Violent Space Marine Dedicated to Khorne
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Hey guys, i am working on a full tactical article for Khorne Daemonkin and thought i would share what i have so far with you here on Dakka!
Tactica Khorne Daemonkin
Brought to you by www.facebook.com/blogforthebloodgod
INTRODUCTION
Hi guys, Dean Sinnbeck from the Blog for The Blood God facebook page with my first ever in depth tactical article! Let me start by introducing myself! As the name of my blog suggests, I collect Khorne! I have over 25 thousand points of pure Khorne Chaos Space Marines, Chaos Daemons and Khorne Daemonkin. I have been playing exclusively Khorne for over 8 years now and have witnessed the coming and going of several editions for all chaos players alike.
None of these new editions, suppliments or codex releases have inspired such excitement as the recently released Codex Khorne Daemonkin! Finnaly the desciples of the blood god can bring forth all the powerful weapons of war in such a way thier enemies will be trembling in fear!
So with that in mind I have decided to write my first ever Tactical article that will be a colloboration of tactics that can be used to make the Khorne Daemonkin player a worthy advesary! Some tactics will be submitted by followers on my blog, others shared from the wonderful world of forums and others from my own personal experiences. Some will be very basic, others quite advanced, some will be extremely powerful and some will be highly situational... however ALL will be written in a way that can be used to give Khorne Daemonkin players the edge!
TRIPLE THREAT
This first tactic is seriously over powered in smaller games so use your discretion when deciding when and when not to pull this out of the bag of tricks. It works very easily and is very difficult for your opponent to prevent, so what is it and how does it work?
I am sure you have seen incarnations of this elsewhere on the internet but here is my take on what i call "the triple threat" start by taking a Chaos Lord with Kor'lath the Axe of Ruin, this artefact has a unique ability that summons a bloodthirster when the bearer is removed as a casualty, so for 135pts (price of the lord with the axe) you actually get a 250pt bloodthirster (Giving you a 115pt edge on your opponent) but wait, there is more, as soon as possible you want to spend 7 Blood Tithe Points to give you the Dark Apotheosis, using this result on the Blood Tithe table you can summon a Daemon Prince and remove your lord as a casualty, this Daemon Prince keeps your warlord trait AND keeps the axe of ruin! So now you have removed your 135pt Lord but gained a 250pt bloodthirster AND a 280pt Daemon Prince! (Giving you a 414pt edge on your opponent) and as if this was not good enough, since the Daemon Prince keeps the Axe of Ruin you will get a third Flying Monsterous creature when he is removed as a casualty (thats a further 250pt gain)
Using the Tripple Threat can potentially get you 3 Flying Monsterous Creatures for 135pts and 7 Blood Tithe! This is insanely powerful and will likely result in accusations of cheesy powergamer sportsmanship, so I recommend holding this one in the compeditive games only bag of tricks.
HOUND WALL
This next tactic was contributed by Josh Helton, it is a fantastic way to deny your opponent movement early in the game.
It requires at least 20 Flesh Hounds, when deploying run a wall of hounds all the way across the front of your deployment zone, with 50mm bases 20 hounds can cover a 6x4 table easily. Now use thier scout move to push the wall forward 12", this should put you in the center of the table, now if you were lucky enough to get turn 1 move a further 12" forward putting you on the edge of thier deployment, then make a run move to get deeper into their deployment zone. If you have taken 4 units of 5 that means your opponent now has 4 units that he has to deal with before he can move as he cannot move within 1" of an enemy and your hounds have created a wall to block his movement!
This tactic will severly cripple your opponents ability to claim objectives early in the game and take up firing positions, it also means it will take an extra turn or two before his units can get to your side of the table. It obviously does not work against all lists, jump packs, deep strikes and vehicles will all deny this tactic but general infantry will not be able to move forward until they deal with your hound wall.
SAVE THE WARLORD
This one can be difficult to pull off as it requires perfect timing but if you manage to pull it off it can deny your opponent the Slay the Warlord secondary objective. Start by taking a Chaos Lord, you can equip him however you want but for this tactic to work you need lots of blood tithe, so the Blade of Endless Bloodshed is handy.. the tactic has a very simple principle, get your warlord into combat to do what he does best, then when he is down to a single wound use 7 blood tithe to get the Dark Apotheosis and turn your warlord to a Daemon Prince! Now instead of 1 toughness 4 wound left your lord has 4 toughness 5 wounds and wings making him safe from combat. And he also keeps the Blade of Endless Bloodshed so he can continue to earn those Blood Tithe Points for you!
DOMINATE THE MAELSTROM
This next tactic is specifically designed for Maelstrom of War games, I have played quite a few since the codex was released and I am yet to lose a single game.
The goal of this tactic is to generate as many Victory Points as possible as fast as possible, I mean after all that is the primary objective in Maelstrom of War!
When writing your army list and selecting units keep in mind the following guidlines:
1. Use the Combined Arms Detachment, I know many of the formations available in this book are very strong but for this tactic to work having Objective Secured from the Combined Arms Detachment is crucial
2. MSU is the way to win, in your Combined Arms Detachment make sure you bring as many units of 8 Bloodletters as you can and as many units of 5 Flesh Hounds as you can. This will obviously be impacted by your points limit but you can get 6 x 8 Bloodletters and 3 x 5 hounds for only 640 points. Take multiple Combined Arms Detachments if you can. Units of 1 spawn are also fantastic for MSU as well as cultists and bikes.
The reason you want MSU is it will overload your opponent with targets, give you controll of the board, maximise the potential Blood Tithe Points you can generate and minimise your losses, once you explain to your opponent that killing your units helps you he will become hesitant to wipe out units completely, and thanks to almost all of Khorne Daemonkin being fearless you will have a tonne of 1 man units with Objective Secured running around earning you VPs!
3. Minimal to no upgrades! Instead of spending points on upgrades focus on increased body count, this is a horde list at heart and its strength is in its numbers
4. Bring at least 1 Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage, these guys are the ultimate fire Magnet and will keep the focus off of your squishy hordes. Not to mention the sheer carnage he can inflict if your opponent does allow you to make an assault
5. Do not forget the "Triple Threat" tactic from above, no Khorne Daemonkin army should be without it.
6. This list also works well in conjunction with the hound wall tactic from above
So how does the "Dominate the Maelstrom" tactic work? Quite simply, when placing objective markers at the start of the game attempt to spread them out as far as possible this will play to your strength that is table control. Then deploy your hounds up front to use their scout moves to push towards enemy objectives, have a couple of units of infantry (cultists or bloodletters) sitting on your back field objectives and keep the majority of your bloodletters in deep strike reserve, if done right you should get 4 or 5 units of bloodletters every turn by combining the Blood Tithe and units arriving from reserve, since all of these units will have Objective Secured you can drop in near an objective then make a run move so you are within 3" and claim the victory point fpr your own.
Khorne Daemonkin is unique as a horde army thanks to its cheap fearless infantry and its ability to deep strike almost everything giving you ultimate flexibilty and board control. This will make tactical objectives like Domination, ascension and secure objective much easier to achieve as you can respond to the cards you draw immediately it also makes hold the line and behind enemy lines easier to achieve as your flexibility allows you to drop units where needed.
Here is an example list for Dominate the Maelstrom...
Combined Arms Detachment 1
HQ
135 - chaos Lord, Khor'Lath the Axe of Ruin
TROOPS
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
FAST ATTACK
32 - 1 Chaos Spawn
32 - 1 Chaos Spawn
32 - 1 Chaos Spawn
Combined Arms Detachment 2
HQ
275 - Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
TROOPS
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
85 - 8 Bloodletters, bloodreaper
FAST ATTACK
32 - 1 Chaos Spawn
32 - 1 Chaos Spawn
32 - 1 Chaos Spawn
Gore Pack
111 - 3 Chaos Bikes, 2 melta guns, combi melta and melta bombs on champion
111 - 3 Chaos Bikes, 2 melta guns, combi melta and melta bombs on champion
80 - 5 Flesh hounds
80 - 5 Flesh hounds
80 - 5 Flesh hounds
80 - 5 Flesh hounds
1999 points
FAST AND FURIOUS
One of the main strengths in this codex is its speed and ferocity in close combat. Having two of the best fast attack units (bikes and hounds) available in a formation frees up Fast Attack slots in your CAD meaning you can take hounds, bikes, heldrakes, spawn all in the one list with ease. Almost all of the units available have some way of moving 12"+ and that is often the best way to
1. Claim objectives fast - this is particularly important in Maelstrom of War as you never know what your next objective will be, spread out the objective markers during setup and watch your opponent walk around while you zip from one objective to the next.
2. Get into combat fast - most of the units in this codex have a pretty reliable turn 2 charge, sure you will take a hit in their turn 1 shooting but it will be worth it when your units get choppin
3. Respond to threats fast - this for me is the most important benefit of fast units, deploy roughly central and no matter where your enemy deploys you can respond, if they deep strike something where you don't want them to you can respond fast, if a combat is not goibg your way you can reinforce it fast. This flexibilty is surprisingly useful
4. Scare the gak out of your opponent - play the psychological game with your opponent, if at the end of your turn 1 you have a couple of bloodthirsters, 2 Maulerfiends, 10 hounds, 6 bikes, 5 raptors, 3 spawn and a Juggernaut lord all within charge range your opponent will freak out and panic, often he will have a knee jerk reaction to take out whichever unit is closest to his strongest unit and forget about the rest. I have seen players pump an entire army of shooting into a couple bloodthirsters in an attempt to save thier riptide... little did the know the rest of my army was ready and capible of munching multiple units.
Here are some of my personal favorite units to include in a fast and furious list:
Bloodthirster of insensate rage - swoop them turn 1 so they are all up in your opponents face, this will also keep them safe from round 1 shooting, people will be so scared of the Strength D attacks they will probably try to shoot you down anyway. Try to engage as much of thier army with your other units before you switch to gliding mode
Maulerfiends - i absolutely love Maulerfiends, fast, strong and tough to crack... use them to counter enemy Monsterous Creatures and other walkers. With their Lasher tendrils you will likely reduce your enemy to 1 attack and that will take them aages to kill a Maulerfiend. Combine with other units for a dual assault you cannot lose! Just remember that the mauler will reduce your attacks to if you are base to base so plan your charge carefully
Hounds - it is no secret that i love flesh hounds, take a Gorepack with 4 units of 5 and scout them up the table, you can be within 1" of your opponent turn 1 and really make him sweat!
Bikes - unit of 3 with 2 melta guns and a combi melta on the champion pants for 106pts makes a scary anti tank unit, take 4 of these in your gore pack and watch mech lists gak thier pants when you are in melta range turn 2.
Spawn - fantastic distraction unit, take units of 1 and they will almost always be ignored for the larger threats, these guys are cheap and a great way of grabbing backfield objectives
Rhinos - they have thier own slot now... so you can just take an empty rhino and park it on an objective.. they are still best when taken as a dedicated transport for a troops choice so they benefit from Objective Secured
Heldrakes - these guys generally serve as my insurance policy, focus on grabbing objectives with the rest of your army and use the heldrake to make sure you still have units left at the end! Once dedicated AA has been dealt with your heldrake becomes damn near invincible.
Here is an example of a fast and furious list:
Combined Arms Detachment
HQ
275 - Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
275 - Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
TROOPS
80 - 8 Bloodletters
80 - 8 Bloodletters
FAST ATTACK
170 - Heldrake, baleflamer
170 - Heldrake, baleflamer
HEAVY SUPPORT
140 - Maulerfiend, lasher tendrils
140 - Maulerfiend, lasher tendrils
Gorepack
106 - 2 Bikes, 2melta guns, 1 champion, 1 combi melta
106 - 2 Bikes, 2melta guns, 1 champion, 1 combi melta
106 - 2 Bikes, 2melta guns, 1 champion, 1 combi melta
106 - 2 Bikes, 2melta guns, 1 champion, 1 combi melta
80 - 5 Flesh hounds
80 - 5 Flesh hounds
80 - 5 Flesh hounds
1996 points
SPAM GRINDER
Another strength of Codex Khorne Daemonkin is to take multiple war engines in a battle forged army, lets assume you are in an environment that does not allow unbound armies, i know many tournaments do not and alot of players frown upon it. Well to them i say "say hello to the Khorne Daemonkin Blood Host!" Now first i want to say, based on the new releases we are seeing it looks like this might become the standard for the 7th edition codex format, but as it stands Khorne Daemonkin are one of the few armies with this ability.
When taking a blood host detachment you must take 1 core choice (slaughtercult) and 1 to 8 auxiliary choices, one of which is a single war engine! This means you can take 8 war engines such as soul grinders in games as small as 1850 points and still remain battle forged!
We all know taking multiple of the same unit can make it very difficult for your opponent. Spam lists work on the principal that most armies have a mix of anti tank, anti infantry, anti flyer, anti elite infantry and anti Monsterous Creature. If you only take 1 unit type you are effectively negating the majority of their force. For example the below Spam Grinder list features 8 soul grinders in a 1850 point army, this means anything other than your opponents anti tank weapons will be severly limited in thier effectiveness. Why Soul Grinders? Because they truely are the Daemonic Swiss army knife of the Daemon Engine world! Lets break down thier abilities, strengths and weaknesses:
OFFENSIVE
Iron claw = 4 x Strength 10 Ap2 close combat attacks, enough to destroy most vehicles with ease, also great for taking on Monsterous Creatures and Special Characters
Harvester cannon = 48" Strength 7 Ap4 Heavy 3 with the ability to switch between skyfire! This is your obvious anti air weapon but also great for ranged combat against light vehicles, Monsterous Creatures and heavy infantry.
(Optional) Warp Gaze = 24":Strength 10 Ap1 Heavy 1. This is great for deep strike attacjs but personally on a vehicle that has fanrastic anti tank close combat i would give this one a miss
(Optional) Baleful Torrent = Template Strength 6 Ap4 Assault 1 Torrent. This one is great to have in the bag of tricks as torrent weapons are easily the most effective anti infantry weapons around, however i would still give this a miss in favour of the third option as it ticks all the boxes
(Optional) Phlegmn Bombardment = 36" Strength 8, Ap3, Ordnance 1 Large Blast... that is what i am talkin about! Great range, 36" on a moving weapons platform is plenty long enough, great strenght, strength 8 ordnance means you will be instant killing Toughness 4 or lower, wounding most things on a 2+ and rolling an average of 12 or 13 for armor penetraton. Great Ap, being Ap3 means you will munch through all but the most elite infantry anf finally great blast! The large blast can reliably hit multiple targets making it great anti infantry, and also give you the potential to destroy multiple vehicles as the blast only has to nick them! The other thing to mention with the large blast is that it is surprisingly accurate even on a BS 3 platform.
Generally BS 3 means 50-50 hit / miss but with a BS 3 large blast you have a 33-66 of rolling a direct hit on the scatter and on the 66% when you dont you will scatter an average or 4" which should still hit your target!
Last we have the warpsword, i nearly did not include this in the article because in my opinion it is just dumb... 25 points gets you a Strength user (6) Ap3 specialist master crafted close combat weapon, when you already have a power claw i see no need for this, it does grant an additional attack for 2 x specialist weapons but for 25 points its waaay overcosted. Simply put... do not waste the points.
DEFENSIVE
The soul grinder is one tough cookie with 13 front and side and 11 rear. Being a walker means enemy close combat will be hitting your front armor, this is particularly useful now that Monsterous Creatures only get a single smash attack.
On top of this you get your Daemonic save of 5++ which will shrug off an additional 33% of all damage
And even better you have Daemonic resilience that allows you to ignore shaken and stunned results on a 2+. So your opponent is going to have a very difficult time slowing your advance!
USAGE
definitely equip all your Soul Grinders with Phlegmn Bombardment, but do not think of them as a long range unit, they are a multi tool and tge best way to maximise thier effectiveness is to use all the tools at your disposal. Push forward and never stop moving, with 8 of these guys on the table your opponent will not be able to hide for long.
Do not forget they can deep strike, this is situational and very much depends on your opponent, I would suggest putting an instrument and icon on your manditory bloodletters so that should you decide to deep strike you can do so reliably and safely
Here is an example of a Spamgrinder list:
BLOOD HOST DETACHMENT
Slaughtercult
160 - Chaos lord, Kor'Lath axe of ruin, Sigil of Corruption
110 - 8 Bloodletters, banner of blood, instrument of chaos
110 - 8 Bloodletters, banner of blood, instrument of chaos
150 - 5 possesed
War Engines
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
165 - Soul Grinder, Phlegmn Bombardment
1850 ppints
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