Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team (HoR)/Tactics/Chaos Daemons(8E)

The Daemons stand at a curious position with the Heralds of Ruin setup, mainly because of how many ways they can circumvent the rules normally in the main game. While some of them (like Warp Storms) have left making things far less random for those who play, other losses (like the Heralds of Chaos 4-in-1 rule and the larger weapons) do more harm to the daemons, identifying them as a much more fragile force than before, sometimes even more so then the Eldar.

Your common keywords are Chaos, Daemons, <God>.

Rules

• Chariots: Your chariots cannot hide in cover. Well, shitsux. You're gonna need to keep them moving to survive.
• Instruments of Chaos: Allows same-god models within 6" to add +1 to any charge/advance rolls, which incentivizes keeping your gods in tribes, if not going full mono-god.
• Daemonic Icon: Critical for recouping losses during a Rout check. If you roll and any die shows a 1, you can recover d6 models so long as both the icon, the model taking the test, and the models being replaced are of the same god and are all within 6" of the Icon. Similarly, if a model within 3" of an icon of the same god rolls a 1 on a Nerve check, they can resurrect a single lesser daemon of the same god.
• Daemonic Ritual: Each turn you can forgo moving to summon backup. You roll d6+Round and if you beat the casting value, you can summon a lesser daemon of a similar alignment. These daemons are free and do not count for routing, but do not stay for campaigns and horrors cannot split up without paying for it.
• Amended Psychic Powers: A lot of these powers were changed to fit the single-models meta:
  • Cacophonic Choir: Targets the highest Ld among the targeted enemies
  • 'Pavane of Slaanesh: Targets anyone within 3" of the target.
  • Bolt of Change: Turns targets into horrors instead of...those things.
  • Treason of Tzeentch: WC value increases for each model that's closer to the caster than the enemy.
  • Infernal Gateway: The target and d3 others all eat a mortal wound. Augmenting this to cast on a 12" instead does this to d6 other models.
  • Stream of Corruption: Only does d3 Mortal Wounds.
  • Nurgle's Rot': Targets only one lone model and makes it a bit harder to deal a lone mortal wound.

Armoury

• Well of the Warp: Leader only. This lets you summon a setpiece on a turn that isn't spend summoning. This allows you to use this as both a summoning point as well as a safe spot to drop in models from reserves.
• Transpicious Orb: Leader only. Lets you summon d3 daemons on one turn, which is pretty much for a bad situation where you need reinforcements.
• Sceptre of Summoning: Heralds only. This lets you add +1 to summoning rolls, but it both replaces a weapon (RIGHT OUT FOR KHORNE) and deals a mortal wound if you roll a 1 on the ritual. This is best used on Tzeentch heralds, as they wouldn't give two shits on giving up their piddly knives.
• Grand Blood Sacrifice: Lets you summon instead of consolidating on a turn where your leader slays a character - awfully situational and hinges upon needing to pass for...a lesser daemon.
• The Infinity Tome: Psykers only. This grants your psyker all powers of their discipline, but this is a major pigeonhole by forcing you to cast each power once before you can cast a power again - in essence, never unless you actually play past 6 turns.
• Spell Snare: Psykers only. For 5 points, you can actually hijack a spell your model denied. While it won't let you cast again, this is an incredible idea and it stays during campaigns (though you need to buy it again every time you use it).
• Gorewards: Khorne only. Cheap, but it forces any psykers within 12" that roll a 5+ on casting to count as rolling a 6+. At the least, it'll force perils on every smiting, and thus force your enemy to either risk losing their psyker or risk your daemons biting their legs off.
• Hellwrought Pathways: Your model never deals with difficult terrain on the charge, but this can also be used against you. Measure the benefits carefully when taking this and make sure you didn't just paint a giant bullseye over your head.
• Discorporate: Dirt cheap, but it allows a model to disregard any damage they took on the turn they died and get back to fighting on the next turn.
• Dire Agenda: Extra attacks per lost wound. Sounds tempting, but also suicidal as all get-out. Also worthless on Tzeentch leaders, since their deal's more on shooting and casting.
• Impious Misdirection: Cannot be taken by Khorne models. Any models in need of protection, this gives a model and anyone within 1" of them a -1 to hit in combat - a good enough boost, but in exceedingly short range.
• Boiling Ichor: Deals an S4 AP-1 hit to anyone who injures this model.
• No Escape: For any models that live and die in melee, this lets you make one more attack should an enemy within 1" fall back.
• Unthinkable Fate: For those few daemons with guns, this lets you kill and force enemies within 6" of the victim test for Nerve.
• Localized Warp Storm: Despite the name, all this amounts to is essentially a daemon-branded Smoke Grenade. One point within 8" becomes a bad zone to shoot through, and blocks LoS.
• Balescry: Lets you re-roll a random objective/setpiece. Definitely convenient for a scout.

Artefacts of the Empyrean

Unlike most relic-type weapons, these have the added penalty of giving a free VP if the bearer is killed.

• Herobane, the Duelist's Zweihander: Khorne only. You got a pretty beefy power sword for your boss at S+1 AP-3 D2. Especially worthwhile in single combat, where the wielder can re-roll 1s to hit.
• The Biting Betrayal: Slaanesh only. This thing's only a decent weapon at AP-1 D2, but there's a bigger gift here: if an enemy within 3" rolls a 1 to hit in close combat, they'll instead hit another enemy. This can potentially run a bad round of combat for your enemy.
• Pestiferous, the Boiling: Nurgle only. You get a curious bolter-like gun with Assault 4. This makes you a decent gunner, but your BS is still swingy. Your only benefit from this is re-rolling 1s to wound.
• The Mirror of Regrets: Tzeentch only. This lets you replicate any weapon the wielder was attacked with in melee. That power fist? Yours. That super-special chainsword? YOURS. Of course, this issue with this is that it expects you (a fucking daemon of Tzeentch, with your non-existent gains) to fight in hand-to-hand combat and not at range or with powers.
• The Kin-Gift: Leader only. It's not very remarkable for a sword, with S+1 AP-1, but it re-rolls all hit and wound rolls against other Chaos models, making it insane for an anti-Chaos matchup.
• The Herald of Ruin: One-part Instrument, one-part gun, all-part reference. As an instrument, it doubles all benefits offered, and as a gun, it's only slightly better than a flamer with assault d3 S4 AP-1 D1.

Philosophies

• Veiltearer: +1 TP, with another one given once you successfully perform 3 daemonic rituals. This, of course, hinges on you rolling damn well each turn. Really well, especially in the first two turns.
• Not of this World: +1 TP for not using the CRB Tactical Actions.
• Unnatural Exemplar: +2 TP for having a mono-god army and forbidding you from using ANY Tactical Action not marked by your god.

Tactical Actions

• Incursion Instigator (1 TP): Allows you to double the range where you can drop a summoned daemon, but it's wasted if you fail the ritual.
• Surge of Unreality (2 TP): Everyone within your leader's IP range walks through terrain. WELL SHIT, THIS RAPE TRAIN LOST THE BRAKES.
• Rage & Revenge (2 TP): Khorne only. If one model dies, a buddy within 3" of mister banishedguy gets to attack again. Expect to use this.
• Gore & Glory (! TP): Khorne only. Your guys can now consolidate 3+d3" towards the nearest enemy character, which is pretty much reserved for your boss or a better-kitted assassin.
• Devious Deviants (2 TP): Tzeentch only. Two models within 6" of the leader immediately swap places. While this won't work in combat or while hiding, it's just as worthwhile in any other instance.
• Intention Alteration (2 TP): Tzeentch only. Lets you change what power you cast on the fly to another one, which might allow you to swap from a high-cost power to just smite and still cast.
• Putrefaction in Action (1 TP): Nurgle only. Pick one model, they now have -1 Toughness, but so does everyone within 1" of them. This can do quite a bit in turning MEQs into tempting platters for seemingly-weak daemons and might let you flatten them at the cost of one weaker plaguebearer who can still potentially tank the blows.
• Gloat & Bloar (2 TP): Nurgle only. Your leader gains something if the enemy leader dies while within your leader's IP. The gifts are rather simple: A recovered wound, +1S or +1T.
• Horrific Beguilement (2 TP): Slaanesh only. If you want to foil an attempt to flatten your daemonette in melee, you can force a roll-off between you and the enemy. If you win, you're invincible for the turn.
• Join the Feast (1 TP): Slaanesh only. Lets you move and summon, which is very neat.

Unit Analysis

Your FOC is as follows:

• 1 Leader
• 1-25 Core
• 0-5 Special

Leaders

• Bloodmaster: Herald of Khorne, your key melee unit. You need to gather your Bloodletters around him, not only for the locus but also just for the sake of protection against everything that can gun him down.
  • Bloodreaper: A cheaper Bloodletter boss, sans locus.
  • Bloodhunter: Bloodreaper on Juggernaut, just in case you really needed to sink points into making roadkill.
• Changecaster: Herald of Tzeentch. He possesses a two Tzeentch powers and has the locus, which makes him useful not only on close combat, but also on making the gunline of Horrors/Flamers since their fires key off Strength.
  • Iridescent Horror: A mini-herald of Tzeentch, bereft of even his powers. Even worse, he counts as being killed even if he splits into blues (though they keep one piece of gear between them, and those get lost if they split again). The only reason you pick him is to buff up your bigger boys and icons.
• Pyrocaster: An Exalted Flamer Jr. They're okay against low-armor and low T, which won't make that many saves. However, he's easily passed up for the Horror above him for at least powers.
• Herald of Slaanesh: Lacks a cool name (Presumably awaiting the AoS-ification), but possesses the option to actually buy her own mount. Also (for typo reasons) can ironically take shit from the Craftworlder's armoury THAT WAS A TYPO DAMMIT!
  • Alluress: A mini-herald of Slaanesh. Probably the most balanced of the not-heralds, with good ability in combat and the option for a great power.
  • Heartseeker: A Seeker-boss, replete with the freakish speed.
• Poxbringer: Herald of Nurgle. Being the toughest fucker in the list, he's capable of holding up against some fire, but you should still keep him safe and make use of his locus.
  • Plagueridden: A mini-herald of Nurgle. He's not as affected by losing the locus since Nurgle's not focused on killing as much as withstanding blows.
  • Plaguebringer: A not-herald on a rot fly. Remains the flying wall and while pitiful at shooting, you have a good melee game.

Core

• Bloodletter of Khorne: The basic Daemons of Khorne still have the same issues they normally have: They're utter crap against shooty armies, and their single attack will make them shit against anything if they don't land a blow. Buy them in mobs (so as to gain a bonus attack at 15+), bring them as a Bloodreaper's disposable wounds or just to smash things. Like all Daemons, they can grab an Instrument of Chaos, an Icon, or their marked Banner.
• Flesh Hound of Khorne: Real good at attacking, swiftly closing gaps where others might fail. They also act as your anti-psyker tools as each can deny a power each turn.
• Pink Horror of Tzeentch: These guys are actually now full-on psychic artillery now that they can each cast Smite, albeit at reduced power. However, splitting remains as costly and ineffective as ever.
• Screamer of Tzeentch: With the revised statlines, these guys turn out to be really good, enough to be perfectly suitable melee units if you lack anything better.
• Plaguebearer of Nurgle: These act as your unbreakable wall, especially if you get over 15 to get their -1 to hit rule. Like all Daemons, they can grab an Instrument of Chaos, an Icon, or their marked Banner. Depending on how badly you need things dead, the Banner might be something to take.
• Nurgling Swarm: Disgustingly expensive at 18 points, but they're Infiltrating swarms. Bring a couple to piss off guys without multi-hit weapons and waste the big-damage weapons.
• Daemonette of Slaanesh: Flimsy, but so fast that you'll likely hit the other guy before they can retaliate. Keep them in numbers against Eldar and Genestealers, especially since you get a free attack for bringing over 15. Like all Daemons, they can grab an Instrument of Chaos, an Icon, or their marked Banner. In their case, the standard's only really worth using in larger combats.
• Seeker of Slaanesh: WThese things are insanely fast and capable of holding up in combat. The sad thing is that they're worth about three daemonettes. One can also take Instruments and Icons to help.
• Chaos Fury: The Furies aren't much better on their own, and they can now charge against anyone who fails a Nerve Check, though this doesn't include attacks as well. If the price of 8 points seems a bit much, do remember that you can summon Furies of the same alignment for free reinforcements.

Special

• Flamer of Tzeentch: Their flamer attacks are really nice against swarms and low-T mobs, but against anything else, there's less likelihood.
• Beast of Nurgle: Rather expensive at 34 points. While they're absurdly survivable, they're absolutely useless unless they're keeping something else busy.
• Plague Drone: You have flying walls of meat. You know who else has that? NOBODY. Exploit this and interfere with any operations attempting to shoot your weaker boys.
• Fiend of Slaanesh: These things are very fast, but their offensive potential is only truly remarkable. Between all their attacks and their psyker-nerfing, they can be a good addition to a force lacking psykers.
• Bloodcrushers of Khorne: Bloodletters on Juggernauts who can take Icons and Instruments. While still very large and killy, they'll go down like bitches against anything above S4. While tempting for a mono-Khorne army, just don't. Not without the Locus.

• 0-1 Seeker Chariot: Incompatible with other chariots. They're dangerous in a meta where everything's alone and if you set them up, you could end up resolving multiple packed combats at once. That said however, 60 points is a bit of a steep price.
• 0-1 Burning Chariot: Incompatible with other chariots. You're considerably nerfed when compared to bighammer, and the two screamers strapped to the front are far from enough to compensate sinking your points into this.
• 0-1 Chariot of Blood: Incompatible with other chariots. Well ain't this something? You grab a Blood Throne without needing the herald on top. That said, it remains pitifully slow and without cover it's bound to get shot up like the dickens.
• Bubonic Palanquin: A mini-Epidemius if you ever needed one. While slow, it also provides your Nurgle models the single benefit as reward for killing around it. Of course, it goes without saying that this needs to be protected.