Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Warriors of Chaos (section)

===Core Units===
*'''Chaos Warriors:''' Vikings in scary looking armour and the reason why this army is so fucking badass. Also the basic infantry unit for your army, but probably one of the nastiest infantry units in the game. They're very, very good at killing (model for model they beat most armies' elite melee troops), but their cost and larger base size means that you'll never want to take them in large units. Generally used in units that are six wide to maximize the number of models in base contact with the enemy and take advantage of their 2 Attacks. There are two main set-ups for these guys. The first is Shields and the Mark of Tzeentch, with the MoT stacking with their Parry save from HW+Shield for a 3+/5++ save in close combat. Hard to kill and still pretty deadly in return. The second set-up is to give them the Mark of Khorne and Halberds. Some folks like to use Additional Hand Weapons instead, but the Halberds are mathematically just as good or better in all situations. Except when you're up against zombies, skeletons, and weak units you'll wound on 2+ anyway... The Mark of Slaanesh is the cheapest mark, as it only allows you to pass Fear, Terror, and Panic tests in an already high Leadership army.  The mark of Nurgle no longer makes you harder to hit with shooting attacks, but it is still invaluable against against elite units (even most heroes have ws 6, meaning they will hit you on a 4+ instead of a 3+), as a penalty to hit is stronger than a ward save.  Always, '''always''' make use of the banner of swiftness on these guys. m4 is horribly slow and +1 move and charge distance is amazing. If you are going up against an army which loves its DAKKADAKKADAKKA, then maybe units of 18, 3x6.
** If you have some characters in the unit take champion. If enemy have some murderlord in there and you have your wizard or BSB you can sacryfice champion as you have to issue and accept challanges. Not a problem if yor murderlord is in there obviously.
*** Even with no characters there it is worth to take a champion. Granted he has to issue chalanges but if he wins Eye of the gods. Of course this may enable enemy to hide his valuable character in the challange.
**'''Note:''' When taking Halberds, shields are optional; 4+ armor save is good enough against most shooting but the extra bonus never hurts unless you're afraid of Lore of Metal; bear in mind that not all armies can take Lore of Metal (<strike>Vampire Counts</strike> FORBIDDEN LORE BITCHES, and Ogre Kingdoms can't for instance).  In a case like that, you'll probably want shields so you won't be ''completely'' pulverized by Leadbelchers.

*'''Chaos Marauders:''' The cheap and plentiful alternative to Warriors. You can mark them Khorne with Great Weapons (or occasionally Flails) for a massive horde of half-naked berserkers. Yes, they'll drop like flies, but at 6 points per model naked, and 11 points per model with Mark of Khorne and great weapons means you can have a lot of them in a unit, and when they hit back they tend to murder the faces off most things with WS4, S5, and 2 Attacks each(if you don't lose frenzy), and It's usually good to have at least one unit of these guys to tie up/redirect anything you don't want to put a lot of points towards getting rid of. The other, less frequently used set-up is Tzeentch with Shields and Light Armour. They get the same synergy with Parry saves and the Mark of Tzeentch as Warriors, so rank them them up fairly deep for steadfast and use them to hold something nasty in place while the rest of your army sets up a flank charge.<strike>Their models are considered pretty terrible though, so a lot of people don't like to use them.</strike> Their models look like He-Man's deformed viking brother, and the limited options on the spruce means that all of them adopt the same, about-to-brain-themselves pose. If you like models who look like they come from the era before detailed casting, buy marauders. If not, buy the better-in-every-way Chaos Warriors.

**'''Alternate take:''' The strength marauders bring to the table is the fact that they bring a big block of troops for cheap points or if you read above you will notice chaos marauder with mark of khorne and flail is 10 points when playing WoC. Also, buff these bastards with some spells, and they can become a total pain in the ass. Their main downsides are: 1) they are mounted on 25mm bases, so a horde of them will be hard to maneuver, and 2) they '''need''' support from characters. They are not like Chaos Warriors who can operate on their own; if you want them to accomplish something, put an Exalted Hero with them and buff them with some spells. Marks though can be quite effective on them, Mark of Nurgle helps them survive a lot longer in combat (good for tarpitting), Mark of Khorne makes them pretty good against other core if they have Great Weapons, and Mark of Slaanesh allows them to ignore the inevitable panic tests that come from being shot at. Note that Mark of Khorne also makes you immune to psychology, so it's like the Mark of Slaanesh but with one more attack. A block of 20 marauders with mark of khorne and flails scares the shit out of empire gun-lines, they will shoot lead in their faces and it will only make their penises harder, and when they hit, they'll RIP AND TEAR like flamers on Grots.

*'''Chaos Warhounds:''' Flankers. At only 6 points a pop, combined with M7 they are excellent at intercepting enemy scouts and skirmishers, and to hunt down the crews of enemy war machines, wizards or even ranged units. They drop like flies though: at T3 with a 6+ save for an additional point, everything with something bigger than a hand weapon or a longbow will kill these pups instantly. They can be given poisoned attacks as well, but with only 1 attack each this should not make much of a difference. Finally they can be upgraded to have Vanguard, meaning they get [[Creed|a free 12" move before the start of the game, putting them close to your enemy and less likely to be shot down along the way]]. Use them if you want to, but they won't work against every army you'll face. Take a few units as drops so that your opponent has to place his important units first. Don't bother giving them any upgrades other than vanguard.
**'''Alternate take:''' For 30 points naked, they're a super cheap investment in an army that otherwise has very expensive units.  They give you more flexibility at deployment and make excellent redirectors.  Once they run, they'll likely keep running, but keeping your outnumbered self unflanked for a turn or two can make the difference between life and death.  Don't ever consider them combat-worthy.  Consider them for dominating the movement phase, protecting your own flanks by redirecting chargers, and with the side benefit of maybe occasionally doing a few wounds on something squishy.  Don't leave home without 2-3 naked units of 5 in any army above 1500, learn how to use them and you'll love them.  Don't bother with any upgrades.  Just get more units of them if you have the points to spare.
** You can also use them to dominate the deployment phase. By putting down 3 or 4 units of just 5 hounds as your first deployments, you get to see where your opponent is putting his stuff before you start deploying your important units. Sure, you'll probably miss out on the +1 see-who-goes-first roll, but that's offset by letting you react to your opponent's deployment.
** Watch out for panic tests - with Ld 5, these things will run at the first scent of danger, and you don't want your expensive units of warriors to follow them off the board. Vanguard helps you get them away from your main battle line, while a BSB will reduce the chance of your important units failing their test.

*'''Marauder Horsemen:''' Cheaper than Chaos Warriors, Marauders are your light cavalry. Notable for having the only non-magical ranged attacks in your army (throwing weapons or javelins), you can give them flails and light armor, combined with a Mark of Khorne to break enemy infantry units and run them down (3d6 dice + a reroll if needed? Yes please.) Again, with only T3 and a 5+ save they die like bitches to handgunners, so use their speed to keep them behind cover before you charge. They're not often used: if you want cavalry, Chaos Knights nearly always are given this task. But if you absolutely need you some poor bastards taking those Fanatics out or want a mono-cavalry army, these are your friends.
**'''Alternate take:''' Note that Marauder Horsemen, being light cavalry, have the Vanguard special rule. Against certain dakka armies with slow to fire weapons (<strike>i'm looking at you, Empire Handgunners</strike> Empire Handgunners have move or shoot not slow to fire), a group of 5 with flails and Mark of Khorne will rip through a gunline and possibly overrun, engaging a cannon or something like that. Think of them as a one-shot desert eagle magnum. Also good for charging lone wizards. In one of my games they almost took out an empire Great Wizard by themselves.
** They can be used as typical disruptors and warmachine hunters. Min unit of 5 with light armor, shields, javelins, spears and musician they clock at exactly 100p or 105 with mark of slanesh (propably good idea). They can hunt lone wizards, shoot some redirectors and such or charge warmachines and chaff with decent chanses of killing it with 4+ AS, S4 atacks and being imune to panic. Do not usde them as redirectors tho. Warhounds are cheaper and better for that.

*'''Forsaken:''' Another trap. Their stat-line is considerably worse than that of a Warrior, but they cost more points. When in B2B with an enemy they get a (randomly determined) special rule, from Armor Piercing to Killing Blow. Fast and with great potential, but just not worth it compared to regular Chaos Warriors. I've seen some players attempt to use multiple small units of Forsaken, but your points are better spent elsewhere. On the plus size, the parts from their sprues make for excellent conversion fodder for Chaos Warriors, so if you were wanting to spruce up a unit of those...
**'''Alternate take:''' Those small units aren't so bad. Movement 6 plus swiftstride with Mark of Slaanesh means they're not much slower than your Knights at around half the cost, and Immune to Psychology means you can field 5-man units without worrying about them fleeing after ranged attacks. They're unpredictable (Frenzy + D3 attacks gives you 2-4) and you never know what mutation you'll get in CC, but that makes it just as hard for your opponent to know what to expect. Useful as a flanking unit in support of your main blocks of Warriors, or to chase off small units such as skirmishers or light cavalry.
** They can be used as slower but more killy (especially with mark of khorne) version of maruder horsemen. They cost exactly the same as fully kited horsemen with same save.

*'''Chaos Chariot:''' Pretty damn good as far as chariots go: T5 with 4 wounds and 3+ armor save is nothing to be sneered at for its low-ish cost. This bad-boy will pump out an ungodly amount of S5 attacks if you mark it with Khorne: D6+1 impact hits, then 3 attacks each from the halberdiers on the back. And now they are Core you can considerably upgrade your hitting power with but a small unit.  Skip on regular infantry and you can have a stupidly fast army as a whole with these without giving up killing power and resilience. Just watch out for combat res and be sure to break steadfast.
** There are armies that fill their entire core with multiple chariots. 3 of them charging a infantry unit have a decent chance of murdefying a lot of rank and file that is not elites and surviving comeback. Abilities that being single model give are nothing to scoff at either.