Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Chaos Daemons (section)

====<span style="color:#8b0000;">HQ</span>====
=====<span style="color:#8b0000;">General</span>=====
*'''Bloodthirster:''' Streamlined from three different datasheets to one, though you'll have to pick the correct tools for the job you need to be done. Like all Greater Daemons, they have a 6" aura that grants allied Khornate Daemons re-rolls of 1 to hit. They also got a new rule where they deal d3 mortal wounds to a nearby enemy on a 2+ (4+ for infantry characters). FLY alleviates that problem somewhat, but anti-tank weapons (and to a lesser extent anti-air) will fuck a Bloodthirster's shit up real fast. Don't let those 20 wounds lull you into a false sense of security. Although Khorne favors getting stuck in and fucking things up in melee, remember that the support aura is still useful. They are very very very attractive for enemy lascannons (often the only targets in the whole army), cannot hide from it (the models are massive), and only get a 4++ save against something that can hit them from anywhere on the table, at any time. They are melee fighters with degrading WS to make their problems even more severe... One could deepstrike one with the new stratagems, but doing so with 30 Bloodletters instead is probably better... or both for the lols. There is an argument to be made for giving your Bloodthirster the Armor of Scorn so it can zoom up the board without getting shot off the table. Make him your warlord and take the 5+++ FNP for added defensive power. Next, you'll want enough other threats on the board that your opponent will be left with only bad options: Flesh Hound blob screening a Daemon Prince with Skullreaper and a JuggerHerald with King of Blades make for an unavoidable distraction. Skull Cannons in your backfield, now cheaper and stronger, splits your enemy's anti-tank while allowing you to clear away screens for your harder hitting units. You'll be annoyed by units on upper floors of buildings, but your Skull Cannons should make enough room for your deep striking Bloodletter units (or Furies moving up the board) to stream up the floors. A Bloodthirster is a commitment: rush into the enemy as fast and hard as you can with everything you have. They may kill the Bloodthirster, but they leave the rest of your offensive power untouched.
**As part of the consolidation, all Bloodthirsters got the S5 AP-2 heavy flamer breath that was originally for the Insensate Rage thirster. Both the regular thirster axe and the Insensate Fury's massive axe both got two differing profiles for crowd control and monster-slaying, with the great axe being most useful in instances where you're most worried about knights and other superheavies where hitting at S16 would make a difference - stick with the regular axe for anything else. When picking between the whip and the flail, note that the whip, while decent, is at AP-1 and thus will fall flat against Armour of Contempt. The flail, on the other hand, got a remarkably dangerous upgrade, now being Sx2 AP-4 D3d3 with damage that can spread to other models in a unit - just the thing to thin space marines of any flavor if you manage to make that one hit roll.
*'''Herald of Khorne:''' Gain two 6" auras, one giving the mandatory "re-roll 1s to wound" given to all Lieutenant-types and the other lets Bloodletters auto-wound on a hit roll to 6. Heralds are super useful to summon during combat if you have space since you aren't moving in combat anyway and they have low power levels (which makes them easier to summon). Is armed with a Blade of Blood that is S6 AP-3 D3, plenty threatening against other heroes.
<tabs>
<tab name="Bloodmaster">
The baseline Foot slogger Herald. Less mobility, weapons, and defense but significantly cheaper. 
</tab>
<tab name="Skullmaster on Juggernaut">
Juggernaut Herald. Fastest Herald of Khorne option. Adds T+1, +2 Wounds and movement +4". While you no longer get a better save from being stuck on it, you are getting the extra Toughness.
</tab>
<tab name="Rendmaster on Blood Throne">  
T+1 Herald with +3 wounds for about double the price of a normal Herald with about double the attacks when accounting for the dopes driving the thing. While their auto-wound aura got a bit of a range boost to 9", their re-roll aura remains the same. They also get to re-roll to wound enemy monsters and characters, something that can capitalize on the Bloodthirster's re-roll aura.
</tab>
</tabs>

=====<span style="color:#8b0000;">Named</span>=====
*'''Skulltaker:''' They took his Khorne damned Juggernaut option away, but Skulltaker is still pretty beastly. He moves 1 inch faster than other infantry, has a 3+/5++, and rerolls everything when fighting a character. His aura lets nearby {{W40kKeyword|Bloodletters Core}} units within 8" add 1 to hit (no longer includes other heralds, including himself, as of 9E), and his weapon is Strength User, AP -3, D3, on 6+ to wound boosted to D3+3 damage. Get him into combat and he'll lop heads off with ease, a double bonus as each kill also boosts the range of his auras by 3" to a maximum of 12". A pretty nice support character with a very specific focus that is overshadowed by more generalist Princes with Skullreaver and Skullmasters.
*'''Karanak:''' Still a character-hunter who can deny 2 psychic powers per turn. You call out an enemy character at the start of the game and for the rest of the game, when Karanak is fighting against that character, his attacks now deal 2 Mortal Wounds instead of S6 AP-2 D2, meaning that everything will be targeting him. Fortunately, he can also give a re-roll 1s to wound aura to his fellow Flesh Hounds that will re-roll all wounds if they attack a psyker.
*'''Uraka the Warfiend<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Uraka the Warfiend now gives a re-roll hits of 1 for Khorne Deamon with 6", but also he buffs HIMSELF when he kills things. He defiantly likes to make a synergy bubble with a herald. He's certainly not a pushover with a 5+/4+ save and 6 attacks, a decent short-range attack, and may attempt to deny 1 enemy psychic power a turn. He does get to killing after slaying 8 models for +1 to movement, Strength, and Attack. As the new codex has stripped the Heralds of the good Loci, you're not going to be getting those kills as easily as you used to.
*'''Skarbrand:''' Remains the utter frothing berserker he ever has been, utterly immune to any psychic power while sadly unable to bock for you. Note that as his wounds reach certain thresholds, his attacks actually INCREASE - so what he loses inaccuracy, he compensates for with sheer undiluted RAGE. This partially solves the main problem that you'd have with a base thirster with the big axe. Still - you're going to have to play him very cleverly, otherwise, you can expect him to get wrecked by anti-tank weapons before he reaches the enemy's front lines. He does have a ranged attack that acts like the Thirster's Hellfire, however, so he can surprise a foe cocky enough to charge him with an Overwatch shot. 
**Rather than the basic aura given to most Thirsters, Skarbrand's is a bit less discriminating on who benefits from it. See, now every unit within 6" gets a spare attack and auto-passes morale checks - both things that are awesome for your Bloodletters, but not for whoever you're planning on killing with the big guy, especially if they're kitted out to kill him in particular. It also forces anyone in range to roll 3d6 when falling back, preventing them if the roll exceeds the unit's Leadership, which can prove troublesome on a bad combat turn. 
'''Samus<sup>Legends</sup>:''' Samus, Daemon Prince of the Ruinstorm is as Khorne as it gets. A decent number of attacks that wound more often on infantry. Psykers nearby get minus 1 from their power rolls. Friendly units summoning near him get to reroll the summon. Anything not Khorne near him subtracts 1 from their LD. He's a big red rat and he's ANGRY.