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Looking for opinions for the best all-round choice on the above whilst obviously accepting that it will be situational to some degree. I often take the Axe of Ruin but was wondering how successful other loadouts can be. I was thinking of trying Goredrinker, paired with some Lightning Claws to make use of Shred and build up the Goredrinker wound count on some squishy units. The obvious drawback to Goredrinker is that it's Unwieldy though, and you wouldn't get a bonus attack due to the Specialist Weapon on the LC.

I then wondered whether an Axe of Khorne & PF combo might be a better option, or even just a standard LC/PF combo? Any recommendations?

I don't have the codex near me, but I think goredrinker Is axe I have been using . So far it seems decent enough, The load out I will always love using is the Axe of blind fury. I know its not Daemonkin, but it is such a great weapon for him and lets him wreck any infantry.

I find the axe of khorne is weaksauce. Usually the stuff you want instant death on is such high toughness that you should be using your powerfist anyway.

Personally I used a powerfist with either a lightning claw or the blade of endless bloodshed. The blade allows me to tactically attack targets for an extra tithe point if I know I'm going to be shy of a result I want. The LC is hard to beat though.

Regardless I find myself using the powerfist 8/10 times.

 Tonberry7 wrote:
Looking for opinions for the best all-round choice on the above whilst obviously accepting that it will be situational to some degree. I often take the Axe of Ruin but was wondering how successful other loadouts can be. I was thinking of trying Goredrinker, paired with some Lightning Claws to make use of Shred and build up the Goredrinker wound count on some squishy units. The obvious drawback to Goredrinker is that it's Unwieldy though, and you wouldn't get a bonus attack due to the Specialist Weapon on the LC.

I then wondered whether an Axe of Khorne & PF combo might be a better option, or even just a standard LC/PF combo? Any recommendations?

You can build up the kills with the lightning claw and those buffs will benefit the claw too. Same with an axe of khorne for ap2 instead of shred. Not much you can do about the specialist weapon though, other than maybe taking a bike and replace the bolter on the bike depending on who you ask.

The axe of khorne is nice, but if you plan on turning into a daemon prince at some point I find it looses some of its appeal. The lightning claw on the other hand becomes pretty sweet on an ascended lord, even without the buffs from goredrinker. Same for the powerfist. Nvm It only carries the artifacts through, but the axe still looses appeal and the Goredrinker is no longer unwieldy on the prince, so the situation remains the same really.
I haven't tried it yet, but goredrinker+ claw is pretty nice. It's basically the same as LC/PF except it takes longer to get the PF but the benefit is that you get a super charged lightning claw that is better on everything non TEQ. With the axe you get a PF+1. It's more expensive and potentially better yet. Depending on whether you plan on ascending and how many TEQ's you want your lord to fight.

Most of the time the claw will probably be better. Shred will help rack up the kills faster and thus make the claw better.

Thanks Roknar, some good points there. I never thought about the Goredrinkers buffs affecting the other weapon too and the LC/Goredrinker combo could be better than I thought. Like you say, you'd probably use the LC quite a bit unless facing termies.

If you are facing a lot of TEQ maybe the Axe of Khorne/Goredrinker combo might be better. It's a bit more expensive, but you're essentially trading the Shred from the LC for AP2 and Decapitating Blow on your at initiative weapon.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just another thought; if the Lord had a combat familiar would the Goredrinker buffs confer to the extra attacks?

I suppose the instant death might carry over to the familiar. As it applies to the lords melee attacks and those are his attacks and not the familiars. But the strength/AP and number of attacks gained from the familiar are fixed.

Roknar wrote:
I suppose the instant death might carry over to the familiar. As it applies to the lords melee attacks and those are his attacks and not the familiars. But the strength/AP and number of attacks gained from the familiar are fixed.

Yes, reading it over again I think you're probably right as the Strength and AP of the extra attacks are a fixed value rather than linked to the models profile. The ID might well apply though and any unsaved Wounds from the extra attacks would add to the Goredrinker tally.

I like the Lightning Claw - Goredrinker combination best. They compliment each other quite well.

 Tonberry7 wrote:

Roknar wrote:
I suppose the instant death might carry over to the familiar. As it applies to the lords melee attacks and those are his attacks and not the familiars. But the strength/AP and number of attacks gained from the familiar are fixed.

Yes, reading it over again I think you're probably right as the Strength and AP of the extra attacks are a fixed value rather than linked to the models profile. The ID might well apply though and any unsaved Wounds from the extra attacks would add to the Goredrinker tally.

Ah right, I hadn't even thought about that. Even if it's only a single kill every now and then it could make the difference between a S10 claw and a S5 claw. The juggernaut hammer of wrath would add to the tally as well.

I'm kind of surprised nobody else on here mentioned using Axe of Khorne with Lightning Claw. +1 attack since they are both specialist weapons, can decapitate on 6s, at initiative. Use with Skull-helm of Khorne to possibly get even more attacks (I've been loving that skull-helm myself!). The weakness is that you don't get any strength bonus, but in challenges with most enemy characters, even TEQ, it won't matter that much, especially if you get the charge (rage+2 weapons+3 attacks base=6 attacks plus possibly more with skull-helm or warlord trait or tithe reward). Probably not a good idea if you plan on ascending your Lord, but otherwise looks pretty awesome.

S10 is a really big deal especially versus things like WK.

Not that it really matter for the wraithknight mind you. While the lord can probably kill either WK, the knight is most likely going to take your lord with him unless you can somehow get the knight to fight later. Which is kinda hard to do in the daemonkin codex.
Best you could do is have a maulerfiend and/or helbrute close by, but that's still a crapshoot.

The Lord can survive since the WK can't pick him off in melee and a S10 claw will drop it before it can stomp.

Assuming you have enough bodies , true. I rarely do. But you're right. I hadn't considered that.

The expensive khorne axe with a hidden thirster inside. Purely for a matryoshka effect. You can become a daemon prince, summon a thirster and still carry an axe to summon another thirster when the prince gets killed. Makes people think twice before concentrating their effort on a lord.

I run one lord with an Axe of Knorne/PF combo and another with a LC\PF combo. I think the PF is a must, just to be safe against dreadnaughts, knights and MC with high toughness, I then like something that strikes at initiative, for infantry. I have the Skull Helm on my AoK/PF Lord, that will get you some attacks for sure. +1 Attack blood tithe, Rage, 2 weapons and then more hits on 6s! Plus if you get the Zealot or Preferred Enemy warlord trait.

I am just not sold on the idea of having to boost up Goredrinker. What if the first thing you engage is a dreadnought? If you have Goredrinker and a PF, but then both are unwieldy.

I reckon most people will have a few bodyguards with their lord. And since few dreadnoughts and MC are characters, the unit can tank hits for your lord to hit. In addition, when I take a lord i usually take a unit of bikes to accompany him. I often give them meltas in order to increase the odds of popping a transport and assaulting the contents. But meltas work just as as well on MCs and dreadnoughts. And you could always give the champ a power/chainfist. That should keep you "safe" from the majority of threats that could be a problem.

You only need 5 kills to gain double strength and 3 for rampage. Depending on what your up against, you could get it fully powered up in a single charge.
So getting those 5 kills shouldn't bee too hard. Between the HoW and familiar you get 3 chances to buff your strength at the very least. So the claw should get pretty nasty, not to mention furious charge from blood tithe points or banners (which you also get from bikers). And that's not counting the chance that your lord might reroll hits. At that point your still dangerous to monstrous creatures.

Your still not able to handle every target, sure. But there aren't that many units that you couldn't potentially kill and I think it's well worth the risk. And if they fail to charge you before you power up, then there's no much they can do anymore unless they have higher initiative.