Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Chaos Daemons (section)

===<span style="color:#471F5F;">Daemons of Slaanesh</span>===
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The Daemons of Slaanesh dance across the battlefield with a grace and speed that defies belief. They can close the distance on the killing fields of a battlefield in a heartbeat, falling upon their surprised and panic-stricken prey with psychotic delight.

Fast and fragile and lots of attacks. If you need to kill large blobs of weaker and/or faster enemies the pretty god's minions will do it for you. They also have surprisingly high AP on their weapons, but Khorne is more consistent at fighting MEQs and tanks. <div class="mw-collapsible-content">

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Warlord Traits</span>====

{{W40kKeyword|HERALD}} units can only choose from the first 3 warlord traits. 

#'''Warp Mists:''' You can save up to 2 Warp Storm Points to exploit in future turns. If daemons had a stratagem to take extra warlord traits this might have been nice on a support herald to give a little more flexibility with the Warpstorm. Unfortunately, GW decided fuck them in particular, so this competes with the various killy traits.
#'''Fatal Caress:''' Each time you make a to wound roll of 5+, the target can't take invulnerable saves against the attack. Situational, against foes in light armour that rely on their invulnerable save (looking at you [[Harlequin|clowns]]) this can put in work, but in the age of Armour of Contempt there's no guarantee it will make a difference.
#'''The Murderdance:''' +d3 attacks if your warlord charges. The Masque gets this.
#'''Quicksilver Duelist:''' Can reroll to hit anything in melee and can reroll to wound when in melee against a {{W40kKeyword|Character}}. Shalaxi has this.
#'''Savage Hedonist:''' +1 Strength per turn, to a max of 3. Well, this can help make your heralds hit like monsters and your princes and keepers overwhelm other monsters...if you can keep them alive for long enough
#'''Aura of Bewitchment:''' Enemies within 6" cannot perform objective actions. Syll’Esske has this.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Stratagems</span>====
*'''The Endless Dance (1 CP):''' When a {{w40kKeyword|Daemonettes}} unit fights, they can pile in or consolidate an additional 3" for extra coverage when hitting the enemy.
*'''Exquisite Gifts (1 CP):''' Another generic "extra relics" strat.
*'''Impossible Elegance (1 CP):''' When a non-{{w40kKeyword|Vehicle Character}} fights, they cannot be hit by anything higher than a 4+. Way to piss off all the elite swordsmen and monsters of the world, you just tanked their accuracy.
*'''Melodic Delirium (1 CP):''' Use at the start of the Psychic phase. One unit of Fiends gains a new aura that makes psykers within 12" take -2 to their casting checks.
*'''Race through the Warp (1 CP):''' During the Command phase, one {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh Vehicle}} that isn't a soul grinder can immediately fly back into reserves to be thrown elsewhere. This is especially useful since your chariots have zero shooting to rely upon.
*'''Rapturous Standard (1CP):''' Pick one {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh Icon}} unit during the fight phase. This entire unit can now re-roll to hit, which is incredibly cool to get and is now usable more than once!
*'''Razor-sharp Caress (1 CP):''' When a {{w40kKeyword|Daemonettes}} unit fights, a natural hit roll of 6 improves the AP of their weapons by 1. 
*'''Thirst for Souls (1 CP):''' Ancient Doom for the other side. When one of your units fight an {{W40kKeyword|Aeldari}} unit, you can reroll hit and wound rolls against your favorite snacks.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Exalted Keeper of Secrets</span>====
As with things like Chapter Command, you no longer need to spend CP in order to upgrade one of your nameless Keepers into something bigger and <s>hornier</s> meaner. Instead, you can spend points and PL for that.

*'''Diaphanous Panoply:''' Ranged attacks take -1 to wound this cow-man. There's not much you can do to stop a lascannon from nailing them, so take what you can to make sure they can't make their mark.
*'''Epicurean of Agonies:''' Each natural 6 to hit scores another hit.
*'''Insatiable Onslaught:''' +2 to charge and advance rolls. You're already freakishly fast, so why not make it even easier to bumrush your enemies?

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Relics</span>====
*'''The Forbidden Gem:''' {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh}} models only. During each command phase, you can shut down all auras for one character within 12". While not as fun as last edition, this is infinitely more useful in the aura-stacking meta of 9E.
*'''The Mark of Excess:''' {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh}} models only. Bearer gets +1 attack by default, and gets another +1 every time he kills a {{w40kKeyword|Character, Vehicle}} or a {{w40kKeyword|Monster}}.
*'''Silverstrike:''' {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh}} models only. Upgrade a Witstealer to S+3 AP-3 D3 with a sinister trick: Enemies wounded by this sword take -1 to all hit and wound rolls. Not only is this potent, but it's now able to cripple enemies too.
*'''Soulstealer:''' {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh}} models only. Replaces a Witstealer sword or Hellforged sword. A dangerous S+2 AP-3 D3 weapon. Each time a model is slain by this weapon, the bearer regains one lost wound to a max of 6 each turn. In addition, you auto-wound all Eldar. Useful for keeping a melee character alive, gives Eldar a reason to stay far away from you. Give this to your Keeper of Secrets or DPoS for an infantry killing machine that '''just won't die!'''
*'''Slothful Claws:''' {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh}} Herald models only. One set of Ravaging Claws or Snapping Claws gains +1 Damage and anyone hurt by it cannot use auras for the rest of the turn. Take over the Forbidden Gem if you intend to keep this Keeper in melee, otherwise take the Gem instead.
*'''Whip of Agony:''' {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh}} models only. Upgrade Living Whip or Lashes of Torment. This whip now becomes Assault 8 and will auto-wound on a 4+ if the target is not {{W40kKeyword|Vehicle}} or {{W40kKeyword|Titanic}}.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">HQ</span>====
=====<span style="color:#471F5F;">General</span>=====
*'''[[Keeper of Secrets]]:''' With the release of the new plastic model the Keeper has gotten a new revised datasheet and 210 pts base cost. The new price includes one of three options: the living whip, ritual knife, or Sinistrous Hand. If you take the Shining Aegis, that adds +10 pts.  An already frightfully speedy unit (who gets slower the more wounds it takes) its movement has increased to 14", and now has 16 wounds. Its base combat ability remains impressive as always, with its Snapping Claws becoming Malefic 4 with an absurdly high AP-4 D3 while the primary Witstealer Sword boosts combat with S+2 AP-3 D3 that makes those wounded by it suffer -1 to hit. The best part is you don't have to choose between the two; with the claws being Malefic, all your attacks default to the sword for a total of 10 (!) attacks at full wounds, and even at its lowest, you're still throwing around an impressive amount of attacks. Mesmerizing Aura penalizes enemy attacks in melee with -1 to hit, which gives it protection similar to the Bloodthirster's flat 4+/4+. Cast Symphony of Pain on the target of your charge for an additional -1 to hit. In combat wound them with Witstealer for an additional -1 to hit. Now characters are hitting on a 5+. Or alternately, take the free Soulstealer relic sword and recover previously lost wounds by killing enemy models, all of which stack with the Sinistrous Hand. Make this Keeper exalted with the Insatiable Onslaught trait and now you're charging 20+2d6" EVERY TURN. If you make the charge into a chaff unit, she'll kill 6 and recover a max of 6+d3 wounds. Soulstealer also auto-wounds all Eldar, making it into an evil blender with picky tastes.
**As with the Lord of Change, the KoS can actually learn two powers on top of Smite, making for a potent buffing daemon as well. Grab Symphony of Pain and Hysterical Frenzy and you've got yourself the ideal blender at hand. Swap Symphony of Pain for Delightful Agonies and you've just made a pack of Daemonettes durable and much deadlier. 
**As this is a fancy multi-part kit, your keeper comes with new wargear options:
<tabs>
<tab name="Living Whip"> 
12" Assault 6 S6 AP-2 D2. It can no longer hit anything within engagement range, so its value solely relies upon how much you need that shooting. Luckily, that 2+ BS doesn't decay.
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<tab name="Shining Aegis">
Grants a 4+/4+ save, which is very handy for a unit that's likely to attract chargers and incapable of hiding behind anything. Nothing quite tops a Daemon Prince hiding behind the Daemonettes though.
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<tab name="Ritual Knife">
At the end of the fight phase, pick one enemy model about 3" away that lost wounds by this model and roll D6: On a 2+, that enemy suffers D3 MW. Made specifically to screw over monsters and heroes with annoying damage mitigation.
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<tab name="Sinustrous Hand">
If the user kills any non-vehicle in the Fight phase, it heals D3 wounds. What, was the Soulstealer sword not enough healing for you?
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*'''Herald of Slaanesh:''' 
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<tab name="Tranceweaver"> 
The newly named generic Herald of Slaanesh on foot, oddly renamed from Viceleader to Tranceweaver. Sadly, the official miniature is still resin only but easily converted from various Slaanesh plastic kits. She's fairly speedy at 9" movement and is a Psyker who can cast/deny 1 power, knowing Smite and one power from the Soulstain discipline. Alongside her herald-based re-roll 1s to wound aura, the special aura gives {{W40kKeyword|Core Daemonettes}} who roll a natual 6 to wound a bump in AP, which is...not quite as necessary considering that they get AP-2 on those claws, but it does negate Armour of Contempt.
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<tab name="Tormentbringer on Seeker Chariot">
Tired of having very fragile Heralds? Have this fairly fragile one. With the Steed of Slaanesh going Legends, these are now your budget mounted heralds. The regular Seeker Chariot variant is now 100 pts, and like all Slaanesh units, it is a bit of a glass hammer. 12" move, T5, a 5+/4+ Save, and 7 wounds to let it hide behind screens gives you a mobile leader, but it will crumble if it gets focused down, -1 to hit from ranged attacks be damned. There is some potential for play if you give the Herald the Slothful Claw relic. Otherwise, you are looking at six S4 AP-2 D2 attacks and four Malefic attacks at S4 with no AP from the steeds pulling the thing. If you manage to charge, you can cause mortal wounds to enemy models within 1" on a roll of a 5+ on 4d6 and gain two extra attacks, which just reinforces the units roll as a chafe cleaner. Charge into a screening unit, clear it out, and hopefully your Keeper of Secrets will have a clear path to something important. All in all, you are paying some extra points for extra toughness and wounds, a few extra attacks, a small chance of mortal wounds when charging, and, most importantly, a bigger base, which means his aura of +1S is bigger. It's probably the best Herald, but it's hard to maneuver, so be careful.
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<tab name="Tormentbringer on Exalted Seeker Chariot">
Sadly inferior to the smaller chariot. On paper, it starts off nice. With 16 attacks in melee (8 from the Herald's ravaging claws and 8 from the mounts) it would seem to be a strong melee threat. Furthermore, the larger base size means more Daemonettes will be benefitting from your auras. Then you run into the problem of getting it to your opponent's battle line. Having 12 wounds looks nice, but that means you can't hide behind a blob, and if you lose half your wounds (and it will be soon enough, trust me) it becomes slower and worthless in melee because of degrading stats. To seal the deal, it costs 20 points more than a normal Herald on Seeker Chariot with no other benefits. Avoid this.
</tab>
<tab name="Tormentbringer on Hellflayer">
For 10 pts more than a Herald on a Seeker Chariot, you get a unit with all the Seeker Chariot's strengths while being slightly better at tackling MEQs. The Hellflayer replace the Scything Impact rule with a unique weapon: the Bladed Axle. This is stronger than the rest of the vehicle's attacks at S+2 AP-2 D2, but it's helf back by being Malefic 4, so you can't rely on it to kill a whole combat squad of marines. However, charging gives this axle Malefic 6, making said wipes come more easily.
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<tab name="Herald of Slaanesh on Steed of Slaanesh (Legends)">
Sadly consigned to oblivion in Legends. A basic Herald mounted on a Steed which grants 14" movement, re-rolling charges, and +1 wound for 85 pts. Taken in a Slaanesh Daemon detachment she has a 6" aura which allows units to advance and charge in the same turn. The Legends update finally gives her Ravaging Claws with S: user/AP-1/Dmg 2/Counts as AP-4 on a wound roll of 6. Which can now be swapped out for the Slothful Claw relic.
**Even less useful now, as the Herald got none of the updates from the codex. It still relies on (irrelevant) Quicksilver Swiftness and doesn't get any of the new Daemon rules. It also gains nothing from any of the other buff auras due to keyword fuckery.
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<tab name="Contorted Epitome">
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, whose ass is going to be fucked up worst of all?" 2 heralds riding on a magic mirror that acts as a psychic turret, casting and denying two powers per turn. Taken along with an Infernal Enrapturess and Fiends it can provide excellent Psychic Defense. It also has a 2+ save against mortal wounds that protect it further from enemy psykers, and enemy units including fliers that get within 6" of it need to roll a Leadership score on a 3d6 or else have their movement cut in half and take -1 to hit anything, making them effectively sitting ducks against the oncoming tide of Fiends and Daemonettes.  Be sure to take Phantasmagoria for its 12" penalty aura of -1 LD as one of its powers. There is only ~37.5% chance to roll lower than LD10 on 3D6 and pass the test. Debuffing LD even by -1 reduces the chance of an LD7-8 unit escaping to ~26%, and if you recall Daemonic's 6" Leadership debuff aura, you'll realize just how devastating this can be. Anything LD7 would effectively be stuck as they only have a ~0.46% chance to escape. 
**Don't count this out as a beatstick! Aside from the eight attacks made by the Heralds' claws, you also get a Malefic 3 attack from the various unpleasantness of the portal, giving S+1 AP-2 D3 attacks to help take down Primaris with ease.
**But the Contorted Epitomes isn't just an extra killy Daemon Prince it's also an amazing Psyker. What really makes the Mirror powerful is its synergy with the Infernal Enrapturess and Fiends. Because of its speed, the Epitome is best taken alongside chariots, fiends or seekers. If you're running swarms of Daemonettes, take Syll'Esske if you have the extra points.
</tab>
<tab name="Infernal Enrapturess">
Rather than frontline combat, the Infernal Enrapturess provides powerful sonic fire support with her Heartstring Lyre, a dual profile gun that's either an Assault 6 18” S4 AP-1 D1 assault rifle or an Assault 1 24” S8 AP-3 D3+d3 shotgun. But wait, there's more! Her Discordant Disruption ability causes enemy psykers within 24” to suffer Perils of the Warp on any doubles. While not as powerful with the loss of the Fiends' constant anti-psyker power, it remains a deterrent against careless psykers. Finally, she has the Harmonic Alignment special rule, allowing you to resurrect a single slain {{W40kKeyword|Slaanesh Core}} model or d3 Daemonettes within 6" to top off the ranks.
*Perhaps you're not surprised, but this also has the {{W40kKeyword|Warp Locus}} keyword, making it great for supporting deep-striking daemons.
</tab>
</tabs>

=====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Named</span>=====
*'''[[Shalaxi Helbane]]:''' TACTICAL WHORE, INCOMING! Slaanesh is at long last getting a named Greater Daemon (that isn't the super powerful uber number one overpriced)! Her Soulpiercer spear is a ridiculous Sx2 AP-4 Dd6, and if it scores a 6 to wound against a character it always does the full 6 damage. She also wears the Cloak of Constriction, which imposes a -1 to wound against enemy melee attacks, which nicely complements the hit penalty she shares with the standard Keeper of Secrets. Delicate Precision allows her to re-roll wound rolls of 1. While Monarch of the Hunt allows her to move 6" during a pile in or heroic intervention as long as it is towards the nearest enemy character. If you make her your warlord she must take Quicksilver Duelist which allows her to re-roll to hit and wound enemy characters. Finally, she can take either a Living Whip: 6"/S6/AP-2/Damage 2/Assault 6/attacks from this weapon can target enemy units within 1"; for 240 pts. Or a shining Aegis: roll D6 whenever the model takes a wound on a  6+ the wound is ignored; mortal wounds are ignored on a  5+; for 250 pts. Since she has Delightful Agonies as a psychic power skip the shield and take the living whip instead. Counterpoint - the shield is viable as there are a lot of other excellent Slaanesh powers that make you a beast in cc (looking at you hysterical / symphony). Plus the shield looks dope as hell.
*'''[[The Masque of Slaanesh]]:''' Due to the changes in how characters work, the Masque is finally granted the protection of hiding behind a blob of Daemonettes. As well as gains a stunning new plastic model. She can advance or fall back and charge in the same turn, and she forces a -1 to-hit penalty against enemy attacks that target a Daemonette unit within 6" of her in the fight phase (and she has the DAEMONETTE keyword, so that applies to her too). Also, if she's locked in combat with something, you add 1 to hit against the target unit. Her Ravaging Claws are now S: user and AP-2, with DMG 2. Her cost increased in MFM21 going from 78 pts to 85 pts. If your running Mono-Slaanesh, you should always be taking her. She combo very well with Syll'Esske in a massive swarm of Daemonettes.
*'''[[Syll’Esske]]:''' 200 points and so 15 more than a fully kitted out DP, let's see what they get. For starters, as a Prince and Herald mix, they get the aura abilities of both, rerolls of 1 to hit and wounds for core is pretty nice. Statline wise, Syll'Esske is also a mix of Herald and DP (on foot, but with the +2 movement baked in, moving them to 10"). Syll'Esske's shooting is based off of the herald, who has a 3+, Strength too. Everything else except Leadership is off of a DP except for leadership. Which is neither 8 or 10, and instead a 9? Okay. Deadly Symbiosis is gone, instead opting for turning the Scouring Whip into a Malefic 6 weapon. The Axe of Dominion is still the same, but Syll'Esske loosing the +1 Strength Aura turns this into a worse Hellforged Sword at maxing at S:7 vs 8. Overall it seems like Syll'Esske has seen an overall nerf in 9th edition. In fact the only buff they've done is let them cast and know an extra power, but not deny an extra one. I guess the best place for Syll'Esske is to save yourself an HQ slot and pal them up with a few units of daemonettes to get the most out of their auras.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Troops</span>====
*'''[[Daemonettes]]:''' The Daemonettes were the best daemon at ripping up armor until 8th came along and made Bloodletters more reliable at it. Their Piercing claws are AP-2, compared to the Bloodletters and their Hellblades which have a higher strength with AP-3 and D2 to rip apart marines in a single swing. This isn't to say these girls aren't good at the job, but they have been overshadowed, especially now that MEQs tend to have multiple wounds. They still have more attacks (and at 10 models and 4 attacks per model, you're rolling for over 40 attacks) and an absurd 10" movement which would make them great... if only they weren't so frail! Instead, use them like you would Genestealers - throw something else at TEQs while you use these girls to overwhelm some camping shits in cover. Daemonettes rely on getting into combat ''fast'' so be sure you get them stuck in quickly, especially if you deep-strike them.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Elites</span>====
*'''[[Fiends of Slaanesh]]:''' S5/T4/W4 with four AP-4 D2 claw swipes and a Malefic 1 tail with AP-3 D3. With 4 attacks a turn, they are good at fighting multi-wounds units... but that's not their main role. Their role is more to frustrate as their Soporific Musk makes enemies engaged with them take -1 to hit, absolutely infuriating and will keep them tied up for a surprise reaming from a Keeper or Daemonette pack. They sadly lost the ability to tie up enemies by making them unable to fall back, but you're so fast that you can immediately rush them regardless.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Fast Attack</span>====
*'''[[Seekers of Slaanesh]]:''' They've lost their innate Advance and Charge rules in the new codex but they still have access to the rules with the new loci ability. Instead, their Unholy Speed rule now allows them to re-roll charges. Holy smokes, that's an impressive threat range of 32" (33" with an instrument of chaos, since you still can't declare charges outside 12"), and an average of 26,5". With 2 wounds each, their role is clear; you can reliably charge turn one and engage stuff you don't want to shoot, and have just the right stuff not to get completely demolished by overwatch and resist a turn or two. They have the same attacks of the Daemonettes plus 2 attacks from the mount, but don't expect them to kill too much, especially without a Herald to back them (you can have one, but since Seekers will run as close as the enemy as possible, it's risky. If the Seekers get destroyed, you will most probably lose the expensive Herald too). In general, if you play mono-Slaanesh you want a big unit of those girls.
*'''[[Hellflayer]]:''' It's nice to see that the Hellflayer finally has a role on its own, instead of being "just a Seeker Chariot with an extra gimmick". Hellflayers don't have the Scything Impact of the chariot, but instead, have D6 extra attacks at Sx2 AP-1 D2. High strength attacks are rare in this army, so having another source such as this is welcome. Laugh at the image of an Hellflayer destroying tanks with their blades. They gained +1 attack in the new codex but nothing else.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Heavy Support</span>====
*'''[[Seeker Chariot]]:''' Cheap and flexible. Seeker Chariots have both the piercing claws and the lashes of torment (which can hit in and out of combats), and their Scything Impact ability gives you a slim chance of dealing mortal wounds. They don't really have a role on their own but are always a nice addition. They gained +1 attack in the new codex but nothing else.
*'''[[Exalted Seeker Chariot]]:''' Just like the Hellflayers got some different stuff, now even this is not "just a Seeker Chariot but bigger" anymore. Unlike the Seeker Chariot, this thing have scalable wounds and start with a respectable WS 2+ and 8 attacks, only to lose them when it gets wounded. It no longer caused mortal wounds on 5+ like in the Index, but rather a 6+ like the regular chariot. So it's more expensive than the Seeker Chariot and potentially far stronger. On full and half wounds, it's better in every situation. Causing more wounds than a regular chariot. Once it gets to it's final wound bracket, the regular chariot is better; but by this point, it's already taken 1.5x the wounds of a regular chariot and is still on the table. Sitting at 80 pts with MFM21; basically take this one if you can spare the 20 points more.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Lord of War</span>====
*'''Zarakynel:''' With our great and glorious overlords at GW writing the imperial armour books Zarakynel has seen a rework, and will still violate all your orifices with joyous abandon. They lost their 3++ in combat for a simple 5+/4+ like any other keeper, but instead gained a -1 to hit from all sources, which is better as the move has been towards giving all units lower ballistic skills unless they're the bees knees. At 18 wounds they're still exposed to ranged firepower, but at movement 14" and having extra wounds means that you can run from cover to and not care, although being a Monster will make cover a bit harder to find.
**Melee is much the same (Zarakynel falls into the category of units that still get to hit on a 2+), just with the... Delicious? improvements. Firstly, the claw attack which you never had a reason to use before, that gets 4 extra attacks with it each fight phase, and at S7 AP-3 D3 its going to do something to those unfortunate enough to be hit. Then there's the famous Souleater Blade. S9 AP-3 D3 means that Zaraknyel can easily chop through marines with ease, Armour of Contempt be damned. But that is not why you choose the blade. You choose it because on a 4+ to wound you deal 3 mortal wounds instead of normal damage, letting you chop through any manner of damage. This is a big deal. In 9th edition mortal wounds are much harder to come by, and on the whole all units have gained more wounds. So having a weapon which will deal, on average, '''7.5 Mortal Wounds''' each time it fights, against all targets, is a big deal. Then there's the earlier reference to delicious. If Zarakynel kills '''ANY''' non-vehicle '''MODEL''' in the fight phase they regain D6 previously lost wounds. Against pretty much anything short of demon primarchs, it is simply impossible to kill this unit.
**For further context, Zarakynel costs 450 points. Guilliman costs around 400 points, and is much slower, doesn't hit as hard, and comes wrapped with a delicious snack of meatshields. Overall, Zarakynel costs roughly the same as before, but is now balanced for their cost, and will make a joyous addition to any army of debauchery.

====<span style="color:#471F5F;">Fortification</span>====
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