Chaos Daemons Army Warhammer 40K

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Warhammer 40K
Daemons of Chaos Archive

Army Overview
Daemons of Chaos are by and large an army of elite troops that are geared for hand to hand combat. Standout units include Bloodletters, Bloodcrushers, and Fiends of Slanesh. They have one of the best dreadnaughts in the game in the form of the Soul Grinder. They also have a whole bunch of heavy hitters like Daemon Princes and Greater Daemons. Two of their weaknesses are massed small arms fire and template weapons that cover their entire deepstrike formation.

A Chaos Daemons army must use a special method of deployment. First, you divide your force into two roughly equal halves. One of these is chosen at random and Deep Strikes into battle on your first turn. As you do not know which half will arrive it is important to make each half viable on its own. The second half then Deep Strikes in subsequent turns. Deep Striking so many units can be quite difficult, as some units invariably land on other models or in impassable terrain. To make the process less dangerous, units that are already on the battlefield that have Chaos Icons allow other units to Deep Strike near them without scattering.

HQ
The Daemons of Chaos have a superabundance of HQ choices. These are divded into two types: Greater Daemons and Heralds. These two types each include a character for each of the four chaos gods, as well as several unique characters.

Greater Demons
Bloodthirster
Greater Daemons of Khorn are truly terrifying foes to face in hand to hand combat. The run rule allows him to close with the enemy more quickly. He also has a good armor save and a great invulnerable save. However, he will be the target of every weapon that is within range. A high volume of fire is much more deadly to a Bloodthirster than a few high AP shots. In most instances he is cut down before he does too much damage.

Skarbrand
Although Skarbrand is more deadly than a Bloodthirster he also costs more points. My advice is to save on points and take a regular Bloodthirster.

Keeper of Secrets
Second only to the Bloodthirster in hand to hand combat, the Greater Daemon of Slanesh is also very deadly. She does not have quite as good an invulnerable save, and frequently gets mowed down by loads of small arms fire.

Great Unclean One
He is a real menace at close range, as he is able to spew forth tons of filth that rots enemy troops where they stand. Although he is not as skilled in hand to hand combat as the afformentioned Greater Demons, he is still a real threat. One of his major drawbacks is that he is slow moving, and thus can be avoided by most enemies.

Ku Gath the Plague Father
Like, Skarbrand, Ku Gath is more powerful than a regular Greater Daemon. However he also costs more points.

Lord of Change
One of the most deadly psykers in the game, the Lord of Change can strike at a distance and turn the tide of battle. Make sure to give him Master of Sorcery and Breath of Chaos. Also try to keep him out of the big fire lanes so that he is not lit up.

FateWeaver
Although he is more expensive than a Lord of Change, the Fateweaver is worth his points.

Heralds
The heralds are a big step down from the Daemons, and are not much better than the regular Daemon troops. However, they are a great option as they are rather inexpensive. In general, the Heralds should be given Juggernauts or Chariots, as this drastically increases their survivability and manuverability.

Khorne Herald

The Skull Taker

Nurgle Herald

Epidemus
He is without a doubt one of the most useful Heralds. His special rule makes Plaguebearers very tough to kill, making all Nurgle lists viable.

Slanesh Herald

The Masque
Like, Epidemus, The Mask has a very useful special power. She can use The Pavanne three times in a turn to move enemy troops up to 6". Obviously this is very powerful. Her downside is that she IS NOT an independent character and CANNOT join units. This makes her very difficult to protect. She almost invariably dies to small arms fire the turn after she arrives. She is most useful in combination with Flamers, as she can herd enemy troops into Flamer Template shapes.

Tzeentch Herald

Blue Scribes

Elite
Bloodcrusher
These are truly deadly foes. They are even more lethal than Bloodletters, and also have a good armor save and higher toughness. They are a good unit to carry and Icon of Chaos, as they are so sturdy. Their roubustness also makes them good candidates to assault units in cover (a weakness of Bloodletters). Their one downside, if you can call it that, is that despite being mounted they are not faster than regular troops. This being said, they fit into almost any army.

Slanesh Fiend
These have the ideal blend of the strength and toughness of Bloodletters and the attacks and initiative of Deamonettes. They move very quickly which should never be underestimated. They can run around and contest objectives, seek cover, or flank the enemy. Their one downside is that they have a poor invulnerable save. However, this is true for most of the Deamon army. Even so, they are a very good addition to any army.

Flamers
Although 40k is less focused on shooting than in 4th edition, ranged combat is still very important. Flamers put out tons of fire power and have template weapons that ignore armor saves. Needless to say they fit into almost any Chaos army list.

Beasts of Nurgle
With their high toughness and multiple wounds these guys just don't drop. However, they just aren't as good as other units in the army.

Troops
Bloodletters
These guys are deadly in close combat because of their high strength and initiative, Furious Charge, and weapons that ignore armor saves. However, they lack a good armor save, and do not have Assault Grenades. This makes them vulnerable to enemy fire, and troops that are in cover. They are also not much good at attacking vehicles. All of this being said, they are still some of the best hand to hand troops in the game.

Daemonette
Like the Bloodletters, the Daemonettes are deadly in hand to hand combat. They have tons of rending attacks and very high initiative. They also have Fleet and Assault Grenades which make them ideal troops to attack units in cover. However, they do not have power weapons so they are usually cut down by heavily armored opponents like Space Marines. They also have low toughness which makes them very vulnerable to enemy fire. Consider taking Bloodletters before choosing Daemonettes.

Pink Horrors
Second only to Flamers, Pink Horrors shoot units to bits. They also have a decent invulnerable save. Horrors help balance out the Daemon list which is very hand to hand combat oriented.

Plaguebearers
Like the Beasts of Nurgle, the Plaguebearers are quite resilient thanks to their high toughness and Feel No Pain. Because of this they are a good unit to give an Icon of Chaos to, so that other units can Deep Strike into battle. However, they have the Slow and Purposeful rule, which makes their movement unpredictable.

Nurglings
Although they seem harmless, they can hurt opponents with their sheer number of attacks. They can also be used to tie up key enemy units. Take them in large numbers. One of their downsides is that they are swarms. This means that they cannot hold objectives, and are vulnerable to template weapons.

Fast Attack

Flesh Hounds
On the surface these look similar to Bloodletters. However, they do not have power weapons and thus are not nearly as deadly. In their favor, they have much better movement. This can be useful as it reduces their exposure to ranged combat, and can help them move to contest objectives.

Seekers
These are very much like the old Daemonettes on steeds. Their stats are almost identical to Daemonettes, except for the fact that they move faster and have another attack. I have found them to be much more useful than Daemonettes.

Screamers
There are very few anti-tank units in the Chaos list. The Screamers are one of them. However, they do not do much else. So if you are facing lots of armor then consider taking a squad of 5 or 6. If not, leave the tanks to things like Greater Daemons and Soul Grinders.

Chaos Fury
These are basically inferior versions of Flesh Hounds. Their one advantage is that they have Jetpacks which add a little extra manuverability.

Heavy Support

Soul Grinder
This is the king of dreadnaughts. It has better armor and lots more weaponry than a regular dreadnaught. You have the Harvester which can mow down infantry. If you are at close range you can vomit on your foes which is even more deadly than the Harvester. For long range attacks the Soul Grinder has Phlegm which is more akin to a bomb and takes out armored infantry. For ultimate killing power you can attack with your tongue which will penetrate even the thickest armor. However, the Soul Grinder really excels in hand to hand combat. To this end, all of the above weapons are assault, so you can shoot them and then charge in. In hand to hand combat he has a ton of attacks and attacks at strength 10.

Daemon Prince
Although he is not as powerful as a Greater Daemon, the Daemon Prince is still incredibly deadly in close combat. His weakness is that he is not well armored and does not have nearly as good as save as a Greater Daemon.

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