Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Warriors of Chaos

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Why Play Warriors of Chaos

If you're new to Warhammer Fantasy, they are a great army for beginners. Their strategy is simple, and you don't have to spend as much time and money on models since they don't use too many. Plus they look awesome.

Unit Analysis

Lords & Heroes

Named Characters

Note: Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and wargear or wargear combos unique to them, so if you absolutely need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.

• AbaddonArchaeon, Lord of the End Times: Holy fuck, probably one of the most expensive characters but an outrageously deadly one at that. Can at any time double his attacks for the rest of the game (on a character with a WS and I of 9; S, T and A of 5 - scary shit), but will strike himself on a to-hit roll of 1. Did we mention he has 3+ ward save, magic resistance 3, ignores armour with his attacks, causes terror, counts as a wizard and cannot be wounded on better than a 3+? Also, that isn't a complete list of his abilities. Still, taking him will eat the entirety of your Lord choices, and you still need an army of over 2700 points just to field him. Needless to say, you're probably never going to see him on the table.

• Sigvald, the Magnificent: [INSERT GAY JOKES HERE] Pretty goddamn slick and cost effective. Ignores terrain penalties and can always march WITH A SQUAD, all but immune to psychology, always strikes first, a 1+ armour save with regeneration and 2 bonus attacks. His only drawback is his stupidity, but he's fucking stubborn and Ld 10 so big goddamn deal!

• Valkya the Bloody: a not-quite daemon prince(ss), she can fly, strip an attack from her opponents, has killing blow and a stat line halfway between a daemon prince and a chaos lord. She also lets you re-roll on the Eye of the Gods table if you wish.

• Wulfrik The Wanderer: One of two named characters frequently taken to lead a unit of Marauders, Wulfrik does two main things. The first is his ship, Seafang, which is essentially the Outflank rule from 40K on steroids. The second is his Gift of Tongues rule, which both forces the opponent to accept his Challenge and lets you pick who accepts. You take him to get a unit of Marauders into the enemy's backfield to wreck artillery, mages and other squishy units. His stats aren't bad, particularly against the target of his Hunter of Men ability, but if you're looking for a pure combat character you're better off with a properly kitted out Exalted Hero. Take him for Seafang instead.

Generic Characters

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

• Daemon Prince: A trap. He's the most expensive of your Lord level characters by far, the only state upgrade his from a Chaos Lord is an extra wound, has no decent defenses and can't join units. Made all the worse by only being able to take Gifts, not magic Items (which means for all the fluff about Daemon Princes, a Chaos Lord will likely slaughter one in actual gameplay), and the WoC Gifts tend to be very situational.

• Chaos Lord: Your primary fighting lord, and arguably the most powerful generic lord in the game. Has a very high statline and can equip a variety powerful weapons and army, as well as a variety of special mounts depending on what you want to use him for, though this can really up his cost, and he's not cheap to begin with.

• Sorcerer Lord: Your wizard lord, starts out as level 3 wizard, with the ability to chose from any of the battle lores, though if you give him a mark of chaos he has to use the lore of the respective Chaos god. If you plan to give him a mark, use the mark of tzeentch, his lore is generally the most useful and his mark adds plus 1 to all of your sorcerer's casting rolls, plus it means you can give him flight by putting him on a flying disc. One nasty alternative tactic is to give him the mark of Nurgle. The "Magnificent Buboes" spell causes one automatic wound with no saves, useful for sniping. Despite being a wizard, he is actually a decent fighter, but still keep away from combat if he's on his own.

• Exalted Hero: Your fighting hero. A bit weaker stateline than the Chaos lord and fewer options with equipment, but still a very powerful fighter.

• Sorcerer: a SOLID choice and one of the best wizards in all of WHFB. Good fighter with magic abilities to boot.

Core Units

• Chaos Warriors: The basic infantry unit for your army, but probably one of the nastiest infantry units in the game. They're very, very good at killing (model for model they beat most armies elite melee troops), but their cost means that you'll never be able to take them in large units. Generally used in units that are six wide to maximize the number of models in base contact with the enemy and take advantage of their 2 Attacks. There are two main set-ups for these guys. The first is Shields and the Mark of Tzeentch, with the MoT stacking with their Parry save from HW+Shield for a 3+/5++ save in close combat. Hard to kill and still pretty deadly in return. The second set-up is to give them the Mark of Khorne and Halberds. Some folks like to use Additional Hand Weapons instead, but the Halberds are mathematically just as good or better in all situations. The Mark of Slaanesh is generally useless now that Terror and Fear are nerfed, while Nurgle just doesn't have any particular synergy with any of the available weapons. You should only take it if you're expecting to face an army with lots of ranged weapons.

• Chaos Marauders: The cheap and plentiful alternative to Warriors. You can mark them Khorne with Great Weapons (or occasionally Flails) for a massive horde of half-naked berserkers. Yes, they'll drop like flies, but at 5 points per model you can have a lot of them in a unit and when they hit back they tend to murder the faces off most things. It's usually good to have at least one unit of these guys to handle the few things that Warriors can't handle - like High Elves and their ASF Greatweapons. The other, less frequently used, set-up is Tzeentch with Shields and Light Armour. They get same synergy with Parry saves and the Mark of Tzeentch as Warriors, so rank them them up fairly deep for steadfast and use them to hold something nasty in place while the rest of your army sets up a flank charge. Their models are considered pretty terrible though, so a lot of people don't like to use them.

• Chaos Warhounds: Flankers. At only 6 points a pop, combined with M7 they are excellent at intercepting enemy scouts and skirmishers, and to hunt down the crews of enemy war machines, wizards or even ranged units. They drop like flies though: at T3 with a 6+ save for an additional point, everything with something bigger than a hand weapon or a longbow will kill these pups instantly. They can be given poisoned attacks at a considerable rise in points, which works best with big units, something of a paradox when compared to the use these dogs have. Use them if you want to, but they won't work against every army you'll face.

• Marauder Horsemen: Cheaper than Chaos Warriors, Marauders are your light cavalry. Notable for having the only non-magical ranged attacks in your army (throwing weapons), you can give them flails and light armor, combined with a Mark of Khorne to break enemy infantry units and run them down (3d6 dice + a reroll if needed? Yes please.) Again, with only T3 and a 5+ save they die like bitches to handgunners, so use their speed to keep them behind cover before you charge. They're not often used: if you want cavalry, Chaos Knights nearly always are given this task. But if you absolutely need you some light horsemen, these are your friends.

Special Units

• Chosen: 3 points more expensive than a regular Warrior, gaining +1 WS and the Chosen of the Dark Gods rule, granting a free roll on the Eye of the Gods table. For the rest they have the same options as a unit of Chaos Warriors, but a full command group costs 50 points compared to the Warriors' 30. Also note that the champion can have up to 25 points worth of Magic Items. Take the Favor of the Gods; it costs only 5 points and allows you to influence nearly all rolls you make on the Eye of the Gods table, including your pre-game roll (this is allowed, according to the FAQ). Back them up with a Warshrine of Tzeentch if you want to experience white-hot incandescent hate from your opponent.

• Forsaken: Another trap. Their stat-line is considerably worse than that of a Warrior, but they cost more points. If you want something killy, take Chaos Warriors with Halberds and the Mark of Khorne. If you want something fast, take Trolls or Dragon Ogres.

• Ogres: Opinions are mixed on these guys. They're cheaper, but less deadly and durable, than Dragon Ogres. Remember that these guys are NOT the Ogres you see in an Ogre Kingdoms list; you're not getting any Impact Hits and the other juicy stuff you get from those. They can take Chaos Armor to up their durability, but this gets expensive fast on bigger units. The only Mark worth something for them is the Mark of Khorne; combine with a weapon of choice, depending on what you're up against (I2 will mean you hit last against nearly anything anyway, don't be shy about Great Weapons), use 4-6 of them and let 'em rip. And for the love of Khorne, don't buy the metal Ogres. Use the plastic boxes, get a Spawn of two and glue on some tentacles. It'll save you a LOT of money.

• Dragon Ogres: More expensive than regular Ogres, hitting at S5 without using Great Weapons will bring the pain upon any lesser unit you'll face. They're fast to: at M7 you can slam them into your enemy's juicy units with ease. They're immune to lightning-based attacks as well, use this to troll gun-heavy Skaven armies. Don't waste these guys on regular infantry: maul your enemy's biggest units, countercharge knights, slay monsters, and kill anything worth a lot of points. Be careful though, these guys are tough, but not invincible.

• Trolls: Trolls are... eh. Cheaper than Dragon Ogres but with near-equal stats and Regenerate, Trolls are what you'll want to kill heavily-armored enemy models. In lieu of their regular attacks (3 at S5), all trolls in base contact with an enemy unit inflict a magical S5 hit that ignores armor. This *will* kill nearly anything without multiple wounds, but remember that this is very ineffective against larger units. Again, knights are a prime target for this attack, but it's always a good idea to have something charge alongside the trolls, preferably something that can deal a finishing blow against the enemy. Also remember that trolls have Stupidity, so don't let them wander off on their own.

• Chaos Knights: Until recently the deadliest cavalry unit in the game, Chaos Knights have the works. A 1+ armor save, S5 magical attacks, 10 attacks from a basic 5 man unit and a statline you'll normally see on lesser Heroes, a sizable unit of Chaos Knights is a game-changer. Give them either the Mark of Tzeentch for a 1+/5++ save in combat, or the Mark of Khorne to make them even deadlier. Don't bother with lances: always having S5 is preferable to S6 on the charge, followed by S4 for the rest of combat. Their downside is of course their cost: at 200 points bare bones you will want to be VERY careful about what you do and don't with them, both in points and on the battlefield. An obvious bodyguard to your General, these guys will break nearly anything you throw them against. Be careful of concentrated fire: giving them the Blasted Standard (5+ ward against shooting, stacks with the Mark of Tzeentch) is a good idea when facing more dakka armies.

Rare Units

• Chaos Spawn: Spawn are terribad. Like, really sucky. Even less reliaby than Trolls, combined with their low stats for a monster and their slow movement (7" at average, can't march or charge) makes them a joke. You should buy these for only two reasons at best: conversions using the crapload of tentacles found on the sprue, using them to drag your converted Chaos Warshrines.

• Scyla Anfingrimm: What's worse than a Chaos Spawn? One that costs nearly twice as much while being only marginally better, and you can only use one of it in your army. Piss off.

• Chaos Warshrines: Actually pretty good. Their stat line, combined with their small frontage, makes them ridiculously durable, particularly when given the Mark of Tzeentch for a 3++ Ward. Worth taking just for their role as anvil units, but they can also buff your units by giving them a roll on the Eye of the Gods table. This works better on a unit with the Favour of the Gods in it, or if you've taken Valkia. Works in just about any army and are fairly inexpensive.

• Hellcannon: CHAOS DORFS FUCK YEAH. The only "war machine" in your army, it is a stonethrower that will kick your ass in combat. Needs to take a LD test at the beginning of your turn; if you fail the cannon will drive itself 3d6 closer to the enemy, so it can hit them with its spiky bits. It hits at S5, causing Panic at -1 LD, good against feeble humans and greenskins. When it misfires though bad shit goes down, from explosions to murdering its crew and mindraping every wizard on the table (hilarious if you don't have any, but your enemy has plenty). Temeramental at best, and with a notable price tag, the Hellcanon should only be taken by the more daring of generals.

• Dragon Ogre Shaggoth: The big brother of the Dragon Ogres, the Shaggoth will fuck shit up. 5 attacks at S6 murders everything it runs into. Combining with either another hand weapon or a great weapon, there's nothing a Shaggoth won't murder. The obvious downside is that the Shaggoth is relatively vulnerable (T5, 4+ save and no way to regain wounds), it is the magnetic pole for shooting. Get this guy in combat fast and keep him there, otherwise he'll be headbutting cannonballs from turn 1. He is rather pricy though, so have a plan before you field this guy.

• Giant: Giants have a fuckton of special rules, making them effective against both monsters and infantry/cavalry units. They are less effective against monsterous infantry, due to most of the Giant's attack being effective against only one model. The Giant is surprisingly very effective against characters, especially if you roll on the Pick Up And chart; you have a 2 in 3 chance to remove the guy from the game. They're sublime fire magnets though, and it'd be a shame to have your 200+ points model taken out by a pair of cannons. The Giant can take a Mark of Chaos; the Mark of Slaanesh is surprisingly powerful on this guy, allowing him to strike first. Which, combined with hits of str6 is very welcome.

Tactics

Your main strategy as the Warriors of Chaos is always to get your army into combat as quickly as you can, in which you will generally emerge the victor. This makes them easy for beginners, but also very predictable. Always remember that your opponent is likely to want avoid fighting you up close if they can.