slaves to Darkness fight for any of the chaos gods or the gods as a pantheon, and can be built in a variety of ways with plenty opportunity for synergy between heroes and units.

Why Play Slaves to Darkness?

Pros

• Your faction acronym is "STD"
• Reuses Warriors of Chaos models from WFB, making them a quasi-old-school faction (or at least a money-saver). And the new models themselves aren’t too shabby either.
• Pals with most other Chaos factions, providing an absurdly stupid wide range of allies, allegiances, and playstyles (practically, only skavens are out of the equiation).
• You have lots of options for battleline units. Even by accident you will end up having battlelines.
• If you have war bands from Warcry, you can include them in your army lists.
• Your faction's poster boy killed a world, so his credentials are beyond reproach.
• Playing Nurgle Slaves with Demon Princes: great fun to watch enemies kill themselves - the more they attack you, the more they die!

Cons

• Your faction acronym is "STD"
• Traits and abilities are now specifically for Slaves to Darkness, which isn't a con for this army, but hurts value in other Chaos armies.

Rulebooks

Faction rules and abilities: Battletome Slaves to Darkness

Forgeworld warscrolls: Monstrous Arcanum

Latest Matched play points: Battletome Slaves to Darkness

Core rules: here

Matched play rules, battleplans and expansions: General's Handbook 2022-23 Season 2, plus the battleplans from the Core Book.

Supplement all the above with any Errata and Designers' Commentary from the FAQs.

Allegiance Abilities

Battle Traits

If your army has a SLAVES TO DARKNESS allegiance and chose to take the SLAVES TO DARKNESS allegiance abilities, it has the following rules:

Damned Legions: You must belong to one of these. If a model already has a keyword from one, they cannot gain another, it can still be included in your army but it can't benefit from the allegiance ability of that legion. Legions are: Ravagers, Cabalists, Despoilers, or the Host of the Everchosen.

Aura of Chaos Power: SLAVES TO DARKNESS HEROES can grant an ability to friendly SLAVES TO DARKNESS units which have the same Mark of Chaos as them. The units in receipt of the ability must be wholly within x" of the HERO when they use the ability. A unit that is wholly within x" of more than one friendly SLAVES TO DARKNESS HERO can only use the Aura of Chaos Power from one of them. If a model has more than one mark of Chaos, you can only choose one and it lasts for the duration of the battle. Sorry Archaon.

The abilities are:

• Khorne: Re-roll hit rolls of 1 for attacks made with melee weapons by a unit granted this ability wholly within 12". If the aura-holder is the general, you get +1 to wound as well.
• Slaanesh: Unmodified hit rolls of 6 explode into 2 attacks for a unit granted this ability wholly within 12". If the aura-holder is the general, you can reroll run and charge rolls as well.
• Nurgle: Unmodified wound rolls of 6 get +1 damage for a unit granted this ability wholly within 12". If the aura-holder is the general, you get -1 to be hit by missile weapons as well.
• Tzeentch: Re-roll save rolls of 1 for a unit granted this ability wholly within 12". If the aura-holder is the general, 5+ optional roll to ignore spell effects.
• Undivided: Don't take battleshock for units granted this ability wholly within 12". If the aura-holder is the general, you get 6+ FNP.

Basically a variant to the Warshrine's Favour of the Ruinous Powers, without the need to pray. Solid enough already.

Eye of the Gods: If a SLAVES TO DARKNESS HERO with the EYE OF THE GODS keyword makes an attack in a combat phase that slays one or more enemy HEROES or MONSTERS, at the end of the combat phase, make a roll on the table below after the HERO’S attacks have been completed. Duplicates are treated like a 7 - nothing happens.

2D6	Reward
2	Spawndom: You can add a Chaos Spawn to your army. If you do, set up a Chaos Spawn model within 1" of the HERO, and then remove the hero. If you do not add a Chaos Spawn to your army, the hero suffers D3 mortal wounds instead.
3	Slaughterer's Strength: Pick a melee weapon for this HERO. Improve its rend by 1.
4	Murderous Mutation: Pick a melee weapon for this HERO. Add 1 to its attacks.
5	Iron Flesh: Add 1 to the HERO’s save rolls for the rest of the battle.
6	Flames of Chaos: The HERO can choose to ignore a spell or endless spell on a 4+.
7	Snubbed by the Gods: Your hero burps. Nothing else happens.
8	Unholy Resilience: The HERO gets a 5+ FNP.
9-10	Daemonic Legions: Add a unit to your army. Unit added depends on your HERO’s mark. 10 Bloodletters for Khorne, 10 Pink Horrors for Tzeentch, 10 Daemonettes for Slaanesh, 10 Plaguebearers for Nurgle, or 6 Furies for Undivided. Must arrive wholly within 12" of the hero and more than 9" from any enemy, so if you're in the thick of it this may sadly end up being Snubbed by the Gods by another name.
11-12	Dark Apotheosis: You can add a Daemon Prince to your army. If you do, set up a Daemon Prince model within 1" of the HERO, and then remove the hero, but the DP gains their command traits, artefacts and will be the general if the removed hero was. If the HERO was a wizard, the Daemon Prince is a wizard with the same casting/unbinding ability. If you do not add a Daemon Prince to your army, you can heal D3 wounds instead.

Lore of the Damned

1. Binding Damnation: CV7. Visible target within 12" fights last until your next hero phase.

• Terrific effect, but fairly high casting value, so still a bit of a gamble.

2. Spike-tongue Curse: CV3. Visible target within 12" takes 3 mortal wounds. If this is unsuccessful or is unnbound, the caster takes 3 mortal wounds.

• Very powerful if your opponent is out of unbinding attempts or doesn't have any in the first place. Probably too risky in any other situation.

3. Whispers of Chaos: CV7. Roll 1d6 for each model in a visible target unit within 12". For each 6, target unit takes 1 MW. If any models were slain, the target unit cannot move until your next hero phase.

• Powerful. Lets you deal damage to blobs, and if the target unit has six or more models, you also have a fairly reliable way to keep them from moving.

4. Mask of Darkness: CV7. Pick a visible MORTAL SLAVES TO DARKNESS unit wholly within 12". That unit teleports anywhere outside of 9" of enemy models and can't move in the subsequent movement phase.

• A game changer. It has alpha strike potential, especially with Marauders and their terrific charge rules, but it can also be used creatively if the opportunity presents itself.

5. Call to Glory: CV5. Pick a visible SLAVES TO DARKNESS HERO unit wholly within 12". They can reroll hit and wound rolls when attacking a HERO or MONSTER until your next hero phase.

• Literally Daemonic Power but drastically worse. Only affects a Hero and is conditional. Skip.

6. Ruinous Vigour: CV6. Pick a visible SLAVES TO DARKNESS MONSTER unit wholly within 12". They act as though they haven't taken wounds for the purposes of the wounds table.

• Now that our Manticores aren't just vehicles for their riders and can actually do damage, this is fairly nice, but the casting value is far too high for the effect.

Endless Spells

Slaves to Darkness only

• Eightfold Doom-Sigil: (40pts) CV 5. This spell will only have use when things die around it, so you'd best make sure you make at least one model go down so you can power them up. Now a bonus attack won't sound too scary for your Chaos Lord, but throw it on a band of marauders and they won't be laughing anymore.

• Darkfire Daemonrift: (80pts) CV 6. This is a purely predatory spell, dealing d3 MWs to anything it goes through. It's damage potential also powered up by other Wizards and Endless spells, which is pretty trollish for, say, Tzeentch or the Sacrosanct Chamber and all their wizards.

• Realmscourge Rapture: (60pts) CV 7. This Predatory spell is like the Pendulum in that it can only move in straight lines (but in this case can also only go forward, making it even more reliable). Anything that this goes through (or near) suffers not only d3 MWs, but their movement will also be halved, which can positively cripple a unit just in time for your vikings to flatten them.

Slaanesh only

• Wheels of Excruciation. Predatory Spell with 12" flying movement. Casting Value 5. Set up within 6" of the caster and immediately make a move with it. Roll 6 dice for each unit passed. For each roll that is lower than the unit's save, they take a mortal wound.

• Mesmerising Mirror.Predatory Spell with 6" flying movement. Casting Value 6. Set up within 18" of the caster. Does not affect CHAOS SLAANESH. Units that start a move within 12" of the model suffer D3 mortal wounds unless they end closer to the mirror than when they started.
  • Also, after the model moves or is set up, roll 6 dice for each hero within 6", rolling separately. For each 6, the hero takes n-squared mortal wounds. Even though this part of it can do 36 mortal wounds to an enemy hero, the odds of that are 1 in 46656. Don't bank on it. Does 1.83 mortal wounds on average and has a 33.5% chance of doing nothing, with a 60.3% chance of doing 1-4 Mortal Wounds and a 5.35% chance of doing 9 mortal wounds. You will note that it has about a 6% chance of killing a footslogging hero and less than a 1% chance of killing a 10+ wounds hero.

• Dreadful Visage. Predatory Spell with 8" flying movement. Casting Value 7. Set up within 12" of the caster and immediately make a move with it. After it moves, pick the closest unit and roll 6 dice. For each 4+, they take a mortal wound. Also, this model gives -1 bravery to units within 12" unless they are CHAOS SLAANESH, in which case they get +1 bravery.

Tzeentch only

• Burning Sigil of Tzeentch: (40pts) Summons a floating 12" bubble of RANDOM, with a mix of results helpful and harmful to a single unit. (d3 MWs that risks a Chaos Spawn if someone dies, halved movement, d6" movement after running, +1 attacks, or -1 to hit) The issue is that this sigil cannot move on its own, meaning that you really need to find a good place to set it up and then pray some more that Tzeentch blesses your rolls for the right results.

• Tome of Eyes: (40pts) Summons a magical book that becomes part of the caster's unit. Alongside letting the caster reroll any casting tests, it lets results of snake eyes or double 6s count as auto-casting with immunity to dispels (though the caster also takes d3 MWs in the process) and grants a special spell that deals mortal wounds and robs the target of 1 point of Bravery for each casualty you deal. What better way to stick it to those filthy rats than to smite them with your evil spellbook and then see them fail battleshock for once?

• Daemonic Simulacrum: (50pts) This predatory spell has a...thematic move speed of 9", and each turn it has 9 chances to deal MWs to the closest unit within 6" on a 5+ (4+ if they're wizards). While the range is nice for a spell that would otherwise be considered underwhelming, it also leaves you very open to the chance of it all being for naught on a bad roll. Potential to backfire horribly if your opponent gets to move it so be wary of positioning or have a Lord of Change eat it.

Damned Legions

Ravagers

All Mortals All Day. More Generals, more Marauders, more Cultists.

Trait - Glory for the Taking

If your general is not a Daemon Prince, up to 5 Ravagers Heroes get a command trait. No duplicates, and only 1 on each. At the start of your hero phase, you can pick 1 non-Daemon Prince hero that has a command trait to be your general, and they remain your general until your next hero phase.

Command Ability - Rally the Tribes

At the end of your movement phase, the model that is currently your general can summon 1 unit of 10 Chaos Marauders, 1 unit of 5 Marauder Horsemen, or 1 Cultist unit of up to 10 models wholly within 6" of the battlefield edge and more than 9" away from enemy units. A model cannot be chosen more than once per battle to rally. Go and get yourself the Cultist Warbands and get ready to crowd the table edge in bodies. A unit of 10 Iron Golems makes a surprisingly tough to shift flanking force, especially since if they manage to charge after being set up they will still get their re-rolled saves for that turn.

Command Traits

1. Bolstered by Hate: +2 wounds.

2. Unquestioned Resolve Once per turn, you can use one of the basic 3 command abilities without a command point if the target is a CULTISTS unit within 12" of the general.

3. Favoured by the Pantheon: When rolling on the Eye of the Gods table, you can add or subtract 2 from the result.

4. Eternal Vendetta: Reroll wound rolls. If you're attacking ORDER units, you can reroll hit rolls.

5. Flames of Spite: Unmodified wound rolls of 6 do a mortal wound in addition to normal damage.

6. Master of Deception: -1 to be hit by melee weapons that target the general.

Artefact

1. Hellfire Sword: Once per battle in the shooting phase, pick a visible enemy unit within 8". Target takes D3 mortal wounds. Pass; a wizard already has better ways to deal Mortal Wounds and a combat character should have their combat capability boosted.

2. Blasphemous Cuirass: 5+ Negate MW.

3. Helm of the Oppressor: 6" -1 bravery aura.

4. Cloak of the Relentless Conquerer: Reroll charge rolls.

5. Mark of the High-Favoured: Aura of Chaos increases to 18" when affecting RAVAGERS units.

6. Desecrated Gauntlets: -2 to casting rolls for enemy wizards within 3", also +1 to wound rolls on a target with the WIZARD or PRIEST keyword. Good on a wizard hunting character.

Cabalists

Magic! Rituals! Killing your friends to power up!

Lore - Crippling Pain

All CABALISTS wizards know this in addition to any other spells. CV7. Target visible enemy unit within 18" suffers D3 mortal wounds. In addition, target unit has its movement characteristic reduced by a value equal to the mortal wounds suffered by this spell.

Trait - Binding Rituals

At the start of your hero phase, 1 CABALISTS WIZARD can perform a ritual.

Rituals

1. Ritual of Sorcerous Might: Pick a friendly CABALISTS unit within 3" of the caster. On a 3+, the friendly unit loses D3 models. For each model that was slain, all your CABALISTS WIZARDS get +1 to casting rolls until the end of the phase.

2. Ritual of Corruption: Pick a friendly CABALISTS unit within 3" of the caster. On a 3+, the friendly unit loses D3 models. Then you pick a predatory endless spell within 12" of the wizard performing the ritual. You can move it 3" for each model that was slain.

Command Traits

WIZARDS only

1. Bolstered by Hate: +2 wounds.

2. Lord of Terror: 6" -1 bravery aura.

3. Favoured by the Pantheon: When rolling on the Eye of the Gods table, you can add or subtract 2 from the result.

4. Mighty Ritualist: Ritual of Sorcerous Might succeeds on a 2+ instead of a 3+.

5. Blasphemous Influence: Ritual of Corruption succeeds on a 2+ instead of a 3+.

6. All for One: Once per battle, when your general successfully performs a ritual, for each model slain, he heals 1 wound.

Artefact

1. Soul Feeder: Pick a melee weapon. Unmodified wound rolls of 6 heal the bearer by 1.

2. Black Athame: Once per battle, the bearer can automatically succeed on a ritual, no roll required.

3. Infernal Puppet: Once per battle in your hero phase, pick a visible enemy wizard within 24". In your opponent's next hero phase, each time that wizard tries to cast, they take D3 mortal wounds before they roll to cast. If they are slain by the mortal wounds, the spell they were attempting to cast automatically fails.

4. Spelleater Pendant: Bearer gains the WIZARD keyword. They can attempt to unbind 1 spell. If already a wizard, they can unbind an extra spell.

5. Scroll of Dark Unravelling: Once per battle, you can automatically unbind a spell without rolling.

6. Spell Familiar: Know an extra lore spell.

Despoilers

Daemon Princes Ho! Best run with monsters to make use of the abilities, and lots of Daemon Princes (or one daemon prince who becomes a buff vector and cannot be allowed to die).

Trait - Sacrilegious Might

Your general's Aura of Chaos increases from 12" to 18". In addition, if your general is a Daemon Prince, they get a 5+ FNP.

Trait - Blessed by the Unholy

In your hero phase, roll for each of your Daemon Princes and monsters. On a 4+, they heal D3 wounds. Mutalith Vortex Beasts heal only 1 wound.

Trait - Twisted Dominion

When your Daemon Princes finish a move within 6" of a terrain feature, you can give it the Pitch-black and Nightmare Chasm rules until your next hero phase. Despoilers Daemon Princes and Despoilers Monsters are unaffected by these.

Pitch-black: If a straight line between two models passes over more than 1" of this terrain, they are not visible to each other.

Nightmare Chasm: At the start of each hero phase, on a 6+, each unit within 1" of this suffers D3 mortal wounds (wounds rolled separately for each unit).

Command Traits

DAEMON PRINCE only

1. Bolstered by Hate: +2 wounds.

2. Lord of Terror: 6" -1 bravery aura. Couples nicely with a Khornate prince.

3. Lightning Reflexes: -1 to be hit by missile weapons.

4. Radiance of Dark Glory: In your hero phase, pick a friendly Despoilers unit wholly within 18". On a 3+, heal that unit D3 wounds.

5. Distorting Miasma: Your general can use Twisted Dominion within 9" instead of 6".

6. Paragon of Ruin: After set-up but before the first battle round begins, D3 Despoilers units can move up to 5".

Artefact

1. Crown of Hellish Adoration: Look Out Sir also applies a -1 to wound rolls for this model (but note this will affect anyone who holds it, even if they are a MONSTER as the ability is not restricted in the same way as Look Out Sir).

2. Helm of Many Eyes: Bearer and their mount fight at the start of the combat phase if they charged.

3. Armour of Tormented Souls: Attacks targeting this hero have their rend reduced by 1.

4. Diabolic Mantle: If the bearer starts the first battle round on the battlefield, get D3 command points.

5. Doombringer Blade: After set-up but before the first battle round begins, pick an enemy hero or monster. Friendly Despoilers units can re-roll hit and wound rolls when targeting that model.

6. Realmwarper's Twist-rune: Friendly Despoilers units wholly within 12" are unaffected by the Pitch-black and Nightmare Chasm rules

Host of the Everchosen

ALL HAIL ARCHAON, EVERCHOSEN AND SUPREME BEING. NO COMMAND TRAITS FOR YOU. NO ARTEFACTS FOR YOU. ONLY ARCHAON.

Trait - Exalted Grand Marshall of the Apocalypse

If Archaon is your general and on the battlefield, his Aura of Chaos is 18".

Trait - Fearless in His Presence

If Archaon is your general and on the battlefield, friendly units are immune to battleshock.

Trait - The Will of the Everchosen

If Archaon is your general and on the battlefield, in your hero phase you can pick 1 enemy unit on the battlefield. You can reroll hit and wound rolls of 1 for melee weapons by Host of the Everchosen units targeting that unit until your next hero phase.

Command Ability - Dark Prophecy

If Archaon is your general and on the battlefield, you can use this at the start of your hero phase. Roll a die and keep it hidden from your opponent. You must reveal it at the start of the next battle round before determining who goes first. On a 1-3, your opponent must take the first turn. On a 4-6, you must take the first turn. So you knew in advance who gets priority next round and your opponent didn't.

The Eight Circles of the Varanguard

Pick one. All Varanguard units share this.

1. At the start of the first battle round, before determining who gets first turn, you can redeploy Varanguard with this.

2. -1 to bravery for enemy units within 6". In addition, if enemy units within 6" fail a battleshock test, D3 extra models flee.

3. -1 to hit rolls for missile attacks targeting these Varanguard.

4. In your hero phase, pick 1 terrain feature within 3" of any unit of your Varanguard. Each enemy unit within 3" of it takes D3 mortal wounds, rolled separately for each enemy unit.

5. Reroll hit and wound rolls for attacks targeting a HERO or MONSTER.

6. +1 damage on the turn that you charge.

7. At the end of the combat phase, if your Varanguard destroyed an enemy unit, that Varanguard unit heals D3 wounds.

8. Your Varanguard can fly.

The Knights of the Empty Throne

When the Everchosen is away, his knights will play.

Trait - Fists of the Everchosen: Without Archaon in the army, Empty Throne Varanguard units gain the Hero Keyword but don't gain LOS and can only take “Knights of the Empty Throne” Command Traits and Artefacts (does not restrict other heroes from taking Realm artifacts).

Command Ability - Unmatched Conquerors: At end of charge phase, pick an enemy within 12" of an Empty Throne Hero} unit and controls an objective. Roll for each model, each 3+ reduce their holding power by one. Will let Varenguard steal objectives.

Command Ability- Failure is Not an Option: Once per phase, when an Empty Throne Varenguard unit is slain, you may add a new 3 man Varanguard to board edge on a 5+.

• This can be potentially very powerful, but with the low chance of success, don’t count on it to succeed.

Command Traits

1. Annihilating Charge: Knights of the Empty Throne units reroll charge rolls wholly within 12".
2. Inescapable Doom: Enemy within 3" can't retreat.
3. Wall of Cursed Iron: +1 to shield rolls (Ignore Spells Effects on 4+).

Artefact

1. Flask of Daemonblood: At the start of your hero phase, heal d3 wounds on a on a 4+.
2. Grasping Plate: Pile in from 6" away, gain an additional 3" inches to piling in
3. Corrupted Nullstone: May Auto-unbind one spell.

Warscrolls

Heroes

Named

• Belakor: (Daemon, UNDIVIDED, 240pts.) Having somehow escaped Alarielle's ruby from The End Times, the Dark Master is back and trolling with the best of them. Has Ghostly immunity to save modifiers and heals from failed enemy Battleshocks. His best ability is The Dark Master: During deployment, pick 1 enemy unit, then reveal which unit you picked to your opponent at the start of one of their hero phases. Every time that unit wants to move, shoot, cast a spell or attack in combat, they have to roll a dice and can only do so on a 5+. This ability is straight busted, but only works for 1 turn.
• Archaon The Everchosen: (DAEMON, KHORNE, TZEENTCH, NURGLE, SLAANESH, HEDONITE, UNDIVIDED, MONSTER, 800pts.) The heads no longer work all at once, but one of the three abilities can be used once each hero phase; the Khorne head heals D3 wounds, the Tzeentch head can stop one endless spell within 18" and the Nurgle head has a breath weapon that does D3 Mortal Wounds on a 3+. Archaon is as tanky as ever, but can also rebound Mortal Wounds on a 6+ (note this doesn't specify combat, so it effects wizards and shooting units too). He also provides a free command point each hero phase when he's on the table. Also gimps certain armies, as the Eye of Sheerian means any hit rolls of 6 that target him must be re-rolled.
• Theddra Skull-Scryer: (Mortal Wizard, 70pts)
• Godsworn Hunt: (Mortal, 60pts)

• Slambo: Now worse and cheaper than an Exhalted Champion. His only real value is to be a cheap mark aura, or to swap as the general in a Ravagers legion so you can "summon the tribes".

Generic

• Chaos Lord: (110pts.) Cheaper and more killy, with a decent command ability to boot. This has come at the cost of the amazing 2d6 damage ability and is no longer able to ascend to Daemonhood automatically on killing the enemy general (let's face it though, how often did that happen?). Don't send him alone against characters more expensive than he is, or he will die. The increased rend and attacks values will mean he's good at killing line infantry and when to send alongside another unit he won't auto-bounce against characters like he used to. Side modelling note, the option to take a flail can be achieved by taking the Chaos Chosen off of a Chaos Chariot and basing him and using his as a Chaos Lord, jury is still out on whether this is official or not.

• Lord on Daemonic Mount: (170pts.) Your budget (for a Slaves to Darkness character) mounted Lord. With the new update, cursed Warhammer now has the potential of 2 mortal wounds on 6s to hit, with the added bonus of healing d3 wounds for killing whelps with your big mallet. Also great for other Slaves to Darkness units as his command ability only affects the mounted options but provides a re-roll to their charge and +1 to hit.

• Chaos Lord on Karkadrak: (230pts.) The new mounted lord has arrived, and he rode in style as a fully plastic kit. How does this character scream build around? Movement 9", 9 wounds and the always welcomed 3+ save, this lord on battle lizard loves keeping up with his fellow cavalry and bring nothing short of utter destruction. Without any adages, this character boasts no less than 13(!) attacks across 4 profiles, has mortal wound potential both on the charge and with his sword, and can heal with his attacks with his big axe. Sporting classic mortal wound protection that Slaves to Darkness units are spoiled with, and the same command ability as his horse-riding brethren, he is an excellent pick for a Slaves focused army. Pair him with some Chaos Knights or Chariots and reap all the skulls you can.
  • Currently the toughest variant with his 3+ Save, taking a Khorne Lord on Croc with Eternal Vendetta and a Chamon Runeblade or Ulgu's Dimensional Blade on his Hexed Battle-Axe means his already somwehat juiciest weapon will be hitting 5 attacks on 3+/2+ full rerollables with -3 Rend, effectively eliminating most saves in the game, even reducing the pesky Lumineth and Ossiarch 3+ Saves to 6+, securing the 10 wounds your Lord can deal with the axe alone against almost anything. However the main aim of running this is to make sure you get to heal him every turn as long as you make his big meaty beatstick touch a model with around 8 wounds or less. Pair him with a Chaos Sorcerer to reroll saves and you have a relatively murderous Lord that simply remains too angry to die. Just remember that this build hates the number 2; 2s to Hit, 2s on the Save, Attacks against it with Rend -2≤, you get the point.

• Chaos Lord on Manticore: (Monster, Behemoth, 280 pts.) The Lord on Manticore can have a choice between Flail and Sword, with the Sword being always better and a choice between Runeshield, Daggerfist, and Lance. The Lance might be awesome, but since everyone and their grandma will be gunning for your Manticore, the 5+ save against Mortal Wounds might be the best choice. The Manticore is no slouch itself in addition to rerolling Hit against Monsters for its Claws and Jaws attacks. His Command Ability allows a unit of Chaos Warriors wholly within 18" to reroll charge and Battleshock rolls.

• Daemon Prince: (210pts.) He’s gone through a reworking since his last outing. He no longer has the ability to taken Unmarked and the buff for killing heroes, but now he gains a unique command ability for each of the gods. Khorne Princes create an 18 inch aura around them that half run and charge rolls for enemy units. Tzeentch Princes add +1 to a friendly wizard’s casting roll. Nurgle Princes make a friendly unit within 12 inches cause d3 mortal wounds each time an enemy unit rolls at least one 6 to hit them (so if they get to attack twice they may cause a further D3 MW - erratad from the absurd 'D3 mortal wounds for each 6 rolled'). And Slaanesh Princes have a 12 inch aura that gives +1 to hit rolls and attacks to friendly units if a MODEL (from that unit, so depends on getting hit first) is slain by enemy melee. All in all, the daemon prince now has a more clear role as General for any god-centric army.
  • Wall of Blood: A Khorne Daemon Prince sitting behind a unit of Chaos Warriors with Runeshields makes an excellent defense against charge happy factions like the Ogor Mawtribes.

• Exalted Hero of Chaos: (90pts.) Largely unchanged from pre-tome, with an increase of 10 points. D6 attacks make this unit a variance engine (either amazing or garbage, down to luck) even though he activates twice in melee when charged. Their real value is cheaply emitting a God's aura rather than reliable killing, but the next cheapest is the Chaos Lords only 20 points more, who has more (and better) guaranteed attacks and the command ability to make a unit fight twice. Though the Lord doesn't get a 5+ save from mortal wounds, so the champ is still a guy to consider.

• Chaos Sorcerer Lord: (110pts.) The support wizards Dropped in points and buffed in power. His Oracular Vision ability and Daemonic Power spell have gone from rerolling 1's to flat rerolls for units. This factor, combined with some pretty tasty endless spells and reduced points costs theoretically makes for an appealing option for a backfield objective holder who can cast spells to buff combat units and cause damage with endless spells. Further made dangerous under Cabalists Legion and with Mark of Tzeentch. Potential for several to be taken for mass-buffs as they are cheap enough to pseudo-spam. Needs casting buffs (such as sacrificing models) and can only cast one spell, but draw from a wide range of spells under cabalists

• Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore: (Monster, Behemoth, 260 pts.) Classic Wizard riding a big monster. They are still ok fighters and caster while being cheaper than the Chaos Lord variant. Wind of Chaos will clean up groups.

• Gaunt Summoner: your master Wizard, with 2 casts/unbind, his own crowd slaying spell, and can give up one casting to summon a Min size daemon unit. He cost more than two Chaos Sorcerer, so make use of his flying disk and summoning powers.
  • uses for summons: Bloodletters can inflict MWs, Daemonettes are still the best shredders and fast movers, Plaguebearers are walls, Horrors provide shooting and annoying way to be survivable, while Furys can grab objectives.
  • Amazing for cabalist armies as their rituals give bonuses for models slain. What unit is just an unfair amount of models that gaunt can summon? Horrors fuel your rituals all game and spare your relatively elite core.

• Gaunt Summoner on Disc of Tzeentch: (260pts.) give a summoner +1 wounds, 16" Flying movement and a +2 for melee save if normal ground fighter catches him.

• Darkoath Chieftain: (90pts.) Further improved to be a Barbarian blender. He doesn't get to choose a Mark of Chaos so he can't spread any god benefits, but he does get 7 attacks on the charge, deals one MW to surrounding units after he kills something, and gets a CA that lets Marauders and Cultists around him fight even when killed.

• Darkoath Warqueen: (90pts.) If the Chieftain is a sweeper, Warqueens are duelists. She has a consistent 6 attacks, a 6++ FNP (that bounces a mortal wound, even at range), she fights before others, and deals more damage against Heroes and Monsters. Her CA adds 3" to nearby Marauders and Cultists charge rolls, pushing them to an altogether 11" charge minimum (7" charge roll, +1" Drummer, +3" Warqueen's CA).

• Ogroid Myrmidon: (140pts.) The new beatstick hero option with a Gladiatorial Spear, Great Horns, and a shield. The spear may be thrown up to 18" and does D3 wounds but where this model excels is in melee as it can deal out a surprising amount of damage for a single model. The Ogroid Myrmidon has 6 attacks with the spear and 1 with its horns as well as being pretty tanky with a 4+ save, 8 wounds and Bravery 8. But the fun does not end there as Arcane Fury allows 6's to hit to count as 2 hits and Berserk Rage allows him to re-roll hit and wound rolls if it suffered a wound or mortal wound earlier in the phase, which can be decent if your opponent gets turn priority and manages to score a wound or two. Its command ability is called Pit Marshall and unfortunately can only be used on a Cultist unit wholly within 12" granting them immunity to Battleshock, which is good if you want a big unit of cultists to stick around. And with this, his role is made much more clear, your go-to leader option for cultist heavy armies. You could take him as just another hero, but his points cost might come back to bite you, especially as he doesn't get a mark of chaos either.

Units

• Chaos Warriors: (Battleline Min5, Max:30 90pts.) The Chaos rival to Liberators. they are a flexible and durable holding unit with 2wounds, 4+Sv, and hover at 8 Bravery, rerolls all saves when at 10+, and shields that ignore MW on 5+ that could be traded for paired weapons that reroll all hits, halberds for worse attacks but enough range to allow two ranks to fight or Greatweapons with Rend. FAQ confirms the weapon options are the same for the whole unit. They can be tailored with marks and spells to fulfill a specific role, particularly good at being the anvil in big blocks of 20+ and holding the line, whilst cheaper marauders grab objectives, and bigger units act as a hammer.

• Chaos Chosen: (Min5, Max:20, 140pts.) Kind of underwhelming for supposedly elite infantry. Their attacks lack much punch when compared to the elite troops of, say, Stormcast, but hey, they are cheaper and faster. They cause mortal wounds on 6 to hit in addition to the regular attack. Their ability has slaves units rerolling wounds wholly within 12" if they kill something, but if you're not already getting that buff from a spell, command ability or mark, are you even StD'ing right? (then again those resources could of be used reallocate to other places). All that said, a unit of 10 will annihilate pretty much anything, especially when supported by an allied Bloodsecrator and a Khorne general, just be careful to make them charge first, otherwise they fold like paper against a serious opponent between their 2 wounds and lack of ward save.
  • Actually, as Slaves to Darkness is a keyword, you can use this re-roll ability if you have any Slaves units in armies loyal just to one of the gods - a tough anvil of chaos warriors in a Hedonites of Slaanesh army could make good use of this ability, for example.

• Chaos Marauders: (Battleline Min20, Max:40 160pts.) Our favorite Vikings are back and bringing the pain to bear! They did not get a model update, which they sorely need in comparison to the new models being released. I for one will be using Warcry models and kitbashing them to represent Marauders. But down to brass tacks, they boast an average stat line that is bolstered by numbers. 10 or more and your get +1 to hit, 20 or more you get +1 to Rend. But the most important ability boost they got is their charge ability. They can change the lower die on a charge roll to a 6 automatically. Add in a drummer and you'll be making a minimum 8" charge every time. Combine this with the Ravagers Legion and you'll have a unit of 10 Marauders entering any battlefield edge, more than 9" away from enemies, only needing to roll a 2 on one of the two dice to make that charge. Enemy Warmachines beware!

• Chaos Marauder Horsemen: (Battleline in StD Min5, Max:30 110pts.) Placing Barbarians on horses will be your speedy objective Grabbers. They do get a +1 to hit when 10+ strong. You get the option for Axe and Shield (they can get dangerous when combo with a gods melee buffs), Flails (letting a 20+ horde all fight with Melee Rend), but the default you should think of is Javelin and Shield as you get a Melee weapon and a Shooting weapon with -1 rend, made more flexible with the Horsemen's ability to Retreat/Shoot/and charge.

• Chaos Knights: (Battleline in StD Min5, Max:20, 160pts.) take a Chaos Warrior, put him on a horse, gaining a 10" move, +1 more wound and a -1 Bravery aura. Weapon output is a bit better than pre-tome, Swords gained -1 rend, effectively making them Chosen on horses without extra mortal wounds on 6 to hit. Lances get -2 rend (as opposed to -1 pre-tome) and 2 damage on the charge. The addition of the war-flail may add a handful of extra attacks, but statistically isn't worth it. Doom Knight gets extra attack instead of +1 to hit (presumably for quicker dice). Got better overall, but unfortunately, they gone up by 20 points.

• Chaos Chariot: (Battleline in StD Min1, Max:3 120pts.) Our favorite Shock and Awe Chariot got the Ogor Charge rule, big win. And while they seem to want to be taken in units of 2 to maximize the number of exalted upgrades you can take, an argument can be made to take a unit of 2-3. A Chaos Lord on Karkadrak (or demonic mount) with an Undivided Mark will give them an immunity to Battleshock (while wholly within 12") and the Chaos Lord's command ability will affect more than 1 chariot. This will maximize the hurt dealt when they charge. The Chariot's innate ability to run and charge once per game will only maximize this benefit and possibly ensure a turn 1 charge. A 12" move, plus a run, plus a re-rollable charge will catch many an unwary opponent off-guard. Although, units of one could lead to a HUGE increase in mortal wounds from their charge damage as you roll once for the unit rather than once per model.

• Gorebeast Chariot: (150pts) a lot slower then a normal Chariot but inflicts Motal wounds to clumped up enemies and they replace the horse with a big monster that will deal more damage especially if you get an unmodified charge roll of 8+. They are the better candidates to get that Khorne or Slaanesh buffs. Like the normal chariot, their mortal wounds on the charge rule triggers for the unit rather than per model.

• Varanguard: (Battleline in Hosts of the Everchosen Min:3, Max:12, 280pts) Super Warriors lent out by Archaon. They are giant chaos knights with 5 wounds 3+ armour and ignore magic on a 5+, able to Fight twice once per game and get +1 to hit if you have Archaon. Each model can be armed with an Ensorcelled Weapon for consistency, Fellspear for better charge damage, or Daemonforged Blade can more inflict Damage and MW with good RNG.

• Furies: (Min:6, Max:30, 100pts) Returning to their undivided roots, They are speedy winged imps, they may have sharp claws and two wounds, but they will die quickly. They perfected and fused the Skink and clanrat tactic of slingshotting off Enemies. They could make a Fly move of possibly 12"+2d6"+12" to grab an objective. Their frailty means they will die if not fighting archers and sacrificing another unit swing first could put you at a disadvantage during the Combat phase.

• Raptoryx: (Min:6, Max:30, 90pts) Replacing the role of Warhound. They are armourless chickens that have 3/3+/3+/-/1 attacks on the charge, landing more attacks than unbuffed horsemen in exchange for survivability. They run suicidally into enemy lines to destroy their chaff walls.

• Fomoroid Crusher: (Monster, 100pts) a big brute, having an ogor charge, throw stones, and inflict MW to other units that think they can hide in a terrain.

• Mindstealer Sphiranx: (Monster, 100pts) a big psychic cat, able to support offensives with 12" of -2 bravery and make an enemy fight last. When paired with Knights and Marauders, you can impose -4 Bravery.

• Chaos Spawn: (Min:1 Max:6 50pts.) That Which Must Not Be Named. Not actually terrible anymore, though far from reliable. A Move of 2D6" makes for potentially fast movement. Similarly, 2D6 attacks per Spawn is potentially strong, but even better is the special rule these attacks come with: If you roll a Double, instead of Hitting and Wounding on 4+, you Hit and Wound on 3+. Just think about it, 12 attacks apiece with good Hit and Wound rolls... Also, five Wounds with a 5+ save to make for pretty hardy models.

Behemoth

• Chaos Warshrine: (Totem, Priest, Behemoth, 170pts) First, it has an Aura that grants Slaves to Darkness an additional 6+ save after their normal save. It has a very sharp decline for a monster profile (i.e. 18"-12"-9"-6"-3"). Once per hero phase on a 3+ you get a prayer that buffs one Mortal STD unit within 18". There is one buff for Undivided and every God. And if the unit you are buffing has the corresponding God keyword, you get a extra buff. The Undivided buff is the best by default, granting rerolls of To Hit and To Wound and reroll charges if Undivided. The favor of Khorne rerolls charges, and if Khorne, you get to reroll hits. Slaanesh rerolls charges, and if Slaanesh, immune to battleshock. Nurgle is reroll wounds, and if Nurgle +1 to saves. Tzeentch is reroll saves, and if Tzeentch, ignore magic on 4+. The fact you can give prayer buffs from one god to another god's marked unit is diabolical. All of that sounds great but keep in mind it is only on ONE unit you get to buff. Overall, this is great frontline support unit. Did I mention it has 10 attacks(starting profile)at 2 damage each? And it gets a Mark of Chaos?

• Soul Grinder:(Daemon, Behemoth, 210pts) Ever wanted a beast that can throw ranged shots AND be great in melee? This daemon might be for you. Same price as a Daemon Prince but with less special abilities. It makes up for it by giving you a boatload of attacks for very good damage. Two ranged attack profiles, one at 20" and six at 16", the 20" does flat 3 damage the rest do 1 damage. CC has six attacks for 1 damage each, 1 attack -2 Rend for D6 damage, and either: two attacks -2 Rend flat 3 damage, OR 4 attacks -1 Rend D3 damage. Big, ugly, and killy, he fills the hammer role. The biggest downside for it is the mostly 4+ to hit. And since it is a Daemon, it can't benefit from CSL Demonic Power spell or the Warshrine. But at 16 wounds and a 4+ save, you can probably find a spot in the army.

• Slaughterbrute: (Monster, Behemoth, 170pts) They bind to one Slaves to Darkness HERO. Clocking in at just under the cost of two Khorgoraths, the Slaughterbrute can dish out almost exactly the same amount of wounds as them in melee combat. The Brute's weakness is its 4+ save and 12 wounds, but its degenerating profile is actually very forgiving. It stays fast and killy until you shave off a good 8 wounds! Just be aware your big boy in red is not a shock trooper and will need an escort to the enemy lines. However, the Slaughterbrute is truly a Bloodsecrator's best friend. The Slaughterbrute is at its most dangerous inside the Bloodsecrator area of effect.
  • Too bad he lacks very good rend. Seriously he doesn't have access to Rend -2 despite his huge size and his JAWS are rend-less!

• Mutalith Vortex Beast: (Monster, Behemoth, 170pts) A regenerating monster with many attacks. other monsters hit harder but it provides a random debuff to one enemy each of your hero phases. They may permanently lower Bravery or Slow, inflict MWs or make a Chaos spawn if it kills with an MW.

• Chaos War Mammoth: (Forgeworld) (Monster, Behemoth, 320pts) This monster has 22 wounds! It has a 4+ save. All of his attacks cause at least D3 wounds, making it an exceptional monster-killer when at full strength as well as imposing -2 to any Battleshock tests to any unfortunate unit that gets charged. Wounding and even killing this thing just makes it cause more damage. If you're playing with a big Chaos horde then there's no finer feeling than running this guy into the enemy's biggest and toughest-looking infantry blob, although expect a few dirty looks for doing so. Keep in mind that he doesn't like magic missiles or war machine fire, however.

Yet combine this with a mark of Khorne, a hero with a 18“ Khorne Aura (Ravagers Command Trait) or a Chaos Lord to make it fight twice and it will kill one or two entire hordes of whatever you charged. It is a real game changer but seldom used since it‘s become hard to get your hands on the Model.

Cultists

The original warbands from Warcry. Generally, they all play as Marauders with special gimmicks and no marks of chaos. They now have more synergy with the Hero units, making them arguably more viable than the stock (lack of a mark of chaos is a downside though). If playing the Ravagers, each unit is part of your toolbox. If you’re making an army geared to a certain Realm, definitely considering bringing one of these guys from that respective Realm.

• Iron Golems: (Min:8 Max:32 70pts) Chamon Cultists. Cheap and heavy armour make them good cheap objective holders. Having a 4+ rerollable Sv, 8 bravery, and a 3W guy per 8 models to pawn wounds, let them hold on for a while longer than their contemporaries.
• Splintered Fang: (Min:10 Max:40 70pts) Snake men from Ghyran who deal MW on an unmodified hit roll of 6+ and have a resurrecting snake to pawn wounds. They don't live long but can bypass some tough armour saves with a reroll and luck.
• The Unmade: (Min:9 Max:36 70pts) Shyish Cultists. They're made to break units through fear and locking them from escaping via auras. However, their weapons are only about average, with one guy per 9 getting a weapon that can wound better and has -1 Rend. Rather than letting them make the kills, have them back up another team and use their auras to force unfavorable battles.
• Corvus Cabal: (Min:9 Max:36 70pts) Ulgu Cultists. Flexible with both shooty and choppy. They're also very agile with an 8" movement on foot and effectively act like they're flying (for terrain only though). One out of 9 guys also lets the entire squad re-roll charge distances, which is really good for such nimble folks.
• Cypher Lords: (Min:8 Max:32 70pts) Hysh Cultists. Another unit with both shooty and choppy. One guy out of 8 let them chuck smoke bombs to impact the enemy's chances of hitting them, while the other lets them add +1 to charge rolls. Neither makes them stand out offensively, but those bombs can definitely help protect a unit fighting someone capable of flattening them. Or to just ruin hordes.
• Untamed Beasts: (Min:9 Max:36 70pts) Ghur Cultists. Like the Iron Golems, these savages can let one guy out of 9 become a saber-tooth tiger and be 2W, while another gets to throw harpoons. with -1 Rend & D2. While being mostly melee isn't helpful in an army full of melee, these guys have two tools for mobility: A free move before the game starts, and the ability to move and then charge in the same turn. That makes the Beasts better for alpha-striking.
• Spire Tyrants: (Min:9 Max:36 70pts) Cultists from the Varanspire. They are a pure damage Cult. The Pit Champion and Bestigor Destroyer both get +2 attacks, the Headclaimer gets +1 damage and the whole unit gets +1 to hit if they charged the same turn.

Battalions

Chaos Horde

(140pts, Min: 3670pts, Max: 64,780pts) 1 Godsworn Champions of Ruin + 4-8 battalions of any combination from the rest.

Once per turn, you can use 1 command ability for any unit from this battalion for free, and units from this battalion get +2" movement for the first battle round.

Godsworn Champions of Ruin

(180pts, Min: 630pts, Max: 6220pts) 1 HERO selected from Chaos Lord (any kind), Sorcerer Lord (either kind), Exalted Hero of Chaos, Ogroid Myrmidon, Daemon Prince, Darkoath Warqueen, and Darkoath Chieftain; 4-8 units selected from Chosen, Knights, Warriors, Marauders, and Marauder Horsemen.

The HERO of the battalion can fight in the hero phase if within 3" of an enemy unit.

Godswrath Warband

(180pts, Min: 930pts, Max: 6820pts) 1 HERO selected from Chaos Lord (any kind in the battletome) and Sorcerer Lord (either kind); 4-8 units selected from Chosen, Knights, Warriors, Marauders, and Marauder Horsemen; 1+ Chaos Warshrine.

Choose one of the battalion's Warshrines and roll a D6 for each visible enemy unit within 24". If the roll for an enemy unit is a 6, it takes D3 mortal wounds.

Ruinbringer Warband

(140pts, Min: 760pts, Max: 6150pts) 1 HERO selected from Chaos Lord on Daemonic Mount or Chaos Lord on Karkadrak; 4-8 units selected from Knights, Chariots, Gorebeast Chariots, and Marauder Horsemen.

Each time a unit from this battalion completes a charge, choose one enemy unit within 1". On a 2+, the enemy unit takes D3 mortal wounds.

Overlords of Chaos

(120pts, Min: 1020pts, Max: 7320pts) 3-6 Host of the Everchosen Varanguard.

Each unit gets to replace their Circle with another, allowing you to have a mix of Circles within an army.

The following Battalions can also be used in their respective god allegiance.

Bloodmarked Warband

(Khorne Warband. 120pts, Min 990pts, Max 10520pts) 1 Mortal STD Khorne HERO, 8 Mortal STD Khorne units.

If a HERO from this battalion slays any models during the combat phase, you can pick a unit from this battalion wholly within 12" of said HERO. That unit gains +1 attack until your next hero phase. A unit cannot benefit from this more than once per battle round.

Fatesworn Warband

(Tzeentch Warband. 180pts, Min 1080pts, Max 11780pts) 1 Mortal STD Tzeentch HERO, 9 Mortal STD Tzeentch units.

At the start of your hero phase, one unit from the battalion can become able to cast 1 spell and dispel 1 endless spell. It also knows the Stolen Sting spell: CV7, target a visible enemy unit within 18". Target's melee weapons have their rend worsened by 1.

Plaguetouched Warband

(Nurgle Warband. 180pts, Min 900pts, Max 9380pts) 1 Mortal STD Nurgle HERO, 7 Mortal STD Nurgle units.

Unmodified wound rolls of 6 on attacks targeting units from this battalion result in the attacker taking 1 mortal wound. Also, in your hero phase, pick an enemy target within 1" of any unit in the battalion. On a 3+, that enemy unit takes D3 mortal wounds.

Pleasurebound Warband

(Slaanesh Warband. 160pts, Min 790pts, Max 8160pts) 1 Mortal STD Slaanesh HERO, 6 Mortal STD Slaanesh units.

If a model from this battalion dies during the combat phase, units from this battalion can pile in an extra 6" until your next hero phase.

Allied Armies

• Beasts of Chaos
• Blades of Khorne Khorne flavored versions of stuff Slaves already have. Notable units are the Bloodsecrator and Wrathmongers since the +1 attack buff will apply to your Khorne marked units.
• Maggotkin of Nurgle For your Mortal Nurgle units you want the Harbinger and his 7" bubble of 5+ against everything to point his rotten finger at your foes.
• Hedonites of Slaanesh
• Disciples of Tzeentch new Kairos is a very powerful triple caster that knows the warscroll spells of friendly wizards within 18" but will take your entire allies allotment. Curseling is a janky double caster that can reroll unbinding attempts and cast the spells he unbinds. The Fatemaster has a new command ability that allows all Tzeentch units wholly within 9" to reroll hit rolls, this includes shooting attacks snd since he rides a disc he can keep up with your faster units. Flamers and exalted flamers can make for some solid cheap shooting units, which STD have the anvils to support. In the new book exalted flamers have rend 1 and give nearby normal flamers +1 to hit, while normal flamers get more shots with no rend.

Age of Sigmar Tactics Articles
General Tactics	Tactics Realm Of Battle Malign Sorcery Path to Glory Skirmish
Order	Cities of Sigmar Daughters of Khaine Fyreslayers Idoneth Deepkin Kharadron Overlords Lumineth Realm-Lords Seraphon Stormcast Eternals Sylvaneth
Chaos	Beasts Of Chaos Blades of Khorne Disciples of Tzeentch Hedonites of Slaanesh Maggotkin of Nurgle Skaven Slaves to Darkness
Death	Flesh-Eater Courts Nighthaunt Ossiarch Bonereapers Soulblight Gravelords
Destruction	Gloomspite Gitz Ogor Mawtribes Orruk Warclans Sons of Behemat
Others	Monstrous Arcanum Legends Old Rules