Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Chaos Daemons (section)

===<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Daemons of Tzeentch</span>===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
The Daemons of Tzeentch surround themselves in layer upon layer of mind-traps and illusions, each mirage shifting into the next. The result utterly confounds those nearby that would do the Daemons harm, and means their attacks are often ineffective.

Tzeentch is the shooting department in the codex while the other gods often footslog to the enemy to kill him in melee. They also specialize in the Psychic phase, with many casting attempts, Dispells, and abilities to get them. That doesn't mean that the bird nutters don't have a few ok melee units or tricks and with a widespread 4++ save they can be hard to kill as well.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Daemonic Loci: ''Locus of Trickery:''''' {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} At the beginning of each Fight phase, roll 2D6 and discard the higher: every time a friendly Tzeentch unit within 6" is attacked, any hit roll matching the remaining dice's result (after rerolls but before any modifier is applied) fails. Basically amounts to a -1 to hit mod that (versus most units hitting on a 4+) only goes off 25% of the time and only affects melee attacks. And since you roll once at the beginning of the phase, it's an all-or-nothing effect.

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Warlord Traits</span>====
#'''Born of Sorcery:''' +1 to the first psychic test you take in each psychic phase. This will stack with other modifiers, so it's great for making the psychic phase better and your Smite hit harder.
#'''Incorporeal form:''' -1 to all damage taken (minimum 1). The Changeling gets this. Prevents your Lord of change from dying on the first turn from Lascannons. 
#'''Warp Tethers:''' Reroll failed leadership tests of Tzeentch demons within 9".
#'''Lorekeeper of Tzeentch:''' +6" to the first psychic power manifested.
#'''Tyrant of the Warp:''' Ignore the first Perils you roll each phase on a 2+. Your main Psykers already have quite a few wounds, so this is not really needed. Kairos Fateweaver gets this.
#'''Demonspark:''' friendly Tzeentch demons within 9" re-roll to wound rolls of 1 in the shooting phase. The Blue Scribes get this.

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Stratagems</span>====
*'''Locus of Conjuration (2CP):''' Pick a {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} character at the beginning of any Psychic phase; all friendly Tzeentch units within 6" can reroll failed Psychic tests.
*'''Blasted Standard (1CP):''' Upgrade to a single Daemonic Icon carried by a {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} model. Once per battle, you can use it during the psychic phase. roll 9 dice, and for each 6, the closest visible enemy unit within 18" takes a mortal wound. (likely to Deal 3 to 5 MW)
**NOTE: the upgrade happens before the game starts so remember to keep your banner bearer safe since your opponent will know its coming.
*'''Magical Boon(1 CP):''' Use at the end of the psychic phase. Pick a {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} {{W40kKeyword|Psyker}}. They can attempt to manifest another psychic power.
*'''Exalted Lord of Change <sup>Engine War</sup>(1CP):''' Makes Greater daemons worth playing and Adaptable. Before battle A {{W40kKeyword|Lord of Change}} becomes {{W40kKeyword|Exalted}} and can pick one of 6 additional abilities or randomly gain 2. Unfortunately, multiple Exalted daemons can only gain the same ability if rolled for.
*#'''Mastery of Magic:''' Knows one more Power and cast one more.
*#'''Spell-thief:''' if you unbind a spell, that Psyker can't manifest it again. Forces meta-savy enemies to take duplicates, but you're still taking away linchpins.
*#'''Lord of Flux:''' Enemies take +1 more MW for your Spells.
*#'''Nexus of Fate:''' while on the battlefield at the start of your turn, gain a CP on a roll of 1 or 6.
*#'''Aura of Mutability:''' 6+ FNP, and then heals 1 for each 6 rolled after resolution.
*#'''Architect of Deception:''' -1 to hit from ranged weapons
*'''Minions of Magic <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' {{W40kKeyword|Horrors Infantry}} gets a 9 on the first Psychic power manifested. A bit of a waste on a normal Horror unit, as they only know Smite. Use it on a Herald instead to make sure a must cast power goes through, the easiest way to cast Infernal Gateway.
*'''Warp Jaws <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' In the Fight phase, {{W40kKeyword|Screamers}} add +1 to wound when targeting {{W40kKeyword|Monsters}} or {{W40kKeyword|Vehicles}}.
*'''Flames of Mutation <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' Use in the Shooting Phase. Select a {{W40kKeyword|Flamers}} unit. Unmodified wound rolls of 6 inflicts a MW in addition to any other damage.
*'''Warp Portal <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' Use in your Movement phase. Select one {{W40kKeyword|Fluxmaster}}, {{W40kKeyword|FateSkimmer}}, or {{W40kKeyword|Burning Chariot}} and remove them from the battlefield. Then, set it back up anywhere that is more than 9" from any enemy models. This counts as its movement. Nothing in rules as written prevents you from using this on a model within 1" of an enemy, and it doesn't count as falling back...

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Relics</span>====
*'''The Impossible Robe:''' {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} models only. Bearer gets a 4++ (technically 3++ because of Ephemeral Form) invulnerable save and a one-use save reroll, but if the reroll gives you a 1 the bearer instantly dies. Combine with warp surge to get a 3++ (2++ with EF) for one phase, only downside is you lose your rerolls (although on the other hand this also means no risk of killing yourself by accident). Even though technically warp surge can only increase the invuln to 3++ this still works since Ephemeral form gives +1 to the roll, not the save itself. Very nice to keep a lord of change alive against long-range heavy weapons. Even more, if combined with the incorporeal form warlord trait. The 2++ trick is no longer possible since the recent September 2018 Errata, which limited Warp Surge to a 4++
*'''Soulbane:''' {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} Herald only. replaces ritual dagger. Strength User, Ap -5, 1 damage. Invulnerable saves cannot be taken against this weapon. Wounding with this may be an issue but if it does wound, only FnP equivalents can stop it. (not quite, Bullgryns with Slabshields and the Psychic Barrier spell cast on them will still get a 6+ armor save RAW)
*'''Endless Grimoir:''' {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} {{W40kKeyword|Psyker}} only. Knows one additional power.
*'''Everstave:''' {{W40kKeyword|Tzeentch}} Model only. replaces rod of sorcery or staff of change. +1 to manifest smite. Who are we kidding, of course, you'll be Smite spamming with Tzeentch!

'''Artifact of Change'''
If your Warlord is Tzeentch Daemon, you can give one the following to a {{W40kKeyword|Exalted Lord of change}}.
*'''Warpfire Blade:''' Replace Baleful Sword. S+2 Ap-3 D6d,  and unmodified wound rolls of 6 deal an additional D3 MW. Combine with the Aura of Mutability Exalted ability to have a regenerating combat chicken. Casting Chicken is usually better.
*'''Soul-eater Stave:''' Heals a wound on a 4+ each time you kill a model with a spell, to a max of 9 each turn. Combines naturally with the Lord of Flux Exalted ability. More Mortal Wounds gives you more chances to heal.
*'''The Crystal Tome:''' at start of enemy's turn, make a contest Ld+d6 roll between the bearer and an enemy {{W40kKeyword|character}} within 12", his Auras are turned off if you roll equal or better. 

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">HQ</span>====
=====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">General</span>=====

*'''Lord of Change:''' You big spell caster lord. A slightly cheaper, less powerful Kairos, though the Rod of Sorcery can boost its Smite range up to 30" and is WS2+ compared to Fateweaver. Only able to cast 2 powers compared to fate-weavers casting 3. Can deny twice. Super durable with the Impossible Robe granting a 3++, and -1 to all damage received (to a minimum of 1) from the warlord trait. It also got a bit cheaper from the index. With the new relic (3++) and the new WL trait (-1D taken), a single chicken will be very hard to kill.
**If you can don't have the points, he can also be ok in melee as an Exalted Greater daemon. can Handle infantry and Staff of Tzeentch can create Spawn when it kills characters (if you have the point reserves). improve casting variant is preferred but don't forget that any Greater daemon can easily wipe the floor with a guardsman squad.

*'''Changecaster:''' New dumb name for regular Herald. S3(4) T3 W4 means he is rather unimpressive. Grants a +1S aura for Tzeentch Daemons which with the codex means all your shooting attacks benefit from this too, making him ideal for escorting Flamers and pink horror hordes. He can heal himself in melee if you mess up and get tar-pitted by guardsmen. He can be quite pricey at 83pts with a Staff of change, but you get a Wizard with  Sv4++, Knows a 24" Smite, two Tzeentch powers, and Can cast & deny once. 
*'''Fluxmaster:''' Disc Herald. Same as the normal one, but with {{W40kKeyword|Fly}}, 12" movement, and an additional (weak) attack for 21 more points. An interesting use for this guy and his +1S aura is keeping him near Flamers, whose flame attacks are Str: User. You can also have him escort screamers so their attacks are S7, allowing them to wound most vehicles on a 4 instead of 5s.
*'''Fateskimmer:''' Chariot Herald. A Herald again BUT now with two times the wounds AND +2T while still being a character? Check! And 9 Attacks? Check! And 14" movement? Check! Also {{W40kKeyword|Fly}}? Check! He can take three Blues with him (on the chariot himself so no changes to his statline and he is still a single model unit, but they only cost 5 points), for FUN anti-psyker rule (enemy psykers take -1 to cast within 9" of him, and if he happens to be around the scribes, enemy psykers within 12" would be ill-advised to try to cast anything, really). A very solid HQ, durable and killy (if he manages to hit something), while being quite the bargain at 135(140) points (says 150/155 with Chanting Horrors in the codex though).

=====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Named</span>=====
*'''The Changeling:''' Went from a nice fluffy idea with no real purpose to fuckawesome. Now he can copy the stats (not wounds!) of an infantry model within 1" near him, even the attacks, but most importantly he can copy one weapon profile too, but only from enemy {{W40kKeyword|Infantry}}, so no stealing from Dreadknights. It now can take on a lot of characters, beat them with their own weapons and can actually come out on top of them with its 4++ save. Also, it grants a 6+ FnP for Tzeentch daemons in 9". Oh and he is a psyker and can cast one spell as a cherry on top. No longer the auto-include the index made him, but still useful.
**With Formless Horror '''timing is critical'''. The ability activates ''"when the changeling fights"'' so be careful about getting preemptively struck while in your original vulnerable form before you get the opportunity to.. you know? fight. This means to look out for opponents who charge you with a good chance of taking you outright. The 1" limit is also something to be careful of as well because unless you can pile in and move across to that big bad dude on the other side of the melee, you might end up being surrounded by opponents who cannot grant you huge buffs. Leaving you just as vulnerable as when you started, then when he gets the opportunity to pile back, you could be in trouble. To avoid this he can sit behind a unit of something (like horrors) and perform a heroic intervention when they get charged. He will be safe from the charging unit as they can only attack their charge target and he can fall back on your turn so they cannot melee him back. 

*'''The Blue Scribes:''' S3 T3 W4 FUN anti-psyker, They gift enemy psyker -1 to cast and permanently remove (opponents) failed psychic powers within 12" (Ouch!). They also autocast a random Tzeentch power every turn, and if they successfully removed an opponent's power in the last psychic phase they also autocast Smite. As they are not actually psykers themselves, they cannot deny opponent powers- but at the same time, their own powers can't be denied or trigger Perils, as no psychic test is made for them. Just remember to have them cast first, so they don't randomly roll something you've already used. Actually, the FAQ says that's not an issue. This makes them a viable choice, but you need to play them precisely to always position yourself to be able to use all of the powers (preferred range - within 12-18" of the enemy and within 18" of a unit you would want to buff with flickering flames or boon of change (i.e. flamers or pink horrors, alternatively even obliterators, daemon engines or tzaangor enlightened).

*'''Fateweaver:''' He knows Smite and all Tzeentch powers, has a +2 casting bonus which he loses as he takes wounds, and gives you D3 extra command points for including him. Expensive but good in melee but more importantly he can cast 3 powers and knows EVERY TZEENTCH POWER. It also has 36" range on his Smite. Like the rest of the "We were really powerful psykers once. No, REALLY!" characters, the chicken king can deny three times. Any character he kills in melee turns into a [[Chaos Spawn|you-know-what]]. Got a bit cheaper from the index, but probably still over costed, as he attracts lascannon fire from all over the field and only has a coinflip to defend against it. 
** a few things to keep in mind when comparing Kairos to a regular LoC. Kairos will hit with higher strength in close combat, hitting at S8 compared to the LoC's S6/7 making him better in fights against VEQ's, However his attacks degrade faster after taking wounds. He doesn't have access to a relic that gives him a 3++ but can use his free command points given from being your warlord to use Warp Surge to give him that 3++. When he's your warlord he will also ignore perils on a 2+ and give you D3 command points which at worst is a free reroll/ unit to deep strike and at best will you can deep strike the big bird wherever you want and still have a spare CP for an important reroll.

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Troops</span>====
*'''Horrors of Tzeentch''' Greatly changed from their previous incarnations, when a Horror is killed it splits into smaller horrors and also stays part of the same unit.  Unfortunately for matched play, the "new" horrors come out of your "reserved for summoning" points allotment. Fully utilizing this increases the relative cost of Pink horrors by 120%, although it's an automatic success with summoning.  Thankfully, those points are not reserved just for Horrors, can be used for summoning other items. While this does reduce the overall size of your force, you could easily use this to keep bodies in the unit on objectives or in high-threat positions. Similarly, the threat of having whatever your opponent kills in a charge splitting off into more units might be enough to make them think twice about it. They have 2(3) 18" ranged attacks and can cast smite and dispel but only with a D6 roll. Horrors shouldn't attempt Smites because when Horrors fail their smites two out of three times, and after only two attempts smite difficulty will be 7! (so impossible for Horrors).
**'''Pink Horrors''' Expensive at full bore - base 7pt, but are actually 17 if you want to afford its two blues, and 23 to afford the blues splitting into Brimstone, so it's just about never worth saving the full 16pts per model for splitting, but if you want an Instrument for speed, taking 1 (without paying for split) to upgrade to Iridescent for free to carry it can be justified; ''never'' take an Icon unless you bring at ''least'' 7 Pinks, as the Icon can't bring back any other color, even though its shitty Morale immunity on a 1 will still work. In a 20+ Pink unit, their gun gets upgraded to Assault 3 and they are one pint cheaper than before. Another interesting note, their guns are Strength "User" so if you park them next to a Herald their shooting jumps from up from 3 to 4. Given the way wounding works in 8th this can make a huge difference, more if you can find a way to bump it further to 5. (either cast Boon of change and hope for the best or bring a Mutalith that can buff the strength of any Tzeentch unit for a turn or bring multiple, as their effects are cumulative!)
**'''Blue Horrors''' Like a Pink Horror without the 'gun' and worse BS/WS, but also does not really cost anything either, at 5 points (8 if you want to be able to afford to split them). Only a 5++ now and no gun, If you wanted a Tzeentch tarpit they are now slightly better then Brimstones, and they can still cast spells (ie Minions of Magic).
**'''Brimstone Horrors''' Used to be one of the best units in the game because they were 3 points for a model with a 4++ reduced to 6++ in the codex and they die immediately after using a power. Now finally weaker than conscripts (as at least the conscripts can still shoot things)...yay? Still, the cheapest troop choice chaos (or anyone?) has access to, so useful for filling out big detachments with low points investment.

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Elites</span>====
*'''Flamers''': While a tad expensive these guys are surprisingly good; with a 12" movement and shooting D6 str4 -1AP torrent of magical fire (which have improved from 8 inches to 12 inch range) they become great at harassing enemy melee units as they would not dare to charge them due to the strong overwatch and the very durable 4++ save. Their 12" range and PL4 for three make them excellent summoning material with devastating effect on infantry.
**'''Note:''' their weapon strength is S:user, which means a nearby herald will make them a heavy flamer profile. 3 squads of 3 gives 9D6 S5 auto hits. These are going to eat most infantry for breakfast.
*'''Exalted Flamer''' : A flamer with a brighter flame for slightly less than the cost of a unit of flamers. However, you don't take these guys for the d6 s5 ap-2 attacks, you take them for the 3 S9 Ap-4 D3 Damage mini lascannon shots at 18" range hitting on a 3+. Also, the single model is a character.  Take these guys behind those units of brimstones to prevent them from being shot. 
**'''Note:''' their weapon strengths are S:user and S:user+4, which means a nearby herald will make their pink flame S6 and blue flame S10!

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Fast Attack</span>====
*'''Screamers of Tzeentch:''' They're still fast Flyers, and are monster/tank hunters. When flying over a unit, Roll a D6 for each passing Screamer and on a 6 the unit suffers a mortal wound. On top of each making 3 Lamprey bites that are S+2 (S6 or 7) AP-3 and do 2 Damage. They have little defense (T4, W2, InvSv 4++). They are pretty good once again. A unit of 6 (138 pts.) Could easily rip apart most infantry and hunt tanks with their Warp Jaws Stratagem.
**They are one of the few Tzeentch units that want to be in melee. This makes them natural targets for Boon of Change.

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Heavy Support</span>====
*'''Burning Chariot''' Same as an Exalted Flamer but has double the wounds, a 14 inch move, worse Weapon Skill, is toughness 5, has a 5+ save (though its pretty useless thanks to Ephemeral Form), and is driven by a pair of Screamers which get to make an additional six hits in combat (at S6 AP-3 D2), all for 110 points. The big trade-off is that it loses the Character Keyword which is one of the best things about the Exalted Flamer which could be hidden behind a wall of horrors and kill tanks. The extra resilience helps to combat the loss, but a couple of lucky lascannon shots will bring it down quickly. Note, it will take on average 10.3 lascannon shots with BS3+ and 13.7 w/BS4+ to bring it down. So it's not as good as the Exalted flamer with the loss of Character status, but it is a lot tougher than it first appears and makes a half-decent distraction carnifex rushing up the boarding shooting stuff.

====<span style="color:#01bbe3;">Lord of War</span>====
*'''Aetaos'Rau'Keres the Slayer of Souls:''' Good luck trying to pronounce that name! Like Fateweaver, he has an innate +2 to his casting rolls (that gets reduced the more wounds he loses) and knows all 3 of the Tzeentch powers and Smite and can deny 3 powers too. Unlike Fateweaver, he has a 4++ (which becomes a 3++ for the Ephemeral form rule), is WS/BS 2+, and 27 wounds at T8. Shooting-wise his Staff of Cataclysm is an Assault 2d6 S9 AP-4 weapon that does a straight 3 damage. Did I mention it can be fired within 1" of enemy models and into close combat? Also, if you slay the final model of a unit with 10 or more models (highly likely), you immediately get 3 Flamers of Tzeentch (but do you have to pay for them out of reinforcement points? YEP). To further contrast his might with Fateweaver, his smite has 48 inches instead of 36, and if anyone dares to shoot him with a psychic power and succeed on it, roll a d6, and on a 5+ he ignores the power that was cast on him and the caster suffers a mortal wound. Just wait for your opponent to think that they would rather try their luck in close combat with him instead of shooting, he's a monster there too. Be careful though, if a Lord of Change or Daemon Prince comes within 12" of him, roll a dice and on a 4+ he must attack that unit with his Staff, ignoring the rules for targeting models (so he can shoot them if they're a character and not the closest unit, or if he can't see them). Hilariously, he has the lord of change keyword so he will always hit himself on a 4+, and the staff is actually pretty dangerous against him. 
**'''Chapter Approved Alternate Take:''' This guy's 1500 points in Chapter Approved. This guy's simply too expensive for what he brings to the table now. Hard pass.</div></div>