2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Nurgle

2023-02-17T19:23:15Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Total War: Warhammer 3 */

[[File:220px-Nurgle Symbol.png|center]]
{{awesome}}
{{heresy}}
{{sick|He's the god of filth. Of course he's disgusting.}}

[[File:Nurgle.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Get up, come on, get down with the sickness!]]
<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style:bold;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em">{{Topquote|'''NURGLE IS LOVE! NURGLE IS LIFE! ALL PRAISE THE PLAGUE FATHER WITH THE CORPSE OF DEATH!'''|The Pact of Nurgle in a Nutshell}}</div>
{{Topquote|Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master?|Kahlil Gibran}}
{{Topquote|To me death is not a fearful thing. It's living that's cursed.|Jim Jones}}
{{Topquote|Behold the floral magnificence of Nurgle. Budding flowers of flesh growth, the tessellating landscapes of mould spore. There is no beauty to the unadorned. Nurgle is first and foremost an artist. Tzeentch, he is a mere mischief maker, and young Slaanesh no more than a libertine. Let us not even begin with the linear, narrow-minded aggression of Khorne.|Opsarus "the Crow", [[Plague Marine]] Captain, Champion of Nurgle}}
{{Topquote|If everything is shit, why worry about it?|Unknown Wehrmacht Soldier}}
{{Topquote|These germs of disease have taken toll of humanity since the beginning of things--taken toll of our prehuman ancestors since life began here. But by virtue of this natural selection of our kind we have developed resisting power; to no germs do we succumb without a struggle. . . By the toll of a billion deaths man has bought his birthright of the earth, and it is his against all comers; it would still be his were the Martians ten times as mighty as they are. For neither do men live nor die in vain.| H.G Wells, ''War of the worlds''}}

'''The total "wet weight" of humanity on [[Terra]] (ca. 020.M3 anyway) is 7.33×1011 kg.

'''The total weight of bacteria, 9.9×1011.

'''Facts.'''

{{BLAM|Facts? Nay... HERESY!}} {{BLAM}}

==Introduction==

WARNING: HE'S FUCKING GROSS!!! And often used as a verb for busting a squat (by which we do not mean inflicting violence on a [[Squat]]) in the bathroom stall. Example: “Hang on, I gotta go Nurgle.”

Required listening: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uor4IrNN0N4

https://youtu.be/MzMshNafGFs

The unholy combination of your loving grandfather and Santa, if all he gave you were plagues, and every day was Christmas. Just shaking hands with him is probably a good way to catch... well, ''everything'', probably. All at once.

'''Nurgle''', also known as '''Nurgleth, Neiglen, Onogal, Nurglitch, Lord Leech, the Plague Lord, the Plaguefather, the Lord of Death and Decay, the Lord of Pestilence, the Fly Lord, the Great Corruptor, Grandfather Nurgle, A Supernatural Garbage Bag, the Almighty COVIDiot, Papa/Grandpa Nurgle, the Ebola Emperor, the Collective Asscrack of Fa/tg/uys Everywhere, Your Mom, the Patron God of Anti-Vaxxers, the Champion of Contagion, That One Guy Who Plays Nothing But Plague Inc. Every Day, Pus in Boots, the Intergalactic Fatass, [[TV Tropes|Squick]] Incarnate, the Omniscent Basement Dweller, Never Took A Shower, The Gutbuster Reaper''' and 7738 other names, is the god of misunderstood sick fucks ([[Slaanesh|no, not ''those'']], we mean ''literally'' sick) and all diseases. Nurgle is primarily the god of despair, stagnation, death, decay, and (in a way)Entropy signifying the end of things in the material realm (though this is technically a position he shares with [[Tzeentch]], something that '''both of them''' Question and hate). Nurgle can be considered the god of everything, because no matter how permanent anything may seem, it will always eventually wither and decay in the end. While death is inevitable, sapient creatures will also fight against it with all available power, even to the point where they'd bargain with the Gods of the Warp to flip death the [[Lord of Change|bird]]. While some may turn to Tzeentch (or [[Nagash]]), only the children of Grandfather Nurgle transcend the feeble divisions between life and death, achieving true immortality (or at least unnatural resilience and eventual rebirth as [[Plaguebearer]]s).

An alternate way to interpret him is simply as the god of Life, but life in all it's forms, including pathogens. Mostly pathogens...

We get an actual description of his appearance in the Age of Sigmar novel, Hallowed Knights Plague Garden: [[Awesome| "Through the ragged shroud of smoke, Gardus saw what lay below the Inevitable Citadel, at the heart of Nurgle’s garden. Almost immediately, he closed his eyes and turned away, unable to bear it. It was impossible to describe. Impossible to comprehend. To his eyes, it was a wallowing swamp of black stars and dying worlds, of rotting galaxies alive with immense, writhing shapes as large as nebulas. Cosmic maggots, gnawing at the roots of infinity. Galactic plagues, eating away at the very flesh of existence, reducing all that was to leprous ruin in their unending hunger. It was a dark mirror of Azyr, corrupted, reduced, strangled. All glory vanished, all hope quashed. A thunder of screams echoed upwards, driving him back. A million million voices, raised up in anguish and despair. Forever crying out for that which would never come. Down below, something began to crawl out of the black heart of that cancerous infinity. It was no shape, and all shapes. Fat and thin, a plume of smoke, a puddle of oil, spreading ever upwards. There were eyes in the smoke, as round as cold, dead suns, and teeth that stretched in a grin as wide as the horizon. Fingers like comets clutched at the void, as the Lord of All Things stirred from his manse, and began the long, arduous climb to his garden. Moons crumbled beneath that impossible bulk, and stars were snuffed out."]] '''DAMN.'''

Nurgle is also the god of other stoic emotions, such as: empathy, kinship, happiness, struggle, love, tradition, inevitability, mercy and memory. While Tzeentch seeks to twist fate and change reality, Nurgle teaches to accept entropy and rot and persevere despite it, with solace and happiness. His followers will vigorously spread the joyous teachings of Papa Nurgle and if those living fleshbags won't listen, they'll be shown all the pleasant ways for them to experience the unending cycle of death and rebirth.

In the [[1984]]-esque cold grimdarkness of outer space, where life sucks and everyone's a dick, Nurgle cares. And he loves you. He brings you family, love and the time to embrace that love fully and become one with it. He accepts you for who you are, as long as you stay that way. Also don't wash, don't shave, don't change your underwear. You're great the way you are. He knows that you have been abandoned by your past lovers, friends and family. He knows that you need the feeling of belonging, security and stability in your life. He will embrace you if you trust him to bring you an eternal, painless existence. Just ignore the pus and the smell coming from the forming folds inside and outside your body.

Nurgle's chosen champions are the Warriors of Chaos/Plague Marines, who have willingly accepted his myriad diseases and let him turn them into shambling, bloated zombie-like carrions that no longer feel any pain. The nature of Nurgle is that anyone suffering from one of his plagues is counted as one of his worshipers, and he'll grant Chaos blessings freely to them.

In 40k, he saved the Eldar goddess [[Isha]] from [[Slaanesh]], to become his Poxfulcrum (a guinea pig for Nurgle's concoctions, who can't be killed by them) and wife. Slaanesh is still upset and doesn't really like Nurgle for that. [[Cake|Nowadays, Nurgle and Isha live as a happy couple in Nurgle's Garden somewhere in the Warp. Nurgle likes to cook, and Isha is always eager to taste his stewings]].

In Fantasy, Nurgle kept the human goddess [[Shallya]] captive as his Poxfulcrum, until she was rescued by Dante Alighieri ([[Kaldor Draigo]]), and two Elves, with the second (a female) taking Shallya's place. In Age of Sigmar he becomes fixated on [[Everqueen|Alarielle]] and her [[Dryad]] daughters.

Generally speaking he's the third most powerful Chaos God after [[Khorne]] and [[Tzeentch]], respectively. All the chaos gods have their power wax and wane, but Nurgle's strength is the most subject to change. His power waxes during great plagues and times of great despair, decay, stagnation and when individuals let go of their ambitions. He becomes less influential during periods of great hope, change, evolution and when cures for his plagues are found, as well when individuals give in to their ambitions. During an especially big plague and/or period of stagnation (even more so than is usual for Warhammer any way, excluding GW's own stagnation of the story-line (as well as their business), which would in theory make him the strongest god, but as soon as this is acknowledged, things would no longer be stagnant, just as Tzeentch had planned), decay and despair, he can temporarily become the mightiest chaos god and his realm will encroach upon the realms of the other Chaos Gods and the neutral (Undivided, Law or unaligned) parts of the Warp. But as all power in the Warp is in constant change due to the life in the material realm being what it is, events that fuel his burst of power will eventually end and he will return to the position of being in the third place.

Ironically, he's easily one of the most successful of the Chaos Gods in Fantasy, having had the champion sworn to him specifically, rather than Chaos Undivided, get closest to claiming the Throne of Chaos, and having contributed the most to the End Times.

Nurgle is hero of all fa/tg/uys; ripe, fat and smelly! Other than being bloated, living corpses filled with wriggling vermin, Nurgle followers have other iconic traits: singular or triple eyes arranged in a triangle, long tongues or insectoid appearances, singular horns, and ringing bells. They usually paint their armor in snotty greens, dookie browns, or biley yellow. Most often greens, though. As can be expected, of all the Chaos Gods, Nurgle is the most likely to corrupt [[Orcs & Goblins]]/[[Orks]]. As if those sons of bitches couldn't get any tougher...

And then he was permanently injured by Emperor possessing Guilliman and got his garden burned down in Godblight.

==The Philosophy of Nurgle==

Nurgle's underlaying Philosophy is that you should leave things as they are. Why change the world? The world is perfect in its flawed state. Why improve yourself? You're perfect just the way you are. No don't bathe, don't try to loose that extra weight, don't move from that spot. You are perfect just the way you are.

Nurgle, therefore, embodies a sort of toxic positivity: an underlying ethos of amor fati that rather than trying to futilely change yourself or others, or trying to prevent what is inevitable, you should instead embrace it whole-heartedly and let it consume you. All your thoughts and feelings must be valid. All the bitterness, loneliness, anger, resentment, depression, sadness, joyfulness...They're all completely justified. And he will love you regardless of it, just as he loves all living things unconditionally. In fact, he loves them so much he'll fill you full of as much life as you can carry in the form of disease, until you're numb to all feeling except for the emotions you had to begin with.

Nurgle therefore creates an endless cycle of entropy where emotions and feelings are self-perpetuating, and constantly feeding on themselves instead of letting you get out of them. Rather than trying to overcome these desires, you end up allowing them to continue in perpetuity, in that you are not proactive to combat them, and so let them fester and stew.

Essentially, Nurgle is about justifying taking that path of least resistance, like a corrupted idea of Taoism or Traditionalism that halts any and all progress in favor of a macabre fatalism about the universe. After all, if all things are destined to end through destruction and entropy, why waste the time to build them to begin with? Why try to improve anything at all if it will inevitably all be for naught?

You can see why such negative ways of thinking would be prevalent in settings like 40k, Fantasy, or AoS, where conditions tend to be-quite frankly-shit at the best of times, whether it be the high mortality of the brutal conditions in the never-ending imperial war machine, or the horrible conditions your average empire commoner lives in with over-populated and dense cities, enclosed within tight and claustrophobic walls to keep out the roaming bands of rogue undead, cantankerous beastmen, pillaging orks, or the myriad other creatures that seek to end your existence, the depressive spiral of the world you're living is likely to fuel these emotions eventually, and lead to bad lines of logic.

==Papa Nurgle's Forces==
[[File:Nurgle Old.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The first depiction of Nurgle in Warhammer art, back when an obvious phallic symbol as a sigil was nothing to be sneezed at (except by Nurgle himself, if this picture is any indication).]]

* '''[[Great Unclean Ones]]''' - Greater Daemons with great sense of humor and a jolly split belly ready to jiggle with laughter. These merry guffaws make their entrails dangle from their open festering wounds, which Nurglings and Beasts love to jump up and down on and play with. You can smell the tangy perfume of ruptured boils, and it's said Nurgle himself is kind enough to coat their swords in the contagion of his own throne! What a swell chap; never too high and mighty to help his followers!
* '''[[Beast of Nurgle|Beasts of Nurgle]]''' - These are ''the'' puppydogs you asked Santa for! Complete and equipped with wagging tails, a long tongue to lick you in the face, the scampering excitement of youth, a slug-like texture and paralytic toxins!! If they get a little too excited they might piddle corrosive acid! Become a stalwart Nurgle follower and get one today!
* '''[[Rot Fly]]''' - Beasts of Nurgle who have become bitter and have transformed into a giant insect. Typically ridden by Plaguebearers into battle.
* '''[[Plaguebearers]]''' - Reincarnated souls of Nurgle's followers or the victims that fell to Nurgle's Rot. Nurgle is so generous that the gift of Daemonhood isn't just for Daemon Princes! They look like the bloated corpses of the drowned, but instead of water, they swell with pus and black bile. They are typically surrounded with swarms of buzzing flies, who make the plaguebearers much more complicated targets of shooting attacks. Really love to share their gifts. Their arms are made for hugging!
* '''[[Nurgling]]s''' - look like a tiny child's toy versions of Nurgle himself. They are CYOOOT and every Nurgle trooper wants the "shlorp, pitter, drip" of a pet Nurgling of their own, which is great because Nurglings can grow inside the skin of any Nurgle worshiper: the more plagued you are, the more likely you are to be "pregnant" with a few or more of these cute buggers at any given time.
* '''[[Poxwalkers]]''' - Mortals infected by Walking Pox and perhaps representing the transitional stage before one becomes a Plaguebearer after succumbing to Papa Nurgle's blessings. They are basically demon-powered zombies, shambling forward slowly and carrying only improvised melee weapons.
* '''[[Plague Marines]]''' - mostly consist of members of the [[Death Guard|Fourteenth Legion]], although a substantial number of the [[Black Legion|Sixteenth Legion]] are now also "blessed" with Papa Nurgle's gifts. As Astartes who are immune to pain and minor injuries, these guys are particularly difficult to kill.
* '''Plaguetouched Warbands''' - [[Warriors of Chaos]] who worship Nurgle, 'nuff said.
*'''[[Nurgle Rotbringers]]''' - His mortal servants in Age of Sigmar.
** Putrid Blightkings - Plaguetouched who are blessed with a living rot by Nurgle via his Daemonflies. Many have lost their internal organs and either constantly give birth to Nurglings or use it as a fungus-infested storage space (much like refrigerators in student corridors) or a place for hanging bells.
** Pusgoyle Blightlords - Elite Putrid Blightkings who have been given the right to ride a Rot Fly into battle.
** Harbingers of Decay - more corpses than men who ride from settlement to settlement spreading Nurgle's plagues.
** Rotbringers - the Wizards of Nurgle.
** Maggoth Lords - Blightkings who are particularly favored by Nurgle and are granted giant eyeless ogre-like Daemons with gaping maws called Pox Maggoths to ride.
** Feculent Gnarlmaw - Daemon-trees from the Garden of Nurgle that pop up in the wake of Nurglite incursions.

==Anecdotes about Nurgle==
[[Image:Nurgle_hug.JPG|thumb|Grandfather Nurgle loves all of his Children.]]
*About a year ago, I was out having a few drinks with the bois, when in walks Nurgle. He bought drinks for everyone in the bar. When we were all too hammered to drive home, he loaded us all up in his old Mazda 96 and bused us around town until we all made it back home. And when that cop pulled us over and tried to make trouble, Nurgle boiled his eyes out of his anus. Nurgle is a great guy.

*Me and Nurgle were going to go see this movie, I can't remember the name, and we were passing through the bad part of this Khornate neighborhood. Some fucking bloodletters ran out in front of the car and started denting up the damned thing. Nurgle just sits there, waiting for them to get out of the way, with that big goofy smile on his face. It wasn't until one of them busted my window and tried to drag me out of the car that Nurgle absolutely flips out. Before I know it, the whole road is ground zero for like an army of little black things. I couldn't figure out what they were until the bloodletters start screeching, running around in circles and clawing at their nuts, as their genitals just start exploding, one by one. Nurgle drives off, just wearing a smile. Fucker gave them all a case of super crabs. We laughed all the way to the show. I love Nurgle. He is a pretty fun guy to be around, just like Khârn.

*When I visited the Nurglette's family and met Papa Nurgle, he greeted me at the doorstep, football in hand, wearing an old fuzzy sweater and funny orange slacks, with a big goofy grin that said, "I like you already."

*Y'know, its a good thing in that grimdark universe, with [[Eldar|pointy aliens]] blowing off your limbs, some [[Necron|undead robots]] trying to de-atomize you, the Imperium with its Throne Vegetable for an emperor and the Inquisition trying to [[Exterminatus]] the shit out of everybody, you get to have the most loving family circle ever. Sure, you start to smell a little funny, get a sore here and there, a rash in your ass, but hell, you never ever feel pain or get upset since you no longer fear death, you get to have an immortal, eternal father that spreads joy and gifts all around, with plenty to spare, and a nurglette wife that is most loving and caring, if you can stand her burps and farts. And while you will be the most hideous thing in the universe, what use is appearance and health if everybody else is willing to take it away from you?

*When i was about 7 years old, my mother got diagnosed with lung cancer. After a month or two, her condition became worse and she started to have these random coughing fits and shortly thereafter, she started to cough blood. My father was not allowed to take a loan to try to find a trustworthy and professional (and thus expensive) doctor to set up a recovery program. So my mother decided to just live on pain pills and do as much as possible for our family before her body gave up. Then one day, completely out of nowhere, my mother collapses on the stairs of our home and does not wake up even as we put wet blankets on her face. My father takes the car and immediately drives us to the hospital. The physicians tell us that her body is dying. She is in great pain and there is nothing we can do. As we are standing there, next to her bunk, exhausted from unrest and tears, i see Nurgle standing next to me. Time freezes and the room suddenly fills with a sweet scent, like those white flowers of blooming apple trees. Nurgle has this goofy smile on his face. He reaches down towards my mother and just as i see his finger make contact with her shoulder, she gasps and her face lights up as if she instantly got 20 years younger. She looks so beautiful and innocent, laying there. Nurgle tells me that he is sorry, but for my mother to stop feeling pain, he needs to take her with him. Her goodness, beauty and love will live for ever. As i see my mother's skin darken and fall off, to reveal corrupted and worm-infested flesh, sliding off in heaps to eventually reveal the bones turning into milky paste, i hear her last words: "Thank you...". Nurgle saved my mother and for that, i am eternally thankful. Nurgle is love, Nurgle is life.

==Relationship with other Gods==

* [[Tyranid]] [[Hive Mind]] : You might think that the Hive Mind hates Nurgle, as he causes biomass to go bad and be unrecyclable, but really the Hive does not care. Meat just becomes fungi and bacteria which are also in turn subsumed into the swarm. In turn Nurgle though dislikes the Tyranids as they not only have a high disease resistance and quickly become immune to any disease he throws at them, they also end the cycle of life and death by consuming everything and leaving nothing behind to rot anew.

* [[Tzeentch]]: Nurgle and Tzeentch are archenemies, though their relationship is still a great deal friendlier than Khorne and Slaanesh. Nurgle thinks that Tzeentch should accept people for who they are, consider the feelings of the people that he steps on in his many schemes and plots and be more loving to his followers and daemons - y'know, treat them like a family, instead of faceless pawns. Tzeentch's opinion was pretty difficult to understand, due to frequent tourettes-like outbursts of "[[JUST AS PLANNED]]". Half of our crew report that he thinks that Nurgle should stop dwelling on the past, get used to collateral damage and stop being such a wuss, while the other half think the complete opposite. Empirical evidence show that they are still far more likely to cooperate than Khorne and Slaanesh would be, if only for a little while. After all, one can flow into the other: grief and despair can be fertile ground for hope, and crushing someone's dreams can drive them into depression.

* [[Khorne]]: Nurgle isn't very comfortable with Khorne's "Kill 'em all, fuck sorting them out"-policy, though he likes the fact that Khorne refuses to allow his mortal followers and daemons to attack the innocent and helpless (except in most of Khorne's fluff, when the writers forget this, but hey, this is clearly Imperial propaganda to make Khornites look bad), even if the reason for it is... questionable. Nurgle thinks that Khorne should calm down, stop fighting anything that looks like it would present anything resembling a challenge and actively protect those who can't fight for themselves, rather than punishing those followers who can't live up to his expectations. When asked what he thinks of Nurgle, Khorne responded with a long stream of curses, oaths and obscenities, strung together while foaming at the mouth. Empirical evidence shows that they did, however, help to save Khaela Mensha [[Khaine]] from being killed, raped and eaten by Slaanesh, though Khaine unfortunately ended up being broken in pieces in the process.

* [[Slaanesh]]: Nurgle isn't big on Slaanesh's omniphilia and sadomasochism. Nurgle likes Slaanesh the least of all Chaos gods; the biggest reason to this has its root during Slaanesh's inception, when Nurgle watched in horror as the newborn hermaphrodite killed and raped nearly all the Eldar Gods and Goddesses. Nurgle saved [[Isha]] from the perverted freak and cheered Khorne on as he fought to save Khaela Mensha Khaine, while helping Cegorach to hide in the [[Webway]]. Our interview with Slaanesh on the subject of Nurgle took the longest time of all. The details of the interview shall not be revealed in public documents as these, but simply put, Slaanesh sees Nurgle as an ugly, fat, boring and "unsexy" amoeba; let that sink in, the omniphile calling someone "unsexy". Slaanesh is in addition cranky that all STDs are accredited to Nurgle and not her/him/it.

* [[Nightbringer]]: Nurgle isn't very happy about how coldly and mercilessly the C'tan butchers all living things and then devours their souls. Nightbringer was surprisingly calm during our talk and even offered us a cup of tea. We sat down and listened to him talk for hours about how he can't fight his own nature, that he is rather upset with Nurgle often stealing his Grim Reaper schtick, as well as that Nurgle is a no-good two-bit youngster. These two apparently represent the polar opposites of how death could come for you.

* [[The Deceiver]]: Nurgle thinks that the Deceiver is like Tzeentch without all the magic, while having the dickish aspects of personality multiplied tenfold. When asked about his opinion, the Deceiver gave us a set of riddles, caused one third of our interview crew to walk away, convinced another third to attack us, and made the rest of us hallucinate as if on acid.

* The [[Void Dragon]]/[[Omnissiah|Machine God]]: Nurgle isn't very fond of the fact that the Void Dragon eats the souls of those who have metal parts in their bodies and is quite unnerved of what he'll do when he wakes up. The Void Dragon was quite impossible to reach for an interview, since the Adeptus Mechanicus simply laughed in our faces when we asked for entry to the Noctis Labyrinthus.

* [[C'tan|The Outsider]]: Nurgle isn't sure what to think of the Outsider, but then again no one is, because he doesn't want to come out of that big sphere of his. We knocked, left gifts outside and even detonated a warp drive a couple of kilometers away, but he wouldn't come out for an interview.

* [[Emperor|The Emperor]]: When asked about the Emperor, Nurgle's typical goofy grin widened when he said: "I don't like referring to that old friend as The Anathema, but i sure love to irritate him in all kinds of ways. He is a nice chap, that one, but he really has no sense of humor.". Nurgle then proceeded to make most of our team fall asleep by nostalgically telling us of their poker nights and how happy he was when he [[TTS|invented the infamous nose-itch that has been irritating the Emperor for some thousands of years now.]] Unfortunately for Nurgle, Emps didn't really returned the favour and proceeded to burn his entire fucking garden down and wounding him '''''permanently'''''.

* [[Isha]]: Nurgle turned very serious when asked about his wife, which unnerved those awake and woke up those still asleep from his tales about poker nights with the Emperor. Nurgle gave us the impression of being overly protective, when he adamantly forbid us to get even close to the garden where Isha resides. He told us about how he rescued her from Slaanesh ten thousand years ago and how he cooks for her. His love is serious and very strong. In the end, Nurgle got so excited from talking about how he shows his affection towards Isha, that he showed some of his favorite food recipes to us, which accidentally made the majority of our reporters to hemorrhage or internally combust. For those unfamiliar with the Eldar pantheon, Isha is the goddess of life, fertility and healing, which makes her immune to Nurgle's cooking and infamously poor hygiene. This arrangement is begging for a romantic sitcom. In Warhammer Fantasy universe, she is known as [[Shallya]] and/or Kalara.

* [[Khaine|Khaela Mensha Khaine]]: Nurgle is still upset that he and Khorne couldn't save Khaine from breaking during the fight with Slaanesh. Nurgle tries to be nice to the Avatars of Khaine that pop up every now and then, even if they don't often return the favor, since being the Eldar god of War and Murder precludes silly things like friendship and interviews.

* [[Cegorach]]: While Nurgle thinks that the Laughing God was more than a little selfish to hide behind Khaine and then Khorne, he is rather fond of the galaxy's greatest comedian and plays poker with him on a regular basis. When asked what Cegorach thinks of Nurgle, our interview crew died laughing, so we had to recruit a completely new one. Recording this joke would need the help of a typically humorless mechanicum tech adept, but recruiting one for this task is simply impossible. The joke would simply have to rest for now.

* [[Malal]]: Nurgle is concerned for Malal's self-destructing tendencies and self-inflicted solitary confinement. To demonstrate, he took some pastries and cooked a can of tea and took our crew out on a stroll to visit Malal. We knocked and the door opened just little enough for some anti-particles to escape the room beyond. Next moment, the door was slammed in our face with a force that sent everyone except Nurgle flying. Having the patience on the level not rivaled by anyone else, Nurgle simply put the tray down outside the door. On our way back, Nurgle told us that every next time he visits Malal, he finds the tray empty of its contents. That's nice.

* [[Great Horned Rat]]: A combination of a putrid, corrupted beast and Tzeentch, who squats in Nurgle's Garden. ''Nobody'' likes The Horned Rat and thus no interview was bothered to be made. After Slaanesh was kidnapped by Elves in Age of Skubmar, Nurgle joined the other Chaos Gods in voting The Horned Rat into the Great Game as Slaanesh's replacement. That being said, Great Horned Rat has been compared to an unwanted bastard child, and the analogy is well deserved.

*[[Gork]] and [[Mork]]: Whilst attempting to interview Nurgle about the Greenskin Gods, the one we assumed to be Gork smashed through the wall and crushed the coffee table, whereupon Mork burst through and attempted to disembowel him with a table leg. Our team was unable to describe what occurred next so we shall put it down to Warp trickery, but the next thing they knew Nurgle was holding them both at arms length while insisting that they make up. Mork begrudgingly held out a hand which Gork took, and as soon as they were put down, Gork heaved his brother over his shoulder and through the other wall. Sighing, Nurgle told us that they were good boys at heart, but that most of the time he had to repair the house after they have left. We managed to track down the two Gods while they were calmer and asked them for their opinions. "He's a good guy beneath all rotten flesh, and unlike a certain feathery c**t he doesn't cheat at cards" we assumed that this was Mork. "'at's roit." our suspicions were confirmed. "He doesn't try to interfere with our domains and isn't a dick to his servants" continued Mork. "'at's roit." Gork supplied. "Unlike Khorne and aforementioned feathery c**t. He also doesn't mind being stuck with driving duties come Saturday." Mork said. "'at's roit." Gork said, nodding sagely. "Shut up Gork. You sound like you're f**king brain-dead!" "'at's roit!" Finished a very happy Gork.

* [[Archaon]]: Nurgle's opinion of Archaon is the same as of the other Chaos Gods. He can test Archaon whenever he wants and Archaon always passes. Archaon can be counted on as being a useful tool that can destroy entire universes, but his hatred of the Chaos Gods ensures none of them will ever have any more control over him than anyone else. This resulted in Nurgle putting everything he has under Archaon's command.

*[[Ynnead]]: Nurgle isn't really big on Ynnead stealing his "God of death" shtick. More info soon.

== Side Effects ==
Side effects of worshiping Papa Nurgle may include (and are not limited to):
mild discomfort of the neck, aches, pains, boils, scabs, heavy scarring, cysts, abcesses, internal bleeding, external bleeding, bleeding from the gums, bleeding from eyes and ears, pissing blood, sweating, dehydration, carbuncles, rash, zits, pimples, pustules, buboes, pus-filled sores, sore-filled pus, flatulent boils, smelly bellybutton (AKA smellybutton), swollen bellybutton, exploding bellybutton, bellybutton fluff, bellybutton crunch, nausea, vomiting, bloody vomit, black vomit, black & bloody vomit, fecal vomit, bloody fecal vomit, spicy fecal vomit, bad breath, shortness-of-breath, excess-of-breath, yellow fingernails, cabbage burp, Down's syndrome, Up Syndrome, Left-Right-'N-Center Syndrome, Dave's Syndrome, delerium tremens, sneezing, dry nose, wet nose, running nose, sprinting nose, coughing, dry cough, wet cough, not-so-dry-but-still-raspy cough, tickly cough, dude-not-funny cough, fever, hay fever, Dengue fever, yellow fever, red fever, green fever, fuchsia fever, rainbow fever, plaid fever, transparent fever, color-out-of-space fever, cabin fever, jungle fever, Saturday Night Fever, meat sweats, vegetable sweats, jock itch, nerd itch, athlete's foot, athlete's arm, athletes, swimmer's ear, water on the knee, gravy on your tie, tennis elbow, scholar's elbow, farmer's tongue, ploughman's bottom, milkmaid's nipples, browning of the nipples, tender nipples, hard nipples, kitten nipples, third nipples, shitting dick nipples, [[Furry|udderballs]], postman's anus, vertigo, drowsiness, suicidal thoughts, sleepiness, lockjaw, slackjaw, Southern Drawl, slack vagina, slack everything, cut me some slack, insomnia, mad cow disease, mad snail disease, mad Welshman disease, <s>mad</s> disgruntled postal worker disease, loose bowels, obstructed bowels, impacted bowels, Bowels Of The Earth, constipation, diarrhoea, sonic diarrhoea, explosive diarrhoea, implosive diarrhoea, impulsive diarrhoea, convulsive diarrhoea, compulsive diarrhoea, repulsive diarrhoea, propulsive diarrhoea, verbal diarrhoea, rectal ventriloquism, love handles, hate handles, jiggly handles, nasal leakage, anal leakage, genital leakage, general leakage, [[Brundlepenis]], black death, pink death, black eye, pink eye, Evil Eye, genetic disorders, memetic disorders, heretic disorders, [[BLAM|sudden onset of BLAM]], heart attack, art attack, dart attack, fart attack, shark attack, farting shark dart attack, lung cancer, lung Saggitarius, loss of skin, loss of hair in places you want it, growth of hair in places you don't want it, loss of teeth, loss of cartilage, loss of bone, loss of dick, loss of sense of smell (be grateful), loss of self-esteem, loss of job, blood clots, crud blots, spilling guts, mopping up guts, blue balls, blue ovaries, blue sphincter, scabies, folliculitis, dermatitis, hives, BEES!, frothing mouth, cotton mouth, foot-and-mouth, foot-in-mouth, well-shut-my-mouth, The Innsmouth Look, rabies, fear of soap, fear of water, pus excrement, mild gas, moderate gas, medium gas, severe gas, holy-shit-who-died gas, Jumpin' Jack Flash it's a gas gas gas, whooping cough, hollering cough, mortality, sudden mortality, not-so-sudden mortality, sudden immorality, sudden surreality, baby mortality, super-mortality, immortality, almost-but-not-quite immortality, nurglopromorphism, nurgleaproposism, nurgleabilia, smallpox, super small pox, large pox, medium pox, medium-rare pox, chicken pox, eagle pox, turducken pox, fox-in-socks-eating pox, the sudden urge to eat ham, baldness, blood clotting, AIDS, super-AIDS, space AIDS, STD's, STI's, STQ's, zombification(Voodoo), zombification(Romero), non-sparkling vampirism, artificial insemination, traditional insemination, artificial exsemination, uncontrollable exsemination, uncontrollable exsanguination, uncontrollable lactation, uncontrollable Croatian, crabs, giant crabs, super-crabs, dire crabs, giant dire super-crabs, giant enemy crabs, spycrabs, spylobsters (AKA uncontrollable crustacean), typhus, malaria, polio, diptheria, Tom please come home your mother is scared and the cat is missing, tuberculosis, dick rot, sniffles, jungle dick rot, dick sniffles, jungle dick sniffles, rotten dick jungles, raging murder boner, salmonella, spamonella, Sam O'Nella, random and painful erections, pseudorandom and painful erections, random and painful injections, random and painful ejections, the condition known as hotdog fingers, mummification, daddification, Ebola, everything tasting of goats, reduced sex drive, reduced sex walk, spontaneous breakouts of "HEUHEUHEU", moderate discomfort of the neck, scurvy, the bends, auto-brewery syndrome, cheese, The Dreaded Lurgi, encephalitis lethargica, harlequin icthyosis, multiple prolapsed organs, becoming a sphere, eye loss, eye growth, eye see what you did there, ancient rotten smegma (don't look up what that word means) everywhere, several kinds of helminthiasis including dracunculiasis, tapeworm, threadworm, pinworm, ringworm, squareworm, The Great Worm, hookworm, lineworm, sinkerworm, psychadelic mushrooms in your armpits, attracting flies, [[SCP Foundation|SCP-008, SCP-610, SCP-835]], WD-40, Covid-19, Covid-20, Covfefe, mutations, permutations, transmutations, [[Chaos Spawn|sanity destroying mutations]], it all going to your thighs, and then blowing up. In most cases, side effects are generally in the extreme and permanent.

Nurgle is not for women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. If you experience an erection lasting longer than four hours then please <s>give Slaanesh your phone number</s> seek immediate medical attention. Do not worship Nurgle while driving or operating heavy machinery. Consult your physician before worshiping Nurgle. Batteries not included, no purchase necessary; void where prohibited, see store for details.

==Disclaimer==
If you join Nurgle, we can't promise that you'll become the most attractive person in the world, or that you will be accepted in many places, but Nurgle has a place for each and every one of us in his great big ol' diseased heart.

== Fun Nurgle Facts ==
* Nurgle, despite being the third most powerful Chaos God, has possibly the smallest fanbase in Warhammer 40k. Apparently having [[Khorne|RAGE]] fits, being allowed to scream [[Tzeentch|JUST AS PLANNED!]] and receiving [[Slaanesh|PROMOTIONS]] is better than friendship and love, or anything else that Papa Nurgle offers. In contrast, he has the single largest fanbase in Warhammer Fantasy, partially due to how easy his models are to modify with greenstuff and how overpowered his army has always been.
* Despite being the God of despair and decay, he's ironically a lot friendlier than the [[Tzeentch|God of change and hope]].
* As discussed in a /tg/ thread, the "Garden of Nurgle" may be a metaphor for Isha and Nurgle being the same entity. This works great with the idea of Grandpa Nurgle in a dress, pretending to be a space elf princess and fits quite nicely with the "king of the [[Neckbeards]]"-theme some fa/tg/uys had developed.
**Nurgle has a strong association with fungi, bacteria and virus, things which cause or profit from sickness and death. Funny thing about all three is that they also are were humanity's strongest medicines come from. Penicillin comes ''penicillium mold'' for example and it is hardly a one-off. Could Isha be giving us a hand? "Whispering" the cures of his poxes to us?
* According to [[Storm of Magic]], when Nurgle gets upset or depressed, he wanders off into the many bogs of his region of the Realm of Chaos to hunt [[Plague Toads]], squashing them to cheer himself up. They make a fun squishing sound (we're actually not joking here, this is legitimately canon).
* Nurgle's triple-circle symbol looks like a stylized fly (the animal most commonly considered holy to Nurgle), a stylized version of the biohazard symbol, and also represents the cycle of death, decay and rebirth, over which Nurgle has dominion.
* Nurgle is the only Chaos God whose Daemons look just about like him. Plaguebearers don't, but that's because they're the possessed souls of fallen enemies.
* According to the Tome of Decay for [[Black Crusade]], Nurgle sees his role in the cosmos as a sort of galactic recycler. Entropy rises when life grows so old that Order stagnates and decays, meaning Chaos's job is to consume and destroy everything, leaving rot in abundance for new, verdant life to be born from, clean and pure, until the cycle repeats again. Imagine forest fires that occur naturally to set a clean slate to the flora, before it almost chokes itself to death by overgrowing. Nurgle's job, as he sees it, is to euthanize the galaxy as quickly and as painlessly as possible, and as far as he's concerned, the galaxy is well over due the time where it should have been cleansed to start a new life cycle.
** Ironically, this is a valid argument for Nurgle and Tzeentch to work together in harmony for a common goal. Nurgle clears out the trash and gives Tzeentch the room to begin again. The galaxy becomes a blank slate for Tzeentch to experiment and coax new life to take shape and rise in the next cycle. Contrarily, this is also an argument for Nurgle and Tzeentch to fight with each other, as the God of Change is not doing his job properly. Instead, he is, ironically again, perpetuating the status quo for whatever reason, rather than letting Nurgle do his thing. Possibly Tzeentch is still helping him, since his plans might appear to maintain the status quo, while really planing seeds for the final collapse. Even in real-life scenarios, in many cases of stagnation, the measures that are applied to hold a society or system afloat, eventually become too many until everything eventually collapses all over itself.
*** He apparently succeeds at this goal in [[The End Times]] of [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. Perhaps fitting, along with the various analyses on this page. Tzeentch seemed mostly cool with the fact, while Slaanesh wasn't.
* Nurgle's main daemon unit, the Plaguebearers, are the second-most fucking impossible to kill enemies in Warhammer Fantasy, surpassed only by Plaguemarines in 40k and Great Unclean Ones in Fantasy. Worth noting that the Plague Marines are just Plaguebearers with cool armor and guns, while Great Unclean Ones are miniature versions of Nurgle himself. Each one can soak up 13.5 bolter shots on average, before dropping dead (do not ever 100% trust mathhammer though), which some find unreasonable, considering that they cost one point less than regular space marines, meaning that a more expensive model will have little hope in killing it by the time it usually takes to complete a full game. You don't want to know how many lasgun shots is needed to be fired at one to kill it (36). Then you get into Fantasy, where you need fire, and as much of it as possible... and cannons. Lots and lots of cannons.
* Nurgle's the reason you're itching right now.
* Despite what you may think, Nurgle can fail. And he knows it. Case in point: [[Luke]].
*Mentioning the name of Pasteur in front of Nurgle makes him go into such a rage even Khorne gets appalled: he still hasn't managed to catch the old doc's soul, ''hon hon hon''. For that matter, count Jensen, Fleming, and Yersin among Papa Nurgle's blacklist too.
* Slaanesh pissed off Nurgle by constantly wanting to get Isha back. Nurgle in retaliation created STDs.
* According to the 8th Edition Chaos Codex, Nurgle once attempted to create a flesh-eating disease but [[Fail|accidentally created a disinfectant]]. Not even the bravest of Great Unclean Ones dare bring up the subject again. Again, this is legitimately canon. Even make sense if you think about it, Penicillin does come from a mold.
* Nurgle does not extend his "free hugs" policy to Tzeentch. Not out of hate, but because they will cancel each other out of existence.
* Nurgle once tried his hand at [[World of Warcraft]]. The result was the Corrupted Blood incident.
* Nurgle's daemons, particularly the Great Unclean Ones, are among the most characterful daemons in all Warhammer lore and literature, though this largely because they are among the only daemons actually allowed to have personalities.
* When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Nurgle developed a taste for Corona beer jokes and declared China to be his favorite country of 2019. Unsubstantiated rumors say Nurgle sent a gift basket to the city of Wuhan in China's Hubei province. He'd also like China's President Xi Jinping more after this, if not for the man's Tzeentchian scheming.
** The Plague Marine Propaganda Department is the reason for the Anti-mask protests in places like America and Australia.
* Nurgle enjoyed watching the series "Primal" by Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky. After hearing that Khorne was looking for pet dinosaurs, Nurgle decided to give it a go, but being less bloodthirsty than Khorne he chose plant-eaters instead, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXRsgFSaT9Y starting with a duck-billed hadrosaur and a long-necked sauropod].
* When Nurgle refers to his "Swamp Crotch," it's not a figure of speech. There's a complete fucking food chain down there.
* Despite apprentices, Nurgle is actually one of the Smart Chaos Gods. Khorne is only interested in killing things and Slaanesh is all about being overwhelmed with sensation, but Nurgle deeply cares about everything and takes a keen interest in every fine detail and it's context.

==Famous Servants==
*Bubonicus - Nurgle's version of Khorne's [[Doombreed]], Slaanesh's [[N'kari]], and Tzeentch's [[M'kachan]]. Like Slaanesh's second in command, Bubonicus has no chance of being a real life historical figure unlike M'Kachan and Doombreed since he was born a good deal after humanity became a space faring species and was not in fact, born on Terra, but instead hailed from the same planet as N'kari. He is something of an oddity among the four Great Daemon Princes, since he's not roughly as old as Nurgle, while the other three are about as old as their respective gods. He has a huge line of dancers on one planet that goes across said planet's equator and they keep on dancing until they catch Uber-Syphillis and become Plaguebearers, at which point they leave to fight for Nurgle while someone else takes their place. The absolute fucking life of the [[Krieg|party]]. His primary rival among the Daemon princes is not M'Kachan as one would expect, but N'Kari, as they were enemies in their mortal life.
*[[Scabeiathrax]] - Nurgle's version of Khorne's An'ggrath, Slaanesh's Zarakynel and Tzeentch's Aetaos'Rau'Keres (say that five times fast). Famous for having T9 and 10 wounds meaning that he's completely impervious to any attack that doesn't at least have S6. He's the biggest and strongest of all of Nurgle's Greater Daemons and is probably the strongest of all of his servants in general. If Ulkair has 2,800,000 hit points, then Scabeiathrax would have 280,000,000,000.
*[[Ku'Gath]] - Ku'Gath was once a small nurgling sitting on the shoulder of Nurgle while he was concocting his greatest disease yet. Suddenly, Ku'gath slipped off of Nurgle's shoulder and straight into the pot he was cooking in, accidentally swallowing it all and becoming a Great Unclean One in the process. Nurgle laughed the whole incident off, but Ku'Gath felt guilty of robbing Nurgle of his greatest achievement. Since then, Ku'Gath has been trying to recreate the disease that he ruined in his ascension to greater daemonhood.
*[[Rotigus]] - A Great Unclean One worshipped throughout both the Mortal Realms and the Milky Way as a fertility god. Known as the "Rainfather" for his ability to conjure up Nurgle's Deluge, a rain of filth that perpetually surrounds him.
*[[Epidemius]] - A Herald of Nurgle and his greatest Tallyman.
*[[Horticulous Slimux]] - A Herald of Nurgle said to be his first Daemon he ever made (and by implication, probably was patient zero for Nurgle's Rot). Is Nurgle's chief Gardener, and rides a giant snail called Mulch.

===40k===
*[[Mortarion]] - Daemon Primarch of the Death Guard that hasn't done much since ascending to Daemonhood but to sit around all grumpy up until the Great Rift and Guilliman woke up. Mortarion has now reunited the Death Guard and are now having a party.
*[[Typhus|Typhus The Traveler, Herald of Nurgle]] - A rational fellow, mostly famous for being a tough son of a bitch to kill which is owed to the fact that he is encased in [[Terminator]] armor and is fully pledged to Nurgle. Typhus to Nurgle is what Khárn is to Khorne, which means that he's Nurgle's favorite mortal servant. Also famous for grabbing guardsmen and Marines alike with his scythe to drag them closer to his hug-friendly arms as well as causing zombie-plagues. Too bad that everyone who gets too close to him rot away into a pile of green slop. Typhus is also the name of a disease, because GW are nothing if [[Oinkbane|not subtle]].
*[[Ulkair|Ulkair the Great Unclean One]] - Ulkair is notable due to his history with the [[Blood Ravens]], and was imprisoned by Kyras a thousand years before the story line of Chaos Rising. Came back when Eliphas sacrificed a bunch of Blood Ravens and provided him with a Plague marine to possess. A notoriously tough bastard.
*[[Foulspawn]] - Foulspawn is the only known case where, after becoming a [[Chaos Spawn|you-know-what]], it did not die, but rather continued it's existence by swallowing its victims whole. Currently keeps the record of giving the best hugs in this galaxy.
*Cor'bax Utterblight - Cor'bax Utterblight is a daemon prince that was summoned by the [[Word Bearers]] during the [[Horus Heresy]]. He was created by [[Forge World]] for the Horus Hersey tabletop game. For [[ The Horus Heresy: Legions]] he is absolutely bombastic.
*Deacon Mamon - A demagogue of Nurgle who ascended to become a Daemon Prince after his efforts in corrupting the planet [[Vraks]]. Another Forge World Nurgle Daemon Prince.

===Fantasy===
*[[Orghotts Daemonspew]] - The child of a human Witch and a Great Unclean One (don't ask, imagine the details yourself) who wants to join his father by becoming a Daemon. Tried to contract Nurgle's Rot and become a Plaguebearer, but when his already quasidaemonic nature made that fail he decided it was better to become a Daemon Prince. Leader of the Maggoth Lords.
*[[Festus the Leechlord]] - A man who fancies himself to be Nurgle in mortal form. Constantly makes concoctions from experimental diseases and forces his enemies to drink them.
*[[Bloab Rotspawned]] - A Maggoth Lord made up mostly of flies wearing a human skin as "punishment" for torturing tiny insects out of petty spite.
*[[Morbidex Twiceborn]] - A Maggoth Lord who resembles a Nurgling, and commands a vast swarm of them. Has a grudge against Tzeentch due to being severely burned as a child and his tribe believing that Tzeentch was the god of fire.
*[[Tamurkhan]] - An extremely successful Maggot Lord blessed with the power to [[Lucius the Eternal| claim the flesh and bodies of his enemies as his own if defeated in combat]], albeit in a much more... direct way than his obvious comparison. Very successful, and almost claimed the Throne of Chaos before being undone in his hour of triumph by a carefully-orchestrated suicide attack.
*[[The Glottkin]] - A trio of Daemonic brothers: Ghurk - that has become something akin to a Great Unclean One, Otto - the tactician of the three, and Ethrac - the Wizard.
*[[Gutrot Spume]] - A highly mutated servant of Nurgle who's known for his arrogance. Leads a vast fleet of Nurglite pirates.

===/tg/===
*[[Puc'Kao]] - Nurgle's daemonic tooth rot fairy, gum disease and sweets. Often seen as an overweight, pus-dripping cherub who likes to play pranks on people, usually by removing healthy teeth from the mouths of unsuspecting mortals as they sleep. As you can expect he is a fun guy.
*[[Luke]] - I don't know where to start. Just... Ugh.
*<s>Chris-Chan</s> {{BLAM| THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN REDACTED BY ORDER OF THE HOLY INQUISITION OF THE GOD EMPEROR OF MANKIND. CARRY ON, CITIZEN}}
*Cystus The Malignant - The sickest fuck to inhabit realspace since Typhus himself. Fan created Chaos lord whose endeavors are still being written.
*[https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/220879.php Chairlord of Nurgle] - A morbidly obese Ohio man whose very flesh became fused to his recliner, rendering him unable to be removed from it. There he remained seated in the recliner for multiple years soaking in his own filth and bodily excretions and covered in maggots, being fed by his underlings. When the news of his death reached /tg/ around 2011 they immediately recognized the man as a herald of Nurgle, dubbing him the Chairlord.
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon Mary Mallon] - The namesake for the term "Typhoid Mary". An Irish woman born in the 19th century, Mary emigrated to the US and became a cook. In the 20th century when Typhoid Fever broke out, people she served started falling ill, and after testing Mary was found to be an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever (she had the virus, was immune to the virus herself but could infect others - like a true champion of Nurgle). Despite the test and being quarantined, Mallon was adamant she wasn't sick and escaped multiple times to go back to her cooking job, even using different names to avoid detection. Eventually, she was recaptured and incarcerated in high level security for the rest of her life (over 30 years) before dying of pneumonia. During her life, at least three deaths are attributed to an infection from her, with estimates putting the actual number as high as fifty.
** Interestingly, there were others like her who had more deaths attributed to them from Typhoid Fever, such as the men Tony Labella, Alphonse Cotils and a tour guide nicknamed "Typhoid John", but Mary was the most high profile (likely due to repeated escapes).
*Anti-vaxxers.
*Anyone who's worked on developing a bioweapon.
*Healthy At Every Size ''un''activists (so most, if not all of, the fat acceptance movement)

As a general note, the followers of Nurgle usually retain high levels of common sense compared to followers of the other Chaos Gods. Probably because they don't usually go insane to the point of uncontrollable defecation, they just defecate uncontrollably (sanity has nothing to do with it). They usually get creative in their conquests and tend to get cool gear and use it well. Plague Marines for example, got bored with regular frag - and krak grenades and decided to instead use the SEVERED HEADS of their enemies: zombified, plague-ridden, embalmed, severed heads.

Here we have [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUAqdPpWGZo a typical conversation between two Nurgle cultists].
[[File:Nurgle TWW3.png|400px|thumb|right|Nurgle as he appears during survival battles in Total War: Warhammer 3]]
==Total War: Warhammer 3==
In the game you must collect the souls of 4 daemon princes, one from each Chaos god, in order to fight Be'lakor and get to Ursun. Nurgle's realm is an absolute slog-- as it should be! Unlike the other realms, in Nurgle's you always take attrition damage; this means it's a race to get the spot to fight Nurgle's daemon prince. However you are a human and have a brain, so unlike the AI who will never set up camp, you can force march to get there a bit faster, encamp, replenish your numbers, crush a weakened AI army, force march, and repeat. This can be a slog but it's better than, say, Tzeentch. On a side note, if you're playing Kugath you will not suffer any attrition so while his campaign might suck at the moment, at least Nurgle is pretty easy on you.

==Famous Diseases==
You thought Khorne was bad? You ain't seen nothin'. Here's what Nurgle cooks up for his grandkids.

*Destroyer Plague - Plague flies burrow into every [[PROMOTIONS|orifice]] and fill you with their eggs. This causes you to burst in an explosion of more plague flies, which literally fill the assholes of everyone nearby. Plague flies are also [[SCP Foundation|spread via reading about plague flies]]. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*Bonewrack - Your own bones rip your body apart and suffocate you, à la [https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Codex/Monsters#Revenant_III the Revenants from Doom 2016]. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*Doubtworm - A [[SCP Foundation|memetic]] virus which is spread by hearing a very specific phrase, "The Emperor Isn't Real." Those infected turn into zombies, turn back into humans, and then turn into big cuddly worms. This is the best Nurgle plague, because The Emperor Isn't- {{BLAM|EXTRA FUCKING HERESY!}} {{BLAM}} {{BLAM}} {{BLAM}}
*Fydae Strain - AKA "10% of the reasons why psykers are killed on sight in the Imperium of Man". Basically turns psykers into Typhoid Mary. You, a latent psyker, are infected by the Fydae strain and are forever [[Plot armor|immune]] to it's effects. You are also likely immune to all diseases, forever. The downside is that you are now unknowingly and invisibly spewing out the Fydae Strain virus everywhere. You do just fine, it's just that everything else around you rots away, spreading to cover the entire planet. The disease is sapient, holy fuck, and does what it can to remain undetected. Everybody starts rotting away almost at the same time, and then they usually have seizures so hard they get killed. This also summons a bunch of Nurgle cultists, but honestly at this point it doesn't matter. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*[[Obliterator]] Virus - You turn into [[Dakka|guns]]. This is the best Nurgle plague.
*Walking Pox - Similar to Zombie Plague, but [[Grimdark|worse]]. Instead of a regular zombie, you become a shambling, rotting abomination which is extra spiky and bloated. You are fully conscious and aware as you watch your disgusting rotsack body kill everyone you love. Walking Pox is spread by moaning. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*Nurgle's Rot - Your body and soul start rotting away. This is a slow process with no cure, because Nurgle is an asshole (not the kind that gets filled with fly eggs though). A disgusting seed pod is created in Nurgle's [[Magical Realm|realm]] in the warp. When your body inevitably fails and your soul has been sucked into Nurgleville, the seed pod drops and opens. A [[Age of Sigmar|new, much shittier version]] of you shambles out as a plaguebearer. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*Witch-curse - You, a psyker, get supercharged so hard you kill everyone nearby. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Phantom Itching]] - An itching sensation in body parts that you no longer have, inducing madness in the infected due to being unable to scratch said itch. [[The Emperor]] himself is unfortunately inflicted with this particular disease, and even if he weren't immobile he can do nothing about it. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Crotch-Rot]] - a disease invented specifically to piss off [[Slaanesh]], since it directly targets the genitals and causes them to fall off, followed by painful death. This is the worst Nurgle plague.
*HIV- One of Nurgle's most insidious diseases which was first unleashed on Terra mid-to-late M2. It attacks the body's immune system, leaving it ripe for conquest by other viruses. [[Meme|Most infamous for closing pools]].
*The Spanish Flu- After the first world war in late M2, Nurgle realized that Khorne was in ascendancy due to the sheer carnage and slaughter that went on, decided he could do better and unleashed a plague that ended up killing more people than the previous war.
*COVID-19 - A plague created on Terra in M3 that caused a massive pandemic and lockdown causing everyone to stay home, slowly let go of social norms, and just waste away in their own filth, increasing his power even more. [[Just as planned]].

Nurgle's diseases are far less damaging in the big picture than one would think. Given the literally crotch-liquefying horribleness of Nurgle's diseases (to get into some epidemiology; more deadly diseases generally burn themselves out very quickly, as they can't go to enough people before killing the host. TL;DR Nurgle needs to keep making diseases like COVID-19) , and the demostrated fact that a couple of Nurgle cultists can destroy a solar system's worth of planets, Papa N has remarkably little impact. Somehow everyone's not [[Necron|dead]] [[Nagash|yet]]. The meta reason is that WH40K: Medicae would be a truly shitty game. In universe, it could be that these sicknesses are warp-augmented and are not viable in a place free of warp interference. The lack of challenging the status quo with a superplague could also be because Nurgle is ''literally'' the god of "status quo is god". We've also got some [[Lord of Change|guardian angels]] watching over us, and [[Isha|two]] [[Tzeentch|gods]] working constantly to fuck up Nurgle's [[Just as planned|plans]].

== Trivia! ==
*Nurgle has been modelled after [[wikipedia:Nergal|Nergal]], the Assyrian deity of pestilence, disease, underworld, decay and hunting. He is the only Warhammer deity which has connotations to the real life deities.

*In Nurgle’s garden, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uor4IrNN0N4| the Plague Inc. theme plays on loop for eternity.]

== Gallery ==
'''<nowiki>*WARNING! NURGLINGS ARE NOT THIS CUTE!*</nowiki>
{{Promotions}}
<center>
<gallery>
Klaher-baklaher-nurgle.jpg
Image:Nurgbeard.jpg|A neckbeard dedicated to Nurgle.
Image:Chaos God DnD.png|He brings a lot to the table.
Image:Nurglies.jpg|Nurgle's followers.
Image:Nurglette.png|Nurgle also has daemonettes. Too bad they all have chlamydia. (Then again if you worship Nurgle, it doesn't really matter!)
Image:Loli-daemonette_(12).jpg
Image:Loli-daemonette_(4).png
Image:Loli-daemonette_18.png
Image:Nurgmonette.jpg|You can touch those boobs, but don't complain if your hands fall off.
Image:Loli-daemonette_(20).jpg|Cultists devoted to Nurgle have a different relationship with their daemons than those devoted to [[Rip and tear|Khorne]], [[Rape|Slaanesh]] or [[Not as planned|Tzeentch]].
Image:Nurgle_troops.jpg|At home with the family.
Image:Chaos.jpg|She slept with the judge!
Image:Mallon-Mary_01.jpg|Typhoid Mary: A famous 20th century Nurgle champion. Nurgle's followers are not always easy to spot.
Image:GreatUncleanOne.jpg|Greater daemon of Nurgle, the Great Uncle One.
Image:pool.jpg|The powers of Nurgle laugh in the face of chlorine.
Image:laidbacknurglette.jpg|Daemonette of Nurgle (don't fap, it'll fall off).
Image:Nurgle trainer copy.jpg|None loves his Pokemon more than the Nurgle Trainer.
File:Typhus the traveller by chameleonbot.jpg|The Herald of Nurgle, charged with organizing everything for the big guy's arrival at concerts, parties, etc.
File:Dranon8.jpg|It's so mushy that it causes disease. Literally.
Image:Plaguemarines.jpg
Image:Decent Nurgmonette.jpg
Image:Cultist-Nurgle.jpg
Image:I Don't Know What This Was About But I'll Upload It Anyway.jpg
Image:Nurgle_aspiring_champion.jpg|An aspiring champion of Nurgle. Aspiring because he got caught.
</gallery>
</center>

{{Template:ChaosGods}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]][[Category: Maggotkin of Nurgle]]

Slaanesh

2023-02-17T19:21:40Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Total War: Warhammer 3 */

[[File:Slaanesh_mark.png|center]]
{{awesome}}
{{heresy}}
{{Promotions}}
{{/d/}}
{{sick|The hermaphrodite god/goddess of rape who wants to eat everyone's souls and rape them forever.}}

[[Image:Slaanesh_by_baklaher-d7dvohn.jpg|thumb|500px|right|Slaanesh... tempting you to join a [[rape|party which you will never forget...]] [[Rule 34|also now in even more NSFW!]]]]

'''''PORN FOR THE PORN GOD! SMUT FOR THE SMUT THRONE! RAPE FOR THE RAPE TRAIN! - The Motto that Slaanesh wants YOU to believe in'''''

{{Topquote|Give yourself over to absolute pleasure. Swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh - erotic nightmares beyond any measure, and sensual daydreams to treasure forever. Can't you just see it? Don't dream it, be it.|Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Rocky Horror Picture Show}}

{{Topquote|Blood does more than turn me on, it makes me cum. And more than the sight of it, I love the taste of it. The taste of hot, freshly killed blood... Kill everyone now! Condone first degree murder! Advocate cannibalism! Eat shit! Filth are my politics! Filth is my life! Take whatever you like.|Divine, Pink Flamingoes, seen here showing fealty to [[Khorne]], [[Nurgle]], and Slaanesh, while also making [[Tzeentch]] feel sad due to lack of attention}}

{{Topquote|OO! KINKY!|Austin Powers}}

==Introduction: The Slaanesh Inquisition==
[[Image:Slaanesh by genzoman-d2y8ylf.jpg|thumb|500px|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2qT7GylRxw And to think... I hesitated.] Wait, one whip is held in the hand and the other is held in the...]]
Behold '''Slaanesh''', also known as '''Shaarnor''' (to [[Cult Of Slaanesh|Elves and some humans]]), '''Shornaal''' (to [[Warriors of Chaos|humans and some Elves]]), '''She Who Thirsts, The Dark Prince, the Lord of Excess, Leviathan, Lord of the Labyrinth, Big Tiddy Goth Prince, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, The Sweet Transvestite, The Lusty Argonian Maid, the Colossal Pervert, Creator of Rule 34''', '''the Ultimate Trap''', '''the Transgender Trashgirl''', '''[[If_the_Emperor_had_a_Text-to-Speech_Device|Xenololi Futanari Vore Garbage]]''', '''the Trap God''', '''Mega-Mommy Milkies''', '''the Maker of [[Eldar|Knife-Ear]] Fleshlights''', [[Cornholio the Cultist|'''Tiddycaca''']], '''Never Went to Rehab''', '''Slut4Evar''', '''[[Fall of the Eldar|the]]''' '''''[[Erebus|Other]]''''' '''[[War in Heaven|Other]]''' '''[[Fall of the Eldar|Thing That Ruined Everything]]''', '''the New Guy/Girl/Whatever''', '''literally Satan but add some crab claws''' and 6969 other names.

Slaanesh is the [[Chaos God]] of [[/d/|perversion, Hentai]], [[Extra Heresy|shamelessness]], [[Furry|excess]], [[Rebecca Black|the most disgusting Pop Music in the history of ever]], sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Heretical Fa/tg/uys cannot resist the most disgusting [[heresy]] of masturbating furiously to Slaanesh and her [[daemonette]]s.

Slaanesh was 'born' during the fall of the [[Eldar]], when all their torture, [[rape]], S&M, bondage, and decadence eventually tore the fabric of reality a new one and gave birth to Slaanesh along with the [[Eye of Terror]], killing the majority of their race. Thus, the final chaos god is known as the one that was literally murderfucked into existence. As a result, Slaanesh owns almost every last Eldar soul in the entire galaxy. In the event of an Eldar dying without a spirit stone, he or she becomes Slaanesh's sex toy for all of eternity day and night forever and ever (excluding Exodites, whose soul will automatically go to their planet's world spirit; Harlequins, who are scooped up by the [[Cegorach|great clown]] himself; and the faithful of Ynnead). This is why Eldar are willing to manipulate entire worlds into [[Exterminatus|exterminating]] each other just to save one of their own. The [[Dark Eldar]] take this up to eleven; because they do not use spirit stones nor are they protected like the Harlequins, Slaanesh is constantly sanding their souls down around the edges. In order to circumvent this they resort to huffing the souls of those in agony or of those who have recently died; in essence they sacrifice others to him/her in order to live. However this isn't done ''just'' for survival; the Dark Eldar revel in sadism for its own sake too. In the end every Eldar in the galaxy, even the Drukhari and the Harlequins, are inextricably linked to Slaanesh in some way.

Of course, the descriptions above apply primarily to Slaanesh's WH40K history. In WHFB, Slaanesh has no real backstory and sort of just came out of nowhere like the other Chaos gods.

Among other things, Slaanesh is the god of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. Slaanesh is fueled by excess and pleasure, which means gratuitous amounts of anything generally fall under its influence. This actually becomes a big problem for Khorne, the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]] and the other Chaos Gods, whose worshipers have to constantly try not to enjoy themselves too much lest they end up feeding the Warp's whipping bitch. Especially when the Inquisition is all too enthusiastic about whipping heretics. It is for this reason ironically enough that she is hated by every single entity in the warp, Yes even Nurgle. More on that below.

Many horny juveniles who have just found Warhammer seem to be obsessed with Slaanesh being a God(ess) of sexual pleasure. While [[fluff]] claims this is not true, in practical terms Slaanesh is the deity of pleasure, which can be broad. Pleasure can be derived from various sources, as such this can be anything from sex, eating, companionship, and so on and so forth. However, because Chaos is Chaos, Slaanesh is mostly associated with the extremes of pleasure including lechery, gluttony, extreme masochism, extreme sadism, perverse sexual deviance, and so on. These are just some of the pleasures Slaaneshi followers partake in because Slaanesh's credo is to experience everything to the fullest. As a practitioner falls ever deeper into the embrace of their dark god, they are consumed with a need to drive these sensations first to the limit of human experience, and then beyond into madness. This basically means: why settle for one loving wife to have sex with you when you can have a hive world of insatiable concubines to fulfill your every desire? Or why eat one disgustingly expensive luxury meal when you could eat a Paradise world's supply of the stuff? Why just resort to cutting yourself to feel the pleasure of pain when you could be chopping off lumps of your flesh to heighten the sensation of pain? Numerous examples of 40k lore have made it apparent that while those who fall to Slaanesh might start off with a desire to fulfill their rather run-of-the-mill baser instincts, it always spirals into insanity. For example, in the novel ''Shadowsword'', a young nobleman makes a deal with a devilish creature so that he can possess and sleep with his lady love, who is also his first cousin. By the time all is said and done, a grand party to welcome the forces of Chaos to their world turns into a charnel scene where the guests ''imagine'' themselves to be dancing and enjoying fine food and drink, but in reality they are tearing each other apart with their bare hands and engaging in cannibalism; others believe that they are embracing when their bodies and flesh are literally melding together. These are the types of scenes that truly resonate in the Warp, and thus grant Slaanesh power.

One would think that if, as claimed, Slaanesh was the lord of all ''pleasure'' then Slaanesh would be omnipotent because, in the end, biological and psychological fact tells us that every living thing with a fucking Neuron acts in order to feel pleasure and escape pain (the "pleasure principle"). However, here is the most important thing worth emphasizing, just in case you haven't picked it up already: the point of Slaanesh is not to revel in ''any'' pain or pleasure. Rather, the point is to gain power from exposing mortals to the types of experiences that a sane person ''could not'' and ''would not'' ever be able to imagine in the first place. For all but the very strongest and most devout, this pollutes and twists their very souls to such an extent that they remain in thrall to Slaanesh forever. Such horizons of experience and sensation are far, far beyond the predictable inclinations and fetishes of your typical 4chan fa/tg/uy.

Even [[Khorne]], Slaanesh's primary rival, feels pleasure in killing, and Tzeentch feels pleasure in [[Just as Planned]]. That is why 40k lore tends to focus on Slaanesh as a God of the most disgusting pleasures ever, not as a God of all pleasure. Additionally, in the [[fluff]], it does state that most pleasures (like regular love or the desire to eat) that might be covered under the "pleasure principle" are too "weak" to sustain Slaanesh. Considering that it's damn hard for most humans to get more than a piece of stale toast and a dry handjob before collapsing from exhaustion after a grueling 80-hour week working in some hive-world factory for the Emprah, the only way to get enough sex, drugs, and partying in to impress Slaanesh is to be a ruthless, controlling, evil bastard. (''It is worth noting that GW seems to have picked up somewhat on this fact. As of the latest daemon codex it does mention that Slaanesh has a particular way of influencing the other chaos gods and that they are all wary of them given that they draw some strength from the extreme behaviours they promote in their followers and are subject to themselves.'')

Slaanesh is also associated with the arts and creativity, as creativity means pursuing one's own personal desires. Self-indulgence and personal expression are the bedrock of the arts, after all. Those attracted to Slaanesh could theoretically be more than just aristocratic ravers, but also particularly eccentric artists, writers, etc. In this, Slaanesh treads in on Tzeentch's territory as the Architect of Fate also likes to play muse. But Slaanesh is all Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll in the purest sense of the word. It is not just the depraved orgy after the concert, but the scintillatingly brilliant concert that caused the orgy to begin with. One could assume that, in order to prevent Slaanesh's influence from spreading, the Imperium of Man would censor not just content but style. A radically structured poem, a painting with hints of debased content, even a deviation from traditional chord structures would presumably bring the Inquisition to your doorstep.

If Slaanesh had a voice actor, it would be [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc80tFJpTuo Tim Curry] and/or Tilda Swinton.

==What? Warhammer?==
[[File:Slaanesh Old.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The first depiction of Slaanesh in Warhammer art.]]
In the new [[Age of Sigmar]] setting, Slaanesh has gone missing. Tyrion and Malerion worked together to capture Slaanesh, unknowningly helped along by the machinations of Tzeentch. Thus Slaanesh has been removed from the Pantheon of Chaos and replaced by the [[Horned Rat]]. Derp. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIMg2Xw4_8s While it was thought Slaanesh is being kept in a hidden warehouse while Tyrion works him/her over to make Slaanesh give back Aliathra's soul], this is revealed to be mostly true, but for elves in general as there is no sign of Aliathra yet.
[[File:AoSBeholdSlaanesh.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Slaanesh imprisoned: Unable to decide which dildo to use first, Slaanesh is effectively neutralized! Ingenious! (Also, to answer the question you never asked, Slaanesh is not circumcised. Seriously, take a close look at where those chains pierce)]]

Yet hope for Slaanesh faction lovers still remains. With Slaanesh missing, his forces have split between those trying to find and free Slaanesh (the refer to themselves as Seekers), those who are trying to claim their former master's position (they are referred to as Pretenders and consists of every Chaos Lord and Keeper of Secrets that wants to claim their former masters position as the new god of depravity) and those who have continued to be allied to [[Archaon]] in his wars against the Mortal Realms (who are referred to as Invaders). This last faction is currently the biggest and is the main Slaanesh force fighting Order; it is mostly being led by Slaanesh's greater daemons who lead Slaanesh's demonic and mortal followers but some have actually looked to venerating Archaon as their replacement deity.

The release of the first Daughter of Khaine battletome revealed that Slaanesh has been trapped in the void space between Ulgu (Realm of Shadows) and Hysh (Realm of Light) by the collective work of [[Tyrion]] and [[Teclis]] - now gods of Hysh, [[Malekith|Malerion]] - god of Ulgu, and [[Morathi]]. There the elf gods are slowly taking back the elf souls the Chaos god devoured after the End Times, reforging them to their liking, while Slaanesh is trapped in a position that will make it impossible for him to escape (in theory). That is, unless Morathi cast a spell to get more souls than it was initially planned for her to receive, a spell that would weaken the chains that are keeping Slaanesh trapped, which of course she did. Now Slaanesh is ever so slowly getting further from Hysh and closer to Ulgu, which enabled Slaanesh's followers to learn where he was. The only things standing in their way are the fact that they can't reach Slaanesh's prison, the aelf gods and their forces. Even then, Slaanesh might eventually be able to free itself.

With the announcement of Realm of Chaos: Wrath and Rapture, it appears GW is ready to bring Slaanesh back to the 40k and AoS universes, along with a (daemonic) host of new models. And this did come to pass... Though it isn't as grand as many would have hoped. It has been revealed that the 66 chains holding Slaanesh (real subtle, GW) can be broken by certain depraved or powerful acts, ie, an excess of anger from Khorne, or a Stormhost turning on the people they protect (which did happen and was engineered by Slaanesh taking a leaf from Tzeentch's book). Having broken a handful of the chains Slaanesh cast illusions to prevent the elves from discovering this, and if the majority of chains get shattered Slaanesh will be strong enough to break the rest. If Slaanesh ever did escape, he would immediately try and engulf all of Ulgu and Hysh, securing two whole realms and thereby winning the great game though Khorne would object violently, as would Archaon. However, Archaon still needed Slaanesh and was actively tracking down the trapped god. Archaon eventually succeeded at finding Slaanesh and started working to free him, though Slaanesh's sass vexed Archaon. It would've worked eventually, but Archaon had a vision of the Nighthaunt and Bonereapers taking the Shyish realmgate and attacking the Varanspire. Though Archaon was pissed, since he knew the elf gods would move Slaanesh's prison and tighten security after this, he abandoned Slaanesh and went back to the Allpoints.

But now Slaanesh is a mommy/daddy! During Morathi's ritual for godhood, Slaanesh took advantage of it and emitted a stream of saliva (more likely some ''other'' bodily fluid that begins with "S") that gained sentience. The entity followed Morathi out of Slaanesh's prison, and flew through the skies across Ulgu before crashing to the ground. The Godseekers followed it to the point of impact, and over time thousands of Hedonites gathered. There the entity, known only as The Newborn, took on a form so beautiful and terrible that many who looked upon it died and spoke to Hedonites. It eventually became two demigods called Dexcessa and Synessa, who are filling in for Slaanesh until he/she is freed from Uhl-Gysh. The twins make their first appearance when they try to take advantage of the rampage of the newly awakened god of Earthquakes [[Kragnos]] to conquer the city of Excelsis, a plan which falls flat on its ass when the twins get banished by the actions of a set of witch-hunters and the sacrifice of the local stormcast eternal leader. Be'lakor then approaches the twins in the epilogue of the book and proceeds to throw shade at them for such a lackluster first showing on their part, when they diss him back about fleeing from one Dwarf, Be'lakor points out that the Dwarf was actually a powerful god and tells them to be prepared as the storms of chaos he unleashed by blowing up realmgates are spreading throughout the mortal realms.

== Followers ==
[[File:Slaanesh Banners.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Slaaneshi banners.]]
Slaanesh attracts mortal followers from those seeking to become charismatic and popular, but instead corrupts them to become colossal perverts; alternatively, she may attract followers from those who are already [[Ultramarines|colossal perverts]], and corrupt them to become more charismatic and popular. [[Just as planned]].

Alternatively, Slaanesh sometimes finds those in the mortal realm with far more looks than brains to approach and gives them everything they could ever want because she tells them that they simply deserve it, with nothing expected in return...other than them turning into a collossal egotistical hedonist with no sense of responsibility, right and wrong, or empathy as they fuck over creation on whim or for the lulz due to the ultimate entitlement complex possible.

Slaanesh and Khorne actually compete for the same pool of followers more often than you'd think, which is part of his hatred for it. A good rule of thumb is this: if a warrior wants to be the ''best'', gets his thrills from making that perfect shot, that perfect move, [[/v/|that perfect 360 noscope,]] to [[powergamer|hone his or her skills the sharpest they can ever be]], or debasing their foes, they're Slaaneshi...even if they don’t want to be. If the thrill lies in just killing people-- the pure joy of murder-- and the skill is just a way of facilitating that, they're Khornate. Slaaneshi types also get off on the sensory overload rather than actual killing or even pain, like the Emperor's Children who get carved up by Raven Guard and won't fight back because the feeling of lightning claws dicing them up is too damn blissful. [[Troll|They also get off on the reactions they get from others]]-- for example, the loyalist who Lucius tricks into slaughtering his own men. These are things that Khorne can’t stand, because Khorne has standards. Slaanesh takes those standards, throws them out the window, follows them out the window and murderfucks them with its arms pumping wildly.

When it come to more "social" followers, Slaanesh competes with Tzeentch, as followers of both are known for being silver-tongued manipulative dicks with a huge hard-on for power. Here the difference lies in that Slaaneshi followers seek power for their own gain, usually through charismatic speeches and the like, while Tzeenchians often have more altruistic goals or are more interested in the process of gaining power than actually getting it, intentionally raising the challenge to impossible level just to feed their ambitions. Tzeentch followers are quite notable for being dicks, not evil monsters (...usually, also barring daemons). Other than being egotistical trolls they're pretty normal people. The 'huge hard-on' part is also much more [[Heresy|literal]] in Slaanesh's case. However Tzeentch has realized that since personal gain is inevitable when scheming, Slaanesh still wins, so Tzeentch hates them too.

Apart from [[AIDS|the obvious]], Slaanesh and Nurgle rarely have any interaction. There was the matter of the [[Isha|qt Eldar waifu]] Slaanesh wanted to keep for [[/d/|some]] [[rape|after-party]] [[FATAL|entertainment]], but since Nurgle is a fa/tg/uy at heart he couldn't resist claiming her for himself. <s>But they're mostly over that</s> Slaanesh is over it, Nurgle is not. Otherwise, their domains are just too different that they don't overlap all that much. Those who are ambitious and feel they deserve better choose Slaanesh, while those who give up or accept their lot fall into Nurgle's open, sweaty arms. Conflict occurs, but love of the self and love of others aren't as mutually exclusive as the desire to destroy and the desire to create, or a demand for the spotlight against careful orchestration. That being said Nurgle is still not fond of them-- mainly due to the aforementioned Eldar waifu.

[[File:Slaaneshi Forces.JPG|thumb|right|500px|Slaaneshi forces in their realm.]]

Slaanesh units are:
* '''[[Daemonettes]]''', hideous crab-clawed hermaphrodites or seductive scythe-clawed elf-girls depending on which fluff you choose to believe, fa/tg/uys love Daemonettes and spend much time eagerly awaiting the drawfags to provide them with moar heresy. Some fluff seems to suggest that they're hot elf girls until they decide it's time to rip your face off, at which point they become something more akin to the BDSM glam-rock black-eyed lobster women seen in the current models. Moreover, they're supposedly attractive to the beholder (though these are often xenophobic assholes and thus only consider themselves beautiful) - this means that it is very likely that their appearance is entirely subject to the individual desires of whomever is perceiving them. This is represented by their hermaphroditic/androgynous appearance, supposedly rendering them attractive regardless of preference or sexuality. Their monstrous nature is a juxtaposition of slender sensuality and horrible, flesh-tearing daemonic claws. Like many Daemons, their appearance is supposed to be highly varied, which is never represented in the models unless you combine all the old and new, modify heavily, and use [[Proxy|proxies]] randomly. Daemonettes are created by Slaanesh's waking thoughts, popping into existence as she contemplates trolling Khorne, destroying a civilization from within, or getting off.
* '''[[Seekers of Slaanesh]]''', Daemonettes mounted upon [[Steeds of Slaanesh]] which are the mix of an aardvark and a raptor [[dinosaur]]; fast and lots of attacks for not much points, prone to dying in a hail of arrow/bolter fire.
* '''[[Fiends of Slaanesh]]''', large creatures that look like a bizarre cross between an aardvark and a scorpion with rows of breasts, these are created when Slaanesh dreams (because apparently Chaos Gods sleep). They're basically if a Daemonette and a Seeker had a child.
* '''[[Seeker Chariots of Slaanesh]]''', hard hitting unit/squad-wipe models, this is whom you call for when you need that pesky [[tarpit]] removed. Right now. From other end of the board. Be cautious though, these things need protection like grimoire and preferrably invisibility,or at least [[Distraction Carnifex|target mitigation]] to live long enough to do their job since they are big targets with juicy 10 armor all round. Also never ever position yourself so that the enemy could have even remote chance of charging these things: even squad of retarded [[Tau|fire warriors]] or some [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Spearmen]] can take these chariots down in melee if they get the charge. These things live and die by the hammer of wrath attacks, use them accordingly. Also comes in the "Exalted Seeker Chariot" variant, which is literally just a larger Seeker Chariot crewed by higher ranked Daemonettes.
* '''[[Hellflayer Chariots of Slaanesh]]''', what happens when you combine enough Chariots to make Daemonettes literally [[/d/|dripping]] with excitement at being in battle.
* '''[[Keepers Of Secrets]]''', Slaanesh's Greater Daemons, like a Daemonette on steroids, ecstasy and Viagra. Created intentionally from Slaanesh's own darkest thoughts and desires, rather than the Daemonettes/Seekers/Fiends which are created passively, each is radically different (even though there's only been three different models, one of which is long out of production). Geniuses capable of turning entire armies to their side, or destroying civilizations. The default leaders of almost any Slaaneshi army, unless led by a...
* '''[[Daemon Prince]]''', a human (with [[Dechala|one Elf]] as the exception) so devout to Slaanesh that they managed to become a Daemon. In Fantasy this is usually, but not always, a Warriors of Chaos Champion who made the perilous journey of getting not to little or too much attention while in her service.

=== 40k ===
* '''[[Chaos Space Marines]]''', the traitor marines of the [[Emperor's Children|third legion]] worship Slaanesh exclusively, as do warbands such as the Angels of Ecstasy and the Flawless Host. They also make up a large chunk of the Black Legion, as the Children of Torment.
** '''[[Noise Marines]]''', the specialist traitors dedicated to Slaanesh, akin to Khorne's [[Khorne Berzerkers|Berzerkers]], Nurgle's [[Plague Marines]] or Tzeentch's [[Thousand Sons]]. Aural-focused traitors who specialise in using [[Sonic Weaponry]] because the cacophony is the only thing that can register on their jaded senses anymore. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berghain Can be found IRL also.]

=== Fantasy ===
* '''[[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Druchii]]''': The Warhamer Fantasy evil Elves who are the highest ranking worshipers of Slaanesh, who they call Shornaal, in the [[Cult Of Slaanesh|Cult Of Pleasure]]. In most of the games history (4 editions out of 8 total, the first two having virtually no story whatsoever), Dark Elves had their origin in their Queen [[Morathi]] being the high priestess of Slaanesh, who corrupted her [[Malekith|son]] and about half the Elf race. While most Dark Elves torture and kill in the name of [[Khaine]], Morathi lead a cult of Chaos Elves and regularly allied with other Slaaneshi factions (other than Beastmen, because Morathi kept [[Harpy#Warhammer|her own]] as pets and shits on all others like a good Chaos character should). In later editions, Chaos Elves were retconned away into worshipers of [[Atharti]], [[Hekarti]], and [[Ereth Khial]], three Elven Slaanesh-expy gods, in order to redo the Dark Elf faction as evil Elves who ally with other Elves in the interest of mutual survival instead of evil Elves who just want to watch the world burn while a slave whose skin has been torn off gives them oral. This choice split many fans, some asking why Elves should worship Slaanesh when they have Khaine instead of Khorne, others asking why they worship Khaine when Khorne is better.
* '''[[Warriors of Chaos]]''': Not-Vikings/Mongols who live in the desolate north of Warhammer Fantasy and fight against each other when not raiding the rest of the world. The closer to the [[Warp Gate]]s they are, the more they are like living Daemons while the furthest south are generally only concerned with survival and not offending gods.
* '''[[Beastmen]]''': Rapist omnivorous (in every sense of the word) animal-mutants that infest the world. Beastmen serve all of Chaos, some serve specific gods more than others but few serve one entirely. Live to literally and canonically shit on civilization and order. Ironically treated like shit by all of the rest of Chaos. Slaanesh, in keeping with the trend, allows his followers to fuck their women and drink their wine.
*'''[[Hellstriders]]''': Warriors of Chaos mounted upon Seeker mounts. Unlike most Chaos Gods, who give daemonic mounts as rewards for their best followers, Slaanesh (or Keepers of Secrets in Age of Sigmar given Slaanesh's imprisonment) gives out Seekers to the weak-willed and lazy looking for a quick path to power. Those who fall for this trap find that although they gain power, they also gain a crippling addiction to the souls of their enemies that quickly results in them losing all pleasure outside of killing. If a Hellstrider is unable to kill, they will quite literally die from withdrawal.

=== [[Age of Sigmar]] ===
* '''Lord of Pain''': BDSM-freak Chaos Lords who are obsessed with giving and receiving pain. Not only does their high pain tolerance make them almost Nurgle-level tough, but they can even reflect their pain back to their enemies.
* '''Shardspeaker of Slaanesh''': Slaaneshi sorcerers who use their magical mirrors to force their enemies to submit to their most shameful hidden desires.
* '''Myrmidesh Painbringers''': The warrior elite of the Hedonites. Myrmidesh Painbringers are unusually chosen for their ability to withstand temptation, denying all carnal pleasures for a single minded focus on perfecting combat and ensuring their enemies die in the most beautiful and painful ways possible.
* '''Symbaresh Twinsouls''': Trying to be a disciplined aescetic warrior while being surrounded by perverted freaks is hard. So it isn't suprising that some Myrmidesh find themselves unable to keep up their eternal No-Nut November and fall off the deep end, allowing their souls to be possessed by daemons. Expectedly, this fusing of daemon and mortal blood makes the Twinsouls a favored unit of [[Syll'Esske]].
* '''Blissbarb Archers''': The dregs of Hedonite warbands excluded from the rush of melee combat. They coat their arrows in the eponymous Blissbarb poison that’s one part aphrodisiac and another part paralyzing agent.
* '''Blissbarb Seekers''': When the aforementioned Archer gets their first taste of steel cutting their skin (and lives to tell about it), they’re likely to become addicted to this feeling and seek to claim a Seeker as their mount in order to chase after this exquisite sensation.
* '''Slickblade Seekers''': Elite Hellstriders with a nasty jealous streak against anyone who dares to steal the killing blow from them. They ride on the unique Exalted Seeker of Slaanesh rather than the stock variant.
* '''Slaangor Fiendbloods''': [[Slaangor]]s are back baby! The shock troopers of the Hedonite hosts, they are venerated by other Slaaneshi followers as physical avatars of the Dark Prince.

[[File:Slaanesh TWW3.png|300px|thumb|right|Slaanesh as he appears during survival battles in Total War: Warhammer 3, not taking kindly those who refuse the temptation events]]

==Total War: Warhammer 3==
In the game you must collect the souls of 4 daemon princes, one from each Chaos god, in order to fight Be'lakor and get to Ursun. Slaanesh's realm is both the easiest and the hardest; the Arch-Temptress lives up to the name and thus while going down the circle, besides fighting various AI armies you will be given scenarios that you can either ignore or play in order to fight Slaanesh's daemon prince. The positives it gives are beyond good - a beyond enormous amount of gold which lets you buy anything you want, increasing Public Order up to 200, really good replacement, and more. However, if you choose to take one of these gifts, you'll be kicked out of the realm and have to wait till it appears again, so steel your heart and march onward while slapping yourself in the face for good measure, and struggle on till you get that soul. Or use the warp portals to teleport to your rivals and use your Slaanesh buffed forces to kneecap them on the world map. Not like they can mount a decent defense when their best army is tooling around in the chaos realms.

==Potential semi-retcon of Slaanesh in 40k==
With the release of "Rise of the Ynnari: Wild Rider" we now have daemons of Slaanesh making an appearance during the [[War in Heaven]]? Now this could be just a case of [[Doctor Who|timey wimey]] Warp shenanigans but it could also be an indication of something else! What if Slaanesh's "birth" was actually more akin to a rebirth of something far older; the original sin if you were.

It is known that even before the Fall agents of Slaanesh were already at large in the galaxy and actively seeking to bring it into being. If Slaanesh did indeed have a presence all the way back in the War in Heaven then perhaps it has always been there, seeking a way to return, as opposed to beginning to gestate within the Empyrean during the conflict itself.

Slaanesh isn't all about sex, [[Drug|drugs]] and more sex, but actually fits all of the seven deadly sins rather well: [[/d/|Lust]], [[RAGE|Wrath]], [[Blood Ravens|Greed]], [[Perturabo|Envy]], [[Giles|Gluttony]], [[Lazy Marines|Sloth]] and [[Cato Sicarius|Pride]] all fall under Slaanesh's domain; each of which play key roles in the other God's spheres of influence also. Of course these are taken to their extremes, as is Slaanesh's trade mark, but even the other Chaos Gods are extremes in their own way, and though they are all placed above the Dark Prince in terms of power they all may "fear" the influence that Slaanesh has the potential to hold over them and are very wary that the Dark Prince may eventually eclipse them all in power.

The War in Heaven is essentially the event(s) that created "Hell" in 40k as many races with a presence in the warp fought and died in the conflict, so it makes sense that there must have been an "original Satan"-like figure as well. Of course, this could be looking too much into this and talking out of our collective arse, but what with Slaanesh in [[Age of Sigmar]] no longer being counted amongst the Four, it opens up a lot of possibilities for when the Dark Prince does eventually return.

==The Wandering Knight in the Palace of Slaanesh==

(AKA [[Kaldor Draigo]] becomes a sleeper agent. Probably. Other things are possible, but this would slap down the Mary Sue, so really, why argue?)

While the other Chaos Gods rarely welcome intruders to their lands within the immaterium, Slaanesh loves to tempt visitors to his unnatural domain, and those that dare enter the Lord of Pleasure's territory risk becoming trapped in its warped delights for eternity.

Slaanesh's realm is divided into six domains, arranged in concentric rings about the Palace of Pleasure. Each of these is a celebration of Slaanesh's desires, and while they might be mistaken for paradises, nothing in the lands of the Dark Prince is as it seems. An intruder can only reach the Palace of Pleasure, in the very heart of Slaanesh's territory, by passing through all six of the circles-- an act of will beyond most souls, both mortal and demonic. One amongst the mortal visitors to his realm still looms large in the memory of Slaanesh, however-- a wandering knight of the Adeptus Astartes whose resolve was as strong as silvered adamantium.

The first circle the knight pushed through was richly appointed beyond the dreams of kings. Mountains of stacked gold reached towards rainbow mosaics of gemstones in the marble vaults high above; glittering ingots and diamonds beyond count littered the ground. The knight marched past many a starving wretch attempting to count the innumerable gold coins, their sallow faces twisted with mounting greed until their piles toppled, and, weeping, they had to start over again. At every corner of the crossroads stood gilded statues, some of beautiful Slaanesh, others of Daemons and mortals trapped in blissful ecstasy. The trails in the diamond dust underfoot betrayed the fact that the statues were once flesh and blood. The knight had left notions of material wealth long behind, and he strode on without touching a single coin.

Crunching his way across a beach of golden teeth, the knight came to the shores of a vast lake of dark wine. The lake was dotted with pallid islands formed from the backs of giants, each linked by crisscrossing bridges. The backward hands of each giant held up a table that groaned under the weight of a lavish feast. There, he saw mortal men gorging themselves on the banquet, wide-eyed and desperate in their hunger; others frantically tried to gulp down the lake itself. The bloated and the obese moaned in pain as they crammed ever more food into their wine-stained mouths. The knight pressed on, distaste twisting his features as he passed the grisly remains of those who had consumed so much that they had physically burst apart.

The wanderer made his way through fields of golden light and soft hay, where lissome maidens and beautiful youths frolicked near-naked in the hallucinogenic musk of the lithe beasts that cavorted with them. The faces and fertile forms of the dancers were impossibly sensual, moulded to the perfect desire of the heart. The knight held his breath and closed his eyes, for though mortal pleasures were forbidden to his order, part of him was still a man. The crooning nymphs gathered around the knight, stroking his silvered armour and whispering of the sweet carnal pleasures they would give him, but he yielded not. The severed limbs and heads that lay underfoot spoke of the truth behind the honeyed lies. Eyes shut, he cut down the daemonette seductresses around him one after another, letting revulsion guide his shining blade.

After fighting his way through the feminine contours of the foothills ahead, the knight emerged onto a balcony where he was greeted by roars of adulation and approval. An army of Space Marines vast beyond counting awaited him on an endless plain, listening in fevered anticipation of his commands for conquest. Planetary governors nodded in obsequious anticipation, and the High Lords of Terra smiled up at him from smaller balconies of their own, motioning him to speak. The knight recognised one of the rulers from his own mortal life; he stood before him, looking deep into the Philosopher-King's eyes. Behind the mask of power and self-assurance, he saw eternal, nagging paranoia, gnawing suspicion and hidden doubts that were acid to the soul. The knight shook his head sadly and walked away.

Wearied by his ordeals, the wanderer strode on through a mesmerising woodland paradise, its maze of pathways thick with flowers and heavy with thorns. The gentle, fragrant breeze whispered to the knight of past glories, reminding him of the executions he had performed in the Emperor's name. Mirrored pools reflected the knight as a shining saint, his face serene but his sword bloodied as he artfully carved apart rank after rank of red-skinned Daemons. The warrior turned away, troubled. In the distance, he could make out tortured figures staring intently into mirror pools of their own, each held immobile by the undergrowth as whispering thorns insinuated themselves into their flesh. The wanderer turned his mind to the humility of the cell he once called home. As he did so, the path through the maze writhed and straightened out before him. So the knight trudged on.

An endless beach stretched away from the knight, and heavenly choirs sung soothing lullabies as the perfumed sea lapped at the fortress walls of his mind. The wanderer's bones cried out for rest, even if only for a moment. The warmth of the golden sun above calmed his soul, and the tide began to erode his will. His tired eyes could barely stay open, but his vision was still clear enough to see the horrible truth: the bone-white sand was made from the remains of those who had rested here and fallen into a coma of blissful indolence. His resolve hardened, the knight strode on toward the shimmering palace in the distance.

It was there, beneath the elegant spires, that the wanderer came before almighty Slaanesh. Statuesque and divinely glamorous, the deity visited him in the form of a youth possessed of an androgynous beauty, clean-limbed and fresh with vigour. The knight unsheathed his rune-etched sword and made to strike him down. To his horror, he found that he could not, for the god-prince was disarming in his innocence and utterly beguiling in his manner.

Even the purest flame can be extinguished by the tide. In that single moment of doubt, the wanderer was lost. He knelt, bowing his head at last, and a single touch of the being's glowing sceptre on each shoulder sealed his fate for eternity.

== Facts ==
[[File:Nope.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Alright, who's next for "Purifying"?]]
* Though Khorne stans and /tg/ will deny it, Slaanesh is secretly the strongest chaos god.
* [[Ynnead]] is secretly Slaanesh
*[[Sanguinius]] is jealous of Slaanesh because they are the only one more fabulous than hi-{{BLAM}}
* Slaanesh wants to fuck the Emperor, but every time they try, the Big E psychically bitch-slaps them, destroys all their sex toys and sex slaves and breaks their hands so they can't fap for a while.
* Slaanesh knows that you can't spell happiness without penis.
** Slaanesh is dyslexic.
*** Slaanesh also knows that you can't spell dyslexic without sex.
* The title of Slaanesh's greatest mortal champion is owned by Shädman''(ayyyyy)''
* Slaanesh is bitching over the fact how their only representation in the DoW series was the [[Emperor's Children]] paint scheme. And they aren't even Slaaneshi like, they're just a generic chaos army. Although, they did grant favor to Eliphas for smashing a ton of soulstones. (And their colours aren't even correct.)
**However, concerning stated above, the developers have added noise marines for Dawn of war 2: Retribution. This has made Slaanesh quite happy. However, he/she/it is still <s>pissed off of not getting enough representation</s> OFFENDED BY THIS SILENCE, considering Nurgle gets Plague Champion hero, the Plague Marine Tier 2 unit, and the Epic Great Unclean One daemon, Khorne then gets the Khornate Chaos Lord, Bloodletters and Bloodcrushers, while Tzeentch gets the Sorcerer hero, has the most effective upgrade for the basic CSM squad (Warpfire bolts make everything in front of them shit brix and was flat out broken in earlier versions of its introduction), and all of the Anti-armor upgrades, while they only get a single unit that frankly eclipsed by either Plague Marines or generic Havocs with an autocannon.
* Charlie Sheen is their first true Daemon Prince (though he was recently diagnosed with HIV which resulted from his sexcapades, so looks like he could swing towards [[Nurgle]]. But just like [[Fulgrim]] his body probably needs to be destroyed first before he can ascend). It was nearly Malcolm Mcdowell, on account of McDowell's filmography including two of Slaanesh's favorite films (see below) and McDowell's hedonistic younger years; before Charlie had even reached puberty, McDowell was already far into sex and drugs both in his films and real-life. But as he got older, McDowell turned away from hedonism and cleaned himself up. Other contenders include Gene Simmons and Tila Tequila.
* Slaanesh gets beaten up/off by all of the other Chaos Gods on a fairly regular basis, and gets off on it.
* If it exists, [[PROMOTIONS|Slaanesh faps/shlicks/shlaps to it]].
* Tzeentch likes to trick Slaanesh into fighting Khorne to get his daily dose of lulz. Slaanesh always loses these fights pretty badly; and each time, Slaanesh takes it pretty hard. [[C.S.Goto|And this pleases them.]]
* Slaanesh is secretly depressed that have no friends. Khorne is a dick, and Tzeentch is the biggest dick there is. Nurgle is nice, but Slaanesh can't get over the fact that he cucked them. ("Can't get over it" in both a [[PROMOTIONS|positive]] and [[RAGE|negative]] sense.)
** Also, Nurgle has ''all'' the STDs, which would make him Slaanesh's natural enemy out in the wild. Isha's immunity to all diseases is better than any protection, which is a pretty substantial reason why Slaanesh liked her.
* Slaanesh gets bullied by all the other Chaos Gods constantly because none of them like him/her/it. This does not upset the balance, though, because Slaanesh likes BDSM where they being bullied and tortured by the other Chaos Gods. He/she lets them do it, and could probably beat them if they tried.
* Slaanesh is Tzeentch's second favorite victim for his hijinks, because it's oh so easy to string them along with offers of porn, whores, BDSM and/or drugs.
* Khorne [[Rip and Tear|regularly tears off Slaanesh's arms]] and beats them over the head with them (Again, this inadvertently makes Slaanesh orgasm, which is why she/he ''lets'' Khorne does it).
* Slaanesh was doping when they killed the Eldar Gods, they couldn't really beat them all without using performance enhancing drugs. (at least that what Khaine, a god of war and destruction, keeps insisting when ever someone asks him why he got both figuratively and possibly literally raped by a god(ess) of sex drugs and rock'n'roll)
** Slaanesh is always on drugs (Except psychiatric medication, they kill sex drive down to the very biology)
* Slaanesh attempted to fight the Nightbringer in a desperate attempt to win back some street cred, they got their left boob cut off for their trouble. It hurt so bad/good that it retroactively cut off the left boobs of all of Slaanesh's greater daemons and that's why they all only have one boob (or six). Given the new backstory and their time of birth, this means that Slaanesh lost against a Necron Pokémon.
* Slaanesh is a great patron of the arts. Their favourite films include:
** ''Hellraiser'': Slaanesh's number one film. In fact, they took a lot of inspiration on many of the movie's aspects... <strike>That is, of course, a lie. They actually ripped off Hellraiser.</strike> Hellraiser ripped them off. Slaanesh had a cameo appearance in the sequel dressed as a lozenge.
** ''A Serbian Film'': Slaanesh's second favorite movie. They already started putting NEWBORN PORN into her/his daily schedule.
** ''Pink Flamingos'': Slaanesh's third favourite movie, which is actually a film adaptation of Slaanesh's journal. Slaanesh especially enjoyed the depictions of their hobbies (including bestiality, scat fetishes and vore), that the movie quotes them directly (see Divine's quote above).
** ''A Clockwork Orange'': One of Slaanesh's favorite movies; not so much the book it was adapted from as it was less about sex and more a commentary on the nature of morality. (Although Slaanesh faps/shlicks to commentaries on morality too.) They like to jerk-off at many of the movie's aspects, but more notably Malcolm McDowell's sexy face. They also find the death of one of the characters totally hilarious, due to the fact that said character was killed by a giant rocking ceramic phallus straight to the face. '''BLOWJOB OF DEATH !!! LULZ !!!''' Unbelievable and improbable? Well here's evidence to prove it: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbRSag-L-GQ Giant rocking ceramic phallus attack !!!].
** ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'': Mostly because of Tim Curry (who is actually Slaanesh).
** ''Legend'': [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3J91bPrW9A Also because of Tim Curry, who practically plays a daemon prince of Slaanesh].
** ''Caligula'': The movie written by Gore Vidal for copious amounts of sex, incest and Malcolm McDowell as the title character. Slaanesh's favorite scenes are when Caligula engages in an incestuous threesome with his sister and his fiance, and the giant orgies on stage (don't watch the latter if you have a weak stomach - there's a real snake in one scene and [[FATAL|you don't want to know what the woman does with it]]).
** ''Eyes Wide Shut'': Slaanesh has heard the film described as "Just Artsy Porn", but doesn't get the criticism. It's Art and it's Porn. What's not to love?
** ''Event Horizon'': A documentary of how he/she/it is directly responsible for fucking up humanity's first venture into the Warp.
** ''High Rise'': Some say it holds the essence of the one time Slaaneshi and Khaine got jiggy with it.
** ''Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom'': Slaanesh liked it better when they thought it was real and not just special effects.
** ''The Stuff'': A movie about the time some railroad workers found lakes of Slaanesh's jizz at a quarry and marketed it as dessert food due to its properties, leading to numerous shenanigans and giving Slaanesh much lulz that they never learned where it came from.
* Slaanesh enjoys the Song of Ice and Fire books due to the copious amounts of incest and midget sex and the TV adaption Game of Thrones because they added sex scenes and casting several porn stars on top of this.
* Slaanesh's favorite band is GWAR, because everything with them is sex, drugs, and rock and roll in excess, even covering their audience in jizz, blood, random chemicals, and mixtures of all three, and inciting massive blood orgies constantly.
* Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams is also suspected to be one of the early influences of Slaanesh in human music culture, the singer suspected to be one of his/her/its avatars.
* Slaanesh gets ALL the pussy, as well as all the dick, [[Tzeentch|cloaca]], [[Tyranids|ovipositor]], [[Isha|stamen, pistil]], and [[Nurgle|pilus]].
* Slaanesh tried to seduce all of the remaining C'tan at once. Slaanesh ended up getting the pleasure sensors in its brain lobotomized. S/he got off on this.
* Slaanesh found Captain Flashheart so magnificent in Blackadder that they created a daemon prince in his image. Woof woof!
* Despite psychic powers supposedly being Tzeentch's specialty, Slaanesh's tend to be the really [[cheese|cheesy]] ones. 3rd edition had a minor power called Siren, which forbids the caster from being shot at in the opponent's shooting phase (it's just as broken as it sounds). 4th edition has Lash of Submission, which the Chaos Marine tactics cover the usage of (in a nutshell, GW admitted they didn't realize how good it turned out to be and it was the most used on daemon princes even though the +1I from the required MoS wasn't very useful). And what about 6th edition? While Tzeentchian sorcerers focus on pwning the shit our of enemy with (mediocre) mind bullets and warp-beams, Slaaneshi ones pack a whole lot of cheesy buffs and debuffs, which makes them so much better. Similar deal in Fantasy, where Slaanesh, some of the time, offers a better selection of magic than Tzeentch.
* Slaanesh is the only entity in existence who listens to the My Dad Wrote A Porno podcast purely for erotic purposes. He/she/it cannot understand for the life of him/her/it why no one else finds cervix-grabbing sexy. Still, they fap/shlick/???-PROFIT at this.
* Mentioning the names of Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn gives Slaanesh a massive boner/lady-boner. Though Slaanesh didn't have a hand in inventing the internet, three guesses why Slaanesh loves the internet, and the first two don't count. Mentioning Hugh Hefner also has a similar effect.
* As a patron of the arts, Slaanesh has many favorite authors, so can't pick one. Having said that, Marquis de Sade is a strong contender.
* Considering that Slaanesh is about excess, there might be several other types of Marines besides Noise Marines we don't know about:
** Smell Marines, who use gasses to do whatever they wish through peoples noses, whether it be death, insanity, paralysis, suggestibility, 'seeing colors', and so on, always permanent brain damage. This is a way to get Nurgle followers to convert.
** Sight Marines, whose weapons create wondrously intricate bloom and color effects of equally detailed and aesthetically (only to a branch of masochists masochists can't stand) pleasing. This is a way to get Khorne followers to convert.
** Touch Marines, who know the nervous system better than a Bene Gesserit, able to bring the mightiest warriors down with the right jab in the right spot, consumed with uncontrollable orgasms.
** Taste Marines, think about the spiciest thing you've ever eaten, now imagine that a million times stronger, we are talking Exterminatus level of scovilles here, literally melt your god damn tongue off heat. It's like that only worse. They would use super pepper spray that can literally eat through armor.
* Also, a former Tzeentch follower gone Slaaneshi would be incredibly dangerous: Tzeentch followers understand indeterminism (from a very distorted, cynical perspective) and also see knowledge as power per circumstance to win where force, charisma and economics cannot. A devout Slaaneshi seeks to experience everything. Thus a former Tzeentchian, already well read on enough to convince themselves they experienced it, or well read enough to steal peoples experiences, who became a hedonist addict as well would be left with one desire: to be omnipotent and thus be able to go beyond the limits of mortal imaginings in pursuit of understanding and experience for the sake of understanding and experience.
* Slaanesh tried to get in Khorne's head by seeking to understand the appeal of skulls. Instead Slaanesh got bored and invented the idea of skullfucking. '''{{Blam|DAMN IT SLAANESH WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY SKULL THRONE THIS IS DISGUSTING!! IT'S EVERYWHERE!! IT'S OOZING OUT OF EVERY EYE SOCKET!!! I'M NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO SIT ON THAT AGAIN AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!}}'''
** Khorne secretly loves it when Slaanesh does this, because now he has even more of an excuse to go out and collect enough skulls to replace it.
* [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Slaanesh Patrols will skull fuck your family.]]
* [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|If you masturbate with barbed wire, a daemon of slaanesh will be summoned, and you will be exterminatus-ed]]
* Slaanesh secretly wants Khorne. S/he's upset that the 'Special K' hates her/him/it.
** However, if Slaanesh ever did create a copy of him/her/their/itself, then the two would immediately try to murderfuck each other, in a kinky simulacrum of Highlander. This would apply to all of the main ruinous powers, apart from <s>including</s> Nurgle, who would simply hug his <s>whose</s> female double and then get to work with said double on a particularly virulent strain of super aids/crotch rot. <s>would get jealous of Isha and conspire with Slaanesh to get rid of that home-wrecking skank.</s>
* Slaanesh is the patron <s>god</s> <s>goddess</s> deity of bonobos (look them up).
* Slaanesh's ''only'' criticism of the Cats movie is that there are no visible genitals.
* Slaanesh #fuckedPalpatine.
* Slaanesh's deepest, darkest, most perverted and debased desire is to hold hands with someone and have loving [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position]] with lots of cuddling before, during and after - because when you are the embodiment of excess itself, the only truly outrageous thing left is wholesome normalcy.

== Gallery ==
{{heresy}}
{{promotions}}
{{/d/}}
<gallery>
Klaher-baklaher-slanesh.jpg
Image:Slaaneshfaggot.jpeg|A real-life worshipper of Slaanesh.
Image:Slaaneshi.JPG|Slaanesh followers DO COCAINE!!!!!!!!
Image:Daemonette commisssar.JPG|That's a real [[commissar]], just look at the [[hat]].
Image:Daemonette02.JPG|DDaemonette
Image:Daemonette01.JPG|It's not furry, you can totally fap to it.

Image:Daemonette.JPG
Image:Slaaneshi2.JPG|Why it's good to be Slaanesh follower.
Image:Daemonxmas copy.jpg|Slaanesh can be festive as well.
Image:Lurvemudkipz.JPG|Evidence that it is possible that some [[pokémon]] are susceptible to Chaotic influence.

Image:Slaaneshi mudkips.JPG|Oh god. ;_;
Image:Slaanesh trainer.jpg|There is no excuse or explanation for this.
Image:Slaaneshijack copy.jpg|This image can be used to improve a bad thread.
Image:Irresistible.jpg|Simply Irresistible

Image:Dranon5.jpg|Mr Culexus' interpretation of Slaanesh. Notice the massive bulge in the crotch that's bigger than it's boobs.
Image:Not_too_abysmal_by_Mr_Culexus.jpg|Love can bloom in the galaxy of Transylvania
Image:1271157389405.jpg|What a Slaaneshi raptor would look like by non-GW canon.
Image:daemonette_minerva.png|Who else did you think furries worshiped?

Image:Slaanesh_LAWL.jpg|LAWL
Image:Trapmarine.jpg|Slaanesh Chaos Marines come with a little "extra"...
Image:Trapmarine_BW.jpg|... which may not be so "little".
Image:Daemonette_with_seeker_mount.jpg|She "rides" it... if you know what I mean... no seriously, zoom in if you don't believe me. Although for your sake you really should take my word for it.

Image:643214 - Daemonette Eldar Warhammer 40k howling banshee warhammer yuliapw.jpg|The more common and usual fate of Eldar.
Image:Slaanesh cosplay 1 by zk87-d2zo47q.jpg|Now 262.71% more real!
Image:Slaanesh Time.jpg|You might be mixing up love and lust.
Image:Slaanesh_miniature_closeup.jpg|Gimme some sugar

Image:Slaanesh+hr giger.jpg|H. R. Giger is pleased
Image:Slaanesh by zk87-d2z4bpv.jpg|Lashes of Torment!
Image:Slaanesh-153102-SweetAngel.jpg|She Who Thirsts indeed
Image:Khorne-and-Slaanesh.jpg|Khorne is sooo tsundere...
Image:Slaanesh by genzoman-d2y8ylf.jpg|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2qT7GylRxw And to think... I hesitated]

Image:She_Who_Thirsts.jpg|<s>Still lusting after her now?</s> Who Am I kidding, of course we are.

Image:Dark_Prince_of_Pleasure_Slaanesh_wfrp.jpg|From the old [[WFRP]] days
Image:MoeSlaanesh.png|How can anyone not want to serve something so utterly <s>adorable</s> heretical?
Image:1419021850273.jpg|Yes, that is a Santa outfit.
Image:Anons_fall_to_Chaos.png|Anon heralds the Age of Strife.
Image:Champion of Slaanesh RL.png| We have the makings of a daemon prince here!
Image:HereticalUseOfChainswords.gif| When you say "Go Fuck Yourself with a Chainsword," Slaanesh will take it literally.
Image:Cultist-chan24.jpg|Slaanesh has improved cultist chan
Image:Wildslaanesh.png|Slaanesh Demon corrupts children.
Image:Slaanesh-sorcerer.jpeg|Slaanesh makes the Cenobites from Hellraiser look good.
Image:SlaaneshWH3.png|Slaanesh, as depicted in Total War: Warhammer 3 once the skybox filter is removed.
</gallery>

Give yourself over to absolute pleasure
Swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh
Erotic nightmares beyond any measure
And sensual daydreams to treasure forever
Can't you just see it. Whoa ho ho!
Don't dream it, be it...
Don't dream it, be it...

==See Also==
*[[/d/]]
*[[Azazel]] - The oldest existing [[Daemon Prince]] of Slaanesh in [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]].
*[[Shalaxi Helbane]] Slaanesh main [[Keeper of Secrets]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]] and [[Age Of Sigmar]].
*[[Dechala]] - The oldest existing Chaos Champion special character of Slaanesh in [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]].
*[[The Masque]] - Slaanesh's former fav fab Daemonette stripper, and current PR rep.
*[[Sigvald]], Slaanesh's favorite not-Caligula/not-Joffrey.
*The [[Emperor's Children]] legion - The largest contingent of sick fucks on this side of the warp. And on that side of the warp.
*[[Fulgrim]] - Primarch of the largest contingent of sick fucks ever.
*[[Fabius Bile|Fabulous Bile]] - What you get by combining a self-obsessed homosexual and Dr. Frankenstein, only this one is played by geriatric [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kane_%28wrestler%29 Glenn Jacobs] instead of young Tim Curry.
*[[Lucius]] - Considered by some as the Sickest of Fucks amongst the living.
*[[Doomrider]] - He does COCAINE!
*[[Miriael Sabathiel]] - The most infamous [[Sisters of Battle|Sister of Battle]] to fall to Slaanesh. Commonly mistaken as the ''only'' Chaos Sister of Battle by people who haven't read [[Ephrael Stern|Daemonifuge]]. Last seen hunting Eldar to give them [[Rape|hugs]].
*[[Codex - Fallen Sororitas]] - An entire homebrew army of Slaaneshi Sisters of Battle.
*[[Daemonette]] - Daemons of Slaanesh. Viewing said content is heretical, in 20 seconds or less after clicking the link, expect a squad of inquisitorial storm troopers to barge-in and blam you to hell.
*[[Reasonable Daemonette]] - Slaanesh's perversion knows no bounds. Hers does, and she respects yours.
*[[Loli D]] - The [[loli]] variant of the Slaaneshi Daemonette. Viewing said content is [[Extra Heresy|extra heretical]]. E-Commissars can and will [[Exterminatus|blam you from your monitor with the utmost prejudice]] if you click on this link.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRPIsrxUc_E Rick and Morty's visit to the Realm of Slaanesh]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-gHgcmFB6Q Slaanesh's visit to the Realm of Rick and Morty]
{{Template:ChaosGods}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]][[Category:Hedonites of Slaanesh]]

Tzeentch

2023-02-17T19:19:18Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Total War: Warhammer 3 */

[[File:934501-tzeentch mark.png|center]]
[[File:Tzeentch the Architect of Fate.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Tzeentch thinking to himself: [[Troll|"Hmmm... I wonder what plans I would foil again?"]]]]
{{awesome}}
{{heresy}}
''JUST AS PLANNED... ALWAYS AS PLANNED... NEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHE...'' - The Word of Tzeentch on just about any Misfortune you encounter

{{Topquote|O Fortune, like the moon you are changeable, ever waxing and waning. Hateful life, first oppresses, and then soothes as fancy takes it; poverty, and power it melts them like ice. Fate - monstrous and empty, you whirling wheel, you are malevolent, well-being is in vain and always fades to nothing, ...|Oh Fortuna, from the Carmina Burana}}

{{Topquote|I'm a scientist; because I invent, transform, create, and destroy for a living, and when I don't like something about the world, I change it.|Rick Sanchez}}

{{Topquote|I'm beginning to think that to hope isn't the same as to expect something. To hope is to believe that life is an acceptable chaos.|Goenawan Mohamad}}

{{Topquote|The great proof of madness is the disproportion of one's designs to one's means.|Napoleon Bonaparte.}}

==Introduction==
[[Image:Tzeench_political_poster.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Tzeentch has a fetish for birds, as seen by this sorceress getting her bird mutations on in a proper Tzeentchian <s>and weirdly hot</s> fashion. Wait, that's Slaanesh's schtick! JUST. AS. PLANNED. Tzeentch is a Cosmic Harem Nerd Protagonist confirmed.]]
'''Tzeentch''', (may or may not be pronounced Zeench) also known as '''the Great Conspirator, the Changer of the Ways, the Architect of Fate, Tchar, Chen the Deceiver, Tsien-Tsin, [[H.P. Lovecraft|Nyarlathotep]], the Troll Master, Cheenzh, the Raven God, the Trickster, the Archmage God, the Lord of Nerds, [[/b/]], Emperor Lollercoaster/Trollercoaster, [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|The Indecisive Mollusk]], Master of Madness, [[Total War: Warhammer|Chi’an Chi]], Space Obama, the Lord of Social Media, The Monarch of Operating Updates, the Terror of Tumblr, Tik Tok and Pinterest, [[Star Trek|Q]], The ''other'' [[/pol/|Q]], The Great Lovecraftian Geek, [[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|Joseph Joestar]], Loki, Otto von Bismarck, The Cuttlefish of Keikaku, The Patron God of “Well, actually...”, the King of Kek, 2020's Living Incarnation, the Champion of [[Cheese]], the Patron God of Internet Prank Videos, [[Old Man Henderson|Old Man Henderson's Avatar]], NoobMaster69''' and 9926 other names is or is not the [[Chaos God]] of change, curiosity, hard-to-spell names, lies, cunning, ambition, opportunity, creativity and inventiveness, mutation and evolutionary processes, [[Entropy|'Pure Chaos']], Machiavellian scheming, CEOs, politics, governmental power, manipulation, trolling, the internet, everything ever posted on Twitter by anyone (except the Slaaneshi stuff anyway...), your politically obsessed uncle’s Facebook profile, all recorded information and all forgotten knowledge, leadership, any smartphone platform like Apple or Android, every OS written or yet to be written, the BSOD, supervillain geniuses, progress, knowledge, magic, [[psykers]], [[Chess]], lawyers and other high-functioning psychopaths/sociopaths, hope (despite there being [[God-Emperor of Mankind|a contender for God of Hope]]), constant article editing, poor grammar and grammar Nazis, canon and “head canon”, and massively overlong lists.

In [[Warhammer Fantasy]] he may or may not have already existed before the world like the other Chaos Gods, and the [[Old Ones]] actively tried to prevent [[Daemons]] from ever successfully invading the world by creating the different races of the game in an attempt to find something that could cheese Daemons in every battle until the very Warp Gates that the Old Ones used to come to the planet in the first place collapsed forming miniature [[Eye of Terror|Eyes of Terror]] at the poles of the world (''Just as planned''). He is said to have a fetish for [[Blood Ravens|Ravens]] amongst the [[Warriors of Chaos|Norse]] tribes and Condors amongst [[Warriors of Chaos|Kurgan nomads]]. There's no real picture for Tzeentch since the weird bastard always and never but always changes his appearance every time he sits for his yearbook photo. Some of the more or less memorable appearances have been: an opaline serpent constantly slithering in-place; a no-neck blue greater daemon with a skin pocked with faces that each repeat what the main head just said with different emphasis or tone; a rainbow-hued cloud of mist that speaks by casting echoes off nearby structures without making the original sound; a featureless green-skinned human in an archaic grey suit with the words "NO PICTURE AVAILABLE" suspended in the air where his face would be; and perhaps the most or least prominent, a giant imp with two penises growing out of its head. No, srsly. Unless... he could be Slaane-- {{BLAM|''*URGLBURGL*''}}

Strangely, Tzeentch was often/rarely/usually attributed to hope in the two settings, despite there being Chaos Gods of Order in Fantasy, and in 40k the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]] serving as The God of Hope in his career even if he never wanted to be worshiped as such. To be fair, there is a difference between hope and order (or is there?). The Chaos Gods embody traits that can be directed for good or evil (how can hope be evil? To invoke Godwin's Law, Hitler hoping his genocide plans would succeed was evil, or as in Pandora's Box where hope prolongs suffering). It is entirely possible or not that what Games Workshop incorrectly called Hope is more or less but more accurately called selfish Ambition, the sort that would drive people to commit Machiavellian backstabbing, because in the grim darkness of the 41st millennium [[God-Emperor of Mankind|actual selfless Hope]] is pretty much [[Nurgle|a rotting corpse]].

He is or isn't typically the second strongest of the Chaos Gods, however he has advantage over Khorne when it comes to IQ, manipulation and leadership. In canon Chaos God vs Chaos God stories he has the largest number of victories and [[Just As Planned|fewest number of defeats]]. He rarely does things directly and prefers to trick one of the Chaos Gods or their servants into fighting with one another (to the point that one can assume anytime a Chaos God goes to war with another one, he's probably behind it). He got Skarbrand, the then mightiest Bloodthirster, to attack his master. Skarbrand hit with all his strength but only put a chink in Khorne's armor and Khorne got unbelievably, incomprehensibly, all-consumingly pissed and grabbed Skarbrand and threw him so hard that he went sailing in the sky for days before finally crashing into the ground so hard that his wings broke. and whenever Tzeentch gets caught into these antics (most especially by an enraged Khorne) he could simply recite the rules (Yes, Chaos have strange rules) and testify to the circumstances proving that he wasn't responsible. If everyone including the Emperor and the Chaos Gods want to find him guilty for cheating then he will just twist it back to them because he wasn't violating the rules set by the highest authorities in the tabletop: the [[Mod]]s. in other words, Tzeentch is a Cosmic Attorney.

Except that millions of his followers will likely be slaughtered and his faith likely has a new enemy... but Tzeentch, like every Chaos God, is beyond our petty definition of victory and defeat. Which makes the above paragraph idiotically inaccurate, like most of our concepts of reality when the Warp gets involved.
[[File:Tzeentch Old.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The first depiction of Tzeentch in Warhammer art.]]
Once Tzeentch was the strongest of all the Chaos Gods and basically made the Warp his bitch. In 40k this was actually tied to a Materium time period now known as a Dark Age of Technology - the golden age of prosperity, '''hope''', '''ambition''', and '''progress''', when Humanity and Eldar, who dominated the Galaxy defeated the diseases and poverty with their sophisticated science and sorcery and waged their wars through emotionless constructs and robots - no wonder Tzeentch was supercharged by these events and the other two gods were at their lowest of the lows. Unfortunately for him, he uncharacteristically didn't plan (or is it?) on the other two Chaos gods agreeing to team up against him and was shattered into countless fragments (it was his crystal staff in the old lore). [[Khaine|Unlike a certain other god]], he was able to put himself back together again, but he's still missing several pieces of himself. In Fantasy those pieces went on to become the first magic, and in 40k they caused a massive burst of powerful psykers being born, which combined with a robot rebellion humans experienced and pleasure cults Eldar went into brought the downfall of both civilizations, effectively ending their golden ages. Although, given the nature of gods, it's possible that the cause-consequence chain was the other way around with a war in the Warp being the representation of two great prosperous empires falling from their grace. [[The Blue Scribes]] are tasked with recollecting these fragments. Tzeentch also claims the Realm of Chamon in the [[Age of Sigmar]]. The [[Slann]] managed to create the Halosphere as a passageway to Tzeentch's lair.

Basically, if Chaos wins you better hope (pun!) Tzeentch comes out on top. At least he'll just mess with you if you make convoluted plans because he likes out-smarting you but otherwise will leave you alone and pat you on the head for being smart or something. Those pats may or may not include mutations that may or may not be useful (although you can probably use sorcery to correct it anyway). This is absolutely heavenly compared to literally everyone else.

If Tzeentch had a voice actor... Tzeentch would need different ones all the time (or would he?). A good candidate is Aidan “CIA” Gillan, who helpfully can't keep his accent straight for longer than a scene at a time. Q and Garak from Star Trek are also good choices. Especially Q, considering that the character himself is basically just who Tzeentch would be in the Trek universe.

==Elf/Eldar Gods==
In 40k, he was ''seemingly'' the only Chaos God who didn't try to intervene when Slaanesh went on his/her/its "just-born" raping and killing spree as far as we know. But Tzeentch seldom works directly, so there's no way to tell for sure. For all we know he could have been involved in the survival of fellow troll-god [[Cegorach]] or something.

In Warhammer Fantasy, [[Asuryan]] is something of the Road Runner to his Wile E. Coyote. While Tzeentch's flawless and infinitely intricate plans of dickery seem to culminate with the Warp enveloping the world, something always goes wrong at the last minute and usually the High Elves or an ally of the High Elves are at the center of it. That's because Asuryan also has a plan, one he actually shares with mortal [[High Elves]] who take a vow of silence and become his monks. Asuryan's plan is NOT flawless however, and culminates in one giant last battle with a 50% chance of success or fail on his behalf between "good" (Order) and "evil" (Destruction). The outcome of that battle will decide if the Chaos Gods win or lose once and for all. Apparently, dragons will go extinct either way though. It turns out that his plan [[The End Times|didn't work out]].
Tzeentch also has direct relations with [[Morai-Heg]] who is a goddess of prophesy who can actively change fate at her will. Morai-Heg is a True Neutral kind of being who fucks with everyone's plans in ways that end up with them indebted to her one way or another. Usually because she manipulates things in a way to force you to come to her to undo the change she already made (you don't know she did this in the first place) and make a third result, which someone else probably asked for due to a change someone else made and...well, let's just summarize it as "''Everyone's plans are all going according to plan''".

==[[Just as planned]]...==
Tzeentch will always be '''at least''' three steps ahead of you; he out-dicks [[Eldrad]], [[Cegorach|The Laughing God]], both [[Sigmar|God]] [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emprahs]] (though just barely in regard to the second one...a fact he likes), and the [[C'tan|Deceiver]] hands down. Just an example: He tricked [[Slaanesh]] into provoking [[Khorne]], a fight she promptly lost. Why did he do it? He did it for fun...and as a favor for a friend. Though considering what turns Slaanesh on, she might not have been tricked... or perhaps Tzeentch planned around Slaanesh planning to pretend to be tricked.

Just [[The Game (Tzeentch)|don’t mention]] [[Creed]] around him...or Kitten.

In Warhammer Fantasy, he's notable for never really doing much of anything really (except trapping [[Sigmar]] for years in the Wind of Heaven until Vortex on [[Ulthuan]] is destroyed and the Wind, under Sigmar's direction, enters the body of Emperor [[Karl Franz]] after his death.) His champions either have magical powers or limited ability to see and manipulate the future. Some just follow more charismatic champions of other Chaos Gods into battle, although when that champion inevitably falls Tzeentch's almost always survive to mutate another day. The setting's China equivalent, [[Cathay]], has wizards actively stealing Tzeentch's magic and using its effects to affect the world with greater power than normal magic can. They do this entirely without worshiping him or suffering Chaos mutations or taint (according to the fluff, they do worship Tzeentch, they just know him by another name and don't know his true nature... this is most likely a reference to Daoism and ''Yi Jing'', the Book of Change). Clearly Tzeentch mostly just focuses on 40k while the other three Chaos Gods play two tables at once (or maybe Tzeentch is lulling the Cathayans into a false sense of security...).

In AoS he seems a little more involved, but not by much, he manages to corrupt entire civilizations (one who is Greek themed appropiatly for the Lord of "I am very smart") who loved phylosophy just as much as they loved backstabbing each other, creates the infamous "Silver Towers" in witch the first AoS Warhammer Quest game revolved around (and was subsecuently destroyed by Be'lakor and his maquinations), has conquered 90% of the realm of Change and Metal, Chamon, (again until Be'lakor got involved and pretty much fucked the realm with his chaos clouds and now he rules it)and probably has the most competent subject under his rule, Valium Maliti, a changeling who designed an industrial nightmare of a city in the realm of Alarielle and the Sylvaneth just so they can get into more conflict, while his machinations still have not reached his 40K levels, he is at least as engaged as Khorne, though they are both behind Nurgle, and ironically, the three of them are behind the now imprisioned Slaanesh, who is far more involved into AoS, you know with the whole getting imprisioned thing.

The funny thing is, Tzeentch's plots will never come to true fruition. They just go on and on, forever and ever, twisted and tangled for the sheer joy of it with no end goal or even a purpose behind them. Tzeentch is a god of ''chaos'', and a plan satisfied, tied up, finished, is a plan that has left his purview. There is no victory, no defeat, no end. Ends are stagnation, [[Nurgle|the opposite of all he represents]]. [[Games Workshop|There will only be the endless clatter of dice in]] [[Warhammer 40K|the mad, cruel games the gods play with the fates and souls of men]]. Rolled without end, amen. In this sense, Tzeentch truly is the Chaos God of hope because he will never allow Chaos to defeat the mortal plane if he can- at least, not if it doesn't lead to further changes. While most everyone else plays to win, Tzeentch plays for fun, for as long as he can. In older fluff, Tzeentch was also the Chaos God of magic and intellect, so if anyone wanted Tzeentch to win, they just had to make a clever plan that would further Tzeentch's goals and pull it off, increase the amount of magic in the world or become a wizard (so technically everytime a [[Storm of Magic|Storm of Magic]] happens would be a victory for Tzeentch), [[Matt Ward|though GW has downplayed that aspect of him]], or maybe he's just trying to appear more menacing, who knows.

Possibly the god of "I meant to do that", "I was just pretending to be retarded," and "we can still make this work...".

==Followers==
Tzeentch's followers tend to be Librarians/wizards, Sorcerers, nerds, psykers/magical beings, unstable mutants, and red-nosed misfits, but instead of [[Nurgle]]'s "I love you just for who you are," Tzeentch encourages his followers to [[/tg/|revel in what makes them dweeb outcasts]] and go even further, constantly finding new ways to push limits and try things out just because they can. It's not enough that you've made this former Guardsman loyal, harder and better, faster and stronger, you could also fit another three arms on the guy, and if you added a head on his pelvis he would never be surprised, and he can't talk anymore so why not replace his larynx with a flamer sac? [[Chaos Spawn|Whereas other Chaos Gods accidentally pour too much love into their subjects]] (Slaanesh quite literally), Tzeentch does it on purpose because he actually knows what he's doing when he does so.

* Tzeentch Daemons are:
** '''[[Pink Horrors]]''': Ever-shifting gleeful balls of psychic rape. Really powerful ones are Heralds of Tzeentch. Courtesy of sixth edition 40k, these guys are now brotherhood of sorcerers, and a blob of 16 or more horrors can cast 3 spells per turn, and since they're daemons of Tzeentch they test on Ld10. Unfortunately, all the powers they have are '''FUN*'''. 8th edition Fantasy sees them as a blob of level 1 wizards who can't miscast, which are fun due to the randomness of them but aren't really competitive. The best-known of these is a being called the Changeling, who has the ability to transform into any being it wants, usually for the purposes of wreaking havoc behind enemy lines (although it has also been known to do so for pulling pranks as well, like planting Nurglings on the Skull Throne just as Khorne is about to sit down or cutting Slaanesh's hair while he/she/it sleeps). Apparently it's changed its form so many times it doesn't even remember what it originally used to look like.
** '''[[Horror#Blue_Horror|Blue Horrors]]''': When you kill a pink horror, it splits into 2 tiny, manic-depressive blue horrors. In 40k it just means your pink horrors hit back at S2 every time you kill one in close combat, which is kind of useless. Why are your horrors in close combat anyway? The Fantasy version of them are summonables that enter onto the field when the magic lore of Tzeentch sees a spell cast very well (since your Pink Horrors cannot miscast, throwing a fuckload of dice into a spell to produce more Blue Horrors is nifty). They're pretty weak though anyway, which is what keeps full Tzeentch armies from really being viable. A particularly notable pair of Blue Horrors are P'tarix and Xirat'p, also known as [[The_Blue_Scribes | Blue Scribes]]. Tzeentch sent them out to catalog every single magic spell in reality, knowing that they weren't smart enough to know how easily abused the power of said spells might be. Finally fixed in Age of Sigmar as they're now just weaker pink horrors that you place two when a pink horror dies.
*** '''[[Horror#Brimstone_Horrors|Brimstone Horrors]]''': Also known as Yellow Horrors. Recently added in Age of Sigmar and 40k, oddly never mention until now since three is a running theme for Tzeentch. When a Blue Horror dies they turn into a pair of angry little fire daemons.
** '''[[Flamers_of_Tzeentch|Flamers]]''': like Horrors but less limb-y and way more mouths to breathe fire with. Also, this fire is S4 AP4. If you inflict wounds on a unit they have to take a toughness test, and if they fail they suffer D3 wounds with no saves allowed. On the other hand, if they pass the toughness test [[FAIL|they get feel no pain (6+) which can stack if they keep passing.]]. They're the main Daemon ranged option in Warhammer Fantasy, although they're pretty close range. Best used to shotgun an enemy right in the flank while it's engaged with something from one of the other Chaos Gods in melee. ''Just as planned'', right there in the crunch.
** '''[[Screamers of Tzeentch]]''': the Tzeentchian notion of cavalry; levitating manta rays with buzzsaw fins. Also melta-teeth for some reason. In Fantasy they function as chaff by harassing units and weakening them (with great luck killing something important like a mage) or [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX |forcing them to devote a turn killing them and thus leaving that unit open to whatever other Daemons you brought]].
***'''Jet Screamers''': screamers that are really fast, Gold colored, and capable of shooting magic missles, and can teleport limited distances...so basically space cliffracers, (though the don't make any annoying sounds, every 5 seconds). very rarely seen, (tzeentch reserves them from combating other chaos gods), and those who see them even more rarely come out intact.
** '''[[Burning Chariots of Tzeentch]]''': One-man vehicles for heralds of Tzeentch or Exalted Flamers, which are like flamers but... exalted. In 40k this is where the AP2 Tzeentch Flame attack went after Flamers got a buff (but it's assault D3, for optimal '''FUN*''', and it also has a S5 AP3 torrent attack. These both follow the same warpflame rules as flamers do, but they also won't be leaving so many survivors so it's not as big a deal. Fantasy sees them as the surprise buttsecks machine, once again tearing through an enemy that's engaged with something else. Like Tzeentch's architectural styles though it's a glass cannon that WILL break if damn near anything short of an anemic [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] peasant orphan with a cold attacks it.
** '''[[Lord of Change|Lords of Change]]''': huge birdlike sorcerers that look like a [[Furry|werewolf's in-between state, only it's a werevulture-snake-velociraptor...thing]] (So, a Skeksis from Dark Crystal?). They have the power to predict the future at any given time so they're almost invincible, unless Tzeentch wants them to die, which going by all the times Tzeentchian Chaos Daemon and Thousand Sons armies lose, happens surprisingly often. They're the best non-named spellcaster available to Daemons in Fantasy. Chief among their number is Tzeentch's right-hand daemon [[Kairos Fateweaver]], who was gifted the ability to know everything that will ever happen (along with a second head). It's said that he knows the answers to all questions, but if you ask him, [[Troll|both heads give contradicting answers, with no way of knowing which head is telling the truth]], just [http://www.wobblymodelsyndrome.com/comic-80.html Don't ask him his name]. (Then again, there's nothing saying it's the same one lying every time.) So, ask them what your name is first so you know which one is telling the truth.
* Tzeentch's Chaos Marines come with an [[Thousand Sons|Egyptian motif]], and plenty of psykers and Sorcerers. Aside from that Tzeentchian marines are usually warband leaders, their advisors or prominent ambitious champions wishing to become one. Many of them hold their dedication to the Architect in secret, if only to keep their advantage of god's favor over other marines - ambition after all is the big deal for them. Fully Tzeentchian warbands do exist, but they are usually comprised of either complete madman who hear voices, see futures, hear all the lies in the world (simultaneously), can shape-shift or mutate at will or have some other mind-blowing (sometimes literally) "gifts" from the Architect, or body-less drones commanded by extremely powerfull mages, and a few elite commandos armed with psychicly reloading flame bolters (he values quality over quantity). It helps that Tzeentch is likely based on the Ancient Egyptian god Thoth. (also known as Jehuty who has been called a death god by some...)
** FYI, Tzeentch is always looking for [[Soul Drinkers|ways to convert more marines.]]
* Tzeentch's [[Warriors of Chaos|viking followers]] are usually the outcasts and elders of the tribes of the Norsemen rather than being a united group. They like to rock the "evil wizard" look with hooded cloaks and sacrificial daggers to compliment their tentacles and 3 faces on one head.
* He also has a presence in [[Cathay]], and is the only Chaos god who is interested in this country. Cults of Tzeentch are the royal pain in the collective asses for all members of Dragon family and is their biggest threat.
*In AoS, his mortal worshippers are the [[Tzeentch Arcanite]]s. They hide in the cities of Sigmar and Order, slowly amassing power and influence, before rising up in a spectacular display of both Just as Planned and fiery mutated goodness.

==Total War: Warhammer 3==
In the game you must collect the souls of 4 daemon princes, one from each Chaos god, in order to fight Be'lakor and get to Ursun. If you never were a big fan of Tzeentch before, crack your knuckles and prepare to load, load and load some more as his realm is the epitome of randomness. There are portals everywhere, and each one has a chance of taking you to the island where you fight his daemon prince; prepare for mental exhaustion as you roll the dice time and again praying you get to the right island. However, there is a small trick you can do: take pencil and paper or a notepad app and calculate and document which portals you go through and where they take you. Eventually you'll find the right portal to fight Tzeentch's prince, though it will still come down to a healthy dosage of luck. May the odds be in your favor!

Unlike the other gods he doesn't appear at random during his survival battles but his (many) eyes constantly watch from above.

Mechanically, Tzeentch's big gimmick is a barrier that all his mortal and daemonic followers get. It regenerates quickly, but only if the unit goes long enough without getting attacked. This encourages Tzeentch armies to be constantly cycling in and out of combat to regenerate the barrier, and his cavalry and anti calvary units are basically invincible, since getting your cav units in a protracted fight is suicide. Tzeentch also has access to a Teleport stance, which allows you to ignore terrain in the campaign map and guarantee a successful ambush if you use it to attack an enemy, which is something even the Skaven can't manage.

==Facts==
*Sly Marbo is the only person that Tzeench cannot control. That and Creed, that sneaky fucker, who is currently holding a gun to my {{BLAM}}.

* The name Tzeentch was originally going to be "Thence" of Change (which is a six letter anagram of Tzeentch) the TZ was latter added and the name reworked at the suggestion of [[John Blanche]] returning from holiday in Tanzania, where he saw a blue feathered bird performing tricks at the request of a tribal priest named Tuz Tuz.

* Tzeentch is likely inspired by the Ancient Egyptian god Thoth. Thoth was the bird-headed god of writing, science and magic; remember what Tzeentch's Greater Daemons look like.

* Tzeentch explained Chaos to a group of mathematicians. The ones who didn't go insane or start worshipping him came up with Chaos Theory.

* Tzeentch's favorite author changes from time to time. Some of his recurring favorites are Niccolo Machiavelli, Charles Darwin and Michael Crichton.

* A little-known fact: Tzeentch is anon.

* Tzeentch was responsible for the Great Depression and the 2008 financial crisis. Also, the First Gulf War? That was him too.

* Tzeentch does it for the lulz.

* Tzeentch is surprizingly good friends with Doomguy, due to the fact that Doomguy thinks most of his plans are hilarious, and he follows him...also for the lulz. (he got bored of "cleaning out" the Citadel of Brass every day and wanted a change).

* You know when your first puppy died? <s>Tzeentch did that too</s> it might have been Slaanesh.

* Tzeentch (much like [[Sly Marbo]]) knows and sees everything; thusly, he sees you masturbate and knows what fantasies you're having. And he laughs at you (again, much like [[Sly Marbo]]).
** Slannesh used to pay him “good money,” to tell you what you masturbate to, but an "agreement" with Khorne made him stop accepting bribes. (he only took it because Doomguy told him it would further their plans).
* Khorne is Tzeentch's favorite victim for hijinks because of an incident involving Doomguy’s friend Valen’s son being turned into a meat puppet for his and the C'tan's [[Doom|Earth invasion plan]]. The fact that Khorne is very easy to string along is a good bonus.

* Slaanesh is Tzeentch's second favorite victim for his hijinks, because Slaanesh's desire for a new high makes him/her/it very easy to string along, and also because it makes khorne laugh.

* Starscream is a servant of Tzeentch; he's got a huge amount of ambition. Too bad that Tzeentch won't let him succeed until he actually forms a plan instead of just saying "I am the new leader!" if Megatron so much as sneezes.

* Tzeentch is the god of hope among other things, yet he's a lot less friendly than the god of despair. Probably because most every being in the universe has had their fair share of despair and has learned to cope with it, while hope tends to show up just before you get ground into the dirt again. When the Despair-god comes knocking, you open a bottle and sigh, when the hope god shows up, you immediately wonder how you're going to get raped this time.

* Tzeentch has only ever truly lost to two beings: Creed and a [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|little kitten wearing a silver banana armour]].

* Tzeentch is a very morky god due to the fact he could set in motion a string of events that could lead to a lasgun in the back of the head when you aren't looking.

* Tzeentch is the <s>only</s> first contestant to ever be banned from entering Deal or No Deal after winning $1,000,000 9 times in a row.

* During their early days, Tzeentch once put on a magic show for the 3 other Chaos Gods. Among the 3, Khorne asked Tzeentch how he made Nurgle's Plaguefather disappear and reappear beside Slaanesh before their very eyes, which Tzeentch refused to tell and responded with "A good magician never reveals his tricks.", which caused Khorne to burn with unfathomable rage. <s>To this day</s> for over 50,000 years, Khorne had extremely low tolerance for magic users and psykers, which became evident when the [[World Eaters]] killed all their Psykers when they defected to Chaos. Like always, Tzeentch just said "Just as planned".
**Khorne has accutally relaxed this tendency after watching one of Tzeentch's chosen warriors [[awesome|light his sword on fire with his psychic powers]]. the fact that said warrior was Doomguy may have helped a bit...he still hates Zaraphiston though.

* Tzeentch is slightly pissed over the fact how his only representation in DoW are the Pink Horror daemons and the Chaos Sorcerer, unlike Khorne who gets Berzerkers, Chaos Marines chant "Skulls for the Skull Throne!" on attack and how he got an epic unit, the "Bloodthirster" and the fact that he has two Chaos Lords dedicated to him and the fact that his legion shows up in Winter Assault as one of the primary opponents, Khorne then goes on to get Bloodletters, Bloodcrushers, The Chaos Lord, who is the best damn commander in the game (though the Warboss has funnier dialogue) in DoW II, while in contrast, he's stuck with the sorcerer and his marines aren't even Rubrics. Still, better than Slaanesh, who only ever got the Emperor's Children default color scheme throughout the entire series. But now Slaanesh is getting Noise Marines in Retribution, which are sorta like SM Plasma Cannon Devastators. All Tzeentch gets are marks for certain units, which turns everyone of them into tank/infantry raping death machines, especially the generic marines.

* However, in DOWII, Tzeentch is still reveling in the fact how he got [[Scott McNeil]] to voice the generic Chaos Sorcerers again. '''HOWEVER!!!''', the Sorcerer's voice then became more soft, monotonous and unenthusiastic, which '''GREATLY''' angered Tzeentch.

* Tzeentch appears to be GW's least favorite of the Chaos Gods, his units tend to be the worst out of the four Chaos Gods, his stuff gets the least amount of attention, and the least amount of fluff written for him. Hell, there's often cases where despite magic/psykic powers being his specialty, Nurgle and/or Slaanesh give a better selection than he does. (Except for Age of Sigmar, where he's really good.) Arguably not true since 8th given how often Arhiman is used in Chaos armies and Magnus being the best of the Primarchs currently out.

* Some people play chess with reality and manipulate events and people like chess pieces, others play pool/billiards with it, moving things along like a cue ball and cue stick, others play poker with the universe, bluffing and cajoling things to receive favorable outcomes, other play roulette with the cosmos, making all the little movements needed for that lucky roll. But Tzeentch, Tzeentch does it all at once in the nightmarish game of [[Paradox poker|Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Fourth Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip Poker]], or PBVRFDHCSP a game that only a true master of dickery and the ability to perceive the past, future, and present can really play without looking like a massive tool.

* Every Saturday night, Tzeentch gets together with the [[C'tan|the Deceiver]], [[Cegorach]], and the [[Emperor]] for a rousing game of [[Paradox poker|Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Fourth Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip Poker]]. The sheer amount of dickery and [[JUST AS PLANNED]] that goes on during these games is so vast that if you were to watch one of these games, your head would 'asplode into a shower of [[Necrons]], [[Daemon|Daemons]], [[Eldar]], and [[Space Marine|SPESS MEHREENS!]]. Even Khorne is afraid to watch one of these games for fear of his head's un...asplodedness... Nobody ever wins though, (mainly because the Emperor take too long on his turns). Creed was banned from these tournaments after infiltrating queens into the games and somehow rigging the roulette tables beforehand one too many times.

* Tzeentch's favorite characters in Mortal Kombat are Quan Chi, Shinnok and Shang Tsung. Though Tzeentch favors Quan Chi more than the other two due to him being (arguably) the most manipulative bastard in all of Mortal Kombat. Hell, he is mostly responsible for almost all the events that happened. In fact, Quan Chi is considered the most untrustworthy character in all of Mortal Kombat considering that he has chronic backstabbing disorder, constantly lies and never fulfills his promises.

* Tzeentch's favorite Black Library novel is "A Thousand Sons". This is mostly because he relishes over the fact that he is such a magnificent bastard for all the things he did in said novel.

* Tzeentch created [[C.S. Goto|C.S. Multilazor]] to specifically troll Khorne's fluff.

* Tzeentch has planned everything you do, even this. Who knows what this article is distracting you from? Tzeentch does because he's why you're here. Woah! Where do you think you're going? You're leaving, eh? 'Just as planned'...

* Tzeentch didn't write this article. But he set in motion [[Just As Planned|every single event]] that contributed to it. Yes. Even this specific author's decision to write this paragraph.

* And this.

* The one place Tzeentch is afraid to go is the Well of Eternity; he believes that it is the beginning and end of the universe. He was wrong, it is where Sly Marbo lives. To find out what was in there, he sent in expeditions of Lords of Change and Horrors but they never came back out. Finally he just grabbed Kairos Fateweaver, his vizier, and threw him in. Due to lots and lots of [[Just as planned]] Fateweaver survived but was horribly disfigured. Marbo slapped himself for letting that one get away and forced himself to keep doing pushups until a planet the size of Jupiter was split in half as self discipline.

* The [[Warcraft]] and Starcraft franchises' existence are both Tzeentch's doing, he is the one that caused GW to turn down Blizzard's initial offer to make an RTS game. When Fateweaver was interrogated about why Tzeentch did that, the lying head dodged the question and the truth telling one said that there was no reason. Or did it.....

* Created Facebook....regretted it instantly but managed to troll the whole planet by making them buy Oculus Rift, no real logic just to fuck up Oculus's release schedule - It worked just as Planned!

* Contrary to what many would assume, Tzeentch is terrible at RTS games because he can never focus on one goal for a long enough period of time to focus on winning, or least that's the reason he claims why he lost at Supreme Commander to an illiterate [[Ork]] that did nothing but hit random keys the entire game.

* Tzeentch claims that [[Snowflame]] was his doing, arguing who else could be insane enough to create such a character. Slaanesh claims that Tzeentch is lying and that Snowflame is his/her/its doing, but Tzeentch points out that Slaanesh is also a liar, meaning that nobody knows who is lying.

* Tzeentch's realm is guarded by a labyrinth that can only be passed by the mad. It was only defeated once, by a little girl with a small black dog, and even Tzeentch doesn't know how because the guardians refuse to discuss it. This is canon.

* Tzeentch invented Scrappy Doo because he was bored.

* Tzeentch was the first being to create the Death Note. Possibly the one who made the idea of it all and gifted this to the Shinigami themselves.

* Since Tzeentch achieves his goals by having his many plans constantly foil each other and benefiting from the fallout of said foiled plans, this makes him one of the few beings who achieves [[Just As Planned]] as a direct consequence of [[Not as Planned]]. Depending on how you think about it, this means Tzeentch could technically be considered a god of both.

* If the Deceiver and Tzeentch battle and the Deceiver wins Tzeentch actually wins in disguise. and vice versa. and this effect is cumulative. therefore an unending cycle of win or don't win is created there are currently over 9000 such cycles in existence

* Tzeentch has a pet cat that is both [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat alive and dead].

* Tzeentch can be or be not defeated with the following train of logic.
:* You: So Tzeentch, you are a god of chaos?
:* Tzeentch: Yes.
:* You: So you would say that you are completely unpredictable?
:* Tzeentch: Yes.
:* You: So that means it is predictable that you will be unpredictable?
:* Tzeentch: ...

* Tzeentch is the reason the internet hyperlinks are blue.

* Tzeentch coined the phrase "You activated my trap card".

* Tzeentch created the bug that causes Gandhi to go nuclear in Civilization.

* Greedo shooting first was Tzeentch's doing.

* Tzeentch's favorite Gundam character is Char Aznable, the sheer amount of JUST AS PLANNED that the Red Comet uses put a grin on his face-for a brief moment.

* Tzeentch is the reason the Isekai harem hero was born. He wanted nerds to show off meta knowledge to numerous harem simulations to rub in slaaneshs face that nerds have to use their smarts and wits to get pussy instead of being a rapist or a loser who Slaanesh posses women to have sex with.

* Influenced ''Event Horizon'' to become a prequel to Warhammer 40,000.

==See Also==
*[[Thousand Sons]]
*[[Ballad of the Thousand Sons]]
*[[Thousand Son and Guardswoman]]
*[[The Game (Tzeentch)]]
*[[Rubric Marines]]

==Gallery==
{{promotions}}
<center>
<gallery>
Klaher-baklaher-tzeench.jpg
Image:Just as planned tzeentch.jpg
Image:Tzeentch_lord_of_change.jpg
Image:Tzeentchies.JPG|Tzeentchs followers
File:A_Typical_Sorceror_of_Tzeentch.jpg|A typical sorcerer of Tzeentch.
File:Tzeentchian Cultists.jpg|Pretty much how his cultists operate.
File:TzeentchianDie.gif|Tzeentch's dice change a lot when rolled.
File:TzeentchPinup.jpg|Even your masturbatory habits are just as planned.
Image:Tzeentch's_True_Form.png|This is speculated to be the true appearance of Tzeentch.
Image:1ksons pokeymans.JPG| "I choose ''YOU;'' teach them all that Power demands Sacrifice!!"
File:Tzeentch servant.jpg|Different demon, same thing, or is it? Just as planned!
Image:Tzeentch_mark.png|His Mark. Side effects may include growing extra eyes and rambling about the plans.
Image:Sexualyeti_tzeentch_daemonette.png|A daemonette of Tzeentch drawn by SexualYeti.
Image:69e497e8f2453c415cfc4a91f9e8e20f5eb69fa9.jpg|Lord Tzeentch makes sure all his servents get laid albeit the trick each other and manipulate each other to sleep with one another.
File:R34 Tzeentch 1.png|Tzeentch using the power of boobs and anime.

</gallery>
</center>

{{ChaosGods}}

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category: Disciples of Tzeentch]]

Sigmar

2023-02-17T19:17:52Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Age of Sigmar */

{{Awesome}}
[[File:SigmarHeldenhammer.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Thor would say "I'm still worthy!". Sigmar would say "Ghal Maraz is worthy of me!".]]

<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style:bold;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em">''"I AM SIGMAR! FOUNDER OF THE EMPIRE AND SLAYER OF ORCS!"''</div>
- Warcry of Sigmar, announcing his awesomeness

{{topquote|The simple act of caring is heroic.|Edward Albert}}
{{topquote|If you learn from defeat, you haven't really lost.|Zig Ziglar}}

'''Sigmar Unberogen''', known also as '''Sigmar Heldenhammer''', '''Sigmar Bjornsson''', '''Hammer of Orcs''' and '''The Chosen of Ulric''', is the founder of the [[The_Empire_(Warhammer_Fantasy)|Empire]] and its current patron deity. In life, Sigmar was a chieftain of the Unberogen tribe, son of <strike>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApmVcV0a2wI| The Emperor]</strike> the legendary hero Bjorn Unberogen, and bearer of [[Ghal-Maraz]], '''the''' warhammer for which the games are named. As a god, he is the patron of the Empire in battle, good governance, and shouting. His symbols are the Warhammer, twin-tailed comet, and griffon.

It <strike>has never been satisfactorily explained why the Church of Sigmar insists that its brethren go bald when all depictions of Sigmar have long, flowing, unkempt hair</strike> would obviously be a monstrous [[heresy]] to even try and imitate such holy hair, so the Church made sure the priests wouldn't have any in the first place.

He is bros with the Serpent God [[Sotek]] of the [[Lizardmen]] as they get together every Friday to egg the [[Horned Rat]]'s house for lulz.

It is customary to read his lines in the Legend of Sigmar in the voice Mel Gibson used to play William Wallace. This is funny because Graham McNeill is Scottish. Therefore, it will likely serve to piss him off to no end.

[[The End Times]] and [[Warhammer: Age of Sigmar|Age of Sigmar]] has Sigmar coming back. He'd ascended to godhood before his death, which also explains why the Warrior Priests hold a special sort of power, not unlike magic. However, Games Workshop finally gave [[Tzeentch]] some love, and had it that he had trapped Sigmar in the Wind of Heavens to prevent him from messing with the Chaos Gods plans. After the Vortex on [[Ulthuan]] is destroyed the Wind, under Sigmar's direction, enters the body of Emperor [[Karl Franz]] after his death. Sigmar, now in Franz's body, adjusts it to look like his old self and goes on a saving-the-good-guys-while-beating-up-the-baddies spree of awesome. After the end of the old Warhammer World, Sigmar survives the Apocalypse, and with the help of Dracothion (Sotek all along?) uses the metal core of the world-that-was as a platform to unify and civilize the realms of a reborn reality, ascending to full godhood in the process. [[Stormcast Eternals|He even gets his own elite warriors of sorts]].

Also, he's a ''far'' better person than the [[Emperor of Mankind]], but that's not exactly difficult to achieve considering the Emperor being an inscrutable big plans in plans to outplan assholes bigger than me guy which makes him a huge dick by default while Sigmar takes the simple approach of see big monster = apply hammer to head.

==Appearance==
Unlike that [[Emperor|black-haired proto-Sumerian]] we have a good idea what Sigmar really looked like without resorting to palanquins created by zealots. Sigmar was a giant, broad muscular manly motherfucker with red hair that was grown too damn long, and some badass armored boots meant for stomping on the skulls of green skins and beastmen. Uniquely, he had mismatched eyes with one green and one blue. He wielded a dwarven warhammer, ''Ghal-Maraz'', which is best-known as the symbol of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] itself. In early editions the symbol was the hammer of the Chaos champion, [[Harald Hammerstorm]].

With Age of Sigmar his hair is a clear tone of brown and he has a long beard, helping to make his parallels to Odin seem more obvious.

==History==
===Early Life===
The Imperial Calendar (IC) which starts from his coronation by the Ar-Ulric (if you need to know, he's the Viking pope and he makes Bjorn the Fell-Handed look like a pussy) commonly places Sigmar's birth as starting from -30 IC. He was said to be born in the Reikland area in the southwest of what would later become the Empire, where the Unberogen tribe dwelt. The night of his birth was marked with the twin-tailed comet, but he found his purchase on life after being cut out of his dying mother's womb by his badass manly motherfucker of a father. In the middle of pitched battle with Orcs I might add. [[Conan the Barbarian|And if that sounds familiar to you, good. You're paying attention.]] Oddly enough, a mighty thunder-clap was also heard in the night sky. Causing various prophets to call Sigmar, "the Child of Thunder". [[Viking|And if that is also familiar to you, good. I shall make an expert of your filthy self yet.]] Oh and when he was born his forehead was anointed with Ork's blood, how about that for a baptism?

In the year -15, when he was fifteen years of age, Sigmar had become a badass, bigger and stronger than his peers and was already a respected warrior ([[Conan the Barbarian|again, just like a certain Cimmerian]]). At this point, Sigmar is recorded to have gained the friendship of the great Dwarfen king Kurgan Ironbeard by saving his stunty ass from a warband of Orcs led by a MASSIVE Black Orc Warboss (for you 40Kers, that's basically Ghazgkhull, but with a fucking axe and a pair of balls). This fight ended with Kurgan throwing the legendary Ghal-Maraz to Sigmar, which he then promptly used to smash the warboss's skull to paste. After the fight, Sigmar attempted to return the hammer, but Kurgan told him to keep it as a reward for saving his life. He also pledged the friendship of the Dwarfen kingdom to the Unberogen tribe for this act of selfless courage. Of course, Sigmar actually only went after Orcs as part of a revenge raid for their prior attack on Reikdorf, Dwarf-saving was nothing but a happy coincidence.

Sigmar's early life would also be punctuated with other grand victories such as the Battle of Astofen Bridge, where he turned back an army of 2000 Orcs. It was also the battle where he earned his shield and became a man. Yes, Sigmar was saving Dwarf Kings and raping Orc Warbosses before early manhood.

===Uniting the Tribes===
<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style:bold;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em"> '''''"I SHED BLOOD OF NORTHERN MEN, I SHED THE BLOOD OF NORTHERN MEN, I SHED THE BLOOD OF NORTHERN MEN, I SHED THE BLOOD OF FOUR THOUSAND NORTHERN MEN!"''''''''</div> -- What Sigmar was likely singing to himself when he massacred the Norse.

Sigmar would later learn the importance of unity from something his dad said. Probably a metaphor centering around wolves. In any event, combined with Alaric the Mad's warnings about "Orcs and things best not spoken of", he was inspired to bring the various disparate tribes of the Reik together. Even going so far as to swear an oath, and dragging his best friends in to it too for fun.

Of course, the [[Warriors of Chaos|Chaos-worshiping Norse tribes]] who came down from the Chaos Wastes decided to rape the south as they usually do. Anyone surprised? What, you? Well fuck you. They're the Norse, [[J.R.R. Tolkien|THEY KILL WHERE THEY WISH AND NONE DARE RESIST]].

Sigmar's father foolishly thought he could resist, and marched north with a massive army 10,000 strong to face the 8000 Northmen. Bjorn came off the experience with a fatal case of axe through the skull. But it was in fact a clever ploy to save Sigmar from dying to the machinations of the Dark Gods who arrayed themselves against him to destroy his dream of a united nation. [[Emperor|And if that sounds similar, it's because it is]]. Haha, disregard that, Sigmar is actually a rip-off of Charlemagne. And predates the Great Throne Vegetable by several years, thus making him the rip-off. Long story short, father and son got together in the spirit world and went on to kick the collective ass of an army of daemons, ending with Bjorn ascending boldly to Ulric's Hall. Despite getting killed fighting the Norse, Bjorn did manage to kill the Khornate Chaos Champion leading the tribes and thus narrowly prevailed in driving the Norse back. This heroic act of defiance against the Norse threat won the Unberogen the eternal friendship of the Cherusen and Taluetan tribes.

Filled with righteous [[Rage|rage]], Sigmar marched north when the wolves of the Norsii raided and slaughtered the Udoses (Iron Age Scottish Highlanders) in the area of what is now Ostland. Sigmar then massacred the Norse, thus valorously avenging the blood-geld of the Udoses in a situation somewhat similar to the Bloody Verdict of Verden, because both he and Charlemagne were basically killing people who didn't join him and didn't believe the same way he did, thus driving them to Norsca where they would nurse an eternal hatred of the south in general and the Empire in particular that makes the hatred [[Chaos Space Marines|Chaos Marines]] have for the Emperor look like a stuttering spark in comparison. Seriously, tribal warfare was nothing out-of-the-ordinary before Sigmar's pussy notions of unity and empires. These offenses against the Norse also serve to solidify Sigmar as an Alfred the Great rip-off, as if building his entire bureaucracy from scratch didn't already.

Concurrent with this, Sigmar also rode hard to Middenheim to fight (lightning strikes when Ghal-Maraz bites, you know) Artur of the Teutogens. It is often said that a man must find the proper balance of pride within himself. Too little, and a man will never accomplish anything in his life. Too much, and he'll do something fucking stupid, like climbing the Fauschlag. Sigmar was of the latter disposition. Sigmar, and his bodyguard Alfgeir, climbed the great mountain that held the city of Middenheim, sneaked into the building housing the flame of Ulric and there challenged Artur of the Teutogens to single combat for rulership of the tribe. Artur then managed to throw Sigmar into the Flame, but Ulric had already chosen him as his Champion so Sigmar simply walked out of it, howled like a wolf (literally) and hammered Artur's skull somewhere into his ribcage. This is commonly accepted as the point where Sigmar united the tribes. Except for the Jutones, but we'll get to them later.

===Battle of Black-Fire Pass===
So, after he brought the tribes under his banner, Sigmar set about aiding the Dwarfs in defeating one of the greatest Orc WAAAGHS! in Imperial history. People far more intelligent than I have already described said battle in various sourcebooks, so I will not attempt to match their words.

Long story short, Sigmar and the tribesmen outmuscled the Orcs and Sigmar killed the Warboss on the top of the matter with a single return-stroke of his hammer. Thus annihilating the Orc threat, helping the Dwarfs, assuring the continuity of the two peoples and proving the rightness of his ideal of Imperial unity.

===The First Emperor===
After his victory, Sigmar was crowned Emperor of the newly formed Empire and ruled his people with wisdom and courage.

Two major threats during his reign was a daemon prince leading a horde of norsii that assaulted the north of the Empire and the great Necromancer [[Nagash]], who was after some of his bling which Sigmar had. Sigmar promptly said 'FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU' to both these threats and gave his hammer some exercise on their heads. And this was with a large skaven army trying to get the upper head by assaulting the worn out Empire forces after Sigmar had defeated the chaos forces. It is reputed Sigmar took one look at the mangy ratmen, rolled his eyes to the sky in disgust and set off to bring about some hammer time.

=== Nagash ===
Before Nagash's invasion, Sigmar went to give the Norseman a taste of their own medicine by raiding their frozen wood shacks at Norsca, only to come back when he could't raid any further north. He later fought the necromancer at the brass keep and got Nagash's crown, the artifact Nagash was looking for in order to regain his power. So yeah, Nagash gathers all his skeleton buddies and his vampire cunts into the heart of the Empire for his crown. During the raid, Nagash killed and resurrected many warriors and generals of the Empire for his wight king and meat shield, and he did it in a pattern that prevented them from reinforcing to Sigmar's force in order to weaken the Imperial army. During this time, Sigmar was finding Nagash's weakness with the help from his trusty advisor, only to find out it is the crown itself. Since Nagash was only thinking about his shining crown, Sigmar pulled a bait and switch by wearing the crown. Not only did he attract Nagash's attention, but he also gained immunity against Nagash's magic. During the confrontation, Sigmar smacked around Nagash's puppets (even his Vampires servants) with his Ghal-Maraz like nothing. Nagash had made several attempts to convince Sigmar into his control by showing him the horrid visions of his future Empire, where his descendants soldiers would go on [[Great Crusade|bloody crusades shouting his name]], carrying "[[gun|dwarven thunder-staff]]" with metal war machines roving among them. Nagash then said that an era ruled by the dead is an era of peace, which Sigmar disagree and pointed out Nagash's bullshit by saying it is an era of stagnation (AKA [[1984|boring dictator shithole]]). When facing Nagash, Sigmar baits the necromancer with his own crown and then gave him a taste of his hammer. [[AWESOME|The hammer, suddenly glows with magic and landed in Nagash's chest that blows him up with the energy from the ancient dwarven rune engraved on the hammer]]. With Nagash gets his ethereal skeleton ass kicked back to the underworld, he cursed the Vampires for betraying him by cursing them with the vulnerability to Sigmar's faith. Funny enough, there was a vampire named Khaled al-Muntasir (Neferata's treacherous sired brat who may or may not be Mannfred) that had threaten to kill Sigmar and take the crown of his fallen master, but Sigmar stared the vampire so hard that he actually felt fear of getting his ass handed to Sigmar that he fled with the rest like a little bitch. Sigmar then gave them a bitch taunt, telling them they are his bitch of all time. The church of Sigmar as well as the witch hunter order were also founded by Wolfgart, Sigmar's best friend soon after to combat the undead for the future generations.

===Abdication===
In the fiftieth year of his reign, Sigmar set aside his crown and left the Empire. He was last seen heading towards the World Edge Mountains, possibly to see the dwarfs although they have said nothing on the matter if their records hold whether Sigmar did pop around for tea. No one saw Sigmar alive again and he passed into legend, a legendary hero to the Empire. The final End Times book reveals that Sigmar was raised to godhood, though Tzeentch trapped him in the great vortex.

===Rise of a God===

While heroes quite rightly are revered, in Sigmar's case it was taken to a whole new level of fan devotion. His legendary deeds inspired others and over time he came to be worshiped as a god by some loonies who should have known better (however with divine intervention in the past with Sigmar may be proof that he did join the Gods of Order who are busting their balls to keep the Dark Gods from killing and corrupting everybody).

But amazingly, their prayers were answered. Those who displayed a belief in Sigmar found he (or at least someone) was answering their prayers and the faith in the new god spread like hotcakes through the Empire.

The Church of Ulric, the current state church at the time, didn't take kindly to this and did it in a way we see in 40k... with the declaration of HERESY and burning everyone at the stake.

After a while this was stopped, probably out of fear of pissing off Sigmar when they realized he was answering prayers and fear of pissing off Ulric for shitting on his favorite champion, and both faiths were given importance in the Empire although the Church of Sigmar came to be the State Church (which shows Ulric was still trolled over).

===The Old World and the End Times===
Sigmar is the main god of the Empire and he works hard to protect his people against the ravages of darkness that threaten to overwhelm them all. This is not an easy task and the poor man gets no annual holiday. He is constantly running around putting out fires started by Chaos or other gods and it seems they won't cut him any slack anytime soon, but fortunately he probably has some back up from his own god he worshipped, the aid from the High Elf Gods (probably part of Asuryaan's plan if it's true); pretty much its a joint effort by all the Gods of Order.

During the End Times, it was revealed that Tzeentch had bound him into the Wind of Heaven shortly after his ascension. Tzeentch feared that Sigmar would grow too powerful and unite the Gods of Men, Elves, Lizardmen, Orcs and Dwarfs into the warhammer avengers. Ironically, [[Not_As_Planned|this plan almost completely backfires in his face]], as Sigmar grows more powerful thanks to being bound to the Wind, and once freed ends up uniting the Incarnates (the new gods) into the anti-Chaos avengers. When Teclis unbound the Vortex, the newly freed Sigmar invested a part of his power into his Chosen Valten (which passed into Ghal-Maraz after Valten's death) and possessed the body of the recently deceased Karl Franz to return to the world, later taking his hammer back to restore himself to his full strength. As the world ends, He and Archaon wrestle over Ghal-Maraz, and they vanish shortly before everything is destroyed.

===[[Age of Sigmar]]===
{{topquote|For in Him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form.|Colossians 2:9}}

Following his wrestling bout, Sigmar reclaimed Ghal-Maraz, but was rendered helpless as he tumbled through the void that used to be the Warhammer World. Eventually, he collided with the metal core of the old world, which apparently has transmuted into the same material as the comet which heralded his birth, Sigmarite. With the aid of the great Star Drake named [[Dracothion]], which may or may not be [[Sotek]], Sigmar restarts reality using the remaining essence of the [[Warhammer Magic|Winds of Magic]] and organized the other Incarnates into a new pantheon with himself as its leader, bringing an age of prosperity to the emerging civilizations of the Mortal Realms. Following the Chaos' invasion, he sealed the entrances into his realm of [[Azyr]], and has only recently opened it back up to launch a long planned counterattack against Chaos with his greatest creation, the demigod warriors known as the [[Stormcast Eternals]].

As an interesting note, Sigmar has been shown to be capable of forgiving people who have wronged him; while this may have not ended well in the case of the likes of [[Nagash]], he and his hosts have been shown to put aside vengeance if there is a chance for someone to get redeemed (they may still turn you into pulp if you try to abuse their trust, so no Horus shenanigans here), or a territory to be rescued from the grip of Chaos: good news for the Mortal Kingdoms and people who were mutated and exposed to Chaos unwillingly.

Also, he doesn't follow the public policies of the Emperor, as Sigmar accepts his title of deity and [[Lorgar|doesn't give the boot to his worshipers]], even while personally he loathes the responsibilities of god-king as he would prefer to rush the enemy and crack some skulls instead of doing all the administrative and logistic job; must be hard to manage an entire reality and a multidimensional counter-invasion. As for his worshipers, Sigmar came from a culture that lived life passionately, so while he doesn't like constraining his worshipers with many rules (though he agrees some are necessary) Sigmar made strict rulings because he know how easily Chaos can corrupt passions; especially when Khorne and/or Slaanesh get involved. He also wishes for a time where he could transcend into the winds of Azyr and abandon the mortal plane, but only, in his own words "after the war is won".

Another cool thing about Sigmar is that he sees people on an individual basis, not just expendable statistics for some risky master plan, Sigmar feels it for YOU and each and everyone of his followers [[Awesome|and unlike Emprah he has never given up on mankind and their allies once things went ugly]] (or at least pretended to do so that he could manipulate others into picking up their slack).

NOTE: Don't mention this to EMPRAH fans. Most are still raging over the portrayal of him in Master of Mankind and stubbornly cling on to their image of him as a well intentioned extremist who was nevertheless a good guy at heart and whom actually gave a shit about his followers, [[Aaron_Dembski-Bowden| GeeDubs don't let the ADB ruin Sigmar's reputation too!]]

With Malign Portents and the Soul Wars there has been more development to Sigmar's character. In the former he discovered through Vandus Hammerhand's visions Nagash was up to something. Instead of rushing to Shysh to call the Skelepope off for this one he decided to use his cosmic powers to give his followers the means to fight back Nagash's plots. How well that went we may yet have to see in full, but that means Sigmar is now capable of long-term planning and giving someone else responsibility upon their destinies instead of just trying to save the day with a hot-blooded charge. In Soul Wars it's revealed Sigmar knew the Stormcast project had design flaws in the reincarnation procedure, but went ahead out of desperation to beat back the force of Chaos. This is a source of self-doubt and consternation for him. Nevertheless, he has taken counter-measures in the form of the Sacrosanct Chamber, again delegating responsibilities to his followers to find a solution as he simply can't deal with everything. He himself recognizes he has made many mistakes - outright saying freeing Nagash might be his biggest - and feels responsible for his own bad decisions instead of blaming others. So, yes here is a Warhammer god ''who can actually recognize mistakes and learn from them for the good of the mortal races''.

Recent events following the Necroquake include the raiding of his Stormvaults. During the Age of Myth he had created essentialy storehouses and prisons to store powerful artefacts and even entities that he didn't want runnng around. Well spoilers, the Necroquake ended up uncovering many of them which led to an armsrace from the various Grand Alliances to claim the contents within. Some issues included the forces of Nurgle claiming some black seeds that grow nighly destructive black trees that they tried to plant throughout Ghyran. And Gordrakk stealing the skull of an ancient godbeast to use as a battering ram to destroy Excelcius. Not great times.

Which was later confounded with Be'lakor unleashing the dark clouds across the realms that can make Stormcast resurrections more difficult.

Still some good news came his way with his frenemy Teclis managing to defeat Nagash and undoing the Necroquake for him (so guess he didn't actually have to get involved) and Allarielle reviving the Oak of Ages past with life now being ascendant again and likely to give Nurgle some trouble. Though this had the unfortunate side-effect of bringing Kragnos back into the realms from his imprisonment and nearly led to the destruction of Excelcis. Not to mention Morathi annexing Anvilgard. Though in the end Excelcius was saved and he has reached atleast an agreement with Morathi (though all parties with a brain knows Sigmar might still do something about her someday) and allowing her to keep the small city. Though this was in no small part to Grungi convincing everyone that Morathi is too useful to exile atleast for the time being.

With the donning of the Era of the Beast and Kragnos return whipping the forces of destruciton into a frenzy Sigmar decided that they could not be so defensive any longer. And in response new Dawnbringer Crusades are being sent out to push back the chaos and destruction hordes and expand new territories in some of the biggest mobilizations of Sigmars armies since the Realmgate Wars. This is further helped along with Grungi's return providing helpful upgrades to Sigmars stormcast. And new artefacts and technologies to help found his new cities. As always Sigmar knows the odds of taking back the realms are stacked against him, but that hasn't stopped him before.

Not bad for some [[Conan the Barbarian|classic barbarian-hero-turned-king-turned-god]] character development.

==In Warhammer 40,000==
In the current official publications of [[Games Workshop]], there is no link between [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] and [[Warhammer 40,000]], but that's never gotten in the way of the fandom, especially considering that at one point, WFB was explicitly part of the 40k universe. A recurring hypothesis is that Sigmar is one of the [[Unknown Primarchs]]. One could posit that the twin-tailed comet which heralded his birth was actually the genetor-pod falling to the Warhammer World, that his mysterious departure was him leaving to take command of his [[Space Marine]] Legion (tentatively called the [[Emperor's Hammers]]), and that the miracles credited to him are in fact the result of the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]]. Recent pieces of background, detailing Sigmar's birth and characteristics, tend to invalidate this theory, however. Thank The Emperor (As In Sigmar, not the other one you [[Imperial Cult|bolter humping zombie worshiper]]).

==Trivia==
* Sigmar is an old Frankish name meaning "famous by victory". Fitting, considering his awesomeness.

<gallery>
Image:EmpsVSigmar.jpg|The question isn't who wins. It's whether the merged Empires managed to maintain their plot armor.
</gallery>

==See Also==
* [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|THE EMPIRE]] for the '''[[Empire|EMPIRE]]''' he founded.
* [[Azyr]], the Realm of Heavens, what he probably hoped his Empire could have become in time, and nowadays the only mortal realm free of Chaos in the setting.
* [[Ulric]] for his <s>[[spiritual liege]]</s> personal god, which according to the founder of the Church of Sigmar, He crowned Sigmar as a God, which came to the founder in a vision.
* The [[Emperor]], for his considerably less <s>competent</s> PLOT ARMORED and manly (but vastly more Gothic-and-bling) Warhammer 40,000 counterpart.
* [[Everqueen]] for his counterpart being in comparison to the 40k's EMPRAH among the [[Elves|elves.]]

{{Empire-Gods}}

{{AoS-Gods}}

Khorne

2023-02-17T19:17:16Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Total War: Warhammer 3 */

[[File:Khorne mark.png|center]]
{{heresy}}
{{awesome}}
[[File:khorne_by_baklaher-d7335e6.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Special K in all his glory, Sitting comfortably on his Skull Throne, being pissed off at everyone and everything, because to him it's all bullshit]]
<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style:bold;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em">{{Topquote|BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!|The creed of Khorne being Overused to Death}}</div>
{{Topquote|Anger, which, far sweeter than trickling drops of honey, rises in the bosom of a man like smoke.|Homer}}
{{Topquote|The important thing in life is not victory but combat: it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well.|Pierre de Coubertin}}
{{Topquote|[[Chaos Gods|They]]'re none of them good, but Khorne's the worst. Battle without honour and oath shouldn't be encouraged.|[[vermintide 2|Bardin Goreksson]]}}
{{Topquote|[[Rip and Tear|Rip....and....TEAR!]]|Doomguy}}

==Introduction==
[[RAGE|'''Khorne''']], also known as '''the Blood God(obviously), Kharnath, Arkhar, Khorgar, [[Viking|Kjorn]], Khar, the Great Brass Bull, the Bloody Handed, the Axefather, the Bloodwolf, The Great Khorneholio, Special K, the [[Ulric|Wolf-Father]], Frowny Face McMurderaxe, Sergeant Slaughter, the Lord of Fighters, the Messiah of Mayhem, Call of Duty: Demon DLC, [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|The Paraplegic Sociopath]], [[If_the_Emperor_had_a_Text-to-Speech_Device|MegaSatan]], Definitely not fucking Khaine, [[Dwarf Fortress|Armok]], Stone Cold Steve Austin, Khornelias Fudge, Kellogg's Khorneflakes, Big Red, Chile Con Khornage, Daddy’s little princess (HEY, FUCK YOU!)''' and 8860 other names is the [[Chaos God]] of war, murder, savagery, hatred (though he is starting to question that one at times thinking it belongs more to [[Slaanesh|his arch enemy]] than it does him), murder, destruction, rage, wrath, murder, battle, barbarism and [[Vance Motherfucking Stubbs|manliness]]...oh and did we mention murder. He is also the mofo that the Klingons worship. As well as this he symbolises courage, athleticism, determination, daring, discipline, sportsmanship, honor, impulsiveness, struggling onward in the face of any odds, and survival of the fittest. But mostly he's simply about being angry.

He is commonly held to be the strongest [[Chaos]] God by default (though this is technically incorrect) and is associated with wolves and powerful hunting dogs, as well as lions and bulls. For another reason that is likely inspired by occultism, Khorne's sacred numbers Four and eight - and thus, his followers tend to organize themselves into groups of fours, eights and their multiples. Fun fact, this also means that the names of Khornate daemons are usually comprised of eight letters...Though exceptions exist. (The Chinese, Vietnamese, and Koreans value the number 8 due to its similarity with the Chinese character for prosperity does that make them Khornate worshippers?)
[[File:SkullThrone.jpg|400px|right|thumb|The Big K in all his glory contemplating on whose rectum he is going to shove his chainaxe into with extreme prejudice.(Spoiler: its everyone)]]
Khorne, by virtue of being the most prominent Chaos God, is also the second most powerful general "deity" in both iterations of Warhammer ([[Nurgle]] has him beat but only because of the fact that everything eventually comes to him) In both versions of Warhammer, his followers are characterized by an overbearing need to spill blood and engage in honest battle, as well as a violent code of martial honour and a "survival of the fittest" approach to morality. They tend to be dutiful, as well, but said duties involve whacking their axes into their enemy and painting their blood all over villages gargling their blood as mouthwash (if only because Khorne's only real command is to spill worthy blood in his name).

This is where Khorne and Slaanesh generally clash directly and openly as enemy gods, aside from the fact that everyone in the warp hates Slaanesh. While Khorne instills discipline, honor and a sense of selfless duty in his followers to obey a single purpose (usually spill blood in his name), Slaanesh is the polar opposite. Slaanesh instead tells his/her followers to do <strike>whoever</strike> whatever they want in their own selfish pursuit of pleasure, caring not for the consequences of their actions (e.g; using your authority to hoard food from your starving citizens, so you can indulge in bottomless gluttony every day).

This is also why Khorne is at odds with Tzeentch: Tzeentch sees things like honor and discipline as unnecessary hamstrings towards one's advancement and opts that everything is on the table when one wishes to further their position (why duel your Lord for his position when you could arrange for an "accident" to befall him, instead? Sure its a low-blow, but if your lord was too stupid to see that car bomb coming, was he really deserving of loyalty?). The same can be said of his disdain for sorcery. Tzeentch thinks that mortals using the power of the gods themselves is fair game in their pursuit of progress (so long as you can control it), while Khorne thinks that using anything else but your own strength alone means you are weak and his "survival of the fittest" ideal has no place for you.
That being said they have some points they agree on. for example using the power of the gods to augment your abilities (i.e. Cloaking your weapons in Warp-fire or Warp-Lightning), can be interpreted as simply using your power to control the power of the gods for your benefit. They also think it looks awesome, And Khorne is perfectly fine with using underhanded methods to deal with someone who is not worth your time (i.e. A “governor” of Jopall), which Tzeentch finds interesting.

Khorne also has the distinction of being the only Chaos God (or any god for that matter) whose word you can take at face value. The other gods don't realize that disdain for scheming and backstabbing isn't the same as being stupid. Nor do they realize that over-complicating things is actually the worst thing a planner can do. The more unnecessary variables to a plan, the easier it is for something to break. ([[Just as Planned|that said Tzeentchian plans have divination included into them, eliminating most tactical miscalculations]], [[Not as Planned|unless Tzeentch wanted it to happen.]]). So - you actually want results? Be practical. Involve only as many steps as you need. Beat someone until they're reduced to a bloody smear on the ground - no step 2 required.

Basically, Khorne isn't a stupid brute, he's actually pretty smart. The god of battles knows a thing or two about tactics and warfare. That said, Khorne's doctrine is inflexible. One, straightforward approach to anything. Simply put: Break everything in half. Which means that it all rides on an "all-or-nothing" deal. If his battering ram approach doesn't work there's little to be done to salvage the situation beyond everyone dying a glorious death. Usually this isn't the case for most battles, the Khornates' overwhelming need to quench their bloodlust gets in the way of reorganization. Of course, if things go according to plan, there are only few things that can stop the demonically-possessed no brakes hate train.

If Khorne had a voice actor it would have been BRIAN BLESSED but BRIAN chose Gotrek instead, the rejection sending Khorne's rage to new heights (unsubstantiated rumors say Khorne's considered sending Skulltaker and Karnak after BRIAN BLESSED, but Khorne realized all he'll get from that is two dead daemons with burst eardrums).

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ZqFlw6hYg Here is his theme song.]

===Appearance===
Khorne is described as resembling a giant, iron-hewed warrior clad in red armour, with a massive sword and a winged helm that conceals a snarling face like that of a wolf. This humanoid form could be seen as something darkly meaningful, were it not for the fact that more or less everyone in both settings is conveniently human-shaped.
[[File:Khorne First.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The first depiction of Khorne in Warhammer art.]]
Of course, most artists at GW forget that he's supposed to look a giant Chaos Warrior and instead make him look like an overgrown Bloodthirster on a chair.

===Khorne and His Worship===
Khorne is the easiest god ever to worship. Where [[Tzeentch|other]], [[Slaanesh|more]] [[Nurgle|pussified]] gods may demand you to memorize overly long prayers and hymns, or to build huge houses of worship and other such unmanly bullshit, Khorne is venerated with one thing and one thing only: the time-honoured tradition of [[rip and tear|hack'n'slash]].

Khorne is worshipped on the battlefield. His hymns are the sound of steel on steel, his sacraments are the blows of hammer and axe, his only prayer the bellowing of the warcry "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" and his libation is the blood spilled in his name.

In essence, you worship Khorne by being a good warrior. And as a warrior, you'll find your interests and his tend to generally align; he wants death but isn't picky on who, and you want to live to fight another day. Thus, the mere act of preserving your life will earn the pleasure of the god of battle. In a setting where there is no peace, only war, Khorne is always going to be massively powerful. Further, most of the armies embody one of his aspects - [[Space Marine|Powerful]] and [[Necron|fearless]] warriors are the [[Chaos|chosen]] of Khorne, but he favors those who use [[Ork|brute force assaults]] carried out with [[Tyranid|singular purpose and no remorse]] just as well. [[Just As Planned|Khorne wins in fights his forces weren't even involved in]].

However, Khorne is one of those honourable war-gods. So don't think that beating your enemies by anything other than sheer strength, skill and aggression will make him happy. And for the love of Sigmar/Emprah, don't try to cheat by picking fights with the weak or helpless or by giving him baby skulls. Khorne expects a form of savage, viking-esque dignity from his followers and for them to be generally [[Fist of the North Star|manly]], this means you have to fight worthy opponents and those generally able to at least hold up a sword. ''Only after'' the worthwhile enemies are out of the way; then you can gorge yourself on the blood of women and children all you want (or make them fight amongst themselves and recruit the survivors, or enslave them, or whatever). Most of the writers forget this, thinking that Khorne really gives no fucks about what you kill, and it makes Khorne [[Rage|snarl in anger]]. Though he continues to send his flesh-hounds to hunt down those who flee and abandon their brothers on the battlefield, be they Chaos or non-Chaos.

Aside from that and (obviously) never backing down from a fight, Khorne has no commandments whatsoever. But deviating from the aforementioned in the slightest is begging for the flesh-hounds to tear your ass apart.

Such as it is, it would be incorrect to think Khorne doesn't have priests dedicated to him. Though, being a warrior god, these priests tend to be warriors themselves and are often marked by their god. In essence, the only difference between them and a Chaos marauder/Space Marine is several pounds of armour. In Warhammer Fantasy, these priests are called 'Bloodfathers', and in lieu of magic that is gifted to their priests by other gods, Khorne just gives [[AWESOME|HOLYSHITAWESOME]] fighting skills and visions of bloodshed. In [[Age of Sigmar]], they're called Slaughterpriests and they basically lead by example, killing while screaming out Khorne's name. If the killing is good enough, Khorne will empower the priest and/or his allies; but if the killing is unworthy, the priest himself will feel Khorne's wrath.

Khorne is also venerated by working brass into your armour and weapons and donning fashionable high collars. Occasionally, a warrior so pleases Khorne that he gifts him with specially made ones that in addition to looking fabulous can also grant total fucking immunity to magic. After all, who needs spellcasting when you can make a motherfucker's spine disappear - with your bare hands no less?

Anyway, Khorne is worshiped by warriors, generals and basically anyone who likes battle. His chosen Space Marines legion is of course the World Eaters, in Warhammer Fantasy, the Norscans tend to venerate him with the greatest piety, especially the Aesling tribe, who are Khorne's most devoted servants in Fantasy.

===Khorne's take on magic===
As posted some time ago by an Anon who managed to perfectly sum up what Khorne's opinion on magic is: FUCK WIZARDS!!!!

While that's a pretty accurate summation, there's also some nuance to it that is not at all helped by GW's habit of changing things every new edition or keeping shit consistent between writers. With that in mind, let's get into the details of what the "FUCK WIZARDS" thing means.

The hate of psykers/wizards/etc is pretty much the exact same and works by the same logic for both Khornates and the Adepta Sororitas/Black Templars/etc: it's a [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan-esque]] swords and sorcery thing. Khornates hate wizards for [[3e|trivializing encounters with a single spell and overshadowing fighters]] and turning what should be a clash of might or a military endeavor into a weird wizard show where people turn into frogs and beguile their opponents into killing one another. They hate Slaaneshi for the same reason, due to how they often take what should be a wholesome murderfest and make it into something creepy and weird, what with them "discomporting themselves with the dead" and all that. In Realms of Chaos, its entirely possible for a librarian or wizard to go to Khorne; they just refrain from using their psi/magic powers for anything else but resisting spells in combat from that point onward.

Khorne and his followers are okay with laser beams. They are okay with sniper rifles ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygHaGY85e-U| as long both you and your opponent have them]). They are okay with flaming swords. They are okay with running people over with tanks. They are okay with blitzkriegs. They are okay with chemical gas. <s>They are okay with holocausts</s> <s>we do '''not''' target civilians, or discriminate...that often</s> bullshit just look at Armageddon. They are okay with exterminatus. They are okay with good tactics. They are okay with berserker charges. They are okay with honorable duels at dawn.

They are ''not'' okay with turning people to frogs, mind control, raining glitterdust from the skies to blind everyone, raising armies of zombies to do the killing for you, and so forth. They are not okay with someone pointing a finger and their opponent dropping dead (but if you point a finger and they explode in a messy cloud tho then that's cool). And they are most definitely not okay with someone who got their power solely by bargaining with daemons instead of earning it themselves. (While it's quite possible to get power via daemonic bargains and not earn Khorne's ire, that requires you to have already become a powerful fighter or be willing to risk death and inflict grievous bodily harm on others, i.e. ''earning'' it.)

They are okay with daemonic summoning rituals because Khorne's daemons are all about the hack-and-slash ultraviolence. They are okay with using psychic abilities or daemonic aid to navigate the warp because that means they don't end up crashing into suns or getting whisked to some distant corner of the universe where there's nothing worthwhile to kill. They are okay with sending and receiving astropathic messages because they recognize the value of relatively fast interstellar communication. They are okay with chaining wizards up and forcing them to eternally forge magic items on pain of death because that lets the fighters kill things more easily.

One may consider it hypocritical that Khornates are okay with blatantly unfair TECHNOLOGICAL murder, but not okay with blatantly unfair MIND/MAGICAL murder. The point, or at least one interpretation, is that wizards/psykers fucking cheat. They do. They steal the power of the Warp for their own ends. As long as they stay in line, and do nothing but permit the warrior to enact his craft as he so wills, fine, let them live (albeit in terror and likely enslaved by chains of brass) until the day they are no longer useful, at which point their skulls can join Khorne's throne.

But stealing the Gods' own fire and using it to do what mortals should do through their own skill and strength is unacceptable. Remember that technology is completely valid to Khorne. Stealth is completely valid to Khorne. Skill is completely valid to Khorne. Cleverness is completely valid to Khorne. The nuclear bomb and other innovations that come after it could be seen to be unfair. But it is a mortal invention. Mortals should give honor to Khorne by murdering each other through the sweat of their brow. Granted the lines got pretty blurry when AoS introduced the [[Slaughterpriest]].

The scientist who devises new ways to kill is a saint. His work can be put to any other use -- [[Slaanesh|enriching human life]], [[Nurgle|ending hunger, fighting diseases]], [[Tzeentch|answering great questions]]. But the scientist who devises new bombs and weapons is, in his own way, a champion of Khorne. He takes his limitless human potential and nobly limits himself to new ways to kill. Whether you kill with a sword or a bomb, you are killing using good old fashioned mortal strength and genius. You aren't stealing warp energy from the gods in the form of a fireball and cravenly calling it your own.

The forger of enchanted weapons is an exception and an ideal symbol. It is fitting that spell energy is subjugated to and entombed within cold steel, just as cowards deserve to be subjugated to warriors until they lie cold and headless in the ground or else burnt to ash. The magic weapon is a symbol of might's superiority to magic-- or in the case of actual daemon princes, the unity of both.

The jury is still out on how okay Khorne is with magically imbued people who didn't get their power from him, but [[Tzeentch|given]] [[Nurgle|the]] [[Slaanesh|other]] [[God-Emperor_of_Mankind|possible]] [[Sigmar|benefactors]], he's probably not the biggest fan.

Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! When the Galaxy burns, we will define righteousness!

tl;dr Magic is unmanly, grab a sword (or a 16-inch battleship cannon, if that's your thing) and go kill like a real man already.

===Khorne and other Chaos gods===
As a rule, Khorne despises [[Slaanesh]] because they're an effeminate milk-sop who can't grow a beard or swing an axe like they've got a pair (even though Slaanesh probably has the biggest pair, but less on that), and also because he personifies acting outwardly (ie: seeking the deaths of others), while Slaanesh acts inwardly (ie: seeking their own pleasure). Khorne also finds Slaanesh's obsession with luxury and torture wasteful and dishonorable. Slaanesh is about living it up while Khorne is about tearing it the fuck down. Not to mention its apparent belief that those who wrong you are meant to suffer for it, which Khorne surprisingly doesn't agree with. One of the few Slaaneshi things Khorne ''doesn't'' have a problem with is the desire for perfection in battle; spending year after year training to master an aspect of combat, constantly pushing your limits and never being satisfied until you get it ''just right'' is a perfectly acceptable way to live, so long as you remember to shed blood and take skulls.

Khorne also hates [[Tzeentch]] - though they are not fundamental rivals - because his reliance on magic is seen as a sign of weakness and his desire not to face his foes in person is decried by Khorne as cowardly. Khorne sees his penchant for deceit and trickery as dishonorable. Also, Khorne prefers muscles over books (plus Tzeentch is a huge NEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD). Tactics and stratagems are all well and good because that's how armies win and seemingly-doomed warriors eke out a victory against seemingly-impossible odds.

Khorne thinks he hates [[Nurgle]] also, because while the ability to endure immense pain is good - great, even! - and calmly acknowledging defeat is just as acceptable as trying to kill your opponent with the last dregs of strength your dying body has left, the fat fuck doesn't even try to get shit done. Thus, his embodiment as sloth runs contrary to the active, vital aspect of Khorne, but he's all for death if its by homicide or genocide.

There's also [[Solkan]], the not-Chaos Chaos God of Law and a rival of Khorne, being the only Chaos god that can match him in sheer RAAAAEG. Khorne likes to sit back and have a chuckle at Solkan's outbursts, if only because the last time he actually tried to move in on Solkan's turf he lost that fight. Not even the Blood God can top the sexually frustrated wrath of a guy looking for his [[Arianka|sisterwife]].

Of all the Chaos gods, Khorne actually hates [[Malal]] the least. For one thing, he respects the lost god for sticking to his guns: he hates the other gods, wants them dead and is actively working towards that goal. Since Nurgle just sits there being a scabby procrastinator, Tzeentch just has to have his fingers in everyone's business and Slaanesh is fucking Slaanesh (really, they are), this is something Khorne can sympathize with. Also, Malal is one of the only chaos gods to put up a halfway decent fight when Khorne manages to find him, which would mean that they would be best buds if Malal wasn't a self-destructive, omnicidal lunatic.

In short, he has problems with almost everyone and pissed at almost everyone, including you even if you worship him (usually it's a matter of how pissed he is at you). And they hate him too, except for Nurgle, who's too nice to hate anyone. If you earn his respect however, he will give you it (he has high standards though, meeting them is quite hard.)

===Khorne and non-Chaotic Gods===
Well, [[Ulric]] is his little brother and they tend to get along rather well. Ulric's still ridiculing Khorne over the fact that one of his greatest champions, Haargroth, got his head smashed in by Ulric's Ar-Ulric, Khorne usually replies by pointing out that ''Storm of Chaos'' isn't canon anymore. Not that it stops Ulric. Khorne and Ulric often get into arguments over which one of them is moar Viking; with Khorne usually winning by pointing out that his top worshipers actually are Vikings and that he has a Valkyrie. They also settle this with arm wrestling and drinking contests. There's a lot of belligerence, but you can sense the brotherly love underneath. Indeed, it's kind of a [[Fist of the North Star|Raoh/Ken relationship]].

Despite both being war-gods, Khorne has a poor relationship with [[Myrmidia]]. Khorne, despite being a master of tactics and sieges and the finer points of warfare, vastly prefers a manly head-on charge, and Myrmidia's sissy "planning" approach to warfare therefore offends Khorne. Most meetings between the Blood God and the Maiden of Strategy end with the Blood God fuming impotently because his strict code of martial honour does not permit him to hit girls (or pull their hair) and retreating to his tree house.

Khorne is the only Chaos God who tolerates Sigmar because he thinks he's pretty bad-ass AND respects the idea of a mortal man becoming a god. That and Sigmar's comic book series, Sigmar the Emprahrian, has great splashpages of fights and no SWORDSWORDSWORDS. However, this tolerance is only one-sided, and while Khorne respects him, it doesn't mean he won't try to put an axe in his head for being a sworn enemy of Chaos.

When asked about the [[Emperor]], Khorne usually responds with a streaming torrent of bloody curses and oaths which causes a bloody froth to start leaking from his helmet. In short, he is remarkably indifferent to the old man. Ironically, they share many of the same beliefs: They both disliked psykers, they both have a kick ass thrones, and they both have units dedicated to close combat. Hell, even the Emprah's head is a skull. What's not to like...oh maybe the fact that he's a COMPLETE FUCKING HYPOCRITE!

Khorne is utterly sick and tired of anyone who dares associate him with [[Khaine|40Khaine]]. Before eviscerating anyone who makes that connection, he will often give a short PowerPoint presentation, explaining how Khaine is an honourless god of murder and sadism while he himself is a god of honourable and forthright battle and courage, and how sadism is contrary to his code (Khorne indeed used to be about honorable combat, but now he's just about mindless violence and hating everyone for either piss-poor reasons or for no reason at all. Goddammit, GW). Khorne then reiterates that Khaine's elfishness and love for scantily clad women is sickening and makes him more like Slaanesh and trashes the elf god in a brutal punching bag sorta way like the prince of pleasure... Of course, this is just a front on Khorne's part. Khaine's love of war combined with his elfness and that his most ardent worshippers are scantily-clad women proves Khaine to be the secret love-child of Khorne and Slaanesh (tsundere confir- *sounds of violent, painful evisceration* '''{{Blam|WHO DARES? IN MY OWN PAGE, OF ALL THINGS? FUCK YOUUUUUUUU}}''' '''''[[Slaanesh|Search your feelings you know it to be true]]. Actually, if you consider Ka'Bandha is tsundere for the Blood Angels and Angron was for Horus to the point during the Siege of Terra he made him feel ashamed for implying he didn't trust him AND the natural state of tsunderes is raging, insulting and violent, well...

That being said, Khaine does have a dual nature in Fantasy thanks to being worshiped by [[Dark Elves]] and paid respect to by [[High Elves]], where one side is indeed honorable and just wants to keep fighting and being badass which means Khorne can tolerate him approximately half the time. The fact that both are patrons of [[Blood Bowl]] teams is usually the common ground, with Khaine and Khorne crashing/trashing some other God's house to watch on game nights while downing can after can of Bloodweisers and shoveling Dwarf Rinds in their faces. Khaine periodically tries to invade the realm of Khorne whenever the Khornate team beats the Dark Elf team, with such meetings ending with Kaine being khorne punching bag and letting his servants brutally take their anger on the incapacitated god and his elven servants. When Khaine's team beats Khorne's, Khorne takes out his aggression by beating the fuck out of Slaanesh (no homo) while Dark Elves go on safari hunting [[Warriors of Chaos|Khorne's worshipers]].

Khorne has absolutely no patience for the [[Horned Rat]], who is a favorite of Nurgle and Tzeentch respectively. It's a weak vermin whose very existence pisses him off. As a result, Khorne is much more fond of [[Sotek]] who encourages killing the fuck out of [[Skaven]] whenever they appear, and is also a fan of blood sacrifice (the fact that Sotek wants hearts and cares nothing for skulls is reassuring since they don't intrude on each other's fetish); this fondness is entirely one-sided.

Like the other Chaos Gods, Khorne has no fucking clue what the Great Maw is. However, it doesn't seem to complain when [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] worship Khorne, so he's got nothing against him...her...it...schclim...whatever, the big god-thing that wants to eat.

The pantheon of the [[Tomb Kings]] mostly stick to themselves, so Khorne only knows they exist..

Khorne is impressed with the [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] race by the fact they're the epitome of honor and glorious valor. On the other hand, their entire race has been tricked by a single fucking Elf Goddess into doing their every command which fills Khorne with incomprehensible fury. As it stands, the first being that's going to get the axe when Khorne manages to get an avatar to manifest in the material plane is Lileath.

[[Mork]] and [[Gork]]/Gork and Mork are Khorne's old drinking buddies. They piss him off more than any other beings in existence, but after a good 3-way beatdown and a few billion cases of squig beer he realizes they're alright company.

Khorne has a feeling that he'd get along with the gods of the [[Dwarfs]], but even their introductions (being long ass winded descriptions of their primary worshipers and their lineages) irritate him so much he can't even get into a conversation with them. One of them is STILL giving his own introduction, and has been for about 20,000 years or so now (and he hasn't even reached the changes that have happened since he started). Unable to make him aware of what's going on around him, Khorne simply moved him into the guest room and bricked it off with a wall of skulls.

As for the [[Tyranid|Bugs?]] Khorne hates them '''''Especially''''' due to them not having real blood, just vile alien ichor.
==The Philosophy of Khorne==

Unlike the other Gods of Chaos which prey on more complex moral intuitions and lines of logic, Khorne's philosophy is fairly straight forward. It is simply the philosophy of a warrior who seeks honor and glory, and to reach higher highs and find purpose in the seemingly senseless adrenaline rush of contempt, hatred, fury, rage, and relentlessness that war brings out in a man. It's the primal "might makes right" that underpins all societies and the dynamics of power and force that keep them in line.

Any good khornate is very aware of power and force and seeks to challenge these false hierarchies that have been constructed in favor of the most primal and true one. One that is not only fair and meritocratic, but which seeks to rip the false pretenses out of society and boil man down to the core of what he is: a mindless animal that must fight to survive against overwhelming odds.

Khorne is not like the other gods in that he is not one who is seeking to actively deceive. He only wishes to make society fair-make the world fair-through the most primal and instinctual way all beings most operate.

Unlike what is commonly thought, the mindless berserkers are not necessarily the most favored of Khorne's servants. It is instead those who are able to use their strength and cunning to control their rage and power to unleash it at the perfect moment to maximize the carnage and establish themselves as a victor. The rage he feeds into you, and the constant pain of not killing only seeks to make you stronger, a challenge you must overcome to make yourself better than you and more effective at becoming the best.

Or at least, so a Khornate would claim.
==His portrayal in Warhammer Fantasy==
He's a half-way mythologically accurate version of [[Viking|Odin]], whose very name means Fury (and one translation means 'frenzy'). You could also make the case that Khorne is Thor minus any protective instincts towards humanity, as both are whirling vortices of blood and spit who are associated with the colour red and its connotation of anger.

No, that's it. Get the fuck out; he's an axe-crazy, psychopathic, evil-as-balls daemonic version of Odin - so basically the Norse god of wisdom, with wisdom actually treated the way Vikings would have recognized. Currently there's a bit of a debate about how much of Odin he represents (see discussion page) so this bit will list the similarities and some of the differences.

Well, for one thing, Chaos worshippers in Warhammer Fantasy actually are Vikings. Read about them [[Warriors of Chaos|here]]. Secondly, Khorne is closely associated with wolves in that setting (one of Odin's names literally translates to 'Battle Wolf'), and even has a wolf-like pet in [[Karanak]], thus, fulfilling a role similar to Freki and Geri, or more closely, Garmr (having three heads, Karnak also parallels Cerberus from Greek Mythology). Also, it's revealed in Knight of the Realm that Khorne owns two hunting wolves/giant fleshhounds called Garmr and Gormr, with whom he partakes in a wild hunt across the heavens.

Another point of similarity is that both Odin and Khorne are war gods explicitly connected with berserker rage. They have their own warrior-cults associated with them who fight with said rage and Odin's Olfhednar are practically the same as Khorne's Chosen in both form and function.

Additionally, thanks to Valkia, Khorne also has a Valkyrie to further the similarity between him and Odin. This was inevitable, of course, given that the Warriors of Chaos are indeed an evil version of the Vikings as has already been stated. It should also be noted that Valkia's similarity to the Valkyries is not a superficial one. She is actually referred to as 'the Sword-Maiden of the Blood God' in the WoC codex, and is Khorne's Chooser of the Slain who carries those worthy champions and warriors of his to fight on in the Blood God's halls after death.

Finally, we got a glimpse of his neck of the Realm of Chaos in the Valkia novel written by Sarah Cock-well. It was basically Chaos Valhalla, and here's some of his quotes:

"A cleaved head no longer plots." "A head stuck on a pike no longer conspires." "Put to the sword they who disagree."

Now for the differences, aside from the obvious physical ones Odin also scries, it's woman's magic taught to him by Frigg and Freya. He's got the rage, yeah, but he's also all about fate and averting ragnarok, (directly opposed to Khorne's goals) even if he knows he can't stop it since fate works that way; in that regard Khorne is more like Surtr from Norse Mythology (the fiery giant who wages war and brings flames that would consume the Earth - the instigator of Ragnarok). We see this in the Havamal, Grimnismal, the Voluspa, and the Lokasenna. Hell, in Lokasenna, we learn he cross dresses, ie was tied into shamanic practices (Indo-Europeans have a thing for seers in drag). He can also get to Tzeentch levels with his planning and Odin's perfectly fine with Runic magic, whereas Khorne hates that shit.

==Champions Of Khorne==
===In 40K===

* [[Kharn the Betrayer]]: Embodiment of Crazy Awesome and Patron Saint of fun guys everywhere. Kharn is Khorne's greatest mortal champion in 40K and has a wholly deserved reputation as a team-killing nutso. Once upon a time, Kharn was a straight-laced, meticulous Assault Captain of the World Eaters 8th company. [[Horus Heresy|After a certain chain of events]] he dedicated himself wholly to Khorne, thus becoming one of the most fucking lethal warriors in the galaxy as well as probably the most religiously devoted of Khorne's servants. Also notable for shattering two entire Space Marine legions by himself with a flamethrower in a single night. Despite this, since his first appearance (where he was no different from other Berzerkers) he became more and more coolheaded when not in combat (and even then there are moments when he is coolheaded in combat). He's become a swell guy because of this.

* [[Angron]]: '''HE! GETS! SHIT! DONE!!!''''. Khorne's foremost Daemon Prince alongside Doombreed. PERIOD.

* [[Doombreed]]: Khorne's greatest Daemon Prince ever and possibly either Genghis Khan or Turgeis the Devil IRL (probably Genghis Khan, Turgeis the Devil's infamy mostly came from cowardly tactics - he attacked churches because non-combatants like clergymen and monks didn't put up the best fights and to steal all the holy relics and decoration made from precious metals). Notable for launching an actually successful Dark Crusade that wiped out two Space Marine chapters. Which is more than a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure has pulled off]].

* [[Svane Vulfbad]]: EVEN IN 40K KHORNE'S CHOSEN ARE VIKINGS. Svane Vulfbad was a motherfucking badass [[Awesome|Chaos Terminator Space Wolf Chaos Lord]] who grew tired of the Imperium's sickening effeminate inability to GET SHIT DONE and the Space Wolves' sickening fur-fetishes and instead decided to dedicated himself to a god worthy of his kickassery. He thus became a badass Chaos Lord dedicated to Khorne (because a berserker god of war who likes axes meshes well with Vikings) and was killed, anticlimactically, by a thunderbolt while fighting Harald Deathwolf.

* [[Crull]]: A Chaos Lord from Winter Assault notable only for making idiotic statements, and utilizing Sorcerers in his warband when there's some possessing to be done. Also has a weird way of saying "drown".

* [[Azariah Kyras]]: A Librarian who somehow became a Champion of Khorne and who ascended to daemonhood. Presumably, his [[Awesome|speaking skills were great enough that the Blood God was able to give him slight leeway in regards to the 'no Psyker rule']], likely because he was a philosopher of carrion and slaughter, showing Khorne's way as freedom, freedom in meaningless, in mindlessness, which he accuses the functionings of the universe of. Khorne loves that stuff, existentialism for skulls, especially when it's an arch-traitor responsible for the deaths of billions, then declaring openly his allegience of Chaos to his fellow Mehreens as he is about to ascend as one of the most powerful daemon princes ever. A psyker who uses psykic powers to bring about good old kinetic Exterminatus, their reputation to raise covert cults of slaughter, discover their lust for combat and seek to encompass it, and ultimatedly be the poster child of Khornist Existentialism is too good of a chance for Khorne to pass up, who either wins against the galaxy or gets to devour Kyras' soul in a good long bloodbashing and probably still make a good Greater Daemon of Khorne out of him, probably the one and only Chaos tactical genius who could actually lead a Black Crusade properly. That's another reason Khorne likes him. Kyras' no funny business style of simply tearing a sector apart however possible tends to draw other Chaos God devotees under the wing of a Khornate champion. Here is the speech of doom that he gives the player's army (before the last level of the game ) or per canon, the Blood Ravens following Captain Diomedes before the climax:

"Faithful... enlightened... ambitious... brethren.

In but a single decade, a few mere swipes of the pendulum, we have gathered a sacrifice to Khorne that will be made legend.Though it was a simpler, weaker voice that illuminated me during my centuries upon the Judgement of Carrion... it was Khorne's messenger that showed me the true path of freedom from our pathetic corpse-Emperor.

And what is this path? This meaning, this purpose to which we gather the skulls of our foes? It is nothing. There is no meaning, no purpose. We murder. We kill. It is mindless savagery, this UNIVERSE IS MINDLESS!

In mere hours, billions will die. Innocent! Guilty! Strong and weak! Honest and deceitful! ALL of them! They will scream, they will burn, and for no purpose but that mighty Khorne may revel in their bloodshed! And united in this void of purpose, fear, or duty... we shall at long last be free!

BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!! SKULLS! FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!! LET... THE GALAXY... BUUUURRRRNNN!!!"

Also notable as the single longest-to-fucking-kill-boss in the history of the Dawn of War series other than [[Ulkair]]. (Not that we haven't found ways to cheese him in under five minutes, namely Tyranids spamming warriors with venom upgrades alongside Hive Lord with his anti-daemon gun) Still, pure undiluted awesome.

===In Fantasy===
'''VIKINGS!!!''' '''VIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGSSSSSSSS!!!'''

* [[Valkia the Bloody]]: A pissed off badass Valkyrie who chooses who will fight on in the Halls of the Blood God after they die in glorious battle. She managed to kill a motherfucking DAEMON PRINCE as a lowly, un-Marked, un-augmented human in SINGLE COMBAT to earn Khorne's favour, CUT ITS FUCKING HEAD OFF, AND THEN CARRIED IT BACK TO THE NORTH TO PLACE AT THE FOOT OF THE SKULL THRONE. And then she died on the way. But Khorne was so impressed by this badassery/pissed off by her death, he resurrected her as a fucking Daemon Princess. Now she flies around the battlefields of the world slaughtering anything that looks at her funny and bearing Norsemen to the Khorne's place for a glorious afterlife of fighting and drinking. She is also far more attractive than anything of Slaanesh's menagerie, much to the Prince of Pleasure's eternal rage and the Bloodfather's great amusement, primarily due to having hair.

* [[Garmr Hrodvitnir]] aka Billy Squigins: A Chaos Lord of Khorne who managed to almost kill Gotrek Fucking Gurnisson in a fight. 'Nuff said.

* [[Hrothgar Daemonaxe]]: A Chaos Lord who only had his rules and miniatures released at a Games Day. He had the statline of a Bloodthirster. His miniature also depicts him throttling an elf, which makes him a good person.

* [[Arbaal the Undefeated]]: Nicknamed 'Arbaal the Easily Defeatable' due to his rules from Champions of Chaos having been shockingly awful. Arbaal's been effectively retcon'd out of existence under the excuse that he's journeyed into the Realm of Chaos to challenge Khorne himself to a fight. <s>Good luck with that.</s> It went about as well as you expected.

* [[Scyla Anfingrimm]]: The greatest [[Chaos Spawn|You-Know-What]] ever to walk the earth. Scyla was a Chaos Lord of Khorne who got one too many mutations before his time and devolved into a YKW. But he's the most badass YKW ever, and is a leadership 10 general. Which is impressive considering the only thing he can say is "'''KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE!'''".

* Chaos Lord [[Varmisgal]]: A Chaos Lord whose blood has turned to liquid bronze. He is responsible for the stalking brass bull of Nuln and the great raid into the Misty Mountains... it is also alleged he ate his own penis.

* [[Valmir Aesling]]: A Norscan king and Champion of Khorne who destroyed the Norse Dwarf Hold of Kraka Drak. Managed to get a fucking Daemon Prince to work for him, slaughtered a metric fuck-ton of Norse Dwarfs (roughly 8 times the manliness of a regular Dwarf and thus worth 24 Space Wolves). [[Awesome|Also rode a motherfucking chariot pulled by skinless bears]].

* [[Egil Styrbjorn]]: A Norscan High Yarl of the Skaeligs and probably the greatest epitome of manliness a Chaos Warrior devoted to Khorne can achieve. He slew a lot and took names, kicked Bretonnian arses, sexed many women(all which said was impotent and didnt really find pleasure in, poor guy) yet never got a proper heir (only daughters). It was so bad for him that he adopted a boy that became later his personal shamanistic seer and advisor...that is until he banged a Kurgan Sorceress that was prophesied by said shaman to bear Egil's son, yet the damned cheese eating surrender monkeys took her and his unborn son away, which he answered them with apocalyptic RAAAAAGE and titanic slaughter (then again, said Sorceress wanted to sacrifice the unborn child for immortality, and she was actually possessing a Bretonnian noblewoman when doing deed with Egil so Egil's son was in that Bretonnian's womb and the Bretonnian Knights were rescuing her). And thus there was an epic campaign to retrieve the boy. Wields two badass flaming axes called Garmr and Gormr. Really dislikes the Lady of the Lake and other Southerner gods. So manly he is that he let a Grail Knight stab him only to throw back his sword to him. Also known for embodying Khorne's tactical take on war, which he mercilessly used against the Bretonnian Knights that stubbornly charged his warriors head on (until said knights realized that they were duped and slaughtered in seconds).

* [[Skarr Bloodwrath]]: Deranged respawning berserker with axes that double as flails. Joined [[Archaon]]'s posse during [[The End Times]] as one of the many Khornate forces that helped hasten the end of the world.
[[File:Khorne TWW3.png|400px|thumb|right|Khorne as he appears during survival battles in Total War: Warhammer 3]]
===Total War: Warhammer 3===
In the game you must collect the souls of 4 daemon princes, one from each Chaos god, in order to fight Be'lakor and get to Ursun. Khorne's realm is to some extent the easiest; in order to fight the daemon prince, you must fill up a bar that hangs over your army by fighting various AI armies. To summarize it, it is the ultimate monster mash: name a monster from any faction and it's there. Treekin? Yes. Squigs? Yes. Chaos Sp-- those things? Yes. Hellpit abomination? Yes! Now if you're a '''MAN''', you bring your best monster hunting troops and get to stabbing as you fill that bar up... or you take the easy way and blow up Khorne's animal Sanctuary using copious amounts of artillery while Khorne cries manly tears after seeing the hard work he put into his zoo destroyed in the most unmanly way possible. Either way you then fight the daemon prince and get the soul in order to go and kick Be'lakor's ass.

==Fun Khorne Facts==
* Interestingly the word "Khorne" in Ancient Cypriot Greek literally means to "Shit Blood". Kh' - "To force outward", ORN - "Back passage", Ee - "Blood".
*Doombreed, Khorne's second daemon prince servant, might actually be Genghis Khan himself.
*Khorne's looking for ways to incorporate dinosaurs into his armies, due to the sheer amount of [[RIP AND TEAR]] they can unleash on their enemies. He's unbelievably pissed that he hasn't managed to get any yet- '''{{Blam|YOU GAVE IT AWAY?!?!? FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOUUUUUUUUUU}}'''
*Khorne <strike>secretly</strike> ''{{Blam|BLATANTLY}}''' hates everyone who kills the defenseless in his name. He'd plot ways to kill them, but he's too mad to do that. (So what else is new?)
*Khorne was just able to stand watching Jurassic World once it got going due to the Indominus Rex and how it made everything else look like bitches. He raged when it died. He's looking for its skull 'cause he wishes he could have it as one of his servants- *sounds of swords and blood* '''{{Blam|FAGGOT!}}''' (Why couldn't Khorne just seek the skull of the Mosasaurus that killed it? Or Rexie, T-rex is classic, I hear you say.) To that, I answer that coz without the Mosasaurus then Rex would'a DIED.
*Khorne is unsure whether or not he hates [[Cultist-chan]], due to a) the fact that she can't do anything except scream about 'kap-tooring eet for kay-oss' and get purged and b) the fact that she's so good at spreading [[RAEG]] amongst various unlucky meatsacks and fa/tg/uys. And that indecisiveness makes him foam at the mouth in an unending rage.
*Khorne practically invented flipping the table when you lose at card games, or it goes too slowly. He does this whenever the major Warp entities play cards in the Formless Wastes.
*Followers of Khorne actually have the ability to pull off [[LIIVI]]/[[Eldrad]] level dick-style moves in battle. They just choose not to do this.
*Khorne wanted [[Settra the Imperishable]] as one of his servants once. However, Settra won't ever serve Khorne, even going so far as to give ALL OF CHAOS the '''motherfucking middle finger''' before going off to hunt down [[Nagash]]. That said, Settra may well be one of the few mortal beings besides his own servants Khorne has any respect for. He still hates Settra though.
*Slaanesh once created some Kayos Spess Mehreens with his/her colour scheme, but with armour nicked off fallen Khornate warriors. And when Khorne saw this, '''his wrath was legendary'''.
*Slaanesh and Khorne also have regular 'plans' on Friday night- *sounds of something even bigger than a [[Bloodthirster]] coming through and much ripping and tearing* '''{{Blam|NO! YOU'RE LYING!}}'''
* [[Emperor|That Twat With The Chair]] and Khorne haven't '''SMACKED DOWN''' yet, but Khorne is secretly looking forward to it when it happens- he wants to test Spess Jaysis's might against his own. Tickets are now on sale!
*If an internet hyperlink comes up red, it's not because the page doesn't exist, it's because Khorne looked at what was once on the other end, and '''he didn't like what he saw''', so much so that the hyperlink is stained with the blood of what once was.
* Khorne's favorite form of grouping is in ogdoads, for reasons that should be obvious once you know what that word means.
* Khorne's favorite [[video game|vidja]] was [[Doom]]. he abandoned it in a strange combination of terror and appreciation once he learned it was Biographical/Autobiographical.
* If Khorne is acting calm towards you, don't relax. He doesn't like anything, he just hates some things less than others. There is such a thing as cold-hatred.
* Khorne was '''ALMOST''' pleased when [[Iskandar Khayon]] smashed his ship, the ''Tlaloc'', into the Slaaneshi world of Harmony, killing a whole shitload of Slaaneshi fucks and breaking the planet in half. Then he remembered Khayon was a damn Thousand Son Sorcerer. Fuck.
*[[TTS|Khorne will not stab you in the back. He will simply stab you in the face until your face stops resembling a face.]]
*Very few beings have ever earned Khorne's respect. but the most notable is the '''MOTHERFUCKING DOOMGUY!!!''' (another is Valen the ancestor of [[Kharn]]).
*DOOM 2016 <s>tells of a "Wretch" who made the Doom Slayer an adamantine Amour from the deepest parts of the forges of Hell. And since Khorne CAN craft absolute destructive Weapons and impenetrable Armour...</s> (he did not make the armor for him but he approves of him using it.)
*Khorne is mixed on snipers. Partly because they sneak and hide like pussies and don't get into a proper fight, and partly because headshots ruin perfectly good skulls. However, sniping is the most skillfull form of shooting. It’s also Slaaneshi.
*Khorne's favorite author is Sun Tzu. Three guesses why if you know what he's written.
*Khorne is the patron god of Chimpanzees (no seriously, look them up; those bastards are the fucking marauding barbarians of the jungle, especially since their cousins the Bonobos seem like milktoast Slaanesh followers).
*Thanks to his relationship with Valkia the Bloody, Khorne may or may not be married to the devoted blood and gore addicted maiden of war.
*Despite his association with canines, Khorne also has a pet rabbit, which he [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmu5sRIizdw loaned out to appear in a certain comedy film].
*Khorne is also the god of tsunderes, no, seriously, as stated in a previous section, which is even further added by many tsunderes being red themed, this makes Khorne RAAAAEEEG! even more as his followers are supposed to be manly armored guys and not teen girls in school uniform, but hey, that's the internet for you!

==Gallery==
{{promotions}}
<gallery>
Klaher-baklaher-khorn.jpg|The [[Doom|Throne Guy]] himself, likely an inaccurate portrayal but still badass.
Image:Khornate.JPG|Khorne's followers off the battlefield. REVERSE ARMWRESTLE!!!
Image:khornewaffel.JPG|Waffles for the Blood God!
Image:Khornetrainer.JPG|Khorne's trainers prefer violent Pokémon.
Image:Khorne_tattoo.jpg|Mark of Khorne.
Image:Free like a riding demon by Ragathol.jpg|Khornette.
Image:Backwardsthrone.jpg|Just as Planned. Always. As. Planned.
File:Khornette.jpg|Khorne wants to know why the drawfags never give them noses.
File:Tea Time.jpg|In the grim darkness of the far future, there is still time for tea...
File:Khorne-Art.jpg|Warriors of Chaos: making everything in 40K look like bitches since 2002.
Image:You're_madder_than_Khorne.png|There '''is''' such a thing as being too mad for Khorne!
Image:Khorneholiover2.png |The [[Cornholio the Cultist|Great Khorneholio]]. He needs blood and skulls for his bunghole.
Image:Anon_pleases_Khorne.png|Who knew Berzerkers came in ''Shrimp'' size?
Image:Khorne Flakes.jpg|The tastiest of all! Add blood for more flavor.
Image:Khorne_flakes.jpg|Literal <s>corn</s> Khorne Flake Cake! Some absolute madlad/madlass actually did it!
Image:Khorny Meme.jpg|Whoever made this has too much time on their hands. And access to imgflip.
</gallery>

==See also==

*[[Brass]]
*[[Khorne Berzerkers]] - Chaos Space Marines with Axes and a bad attitude.
*[[Angron]] - Daemon prince of Khorne and the Primarch of World Eaters.
*[[World Eaters]]
*[[Khârn|Khârn the Betrayer]] - A pretty fun guy to be around.
*[[Valkia the Bloody]] - Scarousal in it's purest form.
*[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Khorne_Daemonkin(7E)|Tactics/Khorne Daemonkin]] - That's right, meatsacks! The servants of Khorne have their own codex!
*[[Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Blades of Khorne|Tactics/Blades of Khorne]] - Khorne's servants in AoS.
*[[Rage]]
*[[Sorcerers of Khorne]] - Double heresy!
*[[Doombreed]] - One angry son of a bitch.
*[[Doom|the one guy Khorne respects]]
* This pretty much sums up his forces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-gSJW3sHXE&feature=channel_video_title
*[[Katanas_are_Underpowered_in_d20#Khorne_is_underpowered_in_40k|Khorne is underpowered in 40k]]
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vljHBXA3UKE - death metal song devoted to Khorne.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml3sjEiViXc - better death metal song.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - thrash metal song summing up Khorne pretty well.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edNUp4GkukI - can't forget the blackened thrash.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUB9QGKCNmI - a bunch of anime Khorne worshippers. Better than it sounds.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - another metal song devoted to Khorne. GW actually commissioned this one. Yes, they really were that awesome back in the day.

{{Template:ChaosGods}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]][[Category:Blades of Khorne]]

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:16:19Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Festus */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of Undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Be'lakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Be'lakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Be'lakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Be'lakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Be'lakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Be'lakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or killed, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Be'lakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully Nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than Archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of Nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and Nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. Really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he is far, far less useful overall than Archaon, Be'lakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as Archaon and Be'lakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of Slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes Sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. Compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as OP. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/Undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. Khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only Warriors of Chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the Lores of Fire and Metal, maybe go Fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from Kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase Khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting Khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
A decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. Factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. Thankfully, barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't Kairos or nearly as OP as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:15:13Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Sigvald */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of Undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Be'lakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Be'lakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Be'lakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Be'lakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Be'lakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Be'lakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or killed, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Be'lakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he is far, far less useful overall than Archaon, Be'lakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as Archaon and Be'lakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of Slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes Sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. Compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as OP. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/Undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. Khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only Warriors of Chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the Lores of Fire and Metal, maybe go Fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from Kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase Khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting Khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
A decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. Factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. Thankfully, barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't Kairos or nearly as OP as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:14:26Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Valkia */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of Undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Be'lakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Be'lakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Be'lakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Be'lakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Be'lakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Be'lakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or killed, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Be'lakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he is far, far less useful overall than Archaon, Be'lakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as Archaon and Be'lakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as OP. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/Undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. Khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only Warriors of Chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the Lores of Fire and Metal, maybe go Fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from Kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase Khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting Khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
A decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. Factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. Thankfully, barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't Kairos or nearly as OP as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:11:34Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Villitch */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of Undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Be'lakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Be'lakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Be'lakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Be'lakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Be'lakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Be'lakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or killed, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Be'lakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he is far, far less useful overall than Archaon, Be'lakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as Archaon and Be'lakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skaarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as op. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only warriors of chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the lores of fire and metal (maybe go fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
A decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. Factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. Thankfully, barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't Kairos or nearly as OP as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:10:24Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Kholek */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of Undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Be'lakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Be'lakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Be'lakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Be'lakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Be'lakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Be'lakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or killed, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Be'lakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he is far, far less useful overall than Archaon, Be'lakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as Archaon and Be'lakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skaarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as op. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only warriors of chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the lores of fire and metal (maybe go fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
a decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. thankfully barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't kairos or nearly as op as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:08:13Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Be'lakor */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of Undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Be'lakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Be'lakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Be'lakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Be'lakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Be'lakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Be'lakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or killed, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Be'lakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he if far, far less useful overall than archaon, belakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as archaon and belakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skaarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as op. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only warriors of chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the lores of fire and metal (maybe go fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
a decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. thankfully barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't kairos or nearly as op as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:07:43Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Be'lakor */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of Undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Be'lakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Be'lakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Belakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Belakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Be'lakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Be'lakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or killed, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Belakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he if far, far less useful overall than archaon, belakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as archaon and belakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skaarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as op. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only warriors of chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the lores of fire and metal (maybe go fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
a decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. thankfully barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't kairos or nearly as op as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:04:44Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* Azazel */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. Gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or Be'lakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of Slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, Be'lakor, or maybe even Sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isn't usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction effects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos, his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Belakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Belakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier it is in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Belakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Belakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Belakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Belakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Belakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or kille, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Belakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he if far, far less useful overall than archaon, belakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as archaon and belakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skaarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as op. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only warriors of chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the lores of fire and metal (maybe go fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
a decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. thankfully barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't kairos or nearly as op as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos

2023-02-17T19:02:46Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World) */

{{Topquote|[[Tzeentch|Change!]] [[Nurgle|Rot!]] [[Khorne|Blood!]] [[Slaanesh|Defile!]]|Game battle chant for Warriors of Chaos, shared with Norsca}}
This is the tactica for the [[Total War: Warhammer]] version of the Warriors of Chaos.

==Why Play Warriors of Chaos==
*Because you want to see the unending tides of damnation overrun all that is good and civilized in this world.
*Because even the demons undivided faction doesn't have a roster big enough for you.
*Because back in my day only the bad guys wore [[Space Marines|Stupidly OP]] [[Stormcast Eternals|Armor]].

===Pros===
*'''Top-grade Melee''': Pound for pound, your troops are among the best in the entire game when it comes to melee combat. Though your reign as the undisputed combat champion of the game has come to an inglorious end due to feature/power creep (not even mentioning the coming of Khorne), precious other factions will be able to face you in melee and walk away unscathed.
*'''Armor''': Regardless of which ever one of the Dark Gods you decided to suck off, they gifted you an ungodly amount of armor to protect your troops from the enemy. If for whatever reason the other guy decided not to bring AP against you, you've pretty much already won the fight right there.
*'''Monsters''': You got a monster for every role. Shaggoths for anti-large, manticores for flying terror bombers, chaos spawn to help win you the frontline grind even faster and hounds to chase away pesky skirmishers. That said, power creep has eroded this advantage since the WoC debut in WH1, don't expect your big guys to match the likes of Lizardmen or Tomb Kings.
*'''Versatility''': You're not the most versatile of factions, but you have a fuckheug roster with mono-chaos marked variants of marauders, chaos warriors, chariots, cavalry, etc. With all of the high quality troops you have, you can deploy a wide assortment of tactics against all kinds of opponents. You can use rushes, monster mashes, artillery boxes, magic bombs, and make your lords into one man armies. With how much good stuff is at your disposal, you can come up with all kinds of crazy tactics to throw at your opponent.
*'''Strong Lords''': Your lord options are pretty damn good. Archeon is one of the better duelist characters, Kholek kills whatever he is fighting, Sigvald is the king of "never die" and Sarthoreal is a raid boss with impressive magic abilities. The new lords introduced in the Champions of Chaos DLC aren't to be fucked with either. Festus is a support monster, Valkia + Azazel are some of the best flying duelist lords in the game, and Vilitch is outright busted if you stack barrier regeneration. Even generic sorcerers are pretty damn good in melee, especially if you give them dragon mounts.

===Cons===
*'''DLC Faction''': The original controversy from the first game, the Chaos Warriors were originally locked up as a pre-order bonus for the first game, slapping those who didn't do so with an extra $8 tax to play as them. For penny-pinching fans, this can make them a hard sell. Plus if you want the marked units and characters that's an extra $16. If you want the full Chaos experience you will need to buy 3 separate games and two DLCs, all together costing about $204. I mean I guess that's cheaper than most decent tabletop armies but god, wait for a sale if you want all of this at once.
*'''Limited Skirmishing''': You do have some mounted skirmishers, but odds are they aren't going to be the reason why you win the fight. You are not going to be beating your opponent in the skirmishing phase of the fight.
*'''Limited Ranged''': You're generally bringing a battle axe to a gun fight. While you can artillery box with chaos cannons and pick away at enemies with ranged skirmishers, shooting is not your strong suite.
*'''Slow''': The downside of all that armor? It makes you slow as all hell. This, combined with the con listed above, means you are pretty vulnerable to enemy AP Missiles. Be sure that you devote a few of your troops to getting on those skirmishers and limiting how much damage to your troops they do on the way in.
*'''Expensive''': Sadly, all this good quality comes at a price. With how expensive a lot of your troops are, odds are you will probably be outnumbered in whatever match up you are going up against. Expect to rely on quality over quantity when you are choosing to rep team WOC.

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==
*'''Subjugation, Vassalization, and Norscan Awakenings''': The Warriors of Chaos can subjugate lesser mortals and make them their vassals. In TWWH1/2, this was restricted to Norscans, but in TWWH3, the Warriors of Chaos can subjugate human and elf factions by defeating their last settlement. Vassals pay tribute, and count as your provinces for provincial edicts. They ''must'' join your wars, but the inverse is also true, which can be a pain because AI Factions don't factor who the suzerain is of vassal factions; you can have a military pact with, say, Skaven or Ogres, and they'll still declare war on any of your vassals.
**Archaon and Be'lakor may also force confederations of other Chaos Lords by taking over their last settlement, and considering the WoC are now flush with Legendary Lord options, you can create some terrifying doomstacks in the late-game.
**Finally, taking over certain settlements in the North can lead you to either vassalize the Norscan tribe (if they're still around), or awaken them if they aren't. You'll want to keep just the Dark Fortresses for yourself, as there's really no point in holding minor settlements short of casualty-replenishment on long campaigns. Trading captured settlements to your vassals also lets them get stronger, gives you gold, and lets them worry about holding it.
*'''Gifts of Chaos''': The chaos gods will love to give you gifts in exchange for souls of the fallen. You can sacrifice souls from enemies to gain various boons. These come in the form of undivided gifts, and gifts to specific gods. These can range from buffing units, to gaining new units such as daemons and dragon ogres. You can get souls from defeating any non daemon factions in battle. Fail to pay the tithe of souls however, and the chaos gods won't mind taking their gifts away. Some gifts of chaos can only be unlocked after making a certain amount of sacrifices.
*'''[[Path to Glory]]''': Your lords can devote themselves to the chaos gods and, given enough time, ascend to daemonhood. Every lord can take different marks. For instance, a standard chaos lord can devote to Khorne and give major boons to khornate troops in his army. While a chaos sorcerer of death can devote himself to Nurgle and switch his lore of death for the lore of Nurgle, or just stick with death. At level 20 all chaos lords can ascend to Daemonhood at a large cost of souls. This makes them very powerful and get a mix of their patreon gods magic, lest you are playing Khorne of course. Similar to ogres, Chaos lords can gain titles by completing certain objectives such as defeating a certain race or losing a battle and surviving. This allows your lords to forge quite the name for themselves.
*'''Warbands/Marks of Chaos''': What used to just be glorified banners pre Warhammer 3 are now your ticket to unlocking warriors devoted to each god. On campaign as a unit gains experience you have a chance to upgrade them to superior units, for instance you can upgrade a Marauder unit to Chaos Warriors to Chosen. However, if your army has the proper level of '''Dark Authority''' for a specific god, you can also give them a mark for that god which alters their appearance and stats. Some subfactions will have an easier time with certain marks than others, for instance Sigvald will have an easy time getting Slaanesh units but Khorne units will be hard to come by. You will need a Lord or Hero of a specific god in order to get the authority for it, so you will have a hard time recruiting and maintaining Nurgle units if there isn't a Nurgle lord or hero in the army. In multiplayer, this means that you can take 4 marked units alongside your mostly undivided army, included specialized marked mortals such as Skullcrusher or Hellstriders. In order to make sure half the units below don't get an extra 4 paragraphs of what they do, here is a general list of the stats each Mark does and each unit that can take Marks will be checked below
**The Mark of Khorne gives a unit spell resistance and frenzy in exchange for less melee defense, so if you are looking to play offense you will want to give your blessings to the Blood God.
**Mark of Tzeentch will give a unit Barrier and Magic Attacks, making them great if you are fighting an enemy that has a high amount of physical resistance or if you want them to have a bit of protection going in.
**Mark of Nurgle will give the unit poison attacks extra Melee Defense and HP in exchange for less attack and speed, making this the choice if you are looking to out last your enemy.
**Mark of Slaanesh will give a unit Immune to Psych, more Speed, strider, a physical resist and Devastating Flanker on cavalry. If you want to play a mobility heavy playstyle or you're fighting a ton of fear and terror this is your mark.

==Legendary Lords and Subfactions==
Each Legendary Lord has unique ways to access units from the vanilla/Undivided roster, while LLs from the Champions of Chaos DLC have better access to their God's daemons and Marks.

*'''[[Archaon]] the Everchosen:''' at the start of TW:WH it was a joke that he was the Neverchosen, but recent progressive buffs have been slowly improving him. Still waiting to see if he will ever get his title back from Kholek but he is currently usable in multiplayer. As of Immortal Empires, He is an extremely powerful melee lord with access to two spells each from the lores of Fire, Metal, and Death. He can fling Searing Doom and Transmutation of Lead from Metal, Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Burning Head from Fire, and Spirit Leech and Purple Sun of Xereus. He gets the cream of the crop of Fire and Death spells, and his Metal spells are alright; it may have been a bit too busted if he got Final Transmutation instead of Transmutation of Lead. He is among the strongest melee lords stat-wise in-game even before taking items, and he's now a more than capable caster. He doesn't get the AoS version of [[Dorghar]], but Dorghar does give him over 3k mass, far more than any other horse-bound character (which is fair, both Archaon and Dorghar are HUGE), so he can get out of a tight spot easier than similar characters. Seriously, he has higher mass than Karl Franz on Deathclaw. Although Be'lakor and the Daemon Prince are more expensive multiplayer lords Archaon is right behind as the third most expensive lord.
**''Campaign'': Archaon, as the Everchosen, has easier access to monogod rosters as well as better Authority to command forces from rival gods. Currently he's one of only two WoC LLs who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely.

*'''[[Kholek Suneater]]:''' For a long time Kholek was the most popular MP lord pick for the Warriors of Chaos, to the point that he became the faction's face more than Archaon. This was with good reason, as Kholek is a a world beater of a Legendary Lord. He's a massive, tough, anti-large monstrous lord that is difficult to pin down due to his good speed and mass, and is perfectly fine beating the snot out of infantry as well. Even better when gooning around with his Dragon Ogre boys. With the addition of more WoC LLs in TW:WH3 he's no longer the most common choice of lord but he's still a formidable pick. Has two special abilities, one of which boosts his melee abilities and the other of which is a bombardment.
**''Campaign'': Has bonuses that buff Dragon Ogres, giving reduced recruitment cost and upkeep while buffing attack for Shaggoths. Kholek also spreads more Chaos Corruption and has high undivided authority but no boosts to monogod authority at all

*'''[[Sigvald|Prince Sigvald the Magnificent]]:''' Used to be bad but got significantly better after The Twisted & The Twilight update. A powerful and quick foot duelist that will never suffer fatigue penalties. His small size, perfect vigor and very high melee stats make him slippery, but when combined with the regen from his unique item he ties with Gor-Rok for the tankiest lord in the game.
**''Campaign'': Despite his overwhelming ego, his campaign has him being most in touch with [[Norsca]], having a stronger diplomatic bonus, and have practically the same unit version of the unit with them having the Norsca "Rage", with it upgrading to the superior "Berserk" at late veterancy to keep marauders viable. A Leadership bonus against men encourages him to go after the Empire or Norsca. A bit of an odd duck, as since he's already devoted to Slaanesh CA has to differentiate him from Azazel. He can recruit Slaaneshi Mortals and Daemons turn one, and as Slaanesh's boytoy has Dark Authority to better control them. In turn, he pays a premium to hire and keep Khornates unless he has a Khornate Hero tagging along.

*'''[[Be'lakor]]:''' Holy hell this guy is strong, even compared to other Warriors of Chaos legendary lords. In addition to fear/terror and the usual high melee statline, he gets a 45% ward save activated ability, passive regeneration that increases for every nearby enemy with wavering morale, and a leadership penalty aura which also removes immune to psychology from nearby enemies. And he's a lore of shadows caster who gets winds of magic cost reductions to all casts. Stack armor, physical resist, and ward saves and he can solo entire enemy armies.
**''Campaign'': Gets his own Warriors of Chaos faction starting in Albion in Immortal Empires. Comes with a unique mechanic to corrupt non-legendary human lords into daemon princes. Being the Daemon Prince of Undivided, he can access the Gifts and Favors of the Dark Gods earlier, but must prove himself before he can give them specific marks. Currently he's the other WoC LL (alongside Archaon) who can confederate the others, done by subjugating their final settlement, which encourages you to avoid alliances entirely. Has a big -25% upkeep to all daemon units which stacks with authority bonuses.

*'''[[Azazel]]:''' As the DP of Slaanesh, Azazel comes with the Lore of Slaanesh and like Slaanesh's daemon lords Azazel is geared for dueling lords and terror bombing wimps with wavering morale. He's very fast, hits very hard, and oddly is classified as infantry size so isn't vulnerable to anti-large sniping. His sword, the Daemonblade, is an especially good magical item that grants the Discouraged contact effect, improving Azazel's proclivity for triggering terror routs.
**''Campaign'': Azazel gets full access to Slaanesh's campaign abilities, with some minor alterations. Fitting with his role as Slaanesh's pimp he can seduce his enemy's units to add to his own roster and has +80 diplomacy with the Human factions, meaning through some careful and selective warfare you could make yourself less of a target. He gets cheaper seduction for human units and when stacked with the tech tree reduction he can actually be significantly better at seducing (human) units than N'kari.

*'''[[Festus the Leechlord]]''': The Plague Doctor is in, and he comes with a unique pair of mutually exclusive abilities. One is a Mortis Engine-style AoE damage aura, the other is an AoE healing aura. Only one can be active at a time, but they're very strong because he doesn't have to be in melee combat to activate them, unlike a lot of other units with these sorts of abilities. Festus is otherwise a decent caster with the Lore of Nurgle. Since he can heal with both abilities and spells he is a very strong lord choice, but his slow speed, low armor, and mediocre combat stats make him vulnerable to getting sniped or assassinated.
**''Campaign'': Fitting in with his Leechlord aesthetic, he can heal his army a quarter past the normal cap, and Festus' army ''and'' vassals have access to poison attacks. He can brew plagues on top of his plagues lasting longer.

*'''[[Vilitch the Curseling]]''': A caster/melee hybrid lord with a few quirks. Uses the Lore of Tzeentch which is very strong for dealing damage, but lacks buffs to improve their melee skills which are okay-ish, but lack armor piercing. They can hold their own in a blob but don't expect them to fend off dedicated duelist lords/heroes. Has a couple of abilities revolving around Barrier, one that's a passive that heals the Barrier of any nearby units and another that heals the Barrier of any nearby unit but only when Vilitch is casting. These stack with each other, making Vilitch an excellent support lord but only for Tzeentchian units, especially when they're spamming a lot of cheap low-cooldown spells like Blue or Pink Fire. Has another ability which buffs their spell mastery and Melee skills, ''but'' requires them to be either casting or in melee for it to go off. Also, while their combat stats are good, they're still a footlord with low mobility. Be careful not to overextend or they'll get gooned to death.
**''Campaign'': They can use a slightly altered version of the Changer of Ways abilities and gets the Teleportation stance meaning they're an absolute troll in the Campaign map. Also give their vassals better Barrier and Tzeentch Corruption.

*'''[[Valkia the Bloody]]''': Representing Khorne, the Gorequeen has the raw melee stats to rival Skarbrand but much better maneuverability. She makes a great hit + run duelist with 100 speed, a temporary invincibility ability, and a bound wind ability to clear out chaff. Like Azazel she's a small target, which makes her immune to anti-large sniping attacks and with her shield also makes her harder to bring down with ranged fire.
**''Campaign'': Valkia is able to fight multiple back to back battles just like Skarbrand and Taurox, while also getting limited access to some of Khorne's Unholy Manifestations and higher Khorne authority.

*'''[[Sarthorael|Sarthorael the Everwatcher]]:''' Looking back it's surprising we got a greater daemon six years before the daemons got dedicated factions. Not available in the campaign (for WoC anyway, Norsca can unlock a different Lord of Change over the course of the Campaign) but playable in multiplayer. A giant lore of metal caster with a lot of missile resistance. Well used as a battering ram to disrupt gun factions with his mass and terror as the rest of the army hounds after him, but prefers to run through the lines to new spots of safety to cast his spells. Was ground bound in WH1 and WH2 but in WH3 he can fly just like other Lords of Change.

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''[[Chaos Lord]]:''' Cheap melee lord. Can take a poison mace if you want this lord to be supportive. He can also be put on a flying mount for manticore gooning. They have been reworked and how are now a solid melee lord though somewhat lacking in AP. Better marked usually and a good way to build towards a demon prince. Unmarked is the only version that can mount a chaos dragon however, khorne gets a horse, chariot, or Juggernaut. Slaanesh can only get a Horse or Chariot. You probably should plan on turning any of the marked ones into demon princes eventually though. Really wish they let the marked lords ride a marked dragon, especially with the big buffs dragon got to their mass/melee stats with Patch 2.0. Unmarked is perfectly viable as well and has the advantage or not needing souls to upgrade and not losing any levels, plus being able to use the dragon mount.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer Lord]]:''' A hyrid lord which is often preferred in multiplayer for cost efficiency. One of the few non-elf lords to get a dragon mount. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Nurgle. (Lores of Tzeentch and Metal for Tzeentch or Nurgle and Death for Nurgle) Marked lords CANNOT mount a chaos dragon however, they get either a warshrine, or for Tzeentch a disc instead. too bad if you wanted a dragon. Marked lords can be upgraded into demon princes though which dont need a mount, in campaign you'll probably use these as a stepping stone to demon princes eventually, unless you prefer to leave them just marked. Unmarked is perfectly viable also, lets you use the awesome chaos dragon.

*'''[[Daemon Prince]]:''' Come in a variety of types, including an Undivided option and one for each of the four Chaos Gods. All of them are versatile melee and caster hybrids, except for the Khorne prince who is melee only. Check the Chaos Gods' pages for details about the Daemon Princes for each of them, as they are the same as those accessible to the WoC roster. The Undivided Daemon Prince has the Lore of Fire plus some melee buff abilities, including a particularly good one that gives Immune to Psychology to nearby allies. Probably worth it in general at least in campaign, but costs a ton of souls. Fairly expensive in Multiplayer as well. Do note they aren't as heavily armored as the mortal lords, instead relying more on their Daemonic physical resistance.

===Heroes===
*'''[[Exalted Hero]]:''' Melee hero, often a part of the manticore goon squad. their stat line is honestly kind of absurd for the price, as they can beat pretty much any other standard melee hero in a one on one fight. Definitely one of the better melee bodyguard heroes. Can be given the Mark of Khorne or Nurgle. They can specialize in army support or dueling with a choice of different mutually exclusive skills, in particular they can boost demonic authority for either undivided or their mark choice. Unfortunately marked hero's lose access to a flying mount, nurgle only gets a normal horse or chariot, khorne gets that and a juggernaut also. Marking isn't bad but you may prefer unmarked in order to fly. Nurgle hero's get an awesome AOE heal skill.

*'''[[Chaos Sorcerer]]:''' Tankier than the traditional wizard as they have a large amount of armour and are a low-end melee character. Not the best option for melee grinding, but they also make a great goon squad participant when on a mount. Comes in Death, Fire, Metal, or Shadows. Can be given the Mark of Tzeentch or Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets lores of Slaanesh and Shadows). Marked sorcerers can ride a chaos warshrine or the Tzeentch can ride a disc also if a flying mount is preferred.

===Melee Infantry===
*'''[[Chaos Marauder|Chaos Marauders]]:''' Your budget line, but you often fill up your numbers with them given how expensive everything else is. They are how you go wide in WoC. Posses low armor but can still cause some more expensive units to struggle against them. They have pretty good stats as far as melee chaff go, so they should earn back their cost fighting other low level troops.
**'''Chaos Marauders (Great Weapons):''' Cheap Ap Damage but not as good as Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons) since the Marauders are very fragile with trading away what little defense a Marauder gets.
**Can be given any of the marks, each come with an additional weapon variant. Khorne gets Dual Axes, Tzeentch gets Spears, Nurgle gets Great Weapons and Slaanesh gets Hellscourge Whips for additional Melee Defense.

*'''[[Chaos Warrior|Chaos Warriors]]:''' The spiked anvil of Chaos. High all-around in offensive and defensive stats except for speed. In general, Chaos Warriors in this faction are much more well rounded than their Monogod cousins. They are better defensively than Khorne, faster than Nurgle, more offensive than Tzeentch and more durable than Slaanesh. They're the nice in between that allows them to fill a wider variety of roles. Often beat out other line infantry in the grind. They Lack AP, so not effective against other high armour targets.
**'''Mirror Guard(RoR):''' A strong point used in Marauders and Warriors. Moves faster, higher defense, and don't falter against Fear or Terror.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Great Weapons):''' your AP troops effectively upend other armored infantry like Dwarfs.
**'''Chaos Warriors (Halberds):''' Your Anti-large infantry out classes Great Weapons if facing Calvery and Monsters.
**Get all their marks and weapon variants for marauders, though the Tzeentch version gives up spears for halberds. Khorne can also get halberds for some reason, but chosen of khorne can’t have halberds.

*'''Aspiring Champions:''' [[Awesome|Not-large monstrous infantry with magical attacks]]. They fill a role as support units, having the Encourage ability which gives extra Leadership to your lines, being a moral anchor if your lord is way from your front lines. The magic attacks are also a cheap way to crush enemies that rely on Physical resistance for protection.
**Immortal empires buffs their statline to be more like monstrous infantry, while getting an insane number of buffs from the warriors of chaos tech tree. With the buffs from all 4 god tech trees they are a contender for most powerful unit in the game, they have insane melee killing power, regeneration, barrier, and the ability to summon a unit of pink horrors each. How strong they have become compared to the 2 last games is completly insane. They also have very high health per model so as such are basically immune to most AOE damage spells, with only things like spirit leach and final transmutation being effective against them. Ironically though they are the easiest elite unit to recruit also, often spawning in normal recruitment pools while Chosen have to be grinded all the way through. They are great for any of the 4 monogod warriors of chaos but they are truly shining on undivided factions, with the stacking of buffs from the tech tree and the choices to pick any bonus from a specific god like Tzeentch's barrier.
**'''The Severed Claw(RoR):''' A more defensive variant of aspiring champions with halberds, charge reflection, and Tzeentch barriers.

*'''[[Forsaken]]:''' A niche, fast damage dealing unit, being both fast and having good armour. Good at mulching through low armor units and used as foot flankers. They don't do well against Armor-piercing or elite infantry. Generally going to be way better used against low armor factions like Beastmen or Skaven and kept away from high armor stuff like Dwarfs or Lizardmen. Can get all Marks.
**'''The Daemonspew:''' Blessed by Nurgle, they have poison attacks and melee attack debuff aura. A supportive unit to mix with your line blob to make an elite unit easy to handle.

*'''[[Chosen]]:''' Oh my. Pound for pound, chosen are probably the best heavy melee infantry in the game and unlike other contenders like black orks, they also come in Great Weapon and Halberd variants. They will never run away, their stats are terrifying, and they are absurdly tanky. They are every bit as scary as their reputation makes them out to be. Like any heavy elite infantry, they are slow with low model counts, so they will suffer severely from being targeted by artillery, magic, or AP Missles. Can get all marks and separate variants same as Chaos Warriors. in campaign the biggest issue they have is that they really cant compete with Aspiring champions once the tech buffs are online, seriously there is no competition, Aspiring Champions are actually cheaper and they have a 10% chance of being recruitable from the get go on Chaos controlled territory.

===Beasts===
*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Cheap and fast harassment unit, shutting down skirmishers, cavalry, missile units, and artillery crews that target your slower-moving warriors. These doggos are a good way chase broken enemies off the field and their low cost means you won't miss them too much if they die.
*'''Chaos Warhounds (Poison):''' Doggos with poison attacks. Better for catching slippery units and able to support in melee with their poison.

===Cavalry===
*'''[[Chaos Knight|Chaos Knights]]:''' your melee cav, strong and able to win lots of protracted fights. Best used in a supporting role since they're somewhat cost-inefficient compared to demigryphs/blood knights. This version is probably best used against heavy missile factions like Elves, as they will be able to block some of the incoming fire and chase them down. They're better in a grind too, though you'll have to pull out eventually (Yeah, yeah I know, insert Slaanesh joke here). Khorne and Nurgle marks enhance your prolonged melee ability offensively and defensively respectively, Slaanesh gives devastating flanker so makes them much better at hammer and anvil tactics plus physical resistance. and Tzeentch gives barrier allowing them to hit hit and run cycle charge without getting worn down. Which of the 3 is best? that depends. Slaanesh will be by far the best at flank charging and also get a nice 10% phys resist on top, Nurgle goes all in on the MELEE cavalry aspect and have insane MD and poison so can basically just stay in the grind no problem, Tzeentch if microed can just use barrier to avoid casualties but their offense is the worst and they may not always be able to recharge their barrier. Khorne is probably the worst, not because they are bad, but because everything they do is better done by skullcrushers which are also khorne.
**'''Swords of Chaos:(RoR):''' Knights with Flaming weapons but with a smaller model count, but most useful in keeping your characters safe and letting your whole army get a temporary speed boost.
*'''Chaos Knights (Lances):''' Cycle charging cav. While the shield makes them good at resisting missile fire, the tremendous charge bonus is a bit of a waste on the skirmishers on the other side. As such, best to use these guys against other cavalry, monsters, or for rear charging infantry. Just make sure that you are keeping an eye on them, while they do have tanky stats they can still crumple surprisingly quick if you leave them in a grind. Maybe dont use these as khorne or nurgle, SLaanesh and Tzeentch synergize much better. If going Slaanesh carefully ask yourself if the extra charge is even worth it compared to sword and board, even sword chaos knights have high enough charge with devastating flanker, and you wont always get flank charges.
**Both the Lance and Sword and Board versions can take any of the marks.
*'''Skullcrushers of Khorne:''' extremely tough heavy cav that can engage pretty much any unit type effectively, just dont charge them into the front of halberds and they should wreck, if you were considering khorne chaos knights maybe just use these instead.
**'''Knights of the Brazen Throne:(RoR):'''
*'''Doom Knights of Tzeentch:''' Oh hey, warriors of chaos finally get air cavalry. And it's a good thing too, they weren't going to win vs. Cathayan doom balloons with nothing but marauder throwing axes and manticores. Despite their lack of anti-large and armor piercing, doom knights are one of your precious few mobile units that aren't made out of wet cardboard and will be extremely useful against factions like greenskins and tomb kings who don't have much of an air force. Remember that they are weaker in melee and more expensive than normal knights, they really pay a premium for the ability to fly. For some reason they have halberds but lack both AP and anti-large, disappointing. Still a very effective unit if used right.
**'''Knights of Immolation(RoR):'''
*'''Hellstriders of Slaanesh:''' actual melee light cav that are much better in melee than regular marauder horsemen, but still fragile, and annoyingly they lack devastating flanker despite being Slaanesh marked. come in spear and whip version, thankfully they are the only whip unit that actually has AP. They gain damage resistance for the whole battle scaling to number of models killed. so you can start them off chasing routers and weak units before sending them in to flank charge tougher units later in the battle. the whip version has respectable melee stats so aren't as dependent on charging. Unfortunately their lack of AP and extreme fragility really holds them back in later campaign.

===Missile Cavalry===
If you want shooting but don't want to spring for artillery, you only have skirmish cav. Like most Skirmish cav, you need to use some micromanagement to make sure a real opponent doesn't chase them out of the game and use their ammunition efficiently instead of AI autopilot everything.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' You cheapest shooting unit. Useful in taking things out annoying units air and harass units with a low Missile resistance. Fragile with the same protection as a Marauder. Their cost efficiency makes them a go to in a lot of competitive lists. Can come with Marks of Tzeentch and Slaanesh. Tzeentch gets warpflame causing javelins in addition to the normal mark stuff, really good.
*'''Marauder Horsemen (Throwing Axes):''' Trades Missile range for AP. Suited for harassing armored foes from a distance but won't take punishment well like the normal variant. Can come with Marks of Khorne and Nurgle. khorne gets flaming attacks in addition to the normal mark effects. Note that all versions are currently bugged and can fire in melee so they are ridiculously deadly right now.
*'''Marauder Horsemasters:''' A slightly upgraded version of Horsemen with the most important upgrade being significantly better armor. Lets it take punishment and trade better when engaging in melee with other Skirmish units and other lesser melee units.

===Monstrous Infantry===
*'''Chaos Trolls:''' A regenerating bag of HP and AP damage. Do need some babysitting to help with their low Ld. Better for Marauder lines for that extra Damage and Monstrous mass. To be honest, probably not worth it in most situations because of that low morale and weakness to fire.
**'''Chaos Trolls (Armoured):''' Pay extra, so Trolls are less likely to run when they take damage. These guys came out before CA realized we like variants that serve different purposes and aren't just straight upgrades. Still probably not worth bringing though, especially now that we got marked chaos spawn.
*'''[[Chaos Spawn]]:''' Line breakers, they do go down quickly from guns but are a cheap way to tie up multiple line units as they don't stop attacking until they are all dead. They can tear apart lighter infantry lines if they get their hands on them, and can really help supplement a cheaper frontline. Generally better than trolls, as while they lack AP they are unbreakable and will fight to the end. Each version comes with a Mark, Khorne gets Frenzy, Nurgle gets Regeneration, Tzeentch gets Armor sundering and Slaanesh gets Devastating Flankers as Soporific Musk.
**Their Monster-Mass makes them really helpful when the opponent stack has Mammoths and other heavy-hitters. It's not the most efficient tar-pit, but they're easier to recruit than dragon ogres and they can lock them in place while your Halberds/Spears do the damage.
**'''Wyrd Spawn: (RoR)''' Spawn blessed by everyone's favorite crazy [[Tzeentch|Bird]], these guys have armor sundering and Barrier, so they can actually help against armored troops and have resistance to magic on top of all that. They can also walk through trees for some tzeentchian reason. Don't ask me why.
*'''[[Dragon Ogre]]:''' Your anti-large monstrous cavalry. These boys will kick the hell out of any cavalry or monster they get their hands on, although their vulnerability to missiles means they can be a bit of a risk against super missile factions. Try your best to keep them safe, probably best on the flanks where they can deal with cav and go into the back line or flank when that is done. Can send infantry flying if needed.
**'''Summoners of Rage: (RoR)''' Have magic attacks and an infantry clearing bound spell. It takes out Physically resistant enemies or give you another edge in a fight.

===Monsters===
*'''Chaos Giant:''' A big infantry smasher, but easily sniped and hammered with ranged and anti-large attacks. Remove them, and they can frolic through even the heaviest of armor. Shockingly they are actually potentially really good now, there are now multiple ways to give them really high missile resistance and tons of healing, so they are now a very effective unit and are actually a good doomstack option.
**'''Bilious Thunderguff: (RoR)''' An upgraded giant sworn to Nurgle. Along with poison attacks, he also comes with a violent wind bound ability where he lifts a leg and farts all over everyone around him, draining health and corroding armor. Definitely worth bringing in matchups where your opponent doesn't have much ranged and has to fight him in melee.
*'''[[Manticore|Chaos Feral Manticore]]:''' One of the most cost effective flying monsters in the game. It has an impressive statline for the cost so it can actually do a good bit of work diving into backlines or helping goon out enemy characters. It's big problem is Rampage, so you will likely lose control over it, though it is decently cheap so don't worry too much if it goes nuts. Often used as a mount for characters in multiplayer, but there is nothing wrong with taking this guy by himself. they can get regeneration in melee from campaign techs, which is pretty ok, they still die fast but it helps.
*'''Dragon Ogre Shaggoth:''' An anti-large monster duelist. Are you scared that the enemy might have a dragon, big scary tree, crab monster or freaky rat monstrosity from hell? Throw this thing at it and if it doesn't kill it it'll get it damn close. Of course, it's also a massive bullseye for every AP missile unit on the field, so you got to make sure that it's kept safe. Often paired with Kholek to make a Dragon Ogre goon squad. the biggest weakenss they had was lack of healing, but now that sorcerer lords can have lore of nurgle they can finally be healed. Maybe the Shaggoth doomstack is back. they are hard to recruit however requiring an expensive endgame undivided gift to recruit. ironically a normal nurgle sorcerer lord can probably shaggoth doomstack better than kholek now due to healing.
*'''Chaos Warshrine''': Big buffboi that buffs even better when models die around it. Consider bubble wrapping it with marauders, the gods aren't picky on whether you're sacrificing your enemies or your own troops to them. Doesn't have much offensive capability, but has enough HP to slog it out on the frontline for a long time. Can be dedicated five ways, choose khorne for killiness, nurgle for healing, slaanesh for a mortis engine AOE HP drain, tzeentch for increased spell effectiveness, and undivided for physical resist. Slaanesh may be the strongest for infantry grinds, followed by nurgle. The others are perhaps more situational.

===Chariots===
*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Standard heavy chariot. Will get absolutely dumpstered in prolonged fights but will devastate enemies on the charge. Bring against heavy armor factions that can't lock it down like Dwarfs. Each of these can come with any mark, but pledging loyalty to Tzeentch is likely your best bet since regenerating barriers is the strongest buff you can give a hit and run unit like a chariot.
**'''The Sibilant Slaughtercade: (RoR)''' A Slaanesh pledged chariot that comes with poisoned attacks, increased speed, devastating flanker, and a damage resistance + charge bonus buff that increases as it racks up kills.
*'''Gorebeast Chariot:''' Slower than standard chariots, but has more AP damage for fighting higher armor. Generally not a good deal thanks to the price since standard chariots can simply do what it does better. Can come with the Mark of Khorne.

===Artillery===
*'''[[Hellcannon]]:''' Big gun with homing projectiles and damage that includes a Ld debuff. It also comes with an unbreakable Chaos Dwarf crew who will keep firing until they're killed to the last man. Somewhat of an odd man out in the Chaos roster since their playstyle is more geared towards bumrushing the enemy than noob boxing around the artillery, but there are no complaints about having one to round out your army. Depending on the matchup, you can force the enemy to come to you if they can't artillery duel with the cannon. If you got the attention to spare, taking manual control of them allows you to fly the projectile.
**'''The Soul of Damnation: (RoR)''' A tad beefed up Hellcannon. Stats identical, but has the addition of the Soul Devourer ability that makes it reload faster when enemies are near.

===Daemons===
* For the daemon units go look at their respective pages, the overviews there are mostly the same except that with the limited access to them you'll want to be a bit more careful before throwing your bloodthirster into a horde of skeleton spears. unfortunately your skill and tech tree's are generally lacking in ways to boost demon units, so you may be better off relying on your factions own units late game after you have tech and red tree buffs. you do get some buffs from the red tree for demons but they are pretty bad.

==Tactics==

===Multiplayer Strategies===
You're... pretty damn strong in multiplayer to be honest, despite being a meme faction for years in the first two games. You got a lot going for you, from strong lord choices, good magic lores, really good infantry, cavalry and monsters, and even an alright skirmishing core with Marauder Horsemen. Your only real major weakness is just how expensive everything is, and even then you got it better than the High Elves in that category. You got a ton of new mechanics with the Champions of Chaos DLC in game 3 and are likely to benefit from future monogod DLC as well. It should only get better from here. Here's how to win glory for the Chaos Gods:

*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Beastmen| Beastmen]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Bretonnia| Bretonnia]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos| Warriors of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Daemons of Chaos| Daemons of Chaos]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dark Elves| Dark Elves]]''': After seeing this matchup, it’s no wonder thag the Chaos warriors haven’t been able to make it out of Warhammer Canada. Dark Elves are tailor-made for busting your balls. Between darkshards, scourgerunners, and dark rider crossbows, they have more than enough ranged AP to melt your infantry and heavy cavalry. Go for a marauder frontline and bring some hellstriders and maybe some doom knights to run down their cowardly ranged units.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs| Dwarfs]]''': You'll win the infantry fight, assuming your slow frontline survives the heavy artillery bombardment. Use manticores, hounds, calvary, and/or furies to mess with Dwarfen ranged. Big monsters like the Shaggoth should stay out of this, unless you like watching 2000 gold get shot to shit.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire| Empire]]''': The Empire is your arch enemy for many good reasons. While you may scoff at their frontline infantry, you should never underestimate how good flagellants are at stalling you long enough for Helstorm rockets and cannon balls to send your warriors to hell, and the disappointed gaze of The Gods. Your Chaos Knights, while tough, need some support from warhounds or skirmishers because Demigryphs with halberds will eat them for breakfast. Your big monsters are useful killers, but like the Dwarfs are The Empire is really good at killing large units. The general play is to bring a solid line of Chaos Warriors with shields because they can endure handgunners long enough to quickly cleave though their frontline. For the rest of your army get a core of warhounds, preferably poison unless your pinching pennies, as they're great for chasing down skirmish cav, attacking their back line, and are a good supporting option for Shaggoths to lessen the damage they take when fighting Demigryphs. As for monsters, per the norm, bring Shaggoths. They can defeat an unsupported Steam Tank and will wreak havoc on most Empire cavalry while being fast enough to juke cannon balls. Again, be really careful of Demigryhs with halberds. Those bird riders may take a lot of damage, but they can also kill Shaggoths with surprising speed. Bring support if they have a Jade Wizard for back up, and having agoon squad of Exalted Heroes on manticores can help control the sky if Karl Franz is on the field. The goon squad will be needed because Karl Franz will otherwise crush unsupported heroes. If your opponent brought some other southerner, then expect Volkmar to be next on the list if he’s looking to win the infantry fight. A typical Empire frontline when fighting you will largely consist of halberdiers, and maybe a few greatswords and some flagellants to act as meatshields so he can keep shooting you. For the other legendary lords, Gelt is a common sight due to him being the only guy with access to the Lore of Metal, which can screw over your armor, transmute your leaders, and nuke blobs if you're dumb enough to make those. Remember, go wide with your infantry, have a core of dogs and shaggoths and then show that the Sons Of Heldenhammer are no match for the Dark Gods!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay| Grand Cathay]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Greenskins| Greenskins]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/High Elves| High Elves]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Khorne|Khorne]]''': Make no mistake, this is a bad matchup for you. Khorne is better than you in a knock down drag out melee fight. Bloodletters trade up vs Chaos Warriors and Chosen and a wide frontline of marauders will crumble quickly and buff Khorne's units in the process. However, you have a potential ace in the hole. Dragon ogres give more bang for the buck than khorne's horribly overcosted monsters + cavalry. If you play your cards right, your superior magic, skirmishing, and monsters will be enough to tip the scales in your favor.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Kislev|Kislev]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen| Lizardmen]]''': Though a flexible faction with many tools to use against you, you have relatively little to fear from their infantry. Saurus are tanky SoBs, but grindfests will generally work out in your favor due to your superior offensive statlines. Though you'll never catch any Skink units, the only ones you need to pay any real attention to are the Red-Crested variety, which will still melt in combat against your forces without extensive support. Instead, your primary concern will be the myriad of monsters the lizards are almost assuredly bringing to bear against you. Chaos Warriors or Chosen with Halberds will be your bread and butter for pinning such beasties down. Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths also make fantastic hunting squads for isolated dinosaurs and will utterly dumpster them if they can get in the thick of it. Additionally, though the Lizardmen do technically have a higher ranged roster to chose from, your Hellcannon can lay waste to their forces long before even ''their'' artillery can attempt to retaliate. Just be particularly cautious of Razordon Hunting Packs, Troglodons and potential Ripperdactyl strike squads.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Norsca| Norsca]]''': To show the northerners that the chaos gods favor you most, you’ll need to consider your army carefully. Beserkers will trade upwards into pretty much any infantry you bring, even chosen, and their ‘berserk’ ability makes them a surprisingly tough nut to crack. This means you should either go super low-tier and bring tons of marauders, or super elite and invest in chosen and chaos warriors, relying on your infantry to win the day. Both setups have their own advantages and weaknesses. Do NOT bring mostrous infantry like dragon ogres or chaos spawn. Sure, they can deal with berserkers fine, but Norsca has plenty of mobile anti-large and ap to make you regret it. If you can protect it, a hellcannon can pay huge dividends by shooting holes in their higher tier infantry. You are one of the few factions that actually had a good answer to mammoths, Shaggoths have the speed and ap to grind them down and reliably outduel them. You won’t be able to keep pace with them in the skirmish game, but you probably want to bring at least a couple of wolves/skirmish cav, since their ap ranged units can make your monsters very sad if allowed to fire in. Marauder chariots can actually be a big problem for you because of their great mass and ap, so whittling them down with your fast units is probably your best bet. Kholek is not a great choice here, since he can get ground down by Skin wolves and Wulfrik, I’d recommend Archaon or a chaos sorcerer on a dragon. The former has a chance to put duel even Wulfrik (let alone throgg or a chieftain) if you use slayer of kings wisely, and the latter is able to pick his engagements, and probably won’t face any threats in the sky.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Nurgle| Nurgle]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Ogre Kingdoms| Ogre Kingdoms]]'''
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven| Skaven]]''': First thing's first, leave the Chaos Warriors and Chosen at home. Not only do you not need them to deal with most Skaven frontlines, but they will get ripped apart against Jezzails and Mortar teams. Mauarders are the frontline of choice as they will help deal with Clanrats and Skavenslaves relatively quickly and for cheap. Hounds are also pretty much a requirement in order to get behind the rats and take out the weapon teams before they are able to do irreversible damage. Finally, Spawn are your friends, as they help shred Skaven infantry, murder Rat Ogres and are unbreakable so some of the scarier Skaven units won't be able to spook them off. For magic lores, go with something that can deal with swarms like Fire or Shadows. Sigvald is your best bet here as a lord since Jezzails are some of the best SEM snipers in the game and Sigvald is really hard to kill.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Slaanesh| Slaanesh]]''': Slaanesh epitomizes the very concept of anti-armor and even their basic troops will run laps around yours. Fortunately, you will be able to match their speed since the chaos gods blessed you with doom knights and hellstriders from Slaanesh's own roster. You will want to go as cheap and wide with your front-line in order to cover your flanks. Large units like dragon ogres will also be a good idea since Slaanesh lacks ranged units other than their own marauder horsemen. Lords wise, you'll either want a large monster beatstick or a flying caster lord. Keep an eye on the enemy roster if you went for the latter, you'll want to turn off flying and hide in your own army for a while if your opponent brought Azazel.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tomb Kings| Tomb Kings]]''': In Warhammer 3 you've got some really good options here, the ability to recruit anti-infantry khorne warriors with high armor can really give the tomb kings a bad time. Bring anti-large whatever really and back it up with a solid line of dual-axe khorne boys and watch the kings melt, even faster if you bring the lore of fire in some form
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Tzeentch| Tzeentch]]''':
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Coast| Vampire Coast]]''': The deckhand cries out in pain as he strikes you. A terrible, terrible matchup for you. Shaggoths, Chaos Spawn, etc. would be great here if they could actually get into melee, but with the coasts firepower there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening. Your only strategy is to go super wide and use chaos warriors/chosen as your killing. And then you’ll promptly run straight into World War Z as the coast player runs your infantry smack into a veritable wall of deckhand mobs and summons while their ap missiles and monsters eat your infantry for breakfast. You’re better off just forfeiting this one tbh, the coast player can basically just take a nap while you’re tearing your hair out on how to deal with them.
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts| Vampire Counts]]''': Your bad luck just doesn’t run out when it comes to the vampires. To put it shortly, wait for your rework. Sure this matchup is marginally better than Coast since you’ll actually make it into melee, but Vampire Counts will take your leadership to pound town with fear/terror, and their excellent mobility means that they can pick their engagements way better than you can. Also they can heal. Your only hope is to grab 2 Shaggoths or an exalted hero goon squad and defend them at all costs. Hopefully Tzeentch will favor you!
*'''[[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Wood Elves| Wood Elves]]''': You know what they say: dogs are a mutated tentacle-y chaos warriors best friend. Chaos Warhounds are a must in this matchup, because they are the only unit with the speed to reliably pin down the asrai’s shooters. Here’s the thing: you will win the infantry grind with 0 effort, as chaos warriors will kill any asrsi infantry they’re put up against with one hand tied behind their back, and the great weapon variant can even buzzsaw through Tree Kin relatively quickly. That’s not where the Wood elves strength lies however. If they go full Vietnam and bring a list full of shooters, you’ll want chaos warhounds and skirmish cav to pin down and damage their archers and cav. Chaos knights can deal with any cavalry the wood elves have (except for maybe the lost Sylvan Knights) as long as they don’t take the charge. Speaking of The lost Sylvan knights, they can be a huge pain since your magic damage is limited, and the easiest way to grind them down is probably a fire caster with flaming sword of rhuin. I wouldn’t bother with Shaggoths. An Exalted hero (or even two!) on a manticore can be a great pick here, since it’s mobile enough with a small hit box and has the killing power to take out Treemen, Zoats, lords/heros you name it. You’ll just need to be careful of Hawk riders. Archaon or Dorghar or Sigvald are probably your best lords here. Anything with a big hitbox is just asking to become a pincushion.

===Campaign Strategies===
'''AND THE REWORK CAME!''' The new rework gives you the ability to recruit daemon lords and all the daemons in general. a new 'upgrade system' allows you to recruit basic marauders and then upgrade them over time into chaos warriors and then chosen. your objective really is to kill a lot of people to earn 'souls' which you can offer to the chaos gods to get daemon units or major faction buffs. with the ability to pseudo-conquer settlements the days of horde agony are in the past. Take archeon and his lads on a merry slaughter-crusade throughout the world and with the ability to evolve your non-legendary generals into daemon princes come rank 30 it's the chaos experience we always wanted.

====Archaon====
Archaon leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse, with the following effects:
# First, +1 maximum active gift of Chaos Undivided, coming to a total of 4 Gifts of Chaos Undivided when you max out the tech tree. You'll see less of this early game when you're starved for souls, but it gives you more flexibility mid to late-game.
# Second, for each vassal you have, you get +10 to diplomatic relations with Beastmen, Norscans, WoC and Daemons and +10% research rate. This is pretty huge, with optimal play you can get 8 - 10 vassals early on, and 20+ Chaos faction vassals later on, for a whopping 300+ % research rate and over 200 diplomatic relations. This is without considering human and elf vassals from patch 2.1.1.
# Finally, souls + 25 for each vassal you have, which basically gives you free upkeep for cheaper gifts early game, and helps you build up a soul bank for buying gifted units later on.

'''[Early Game Research Tech Tree and Gifts]''' 
Unless you're going for something specific, I highly recommend rushing at least one Gift of Nurgle through research. This should unlock at turn 20 - 30. Choose "Bloom of Decay", which will give +75 growth per region to ALL provinces after winning any battle (sieges, minor settlement battles and field battles all count). This is frankly insane given that you'll be doing nothing but fighting the entire campaign, and snowballs the more armies you have. With some luck, you can unlock T4 settlements by turn 40 - 50 and T5 settlements not long after.

Note that "Bloom of Decay" doesn't add growth gain for that turn; it adds growth directly into your growth point count (see https://imgur.com/a/is7BctC for a badly edited demonstration).

You're pretty much free to play around with whatever research and gift you want from there, but I do like finishing off Nurgle's tech tree to get a second gift for "Deadly Transmission" which enables replenishment in foreign territory. This is basically Skarbrand's faction mechanic i.e. replenishment in hostile / neutral territory, and lets you play hyper-aggresively for favour, souls, and growth from Bloom of Decay.

'''[Early Game Build Up]''' 
You start off in the Blood Marshes, northeast of Kislev, and at war with the Slaaneshi minor faction the Exquisite Pain. Spend turn 1 taking your Dark Fortress, recruiting marauders, and getting a new lord (no supply lines for Chaos). The next couple of turns should be spent taking out the Exquisite Pain before subjugating their last settlement. Once done, you can go in three directions: west, to take down Boris Ursun before he smashes the Khorne minor, east to take the Dark Fortress from the Nurgle minor, or south to take Norsca.

I've generally proceeded by taking out Boris Ursun and capturing the three Dark Fortresses to the west up until you encounter Daniel, and later Malus Darkblade. From there you are in a good position to either keep going west to Valkia and Sigvald, or pivoting down to Norsca. With three Dark Fortresses you've more or less stabilized your early economy, so feel free to experiment from here.

If you do go west, you can eliminate Daniel fairly easily, but your main challenge will be Malus especially since he's allied to Malekith. If RNG is in your favour, you can avoid getting into a war with Malekith by joining war through one of the Daemon minors lying around, and then turning around to subjugate the Daemon minor. Either way,
subjugate the western Daemons and Norscans, and confederate Valkia and Sigvald. You should generally take out Crone Hellebron to safeguard that front, and leave one stack to defend against Malekith and Alith Anar, while getting your western vassals to send crapstacks at them to build a large buffer zone.

From there, world's your oyster. You can burn your way down to Morathi, and take the Dark Fortress at the Ancient City of Quintex before heading off to the meatgrinder on the donut. You can take the Dark Fortresses in Norsca and subjugate / confederate the factions there on the way to the Empire. You can hit up Kholek (assuming Grimgor hasn't destroyed him) and meet up with Vilitch outside Cathay far to the east. Or you can do two or more of the above with the good economy you should have by now, and keep burning the world.

'''[Lategame Shenanigans]''' 
''Gifted Unit farming'' 
Lategame, you tend to build up a huge bank of souls from fighting the Ordertide. With this bank, you can micromanage your Gifts of Chaos to gain more gifted units than ordinarily allowed. For example, Shaggoths are the highest tier gifted unit for Chaos Undivided. Their gift, "Carnage Incarnate", costs 2,000 souls and has a per turn upkeep of 200, and gives one Shaggoth per four turns passively. However, the Shaggoth is dropped into your Gifted unit pool on the same turn you apply "Carnage Incarnate". This makes it possible to recruit one Shaggoth every two turns by manually swapping out the Shaggoth gift, and then swapping it back. This works for all gifted units, although Nurgle gifted units are given one turn later since all Nurgle gifts give Nurglings in addition to the desired unit.

Illustration:
Turn 80: Spend 2,000 souls apply Carnage Incarnate, and get Shaggoth #1 in the gifted unit pool. Your lord can recruit Shaggoth #1 at this stage if desired. No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 81: 200 souls are deducted for Carnage Incarnate upkeep. Swap out Carnage Incarnate with literally anything else (e.g. Hail of Hellfire for 1,500 souls if you want Hellcannons). No further changes can be made to my Undivided Gifts of Chaos this turn.
Turn 82: 150 souls are deducted for Hail of Hellfire upkeep. Swap out Hail of Hellfire with Carnage Incarnate for 2,000 souls. Shaggoth #2 is now ready for recruiting 2 turns ahead of time, at an extra cost of 2,000 souls + 1,500 souls for the Hellcannon.

''Perks from Daemon Princes of Tzeentch'' 
You will also want to get Daemon Princes of Tzeentch, since at level 18 one of their special Lord perks "Deadly Erudition" gives Hero capacity +2 and Hero recruit rank +5 for Chaos Sorcerers. Sadly, the recruit rank part doesn't work as at patch 2.1.1, but if it gets fixed, it means that with two Daemon Princes of Tzeentch you can get sorcerers with instant arcane conduit and vortex spells with overcast and winds of magic discounts.

''Goon Squad Settlement Battle Cheese'' 
One way to take settlement battles / sieges with few casualties is to keep your infantry and cavalry in reserve to avoid dealing the towers. Instead, send in your manticore goon squad (Lord, Sorcerer, Hero) and single entity monsters (Shaggoths, Bloodthirsters / Keepers of Secrets, Soul Grinders, Skullcannons) to bash down any gates and deal with the garrison. Infantry will tend to blob up around your goon squad, which allows you to delete them with vortex spells (especially Pit of Shades and Infernal Gateway).

To further reduce damage, you can slap on regeneration items on your Lords and Heroes, and dedicate your Exalted Hero to Nurgle. Nurgle Heroes get to choose the perk "Stench-Ridden" at rank 7, which gives them 3 uses of the ability "Locus of Fecundity" on the field. This provides replenishment of +0.8% health per second for 11s and -1% fatigue per second, which helps keep your goon squad alive and top off your single entities after beating down the garrison.

If you have enough winds of magic, this tactic can even take down fullstacks and T4-5 garrisons, although you will likely need to commit some of your infantry later on to deal the finishing blow.

====Azazel====
Gifts of Slaanesh, seduction, and diplomacy is the name of the game for Azazel. gifts of Slaanesh can give you +25 souls per turn each, and you can easily have dozens of these active at once, so your able to sustain gifts of chaos easily and build up massive reserves of souls, you should use you diplomacy benefits for all its worth to avoid unnecessary wars and gradually spread out and conquer as many dark fortresses as possible while gaining vassals. you may not have the insane versatility of the undivided lord like archaon or belakor but you Slaanesh faction benefits are extremely strong. prioritize givings gifts of slaanesh to every lord you meet, friend or enemy, and you will never have to worry about souls again, you may not be overall as strong as Archaon, belakor, or maybe even sigvald but you are one of the best warriors of chaos factions in campaign for sure. Azazel himself is a great flying lord whith good abillities and an awesome weapon. Unfortunately because hellscourge units suck and mark of Slaanesh isn't really that good except on cavalry Azazel probably has the weakest unit roster of the Warriors of chaos factions, Slaanesh and undivided units aren't bad by any means but with the exception of chaos knights Slaanesh marking isnt usually one of the most useful choices. His powerful faction affects can certainly make up for that slight weakness though. like all 4 monogod warriors of chaos his tech tree is generally more focused and less versatile than the undivided lords.

====Be'lakor====
Belakor, the first Daemon Prince, the first champion of undivided, and the first to suffer from [[Horus Heresy|Daddy(-ies) issues]], comes with a few unique mechanics to differentiate him from Archaon and the Daemon Princes:
*'''Confederation''': Like Archaon, Belakor can confederate with the other Warriors of Chaos factions after seizing their last settlement, whereas other Warriors can only vassalize. Easier to do the earlier it is in the campaign, while your competition is still trying to subjugate the tribes. The factions ''closest'' to you is Sigvald, who is just to your Northwest, and Festus, in the Empire. Your mileage may vary, but Sigvald is the easiest to subjugate since the Fortress of the Damned is a port, and isn't [[Money|DLC-locked]].
*'''Rifts''': The ''best'' of the unique mechanics because of how it works with the WoC playstyle: Rifts allow for instant travel between two points on the map, and new ones can be created with the Tzeentch Unholy Manifestation simply by activating it on any land army that you have vision on, so you can send expendable heroes out to tag distant armies for you and have portals all over Malleus.
**Belakor starts with a Daemonic Rift in his capital, which leads you to the Southern Wastes and Ostermark, which throws you into the shit right away.
**You start with 4 charges of this rite and a cooldown of 15 turns, and this anon recommends placing your first few rifts on your Dark Fortresses rather than on Order Faction Capitals: teleporting an army ''directly'' on Sigvald or Archaon's doorstep makes subjugating them so much easier, and also makes holding these fortresses a cinch. Dark Fortresses are hard to take even without a garrisoned army and some, but not all, tend to be pretty far away from each other. Rifts can transport an army from a relatively quiet fortress right in front of an invading Skaven Horde or Empire doomstack.
**Stances are retained when traveling through rifts, but not movement, so entering in the raid/encamp/ambush stance ensures you're not entirely defenseless when emerging from the other side.
*'''Manifestations''': Replaces the Eye of the Gods mechanic. You can sacrifice souls to the four Gods in exchange for campaign abilities and a gifted Daemon unit.
**Tzeentch creates portals and gifts Pink Horrors
**Nurgle delivers 100 Nurgle Corruption (over 10 turns, so +10 a turn) and Plaguebearers
**Khorne greatly improves the melee and charge stats of an entire army and gifts Bloodletters
**Slaanesh deals damage to an opposing enemy army and gifts Daemonettes
**Souls sacrificed in this manner ''do not'' count towards the Gifts of Chaos, which is a shame.
*'''Daemonic Warband Upgrades''': Not only does Belakor have a base 3+ Authority with all four Gods, but after researching through the tech tree, Belakor can upgrade any of the basic Daemons to their Exalted versions, which keeps them competitive as the game goes on.
*'''Belakor's Shadow''' - You can convert enemy Human lords into Daemon Princes, either by defeating them with Belakor, or by Hero action. This only applies to non-Legendary, non-Warriors of Chaos lords. It takes 10 turns for the transformation to complete, and if the Lord is disbanded or kille, the effect is removed.
*'''Konquata and the Campaign''': As mentioned above, Belakor starts in Konquata, Albion, with the Vanaheimling's as his Norscan vassals. Being so close to Bretonnia and the Empire, as well as having rifts to Ostermark and the Southern Wastes, it's tempting to start throwing the forces of Order into Chaos, but subjugating and vassalizing other Chaos-factions should take priority. Wulfrik's territory is also quite close to you, and while you can't make him playable, having him as a vassal is still helpful, and you can gift him territory to make his faction stronger. Honestly, trading away all the non-Dark Fortress settlements to vassals or allies is the smart way to go because you benefit very little from them, while they can make full settlements out of them. His one weakness is that he has no bonuses to soul generation at all so gifts of chaos are much harder to sustain.
**Konquata [[Fail|doesn't have a port]], which makes you kinda glad that you have the rifts, instead. Getting in and out of Albion without them is a bitch, both for you ''and'' for invaders. It's not as annoying as the Galleon's Graveyard, but you will have enough warning about coming invaders to get an army through a rift.

====Festus====
Festus has power support abilities and the always powerful and useful plague mechanic but is unfortunately stuck on foot and mediocre in melee, thankfully nurgle marking is generally one of the strongest options on many units and they have access to great weapon versions of infantry which is very useful. He also gains souls from plagues which is pretty decent but much weaker than archaeon's vassal effect or gifts of Slaanesh at generating souls overall. Both marked heros and lords of nurgle are very good as well. Frankly Festus is very solid. Good units to take advantage of are chaos giants while stacking missile resistance, Aspiring champions, and nurgle chaos knights are all very strong, make sure to always have sources of healing to outlast your enemies. really just his low speed and no mount holds him back.

====Kholek====
Kholek is a beast who gets stronger and BIGGER with every vassal, but he lost his 20% ward save skill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately he has no particularly good factions benefits, he does nothing to boost his army except giving dragon ogres a weak activated ability and some combat bonuses and he gives only his own army a 25% discount on dragon ogre upkeep, plus gets the shaggoth granting chaos gift easier. Unfortunately he if far, far less useful overall than archaon, belakor, or even Sigvald as far as faction effects go, his is still a beast in combat but there no real reason to use him instead of just confederating him as archaon and belakor. Disappointing that they felt the need to nerf him and give him nothing to make up for it. I guess you can get 50 vassals and have fun with how giant he is but frankly that's just a gimmick.

====Sigvald====
Sigvald has Slaaneshi seduction and gifts of Slaanesh both of which are extremely strong. Gifts of slaanesh let you spam hero actions across the map to passively generate souls, where most chaos factions depend on battling and razing to generate souls you can get insanely high passive soul income while also seducing factions to become your vassals, allowing you to upkeep your gifts of chaos for free. seriously this effect alone makes sigvald and Azazael deceptively powerful. compared to Azazel, Sigvald has a better tech tree and access to the full roster instead of just Slaanesh, frankly Slaanesh marking is only really that useful on chaos knights and cavalry to give devastating flanker but is kinda lack luster on mauraders, warriors etc. Sigvald is much more well rounded than Azazel in unit/hero/lord choice.

====Valkia====
Valkia has some of Skaarbrands signature mojo, but isn't quite as op. She herself is a potent flying beatstick and her Khorne/undivided rosters is focused and powerful, but in terms of faction benefits and campaign effects she is solid but perhaps not the best. Her Star ability is to replenish in enemy territory. khorne units are offensively focused and powerful thankfully. She is the only warriors of chaos faction who cannot use any sorcerer lords and only has access to the lores of fire and metal (maybe go fire since you have lots of units with flaming attacks to benefit from kindleflame. She also has no way of passively generating souls like Archaon/Festus/Azazel/Sigvald and must rely on razing and battles completely, meaning its much harder to sustain many gifts until later when you've built up a nice large reserve of souls. Still that doesn't mean she is weak by any means. Her ability to rampage across the map quickly is as potent as always. Her version of the Bloodletting ability is basically useless, all it does is increase khorne authority and experience gain for units, but she and her other lords should have no problem getting khorne authority since your likely to mark most of your lord and hero's.

====Villitch====
a decent caster and decent fight but stuck on foot unfortunately, god why couldn't they have given him a disc?, as a lord he's kinda mediocre, good to support barriers on your troops but other wise not amazing. factions wise his benefits are only ok, he has the changing of ways which can definitely be good and the ability to teleport is nice, but his other faction bonuses are semi-mediocre. thankfully barrier is extremely strong and the mark of Tzeentch is just good in general. The biggest issue with him is that he isn't kairos or nearly as op as him, but still Tzeentch units are strong enough to make up for that. He has no particularly good way to gain souls compared to other lords though.

[[Category:Total Warhammer]] {{Total War Warhammer Tactics}}

MedHammer 40,000 Macharios

2023-02-17T19:01:49Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* The Death of Chaos Undivided */

{{Topquote| Macharios the one who righted what Lorgar Destroyed|Lupercal}}''
Macharios Solar, Macharios Pacificus, Macharios the Anathema, Macharios Megalos, Macharios the Young, Macharios The Tragic, Macharios The Conqueror. There are thousands of names for this man, as is his right. For outside of the Emperor himself, there has been none so influential as Macharios. Lacking no resources other than his contacts and his naked ambition, he led a great conquest through the Segmentum Pacificus liberating them from the forces of The Ruinous Powers.

For many across the Galaxy, Macharios was the herald for a new era, before his birth, The Imperium was stagnating under its own weight in a bloody mellennia long war with the Ruinous powers. After Macharios died, the Empire shook off its weary slumber and began to assert itself anew on the galaxy. Macharios was the great bringer of hope, showing the galaxy that The Forces of Chaos were a threat that could not only be fought, but beaten, even overwhelmed.

==Life of Macharios==

===Early Life===
{{Topquote|Macharius grew up a caretaker of the great monuments and shrines to Humanity's great heroes. As all caretakers do, He lived among the monuments of great conquerors, great statesmen, and great leaders, showing their glory to travellers and scholars. But archivist was not to be his destiny. One night as a youth his caretaker found him weeping bitter tears before the statues he was attending. When the caretaker asked him what the matter this is what the young Macharius said. "This is not a shrine, this is a tomb! All of Terra is an Ossuary to our ancestors. We do not follow their example. I am surrounded by greatness it does nothing. When Izen`owre, Kaizre, Neapolitan, Bazilbee, and Karldegros were my age they shaped great kingdoms. They conquered their worlds, and what have I done? Nothing! I serve their bones!" |Ibn Suqrat - "The Life and Times of Maxarios Megalos"}}

==The Tallarn Marriage==
Long ago The Tallarn were from a planet of harsh unforgiving desert, scorching heat and shifting sands. It was a hard land, but the hard people who lived there called it home. That changed when Rogal Dorn, for reasons known only to him, abandoned his legion to take over the Segmentum Tempestus. It is unknown what made Dorn return from his exile, but whatever it was, he and his select fists were unendingly building and preparing against it. Origionally the Tallarn enjoyed the benign neglect of Dorn, who shared very little interest in the actual civic management of the Segmentum he governed, so long as material quotas were on schedule, of acceptable quality, and without complications. The People of Tallarn continued to live as they did following the great crusade, with their imperial tithes, and nomadic life.

Eventually the orchestrations of the Mad Castellan came for Tallarn. The planet Tallarn had outlived its usefullness, and now only the energy of Tallarn's Harsh sun, offered anything for Dorn's designs. Dorn heard no pleas, and offered no comfort, and aid. They were only informed that their home would become a frozen uninhabitable planet, whether they were on it or not.

Taking inspiration from The Legends of Tarasha and Gulliman's "Grande Exode d`Ultramar." The Tallarn traded anything and everything they had for the ships needed to evacuate the planet. Though many were left to die on Tallarn, and those that were survived were heavily in debt to the Rogue Traders who financed the evacuation, the Tallarn set about on their new life as Void Nomads. Entrapped in a debt they could never hope to repay, the Tallarn were little more than mercenary companies, corsairs, assassins, and other disreputable professions, to appease their debtors.

This was likely to be their fate for eternity, until the forces of the galaxy finally snuffed them out, but 39th millenium offered a shining star to navigate to. This star was Solar Macharios, the rogue adventurer with dreams of rivaling the great conquerors of ancient Terra. The Promising adventurer had built a sizable warband of his own, and charmed his Captain, the Admiral Hedya Roqsenh. The New Union worked to unite the disparate tribal bands of Tallarni ships and carve out a kingdom for themselves.

With the Support of The Tallarn, the exiled and forgotten denizens of The Imperium, the clandestine support of The Lion El'Johnson (Segmentarch of Obscura), and Macharios' own Strategic brilliance, the adventurers were able to carve their own little Imperium out of what was supposedly in the Thrall of Chaos, sending shockwaves felt by most of the galactic powers.

==Conquest==
{{Topquote|''"The Vices are more clever than us, are more powerful than us, more numerous than us, and are more resourceful than us, but all that does not compensate for their fatal flaw. The Vices are Myopic and are incapable of sacrificing for something greater. A vice is doomed to serve itself." |Macharios''}}

==Grand Macharia, The Humbled Legacy==

The Government that rules in Macharios is name is a hollow shell of the Magnificence of its founder.

====Hegemon====
The Hegemon is the Commander of Macharia. Nearly every aspect of the State is under his discretion. The Hegemon is selected from among the Generals of Macharia.

=====Selection=====

When Macharius died, he willed his empire to "The Strongest," fearing that The High Lords of Terra or worse would take advantage of their infighting, it was devised by the generals to create a method of selection that could pass for a peaceful transition of government.

The selection process is a mock battle in which the generals and their honor guard fight on the fields of Macharia. Each general and his exactly 200 soldiers are required to take ceremonial non-lethal weapons in which they will fight. At the center of the battlefield is a fasces, which the general must bring to a ceremonial stand near where he begins. Because all elements of this battle is standardized except the techniques, strategems, and skill of the warriors, it is thought that this manner best exemplifies Macharius' last dictum, and ensures that the most skilled tactician is made to lead the State.

====The 35 Generals====
Macharia is a Military Dictatorship, and as such it is one that is managed by the generals. Each general technically governs over the entirity of macharia along with the other generals. In practice the generals are usually given territory to control upon the selection of a new Hegemon.

=====Junta=====

The Junta is the body of Generals assembled for the management of Macharia. When they act unanimously they can overrule the Hegemon. Additionally any member of the Junta can challenge the Hegemon in a fight to the death. Upon doing so he will be made Acting-Hegemon until the next selection.

=====Tallarn Flotilla=====

Once Tallarn was a planet in The Segmentum Tempestus, but that was before Rogal Dorn, the Segmentarch, decided that Tallarn's sun would better serve his plans if encased in a dyson sphere, and the sands of Tallarn would make for useful building materials. Helpless to resist, the Tallarns were forced to flee, and migrated throughout the Imperium. They had been stellar nomads for millennia before Macharius organized his great crusade. Lacking a true military, The Tallarn represented one of Macharius' greatest assets and both Tallarn Soldiers and Tallarn Ships brought many victories against the forces of chaos. Following Macharius' death the Tallarn are a major political force in Grand Macharia, and have no less than 10 of the 35 generals, who usually act as a single bloc.

Far away from their place of origin, and enduring the trials of a thousand years. The Tallarni people have taken to their new way of life and carved out a new place of power for themselves in the Segmentum Pacificus. No longer the Scions, the Tallarni Fleets are the most powerful force in Gran Macharia, an Independent Vassal of The Imperium of Man. The Tallarni represent the single most powerful faction within Gran Macharia, to the point where the Head Admiral of the Tallarni Fleets is considered the De Facto leader of the Junta of The 35.

====Rogue Trader Enclaves====
The Macharian government has very little interest in actually managing the domestic affairs of the country. Consequently it is not uncommon for the State to Lease out authority to tax and develop entire subsectors of the State to Wealthy Traders and Rogue Traders. These Enclaves agree to provide the Macharian state with an agreed upon portion of wealth, raw materials or equipment.
=====House Hastfanstauffen=====
Contracts are usually renewed once a century, but when the Generals were more careless there were a few contracts made in Macharia that were leased in Perpetuity. This is the case with House Hastfanstauffen. Shortly after Macharius' death, the processed foods vendor Enrique Hastfanstauffen made an agreement for the development of two undeveloped sectors. Desperate for resources, the Junta agreed. The Hastfanstauffen lease should have expired after its death, but because of a loophole in the contract, the lease was returned to the Junta following the closure of the Estate. As such, "The Executor" continues to manage the Estate of The Late Enrique Hastfanstauffen.

====Ecclesiarchy and other Cults====
The Unofficial other branch of Macharian government, because the Macharian junta's general disinterest in Civil government, it often falls on other civic organizations to tend to the many needs of Macharius' citizens These Cults often build themselves into missions, communes, or enclaves, where the faithful can have some modicum of normalcy. Though the Aurelian Cult is significant, there are many more far flung and exotic religions in macharia. Even the Imperial Soter Cult, thought long since destroyed has a not insignificant following in Macharia. Given its proximity to the Eye of Terror, nearly all of Macharia, including its leadership are generally highly devout, giving the various cults considerable influence.

==Impact of Macharios==
{{Topquote|"Let it be known, that when Mankind was made to stare into the black abyss, it was the abyss that blinked.|Monument of The Katholeans: Olanius Pius, Juris Lucia Annamis, and Macharius Megalos.}}

The unmitigated success of The Macharian Crusade jolted a sleeping Empire to life. There was a great awakening as its citizens and leaders were no longer satisfied with waiting until the Emperor was awakened for Mankind to return to glory. A new movement and ideology was founded "Cathacathedrism" believing that the Imperium should be prepared for the Emperor's inevitable return, through great victories and reforms. Even outside of the Imperium of Man, the Macharian crusade sent shockwaves across the galaxy signaling that the end of the war with Chaos was in sight.

===The Death of Chaos Undivided===

Chaos Undivided was not formally repudiated or dissolved, indeed there were even several Black Crusades mounted against the Imperium under the Black Legion following the Death of Macharios. What did die, however was anyone's faith in the Movement. Lorgar's vision of the secret harmony of Chaos was proven to be the Apophenia of a Deluded Fanatic. The different champions of Chaos instead saw themselves as rivals to a dwindling supply of resources. There was only the fight for survival, and the Great Game.

Lorgar, following his blunder at Cadia, saw his position of favor to Chaos fall to Be'lakor once again. Lorgar was forced to organize his crusades sulking in the shadows. Be'lakor tossed aside the Anthroprocentric focus of Lorgar's chaos for a return to the old ways. The Black Crusades against the Imperium were discarded in favor of a return to encouraging corruption throughout the Galaxy. Thinking that this approach would stop the bleeding and allow Chaos to recover so much of its loss strength, Be'lakor actually accelerated Chaos' territorial decline. Too much had changed since M25 and rather than prodding one awakening Galactic power, he instead foolishly prodded all of them. Most devastatingly, Be'lakor's greater emphasis on corruption of the eldar only strengthened the growing Yndarri, and permanently sided the complacent Dark Eldar toward the Imperium of Man. Following this even more disastrous 2000 year governorship, where the Eldar began reclaiming croneworlds, Lorgar Once again re-asserted his role as Champion of Chaos to attempt to clean up Be'lakor's damage.

===Outside of The Imperium===
;Eldari
In the Eldar Craftworlds, the complacency that they felt towards the Imperium was shattered. Previously they had thought of Mankind as a pathetic force "Propped up" by the Wounded Emperor and His remaining Primarchs. Previously the position of the Eldar towards humanity was one of outlasting, figuring that they could wait for humanity's inevitable return to the chaos and self destruction of The Age of Strife. Now they were not so sure. The grand army of Macharios with his unaugmented, unaltered humans was able to outmaneuver the immortal forces of chaos. The eldar instead began turning their criticism inward, as they asked themselves how a collection of pathetic mon'keigh were able to recover more territory than they had in their entire history since the birth of Eye of Terror. Perhaps the greatest impact of the Macharian crusade on the Eldari is two fold.
# The rise of the Ynnari.
:The Success of the Macharian Crusade saw witness to a rise of widespread dissent and contempt against the Craftworld Leadership. Whether it was fears of a new resurgent Humanity comming after them, or disappointment that no such military successes were present in Eldar history, the cautious and patient approach of the Farseers was quickly losing support among the Eldar, assasinations and mutinies were rampant, as well as a "great awakening" of Craftworld Eldars towards the remaining Deities of Cegorach and Ynnead. The latter in particular gained the most from the Post-Macharios upheaval, as Yvraine, champion of Ynnead, took full advantage of this dissent to lead a mellinia long civil war against the craftworlds, which she eventually united.
#Eldar Rift
As the Yndari rose in power and began to win the Eldar Civil War, the few remaining Craftworlds and The Dark Eldar found themselves drawing closer together, finding their each other's company significantly less repulsive than the fanatical Yndarri theocracy.
# Escalation of the Tau Proxy war.
:Origionally little more than the Dark Eldar's "experiment" into finding greater leverage with The Imperium, the Eldar's T'au Proxy was now seen as a vital counterweight to not only The Imperium, but the rising Yndarri threat. The T'au saw a rapid rise in both technological advancement and expansion during this time, aided by the Eldar, who even began encouraging the T'au to fight against the Necrons.

;T'au Empire
:For the T'au, the Macharian Crusade had less direct impact. The idea that individuals could join forces and unite successfully for a greater good wasn't exactly news. The T'au were more indirectly affected by a greater escalation of the Imperium/T'au Conflict. Both from the increased attention by the Aeldari as well as the reshifting of Imperial forces from the Obscura to Ultima Segmentum.

;Tyrannids
:The Tyrannids were about as affected by the Macharian Crusade as one could expect a galaxy consuming hivemind to be influenced by a brief blip in itheir food's quabbles. It wasn't completely immune to its influence however, as the Conquest of the Segmentum Pacificus saw the Imperium reshifting its center of military gravity from fighting Chaos to fighting Tau and Tyrannids. The greatest result of this was a significant slowdown of Hive Fleet Hydra's expansion into Ultramar.

;Necrons
:The Silent King had been watching human developments with interest. The Macharian conquest of the Segmentum Pacificus convinced the Silent King to once again reach out to Sanguinius for an alliance against the Tau, Tyrannids and Eldar. Seeing them as a useful tool in defeating the Old one's legacy once and for all.

===The Rise of the "Independent Auxillaries"===
<blockquote>
{{Topquote|"After Lorgar, the Imperium has been fighting as if it had a withered hand. We thought it was because the traitor cut the other off, but Macharios has forced us to confront the truth. It was we who tied off its circulation. We treated our human subjects as delicate glass ornaments sitting precariously on a shelf. Now I can only ask myself in shame, where would my Sons be if I were not so haughty?"|:Magnus The Red on Macharios}}

{{Topquote|"I have always held that purity of will and mastery over one's flesh, was man's greatest assets. And nothing since Gorgon has dissuaded me. For this, my sons rebelled abandoned me for their love of sprockets. Even my brothers view my passion for the perfection of the self as quaint and foolish. Just a simple philosophy for a simple man. But when the mortal remade the Pacificus in his own image their smirks were as useless as their own weapons, and as absent as their troops."| -Ferrus Manus}}

It would be an understatement to say that the Macharian Crusade influenced the Imperium's military strategy. Indeed the Crusade caused a tectonic shift in Sanguinius and Horus' approach to the use of auxillaries and greater military strategy. For the most part, Imperial strategy of Sanguinius had been the same as that of Horus and The Emperor's during the Great Crusade, focusing primarily on the Legiones Astartes. The Human Auxillaries were used either for Support or Cannon fodder, depending upon the legion or segmentarch in question. Normal Humans, requiring significantly larger supply needs than Astartes to be effective, were considered not being worth the logistical cost. Additionally the Human auxiliaries were considered incompetent and untrustworthy, requiring close monitoring.

That changed when Macharios and his companions drove the forces of Chaos out of the Segmentum Pacificus. Suddenly it was clear that Imperial guard had a greater role to play than just defensive guard and minesweepers. Horus, under Sanguinius's command immediately set to work on reorganizing the tithes of soldiers and equipment. The Astra Militarum was reorganized into legions similar to the Astartes. Forgeworlds were now tithed to provide a greater number of commissions for common equipment.

Many of these Astra Militarum Legions were sent on "test" crusades, where they traveled through the imperium eliminating Ork incursions. And as the Tau War continued to escalate, it was the Human Astra Militarum that would pick up the call in greater numbers. This greater desire for more Human troops resulted in widespread reform and militarization of the Imperium. The thirst for conscripts saw the demand for more fortress worlds and new human legions to be created. The Segmentum Guards and auxillary forces were encouraged to provide their expert training to these newly found legions. This rapid escalation and armament of the Imperium further terrified the Eldar, continuing the rapid breakdown of Human-Eldar relations.

===The Crusade for Maccragge===
{{"And though my faith in Our Lord Guilliman is unshakable, my faith in my brothers is tried. Behold The Queen Mother despairs at her pathetic children. The men of Ultramar are squabbling, and petty. You disgrace the Aurelian and the Emperor with your putrid lives: growing fat on the gifts of The Godson. With nothing but a few battalions, the Katholeans have conquered a 1000 worlds from the Demons. Yet what of the Children of the man who conquered 500 worlds? Our gifts of The mother, ultramarines and valliant soldiers can not even manage to reconquer MacCragge? The great Lord Aurelian's home, where Great Tarasha reared him, and The Ultramarine was first forged. The land where our holy texts were written and the great sacrifice is made, we have allowed it to remain desecrate. As I speak there are demons performing vile obscenities over the throne of our great god king, and our spiritual lieges can only think of their next Banquet!" |Abbess Themaeux Gaugre' "Sermon from the Pulpit of Saranath"}}
</blockquote>

The Macharian Crusade inspired a wave of copycats. Most of these varried from embarassing failures (The Crusade for Commoragh) to tragic failures (The Kroot Crusade for Pecha). Perhaps one of the few examples of such a copycat crusade being successful was the "Ancillae Crusade" This crusade, prompted by the Great Daughter of Tarasha, swept Ultramar into a frenzy to finally liberate Holy Maccrage from the Chaotic tain that had held it for 10000 years. Chaos, already weakened by the Macharian crusade, was unable to aid its outpost in Royum Ultramar. Through the Rally of the Forces of Ultramar, the demonic citadels of Maccragge were broken, and the holy relics of Roboute Gulliman were found.

===The Capture of Cadia and the End of Chaos===
{{Topquote|:Though over in Macharia, The Hero lies in state
:For Gulliman to wake him up, we will not stand and wait
:The General he calls on us to charge Cadia's gate
:His soul commands us on!"
|Chant of Astra Militarum during the final crusade (To the tune of The Battle Hymmn of the Republic)}}

During the Macharian Crusade, Macharios made a modest Gambit. Divert Angron and Saporin's navy, by convincing chaos to intercept a percieved assault on Cadia. What he did not expect was the forces of chaos to fall in complete disarray. Between abandonment of the Occular Pacificus in mass, to singular suicide charges into the Obscura, to inter-chaos civil wars, this diversion placed Chaos on the Backfoot and was left scrambling for alternatives. This gargantuan military blunder was not unnoticed by the Imperium, as it was a clear signal that not only was Chaos undivided a Lorgarite fiction, but that Cadia itself was seen as vulnerable by its own forces. Imperial forces was no longer content to weather Chaotic Incursions, but instead became Bolder. Sanguinius led the first of many "Golden Crusades" to retake Cadia. He was ultimately successful in M43, as Cadia was surrounded and seiged into submission. The capture of Perturabo's Citadel of Cadia represented the mortal blow to chaos, from which it would never recover.

[[Category:Medhammer 40.000]][[Category:Homebrew Settings]]

God-Slayer

2023-02-17T18:59:42Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* History */

{{Whfb-stub}}
{{Heresy}}
{{Topquote|Kislevite spears are a tool the Daemon Prince knows intimately. In this past life, he wielded one in the name of honor. Now he wears a different name and cares only for forging himself into a weapon of unfathomable destruction. Sometimes, carried on the whisper of an ice-laced breeze, he hears the name... Daniel.|[[https://youtu.be/zveFDWkaTYM?t=312 The Advisor]]}}
[[File:God-Slayer.jpg|300px|thumb|right|"''I was mortal once. A prince then, a prince now... The gods themselves called me to bear their mark. I have time... to revel in this coming slaughter! I am a puppet no longer! I am the God-Slayer!''"]]

'''God-Slayer''' (known to his few friends as <s>'''Prince Yuri Barkov'''</s> '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijPptriPR4o Daniel]''') is an OC from [[Total War: WARHAMMER]]. He is the former [[Kislev|Kislevite]] noble who went to save Ursun, yet instead of saving him he got corrupted and twisted by Chaos. By the time he came to and meet Ursun, he was twisted to the core by Chaos and shot the bear god with a enchanted bullet that supposedly killed Ursun. Because killing a god is serious business, and the fact that he didn't choose a patron, he got turned into a ([[Derp|second]]) Daemon of [[Chaos Undivided]] by all four [[Chaos Gods]] for [[HERESY|aforementioned killing of Ursun]]... who was revealed to be still alive, but in the hands of [[Be'lakor]], who is definitely planning something. Thus '''<s>God-Sla</s>...Daniel''' gathers his forces to finish the job.

Unlike Be'lakor, the God-Slayer can say fuck it to the whole "Undivided Prince" gig and become the [[Khorne|Blood-Sprayer]], the [[Nurgle|Couch-Layer]], the [[Slaanesh|Ball-Drainer]], or the [[Tzeentch|Lie-Sayer]]...or mix and match body parts how he likes resulting in some really [[Original character, do not steal|BIZARRE FORMS]].

If you couldn't tell, the dude is basically Warhammer Fantasy's answer to [[Warcraft|Prince Arthas]] (even though Archaon already has more than a few similarities to him).

==History==
His story unfolds the course of the <s>Warcraft 3 Human campaign</s>Warhammer 3 prologue, which also serves as a tutorial for explaining basic game mechanics (how to move your army on the battle and campaign maps, how to recruit units, conquer cities, construct buildings, etc...)

[[Meme|He was a human once. Prince then, prince now.]] But jokes aside, Yuri Barkov (not Kovalenko, as some lore [[Grognard|grognards]] hoped, although it turns out the two are related) was an Ungol prince that was tasked by [[Tzarina Katarin]], his old girlfriend it turns out, to find [[Ursun]]. You see, in TWW continuity ([[Warhammer: The Old World|at least for now]]) the Bear-God ended every winter with his powerful roar. But then he disappeared, and Kislevite climate, which was already harsh, became pretty similar to the [[Game of Thrones]] one. To end the the seven years-long winter, Yuri with his brother Gerik and some warriors marched north, to the Kislev's northernmost outpost Dervingard, where Ursun was last heard.

The road was hard and filled with various dangers, and many considered quitting even before reaching the outpost, but then Yuri received a message from Ursun, who told prince that he is still very much alive and needs saving. So, Kislevites marched north, but faced many problems. 
See, that part of Kislev is pretty close to the Chaos Wastes, so it was under constant attacks by Norscans.
After finally killing an annoying Chaos chieftain, Yuri has the [[Derp|bright idea]] to pick up the guy's cursed sword, and also to start pouring over the notes of the previous guy who lead that outpost the Boyar Slavin Kurnz, who quit when he decided to join Chaos, in order to try and learn how to navigate the Chaos Wastes to find Ursun. 
Surprisingly, he actually finds some mildly useful advice in that book, and combined with the help of Ursun's voice, he actually does manage to make some headway into the Wastes, first fighting some Daemons, then breaching a [[Tzeentch|labyrinth guarding a library]] for more information on exactly how to get to Ursun.

His men (and especially his brother) start worrying, but Yuri ignores them and return with the next step on their plan: the portal to the actual Realm of Chaos is behind a bridge that can only be passed if allowed by the greater Daemon that guards it, so following Ursun's advice, Yuri will go to a [[Khorne|brass shrine]] and kill some daemons to get the true Name of the that bridge guardian. His brother start finding Yuri's behaviour [[Heresy|very suspicious]], especially as the success they meet so far (killing enough Norscans that they actually start sending him offerings and treating him as a sort of chieftain in his own right) gets to Yuri's head, but its the only lead they have so he follows.

The trip to the brass shrine goes surprising well and he gets the True Name, but at that point he's clearly starting to lose it. Cemented when they finally reach that bridge and Yuri [[Ferrus Manus|decapitates his brother without hesitation]] for safe passage. Encouraged by Ursun, he presses forward and after fighting that former kislev outpost chief we mentionned above, steps into the portal to the Chaos Realm...

... where he finds that the "Ursun" he'd been talking to was actually [[Be'lakor]] all along. Be'lakor then shows Yuri Ursun as he is, imprisoned, weakened and begging for help, and convinces him that the Bear God is not worthy of being worshiped and that Yuri should kill him and take his power for himself. Yuri, at this point fully believing in his own hype, actually does shoot Ursun to kill him.

Except that Be'lakor actually takes that power for himself and leave Yuri for dead instead. Broken, faithless and on the verge of death, Yuri prays to the Chaos Gods as a whole, begging them to let him be powerful enough to take his revenge on the Daemon Prince. The big four actually accepts, and Yuri is immediately overwhelmed by their combined blessings, shedding his previous human form. 

Yuri is no more, and in his place stands <s>Daniel</s> ''whichever name you picked or decided to let the random name generator give him''.

Due to his betrayal he starts out at war with <s>Konstaltyn</s> [[Rape|EVERY NON-CHAOS FACTION]]. Expect even the hippies from Nordland to come knocking at your door. He starts in Norsca, surrounded by minor Norscan factions, some Greenskins and Skaven, and possibly every Kislevite in the map.

His faction is different in the sense that he has no tech tree. Instead, he gains glory. Glory is a currency of sorts that you gain in battle or dedicating buildings to a particular god. In battle, you choose to dedicate that glory to a specific god, or to Chaos Undivided. This goes to his Glory tree, which unlocks body parts and weapons for him, and unlocks buffs and units. So, your whole faction is entirely malleable. Horrors can rain down missiles while Plaguebearers hold the line and Skullcrushers ride to the flanks if you wish. All of this culminates in the Ascension decision in your Glory tree. After a certain amount of Glory is earned for a god or Undivided, you can ascend to be a patron of that god or remain forever as an Undivided prince. This unlocks the last set of body parts and the late game units of the god, if you chose a particular god. You can only ascend to one god or Undivided. Also you lose some glory with the other gods if you choose a god in specific. Also, with the glory tree, he can use some of the skills that the monogod factions have. For example he can seduce units, or unlock a bloodletting bar like the Khornate factions, or have a watered down version of a plague.

His skill tree is also different in the sense that he has no skills to benefit him personally (no yellow skill tree). Instead he has a skill line for every god and Undivided, buffing the units of that god or army buffs. You can only buff the Prince through body parts, or defeat traits.

So, all in all, he's the perfect RP character. He's the demon of many skills but master of none. His main advantage is his versatility. Even if he goes full Khornate, he'll never match Skarbrand pound for pound, same for all the other demonic Legendary Lords. So, he is whatever you make him to be. Should he succeed in his campaign, after spanking Be'lakor’s ass fiercely at the Forge of Souls, he takes possession of Ursun’s corpse and the power still within it. Then to rub further salt in Be'lakor’s wounds the dude uses said power to fully take over Kislev and become the Chaos god Be'lakor always wished he could be.

Hilariously, for a time after launch he was actually weaker than his human form from the prologue. Gee, thanks Chaos.

{{Daemons-Characters}}
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]
[[Category:Total Warhammer]]
[[Category:Daemons]]
[[Category:Kislev]]

God-Slayer

2023-02-17T18:57:36Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:6885:1A06:4A99:70C9: /* History */

{{Whfb-stub}}
{{Heresy}}
{{Topquote|Kislevite spears are a tool the Daemon Prince knows intimately. In this past life, he wielded one in the name of honor. Now he wears a different name and cares only for forging himself into a weapon of unfathomable destruction. Sometimes, carried on the whisper of an ice-laced breeze, he hears the name... Daniel.|[[https://youtu.be/zveFDWkaTYM?t=312 The Advisor]]}}
[[File:God-Slayer.jpg|300px|thumb|right|"''I was mortal once. A prince then, a prince now... The gods themselves called me to bear their mark. I have time... to revel in this coming slaughter! I am a puppet no longer! I am the God-Slayer!''"]]

'''God-Slayer''' (known to his few friends as <s>'''Prince Yuri Barkov'''</s> '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijPptriPR4o Daniel]''') is an OC from [[Total War: WARHAMMER]]. He is the former [[Kislev|Kislevite]] noble who went to save Ursun, yet instead of saving him he got corrupted and twisted by Chaos. By the time he came to and meet Ursun, he was twisted to the core by Chaos and shot the bear god with a enchanted bullet that supposedly killed Ursun. Because killing a god is serious business, and the fact that he didn't choose a patron, he got turned into a ([[Derp|second]]) Daemon of [[Chaos Undivided]] by all four [[Chaos Gods]] for [[HERESY|aforementioned killing of Ursun]]... who was revealed to be still alive, but in the hands of [[Be'lakor]], who is definitely planning something. Thus '''<s>God-Sla</s>...Daniel''' gathers his forces to finish the job.

Unlike Be'lakor, the God-Slayer can say fuck it to the whole "Undivided Prince" gig and become the [[Khorne|Blood-Sprayer]], the [[Nurgle|Couch-Layer]], the [[Slaanesh|Ball-Drainer]], or the [[Tzeentch|Lie-Sayer]]...or mix and match body parts how he likes resulting in some really [[Original character, do not steal|BIZARRE FORMS]].

If you couldn't tell, the dude is basically Warhammer Fantasy's answer to [[Warcraft|Prince Arthas]] (even though Archaon already has more than a few similarities to him).

==History==
His story unfolds the course of the <s>Warcraft 3 Human campaign</s>Warhammer 3 prologue, which also serves as a tutorial for explaining basic game mechanics (how to move your army on the battle and campaign maps, how to recruit units, conquer cities, construct buildings, etc...)

[[Meme|He was a human once. Prince then, prince now.]] But jokes aside, Yuri Barkov (not Kovalenko, as some lore [[Grognard|grognards]] hoped, although it turns out the two are related) was an Ungol prince that was tasked by [[Tzarina Katarin]], his old girlfriend it turns out, to find [[Ursun]]. You see, in TWW continuity ([[Warhammer: The Old World|at least for now]]) the Bear-God ended every winter with his powerful roar. But then he disappeared, and Kislevite climate, which was already harsh, became pretty similar to the [[Game of Thrones]] one. To end the the seven years-long winter, Yuri with his brother Gerik and some warriors marched north, to the Kislev's northernmost outpost Dervingard, where Ursun was last heard.

The road was hard and filled with various dangers, and many considered quitting even before reaching the outpost, but then Yuri received a message from Ursun, who told prince that he is still very much alive and needs saving. So, Kislevites marched north, but faced many problems. 
See, that part of Kislev is pretty close to the Chaos Wastes, so it was under constant attacks by Norscans.
After finally killing an annoying Chaos chieftain, Yuri has the [[Derp|bright idea]] to pick up the guy's cursed sword, and also to start pouring over the notes of the previous guy who lead that outpost the Boyar Slavin Kurnz, who quit when he decided to join Chaos, in order to try and learn how to navigate the Chaos Wastes to find Ursun. 
Surprisingly, he actually finds some mildly useful advice in that book, and combined with the help of Ursun's voice, he actually does manage to make some headway into the Wastes, first fighting some Daemons, then breaching a [[Tzeentch|labyrinth guarding a library]] for more information on exactly how to get to Ursun.

His men (and especially his brother) start worrying, but Yuri ignores them and return with the next step on their plan: the portal to the actual Realm of Chaos is behind a bridge that can only be passed if allowed by the greater Daemon that guards it, so following Ursun's advice, Yuri will go to a [[Khorne|brass shrine]] and kill some daemons to get the true Name of the that bridge guardian. His brother start finding Yuri's behaviour [[Heresy|very suspicious]], especially as the success they meet so far (killing enough Norscans that they actually start sending him offerings and treating him as a sort of chieftain in his own right) gets to Yuri's head, but its the only lead they have so he follows.

The trip to the brass shrine goes surprising well and he gets the True Name, but at that point he's clearly starting to lose it. Cemented when they finally reach that bridge and Yuri [[Ferrus Manus|decapitates his brother without hesitation]] for safe passage. Encouraged by Ursun, he presses forward and after fighting that former kislev outpost chief we mentionned above, steps into the portal to the Chaos Realm...

... where he finds that the "Ursun" he'd been talking to was actually [[Be'lakor]] all along. Be'lakor then shows Yuri Ursun as he is, imprisoned, weakened and begging for help, and convinces him that the Bear God is not worthy of being worshiped and that Yuri should kill him and take his power for himself. Yuri, at this point fully believing in his own hype, actually does shoot Ursun to kill him.

Except that Be'lakor actually takes that power for himself and leave Yuri for dead instead. Broken, faithless and on the verge of death, Yuri prays to the Chaos Gods as a whole, begging them to let him be powerful enough to take his revenge on the Daemon Prince. The big four actually accepts, and Yuri is immediately overwhelmed by their combined blessings, shedding his previous human form. 

Yuri is no more, and in his place stands <s>Daniel</s> ''whichever name you picked or decided to let the random name generator give him''.

Due to his betrayal he starts out at war with <s>Konstaltyn</s> [[Rape|EVERY NON-CHAOS FACTION]]. Expect even the hippies from Nordland to come knocking at your door. He starts in Norsca, surrounded by minor Norscan factions, some Greenskins and Skaven, and possibly every Kislevite in the map.

His faction is different in the sense that he has no tech tree. Instead, he gains glory. Glory is a currency of sorts that you gain in battle or dedicating buildings to a particular god. In battle, you choose to dedicate that glory to a specific god, or to Chaos Undivided. This goes to his Glory tree, which unlocks body parts and weapons for him, and unlocks buffs and units. So, your whole faction is entirely malleable. Horrors can rain down missiles while Plaguebearers hold the line and Skullcrushers ride to the flanks if you wish. All of this culminates in the Ascension decision in your Glory tree. After a certain amount of Glory is earned for a god or Undivided, you can ascend to be a patron of that god or remain forever as an Undivided prince. This unlocks the last set of body parts and the late game units of the god, if you chose a particular god. You can only ascend to one god or Undivided. Also you lose some glory with the other gods if you choose a god in specific. Also, with the glory tree, he can use some of the skills that the monogod factions have. For example he can seduce units, or unlock a bloodletting bar like the Khornate factions, or have a watered down version of a plague.

His skill tree is also different in the sense that he has no skills to benefit him personally (no yellow skill tree). Instead he has a skill line for every god and Undivided, buffing the units of that god or army buffs. You can only buff the Prince through body parts, or defeat traits.

So, all in all, he's the perfect RP character. He's the demon of many skills but master of none. His main advantage is his versatility. Even if he goes full Khornate, he'll never match Skarbrand pound for pound, same for all the other demonic Legendary Lords. So, he is whatever you make him to be. Should he succeed in his campaign then after spanking Be'lakor’s ass something fierce at the Forge of Souls he takes possession of Ursun’s corpse and the power still within it. Then to rub further salt in Be'lakor’s wounds the dude uses said power to fully take over Kislev and become the Chaos god Be'lakor always wished he could be.

Hilariously, for a time after launch he was actually weaker than his human form from the prologue. Gee, thanks Chaos.

{{Daemons-Characters}}
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]
[[Category:Total Warhammer]]
[[Category:Daemons]]
[[Category:Kislev]]