Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Warriors of Chaos

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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.

• 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, has a stat line that's strictly inferior to a Chaos Lord's, has no decent defences and can't join units. Made all the worse by only being able to take Gifts, not magic Items, and the WoC Gifts tend to be very situational.

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, 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 maximise 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.

• 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.

Special Units

• 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.

Rare Units

• 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.