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So I’m brand new back into 40k after 13 years! I decided to take up the fight against the imperium as chaos, and night lords/iron warriors are the legions I’m most interested to start.

Issue is, I really have NO idea Where to start. I went to the chaos 8th edition tactica post towards the top of the page, but 1- I don’t wanna read through 200+ pages of posts, and 2- everyone is basically contradicting each other in terms of opinions on what’s viable, what’s not, etc.

Sooooo I figured I’d ask a few questions.

1: what are some essential units for a chaos undivided themed force?
2: what should I stay away from? Are there units that are complete trash compared to others in the roster, and should never be taken under any circumstances??
3: is an infantry heavy army fairly viable? Is it more mech? Or a balance is the way to go??
4: has 9th edition changed anything that will be contradictory to anything inside the chaos codex? If so, Is there an errata/rules update Yet?
5: can a fluff themed army work for night lords and iron warriors? Or is it better to bite the bullet and take units like Khorne berserkers, nurgle marines etc??

Any advice Would be great! Thanks.

1. Terminators and Havocs will likely be your bread and butter, if you are looking for an infantry-themed force. If you are looking for vehicles, you will likely be interested in Daemon Engines - Defilers and Heldrakes are in quite a good place at the moment, and the Master of Possessions provides them with invaluable buffs.

2. Not really. You can almost any unit work if you're willing to build a list which supports it, but make sure you aren't stretching yourself too far in any direction. It also depends largely on which Legion you're playing - Alpha Legion and Agents of Bile can make large units of footslogging Khorne Berzerkers work, but for Night Lords the synergy isn't there.

I will definitely suggest deciding early if you're going to run a list with several psykers, or with none at all. Thanks to the incredible Dark Apostle, we often are able to skimp on running Sorcerers (and Dark Disciples are one of the most powerful units we have, for completing actions and being an irritating nuisance for our opponent in 9th edition).

3. Both are playable. Large footslogging units of Cultists backed up by a Dark Apostle with Illusory Supplication and Cold and Bitter if you are running Iron Warriors, or else many units packed into Rhinos pushing up the board alongisde Daemon Engines. In either case, I would advise deepstriking Obliterators or Havocs in Termite Drills for support.

For Night Lords, a large unit of Terminators with Combi-Plasma and Chainaxes are a must. I would generally advise buying the Icon of Vengeance and then spending 1 CP to give them the Mark of Slaanesh - Night Lords have a stratagem to get +1 to hit vs a unit with lower leadership, which the Icon will help with. Raptors (likely Mark of Khorne) are also a must, for the ability to fly in and prevent units from falling back.

4. Eventually, they will likely alter the Dark Apostle's prayer to trigger during the Command Phase, rather than at the start of the Battle Round, but for now we're stuck with it as-is.

5. I would suggest making peace with the idea that Marks of Chaos are must-takes on every unit in the codex. You don't need to run Khorne Berzerkers or Plague Marines, but if you don't put the Mark of Slaanesh on your Havocs they will lack access to the invaluable stratagem Endless Cacophony (allows a unit to shoot twice per turn).

Good luck!

Thanks for the quick reply!


Yeah..after reading through the chaos codex, the marks are insanely good to pass up. I’ll look into them for different units for sure.

I found the points for each unit, equipment etc at the back of the book, but for force organization and command points etc, I assume it’s all in the main rulebook?? Cause I have no idea how to even start building an army.

I also like the sound of lots of termies/havocs.

Here’s a question; so far some friends I’ve talked to have all said “night lord army trait is crap, don’t play them. Only -1 leadership”

However, it’s -1 for each unit in 6 inches, up to -3. Is there a viable way to play this if a guy uses terminators to deep strike and then use warp talons/raptors to jump in? A -3 leadership seems to be a hefty penalty without even considering how combat goes. I know some forces probably have immune to leadership/fear checks but figured I’d ask

You will want to invest in a copy of the Munitorum Field Manual for up-to-date points costs, and Faith and Fury for added content for all of the Chaos Legions.

The Night Lords legion trait is not especially good, but it can come up in a pinch. I wouldn't build or focus around it, particularly, but don't forget to mention it to your opponent during the Morale phase.

The main strengths of the Night Lords legion come from their unique stratagems, warlord traits, and relics which you can find in the Faith and Fury Psychic Awakening book. Of particular note - Vox Scream which disables your opponent's aura abilities, Prey on the Weak which gives you +1 to hit against a unit with lower leadership (synergizes with the legion trait as well), From the Night... which gives a unit +2 to charge rolls and +1 to hit during the fight phase, Raptor Strike which allows a unit of Chaos Raptors to roll 3d6 for their charge rolls, and We Have Come For You which prevents an enemy unit from falling back. From the main Chaos Space Marines codex there is also In Midnight Clad, which is by no means bad (especially on a large unit of Chaos Terminators).

For relics, the Scourging Chains are quite good on Lords Discordant, and you can make a decently punchy anti-Infantry Chaos Lord with Talons of the Night Terror in concert with the Murderous Reputation warlord trait.

Generally, the best warlord traits are Dirty Fighter and Killing Fury. Dirty Fighter can give you a potent Chaos Lord, particularly with a Thunder Hammer, using him to bash away at vehicles (which are trivial to outnumber). Killing Fury is exceptional on a Daemon Prince or Chaos Lord, especially in concert with Thaa'Ris and Rhi'ol (a daemon weapon which you can find in the same book) which gives you 4+d3+d6+1 (+1 if Daemon Prince of Khorne) attacks on the charge, all of which can reroll wound rolls (add Veterans of the Long War to the Chaos Lord for an additional +1 to wound).