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Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T15:20:27Z

90.251.102.9: /* Chaos Undivided */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors - the hardest of the hard, with WS and S that match most heroes. However - they still only have one Wound and one Attack, so don't go expecting too much from them. They are far more anvil than hammer: stick to basic hand weapons and shields, notch up that 3+ save, and get your killing power from elsewhere. One unit can be upgraded to the very expensive Chosen - 20 points per model gets you an additional attack and Chaos armour. That 2+ save from sword and board is very, very good indeed, but the halberd is also an attractive option to really make the most out of the bonus attack.

* Knights - in any other army, a unit of cavalry with a 2+ save, S5 in every round of combat and a magic standard option would be a Special choice, with the Marks taking them up to Rare. But this is Chaos, and so you get to take these things as Core, and laugh while you do it. Do watch out for fear-causing enemies unless you've given them a Mark, though: they don't come in big units and the last thing you want is for one bad round of combat to have these expensive nutters whiffing and running.Once again, a single unit in the army can be upgraded to Chosen - and a Chosen Knight may be 45 points, but he has a 1+ save and two attacks and is quite possibly the best heavy cavalryman in the game.

* Marauders - tend to be looked down upon and worried about because they're on an inefficient 25mm base and in the same army as Chaos Warriors and can't have Marks, but you know what? There's nothing wrong with Chaos Marauders. For 5 points you get a human WS and I 4, and access to either a 4+ save or S5 hits for a few points more. Give them flails and they become the unlikely hammer to your Warriors' anvil. Great weapons are probably not the best idea (a waste of good Initiative stats, and they're too fragile to get hit before they hit back).

* Marauder Horsemen - expensive, but flexible Fast Cavalry, with the only conventional shooting options in the book. They won't be harrying from far away but either an 8" S3 or a 6" S4 shot is better than a kick in the teeth. Flails are available and probably a better buy than spears - you want to be breaking enemies on the charge so take your S5 and run with it.

* Chariots - expensive, but dangerous, and best used in pairs to counteract the occasional flop from only rolling one impact hit. Alternatively, send them in alongside a big old unit of the next thing on the list.

* Warhounds - these aren't Fast Cavalry but that can be a good thing, as they're allowed to rank up if they want to. At the time they were metal and it wasn't cost-effective to use them like that, but since plastic kits appeared on the market the big block o' dogs has become more and more attractive. One of the cheapest, fastest sources of rank bonus in the army and can be the secret core to a mounted force.

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince - half the price of a Greater Daemon or a Lord on Dragon, with the same opportunity cost of an extra Hero slot, but let's see what you get: all the magic levels you can pay for, 100 points of flexible Daemonic Gifts, a Mark, and a flying Chaos Lord statline that causes ''terror'' and comes with all the Daemonic advantages. Unlike Greater Daemons these are not Large Targets and so a hell of a lot easier to keep alive until they want to charge in, cause terror, cast spells and otherwise wreak havoc.

* Exalted Daemon - as Exalted Hero is to Chaos Lord, so Exalted Daemon is to Daemon Prince. Two Hero slots is quite the price to pay but honestly, a Mortal army would be very well served by bringing one of these along instead of a second Sorcerer. They're fast, they cause ''terror'', they can cast spells if they need to and some of the Daemonic Gifts - for Nurgle and Slaanesh in particular - can go a long way on what's ultimately a disposable Hero. Too expensive to throw away, but cheap enough to take risks with.

* Furies - any army can bring one unit of these along, and in a Daemonic army they count as Core. They are fragile, they are cowardly, and they don't have many Attacks to throw around, but they do fly and they do have the WS and S to rip war machine crew or wizards a new one, and that's what they're best for. They're also pretty cheap for Daemons: a full unit of 20 will set you back 300 points and will probably last you an entire game, especially given they're fast enough to pick their own fights. Slam in an Exalted Daemon or Prince with Diabolic Splendour and they're almost dangerous.

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster - a godlike combatant with seven S7 Attacks, swinging at Weapon Skill 10, Killing Blow, all the rest of it. Magic Resistance is also a godsend as it's going to be drawing a lot of spellpower. However, and it's a big however, it is both flying and frenzied and therefore will not be staying out of any combats that it has the opportunity to get into. Declare your charges early and often, whack it into things and try to get it some support. A ranked and stacked unit with a War Banner can easily draw or even win combat with this thing and one bad turn will see it poof back into nonexistence.

* Bloodletters - a lot of killing potential (S5, frenzy) and, uniquely among Daemons, a proper command group option and even a token armour save! But: they are still only T3, and have 1 Wound, and not very good saves. You'll be taking three units of them if you pick a Bloodthirster: keep them small, pay your tax, and invest in some Warriors or Beasts to do the stand-up fighting. Treat these as what they are: glass cannons.

* Flesh Hounds - the best wizard slayers around, with good charge ranges, good combat stats and Magic Resistance to boot. They don't fill Core slots because if they did nobody would ever touch a Bloodletter.

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets - your 625 points buys you a lightning fast meat grinder of a monstrous character, which will be mulching through most line infantry thanks to its WS9 going into half of whatever they've got (Soporific Musk is built in). A level 4 wizard with the brilliant Lore of Slaanesh to boot. Keepers are great, but they do leave you saddled with some... limited... options in terms of your army's Core.

* Daemonettes - extremely, extremely delicate, but with two Attacks built in and all the Daemonic perks they can still absolutely mix it up when they get to charge. At 15 points a head they're a little pricey for what you get, though. Worth noting that they are M5 and so can get around the flanks of a Warrior or Marauder centre, or keep pace with the Beastmen.

* Mounted Daemonettes - added by the Storm of Chaos book and retroactively jemmied into this one, they're essentially a Fast Cavalry version of the above with a lot of the same strengths and drawbacks.

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change - you get what you pay for, and what you pay for is a tough flying wizard with all the good Tzeentch Gifts at no opportunity cost. Will almost never Miscast, should have a good spell for every turn, and packs the super Dispel Scroll for emergencies. Although it's the weakest Greater Daemon in a scrap, that doesn't mean it's bad: five S6 attacks is still a lot better than most armies' level 4 wizards can put on the table, and of course it has access to a proper Ward save and rerolls via the Lore of Tzeentch.

* Horrors & Flamers - Treat them like magic Clanrats: their job is to stand there while spells are cast and shots are fired from the attached 'weapon team'. The Horror unit itself can cast a crappy 1d6 magic missile, or blast an entire enemy unit with S3 hits (much better!), or attempt to inflict Killing Blows on something they're fighting and potentially generate more bodies for themselves (niche!). Because the casting value of their spells is based on the size of the unit it's best to bring at least 15: that gives you a Power Level 8 cast and that's sure to eat some enemy Dispel dice and give your Lord of Change free reign. A very strong magical support unit, though, and worth bringing even in a Mortal or Beast army if you've left yourself the option. Flamers, meanwhile, are a dangerous and potentially quite high yield throwing weapon on legs, chucking out d6 S3 hits from 8" away and getting in the way of the enemy, angling and blocking to keep your Horrors free for as long as possible.

* Screamers - a unit of flyers that hits like Fast Cavalry and can do damage to enemy units just by moving over them (it's not much, only a S3 hit per Screamer, but every little helps). Worth taking to chase, to harry, and to hunt down artillery pieces that give your Lord of Change funny feelings. Also very good at catching skirmishers, archers and other nuisances: again, a Chaos Undivided army is well served bringing some of these along if it can.

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One - the slow bro of the Greater Daemons, will take forever to get into combat with anything but can also survive the longest outside a scrap thanks to its ten (10!) Wounds. To be honest, considering that Nurgle magic is best used to spam out damage spells from a distance, the big lug might be happier outside of melee anyway, saving his Stream of Corruption for when anything gets too close for comfort.

* Plaguebearers - if you want a Great Unclean One these are going to be your Core, so get used to them. At Toughness 4 they are the least vulnerable Daemonic infantry and they come with a Stream of Corruption built in, allowing them to wreak a surprising amount of carnage once they're into the enemy lines. Underrated.

* Nurglings - a Swarm, which is normally good, but a Daemonic one, so not Unbreakable, so objectively worse than most. Only has four Wounds and Attacks too. Fortunately, they're adorable and cheap and make good ablative wounds or lane blockers for your Great Unclean One.

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME - two of these take up one Rare slot and they are cheap as bloomin' chips. Unbreakable and sporting T5, their only real drawback as flank defenders is their unreliable 2d6" move. It's possible to dedicate them to a God for 15 points, which isn't the same thing as a Mark so you should be able to do it no matter who leads your army. The standout option here is Slaanesh, which accelerates them to a frightening 3d6" and should ensure they get to where you want them to go... eventually.

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War - only an option to Beast and Mortal armies, because no mercenary with two brain cells to rub together is going to work for a Bloodthirster and the Bloodthirster won't carry pocket change. Standouts are of course any of the ones that add shooting to the army (Ruglud's Armoured Orcs and Mengil's Manflayers are probably a better pick than human crossbowmen, unless you have a beard the size of a small country), but spare a thought for the Bearmen of Urslo who have a similar set of combat stats to Chaos Marauders but come on a more compact base.

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T15:13:34Z

90.251.102.9: /* Tzeentch */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors - the hardest of the hard, with WS and S that match most heroes. However - they still only have one Wound and one Attack, so don't go expecting too much from them. They are far more anvil than hammer: stick to basic hand weapons and shields, notch up that 3+ save, and get your killing power from elsewhere. One unit can be upgraded to the very expensive Chosen - 20 points per model gets you an additional attack and Chaos armour. That 2+ save from sword and board is very, very good indeed, but the halberd is also an attractive option to really make the most out of the bonus attack.

* Knights - in any other army, a unit of cavalry with a 2+ save, S5 in every round of combat and a magic standard option would be a Special choice, with the Marks taking them up to Rare. But this is Chaos, and so you get to take these things as Core, and laugh while you do it. Do watch out for fear-causing enemies unless you've given them a Mark, though: they don't come in big units and the last thing you want is for one bad round of combat to have these expensive nutters whiffing and running.Once again, a single unit in the army can be upgraded to Chosen - and a Chosen Knight may be 45 points, but he has a 1+ save and two attacks and is quite possibly the best heavy cavalryman in the game.

* Marauders - tend to be looked down upon and worried about because they're on an inefficient 25mm base and in the same army as Chaos Warriors and can't have Marks, but you know what? There's nothing wrong with Chaos Marauders. For 5 points you get a human WS and I 4, and access to either a 4+ save or S5 hits for a few points more. Give them flails and they become the unlikely hammer to your Warriors' anvil. Great weapons are probably not the best idea (a waste of good Initiative stats, and they're too fragile to get hit before they hit back).

* Marauder Horsemen - expensive, but flexible Fast Cavalry, with the only conventional shooting options in the book. They won't be harrying from far away but either an 8" S3 or a 6" S4 shot is better than a kick in the teeth. Flails are available and probably a better buy than spears - you want to be breaking enemies on the charge so take your S5 and run with it.

* Chariots - expensive, but dangerous, and best used in pairs to counteract the occasional flop from only rolling one impact hit. Alternatively, send them in alongside a big old unit of the next thing on the list.

* Warhounds - these aren't Fast Cavalry but that can be a good thing, as they're allowed to rank up if they want to. At the time they were metal and it wasn't cost-effective to use them like that, but since plastic kits appeared on the market the big block o' dogs has become more and more attractive. One of the cheapest, fastest sources of rank bonus in the army and can be the secret core to a mounted force.

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince

* Exalted Daemon

* Furies

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster - a godlike combatant with seven S7 Attacks, swinging at Weapon Skill 10, Killing Blow, all the rest of it. Magic Resistance is also a godsend as it's going to be drawing a lot of spellpower. However, and it's a big however, it is both flying and frenzied and therefore will not be staying out of any combats that it has the opportunity to get into. Declare your charges early and often, whack it into things and try to get it some support. A ranked and stacked unit with a War Banner can easily draw or even win combat with this thing and one bad turn will see it poof back into nonexistence.

* Bloodletters - a lot of killing potential (S5, frenzy) and, uniquely among Daemons, a proper command group option and even a token armour save! But: they are still only T3, and have 1 Wound, and not very good saves. You'll be taking three units of them if you pick a Bloodthirster: keep them small, pay your tax, and invest in some Warriors or Beasts to do the stand-up fighting. Treat these as what they are: glass cannons.

* Flesh Hounds - the best wizard slayers around, with good charge ranges, good combat stats and Magic Resistance to boot. They don't fill Core slots because if they did nobody would ever touch a Bloodletter.

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets - your 625 points buys you a lightning fast meat grinder of a monstrous character, which will be mulching through most line infantry thanks to its WS9 going into half of whatever they've got (Soporific Musk is built in). A level 4 wizard with the brilliant Lore of Slaanesh to boot. Keepers are great, but they do leave you saddled with some... limited... options in terms of your army's Core.

* Daemonettes - extremely, extremely delicate, but with two Attacks built in and all the Daemonic perks they can still absolutely mix it up when they get to charge. At 15 points a head they're a little pricey for what you get, though. Worth noting that they are M5 and so can get around the flanks of a Warrior or Marauder centre, or keep pace with the Beastmen.

* Mounted Daemonettes - added by the Storm of Chaos book and retroactively jemmied into this one, they're essentially a Fast Cavalry version of the above with a lot of the same strengths and drawbacks.

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change - you get what you pay for, and what you pay for is a tough flying wizard with all the good Tzeentch Gifts at no opportunity cost. Will almost never Miscast, should have a good spell for every turn, and packs the super Dispel Scroll for emergencies. Although it's the weakest Greater Daemon in a scrap, that doesn't mean it's bad: five S6 attacks is still a lot better than most armies' level 4 wizards can put on the table, and of course it has access to a proper Ward save and rerolls via the Lore of Tzeentch.

* Horrors & Flamers - Treat them like magic Clanrats: their job is to stand there while spells are cast and shots are fired from the attached 'weapon team'. The Horror unit itself can cast a crappy 1d6 magic missile, or blast an entire enemy unit with S3 hits (much better!), or attempt to inflict Killing Blows on something they're fighting and potentially generate more bodies for themselves (niche!). Because the casting value of their spells is based on the size of the unit it's best to bring at least 15: that gives you a Power Level 8 cast and that's sure to eat some enemy Dispel dice and give your Lord of Change free reign. A very strong magical support unit, though, and worth bringing even in a Mortal or Beast army if you've left yourself the option. Flamers, meanwhile, are a dangerous and potentially quite high yield throwing weapon on legs, chucking out d6 S3 hits from 8" away and getting in the way of the enemy, angling and blocking to keep your Horrors free for as long as possible.

* Screamers - a unit of flyers that hits like Fast Cavalry and can do damage to enemy units just by moving over them (it's not much, only a S3 hit per Screamer, but every little helps). Worth taking to chase, to harry, and to hunt down artillery pieces that give your Lord of Change funny feelings. Also very good at catching skirmishers, archers and other nuisances: again, a Chaos Undivided army is well served bringing some of these along if it can.

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One - the slow bro of the Greater Daemons, will take forever to get into combat with anything but can also survive the longest outside a scrap thanks to its ten (10!) Wounds. To be honest, considering that Nurgle magic is best used to spam out damage spells from a distance, the big lug might be happier outside of melee anyway, saving his Stream of Corruption for when anything gets too close for comfort.

* Plaguebearers - if you want a Great Unclean One these are going to be your Core, so get used to them. At Toughness 4 they are the least vulnerable Daemonic infantry and they come with a Stream of Corruption built in, allowing them to wreak a surprising amount of carnage once they're into the enemy lines. Underrated.

* Nurglings - a Swarm, which is normally good, but a Daemonic one, so not Unbreakable, so objectively worse than most. Only has four Wounds and Attacks too. Fortunately, they're adorable and cheap and make good ablative wounds or lane blockers for your Great Unclean One.

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME - two of these take up one Rare slot and they are cheap as bloomin' chips. Unbreakable and sporting T5, their only real drawback as flank defenders is their unreliable 2d6" move. It's possible to dedicate them to a God for 15 points, which isn't the same thing as a Mark so you should be able to do it no matter who leads your army. The standout option here is Slaanesh, which accelerates them to a frightening 3d6" and should ensure they get to where you want them to go... eventually.

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War - only an option to Beast and Mortal armies, because no mercenary with two brain cells to rub together is going to work for a Bloodthirster and the Bloodthirster won't carry pocket change. Standouts are of course any of the ones that add shooting to the army (Ruglud's Armoured Orcs and Mengil's Manflayers are probably a better pick than human crossbowmen, unless you have a beard the size of a small country), but spare a thought for the Bearmen of Urslo who have a similar set of combat stats to Chaos Marauders but come on a more compact base.

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T15:04:41Z

90.251.102.9: /* Khorne */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors - the hardest of the hard, with WS and S that match most heroes. However - they still only have one Wound and one Attack, so don't go expecting too much from them. They are far more anvil than hammer: stick to basic hand weapons and shields, notch up that 3+ save, and get your killing power from elsewhere. One unit can be upgraded to the very expensive Chosen - 20 points per model gets you an additional attack and Chaos armour. That 2+ save from sword and board is very, very good indeed, but the halberd is also an attractive option to really make the most out of the bonus attack.

* Knights - in any other army, a unit of cavalry with a 2+ save, S5 in every round of combat and a magic standard option would be a Special choice, with the Marks taking them up to Rare. But this is Chaos, and so you get to take these things as Core, and laugh while you do it. Do watch out for fear-causing enemies unless you've given them a Mark, though: they don't come in big units and the last thing you want is for one bad round of combat to have these expensive nutters whiffing and running.Once again, a single unit in the army can be upgraded to Chosen - and a Chosen Knight may be 45 points, but he has a 1+ save and two attacks and is quite possibly the best heavy cavalryman in the game.

* Marauders - tend to be looked down upon and worried about because they're on an inefficient 25mm base and in the same army as Chaos Warriors and can't have Marks, but you know what? There's nothing wrong with Chaos Marauders. For 5 points you get a human WS and I 4, and access to either a 4+ save or S5 hits for a few points more. Give them flails and they become the unlikely hammer to your Warriors' anvil. Great weapons are probably not the best idea (a waste of good Initiative stats, and they're too fragile to get hit before they hit back).

* Marauder Horsemen - expensive, but flexible Fast Cavalry, with the only conventional shooting options in the book. They won't be harrying from far away but either an 8" S3 or a 6" S4 shot is better than a kick in the teeth. Flails are available and probably a better buy than spears - you want to be breaking enemies on the charge so take your S5 and run with it.

* Chariots - expensive, but dangerous, and best used in pairs to counteract the occasional flop from only rolling one impact hit. Alternatively, send them in alongside a big old unit of the next thing on the list.

* Warhounds - these aren't Fast Cavalry but that can be a good thing, as they're allowed to rank up if they want to. At the time they were metal and it wasn't cost-effective to use them like that, but since plastic kits appeared on the market the big block o' dogs has become more and more attractive. One of the cheapest, fastest sources of rank bonus in the army and can be the secret core to a mounted force.

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince

* Exalted Daemon

* Furies

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster - a godlike combatant with seven S7 Attacks, swinging at Weapon Skill 10, Killing Blow, all the rest of it. Magic Resistance is also a godsend as it's going to be drawing a lot of spellpower. However, and it's a big however, it is both flying and frenzied and therefore will not be staying out of any combats that it has the opportunity to get into. Declare your charges early and often, whack it into things and try to get it some support. A ranked and stacked unit with a War Banner can easily draw or even win combat with this thing and one bad turn will see it poof back into nonexistence.

* Bloodletters - a lot of killing potential (S5, frenzy) and, uniquely among Daemons, a proper command group option and even a token armour save! But: they are still only T3, and have 1 Wound, and not very good saves. You'll be taking three units of them if you pick a Bloodthirster: keep them small, pay your tax, and invest in some Warriors or Beasts to do the stand-up fighting. Treat these as what they are: glass cannons.

* Flesh Hounds - the best wizard slayers around, with good charge ranges, good combat stats and Magic Resistance to boot. They don't fill Core slots because if they did nobody would ever touch a Bloodletter.

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets - your 625 points buys you a lightning fast meat grinder of a monstrous character, which will be mulching through most line infantry thanks to its WS9 going into half of whatever they've got (Soporific Musk is built in). A level 4 wizard with the brilliant Lore of Slaanesh to boot. Keepers are great, but they do leave you saddled with some... limited... options in terms of your army's Core.

* Daemonettes - extremely, extremely delicate, but with two Attacks built in and all the Daemonic perks they can still absolutely mix it up when they get to charge. At 15 points a head they're a little pricey for what you get, though. Worth noting that they are M5 and so can get around the flanks of a Warrior or Marauder centre, or keep pace with the Beastmen.

* Mounted Daemonettes - added by the Storm of Chaos book and retroactively jemmied into this one, they're essentially a Fast Cavalry version of the above with a lot of the same strengths and drawbacks.

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change

* Horrors & Flamers

* Screamers

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One - the slow bro of the Greater Daemons, will take forever to get into combat with anything but can also survive the longest outside a scrap thanks to its ten (10!) Wounds. To be honest, considering that Nurgle magic is best used to spam out damage spells from a distance, the big lug might be happier outside of melee anyway, saving his Stream of Corruption for when anything gets too close for comfort.

* Plaguebearers - if you want a Great Unclean One these are going to be your Core, so get used to them. At Toughness 4 they are the least vulnerable Daemonic infantry and they come with a Stream of Corruption built in, allowing them to wreak a surprising amount of carnage once they're into the enemy lines. Underrated.

* Nurglings - a Swarm, which is normally good, but a Daemonic one, so not Unbreakable, so objectively worse than most. Only has four Wounds and Attacks too. Fortunately, they're adorable and cheap and make good ablative wounds or lane blockers for your Great Unclean One.

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME - two of these take up one Rare slot and they are cheap as bloomin' chips. Unbreakable and sporting T5, their only real drawback as flank defenders is their unreliable 2d6" move. It's possible to dedicate them to a God for 15 points, which isn't the same thing as a Mark so you should be able to do it no matter who leads your army. The standout option here is Slaanesh, which accelerates them to a frightening 3d6" and should ensure they get to where you want them to go... eventually.

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War - only an option to Beast and Mortal armies, because no mercenary with two brain cells to rub together is going to work for a Bloodthirster and the Bloodthirster won't carry pocket change. Standouts are of course any of the ones that add shooting to the army (Ruglud's Armoured Orcs and Mengil's Manflayers are probably a better pick than human crossbowmen, unless you have a beard the size of a small country), but spare a thought for the Bearmen of Urslo who have a similar set of combat stats to Chaos Marauders but come on a more compact base.

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T14:59:02Z

90.251.102.9: /* Nurgle */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors - the hardest of the hard, with WS and S that match most heroes. However - they still only have one Wound and one Attack, so don't go expecting too much from them. They are far more anvil than hammer: stick to basic hand weapons and shields, notch up that 3+ save, and get your killing power from elsewhere. One unit can be upgraded to the very expensive Chosen - 20 points per model gets you an additional attack and Chaos armour. That 2+ save from sword and board is very, very good indeed, but the halberd is also an attractive option to really make the most out of the bonus attack.

* Knights - in any other army, a unit of cavalry with a 2+ save, S5 in every round of combat and a magic standard option would be a Special choice, with the Marks taking them up to Rare. But this is Chaos, and so you get to take these things as Core, and laugh while you do it. Do watch out for fear-causing enemies unless you've given them a Mark, though: they don't come in big units and the last thing you want is for one bad round of combat to have these expensive nutters whiffing and running.Once again, a single unit in the army can be upgraded to Chosen - and a Chosen Knight may be 45 points, but he has a 1+ save and two attacks and is quite possibly the best heavy cavalryman in the game.

* Marauders - tend to be looked down upon and worried about because they're on an inefficient 25mm base and in the same army as Chaos Warriors and can't have Marks, but you know what? There's nothing wrong with Chaos Marauders. For 5 points you get a human WS and I 4, and access to either a 4+ save or S5 hits for a few points more. Give them flails and they become the unlikely hammer to your Warriors' anvil. Great weapons are probably not the best idea (a waste of good Initiative stats, and they're too fragile to get hit before they hit back).

* Marauder Horsemen - expensive, but flexible Fast Cavalry, with the only conventional shooting options in the book. They won't be harrying from far away but either an 8" S3 or a 6" S4 shot is better than a kick in the teeth. Flails are available and probably a better buy than spears - you want to be breaking enemies on the charge so take your S5 and run with it.

* Chariots - expensive, but dangerous, and best used in pairs to counteract the occasional flop from only rolling one impact hit. Alternatively, send them in alongside a big old unit of the next thing on the list.

* Warhounds - these aren't Fast Cavalry but that can be a good thing, as they're allowed to rank up if they want to. At the time they were metal and it wasn't cost-effective to use them like that, but since plastic kits appeared on the market the big block o' dogs has become more and more attractive. One of the cheapest, fastest sources of rank bonus in the army and can be the secret core to a mounted force.

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince

* Exalted Daemon

* Furies

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster

* Bloodletters

* Flesh Hounds

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets - your 625 points buys you a lightning fast meat grinder of a monstrous character, which will be mulching through most line infantry thanks to its WS9 going into half of whatever they've got (Soporific Musk is built in). A level 4 wizard with the brilliant Lore of Slaanesh to boot. Keepers are great, but they do leave you saddled with some... limited... options in terms of your army's Core.

* Daemonettes - extremely, extremely delicate, but with two Attacks built in and all the Daemonic perks they can still absolutely mix it up when they get to charge. At 15 points a head they're a little pricey for what you get, though. Worth noting that they are M5 and so can get around the flanks of a Warrior or Marauder centre, or keep pace with the Beastmen.

* Mounted Daemonettes - added by the Storm of Chaos book and retroactively jemmied into this one, they're essentially a Fast Cavalry version of the above with a lot of the same strengths and drawbacks.

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change

* Horrors & Flamers

* Screamers

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One - the slow bro of the Greater Daemons, will take forever to get into combat with anything but can also survive the longest outside a scrap thanks to its ten (10!) Wounds. To be honest, considering that Nurgle magic is best used to spam out damage spells from a distance, the big lug might be happier outside of melee anyway, saving his Stream of Corruption for when anything gets too close for comfort.

* Plaguebearers - if you want a Great Unclean One these are going to be your Core, so get used to them. At Toughness 4 they are the least vulnerable Daemonic infantry and they come with a Stream of Corruption built in, allowing them to wreak a surprising amount of carnage once they're into the enemy lines. Underrated.

* Nurglings - a Swarm, which is normally good, but a Daemonic one, so not Unbreakable, so objectively worse than most. Only has four Wounds and Attacks too. Fortunately, they're adorable and cheap and make good ablative wounds or lane blockers for your Great Unclean One.

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME - two of these take up one Rare slot and they are cheap as bloomin' chips. Unbreakable and sporting T5, their only real drawback as flank defenders is their unreliable 2d6" move. It's possible to dedicate them to a God for 15 points, which isn't the same thing as a Mark so you should be able to do it no matter who leads your army. The standout option here is Slaanesh, which accelerates them to a frightening 3d6" and should ensure they get to where you want them to go... eventually.

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War - only an option to Beast and Mortal armies, because no mercenary with two brain cells to rub together is going to work for a Bloodthirster and the Bloodthirster won't carry pocket change. Standouts are of course any of the ones that add shooting to the army (Ruglud's Armoured Orcs and Mengil's Manflayers are probably a better pick than human crossbowmen, unless you have a beard the size of a small country), but spare a thought for the Bearmen of Urslo who have a similar set of combat stats to Chaos Marauders but come on a more compact base.

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T14:54:42Z

90.251.102.9: /* Slaanesh */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors - the hardest of the hard, with WS and S that match most heroes. However - they still only have one Wound and one Attack, so don't go expecting too much from them. They are far more anvil than hammer: stick to basic hand weapons and shields, notch up that 3+ save, and get your killing power from elsewhere. One unit can be upgraded to the very expensive Chosen - 20 points per model gets you an additional attack and Chaos armour. That 2+ save from sword and board is very, very good indeed, but the halberd is also an attractive option to really make the most out of the bonus attack.

* Knights - in any other army, a unit of cavalry with a 2+ save, S5 in every round of combat and a magic standard option would be a Special choice, with the Marks taking them up to Rare. But this is Chaos, and so you get to take these things as Core, and laugh while you do it. Do watch out for fear-causing enemies unless you've given them a Mark, though: they don't come in big units and the last thing you want is for one bad round of combat to have these expensive nutters whiffing and running.Once again, a single unit in the army can be upgraded to Chosen - and a Chosen Knight may be 45 points, but he has a 1+ save and two attacks and is quite possibly the best heavy cavalryman in the game.

* Marauders - tend to be looked down upon and worried about because they're on an inefficient 25mm base and in the same army as Chaos Warriors and can't have Marks, but you know what? There's nothing wrong with Chaos Marauders. For 5 points you get a human WS and I 4, and access to either a 4+ save or S5 hits for a few points more. Give them flails and they become the unlikely hammer to your Warriors' anvil. Great weapons are probably not the best idea (a waste of good Initiative stats, and they're too fragile to get hit before they hit back).

* Marauder Horsemen - expensive, but flexible Fast Cavalry, with the only conventional shooting options in the book. They won't be harrying from far away but either an 8" S3 or a 6" S4 shot is better than a kick in the teeth. Flails are available and probably a better buy than spears - you want to be breaking enemies on the charge so take your S5 and run with it.

* Chariots - expensive, but dangerous, and best used in pairs to counteract the occasional flop from only rolling one impact hit. Alternatively, send them in alongside a big old unit of the next thing on the list.

* Warhounds - these aren't Fast Cavalry but that can be a good thing, as they're allowed to rank up if they want to. At the time they were metal and it wasn't cost-effective to use them like that, but since plastic kits appeared on the market the big block o' dogs has become more and more attractive. One of the cheapest, fastest sources of rank bonus in the army and can be the secret core to a mounted force.

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince

* Exalted Daemon

* Furies

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster

* Bloodletters

* Flesh Hounds

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets - your 625 points buys you a lightning fast meat grinder of a monstrous character, which will be mulching through most line infantry thanks to its WS9 going into half of whatever they've got (Soporific Musk is built in). A level 4 wizard with the brilliant Lore of Slaanesh to boot. Keepers are great, but they do leave you saddled with some... limited... options in terms of your army's Core.

* Daemonettes - extremely, extremely delicate, but with two Attacks built in and all the Daemonic perks they can still absolutely mix it up when they get to charge. At 15 points a head they're a little pricey for what you get, though. Worth noting that they are M5 and so can get around the flanks of a Warrior or Marauder centre, or keep pace with the Beastmen.

* Mounted Daemonettes - added by the Storm of Chaos book and retroactively jemmied into this one, they're essentially a Fast Cavalry version of the above with a lot of the same strengths and drawbacks.

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change

* Horrors & Flamers

* Screamers

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One

* Plaguebearers

* Nurglings

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME - two of these take up one Rare slot and they are cheap as bloomin' chips. Unbreakable and sporting T5, their only real drawback as flank defenders is their unreliable 2d6" move. It's possible to dedicate them to a God for 15 points, which isn't the same thing as a Mark so you should be able to do it no matter who leads your army. The standout option here is Slaanesh, which accelerates them to a frightening 3d6" and should ensure they get to where you want them to go... eventually.

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War - only an option to Beast and Mortal armies, because no mercenary with two brain cells to rub together is going to work for a Bloodthirster and the Bloodthirster won't carry pocket change. Standouts are of course any of the ones that add shooting to the army (Ruglud's Armoured Orcs and Mengil's Manflayers are probably a better pick than human crossbowmen, unless you have a beard the size of a small country), but spare a thought for the Bearmen of Urslo who have a similar set of combat stats to Chaos Marauders but come on a more compact base.

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T14:49:01Z

90.251.102.9: /* Rare Units */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors - the hardest of the hard, with WS and S that match most heroes. However - they still only have one Wound and one Attack, so don't go expecting too much from them. They are far more anvil than hammer: stick to basic hand weapons and shields, notch up that 3+ save, and get your killing power from elsewhere. One unit can be upgraded to the very expensive Chosen - 20 points per model gets you an additional attack and Chaos armour. That 2+ save from sword and board is very, very good indeed, but the halberd is also an attractive option to really make the most out of the bonus attack.

* Knights - in any other army, a unit of cavalry with a 2+ save, S5 in every round of combat and a magic standard option would be a Special choice, with the Marks taking them up to Rare. But this is Chaos, and so you get to take these things as Core, and laugh while you do it. Do watch out for fear-causing enemies unless you've given them a Mark, though: they don't come in big units and the last thing you want is for one bad round of combat to have these expensive nutters whiffing and running.Once again, a single unit in the army can be upgraded to Chosen - and a Chosen Knight may be 45 points, but he has a 1+ save and two attacks and is quite possibly the best heavy cavalryman in the game.

* Marauders - tend to be looked down upon and worried about because they're on an inefficient 25mm base and in the same army as Chaos Warriors and can't have Marks, but you know what? There's nothing wrong with Chaos Marauders. For 5 points you get a human WS and I 4, and access to either a 4+ save or S5 hits for a few points more. Give them flails and they become the unlikely hammer to your Warriors' anvil. Great weapons are probably not the best idea (a waste of good Initiative stats, and they're too fragile to get hit before they hit back).

* Marauder Horsemen - expensive, but flexible Fast Cavalry, with the only conventional shooting options in the book. They won't be harrying from far away but either an 8" S3 or a 6" S4 shot is better than a kick in the teeth. Flails are available and probably a better buy than spears - you want to be breaking enemies on the charge so take your S5 and run with it.

* Chariots - expensive, but dangerous, and best used in pairs to counteract the occasional flop from only rolling one impact hit. Alternatively, send them in alongside a big old unit of the next thing on the list.

* Warhounds - these aren't Fast Cavalry but that can be a good thing, as they're allowed to rank up if they want to. At the time they were metal and it wasn't cost-effective to use them like that, but since plastic kits appeared on the market the big block o' dogs has become more and more attractive. One of the cheapest, fastest sources of rank bonus in the army and can be the secret core to a mounted force.

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince

* Exalted Daemon

* Furies

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster

* Bloodletters

* Flesh Hounds

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets

* Daemonettes

* Mounted Daemonettes

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change

* Horrors & Flamers

* Screamers

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One

* Plaguebearers

* Nurglings

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME - two of these take up one Rare slot and they are cheap as bloomin' chips. Unbreakable and sporting T5, their only real drawback as flank defenders is their unreliable 2d6" move. It's possible to dedicate them to a God for 15 points, which isn't the same thing as a Mark so you should be able to do it no matter who leads your army. The standout option here is Slaanesh, which accelerates them to a frightening 3d6" and should ensure they get to where you want them to go... eventually.

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War - only an option to Beast and Mortal armies, because no mercenary with two brain cells to rub together is going to work for a Bloodthirster and the Bloodthirster won't carry pocket change. Standouts are of course any of the ones that add shooting to the army (Ruglud's Armoured Orcs and Mengil's Manflayers are probably a better pick than human crossbowmen, unless you have a beard the size of a small country), but spare a thought for the Bearmen of Urslo who have a similar set of combat stats to Chaos Marauders but come on a more compact base.

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T14:43:47Z

90.251.102.9: /* Units */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors - the hardest of the hard, with WS and S that match most heroes. However - they still only have one Wound and one Attack, so don't go expecting too much from them. They are far more anvil than hammer: stick to basic hand weapons and shields, notch up that 3+ save, and get your killing power from elsewhere. One unit can be upgraded to the very expensive Chosen - 20 points per model gets you an additional attack and Chaos armour. That 2+ save from sword and board is very, very good indeed, but the halberd is also an attractive option to really make the most out of the bonus attack.

* Knights - in any other army, a unit of cavalry with a 2+ save, S5 in every round of combat and a magic standard option would be a Special choice, with the Marks taking them up to Rare. But this is Chaos, and so you get to take these things as Core, and laugh while you do it. Do watch out for fear-causing enemies unless you've given them a Mark, though: they don't come in big units and the last thing you want is for one bad round of combat to have these expensive nutters whiffing and running.Once again, a single unit in the army can be upgraded to Chosen - and a Chosen Knight may be 45 points, but he has a 1+ save and two attacks and is quite possibly the best heavy cavalryman in the game.

* Marauders - tend to be looked down upon and worried about because they're on an inefficient 25mm base and in the same army as Chaos Warriors and can't have Marks, but you know what? There's nothing wrong with Chaos Marauders. For 5 points you get a human WS and I 4, and access to either a 4+ save or S5 hits for a few points more. Give them flails and they become the unlikely hammer to your Warriors' anvil. Great weapons are probably not the best idea (a waste of good Initiative stats, and they're too fragile to get hit before they hit back).

* Marauder Horsemen - expensive, but flexible Fast Cavalry, with the only conventional shooting options in the book. They won't be harrying from far away but either an 8" S3 or a 6" S4 shot is better than a kick in the teeth. Flails are available and probably a better buy than spears - you want to be breaking enemies on the charge so take your S5 and run with it.

* Chariots - expensive, but dangerous, and best used in pairs to counteract the occasional flop from only rolling one impact hit. Alternatively, send them in alongside a big old unit of the next thing on the list.

* Warhounds - these aren't Fast Cavalry but that can be a good thing, as they're allowed to rank up if they want to. At the time they were metal and it wasn't cost-effective to use them like that, but since plastic kits appeared on the market the big block o' dogs has become more and more attractive. One of the cheapest, fastest sources of rank bonus in the army and can be the secret core to a mounted force.

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince

* Exalted Daemon

* Furies

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster

* Bloodletters

* Flesh Hounds

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets

* Daemonettes

* Mounted Daemonettes

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change

* Horrors & Flamers

* Screamers

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One

* Plaguebearers

* Nurglings

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T14:28:58Z

90.251.102.9: /* Lords and Heroes */

==Why play Chaos==

To crush your enemies; to see them driven before you; to hear the lamentations of their women.

The forces of Chaos - divided into two army books, Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos, but written to work as a pair - are savage, brutal, unforgiving barbarians, plus twisted-up gnarly mutants and eldritch monsters from another dimension. It is an army raised for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men (and elves, and dwarfs, and even goblins and especially lizards, although rodents of unusual size may be all right).

In battle, the Chaos army is a relentless melee death machine, forsaking any ranged attack that isn't "throw a melee weapon at someone" or "bind an eldritch horror into a cannon the size of a house and fire it when you want to move castles out of the way". Some Chaos armies opt for weight of numbers, drowning the foe in a sea of low-cost light infantry; others go for the small force of elite hard-cases wrapped in nigh-impenetrable armour. Chaos has access to powerful, aggressive magic to ease their passage across the field, and a variety of fast-moving "chaff" units to distract and harry the enemy, but make no mistake: sooner or later, this army is about bringing axe to face and making damn sure it stays there.

==Army Special Rules==

===Daemons, Mortals and Beasts===
Most Chaos units are classified as either Daemons, Mortals or Beasts.
If your General is a Mortal, Mortal units are your Core units, while Daemons and Beasts are Special.
If your General is a Beast, Beast units are your Core units, while Mortals and Daemons are Special.
If your General is a Daemon... you get the idea.
Just to complicate things further, some units (mostly Rare, but one or two Specials like Chaos Trolls and Chaos Ogres) always stay in the same category no matter who's in charge.

===Marks of Chaos===
Many Chaos units and characters have Marks of Chaos. The default is the Mark of Chaos Undivided: all units which can have a Mark start off with this one, and it's free. You can choose to dedicate your units to a particular Chaos God and gain upgrades, for a few (or more than a few) extra points. The Marks do different things depending on the model they're applied to, and we'll get into the specifics of those later.

The important thing for the army as a whole is that if your General has a particular God's Mark, all your troops who can have a Mark must have the same one, or stick with Chaos Undivided. If your General has the Mark of Chaos Undivided, you can go hog wild with the rest of your units and characters and take what you like.

Also, characters with a Mark can't join units with a different one, although they can join units with no Mark at all (which is how you get characters into Beast Herds, Marauders and other troops that don't have the option).

===Daemonic===
Some Chaos units are not of this world. Daemon units all cause ''fear'', and the big 'uns cause ''terror'' as well; they are immune to psychology; they have a 5+ Ward save which applies to everything except magical attacks; they count as having magical attacks themselves; and they have Instability.

Instability is a fiddly rule that comes into play if your Daemon unit loses a round of combat. Once you know they've lost, take a Leadership test on their ''unmodified'' Leadership stat: if they fail this, they disappear, vanish into the Realm of Chaos in a huff. THEN take the same roll and compare it to their Leadership stat ''as modified by combat resolution'', and inflict that many unsaveable wounds on the unit.

Oh, and Daemon characters can't join non-Daemon units, or vice versa.

===Ambush===
If your General is a Beast with the Ambush rule, Beast units with the Ambush rule can move on from a table edge instead of deploying normally. You can Ambush in any battle where you're allowed to use Scouts. Up to half the eligible units in your army (rounding down) can Ambush, and your General has to start the game on the board. Units in Ambush aren't in play and don't generate Power or Dispel dice, so keep your wizards on the table.

Starting from the second turn, in the Remaining Moves phase, you can bring your Ambushing units on. They have to come on all at once. For each unit, one by one, pick a point on any table edge: that's where they should be. Then take a Leadership test for the unit. If you pass, they move on from that point as if they've returned from pursuing an enemy off the board. If you fail, roll a Scatter die in the middle of the board and follow the arrow to the edge: that's where they turn up instead. (Don't forget that there's a little arrow on the HIT faces for exactly this kind of situation.)

==Marks of Chaos==

===Who Gets 'Em?===

* '''Daemons''' - Daemon Princes and Exalted Daemons
* '''Mortals''' - Lords and Sorcerer Lords; Champion and Sorcerer Heroes, Warriors, Chariots and Knights
* '''Beasts''' - Beastlords, Great Shamans, Doombulls and Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Champions; Chieftains and Shamans; 1 and only 1 Bestigor unit; Minotaurs

====Mark of Chaos Undivided====

The default option, totally free, and not to be sneezed at, this Mark offers a reroll on all psychology tests (that's fear, terror, panic, controlling your frenzy, but NOT Break tests for losing combat). Chaos armies have pretty average Leadership on the whole, with Warrior units a bit better and Beast units generally worse. They also tend to take quite a few Panic tests as the first few turns are a slog across the battlefield getting shot at on your way into melee. While other Marks allow you to dominate whole phases of the game, they get expensive fast, and if you want a proper ravening horde, sticking to Chaos Undivided is a good option.

====Mark of Khorne====
This one's the same all the way down: anything with the Mark of Khorne gets ''frenzy'' (even if normally immune to psychology) and puts another Dispel die on the table. Mortal characters also get to ride the Juggernaut of Khorne, a nasty monstrous mount that's no faster than a regular Chaos Steed and doesn't add to their armour save but hits a hell of a lot harder.

The frenzy is a double edged sword. Certainly, Chaos units hit like a sack of bricks anyway, and giving them extra attacks is only good. Absolutely, Chaos units tend to take casualties, and thus panic tests, and so bypassing those tests is only good. However, Chaos armies tend toward the clumsy, which means agile opponents can block, bait, and misdirect Khorne armies all day long. There's nothing worse than some Wood Elf player leading you around by the nose and forcing you to attempt charges that never land.

On the other hand, there's nothing better than laughing in the face of every Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings player you meet as their chief advantages simply fade away in the face of your enhanced combat prowess, complete lack of concern for fear and terror, and pile of Dispel dice to keep those cheeky Invocations under control. Couple with the access to Magic Resistance on many Khorne Daemons and magic items, and you're laughing.

This one's particularly good for Beast armies: Bestigor and Minotaurs are both units that delight in the extra attacks, and the rest of your army can run interference by blocking your charge lanes. Remember that frenzy is only checked AFTER charges have been declared, which means you can keep these under control with the proper order of activation (declare charge with skirmish screen, declare charge with frenzied unit, check for eligible frenzied charges - oh no, skirmish screen's in the way - then move chargers in order of declaration, hey presto you get to charge what you want to as the lane is now clear). Both Warhounds and Beast Herds are very good at getting out of the way when they need to.

Another thing to consider here: Chosen. Because of the extra attack from frenzy, Chosen Warriors with halberds suddenly become a more attractive proposition, throwing out a combine harvester's worth of S5 attacks at anything that gets near them.

====Mark of Slaanesh====

Daemons and Shaggoths with the Mark of Slaanesh always strike first. Mortals and Beasts with the Mark of Slaanesh are immune to psychology.

This. Is. Brilliant. Warrior and Bestigor units often balk in the face of shooting casualties or being outnumbered by fear-causing enemies: not a problem any more. Even Minotaurs like to laugh off the prospect of being terror-blocked by a Wraith or similar, and tend to come in small and easily panicked units of their own.

Mortal characters gain access to the excellent Mount of Slaanesh, a pleasing combination of speed and power that's halfway between the Juggernaut and the Disc. Beast characters don't, sadly, but the Beastlord can at least mount up on a Chariot and become a fearless guided missile, backing up your Herds if they get into trouble.

Daemon characters are a bit squashy, lacking access to armour saves, so striking first in close combat helps them not get hit (and since they fly, they really should be in close combat very early on in the game). The Shaggoth, meanwhile, is moderately well armoured but has dodgy Initiative for a Lord choice: guess what, striking first, problem solved.

====Mark of Tzeentch====

For reasons that will become apparent as we go on, there is no such thing as a Sorcerer or Shaman of Tzeentch: this Mark is not available to those models.

Daemon Princes, Chaos Lords and Beastlords all become level 4 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's heckin' expensive, at 140-150 points.)

Exalted Daemons, Chaos Champions, Wargors, Shaggoths and Doombulls all become level 2 wizards, who have to use the Lore of Tzeentch. (It's still pretty pricey, at around 75 for most models.)

Mortal characters also gain access to the Disc of Tzeentch, a cheap flying monstrous mount that can't fight worth a damn but doesn't need to because there's a goddamned Chaos Lord standing on its back doing the heavy lifting.

Everyone else generates an extra Power die for the pool, as long as they're not fleeing.

Now. It's easy to look at this and think you have to go big or go home. For Mortal players in particular it's easy to look at the Mark of Tzeentch and think you MUST TAKE IT ON EVERYTHING EVER, UTTERLY DOMELNATING THE MAGIC PHASE, but - stop. For one thing, it's seriously expensive, and yes a Chaos Lord's statline and a Sorcerer Lord's casting power are not to be sneezed at, but the points add up fast and Chaos armies already run expensive. For another, a pure Marked Tzeentch army may have a lot of Power dice to throw around, but it'll be light on numbers (as none of the cheap bodies can carry the Mark) and crumple to a run of bad terror or panic tests (which you'll be taking a lot if you've loaded up on small Marked units to spam dice).

Far better to have Tzeentch casters backed up by Undivided units (which remain an option even if your General has the Mark of Tzeentch), or even elements in a mixed army with Khorne or Slaanesh line troops. That's an army that won't break and run when things start to go south, but will still deliver the fighting power of a good Tzeentch Champion alongside options for other Lores and tactics.

If you're going to go pure Tzeentch, Chariots are a really good way to sneak a few extra power dice into your army, make sure all your wizards have enough to cast at their full potential, and then fill out on solid Undivided bodies or Marauders to give your casters the meatshields they need to get the job done.

It's less of an attractive option for Beastmen, as well. Beast armies don't have the ability to load up on cheap Marked units and really stack the dice in their favour, and they feel the Panic hit worse than most. Their best Lord options don't become level 4 wizards because even Gav Thorpe thought that was a bit excessive.

====Mark of Nurgle====

Daemon Princes, Exalted Daemons, Doombulls and Shaggoths get +1 Wound.

Beastlords, Wargors and Mortal characters get +1 Wound and cause ''fear''.

Units cause ''fear'', except Minotaurs, who get... 5+ Scaly Skin? (It's cheap, and it's not bad, but it smacks a little bit of being fresh out of ideas...)

The Mark of Nurgle is generally very, very expensive for what it does: 50 points per unit, around 40 for a character. The extra Wound is nice, but ''fear'' is of limited use on units that tend to skew small - the Chaos units that can afford to go big are exactly the ones you can't Mark anyway. Chaos tends to win combat by getting kills rather than auto-breaking shenanigans, and while it's certainly nice to trump ''stubborn'' units or not run away from Undead, it's... situational.

==Chaos Spells==

Wizards with the Mark of Chaos Undivided get access to Death and Shadow magic, plus Fire (Mortals and Daemons) or Beasts (Beasts). Shadow magic is probably the pick of the pack here, with Unseen Lurker and Steed of Shadows to accelerate your movement into combat. Fire does a fine job of compensating for your lack of conventional ranged firepower, and the Flaming Sword of Rhuin is a great spell to draw on your Daemon Prince or Exalted Daemon. Death is merely OK, and Beasts highly situational with a few too many spells that rely on your opponent having brought the right models to cast them on.

===Lore of Tzeentch===

Tzeentch spells are all about doing damage, or preventing damage - oddly enough, the real moustache-twirling nyahahahahajustasplanned stuff is more Slaanesh's remit. Notably, this lore has seven spells: any wizard can trade out a spell they don't want for Red Fire of Alteration, which you can't roll up at random because you can't roll a 0 on 1d6. (Note that because of the way 1d4chan's code handles numbered lists, it's at 7 on our summary, which of course breaks the rainbow theme GW were going for.)

# Orange Fire of Protection - cast on a 6+, remains in play, reroll any of the Sorcerer's to hit, to wound or to save rolls that you don't like. (Just the Sorcerer: not anything they're riding.) Actually pretty good: an easy cast, and Tzeentch Lords or Heroes can throw down in combat with the best of them.
# Yellow Fire of Transmutation - another 6+ cast that remains in play, this one granting a 5+ Ward save to the Sorcerer, their mount, and any unit they joined. Notably, this one replaces the Daemonic Ward, allowing Tzeentch Daemon characters to stop worrying about magic weapons.
# Green Fire of Mutation - a 9+ cast on an enemy unit that's not immune to psychology, which makes it play "stop hitting itself" for a turn: the unit fights a round of close combat against itself and takes a Panic test if enough casualties are inflicted. Some armies hate this - Lizardmen spring to mind, as their best fighters have multiple attacks but rely on Cold Blooded rather than full on immunity to psychology. Others, like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings, don't give two tugs.
# Blue Fire of Metamorphosis - another 9+ cast for a dubiously reliable magic missile. 2d6 hits is good, Strength d6+1 is untrustworthy. Conventional Lores often give you an 8+ for a Strength you can rely on. Warp Lightning this ain't.
# Indigo Fire of Change - on an 11+, every model in the target enemy unit takes a S2 hit, and any that die turn into Horrors, placed in contact with the front of the target unit and counting as having charged! This one's psychologically damaging to say the least: while Horrors aren't up to much in a scrap, they can take on anything that dies from a S2 hit. Big units of lightweight troops will tremble at the dubious prospect.
# Violet Fire of Tzeentch - 12+ cast, 6" range, single target model takes a Leadership test or DIES. No saves, no regenerating, no nothing. Given how easy it is for Tzeentch casters to fly, the short range isn't the drawback it usually is. This one's a gamble, but considering that it can snipe characters regardless of line of sight, being a unit, monstrous mountage, ANYTHING, it's worth a cast. If you're going terror-bombing with a Lord of Change or a Sorcerer on a Dragon, lead in with this horrible thing - cast it on your enemy's General and potentially watch their army crumble next turn.
# Red Fire of Alteration - I am fate, come round at last; I am also a mediocre magic missile, only a 5+ cast and with d6 hits at d6 Strength. All the usual problems of a d6 hits magic missile and you can't even count on the Strength. Swap it out for something a level 2 wizard simply can't cast, but don't expect it to do anything. Fire and Death have better equivalents and Shadow's Creeping Death knocks it into a cocked hat because NO ARMOUR SAVES.

===Lore of Slaanesh===

Slaanesh magic is extremely underrated, especially for Mortals and Daemons. Its modest ranges aren't a big deal considering the caster can either fly or ride a Mount of Slaanesh, and Chaos armies absolutely love to control the terms on which their enemies can engage them - which is good, because this Lore is all about the board control and tipping the balance in key combats. It's less spectacular on Beastmen because the Shamans are a bit slower, but still addresses a lot of their weaknesses.

# Blissful Throes - 6+, 12" range, d6 hits, S6. The S6 saves this one: while all the usual remarks about single die magic missiles still hold true, this one is strong enough that the single hit will probably kill a single wound model that it hits. (The words 'six', 'strength' and 'single' are fast losing all meaning for me here, by the way.) A good cast on cavalry, lone characters, even worth a go on a chariot or war machine; you won't one-hit-kill it, but you stand good odds of getting some wounds in against T4 or 5.
# Luxurious Torment - 7+, casts on a friend or foe. The unit gains frenzy, even if normally immune to psychology, and while subject to frenzy takes d6 S3 hits per turn, distributed as shooting. Note that this is NOT a Remains in Play spell, so your Sorcerer can absolutely spam this one around like it's going out of fashion. I really rate this one. It's a good cast on your own Marauders or Beast Herds, helping them win fights and not panic, although they need lots of bodies to absorb the hits from the spell. It's not a bad cast on your own Warriors or Knights, who'll probably save the wounds. It can also be a giggle to cast on enemy skirmishers or fast cavalry, who suddenly get baited into fights they can't win, and take casualties even if they manage to restrain themselves.
# Titillating Delusions - 8+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit within 24". Pick a point it can see. Unit must move toward point as fast as possible and will charge anything you put in the way. A superb board control spell. Note that it works on units that are unbreakable or immune to psychology, and so is great for drawing roadblock units like Slayers or Flagellants into positions you don't want them to be in. Makes Tomb Kings players in particular very sad as their flying Hierophants suddenly find themselves drawn to stand right in front of a Keeper of Secrets. Breaks up Empire detachment geometry like a charm too. Pulls Generals out of their ideal Leadership range. Loads you can do with this.
# Delectable Torture - 9+, 24" range, make a character attack their own unit. Not as good as the Tzeentch version, but it'll do if you have nothing else to use your dice on. Comes into its own against Wood and High Elves as it can make characters use ranged attacks on their own side if they have them: get this one off early and direct their Hail of Doom into the back of their own Dryads or something similarly hilarious.
# Enrapturing Spasms - 10+, 24" range, the other board control spell. This one doesn't work on targets which are immune to psychology, and prevents its target from moving, casting, shooting or fighting in its next turn. If the unit's engaged or already fighting, they are hit automatically and don't fight back. It becomes immune to psychology but it CAN take Break tests and WILL flee if broken. Finally, and this is the secret kicker, if the unit is or contains a Wizard, any Remains In Play Spell they're upkeeping is immediately dispelled. Despite all the caveats about breaking and immunity, this spell is AMAZING for turning a key combat in your favour, silencing an artillery piece, freezing a death star or getting a nasty Curse of Years or similar out of play.
# Delicious Excruciation - 11+, remains in play, turns the target Unbreakable. Cast on Daemons, it replaces Daemonic Instability, and that alone makes it fan-bloody-tastic since Slaanesh Daemons are on the squashy side and tend to take casualties in any circumstance when they're not striking first.

===Lore of Nurgle===

Most of the Lore of Nurgle is... unspectacular, limited to targeting single models or inflicting minor debuffs. It has mostly short ranges and its casters don't have a fast mount. Its control spell is more a ticking-off than a no-fun-allowed, and its aggressive spells struggle under the weight of low Strength and single d6 hits. However, they do all bypass armour saves, and sometimes - depending on what the stats of the target are - a -1 malus is all you need. Hold your nose, take a closer look, and you'll find a couple of solid, spammable damage spells plus some decent utility. Its real problem is that it's competing with Undivided casters who bring the Lore of Shadows - all the armour bypassing plus sweet, sweet movement spells.

# Magnificent Buboes - 6+ cast, 18" range, single target takes a Toughness test or suffers a wound, no armour saves. By itself, a fiddly farty little nothing. Land it twice and a Hero dies. Land it three times and a Lord dies. Especially good for upsetting Skaven players (bye bye, Ratling Gun! so long, Warlock Engineer!). Take it on all your casters and worry the enemy for the whole game.
# Favoured Poxes - 7+, 18" range, Remains in Play. Target enemy suffers -1 WS, BS, S and Ld. This is fine. Not hard to cast, does a lot of favours, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.
# Effulgent Boils - 8+ cast, 24" range, d6 S4 hits, no armour save. Fine, but you'll probably have better things to do than cast it unless you were unlucky and didn't get Afflictions or Scabs.
# Glistening Scabs - 9+ cast, 18" range, Remains in Play. -1 Toughness to a single target character. It's... look at what the other two Chaos lores can do with a 9+ spell, then look at this. Yes, it combos with Buboes, but since it Remains in Play you're giving up a Buboes attempt to get it there in the first place. Too niche for the casting cost. Dud of the book.
# Glorious Afflictions - 10+, remains in play. Pick an enemy unit, anywhere on the battlefield, and halve its movement. The unlimited range and unconcern for line of sight save this one - it's not as powerful as the Slaanesh control spells but it IS a lot more lenient in terms of where it goes. A hidden gem.
# Sumptuous Pestilence - 11+, 24" range, needs line of sight - target unit takes d6 S3 hits ignoring armour saves at the start of each magic phase (yours and theirs) for the rest of the game. This is NOT a Remains in Play spell and that's why it's good: once it's cast this sucker is staying cast and whittling away at its target basically forever. If you get this on a level 3 or 4 wizard you're laughing: just absolutely thrash it out, four dice that sucker every turn, get it on every unit you can as early as you can.

==Magic Items==

There are dozens upon dozens of magic items in the Chaos books, and life is too short for one contributor to take the job on. Here are a few of my personal favourites, and may others do what I cannot be arsed with.

* Chaos Daemon Sword - expensive, at 85 points, but slap this on your Sorcerer Lord or Great Bray-Shaman and compress all the fighting and casting power of a Greater Daemon down into a base that can hide in a unit. Just enough left over for a Talisman of Protection, too.

* Slaughterer's Blade & Pendant of Slaanesh - whack both of these on one Lord and let 'em go to town. You either get to heal lost wounds or rack up bonus attacks, what's not to love?

* Armour of Damnation - forcing opponents to reroll their hits is always a chuckle. Solid, basic, effective.

* Collar of Khorne, Pelt of the Dark Young - because nothing says love like putting Magic Resistance on your key unit in an army that already throws Dispel dice around like they're going out of fashion.

* Golden Eye of Tzeentch - unlike most 30 point 3+ wards vs. shooting, this one extends to the model's mount. A Tzeentch character on a Disc will absolutely need this because good GOD the enemy are going to be gunning for them. Take it and thank me later.

* Bindings of Slaanesh - a bit pricey, but being able to lock enemy characters into a challenge with a Chaos Lord's fighting stats is worth it. Pluck that Grey Seer from the back of his bunker and show the dirty rat how we do things in the Grim Dark North.

* Sceptre of Domination - yeah it's another Slaanesh item, no I don't care: power level 6 is great for a Bound item, forcing two or even three dice to be spent on stopping it, and it casts an amusing, potentially dangerous spell. For 25 points it's a bargain. Doesn't even run out on a 1.

* Staff of Darkoath - Chaos loves movement spells. Beast Herds in particular love movement spells as they get to charge on the same turn as they Ambush with them. This thing guarantees a movement spell to the Shaman carrying it - not a Bound spell, a proper one with a solid casting value. Join the dots!

* Crown of Horns, Horn of the Great Hunt, Preyseeker - making Beastmen less dependent on their horrible Leadership ratings is never a bad idea, and between them these three items will keep your Bestigor on the battlefield and your Ambushing units turning up where they should.

* Banner of Rage - turns the unit carrying it into a massive problem for your opponent. They probably won't break, they'll never lose their frenzy, they have to be shot up or beaten down to the last man to be stopped. Whack it on a nice unit of Chosen Knights and ask whaddayagonnado?

==Daemonic Gifts==

===Any Chaos God===

* Chaos Disruption - while the main ranged threats to your Daemon Prince are not of a kind that uses Ballistic Skill to hit, this does help the big gribblies not get stand-and-shotted to death if they want to charge a unit with bows or what have you, and that's quite tempting. Pricey at 50 points but even an Exalted Daemon can afford it.

* Blade of the Ether - expensive at 45 points but some players swear by it, and it's not as if Daemon characters get great weapons. Bypassing armour saves is probably worth the expenditure on a Prince.

* Radiance of Dark Glory - essentially a bit of insurance against Instability, but does nothing about the really humiliating "roll an 11 and disappear" problem. Looks better than it is; for the price, you're better off investing in combat kit and trying not to lose a round in the first place.

* Soul Hunger - the useful bit of ''hatred'' for a trifling 25 points, very good on a character which will be charging often and wanting to break enemies fast (since Daemons don't take hits back too well).

* Spell Breaker - it's a Dispel Scroll, the chief advantage of which is that the Daemon doesn't need to be a wizard to carry it. If you have the 25 points going, slap it on and give your Sorcerer something nice.

* Diabolic Splendour - now we're talking, 20 points for a proper Ward save that transfers to any unit the Daemon joins? That's a bargain.

* Master of Mortals - allows the Daemon to lead a Mortal army, i.e. putting Mortals in Core and everyone else in Special. At 5 points, fills a lot of gaps if you want the option.

* Unliving Idol - same thing, but for Beasts and twice the price for some reason. Gavin whyyyyyy?

===Khorne===

* Collar of Khorne - Magic Resistance 2? on something that'll be flying around by itself, attracting every missile and hex on the planet? for 25 points? I'll take two, and three on Tuesdays.

* Axe of Khorne - Killing Blow for 25 points is OK, but it's no Blade of the Ether and they can't be combined. Recommend avoidance.

* Armour of Khorne - a 4+ armour save is merely adequate, and the house recommends taking an Exalted Champion on a Juggernaut if you want saves.

* Might of Khorne - +1 S for 20 points, absolutely fine and dandy as filler, mulch yourself some sword and board infantry.

===Slaanesh===

* Aura of Slaanesh - if you have nothing better to do with 30 points, take this and inflict a minor Leadership malus, it may help. But it costs the same as Soporific Musk, so take that first.

* Soporific Musk - oh, this is '''solid''', far more so than it first appears. For 20 points, a Daemon Prince may well be hitting opponents on '''twos''', which is just plain nasty. The Initiative part is a writeoff since the Prince will be striking first in the first place, but the Weapon Skill is worth it alone.

* Gaze of Acquiescence - combines reasonably well with Aura of Slaanesh but that's 50 points down the tube for a Leadership gimmick that might not work. It's not bad but you probably have better things to do with your points.

===Tzeentch===

* Tzeentch's Will - really expensive, but possibly worth it on a character who could be casting a LOT of spells and really doesn't want to Miscast. Also works for saving throws, to hit rolls, and everything else Second Sign of Amul does.

* Spell Destroyer - a super Dispel Scroll with a 4+ chance of permanently destroying the spell, what's not to like for 50 points?

* Master of Sorcery - it's a Spell Familiar, and given the breadth of Tzeentch spells it probably won't hurt to pick up.

* Power Vortex - trading one wound for d3 power dice when you really need them is cast iron. In a vacuum this looks really good but I do wonder what kind of Tzeentch army is going to be stuck for dice.

===Nurgle===

* Cloud of Flies - hit bonuses and penalties in close combat are few and far between, and this is a good one for the relatively tough and attrition based Nurgle approach. Too pricey for an Exalted Daemon, but worth it on a Prince.

* Stream of Corruption - OK, this is good. 30 points for what appears to be a re-usable Breath Weapon (usable in any of the Chaos player's turns!), with good enough Strength and save modifier to melt light infantry. Excellent work on a cheap (ish) Exalted Daemon.

* Plague Flail - would be better if it was actually a flail. Give me +2 S on my Soul Hunger turns and we'll negotiate.

==Units Analysis==

===Named Characters===

* Archaon, Lord of the End Times

* Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons

* Gorthor the Beastlord

* Khazrak the One-Eye

* Morghur, Master of Skulls

===Mortals===

====Lords and Heroes====

Note: all of these come with Chaos Armour built in. Chaos Armour affords a 4+ save, and Wizards can cast spells whilst wearing it.

* Lord - an extremely solid combatant, excellent stats all round, with only Leadership 9 to make them anything less than perfect. Amongst a bevy of weapon options my personal favourite is the flail and shield: this grants the traditional war engine wrecking Strength of 7 for one round of combat (should be all you need with that many Attacks), allows him to strike first in most subsequent rounds (Initiative 8, after all) and rack up a 3+ base save, easy reach of a 1+ if you slap him on a Chaos Steed.

* Exalted Sorcerer - a level 3/4 wizard sporting the kind of combat stats most armies have on their Heroes; no weapon options, but a full range of nasty mounts. Won't give a Vampire Lord a run for their money but can be trusted to hold their own against line troops. In the right army, with proper precautions taken against Panic (i.e. big units of anything un-Marked, Marks of Khorne or Slaanesh on what needs 'em), can make a worthy General in place of the Lord. Can take magic armour options and probably should.

* Exalted Champion - the only thing Hero standard about this fella is Wounds and Leadership, everything else is firmly Lord grade. Chiefly notable for their access to Daemonic mounts: middleweight monsters that don't take up extra Hero slots, unlike Manticores and the like. Same kit as the Chaos Lord and to be honest the same guidance applies: flail and shield unless there's a good reason not to.

* Aspiring Champion - a budget Hero with no access to Daemonic Mounts, more average Hero stats and a special rule that says they can't be General unless nobody else is present to take the job. A good candidate for the Mark of Tzeentch as they're cheap enough that the premium price doesn't have so much impact. Also the Army Standard Bearer option, and able to be mounted on a Chaos Steed or Chariot for excellent saves in spite of flag-waggling.

* Sorcerer - level 1/2 wizard option, with the same "can only be boss if nobody better is around" rule as the Aspiring Champion. Has a limited range of nasty mount options (the generic Daemonic Mount and the Steed of Slaanesh) but the basic Steed is probably the good one. Deceptively tough for a wizard, as that Chaos armour and solid Weapon Skill goes a long way, but only has one attack so don't be expecting much. Unless, of course, you take the Lore of Fire and a Spell Familiar, and hope for Flaming Sword of Rhuin...

=====Mount Options=====

* Chaos Dragon - at 360 points and a Hero slot this thing isn't cheap, but it sports two breath weapons, a 3+ save and sixes across the board in the stats department. If you just want the flying and the ''terror'' take a Daemon Prince or even Exalted Daemon, but if you absolutely must put more killing power under your Chaos Lord, this is the way to do it.

* Daemonic Mount - a couple of solid attacks and a Daemonic Ward save to keep it alive. Give the rider the Enchanted Shield and you're looking at something considerably safer than the usual character on non-cavalry mount.

* Juggernaut of Khorne - probably the best of the bunch as far as Exalted Champion mounts go. Has a 4+ armour save of its very own on top of the Daemonic Ward, which is very nice, and WS that basically makes it hit like a Knight Champion.

* Disc of Tzeentch - lousy in a fight but still has W3 and flies 15" per turn. Many of the risks inherent with monstrous mounts go away for Tzeentch characters thanks to the Golden Eye, which keeps them both protected as they zip around spamming spells from medium range.

* Steed of Slaanesh - lower S and T than the Juggernaut or Daemonic Mount, but my God it's fast at 10", and also sports a respectable I5 for those longer combats. Also the cheapest of the bunch, probably because it's that little bit more likely to die.

* Chariot - at 120 points it's not cheap, but it affords bonus armour, brings impact hits, and covers a goodly amount of ground. A great mount for your Sorcerers, since both are best used in pairs anyway.

* Chaos Steed - the budget option (budget being relative, it's still 24 points with mandatory barding), but don't knock it, any Chaos character can hop onto one of these, grab a shield and enjoy a 1+ armour save. While this is normally an extremely desirable default standard, the Daemonic Mounts are strong and fast and cheap enough to be worth taking instead and it's not like Chaos heroes really hurt for armour saves. If points are tight, this is your go-to, but otherwise it's acceptable to spring for the Daemonic version.

====Units====

* Warriors

* Knights

* Marauders

* Marauder Horsemen

* Chariots

* Warhounds

===Daemons===

====Chaos Undivided====

* Daemon Prince

* Exalted Daemon

* Furies

====Khorne====

* Bloodthirster

* Bloodletters

* Flesh Hounds

====Slaanesh====

* Keeper of Secrets

* Daemonettes

* Mounted Daemonettes

====Tzeentch====

* Lord of Change

* Horrors & Flamers

* Screamers

====Nurgle====

* Great Unclean One

* Plaguebearers

* Nurglings

===Beasts===

====Lords and Heroes====

* Beastlord

* Doombull

* Shaggoth Champion

* Great Bray-Shaman

* Wargor

* Bray-Shaman

====Units====

* Beast Herd

* Bestigor

* Centigors

* Warhounds

* Minotaurs

===Special Units===

* Trolls

* Ogres

===Rare Units===

* Chaos SpaaajghjsaglOHGODNOTHEMEMEHASCOMEFORME

* Dragon Ogres

* Dragon Ogre Shaggoths

* Hellcannon

* Dogs of War

== Tactics ==

===AMBUSH!===

The Beastman Ambush is a bit of a gimmick as, all else being equal, your Beast Herds will probably be doing the Ambushing and they only turn up where you want them slightly more than half the time. Nevertheless, it can work very well provided you stick to small Herds, with Warhounds on the table at the start, to fill up your Core slots, and then use your Specials for some more reliable troops (Chaos Warriors) to force engagements which the Beastmen then tip in your favour.

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T13:25:02Z

90.251.102.9: /* Daemonic Gifts */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Magic Items */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Why play Chaos */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9:

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Units Analysis */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Khorne */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Slaanesh */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Nurgle */

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Tzeentch */

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Nurgle */

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Tzeentch */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Tzeentch */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Marks of Chaos */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Slaanesh */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Mark of Khorne */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Nurgle */

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Nurgle */

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Nurgle */

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Nurgle */

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Nurgle */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Slaanesh */

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Tzeentch */

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90.251.102.9: /* Lore of Slaanesh */

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Chaos

2021-01-01T10:27:39Z

90.251.102.9: Created page for the Hordes of Chaos and Beasts of Chaos army books.

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:52:12Z

90.251.102.9: /* Core Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and their combat kit nudges them into distinctly overpriced territory. But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. If you have taken a block of fighting Skeletons with a command group, giving them the Banner of the Undying Legion or War Banner is a good shout. (Undying Legion's good because they get the best odds of a good roll for resurrecting fallen warriors; War Banner because they need to build up all the combat resolution they can get before they inevitably start dying.)

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them, but remember they're Special unless you have a Tomb King.

It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew) serves them well.

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Up top I talked about the "start turn a foot from target and facing wrong direction, still get to charge" potential of the army and doing that with a fully ranked block of S4, T4 combat infantry is a delight. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': They're very odd. Normally, these "monstrous infantry" on 40mm bases are a small unit bolted on to the back of the army and are used for flanking and deterring, but Ushabti are comparatively slow for a unit of this type (only M5 and no marching) and our Chariot units do the same job better. Instead, Ushabti are a meat grinder, best fielded in units of four or more. Their S6 is just shy of the magic number, but unlike most units of their type they don't need great weapons to achieve it, which means they can strike in good order and melt Core infantry, non-charging Knights, even other big fellas like Ogres and Trolls. Their chief weakness is their mere 5+ armour save, which is not enough: they melt to handguns, Warp Lightning, most Chaos troops, almost anything with a great weapon, the list goes on.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:51:18Z

90.251.102.9: /* Core Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and their combat kit nudges them into distinctly overpriced territory. But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. If you have taken a block of fighting Skeletons with a command group, giving them the Banner of the Undying Legion or War Banner is a good shout. (Undying Legion's good because they get the best odds of a good roll for resurrecting fallen warriors; War Banner because they need to build up all the combat resolution they can get before they inevitably start dying.)

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them, but remember they're Special unless you have a Tomb King.

It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Up top I talked about the "start turn a foot from target and facing wrong direction, still get to charge" potential of the army and doing that with a fully ranked block of S4, T4 combat infantry is a delight. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': They're very odd. Normally, these "monstrous infantry" on 40mm bases are a small unit bolted on to the back of the army and are used for flanking and deterring, but Ushabti are comparatively slow for a unit of this type (only M5 and no marching) and our Chariot units do the same job better. Instead, Ushabti are a meat grinder, best fielded in units of four or more. Their S6 is just shy of the magic number, but unlike most units of their type they don't need great weapons to achieve it, which means they can strike in good order and melt Core infantry, non-charging Knights, even other big fellas like Ogres and Trolls. Their chief weakness is their mere 5+ armour save, which is not enough: they melt to handguns, Warp Lightning, most Chaos troops, almost anything with a great weapon, the list goes on.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:50:40Z

90.251.102.9: /* Special Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and their combat kit nudges them into distinctly overpriced territory. But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. If you have taken a block of fighting Skeletons with a command group, giving them the Banner of the Undying Legion or War Banner is a good shout. (Undying Legion's good because they get the best odds of a good roll for resurrecting fallen warriors; War Banner because they need to build up all the combat resolution they can get before they inevitably start dying.)

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Up top I talked about the "start turn a foot from target and facing wrong direction, still get to charge" potential of the army and doing that with a fully ranked block of S4, T4 combat infantry is a delight. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': They're very odd. Normally, these "monstrous infantry" on 40mm bases are a small unit bolted on to the back of the army and are used for flanking and deterring, but Ushabti are comparatively slow for a unit of this type (only M5 and no marching) and our Chariot units do the same job better. Instead, Ushabti are a meat grinder, best fielded in units of four or more. Their S6 is just shy of the magic number, but unlike most units of their type they don't need great weapons to achieve it, which means they can strike in good order and melt Core infantry, non-charging Knights, even other big fellas like Ogres and Trolls. Their chief weakness is their mere 5+ armour save, which is not enough: they melt to handguns, Warp Lightning, most Chaos troops, almost anything with a great weapon, the list goes on.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:39:51Z

90.251.102.9: /* Special Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and their combat kit nudges them into distinctly overpriced territory. But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. If you have taken a block of fighting Skeletons with a command group, giving them the Banner of the Undying Legion or War Banner is a good shout. (Undying Legion's good because they get the best odds of a good roll for resurrecting fallen warriors; War Banner because they need to build up all the combat resolution they can get before they inevitably start dying.)

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Up top I talked about the "start turn a foot from target and facing wrong direction, still get to charge" potential of the army and doing that with a fully ranked block of S4, T4 combat infantry is a delight. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': This anon confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Ushabti. They're very odd. M5: fast for Tomb Kings, slow for 40mm bases. S6: just shy of the magic number, but they don't have great weapons, so they will strike in good order. 5+ armour save built in, which is not enough to protect them against the kind of attacks that can hurt them: they melt to handguns, Warp Lightning, almost anything with a great weapon, the list goes on. The normal jobs these sorts of units do (flanking, deterring etc.) are done by Chariots in a Tomb Kings list. They are a lovely set of figures with a lot of damage potential and yet fall just short in every possible way. But this anon still owns nine of them and is seriously considering going to twelve, for ranking up three deep.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:38:33Z

90.251.102.9: /* Special Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and their combat kit nudges them into distinctly overpriced territory. But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. If you have taken a block of fighting Skeletons with a command group, giving them the Banner of the Undying Legion or War Banner is a good shout. (Undying Legion's good because they get the best odds of a good roll for resurrecting fallen warriors; War Banner because they need to build up all the combat resolution they can get before they inevitably start dying.)

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Up top I talked about the "start turn a foot from target and facing wrong direction, still get to charge" potential of the army and doing that with a fully ranked block of S4, T4 combat infantry is a delight. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': This anon confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Ushabti. They're very odd. M5: fast for Tomb Kings, slow for 40mm bases. S6: just shy of the magic number, but they don't have great weapons, so they will strike in good order. 5+ armour save built in, which is not enough to protect them against the kind of attacks that can hurt them: they melt to handguns, Warp Lightning, pretty much any hero waving a great weapon around, the list goes on. The normal jobs these sorts of units do (flanking, deterring etc.) are done by Chariots in a Tomb Kings list. They are a lovely set of figures with a lot of damage potential and yet fall just short in every possible way. But this anon still owns nine of them and is seriously considering going to twelve, for ranking up three deep.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:36:21Z

90.251.102.9: /* Core Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and their combat kit nudges them into distinctly overpriced territory. But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. If you have taken a block of fighting Skeletons with a command group, giving them the Banner of the Undying Legion or War Banner is a good shout. (Undying Legion's good because they get the best odds of a good roll for resurrecting fallen warriors; War Banner because they need to build up all the combat resolution they can get before they inevitably start dying.)

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Which means a unit of Tomb Guard can be 12" out of position, facing the wrong direction, at the start of the turn, and be in combat by the midpoint of your magic phase. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': This anon confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Ushabti. They're very odd. M5: fast for Tomb Kings, slow for 40mm bases. S6: just shy of the magic number, but they don't have great weapons, so they will strike in good order. 5+ armour save built in, which is not enough to protect them against the kind of attacks that can hurt them: they melt to handguns, Warp Lightning, pretty much any hero waving a great weapon around, the list goes on. The normal jobs these sorts of units do (flanking, deterring etc.) are done by Chariots in a Tomb Kings list. They are a lovely set of figures with a lot of damage potential and yet fall just short in every possible way. But this anon still owns nine of them and is seriously considering going to twelve, for ranking up three deep.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:07:56Z

90.251.102.9: /* Special Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and thanks to the design philosophy behind the Vampire Counts they're a good couple of points overpriced (the Vampires have a much easier time of bulking these units up and can create new ones, and that context doesn't seem to have been considered here). But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. This should probably be the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'' as Skeletons are the easiest models in the army to raise and this saves wasting an Incantation on doing so.

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Which means a unit of Tomb Guard can be 12" out of position, facing the wrong direction, at the start of the turn, and be in combat by the midpoint of your magic phase. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': This anon confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Ushabti. They're very odd. M5: fast for Tomb Kings, slow for 40mm bases. S6: just shy of the magic number, but they don't have great weapons, so they will strike in good order. 5+ armour save built in, which is not enough to protect them against the kind of attacks that can hurt them: they melt to handguns, Warp Lightning, pretty much any hero waving a great weapon around, the list goes on. The normal jobs these sorts of units do (flanking, deterring etc.) are done by Chariots in a Tomb Kings list. They are a lovely set of figures with a lot of damage potential and yet fall just short in every possible way. But this anon still owns nine of them and is seriously considering going to twelve, for ranking up three deep.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:05:12Z

90.251.102.9: /* Core Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and thanks to the design philosophy behind the Vampire Counts they're a good couple of points overpriced (the Vampires have a much easier time of bulking these units up and can create new ones, and that context doesn't seem to have been considered here). But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. This should probably be the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'' as Skeletons are the easiest models in the army to raise and this saves wasting an Incantation on doing so.

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on these. Most players think they're complete crap: the present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Which means a unit of Tomb Guard can be 12" out of position, facing the wrong direction, at the start of the turn, and be in combat by the midpoint of your magic phase. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': This anon confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Ushabti. They're very odd. M5: fast for Tomb Kings, slow for 40mm bases. S6: just shy of the magic number, but they don't have great weapons, so they will strike in good order. 5+ armour save built in, which is not enough to protect them against the kind of firepower that can hurt them: handguns in particular are their bane, since they're only T4. The normal jobs these sorts of units do (flanking, deterring etc.) are done by Chariots in a Tomb Kings list. They are a lovely set of figures with a lot of damage potential and yet fall just short in every possible way. But this anon still owns nine of them and is seriously considering going to twelve, for ranking up three deep.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:04:39Z

90.251.102.9: /* Core Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and thanks to the design philosophy behind the Vampire Counts they're a good couple of points overpriced (the Vampires have a much easier time of bulking these units up and can create new ones, and that context doesn't seem to have been considered here). But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. This should probably be the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'' as Skeletons are the easiest models in the army to raise and this saves wasting an Incantation on doing so.

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on this. Most players think they're complete crap. The present author thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units of five or six and use them for flanking), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''.

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Which means a unit of Tomb Guard can be 12" out of position, facing the wrong direction, at the start of the turn, and be in combat by the midpoint of your magic phase. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': This anon confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Ushabti. They're very odd. M5: fast for Tomb Kings, slow for 40mm bases. S6: just shy of the magic number, but they don't have great weapons, so they will strike in good order. 5+ armour save built in, which is not enough to protect them against the kind of firepower that can hurt them: handguns in particular are their bane, since they're only T4. The normal jobs these sorts of units do (flanking, deterring etc.) are done by Chariots in a Tomb Kings list. They are a lovely set of figures with a lot of damage potential and yet fall just short in every possible way. But this anon still owns nine of them and is seriously considering going to twelve, for ranking up three deep.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

2020-12-30T22:03:25Z

90.251.102.9: /* Core Units */

'''PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''

''And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name '''Nagash'''..."
— Extract from the Liber Necris, unless it was the Liber Mortis, or possibly the Cursed Book...''

==Why play Tomb Kings?==

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

==Army Special Rules==

'''Undead!''' Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:
* cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
* lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
* do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
* are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
* cause fear.
* cannot march.
* cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

'''The General:''' a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

Note that if your Tomb King or Prince dies, the army doesn't immediately fall apart. That linchpin role is the responsibility of the army's senior Liche Priest. Instead, the Tomb King General gets the last laugh as the model who killed him must take a Leadership test or be cursed with d6 wounds, no armour saves allowed. The Mummy has Cursed, and he says "sod you too, mate."

'''The Hierophant:''' a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

==Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera==

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations.
They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them.
They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK.
On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

'''So what do these dang incantations actually do?'''

* Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
* Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
* Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
* Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have only so many to go around, an entire army that needs their support to get shit done, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts for each turn into forcing through the desired Incantations on those. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported and whittled away. Go big or go home: it's what Nigel Stillman would have done.

==Magic Items Companion==

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

'''King Sauron:''' Tomb King with ''Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun''. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

'''Scorpion King''': Tomb King in Chariot with ''Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade''. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

'''2 Fast 2 Furious''': Tomb Prince in Chariot with ''Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire'', plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

'''Standard Issue Hierophant''': Liche Priest with ''Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar''. If it's a High Priest, add the ''Golden Ankhra'' (if you're boring) or ''Staff of Ravening'' (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Settra the Imperishable''', Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

'''High Queen Khalida Neferher''', Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

'''Tomb King'''

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds.
The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

'''Tomb Prince'''

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

'''Liche High Priest'''

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the ''Cloak of the Dunes'' moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

'''Liche Priest'''

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

'''Icon Bearer'''

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the ''Icon of Rakaph'' on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The ''Banner of the Hidden Dead'' is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The ''Standard of the Sands'' is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.

=== Core Units ===

'''Skeleton Warriors''': the kit they come with is all they really need, a simple hand weapon and bow. They're slow, they're brittle, and thanks to the design philosophy behind the Vampire Counts they're a good couple of points overpriced (the Vampires have a much easier time of bulking these units up and can create new ones, and that context doesn't seem to have been considered here). But if they can start chucking S3 hits out from their first turn - surprisingly accurate ones over time, because they always always always hit on fives - and they never need to march, they can end up performing. There are worse things to use your Core slots on than twenty of these.

If your General is a Tomb King, one unit may wave a magic standard around. This should probably be the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'' as Skeletons are the easiest models in the army to raise and this saves wasting an Incantation on doing so.

'''Skeleton Light Horsemen''': exactly the same but six points dearer and riding a horse. Fast Cavalry who can't march or flee are of dubious usefulness but they still benefit from endless reforms and a generous line of sight requirement. They're too expensive to use as throwaway pieces and too slow to make good bait, but they do make excellent wound counters for a mounted Liche Priest (and mounting up a Liche Priest is a good idea given the short range of those Incantations).

'''Tomb Swarm''': It's slow, and being Undead it's objectively the worst Swarm in the game, but it chucks out a lot of Poisoned Attacks and has the highly entertaining "It Came From Below" rule that can bring it up in a very unexpected place. Don't drop 250 odd points on a full size one but absolutely spend an odd 100 on two bases to see what happens.

'''Skeleton Heavy Horsemen''': The word "heavy" has never been so misapplied, but in this army a 4+ save is not to be sneezed at. Opinion is divided on this. Most players think they're complete crap. This anon thinks they're crap if you treat them like Knights (ie field small units), because they're not Knights at all. What they are is twice as fast as regular Skeletons, coming with a better save as standard, and fieldable in a great big block of sixteen. If you were considering a unit of Skeleton infantry to do fighting... bring these instead. They'll cover the ground faster, to the point where you might not need to waste Incantations on them, and their high Unit Strength means they might get lucky and auto-break something, especially if you kit them out with the ''War Banner''. This anon has seen it work!

'''Chariots''': These are in here because that's where the book puts them. It's easy to fall in love with these. Although they're very brittle, especially against Chaos/Vampire Counts/Lizardmen who can field a fast moving S7 hero who'll one-round a whole unit without blinking, they are insanely fast and maneouverable... manoeverable... that word this anon can't spell. Being Chariots, the major drawback of Undeath doesn't bother them as they can't march anyway. They can carry a 50 point magic standard, and either the ''Mirage Standard'' (protection from being shot at) or ''Icon of the Sacred Eye'' (+1 to hit, very good for useless WS3 "elite" Skeleton crew).

However. Do not think that because they're the army's signature unit you have to spam them. They have a giant footprint (the minimum size unit eats up a massive 24 square inches of board) and even with their fast cavalry reforms, they have to put those bases somewhere. Most tables do not have the space for too many of them to operate smoothly, factoring in terrain and inconveniently placed enemy units. One unit per 1000 points is probably enough, and they're at their best with a dedicated Prince or a High Priest nearby to ensure they keep moving.

=== Special Units ===

'''Tomb Guard''': OK, so it's normally considered bad form to compare similar units between similar army lists, focus on what you have and not what the neighbours are packing and so on. BUT: these are, at first glance, really shit Grave Guard. A lower maximum unit size (so it's less likely they'll autobreak enemies), no heavy armour or halberd options (so they won't thump and grind in protracted combat) and no Banner of the Barrows (because a flat "always hits on threes" is god's gift for fighting over obstacles and the like).

However, they have two significant edges over their cousins to the north. The first is that unlike Grave Guard, they can be raised with magic: d6 of the bleeders at a time. This makes them a good candidate for the ''Banner of the Undying Legion'', if no Skeletons are carrying it, and a reasonable target for spare Invocations if you need to keep their rank bonus up.

The second is the ''Icon of Rakaph''. This magic banner only benefits Skeleton Warriors (who need an Icon Bearer to join them with it, since it's too expensive for their points cap) or Tomb Guard, and it basically lets them pull a Fast Cavalry style free reform at the start of the turn, i.e. before charges are declared. Which means a unit of Tomb Guard can be 12" out of position, facing the wrong direction, at the start of the turn, and be in combat by the midpoint of your magic phase. Stick a footslogging Tomb King or a challenge-delivering speedbump Prince in there and you're laughing all the way back to your pyramid. Any of the magic standards that are good on Chariots are also good on these lads.

'''Ushabti''': This anon confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Ushabti. They're very odd. M5: fast for Tomb Kings, slow for 40mm bases. S6: just shy of the magic number, but they don't have great weapons, so they will strike in good order. 5+ armour save built in, which is not enough to protect them against the kind of firepower that can hurt them: handguns in particular are their bane, since they're only T4. The normal jobs these sorts of units do (flanking, deterring etc.) are done by Chariots in a Tomb Kings list. They are a lovely set of figures with a lot of damage potential and yet fall just short in every possible way. But this anon still owns nine of them and is seriously considering going to twelve, for ranking up three deep.

'''Carrion''': Underrated models, a little bit tougher than Fell Bats (4 over 3) and with a reasonable unit size. Small units run interference, harass archers, eat war machines, suicide strike wizards, all the usual flyer things and they don't care about being Undead 'cause flying ain't marching. Large units have the Unit Strength to break ranks and charge rears, and aren't too expensive.

'''Tomb Scorpion''': This thing has it all: Poison, Killing Blow, Magic Resistance, the hitting and soaking power of a Tomb King and thus the T not to be frightened of Pistoliers, the M to pursue 3d6", and did we mention It Came From Below, so the foul thing will be scuttling around behind the enemy army with a bit of luck? And it's so cheap at 85 points that you might not miss it if it decides not to show at all. Star of the show. Fling these into combo charges with gay abandon and let them chase down what your infantry can't reach. Use them for the suicide missions you'd normally send your Carrion on. Send them after enemy wizards and see how long they last once they're done.

=== Rare Units ===

'''Screaming Skull Catapult''': At 110 points this thing is dramatically underpriced. And yes, it's 110. Skulls of the Foe should be considered a mandatory upgrade which you can cut if you absolutely need to shave points off the list somehow. The highest S attack in the army, and a direct hit will almost certainly induce a panic test on whatever you targeted. Two of these will tie your Liche Priests down and make your army predictable (and don't kid yourself, you will want to fire them twice every turn), but one of these at the heart of a defensive build can win games all by itself.

'''Bone Giant''': In the book as originally released, these are decent. One more point of S wouldn't go amiss, nor would a little WS, but with an Incantation of Righteous Smiting to back them up these things can wail through enemy units and potentially strip the back ranks right off them, with a little luck. They also have the only native 3+ save in the army. Now: they are in the same slot as the Casket of Souls and the Screaming Skull Catapult, which to this anon's mind means they belong in smaller games, as the solo Rare choice. Locking your army down to the position of an artillery piece? Bad. Keeping your army aggressive, flexible and mobile? Good.

In the 2004 Warhammer Chronicles, these immense necrolummoxes pick up weapon options: a chariot-smashing knight-bruising great weapon; a shield for - whisper it - a 1+ save in melee, in THIS army; and a move-and-fire bolt thrower that comes with the same "always hits on 5s" rule as the rest of the army's archers. Don't take this the wrong way, but once the bolt thrower option became apparent, anon stopped listening to the rest. Either of the other options is technically better and gives the Giant a specific job to do, but the one-size-fits-all Rare selection that shoots, stomps and spreads terror before it has a certain appeal in a single-slot-type situation.

'''Casket of Souls''': this thing takes up a Rare slot and occupies the same sort of expensive opportunity cost niche that a Dragon might do in another army. The difference is that a Dragon can't potentially hurt an entire enemy army on the same turn.

Seasoned Vampire Counts players know that the Banshee's scream is overrated, and unless you've been able to drop the target's Ld through spells or abilities you're often not looking at more than a wound or two. The Casket has exactly the same rule, with exactly the same odds of not doing anything significant. Its chief value is as a deterrent. Its mere presence, and the potential that one of those inverse Ld tests will come up boxcars, will ensure that most opponents save their Dispel Scrolls or a couple of dice for the end of the magic phase, and they will need to save scrolls or multiple dice because this thing will come up sevens or better a little over half the time. Its disruptive effect on enemy magic (a global -1 malus to casting) is not to be forgotten, but ultimately a fringe benefit.

The Casket costs an awful lot for something that may have a purely psychological impact on a game, but if you're going for a defensive approach anyway and forcing the enemy to come towards you, this thing plus the ''Banner of the Shifting Sands'' will make them suffer for it every step of the way.

'''Dogs of War'''

As with magic items, life is much too short to review all the possibilities, so this anon will be sticking to the cheesemonger-in-chief's options.

First up: Dark Emissaries. One Hero, one Rare, and about 250 points down the crapper, but what you get for your trouble is a whole additional magic phase. Bring a Fenbeast or two in your other Rare slot and suddenly you've got aggressive options you didn't have before, four-dicing a Dark Emissary spell and then using the rest to heal your Beasts. Pair with a Liche High Priest for absolute nonsense. If anyone gives you grief, whip out your map of Nehekhera and point to the marshes. Totally 100% justified. Honest.

== Tactics ==

=== Know your Weaknesses and know your Strengths ===

=== Army compositions ===

=== Synergies ===

{{Warhammer6th_Tactics_Races}}
[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]