Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Blades of Khorne

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULLS THRONE!

Blades of Khorne allows you to finally run a mixed mortal and daemonic army, as well as upgrading both sides of the RAPE TRAIN with killy, new stuff.

Allegiance Abilities

Battle Traits

If your army has a KHORNE allegiance and chose to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities, it has the following rule:

Blood for the Blood God!: A KHORNE army generates Blood Tithe points during the course of each battle; the controlling player must keep a record of how many points their army accrues. One point is generated each time a unit belonging to either player is wiped out. The maximum number of Blood Tithe points an army can have at any one time is 8; any additional points generated are lost.

Blood Tithe points can be expended at any point in either player’s hero phase, but only once per phase. Pick one Blood Tithe reward that has a value equal to or less than your current number of Blood Tithe points and immediately resolve its effects. When one or more Blood Tithe points are expended, any remaining points are lost, though more points can be generated later in the game as normal.

This means that Khornate armies will tend do absolutely break the shit outta Horde armies, since they'll be gaining Blood Tithe points extremely quickly, butchering through some pesky ratmen, for example. This also means that low count armies, like Beastclaw Raiders, will be harder preys, given that they armies numbers are quite low.

1. Bloody Exemplar: 1 Point. Select a KHORNE HERO from your army that has a command ability on their warscroll and immediately use that command ability. If this model is your general, they can use another command ability as normal.
2. Spelleater Curse: 2 Points. Choose this reward immediately after a WIZARD has cast a spell anywhere on the battlefield; it is automatically unbound. You may not choose this reward after having attempted to unbind the spell.
3. Murderlust: 3 Points. Select a KHORNE unit from your army; it can either move as if it were the movement phase or charge as if it were the charge phase.
4. Crimson Rain: 4 Points. Roll a D3; all KHORNE models on the battlefield immediately heal that many wounds.
5. Apoplectic Frenzy: 5 Points. Select a KHORNE unit from your army; it can immediately pile in and attack as if it were the combat phase.
6. Brass Skull Meteor: 6 Points. Pick a single unit anywhere on the battlefield; that unit immediately suffers D3 mortal wounds. In addition, roll a dice for each unit within 8" of the unit you picked; on a roll of 4 or more, the unit being rolled for suffers a mortal wound. You can launch this upon Skarbrand; he will heat up faster and if is already around a couple of enemies, they'll also have a chance to suffer residual damage.
7. Relentless Fury: 7 Points. Until your next hero phase, each time a KHORNE model in your army is slain in the combat phase, you can make a pile in move and then attack with the model before you remove it (use the lowest line on the damage table if it has one on its warscroll when resolving this attack).
8. Blood Pact: 8 Points. Set up a new KHORNE DAEMON unit anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" from any enemy models. This unit cannot move in the following movement phase.

Command Traits

Much like the Disciples of Tzeentch Battletome, there are three tables to pick Command Traits from for you: Bloodbound, Daemons and Mortals. If you have a combination of those keywords, you can pick which table you take your Command Traits from, though 1-3 are almost exact copy-pastes on all three tables.

A BLOODBOUND General of an army with a KHORNE allegiance and has chosen to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities can choose one of the following Command Traits:

1. Arch-slaughterer: You generate one additional Blood Tithe point each time your general slays an enemy HERO or MONSTER. Khorne rewards those who kill the bigger threats and the worthy prays.
2. Unrivalled Battlelust: If your general is within 12" of an enemy unit (but not within 3" of an enemy unit) at the end of any of your opponent’s charge phases, you can immediately attempt a charge move with your general. A nice bonus if your general is a meaty big guy.
3. Slaughterborn: Re-roll all of your general’s failed hit rolls when making attacks in the combat phase. Fine. It might not look like much, but it can be especially important if your general has plenty of attacks and/or carries certain Artifacts of Power.
4. Mark of the Cannibal: If your general slays one or more enemy models in the combat phase, they heal 1 wound at the end of the phase. This is a nice bonus, given that your heroes have already have a healty number of wounds, pretty good if you are expecting to get lot of focus from the enemy.
5. Bloodsworn: KHORNE MORTAL units from your army within 8" of your general can use your general’s Bravery characteristic in place of their own when making battleshock tests. Might worth it for your basic infantry out of a Bloodsecrator area of effect. Nice to have, but not impressive.
6. Disciple of Khorne: Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of all melee weapons wielded by your general (but not any weapons used by their mount if they have one). Obviously better with heroes with two weapons.

A DAEMON General of an army with a KHORNE allegiance and has chosen to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities can choose one of the following Command Traits:

1. Arch-slaughterer: You generate one additional Blood Tithe point each time your general slays an enemy HERO or MONSTER. Khorne rewards those who kill the bigger threats and the worthy prays.
2. Unrivalled Battlelust: If your general is within 12" of an enemy unit (but not within 3" of an enemy unit) at the end of any of your opponent’s charge phases, you can immediately attempt a charge move with your general. A nice bonus if your general is a meaty big guy.
3. Slaughterborn: Re-roll all of your general’s failed hit rolls when making attacks in the combat phase. Fine. It might not look like much, but it can be especially important if your general has plenty of attacks and/or carries certain Artifacts of Power.
4. Immense Power: Add 1 to the Damage characteristic of all melee weapons wielded by your general (but not any weapons used by their mount if they have one). Surprisingly this one is not such a great upgrade, given that almost every Daemon General only has one weapon. It improves 'letter heroes attacks but it dosen't do much for 'thirsters. It is best used for Daemon Princes, while they will lack from a second command ability option.
5. Aspect of Death: Each time an enemy unit within 8" of your general fails a battleshock test, one additional model flees from the unit. All around a good bonus.
6. Devastating Blow: Any wound rolls of 6 for attacks made by your general in the combat phase inflict a number of mortal wounds equal to the weapon’s Damage characteristic instead of being resolved normally. The closest thing Daemon Generals have to a must pick, given that they already have a scary damage characteristic.

A MORTAL General of an army with a KHORNE allegiance and has chosen to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities can choose one of the following Command Traits:

1. Arch-slaughterer: You generate one additional Blood Tithe point each time your general slays an enemy HERO or MONSTER. Khorne rewards those who kill the bigger threats and the worthy prays.
2. Unrivalled Battlelust: If your general is within 12" of an enemy unit (but not within 3" of an enemy unit) at the end of any of your opponent’s charge phases, you can immediately attempt a charge move with your general. A nice bonus if your general is a meaty big guy.
3. Slaughterborn: Re-roll all of your general’s failed hit rolls when making attacks in the combat phase. Fine. It might not look like much, but it can be especially important if your general has plenty of attacks and/or carries certain Artifacts of Power.
4. Hungry for Glory: You can reroll all hit and wound rolls of 1 for your general when attacking enemy HEROES or MONSTERS. Pretty good, pretty powerful. With the proper support your general will be a potent hero buster and monster hunter... given that there are plenty of them on your enemy's side.
5. Berzerker Lord: Roll a dice each time your general suffers an unsaved wound or mortal wound in the combat phase; on a roll of 5 or 6, the wound or mortal wound is ignored. A save after the save. This things have always been pretty damn handy, just ask to any Chaos Warrior with Runeshields.
6. Violent Urgency: You can reroll failed charge rolls for your general and any KHORNE units from your army that are within 8" of him at the start of the charge phase. Actually a strong trait for almost any mortal general, putting out charges is always good, and guys like Knights, Chariots and Skullcrushers, who have bonuses for charging, already love this trait.

Murderous Artefacts

One KHORNE MORTAL HERO in an army with a KHORNE allegiance and has chosen to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities, plus one KHORNE MORTAL HERO for every battalion selected, can choose one of the following Murderous Artefacts (weapons of mounts can't be upgraded this way):

1. Heart Seeker: You can re-roll failed wound rolls with this weapon. Evidently better for those weapons with higher To Wound characteristics, but also synergizes for weapons that have additional bonuses with that characteristic.
2. Collar of Khorne: The bearer can attempt to unbind one spell in each enemy hero phase in the same manner as a wizard. Given that Khorne HATES magic and refuses to work with shitty wizards, this one is a safe pick whenever there are enemy wizards around, specially on the first turn, when you have 0 Blood Tithe points. Of course is completely useless otherwise.
3. Blood Drinker: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be a Blood Drinker. At the end of any combat phase in which the bearer inflicts any unsaved wounds or mortal wounds with this weapon, they immediately heal one wound lost earlier in the battle. Additional sustain is always, especially for your general.
4. Gorecleaver: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be a Gorecleaver. Attacks from Gorecleaver inflict an additional -1 Rend (for example, a weapon with a Rend characteristic of -1 becomes -2 instead). In addition, any wound rolls of 6 made with this weapon inflict a number of mortal wounds equal to the weapon’s Damage characteristic instead of being resolved normally. Two words: Lord of Chaos. (On foot, to be specific, so make it five). His Reaperblade is powerful and reliable, now imagine it with an additional -1 Rend. Now imagine it Slaughterborn or Hungry for Glory. Now imagine it scoring a 6 To Wound or two. Or imagine it with Reaperblade's special attack. If Khorne smiles upon you, you could slay some of the mighties monsters and heroes, potentially landing a 12 damage attack with -2 Rend, or even scoring a hit with 12 Mortal Wounds, making Khorne so proud of you. This is just such a good upgrade for your Chaos Lord. Not a must pick but, damn, the potential damage it can make is just incredible. Heroes with strong weapons and/or Rend also make great users for this.
5. The Crimson Plate: You can re-roll save rolls of 1 for the bearer. Good enough. Yeah, not much more to say.
6. Blood Rune: You generate one additional Blood Tithe point each time the bearer of a Blood Rune slays an enemy HERO. Not as realiable as anything else on this list. While Blood Tithe points are good, you have to properly manage your hero, and make him hunt specifically for heroes, which are not exactly the backbone of almost any army. Is not bad, just... is not the stronger pick on this list.

Banners of Khorne

One KHORNE BLOODBOUND HERO bearing a TOTEM (to make it short: Bloodsecrator) can be given one of the following banners of Khorne. These banners confer an additional ability on the TOTEM - they do not replace any existing abilities:

Make your Bloodsecrators even stronger now. Laughs and skulls ensured.

1. Banner of Rage: You can re-roll hit rolls of 1 in the combat phase for any KHORNE models from your army that are within 8" of the bearer. If an affected model already has the ability to do this, you can re-roll all failed hit rolls for that model instead. If you have used a Bloodsecrator, you know how this is starting to feel overpowered.
2. Banner of Wrath: In each of your hero phases, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 8" of the bearer. On a roll of 4 or more, the unit being rolled for suffers D3 mortal wounds. Not as realiable as the other banners, but could be nice.
3. Banner of Blood: You can re-roll failed charge rolls for any KHORNE units from your army that are within 8" of the bearer at the start of the charge phase. Khorne-marked cavalry absolutely love this, but charging is always good for a melee heavy army.

Trophies of War

One KHORNE BLOODBOUND HERO in an army with a KHORNE allegiance and has chosen to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities, plus one KHORNE MORTAL HERO for every battalion selected, can choose one of the following Trophies of War (weapons of mounts can't be upgraded this way):

1. The Skull-helm of Khorne: Your opponent must add 1 to the result of any battleshock tests they take for units that are within 8" of the bearer. Depends upon how your enemy passes the Battleshock.
2. The Blood-forged Armour: When you make save rolls for the bearer, ignore the enemy’s Rend characteristic unless it is -2 or better. Actually -2 Rend is not as common of a sight outside elite troops and heroes. Could be useful with armies with plenty of -1 Rends.
3. The Brazen Rune: Roll a dice each time the bearer suffers any unsaved wounds or mortal wounds as the result of a spell; on a roll of 2 or more, the wound or mortal wound being rolled for is ignored. Once per game, you can choose to expend the rune’s power to automatically unbind one enemy spell, after which the Brazen Rune will no longer have any effect. Quite interesing: a Khorne Rosarius of sorts for spells. The secondary effect might not worth it: if your enemy has one or two wizards and die quickly, then yes, but otherwise having a permanent protection from better protected and/or stronger wizards is just too important to pass on.
4. The Blade of Endless Bloodshed: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be a Blade of Endless Bloodshed. At the end of any combat phase in which the bearer slew one or more enemy models with this weapon, you generate one Blood Tithe point in addition to any others you generated during that phase. More Blood Tithe is always welcome, and this is quite easy to achieve.
5. Mark of the Destroyer: Double the Attacks characteristics of the bearer’s Melee weapons (but not their mount’s). Should the bearer make any attacks in the combat phase but fail to slay any enemy models, the bearer is immediately slain; remove the model from play and replace it with a Chaos Spawn-RAAAARGHBLRRBFRTHBLRRBGBB under your control. Set up this model as near as possible to the model you removed (even if this is within 3" of an enemy model). It cannot make attacks this turn. This is scary. Khornate Mortal Heroes already have a good amount of attacks, but Exalted Deathbringers with Bloodbit Axe or Impaling Spear are the ones able to abuse from this, making them dish out 12 and 10 attacks respectively. It should be almost impossible for them to not kill at least one model, given that they are close enough to kill someone.
6. Talisman of Burning Blood: Add 1 to any run rolls you make for the bearer and any KHORNE units from your army that are within 8" of them at the start of the movement phase. In addition, add 1 to any charge rolls you make for the bearer and any KHORNE units from your army that are within 8" of them at the start of the charge phase. I guess you have seen the tendency. Succesful charges are always good. Improving your charges are never a wrong choice.

Daemonic Weapons

One KHORNE DAEMON HERO in an army with a KHORNE allegiance and has chosen to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities, plus one KHORNE DAEMON HERO for every battalion selected, can choose one of the following Daemonic Weapons (weapons of mounts can't be upgraded this way):

1. A’rgath, the King of Blades: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be A’rgath, the King of Blades. This weapon always hits enemy HERO models on a roll of 2 or more. Could be useful for 'thirsters, given that they are capable of flying, making easier to look for places from where to launch themselves. Active hero hunting is still complicated, have it in mind.
2. Deathdealer: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be a Deathdealer. Add 1 to the Damage characteristic of this weapon. A good pick, considering Daemon heroes already have a strong damage output.
3. Khartoth the Bloodhunger: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be Khartoth the Bloodhunger. Each time an enemy HERO or MONSTER suffers any unsaved wounds or mortal wounds from this weapon it is locked in time and cannot attack until all other units have made their attacks in that phase. This brings more utility than actual damage, but damn it can be useful. Heroes with strong melee profiles and Monster forced to attack last can give you more time. Locking a Stonehorn or Carnosaur in time can be critical if they can freely go towards your dudes.
4. Hellfire Blade: Pick one of the bearer’s melee weapons to be the Hellfire Blade. Wound rolls of a 6 with this weapon cause a mortal wound in addition to their normal damage. Quite a nice buff. Simple, yet effective.
5. Harvester of Skulls: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be a Harvester of Skulls. Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of this weapon. Another good pick. You couldn't go wrong with this.
6. Behemoth’s Bane: Pick one of this HERO’s melee weapons to be a Behemoth’s Bane. You can re-roll any failed wound rolls and choose to re-roll any Damage rolls when attacking enemy MONSTERS with this weapon. Obviously this weapon works better when your enemy features strong and troublesome monsters. Seraphon, Beastclaw Raiders, Spiderfang Grots. 'Thirsters are the heroes that can look for a higher Damage roll.

Daemonic Adorments

One KHORNE DAEMON HERO in an army with a KHORNE allegiance and has chosen to take the KHORNE allegiance abilities, plus one KHORNE DAEMON HERO for every battalion selected, can choose one of the following Daemonic Adorments:

1. The Crimson Crown: When making attacks with the bearer and any KHORNE DAEMON models from your army that are within 8" of them in the combat phase, you can make one additional attack with that model for each hit roll of 6 you make. Any bonus attacks made in this manner must use the same weapon that generated them, but cannot themselves generate additional attacks. This Adorment is designed specifically with a daemon deathball in mind. It will certainly give you a nice damage bonus anyway, and lucky rolls will only enhance this.
2. Armour of Scorn: Each time the bearer suffers a wound or mortal wound, roll a dice; on a roll of 6, the wound or mortal wound is ignored. Add 1 to this roll if the wound or mortal wound was suffered as a result of a spell. A save after the save is always good, and obviously this will shine against heavily magic armies.
3. Mark of the Bloodreaper: Each time the bearer of a Mark of the Bloodreaper inflicts 8 or more unsaved wounds or mortal wounds in a single combat phase, you generate one Blood Tithe point in addition to any others you generated during that phase. Extremely hard to use it properly. Only 'thirsters and Princes could be able to achieve this, but even then, 'thristers damage relay upon dice rolls and they are also subject to a damage table. Daemon Princes, on the other hand, have 7 attacks with high damage and gain an extra +1 To Hit thanks to his mark, all of their weapons have a +3 To Wound, and they aren't hintered by a damage table, even when they have a bit lower characteristics than their greater counterparts. Blood Tithe points are pretty impactful, but don't expect to gain a lot with this Adorment without the proper management.
4. Collar of Khorne: The bearer can attempt to unbind one spell in each enemy hero phase in the same manner as a wizard. Khornate Daemons HATE shitty wizards. You should know it by now. Also you should know by now that while this Adorment is certainly great, it also depends on how many of those pesky nerds are on the enemy site.
5. Crimson Soulstone: The bearer immediately heals D3 wounds lost earlier in the battle each time they slay an enemy HERO in the combat phase. As mentioned a bit before, hero hunting is not exactly the most reliable activity to do. Still healing back some extra wounds is certainly helpful, specially for Bloodthirsters, so they can recover their better characteristics for a while.
6. Mark of the Slayer: You can re-roll hit rolls of 1 in the combat phase for the bearer and all KHORNE units within 8" of them at the start of the combat phase. If the bearer charged earlier in the turn, you can also re-roll wound rolls of 1 in the combat phase for the bearer and all KHORNE units within 8" of them at the start of the combat phase. This one is stronger when using alongside Bloodcrushers, but it is still a good improvement anyway.

Blood Blessings of Khorne

Every PRIEST in a KHORNE army (Slaughterpriests and Khorne-marked Chaos Warshrines, which sound pretty sweet) gains an additional prayer which can be used in addition to their other abilities in the hero phase, in the same vein as spells for other armies wizard (except that this aren't for pussies). Every KHORNE PRIEST can know a different blessing. If the result is 4 or higher, the prayer is answered, and its effect takes place. Add 1 to the result if the priest slew any enemy models in the previous turn. If the result is 1, the priest suffers D3 mortal wounds. KHORNE PRIESTS can attempt to bestow their blood blessing in each of your hero phases in addition to any prayers they may know. And remember, unlike spells, blessings can't be unbound!

1. Bronzed Flesh: Pick either the PRIEST or a KHORNE unit from your army that is within 16" of the PRIEST and which is visible to them. You can add 1 to the save rolls of the unit you picked until the start of your next hero phase. This is effectively Mystic Shield; cheaper to make, with 2" less range.
2. Blood Sacrifice: Pick either the PRIEST or a KHORNE unit from your army that is within 3" of the PRIEST. The unit you picked immediately suffers D3 mortal wounds, but you gain 1 Blood Tithe point. This is effectively an upgraded Arcane Bolt; easier to make, on a melee range, but giving you one Blood Tithe point without necessarily slaying a thing. Note that you could make some audacious shenanigans and use it on Skarbrand to heat him up quickier.
3. Resanguination: Pick either the PRIEST or a KHORNE HERO from your army that is within 16" of the PRIEST and which is visible to them. The model you picked immediately heals D3 wounds lost earlier in the battle. Excellent, because one of the traditional weaknesses of Khorne armies has been that they can do a lot of damage, but can't take it; it's superb with Bloodthirsters or heros with powerful artifacts. Still, very unfluffy (Khorne is no Red Cross), though the Battletome justification tries hard: "Priests know that a man killed will bleed for a moment; a man who keeps killing will shed blood for a lifetime". Sorry, nope: if Khorne had that kind of foresight, he won´t be the god of rage and violence, but of some other pussy concept like change or magic. This can lend to cheeky trick like keeping the very Warshrine alive for longer.
4. Brazen Fury: Pick a KHORNE unit from your army that is within 16" of the PRIEST and which is visible to them. The unit that you picked does not have to take battleshock tests until your next hero phase. Close to useless because of how good the rest of the blessings are, and how Daemons WANT to take Battleshock tests for a chance to multiply, and how the Bloodsecrators' ability does the same thing and more, and how any Commander can do the same with Inspiring Presence... Yeah, don't take it.
5. Killing Frenzy: Pick either the PRIEST or a KHORNE unit from your army that is within 16" of the PRIEST and which is visible to them. Add 1 to the hit rolls of the unit you picked until your next hero phase. Yes, the same as the Command Ability of some heros. It's brutal with Bloodletters, who will do one third of their attacks as mortal wounds. Yes, this blessing is better that almost every spell any other army gets, and can't be unbound. This is Khorne's concept of fairness.
6. Magebane Hex: Until your next hero phase, this PRIEST can attempt to unbind one additional spell in each enemy hero phase in the same manner as a wizard. Khorne likes to make sure that those fucking wizards have a bad day.

Warscrolls

Leaders

Named Characters

• Skarbrand: The angriest of Khorne's Bloodthirsters, unlike most big monster in AoS Skarbrand gets more killy the more he gets hurt or if he hasn't attacked in the last battle round. Skarbrand has 5 levels of anger; Angry, Furious, Seething, Enraged and Incandescent. Each level increases the amount of attacks Skarbrand can make, grants him effects like re-rolling misses or making a special ranged attack or re-roll his charges. Big Red comes with a respectable 14 wounds, 8" move and 4+ save but lacks the flying ability of other Bloodthirster's due to Khorne beating his ass. Skarbrand's axes will blend all but the largest heroes, Slaughter rolls from 4 to 8 dice with a 4+/3+/-2/3 profile and if Carnage hits, Skarbrand rolls a dice. If he beats the number listed on his total carnage table (a 1+ if he has taken 13+ wounds) the target immediately loses 8 wounds with no saves of any kind allowed. Skarbrand does lack a command ability, but who cares when you get to blend hydras? Curiously enough, unlike all other BT's Skarbrand cannot be summoned.

• Skulltaker: Khorne's favorite Bloodletter has survived the transition to AoS quite well. He shares the 5 wound/5"/10 Bravery/4+ save as a normal herald, the Cloak of Skulls allows Skulltaker to re-roll all failed saving throws, and his weapon the Slayer Sword packs 3 attacks at 3+/3+/-1/3, though any roll of 6 to wound deals three mortal wounds instead. In combat with heroes Skulltaker gets to re-roll all failed hit and wound rolls, almost guaranteeing another prize for the skull throne and as a bonus, Skulltaker triggers the loci for your other Khorne daemons. Cannot be summoned, so if you want him, you need to actually take him in your army.

• Karanak: Actually not an hero. When he is placed you choose an enemy hero: he always rerolls every failed hit and wound roll against him and as soon as Karanak and his prey are within 8" from each other he instantly summons an unit of Flesh Hounds (no number given though in pitched play remember it has to be taken from your summoning allowance). He can also unbind spells and when he does it the caster suffers d3 mortal wounds. even though he's not a Hero he can be your general and he makes Flesh Hounds Battleline.

• Skarr Bloodwrath: The End Times dude is back and he's real killy. Unusually for a Hero, named heroes in particular, Skarr does not buff your army at all and is at his best against hordes of weak infantry by doing pretty much what the Stormcast Decimators wish they could do. He has five attacks with the cool statline of 2+/3+/-1/1. While this seems underwhelming when compared to most other melee heroes, he does have the awesome trick of being able to exchange his attack count with the number of models in his range, which is 3", absolute maximum for melee weapons. Now you see 30 Plague Monks, now you don't. However, even with a fixed attack count of 5, he's no hero or monster killer. Keep him to murder the small stuff, let your Mighty Lord take care of the mighty foes. Also, Skarr has a chance to come back from the dead at the end of any turn in which at least 8 models were killed, so he feels most at home in big games where 8 deaths per turn is nothing special. If that's ensured, simply throw him at the opponent in wild abandon, he'll be back anyway. Best case, he murders the faces off 7 dudes, gets killed and then you already have 8 kills together.

• Valkia the Bloody: Your own goddamn Valkyrie, which is kind of ironic with Sigmar now being Odin and all. Either way, Valkia grants rerolls to Battleshock in a big bubble, but with a twist: If you reroll and models still flee afterwards, you lose another D3 models on top. If you lost so many models that even on a 1 someone flees, it might be in your best interest to not use the reroll, but it can save your ass. Valkia is also pretty good in combat, especially when charging, as her spear gains D3 damage when doing so, putting her at 6 attacks with 3+/3+/-2/D3, a profile most monsters will feel insecure over (especially your awful awful Khorgorath). Between her 3+ save and her awesome shield, she's also pretty tanky so long as you keep her away from Mortal Wounds. In other words, against Dorfs, do not use her as a War Machine hunter as their Flame Cannon will murder her clean off the board.

• Scyla Anfingrimm: High number of wounds, two great attacks as well as 2D6 okay attacks onto which he adds 1 for every wound he suffered. He can also unbind spells like a Wizard, moves as fast as Skullcrushers and has an awesome rule that allows better pile-in moves. Only problem? He only has a 5+ save and no Command Ability. Oh, and 8 Wounds can be problematic in wound-counting systems, as it's rather a lot for less survivability than a Mighty Lord of Khorne. Interestingly, Scyla actually lost the Hero keyword, though he's still unique and still a Monster.

• Skaarac the Bloodborn, Greater Khorgorath of Khorne (Forge World): The first AoS creation by Forge World, this is a massive snowflake Khorgorath. It comes with a hearty 16 wounds and can kill with its boiling hot blood (decreasing as it gets hurt more), massive hooves, and a random amount of attacks with its countless sharp instruments (going from 2d6 to d6 to d3 as it weakens). It works best in the thick of mobs, where it can force anyone it hits to test Bravery at -2 if he hurts them and can regain wounds if he kills. Wizards need to take caution around it, as they'll need to re-roll casting if they do it nearby, and killing it with elite models only puts them in danger from its death-throes explosion, that deals a Mortal Wound to every model within D6" of him. You can easily kill 10 minis with that alone; it can do nothing, or it can be one of the most powerful abilities of the game. Use it with Kairos Fateweaver to get a guaranteed 6" range and vaporize entire units. Unlike Scyla, he also has a Command Ability of surprising use to a monstrous army, as it allows nearby Khorne Monsters to charge and run in the same turn.

• Mazarall the Butcher, Daemon Prince of Khorne (Forge World): Another surprise monster, another Khorne addition for AoS...as if there aren't enough already. Has the basic trappings, 12 wounds, 4+ re-rollable save, the ability to unbind a spell per turn, and a move speed that weakens with damage. However, he at least has a missile attack...that's rather tough to hit, but offers d6 attacks at -1 Rending. He also has a wicked axe that gains more attacks the more it kills and less rending the more damage he takes and a shield with a variable number of attacks (d6 to d3 to 1 depending on damage). Charging also makes him deadly, as he gets to roll a d6 for any enemy next to him in combat and deals d3 mortal wounds on a 4+. His Command Ability allows a single Khorne unit to re-roll wound rolls of 1. Rather unimpressive, really.

• Korghos Khul: You can take your Mighty Lord of Khorne as Korgos Khul (the lord from the basic set that always fights with Vandus Hammerhand and all that), with the restrictions that he must be in a Goretide battalion as the lord if you take it, and if he is in any battalion, all other Khorne Mortal models in it must come from the Goretide. Well, and you have to paint him in Goretide colors, I suppose... Apart from that, he's exactly like a Mighty Lord, but has an additional ability, Aqshy's Bane. It lets him re-roll all failed hit rolls (because he and his dog, Grizzlemaw, HATE EVERYTHING!) and, in each of your Hero phases, he can pile in up to 8" and attack. Let that sink in: it's like he has a 13" Move (5+8), he attacks two times in your turn, and the first time the enemy can't even respond! First strike, baby! Coupled with his Command Ability to make better charges, he can easily kill multiple units each turn. But there's more: he still has the Axe that instakills anything it wounds on 5+. Coupled with his re-rolls to hit, and because the instakill happens at the end of the phase where he wounds, that means each turn you have 2/3 chance of killing anything! Well, some things have saves-after-the-save that makes the two wounds a turn more difficult, but most of those Monsters your opponent has that costed him 300 or more points will get a no-return ticket to the Realm of Khorne! This means that your opponent will either keep his expensive guys out of reach from Korghos, or he'll try to kill him in one shot. Both outcomes are great, because they force the hand of your opponent and lets you make him play your game. To sum all up, always take Korgos if you can: he's fast and killy as hell, he supports very well your army if he's the General, he's a perfect counter to expensive models, and he's even very cheap to get in monetary terms.
  • Do note though that in matched play he costs 60pts more than the generic Mighty Lord of Khorne. And they share exactly the same profile with the exception of Aqshy's Bane. Weigh the pros and cons of each with care, especially when you take into account Command Traits and Artefacts.
  • Plus one must wonder why Korghos is missing from the actual Blades of Khorne book...(as in the actual special character game profile, of course he is very much a centerpiece of the bloodbound fluff and his rules can be "replicated" by taking the Goretide Battalion if you're insane enough to run the sheer amount of battalions needed. At that point mind as well use his 60pt tax in "normal" 2k games)
    • That said, if you somehow do use Goretide, you can have a "60pt cheaper" Korghos who also has a command trait and an artefact on top of Aghsy's Bane. Mark of the Destroyer plus Disciple of Khorne means so many attacks for both him and his angry attack dog that you'll have a hard time believing a 140pt(+battalion costs) model can do all of that! Though he is still somewhat squishy.

Leaders

Daemon

• Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury: The first of the non-unique Bloodthirsters it shares the same 14 wounds, 4+ save, 10 Bravery, flying and slowly decreasing movement as all the other Bloodthirsters, this one packs a Lash of Khorne and a Mighty Axe of Khorne. The Lash can put out respectable damage at range 8" but it's special rules allows the Fury 'Thirster to pull a hit target 1D6 closer to it at the end of the shooting phase. The Mighty Axe lives up to the name dealing 6 attacks that start at 3+/2+/-2/D3 with the wound roll going down to 3+ at 4 wounds suffered and 4+ at 10 wounds suffered. The Fury Thirster comes with an aura that can damage and halve the Move stat of enemies within an 8" bubble, and his command ability allows Khorne Daemons within an 8" bubble to pile in 6" instead of 3". Good stats and a good hero slayer, the Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury wants to be in the center of your battleline to dictate how and when combat occurs. Hilariously enough any of the Bloodthirster varieties can be summoned by Chaos Wizards on a 10+. Be careful when fighting cheesemongers.
  • Modeling/strategy tip: you can assembly the Bloodthirster as either of its three variants with the bits included in the box. You can magnetize the arms/weapons with not too much work (use green stuff to fill the gaps) so you can swap them and use the same model as each of its variants, and deploy one or another against different opponents. Be aware, though, that the points cost of each variant is different.

• Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage: The second Bloodthirster trades the lash and Axe for a single great axe with the ability to deal mortal wounds in an 8" bubble on wound rolls of 6 or more. It packs fewer attacks, starting at 4 and dropping down to 3 at 7 wounds suffered and 2 at 13 wounds suffered, but the attacks always have a 4+/2+/-2/D6 profile and if you charge, you get to re-roll 1's to hit. His command bubble is 8" (noticing a pattern here?) and gives 'Khorne Daemons the ability to re-roll charge distances. Useful to help insure you get the alpha strike, but the aura is quite small so your army will need to stick close to him. If your LGS if Friendly, and don't have any guys who always says what you see is what you get (WYSIWYT "rule") then you shouldn't have any problem with building your Bloodthrister as you like and just say what loadout is running.

• Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster: The last of the Bloodthirster trio, he keeps the mighty axe of the Unfettered Fury BT but trades the lash in for a bloodflail and a 12" breath weapon that deals D3 mortal wounds to a unit in range. The flail makes a single attack a 8" with a 3+/3+/-1 profile but deals a whopping 6 damage, which goes down to 3 than D3 as you get more wounded. The Wrath BT is made for hunting down heroes and monsters, as he re rolls ANY failed hit rolls against them. Khorne's hatred of sorcery also allows this BT to make one unbinding attempt with a +2 bonus which is pretty nifty for fucking with wizards. Instead of the 8" bubble of the other two 'Thirsters, the Wrath BT's Command Ability targets a single Khorne Daemon Unit within 16" and grants it the ability to run and charge, while adding 1 to each of those.

• Exalted Daemon of Khorne (Forge World): Special rules commemorating the re-release of the super-big FW Thirster. It gets jacked to 20 WOUNDS and a 3+ save armed with the same gear the Unfettered Fury Thirster gets. In fact, he gets all the same rules as the Unfettered Fury, just now with a shitton more wounds and a better save (Edit: the AoE that causes mortal wounds and halves movement goes off on a 5+ rather than a 6+ on his guy). Oh, and the Casting Value to summon him is 10. Really, save yourself the money and don't buy it just to use these rules.

• Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne: A Herald on foot, at first glance a pretty cheap standard hero making 4 3+/3+/-1/1 attacks with the usual 6's to hit cause mortal wounds deal. His true usefulness is triggering your Bloodletters loci and with his The Blood Must Flow special rule that means you can get some attacks in with him first then pile in with you bloodletters.
  • Note the Blood Must Flow rule uses Bloodletter as a keyword meaning it works on any model with that keyword. Now look down the warscroll and see Bloodmasters have the Bloodletter keyword meaning if you take multiple of these guys they can proc each other. Worth remembering if you ever have two of them within 8" especially since your second Bloodmaster can still use his Blood Must Flow ability too.

• Skullmaster, Herald of Khorne: A Herald on a juggernaut, 20 points extra compared to the Bloodmaster gets you 3 juggernaut attacks (3+/3+/-/1) +3" move and +1 wound. Of debatable use. He can keep up with your bloodcrushers to proc their loci but so could a Blood Bloodthirster or Khorne Dameon Prince. He loses the Blood Must Flow Ability and swaps it for the bloodcrusher's faux hammer of wrath rule and their loci meaning he doesn't actually do anything to buff your army and hes simply not strong enough to be considered a worthwhile close combat hero.
  • If you have a Khorne Daemon allegiance and he's your general he makes Bloodcrushers Battleline, though he has no unique command ability so you're stuck with Inspiring Presence which is worse than useless in Daemons of any flavor as it stops your icons from working. Note this also means giving up any Mortal Khorne support you might have *cough*Bloodsecrator*cough* taken.
  • It's also a bit of a kick in the balls that our mounted herald costs 20 points more while Tzeench and Slaanesh get theirs at no additional cost.

• Blood Throne: A Herald on a chariot, 20 points extra compared to a Bloodmaster swaps your three juggernaut attacks for two Bloodletter crew attacks (4+/3+/-1/1 6's cause mortal wounds) and the chariots gnashing maw attack (4+/3+/-1/D3 restores a wound for each wound caused) and +1 wound. While the Skullmaster swapped the Blood Must Flow rule for the standard bloodcrusher rules, the skull throne swaps them for absolutely nothing. It doesn't even make bloodcrushers troops like the Skullmaster.

• Daemon Prince: Worth a mention certainly. The middle ground between your heralds and bloodthirsters and since the loci are on the units now, generally just better than most Herald options. Two weapon choices, 4 attacks with either an Axe with 3+/3+/-2/D3 and a Sword with 2+/3+/-1/D3 as well as 3 attacks with 4+/3+/-/2 Talons. The Sword wins out compared to the Axe against anything other than 2+ Armour so it's probably the better bet.

Bloodbound

• Mighty Lord of Khorne: The Mightiest of Khorne Lords (we assume), your standard Lord of Khorne has a dog friend to accompany him on the battlefield. The Flesh Hound he takes along with him is all well and good with 4 3+/4+ attacks (Even more if the blood is flowing). The real feature here is the Lord's Axe, which has a possibility to rip a hole in the fabric of reality to suck in a victim after they take an unsaved wound (Watch Nagash go POOF!). That means all you need to do is Inflict one wound on your opponent's Lord-Celestant and roll a 5+ to send one of Sigmar's finest to the Realm of Khorne himself. You might not be able to pull this off in every skirmish, but the look on your opponents face when you do is well worth the price of admission. Stormcast Eternals will be giving your Mighty Lord of Khorne a wider berth after witnessing that once or twice. And do not underestimate his Command Ability: vastly improving the charge of three MORTAL KHORNE units within 24" AND himself can make or break many a game, and is less of a one-time thing than you may think. You should also consider the incredible gift of his Flesh Hound's collar, which lets him unbind spells like a Wizard once per hero phase. You know how with Wizards you have to do a careful dance of positioning to make sure they're close enough to the other Wizard to unbind but far enough not to get ripped to shreds? Charge him right into the fray, unbind spells and smashing puny casters in the face. Between him and the Bloodsecrator, they put a hamper on casters.

• • Pair this up with Fateweaver and Sayl the Faithless if you don't mind unlikely alliances. Sayl makes him fly far. And Fateweaver ensures your Dice is that specific 5 or higher to instagib anyone. Assuming they failed at least one save. Except that You can't because their keywords don't allow you to use their battle traits.

• Lord of Khorne on Juggernaut: Oh heck yes. 8 goddamn Wounds with a 3+ save make for a tough motherfucker, even more so since he's got a 4+ save against magic bullshit. Then he's got some great melee capability, especially with all the buffs this army's got going and finally he has a Command Ability that grants up to 3 Mortal Khorne units +1 to Wound in melee so long as they charged this turn. Pick Valkia and Skarr Bloodwrath and watch the enemy lines shrink to nothing.

• Bloodsecrator: This guy is the meat and potatoes of your forces: A Bloodsecrator can stand in the back of your forces and wave his giant honking banner around to boost your infantry to unimaginable amounts of damage. Just by being within 12" of the Bloodreavers they gain an extra attack, but activating Rage of Khorne brings them up to three attacks each. And if the blood is already flowing? A group of twenty of these crazed cultists are going from 21 attacks to a grand total of 61 attacks!!! in just one combat phase. And on top of all that, he also fucks with enemy casting. Just send the Rage of Khorne coursing through your forces and watch your lowly knife-wielders turn into full-on berserkers that will gladly throw down their lives in the service of the Blood God. Does a Bloodsecrator even have attacks? Who cares. He can't move for a turn? Good thing you have more than enough Bloodreavers for a blood-soaked daisy-chain all the way to your back line. Does he have a Save? Yes, actually. 3+ even, making him pretty tanky. Now shut up and open another portal.
  • Something else to consider: The Bloodsecrator targets KHORNE units with his ability, not MORTAL KHORNE. You know how the only negative thing about Bloodletters, the lesser Daemons of Khorne is the fact that they only attack once and Khorne Daemons dish out no buff to increase that? Good thing your Bloodsecrator very much does. Now your Bloodletters can swing their scary swords with twice the attacks...so why do I want Bloodreavers again?
  • The Crimson Plate on this guy in cover gives him a 2+ Re-Rollable save. Nuff said.

• Exalted Deathbringer: Not so much a general as a trusted lieutenant, Command notwithstanding. Unless you're fighting a magic-heavy army (and I mean, very heavy) then you should always take the Skullgouger version, as it's basically the best thing about him, letting him deal a rather disturbing amount of damage by simply passing his safe. Keeping him near a Khorne general gets him another two attacks (totaling 5) which takes him over the Mighty Lord of Khorne's average damage output and gives you yet another reason not to make him your General. Alternatively, if you make him the general, he can give his Bravery of 8 to all units within 12", and can cause D3 mortal wounds to a friendly unit within 1" to extend the range of this ability to 24". Don't kid yourself though, even with that Bravery bonus, your Bloodreavers will be running away screaming as soon as things stop going as planned.
  • The version of this guy with the big-ass spear is basically the single greatest model GeeDubs has ever created, because he is essentially a roided out Johann Hegg brandishing a Heavy Metal reimagining of Gungnir. The weapon itself is potentially devastating against Heroes, but its a less thankful target for buffs than the big-ass axe is. Basically, if you like that version, play him but make sure there are Heroes for him to mulch.

• Aspiring Deathbringer: An Exalted Hero with slightly weaker weapons initially, he drops his shield and weapon ability and instead gains a re-roll on Hit and saves for the rest of the game if another KHORNE HERO dies within 6" of him, making him a good idea for a backup hero. His Command Ability (as General) also makes other MORTAL KHORNE units within 6" of him gain a free attack, which makes him even deadlier, especially considering he affects himself with this as well, taking him to an actually pretty good damage output. Make him your general but keep him in the backfield until someone bites it. He'll do just fine, but remember he's not your biggest powerhouse, even with Command and full rerolls to Hit.
  • Giving him a Hammer and Axe gives you 6 attacks instead of 3+D3 and exchanges his self-buff for a chance to pile in and attack them outside of the Combat Phase if enemies around him flee. If you got your buffs up, he will easily make stuff run on his own and can then reward himself by tearing into the opponent again.
  • Khorne Exalted Hero (do not confuse him with the Exalted Hero with Mark of Khorne) has the same exact Command Ability as both Aspiring Deathbringers, but he is a Slave of Darkness instead of a Bloodbound, and he's (at least initially) stronger and tougher(with the shield) than the Deathbringers. Do consider him if you don't mind your army not being pure Bloodbound.

• Slaughterpriest: This guy's not meant for killy. Really, his skill in that department is only decent, though drastically better than that of other Priests. Instead, you use him to unbind magic (because Khorne hate magic) and the ability to be a not-wizard on a 4+ or take d3 mortal wounds on a 1 (Add 1 if he killed someone in the last turn, meaning he'll never take damage if he already pleased Khorne). His prayers either makes an enemy within 16" take d6 Mortal Wounds making him your best ranged unit or forces an enemy to run towards your nearest unit within 3-16". Remember the Lash of Submission from 40k? Yeah, it's just like that, but even meaner. He's how you funnel your enemies to a battle they can't win if they suck at fighting or bang up a big guy.
  • If you feel better compelled to go killing, he can dual-wield, which actually ends up making him less killy, exchanging his three attacks at damage 2 for 3+D3 attacks at damage 1. What he can do is stand behind your actually killy units and chip in with his D3 meh attacks, but why would you?

• Skullgrinder: You know Age of Sigmar hasn't lost the Warhammer touch when you see that the sacred smith doesn't attack with his hammer, but HIS ANVIL. He swings it so hard he gets 2 3+/2+/-1/3 attacks. Yes, that's damage 3, not D3. He also adds +1 Bravery to other Mortal Khorne units within 6", which won't make your Bloodreavers brave or anything, but it might help your Blood Warriors and Skullreapers a bit. He's also got this neat special rule where, if he kills an enemy Hero or Monster, he gives all Mortal Khorne units within 8" the ability to roll 2 wound rolls if they get a 4+ on their Hit rolls for the rest of the game. Get him a few bonus attacks and that Hero/Monster kill is either assured or your opponent will be running the hell away from your Skullgrinder, both of which are great outcomes. Note: Skullgrinder's ability doesn't just apply to close combat attacks, team him up with some Marauder Horsemen with Javelins to give your opponent a nasty surprise!

• Bloodstoker: Need a little more rage in your blood? Have the Bloodstoker whip your other guys into shape. Most people seem to focus on the fact that he lets the unit he whipped reroll 1s To Wound, but his other buff is actually much more potent. +3 to run and charge helps you out A LOT with getting your guys into melee, especially if you picked the otherwise painfully slow Skullreapers. And every turn you're in melee is a turn you're winning, so him getting you there faster is wonderful. That said, don't discount the rerolls and do remember that, like the Bloodsecrator, he targets KHORNE, not MORTAL KHORNE. Also, the guy himself is actually a decent fighter by virtue of having two weapons and thus profiting doubly from all your attack buffs and can actually use his whip to fight from the second row, even behind big models like Wrathmongers. And when you think you've had enough fun whipping shirtless guys around you can always throw the Bloodstoker to the wolves in order to keep the blood flowing.
  • Do you like Gorebeast Chariots? Great, because the Bloodstoker does, too. He's almost fast enough to keep up with one and the chariot can really use his boost. If it rolls an 8 or higher on its charge roll, it doubles its attacks. With the Stoker adding 3 to that, you'd only need to roll a 5 or higher for the boost and successfully charging becomes much easier too. And the rerolls to Wound will be making the Chariot into the rape machine it's supposed to be.

Mortal

• Chaos Lord on Manticore: The Lord on Manticore can have a choice between Flail and Sword, with the Sword being better in most circumstances 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. Mark of Khorne gives him a 6" pileup which is, something? Ironically enough, the Manticore itself is actually less damaging than the Lord on it, but it does provide some nice special rules, such as rerolls of 1 To Hit against Monsters for its Claws and Jaws attacks and always rerolling when attacking units in your side of the field. His Command Ability allows a unit of Chaos Warriors within 15" to reroll charge, wound and Battleshock rolls.

• Lord of Chaos: Has a brutal pair of weapons, both attack thrice, hitting and making wonds at +3. The Reaperblade has a range of 2", -2 rend and 2 damage, and once per battle he has the option to make one attack, but making 2D6 fucking damage. His Khorne Mark allows him to reroll every 1 to hit and his command abilty lets any Slaves to Darkness unit within 10" with his same mark gets the ability too, it's not really the best command ability you have to be honest.. If he kills the opponent general, he becomes a Daemon Prince on a whim, but if he dies he becomes... you know what.

• Exalted Hero of Chaos: A shit Aspiring Deathbringer with D6 4+/3+/-1/1 attacks and can pile in twice. He gets a +1 to hit vs Characters and Monsters and if he somehow kills one he doubles his number of attacks in the next combat phase. Yeah probably don't?

Troops

Battleline

Daemon

• Bloodletters: Your standard choppy Khorne daemon, min unit size 10 and coming in with MV 5, a 5+ save and the Bravery 10 all daemons share. The Hellblades they wield are 4+/3+/-1/1 which is pretty great for infantry, but they only make a single attack each. They have the standard array of musicians, standard bearers and champions with the champ gaining a second attack, the musician forcing your opponent to re-roll battleshock test of 1 within 6" and two banner options: The first allows you to add D6 bloodletters to the unit every time you roll a 1 on a battleshock test the other grants you +1 to any charge rolls you make every time the unit slays a Hero. As a unit can carry multiple banners there's no reason not to take both. The locus for Bloodletters lets them reroll hit results of 1 if a Daemon Hero of Khorne is within 8" which is almost needed due to the low number of attacks Bloodletter's get. If you take a blob of 20 or more, they get a plus one bonus to hit, so it may be worth taking a few large units rather than multiple small ones. A blob of 10 can be summoned on a 6, and if you get an 11 or more, 20 of them hit the field instead.

Bloodbound

• Blood Warriors: A band of Chaos Warriors with a Khorne-approved coating of blood and the ability to attack before going down. They're normally equipped with Goreaxes (Chaos Hand Weapons with a Gorecoat that grant rerolls of 1s to Hit if a model has two axes), though any of them can also take a Gorefist so that if they make a save they can roll a d6 and inflict a mortal wound on a 6. Which one you take is up to you really. The chance to inflict mortal wounds is tempting, but it's only a chance, while the No Respite rule pretty much guarantees that you'll get some mileage out of the rerolls. One per ten can also grab a Goreglaive, which is a Goreaxe that Wounds on 3+, -1 to rend and causes 2 damage. Also, as with the Stormcasts, thanks to the wording, you can give that Goreglaive to your champion, who gets an additional swing with any weapon he wields.

• Bloodreavers: These guys are essentially Khornate Marauders who are too manly to wear armor (but now they have a 6+ Save, Khorne be praised!). Their leader gets another attack, and you can add an Icon Bearer (Adding +1 to their Bravery) and/or a Musician (+1" To Run and Charge)), both of which are very useful bonuses you should always take. As for weapons, you could either run with the Reaver Blades (which re-roll hit rolls of 1) or take the Meatripper Axe and gain -1 Rend (probably the better option, which is of course the reason the guys in the Starter Set come with the other one). They also gain an extra attack if they are 12" from a unit which has the Chaos Totem keywords (Bloodsecrator and Chaos Warshrine being the most practical examples, though a Beastmen BSB would work too, just for shits and giggles).
  • Pro-tip: If you have a Warshrine dedicated to Khorne, take Meatripper Axes, because the Warshrine's prayer grants you full rerolls to Hit, adds the bonus for having a Chaos Totem around and you still get the better Rend from the Axes.

Mortal

• Chaos Warriors: Similar to Blood Warriors but notably 2 points a model cheaper and with more options but without the good special weapon at ten guys. You can choose between hand weapon and shield (3+/4+-/1), halberd and shield (2" 4+/4+/-/1), two hand weapons (Reroll 1's) or a great weapon (4+/3+/-1/1). The shield is pretty great, conferring a 5+ save vs mortals and combined with their ability to re-roll saves of 1 at 20+ guys makes them a pretty hard unit. RAW you can mix hand weapons and halberds and so take advantage putting hand weapons at the front and halberds behind and removing the halberds first. You can´t, FAQ'd since the first FAQ 2016. A thing to note is that unlike blood warriors chaos warriors have instrument players (+1 to run and charge like bloodreavers) and instead of +1 attack their champion gets +1 to hit, which is best used on a halberd or great weapon warrior.

• Chaos Marauders: They're... An option? They have +1 save over Bloodreavers, two different banners, one which grants re-roll 1's and another that grants +1 bravery (they can take both though) and the option for a drummer who gives the same plus +1 to run and charge. Their special rule means you roll a dice before they attack, on a 4+ they get +1 to hit and on a 6+ they get +1 to wound as well and they get a +1 to this roll for having 20+ models. They have two different weapon options 4+/4+/-/1 axes or 5+/3+/-/1 Flails, which might seem like a tempting way to make them different to Bloodreavers, but the sad fact is the math says are axes are just better.

Cavalry

Daemon

• Bloodcrushers: (Battleline if a Skullmaster is your General) Bloodletters on mounts, gain 3 3+/3+/-/1 juggernaut attacks, +3" movement and 3 wounds. They have a faux "Hammer of wrath" attack: when they charge, on a 4+ they cause D3 mortal wounds on ALL enemy units within "1, or D6 mortal wouns it there are 6 or more Bloodcrushers in the unit, giving you a very strong reason to run 6-man units. They also swap the Bloodletters re-rolling 1's loci for one which less them re-roll all failed hit rolls on the turn they charged. What you should be getting from this is Bloodcrushers were born to charge and if they get charged first you're using them wrong. The loci is handy and while it sucks it only works on the turn they charge it means that the hero you sent along with them can go do other things if you didn't RIP AND TEAR enough on your first turn.

Bloodbound

• Mighty Skullcrushers: (Battleline in a KHORNE MORTAL-only army with a Lord of Khorne on Juggernaut as your general) Your cavalry. Their mounts do more damage than the riders, striking pretty much with the same profile as a Skullreaper. The riders themselves have 2 attacks with either the same profile or with more Rend but worse Hit rolls. Your choice really. Their banners are pretty fun, too: At first, they grant +1 Bravery, but as soon as they kill one model, it grants +3, taking them up to 9. They have a faux "Hammer of wrath" attack: when they charge, on a 4+ they cause D3 mortal wounds on ALL enemy units within "1, or D6 mortal wouns it there are 6 or more Skullcrushers in the unit, giving you a very strong reason to run 6-man units. Do however remember that despite being Cavalry, your Skullcrushers aren't all that fast, moving only 8".
  • Quick modeling tip: After the reboxing, Skullcrushers now come in boxes of 6, but their Warscroll still specifies that they come in units of 3+, so you can comfortably take one of those six and make him into a Juggerlord, which would normally be a resin model that costs an arm and a leg. (Though you'd have to pay for a full unit of 6 if you used them in matched...)

Mortal

• Chaos Knights: Cavalry on Horses? In my Khorne army? It's more likely than you think! They're 2" faster than Skullcrushers, 3 wounds and have the same 5+ mortal wound save as Warriors. Two weapon options, Enscrolled Weapons (3x 3+/4+/-/1) or Glaives (2x 4+/3+/-/1) that upgrade to 4+/3+/-1/2 on the turn they charge. These guys suffer from some identity issues honestly and it's hard to see a place for them when Mighty Skullcrushers point for point are better offensively and defensively.

• Chaos Marauder Horsemen: Much lighter Cavalry and one of your few ranged attack options in the army. 12" move (4 more than Juggernaut Cav) 5+ save and 2 wounds each. They can have the same flail or axe as marauders on foot but the best option is their javalins giving them 2 4+/4+/-/1 ranged attacks each. They have the same re-rolls of 1 to hit banner as marauders on foot too and can shoot and charge on a turn they retreated. A nice cheap skirmisher option in an army saturated with heavy cav.

• Chaos Chariots: 8+D6" move means these are pretty nippy, especially compared to other Khorne stuff. It's decent enough at taking out enemy heroes with the greatblade, with the flail it can potentially pack a bit more punch but only on a lucky roll so its probably not worth it.

• Chaos Gorebeast Chariot: Slower but killier, with a nice chance for mortal wounds. With 8" move it'll keep pace with your skullcrushers. If you roll a high charge range the gorebeast doubles its attacks and when you finish it's charge move you roll a D6 for each model within 2" on a 6 its unit suffers a mortal wound. Very good against things like Swordmasters. I'd still take the greatblade too since you're better off with the rend.

Elite Infantry

Bloodbound

• Skullreapers: Pretty cool. They actually live up to their name and reap skulls. In game terms this means you can keep a tally of how many guys they killed. If they killed more than your Skullreaper unit has models, you reroll all To Hit and once it hits double the amount of Skullreapers, you also reroll To Wound. We can probably assume that this takes into account their current number of models, so they might just get even killier if your opponent tears into them. Stat-wise they're pretty decent as well, with a Wound and a point of Bravery over Blood Warriors. Their weapons are also similar, having one more swing and Wounding on 3+. If you want more risk/reward, you can equip them with Daemon weapons, which hit worse but have a chance to either inflict mortal wounds on top of their normal damage or fail and inflict mortal wounds on you. One in five can take a one-up version of these, with one less swing, better Rend and better Damage. Additionally, the champion gets another weapon on top that's pretty powerful but only gets one swing. They also have a pretty high chance of inflicting mortal wounds if they die in combat. These are your elite infantry. They're powerful and can lead your charges. Get a Bloodsecrator nearby and watch everything around them melt.
  • If you want to bring the Daemonforged Weapons for their extra oomph, remember to bring a Bloodstoker, since the rerolls of 1s To Wound he grants are just enough to avoid hurting yourself and to increase the chance of dealing extra damage. Once they've killed enough to earn full rerolls To Wound, the Stoker can whip some other guys.

• Wrathmongers: The angry cheerleaders can infect other people with their RAGE. In game terms, every model within 3" of them gets an extra attack with all their weapons. However, this affects your opponent as well and it doesn't affect the Wrathmongers. You have to be very careful with these guys. On the one hand, they pour out 4 attacks per model at a pretty good profile and leaving them out of combat is simply a waste. On the other hand, if the opponent tosses shit like Blood Knights or Troggoths at them, the Wrathmongers melt thanks to them giving those devastating hitters bonus attacks. So, you should keep them in the back row, buffing your units and only letting them play if it's to finish off something on the edge. Stat-wise, they're Skullreapers with only a 5+ save but again, with 4 attacks apiece. Also, whenever one of them bites it, you can pick an enemy model and attack with it, even their own unit. And yes, they will attack with their attack count increased by the Wrathmongers. Hey Celestant-Prime, why are you hitting yourself?

Mortal

• Chaos Chosen: Chaos Warriors with some really good axes. 3 attacks each 3+/3+/-1/1 that cause mortal wounds on a wound roll of six or more and if they slay a model SLAVES TO DARKNESS within 8" re-roll failed wounds. Not to be sniffed at, especially with a Bloodstoker to give them re-rolls to wound and if you're running anything they can buff. These guys pack a big punch for their price essentially being your equivalents to Stormcast paladins, only 60 points cheaper a unit.

Beasts

Daemon

• Flesh Hounds: (Battleline if Karanak is your General) For double the price of a bloodletter you get a 2 wound little beast with an 8" move (which is pretty fast for khorne) and 4 (3+/4+/-/1) attacks and an unconditional re-roll on their charge range. In addition they can unbind spells, getting a +1 to this if they have 10+ models and their loci give them a re-roll on this making them a pretty good magic defense since you have none yourself. These guys are pretty damn killy.
  • These dawgs and a Khorne Bloodbound Bloodstoker are a match made in heaven. Get the Bloodstoker to whip these guys giving them +3" on their charge/run rolls and +1 on their wound rolls and watch your opponent cry as you charge into their lines first turn and throw out 4 3+/3+/-/1 attacks each and are in perfect position to start dispelling your opponents wizards next turn.

Bloodbound

• Khorgorath: Somewhat underwhelming. If you really want to take one of these, just remember that they're better at fighting smaller foes (smaller than a Stormcast), as they will heal a wound per turn if they killed any models from a unit (if the wound suffered was inflicted by the same unit). The ability is useful against tarpits and single wound models, as you are more likely to kill at least one a turn. Don't bother supporting them, as they're better used as a diversion (everyone goes for the big red monster first) and to tie up as many units as they can. Do however remember that the Khorgorath is just about the only monster that can be taken in units and that they become drastically better in a Skulltake Battalion. If properly buffed, you'll have a cheap-as-chips wall of red flesh that deals an actually decent amount of damage while being damn tough to remove.

Mortal

• 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 make for pretty hardy models.

Behemoths

• Slaughterbrute of Khorne: YES, that's right, as of April 8th 2017, the Mutalith Vortex Beast and Slaughterbrute received and update with the keywords TZEENTCH and KHORNE respectivably, allowing them to keep the Allegiance Abilities from the new Blades of Khorne and Disciples of Tzeentch Battletomes, which is good, and not stupidly broken. Unlike the MVBT, the Slaughterbrutes does gain specifical synergy with Mortal Armies; outside the KHORNE keyword, it is now binded to any KHORNE MORTAL HERO. A Mighty Lord of Khorne make for a funny pair, given that he himself is quite resiliant and he already has a thrustfull Khornate pet alongside it, however, the Slaughterbrute is truly Bloodsecrator's best friend. The Slaugtherbrute is at its most dangerous inside the Bloodsecrator area of effect.

Artillery

• Skull Cannon: This is an interesting unit: it's a cannon that can do significant damage at range, but has a melee statline with special rules that make it look as though it's made for close combat. In truth, it's a hybrid unit made to do both. Starting off with the basics, the Skull Cannon is a 7 wound model that has a single shooting attack with 3+ to hit, +3 to wound, -2 rending, and D6 damage; however, when shooting at units of +10 the Skull Cannon adds +1 to its hit rolls, making it hit on a +2. Moving on to its melee profile, it has the standard Hellblades with 2 attacks at +4 to hit, +3 to wound, -1 rend, and one damage with hit rolls of 6 or more causing a mortal wound. In addition, it has a single Gnashing Maw attack with a +4 to hit, +3 to wound, -1 rending, and D3 damage. Pretty mediocre, until you read its special rules: its melee rule Grind their Bones, Seize their Skulls allows the cannon to make an additional shot at the end of the combat phase if it caused any wounds with its Gnashing Maw attack; and according to the wording, it doesn't need to kill the target, but rather it just needs to cause a single wound. Furthermore, due to the strange rule set for AoS, you can still used ranged weapons in the shooting phase even if you are locked in combat. This essentially means that you can fire the cannon, charge, eat their skulls, and fire additional shots with your skull cannon while continuing to do so in sub sequential turns.

Normal Battalions

• Murderhost
• Bloodthunder Stampede
• Council of Blood
• Blood Hunt
• Gorethunder Cohort
• Blood Host of Khorne (Grand Alliance Chaos): A Bloodthirster of any variety (including Skarbrand) leads 7 or more units consisting of Bloodletter heroes, Bloodthirsters, Bloodletters, Bloodcrushers, Skull Cannons and Flesh Hounds. In return, each of YOUR hero phases, D3 units that are withing 3" of an enemy get to immediately pile in and attack with a single melee weapon. If you splurge for 16 or more units you get to chose D6 units.
• Charnel Host
• Skullseeker Host
• Gore Pilgrims: Requires two Slaughter Priests, a Bloodsecrator, one squad of Blood Warriors, and one squad of Blood Reavers. You can purchase an additional Priest, squad of Blood Warriors, and Squad of Reavers. THIS BATTALLION IS FUCKING BANANAS. For each Slaughter Priest standing within 8" of the Bloodsecrator you can increase the Portal of Skulls effect-range by 6". Meaning your +1 Attack granting, bravery ignoring, evil christmas tree can get a max range of thirty-fucking-inches. Furthermore, each of your Slaughter Priests can re-roll failed prayers and blessings which means you can reliably abuse the fantastic Blood Blessings. Why the fuck aren't you fielding this yet?
• Bloodforged A Skullgrinder 2-4 units of Wrathmongers, 1-3 units of blood warriors, this gets you a unit that ignores -1 rend, which is a tasty boost to help get them through shooting into combat, once in combat all units within three inches of any of these dudes needs to roll a die, on a six you get to use that model in combat ala wrathmonger death effect, best part is your wrathmonger​s can just sit in the back and give your blood warriors the buff from their aura while your warriors and Skullgrinder make the enemy battle line start killing each other.

Bonus points if you make Nagash eat his own staff

• Bloodstorm:: Take three units of Wrathmongers and get the ability to make extra attacks for each 6 To Hit, which is incredible as they get a bonus To Hit on the charge, turning a buttload of attacks into a crapton of attacks. And then, all missile weapons leveled at the Bloodstorm take a -1 To Hit penalty. This eliminates basically their biggest weakness by making sure they'll actually make it into combat. Hoo boy. If you have that many Wrathmongers, there is absolutely no reason not to use this.
• The Gorechosen: An Exalted Deathbringer and exactly 7 of the footslogging Heroes. Considering these are almost all Clampack models, have fun with that price tag, though the benefits do speak for themselves. All of these Heroes get an additional attack on all their weapons and if they stick close to each other, they get +1 To Hit. This makes a Skullgrinder absolutely devastating with an average damage output of 6.25 Wounds per round of combat, makes an Aspiring Deathbringer somewhat useful and a Slaughterpriest even more useful. Since this does almost nothing but make your Heroes killier, it's most useful for thematic forces, where a band of misfit Chaos Champions are fighting side-by-side.
• Brass Stampede: Really cool. 1 Juggerlord and three units of MIGHTY Skullcrushers. As soon as any unit bites it, they gain +3 to their charge rolls. Additionally, you know that nice ability they have, where they might cause mortal wounds on stuff they charge? In this formation, there's no roll required, you immediately inflict D3 on whatever they charge.
• Dark Feast: A small formation with sweet bonuses. You take a Slaughterpriest and a Bloodstoker and add 3 units of Bloodreavers. So long as the Slaughterpriest is alive, (everyone, including) the Reavers get yet another bonus attack and as long as they're within 12" of the Bloodstoker, they don't need to take Battleshock. It's main use is for fluff, as the heroes here pretty much goad the crazy cannibals into a feeding frenzy, but it does help the Reavers very much. Thanks to the ignoring of Battleshock, you can also afford to do this with minimum size Reaver units, which would normally be unthinkable with their lack of Bravery and saves. It's also much more mobile than the Bloodsecrator who has to plant his stupid standard for all this to happen. Though remember that this doesn't invalidate the Bloodsecrator's boost and he's actually still a huge help.
• Skulltake: Because obviously Bloodstoker and Skullreapers didn't work well enough together already. Take two units of Skullreapers, a Bloodstoker and a unit of Khorgoraths. As long as the Khorgoraths stick close to the Skullreapers, they make 8 attacks instead of 5, making them sort of useful and as long as the Skullreapers stick close to the Bloodstoker, each Wound roll of 6 they make deals one more damage. Sweet.
• Red Headsmen: This one is risky, but potentially absolutely amazing. You take an Aspiring Deathbringer, a Skullgrinder and 3 units of Blood Warriors. Then you nominate 3 Heroes or Monsters in your opponent's army. They are your targets. These targets reroll To Hit. Yes, you give YOUR OPPONENT REROLLS. If this formation slays any of them, they gain a bonus attack on all their weapons for the rest of the game. This is cumulative. Also, the entire formation always counts as being in range of the Skullgrinder's ability (thanks to the wording, this affects the Skullgrinder himself too) even if they're not. If the Skullgrinder kills one of the targets, he doubles the actual range so that more of your other stuff gets the boost. Yes, this is potentially amazing, but if your opponent only has powerful Heroes, you might get your own army murdered thanks to the boost you gave them. Still, it's fun and it's fluffy.
• Bloodbound Warband: This one's big. An Aspiring Deathbringer, a Bloodsecrator, a unit of Skullreapers, a unit of Bloodreavers and 3 units of Blood Warriors join together. The first ability is kind of "too little, too late" as it makes the whole formation immune to Battleshock if at least 3 units of it are in melee range. You know, one of the things the Bloodsecrator could already do? The other's much more potent as it gives you 40k's charge rules. On any turn you charge, you get an extra attack with all your weapons. All in all, it's nice, but some of these Battalions are much nicer.
• Goreblade Warband: The one from the starter set. You know it, you love it. If at least one unit from the formation charges successfully, all others get to reroll failed charges for that turn. If a unit dies in melee, the whole formation gets extra attacks. Always awesome. Found in the starter set booklet and also in the Mighty Battles in an Age of Unending War campaign book.

Super Battalions

• Daemon Legion of Khorne
• The Reapers of Vengeance
• The Bloodlords
• Bloodbound Warhorde: You combine The Gorechosen, a Bloodbound Warband and 3-7 of the other Battalions. For that, "Khorne Cares Not..." confers to all of them and if one of the Heroes that can unbind spells does so, you can add 2 to the unbinding. It's cool, but it's so huge you'll almost never have the opportunity to field it.
• The Goretide
• The Skullfiend Tribe

Tactics

Maim, Kill, Burn! Maim, Kill Burn!! That's all!

Actually it isn't, as the Bloodbound are actually a pretty engaging army. The Khorne Bloodbound are an army that specialize in very powerful hero's that either buff your already strong melee units or murder the enemy. Specifically, what makes this army unique is the amount of synergy that your army works within.

Sure, your basic strategy is very simple: Charge in as fast as possible, as soon as possible and inflict as much damage as possible. If you simply toss Bloodreavers at your opponent they will die as even Skeletons fight better than unsupported Bloodreavers. They rely heavily on keyword synergy and need to work extremely well together in order to fight at peak efficiency. And in order to do that you need your Heroes.

A good rule of thumb is to use at least 1 but no more than 2 Heroes per 25 Wounds. Start off with the Bloodsecrator. He's just about the best force multiplier you have (some might argue that he's the best non-special character force multiplier in the game) and add 20 Bloodreavers. Then, add two Heroes of your choice, one of them with a unique Command Ability, like the Mighty Lord or better yet, the Khorne Exalted Hero, who's bound to get a new name soonish like the "Lord of Plagues" did. Then, add Skullreapers. If you want to keep sticking with Blood Warriors, get a box, assemble five of them as Blood Warriors and add them to the ones from the starter box, then use spare parts to convert the other five into MOAR Skullreapers. As far as Heroes go, the Exalted Deathbringer is great regardless of whether he's your general or not but in different ways, the new Slaughterpriest is about the closest to ranged capability you have and pretty killy for a Priest and the Skullgrinder gets disturbingly powerful with all those attack buffs you've got going.

Even more important is that you use the right heroes with the right units: The Bloodstoker was pretty much made to boost Skullreapers with Daemon Weapons. The Juggerlord works better for Skullreapers with non-Daemon Weapons and for Blood Warriors. The Warshrine is best for Wrathmongers and Bloodreavers with Meatripper Axes. Everything with a bonus to attack numbers works best on Skullcrushers. The Bloodsecrator works well with everything, but best with Bloodreavers of all flavors. The Skullgrinder works best with units that Hit on 4+ and no better, specifically with Wrathmongers and Daemon Weapon Skullreapers. Mighty Lord, Exalted Deathbringer and Slaughterpriest are somewhat out of the loop, supporting everything equally and fitting absolutely everywhere, though the Deathbringer's only real use is as a beatstick, as his Bravery-conferring is infinitely worse than the Bloodsecrator's flat-out ignoring of Battleshock.

As soon as you add Battalion rules, things get real crazy, as you suddenly have to add questions like "do I let my Bloodstoker get killed off in order to get some bonus attacks from "Khorne Cares Not From Whence The Blood Flows"?" to your list of considerations, in addition to the standard gaggle of "which unit needs to attack when it order to deal the most damage to what?".

Age of Sigmar's real meat lies in combat, so an army specializing in combat is no less complex than one that can also pepper the enemy with arrows

• The Khornemower: ** Units of 30 letters are offensively one of the best units in the game right now. All you need is a Slaughterpriest who knows killing frenzy, a Bloodsecrator and a Daemon hero of your choice (like you weren't taking them anyway). 61 Attacks hitting on 2's rerolling 1's causing mortal wounds on a FOUR to hit. Thats an expected 35 mortals per phase. For 270 points. On average you will kill Nagash or Archaon in one round of attacks and they HAVE saves vs mortal wounds. The only thing that will stand a chance at all against that density of mortals is mass Chaos Warriors, though on average you will kill TWENTY ONE of them in one round of attaks ie they will make 140% of their points back. You're welcome.
  • Just a note bloodletters aren't great defensively, if you anticipate a lot of ranged think about investing in another Slaughterpriest or two to give them bronzed flesh. if you think your opponent fights fair then a blood warrior or bloodreaver screen to take any enemy charges is a good idea. If you expect magic, take another unit of 30, in fact take 2 units of them anyway, there's really not much they aren't good against.
  • If you're playing over 1000 points take the gore pilgrims for khornes sake and at 1500+ consider the Murderhost with some flesh hounds to give your bloodletters a bit of movement at the games start, the hounds make a great screening unit too as well as being a source of unbinding and generally being a pretty scary thing an opponent may choose to shoot instead of your actually scary guys.

Allied Armies

• Brayherd:

• Chaos Gargant:

• Monster of Chaos:

• Nurgle Rotbringers:

• Slaves to Darkness: Well, they do need to be mentioned. All of those charges bonuses are pure fun using Knights and Chariots, while the Warshrine can pray a blessing alongside its regular pray. Just remember that this is a MAN army, so no stupid Sorcerers allowed.

• Daemons of Chaos: Since you can mark all those generic Daemons, you can add some helpful stuff do your army. Furies may not be worth much, but a Soulgrinder is the sort of thing that makes opponents rethink their whole strategy.

• Everchosen: Because fuck you, I'm Cheeos incarnate. Archaon is Daemon, Mortal, Khorne, Monster, Hero, Scientist, Philantropist and Playboy. He can benefit from any non-Bloodbound Allegiance Abilities for a Khorne army, alongside his Varanguard if he marks them. Bloodmarked Warband battalion says that its Allegiance is Everchosen, but a battalion can still be part of any allegiance that all its units have on their own warscrolls, so until FAQ'd, you can use bonuses for them as well.

• Warherds: Using a Battalion: Bloodscorch Bulltribe - 3 starter boxes worth of models band together. All 9 Bullgors and 3 Ghorgons gain an additional wound, get marked as Khorne and gain the ability to re-roll all charge rolls. In and of itself, the 12 extra wounds and the charge re-rolls are an awesome bonus. However, the fact that the units are now marked as Khorne should not be overlooked either, as it means that they can be affected by Blades Of Khorne buffs, and those can be quite brutal. Throw a bloodsecrator or a bloodstoker in the mix.

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