Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Khorne Daemonkin

Why Play Khorne Daemonkin?

Because you're an old neckbeard who can remember the days of a unified codex for all the forces of Chaos, when daemons walked alongside marines. Or you could be thinking that the Warriors of Chaos had a neato deal on it thanks to The End Times merging them with Daemons, Beastmen, and later Skaven.

Also, you find psychic powers to be weak shit, and will not miss it at all. Instead, you want honorable melee combat between powerful warriors.

Who this ISN'T for, sadly, is anyone looking for an actually fixed Chaos Space Marines of Daemons codex. A lot of the same issues those books still exist, and it opens up its own bevy of issues.

Tactical Objectives

11 - Khorne Cares Not

1 VP if any unit dies in your turn. d3 VP if 3-5 units die, d3+3 if more than 5 die.

12 - Altar of Gore

1 VP for killing an enemy unit that's owning an objective. If you take it for yourself (Which you probably will), you get d3.

13 - Blood and Skulls for Khorne

1 VP if you kill a character in a challenge, which ups to d3 if they're an IC.

14 - Unfettered Butchery

1 VP for killing an enemy unit in your assault phase. Rest assured that you WILL get this if you find it.

15 - MURDER-Call

1 VP if you summoned a Daemon of Khorne using Deep Strike or BftBG. Simple enough.

16 - The Blood God's Scorn

1 VP if you kill an opposing unit that's either falling back or has the Psyker/Brotherhood of Psykers/Psychic Pilot USRs. Since Psykers are more common nowadays thanks to the Psychic phase, this can be nice.

Special Rules

• Mark of Khorne - Rage and Counter-Attack.
• Daemon of Khorne - Daemon, Hatred (Slaanesh), Furious Charge. Chariots also get HoW attacks at S7. As a fun bonus, you're also now free from Daemonic Instability and Warp Storm and get Fearless instead. WOOT!
• Blood for the Blood God! - Every unit that you or your enemy kills on the field or in a challenge gets converted into Blood Tithe points. You can only stock 8 points at a time, but you can use them for cool stuff (Issue is that whatever you pick, you spend all your points on, even if you have more points than needed):
  • Infernal Contempt - 1 point. Grants all units with BtfBG Adamantium Will for a turn. Can do well when stacked with the Collar.
  • Insatiable Bloodlust - 2 points. Grants all units with BftBG Rage and Furious Charge for a turn, which can be very handy for assaults.
  • Unstoppable Ferocity - 3 points. All units with BftBG get FNP for a turn. This is sweetness.
  • Apocalyptic Fury - 4 points. All units with BftBG gain +1 Attack for a turn. Save your points for later.
  • Daemontide - 5 points. 8 Bloodletters/5 Flesh Hounds are summoned within 12" of a model with BftBG. Fun note about this is that unlike the Malefic summoning, you can get an Instrument, Banner, or Character upgrade for free if you have the model for it. This makes Bloodletters more reliable in deep-striking.
  • Harbingers of Blood and Skulls - 6 Points. 3 Bloodcrushers/A Skull Cannon is summoned within 12" of a model with BftBG. This is pretty handy in bolstering some surprise losses.
  • Dark Apotheosis - 7 Points. Find a character without the Daemon of Khorne USR. He must test Leadership. If he fails, he's now a...thing. If he passes, congrats, he's now a Daemon Prince with Warp-Forged Armor and maybe wings. Also, he keeps any Artefacts of Slaughter he had provided they are compatible and his WT. Either way he counts as being removed as a casualty (see below why this is important) Therefore it still confers a killpoint if it was an independent character, but thankfully, either result doesn't count as Slaying the Warlord if your Warlord was picked.
  • Fury Unbound - 8 points. Find a character without the Daemon of Khorne USR. He must test Leadership. If he fails, he's gone (And now your enemy is awarded for Slay the Warlord if you used your Warlord). If he passes, you now have a new Unfettered Fury Bloodthirster with the same WT, and if that guy was your warlord, the thirster's now your Warlord.
• Skulls for the Skull Throne! - Essentially Champions of Chaos, you must issue/accept challenges. Only now you're not under constant risk of being morphed into...well, those gribblies.

Warlord Traits

1. Icon of War - warlord and any joined unit with BftBG may reroll charge distances.
2. Disciple of Khorne - gain Zealot
3. Arch Slaughterer - add +1 to attacks stat
4. Favoured of Khorne - generate an additional Blood Tithe point whenever the warlord slays a character in a challenge
5. Butcher King - gain preferred enemy (everything)
6. Destined for Glory - when testing LD for Dark Apotheosis or Fury Unbound, they always pass the test

Wargear

Melee Weapons

• Chainaxe - It's a chainsword...'cept it's AP4. Ideal for cleaving apart mobs, but nothing more than that.
• Axe of Khorne - AP2 Specialist Weapon that causes ID on a 6 to-wound. Essentially Power Fists + 1.
• Lightning Claw - AP3 and Shred Specialist Weapons. While a sane man could just take one and go to town aware that he'll lose out on the exrta attack from having two weapons, a REAL man would take double claws and go to town on shit. Or better yet, take an Axe of Khorne so you gain that AP2 and chance for ID.
• Power Weapons - You enjoy access to all varieties of power weapons. You'll usually be best served by the Maul's concussive and +2 S, since the sword's just forgettable, the lance is only best served when mounted, and you have the Axe of Khorne which can one-up power axes.
• Chainfist - It's a Chainsword with a Fist taped on to it. It's only for Termies, but that just means heavily armored killings.
• Hellblade - The Bloodletter's default weapon. It's a power sword.

Ranged Weapons

• Combi-Bolter - It's a TL bolter. Next.
• Combi-weapons - Has the Melta, Plasma, and Flamer variety. They're your go-to weapon for cheap utility for a turn. Flamers kill mobs, Plasma kills 2+ armor, Melta kills tanks.
• Autocannon - The lone gun you can take which loyalists can't. Frightening and easily able to blow apart mobs from a distance.

Special-Issue Wargear

• Jump Packs - Add one so now your lord can join some Raptors. That's really all you can do with these.
• Sigil of Corruption - Congrats, you now own a 4++ Save.
• Chaos Bike - Unlike the loyalists, you can't make Bikers troops. You can still join bikes and mow things down.

Gifts of Khorne

• Ichor Blood - Every time a model with this takes an unsaved wound in combat, the hitter suffers an S3 AP4 hit.
• Aura of Dark Glory - 5++ Save. Just suck up those 10 points and buy this for your Chaos Lord. He's the only one who can benefit from this anyway.
• Collar of Khorne - +2 to Deny the Witch. Stack with Adamantium Will and you're now effectively shutting down all the witches!
• Combat Familiar - 2 bonus S4 AP- attacks. Decent take.
• Juggernaut of Khorne - Available to Heralds and non-Termie Lords. If you take it, you're best suited joining some Flesh Hounds. Bloodcrushers are just wasted points.

Vehicle Equipment

• Daemonic Possession - Your tank's now BS3, it can ignore Crew Shaken/Stunned on a 2+, and anyone who enters must now roll a d6 and get a model eaten on a 1, recovering an HP. Really, not that worth it.
• Havoc Launchers - An S5 AP5 TL blast. This is okay for some bonus fire support.

Artefacts of Slaughter

• Goredrinker - a power axe that gains additional special rules the more wounds it causes over the course of the game.
  • 1-2 - gain +1 strength
  • 3-4 - gain the Rampage special rule
  • 5-7 - double the owner's strength score, cumulative with the earlier bonus for strength 10 on a chaos lord (4 x 2 then add +1 twice for the axe and the bonus )
  • 8+ - all the owner's attacks cause Instant Death

• The Blade of Endless Bloodshed - a normal power sword with one extra rule: any assault phase where the bearer causes any casualties (not "per" casualty) adds +1 blood tithe point.

• Skull Helm of Khorne - the bearer causes Fear, and any to-hit roll of 6 generates an additional attack, but those cannot generate any more (so no endless attacks)

• Blood Forged Armour - Regular 3+ power armour but grants Eternal Warrior and FnP. Expect to see this in every army list.

• The Brazen Rune - your psyker defense, normally it only grants AW, but once per game you may cause it to create a 24" bubble where any psyker attempting to manifest powers will peril on ANY double. But then the AW rule is lost.
  • Still a good buy because even if your opponent has only one Psyker he will risk a horrible death on a turn of your choosing. Losing AW is no big deal if they Psyker is dead in later phases. Otherwise you've neutered that psyker for a turn because your opponent was too chicken to try anything.

• Kor'lath, the Axe of Ruin - a "normal" axe of Khorne (ie. AP2 specialist weapon that causes ID on 6s to-wound) but if the bearer dies for ANY reason, even if otherwise "removed as a casualty" a Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury arrives within 6" of where he died. The catch is that the Bloodthirster loses D3 wounds every turn (which may be saved with invulnerable saves however) as it is only meant to be temporary, but even then it might survive the remainder of the game quite comfortably.
  • can be a fantastic distraction carnifex if your opponent knows what's coming and he faces a conundrum of leaving the bearer alive to kill more things rather than deal with a bloodthirster later
  • put on a normal chaos lord and you can ascend him up to Daemon Prince mid-game and generate a Bloodthirster AS WELL, because he was "removed as a casualty", then because he keeps his artefacts you could get a second Bloodthirster for free if the Prince ever dies.

Unit Analysis

HQ

• Chaos Lord: You know him, you love him, same utility boss as always, even for the same price (Yes, he's priced like he paid for it in the main 'dex). Unlike the "core" Lord, he has access to the previously daemon-only Axe of Khorne, for AP2 while striking at initiative order.

• Daemon Prince: He's big, he's killy, and he's here to demolish anything that pisses him off, which he'll have to since he's now forced to do challenges (You're playing Khorne, remember?). Sad thing is that he's rather limited in what he can take (Mainly either relics or Gifts), but at least he can also buy wings too. Regardless of how much more expensive it is, Blood Forged Armor gives Eternal Warrior and FNP along with a 3+ compared to only a 3+ makes it a straight upgrade to Power Armor.

• Herald of Khorne: Your other budget HQ. You're now free from the madness of Kelly's tables, and can pick whatever you want out of the Loci, Gifts, and relics, meaning there is no way to get a Herald with AP2 since both relic axes are restricted. A support HQ choice opposed to the sheer kill potential of your other HQs, you're now able to join whatever forces you want meaning your Locus can apply to "mortal" squads, Locus of Wrath while attached to Berserkers for maximum benefit.
  • Blood Throne: Your Chariot got some new boosts now: One is that now every Daemonkin unit can benefit from whatever Loci you have (Reminder, Abjuration gives Adamantium Will, Fury gives Rage, Wrath gives Hatred), which is sweet. The other is that you get two S4 AP3 (S5 if you charged) hits at WS5 I4 to represent your crew alongside your Herald's attacks. It's still a very sturdy ride.

• Bloodthirster: Thanks to End Times: Archaon, you've now got two new variations to the big monster, and a new multi-model kit. You're also free of Kelly's tables, but the price to this is the loss of any ability to customize. Also, auto-challenges.
  • Unfettered Fury: The Thirster you've been using all along. As a refresher, you've got your Axe of Khorne and your Lash (A 12" Assault 1 S6 AP2 shot). If you want to play the army to its fullest potential you'll need one of these in your collection, just don't pay the points for it when building your army because you can just summon them for free using BftBG or with Axe of Ruin.
  • Insensate Rage: 25 Points gets you the world's biggest axe. No, seriously, it's got THE D and AP2, but it forces you to pile in and fight at Initiative 1 because it's so fucking heavy. It's...well, it's less absurd a pricetag than Fantasy had.
  • Wrath of Khorne: 50 points. Now you've got Hatred (Characters) and Adamantium Will. Also, you get the Bloodflail, a utility weapon that can either be a souped-up Lash (S7 AP2 Assault d3) or an AP2 Specialist Weapon, and a Heavy Flamer with Soulblaze.

• Skulltaker: Bafflingly, Skulltaker is the lone character of the Daemonkin army. No Kharn, no Skarbrand (A loss on GW's part since they were already making the new BT models), and no Karanak. Also, he loses out on riding the Juggernaut/Blood Throne. Aside from that, he's the same ol' Character-slayer (Notes include WS/BS9, I9, 3+ Armor with EW, Power Sword with Soulblaze and ID when you roll 6 to-wound), now with the option of joining models as tough as he is, if not tougher.

Troops

• Cultists - 7 goons, 1 champion (Yeah, this is a pattern. All basic infantry are organized in squads of 8). They still can only take Flamers or Heavy Stubbers per 5 (or just get Autoguns) while the champ can only get a shotty. Simple tip: Sacrifice them. Sure your characters are shit, so let them die. Use their death to fill the Blood Tithe (Doubly so if they get overrun). If you spam MSU, you can go pretty far.

• Chaos Space Marines: Your sturdy versatile troops choice. You're no longer risking champions turning into gribblies with each fight, but you've also lost out on the gift of mutation as well as Veterans of the Long War. Other than that, you've still got the same issues of price, now worsened by MoK being stock as well as the large base size.

• Khorne Berzerkers: Your iconic elite murder machines...still struggle under an exorbitant price tag. They still need to pay 3 points for their chainaxes, and still suffer from only getting attacks when charging/getting charged. And you also lack VotLW. For such an iconic unit, you'd think they'd give these bastards at least something of a break...

• Bloodletters: Your other budget troops choice, Bloodletters only benefit over Cultists in one way: AP3 weapons. Aside from that, they're still weak against firepower, and aren't too hot in prolonged combat, and with the loss of the random tables (and thus the weapons), getting the Bloodreaper isn't even such a hot choice except for the sole reason of having him die for your Blood Tithe. Buying an Instrument of Chaos allows them and another Daemons of Khorne unit to auto-arrive from reserves. Buying a Banner allows Daemons of Khorne units Deep-Striking within 6" to not scatter (And other Daemons just scatter d6, which is cool too). Just remember that both upgrades ONLY work on units comprised entirely of models with the Daemon of Khorne rule.

Dedicated Transport

• 'METUHL BAWKSES: Ol' reliable is still here to cart your minions here, and as a Fast Attack Choice, you can even buy an empty one and stuff it full of allied heretics if you feel like throwing out that FA slot. Issue here is that you've lost Dirge Casters (BOO!), Warpflame Gargoyles (Meh), and Destroyer Blades (Well enough. We need them cheap anyways).

• Chaos Land Raider: It's a Land Raider, you get everything that normally comes with it (without PotMS since you aren't loyalists). You get a solid way of delivering your squishy troops from one side of the table to an assault. Dedicated Transport for Terminators, but Heavy Support otherwise. Aside from that, all you can really do with it is be a fire magnet, and why would you waste that many points on a Blood Tithe? The loss of Dirge Casters means that your guys are doubly screwed if they don't make the assault because they're now sitting ducks.

Elite

• Possessed: These guys aren't quite as fab as the Crimson Slaughter update made them, but they've got some fun changes still. First off, they get BOTH Mark and Daemon of Khorne rules, which might explain the price bump (Used to be 29 points per unit with MoK, now they're a flat 30). This makes them VERY frightening to face in combat. Their mutations are also the same as they were in the codex, which is doubly nice when added to their bonuses.

• Chaos Terminators: They're still damnably expensive, but still benefit from their nebulous power weapon loadout. Since they're stuck with MoK, the best role for them is the anvil unit, deep-striking on the field and grabbing whatever they can to thin the herd and suck up an untimely assault. If you don't care about them surviving, you can throw in combi-weapons if you can spare the points just to make the Blood Tithe worth it.

• Bloodcrushers: They're still really shit here. Fearless doesn't help the fact that they're only with a 6+ and T4. More than ever, just avoid these bastards.

Fast Attack

• The Unnameable Beasts: They're still here, they still get random mutations each turn. Shove them ahead of the pack and they'll be the screens your team needs for a short while. And if they die, free Tithe!

• Flesh Hounds: Sadly, Karanak is no more, so you're now stuck with no AP unless you spring for a Juggy Herald with Rage to boost them again. Aside from that, they're just good skirmishing units, capable of covering ground quickly, messing with psykers, and ruining anything below MEQ.

• Raptors: These guys are reasonably priced, efficient at what they do, and versatile in fighting up close. The issue here is that, like all Chaos Marines, they lack VotLW, and thus are very vulnerable if they lose combat. Shoot to close the distance, then charge to make the most of your team.

• Warp Talons: Now these guys got something of a new lease by merging with Daemons. See, like Possessed, they also benefit from both the Mark and Daemon of Khorne rules, and thus can now benefit from any Banners and Instruments that you put on the field. The issue with this is that they suffer from the whole "Can't assault after DS" bullshit, and thus will more likely end up just adding to your Blood Tithe. Hounds can do this for cheaper, but these guys have durability and a bonus punch.

• Chaos Bikers: These guys represent a fine balance between ranged firepower and melee power. On one hand, you can give two bikers both a special weapon and their TL bolter and still have their bolt pistols to bail them out of combat. On the other hand, you can keep your CCW and pistol and gain that extra attack on top of Rage and provide plenty of punch where you need it. Bring a pack just in case you decide to make your Lord a biker.

• Heldrake: Everyone's favorite murderous turkey, here to bring that Gorgonzola to the field. Sure, it's a shadow of it's supreme cheesemeister days, but it can still bring a good fight with its S7 Vector Striking and the option between the Hades Autocannon and Baleflamer. Oh, and it's also a Daemon of Khorne, which would be completely forgettable EXCEPT that this means that it can benefit from Icons and Instruments your daemons bring along.

Heavy Support

• Defiler: Honestly, you have other vehicles to cover what this does. Soul Grinders are just as versatile, if not moreso in combat and at range for a lower price, the Dinobots are specialists bar none, and the Skull Cannon can actually synergize with units without grenades.

• Helbrute: The first glaring error: No Khorne dedication, which would have been phenomenal if paired with the Power Scourge. It's still very iffy as a ranged support unit, and if you're buying this for that role, you've wasted your time. Consider buying a formation instead to bring in some brutes.

• Forgefiend: These are the Dinobots you want to lay down fire support. They still get their Hades Autocannons or their Ectoplasma cannons, and that's still boss. The issue is that it got a 5 point tax on it for getting Daemon of Khorne, a rule that's pretty much wasted on this.

• Maulerfiend: The Daemon of Khorne rule does more to benefit the Mauler than it does its brother, but it's still a high investment. The bonus attack on the charge means that it can make an additional shot for the Magma Cutters if it's up against a vehicle, and more attacks is generally just a fun thing to have. Lasher Tendrils are more for managing MCs and Walkers by limiting their attack output, but you have better (and cheaper) alternaives for that goal.

• Soul Grinder: The guns are what you want it for. If you're unable to fit in a Drake (And what the hell were you doing to get that far?), this guy's able to take plenty of guns to make up for its lack of skyfire. Sure, it's got Daemon of Khorne, but that's pretty useless when you have a Power Fist stock and have to buy a weapon just to let Furious Charge be useful for something (Aside from a bonus attack and Master-Crafted).

• Skull Cannon: This is your prime tool for ignoring cover, both for you and for your team. Anyone who charges a unit hit from the cannon can now charge through terrain at initiative. Oh, and on top of that, you're a chariot and can make some vicious hits on the charge with your two Bloodletters and the S7 HoW.

Lord of War

• Lord of Skulls: The monster returns. 888 Points of tanky dick-gun horror. It can Thunderblitz instead of stomp, it gains attacks for each HP it loses (And keeps gaining attacks until it gets 10 attacks) and it has both an S8 AP3 Hellstorm gun and a Heavy 12 S8 AP3 gatling gun with Pinning alongside it's unholy D AP1 cleaver. The Hellstorm can either become S9 Gets Hot and ID or become an S7 AP2 Large Blast, while the Gatling can become an S9 AP3 Apoc Blast which forces re-rolls on Armor saves. It WILL destroy whatever it's up against, no contest.

A quick word on Forgeworld units

In a word: NO. The reason for this is that units from Imperial Armour (in this case IA13) get added to specific factions rather than army lists or codices. "Khorne Daemonkin" is very clearly described as its own faction in its codex and is not merely "Chaos Space Marines" and/or "Chaos Daemons" thus RAW it is incompatible with any of the unit choices from Imperial Armour. Where if it were only a supplement it would at least have held the same faction as whichever codex it was based on.

...and probably for good reason because that would allow you to take units from other gods in your list unrestricted, you double heretic you...

Formations

Blood Host Detachment

Thought the Decurion was the only Formation-based detachment? Well now you're wrong! Now you have a Khorne army full of formations, and it gives you both a Codex WT re-roll and a free Blood Tithe!

• Slaughtercult: The core detachment to the Blood Host. Lead with a Lord/Herald/Skulltaker/DP/Unfettered Fury Thirster, bring 2-8 squads of CSM, Berzerkers, or Bloodletters, 1-4 Possessed squads, and 0-2 units of both Spawn and Cultists. The Leader gets a WT re-roll and the option to murder an entire Cultist squad if they fail morale and just take that tithe quicker. In addition, when spending Blood Tithe and have more than spare points, you can opt to choose any powers below your first choice (Up to 4) and get both results for the turn. And that's awesome.
• Lord of Slaughter: Another Bloodthirster of any sort per Slaughtercult. Nothing more.
• Like the Decurion, you get 1-8 of the following choices:
  • Brazen Onslaught: 1-4 Termie packs and 2-4 Bloodcrusher packs. If any units here are in a combat where they're outnumbered, they gain Rampage for the combat phase.
  • Khorne's Bloodstorm: 2-4 Raptor packs, 1-4 Warp Talon packs, and an optional Heldrake. Everyone here gets +1 Strength for HoW/Vector Strikes. NASTY. Even worse when Deep-Striked near a Banner.
  • Gorepack: 2-4 Biker squads, 1-4 Flesh Hound packs. Everyone gets Move Through Cover and Preferred Enemy (Psykers). Flesh Hounds gain HoW and Bikers gain Shred on their HoW.
  • Charnel Cohort: A DP/Herald/Skulltaker/Blood Throne leads 2-8 teams of Bloodletters, 1-4 packs of Bloodcrushers and Flesh Hounds, and up to 4 Skull Cannons. Everyone gains Counter-Attack, the HQ can re-roll WT if picked, and all enemies take -2 Ld when testing Fear. In addition, if the HQ is in reserves, they can re-roll reserves anyone else Deep-Striking within 6" of the HQ doesn't scatter.
  • War Machine: A Defiler/Soul Grinder/Helbrute/Forgefiend/Maulerfiend/Lord of Skulls. Pretty much your Heavy Support slot.

Allies

Battle Brothers

• Chaos Space Marines: If you're asking to ally with Chaos Marines, it's for one reason only: Walls and fire support. You may have Cultists too, but you're paying for the mark as well as the models. You also lack access to anything dedicated to the other gods (Like Typhus' zombie horde, psykers in general, Noise Marines and their Dreadnoughts). If you're doing it just so you can get Kharn back, just remember that despite being the mightiest mortal champion of the blood god, he doesn't have BftBG. Nor is free of the random tables. The same is said if you decide to take the Kharn's butcherhorde. You can, and probably should, consider the Helbrute formations as well, since they make the brutes gain a particular purpose and only lose BftBG in exchange.

• Chaos Daemons: Where CSM allies are meant to take more heavy units, Daemon allies are more for taking flighty things speed. Daemonettes come in mind, as do Screamers and Plague Drones. You could also bring back Skarbrand and Karanak and are probably well-off to do so, if only while you keep an eye on how the Winds of Chaos and Daemonic Instability affects them. Also helpful is the Grimoire of True Names, which you can cast to make your murder train even more murderier (Which especially helps if you want to break out the Insensate Rage and need serious protection).

Tactics

Pending gameplay