Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Warriors of Chaos

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Why Play Warriors of Chaos

If your new to Warhammer Fantasy, they are a great army for beginners. Their strategy is simple, and you don't have to spend as much time and money on models since they don't use too many. Plus they look awesome.

Unit Analysis

Lords & Heroes

Named Characters

Note: Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and wargear or wargear combos unique to them, so if you absolutely need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.

• Wulfrik The Wanderer: One of two named characters frequently taken to lead a unit of Marauders, Wulfrik does two main things. The first is his ship, Seafang, which is essentially the Outflank rule from 40K on steroids. The second is his Gift of Tongues rule, which both forces the opponent to accept his Challenge and lets you pick who accepts. You take him to get a unit of Marauders into the enemy's backfield to wreck artillery, mages and other squishy units. His stats aren't bad, particularly against the target of his Hunter of Men ability, but if you're looking for a pure combat character you're better off with a properly kitted out Exalted Hero. Take him for Seafang instead.

Generic Characters

Note: While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

• Daemon Prince: A trap. He's the most expensive of your Lord level characters by far, has a stat line that's strictly inferior to a Chaos Lord's, has no decent defenses and can't join units. Made all the worse by only being able to take Gifts, not magic Items, and the WoC Gifts tend to be very situational.

• Chaos Lord: Your primary fighting lord, and arguably the most powerful generic lord in the game. Has a very high statline and can equip a variety powerful weapons and army, as well as a variety of special mounts depending on what you want to use him for, though this can really up his cost.

• Sorcerer Lord: Your wizard lord, starts out as level 3 wizard, with the ability to chose from any of the battle lores, though if you give him a mark of chaos he has to use the lore of the respective Chaos god. If you plan to give him a mark, use the mark of tzeentch, his lore is generally the most useful and his mark adds plus 1 to all of your sorcerer's casting rolls, plus it means you can give him flight by putting him on a flying disc. Despite being wizard, he is actually a decent fighter, but still keep away from combat if he's on his own.

• Exalted Hero: Your fighting hero. A bit weaker stateline than the Chaos lord and fewer options with equipment, but still a very powerful fighter.

Core Units

• Chaos Warriors: The basic infantry unit for your army, but probably one of the nastiest infantry units in the game. They're very, very good at killing, but their cost means that you'll never be able to take them in large units. Generally used in units that are six wide to maximize the number of models in base contact with the enemy and take advantage of their 2 Attacks. There are two main set-ups for these guys. The first is Shields and the Mark of Tzeentch, with the MoT stacking with their Parry save from HW+Shield for a 3+/5++ save in close combat. Hard to kill and still pretty deadly in return. The second set-up is to give them the Mark of Khorne and Halberds. Some folks like to use Additional Hand Weapons instead, but the Halberds are mathematically just as good or better in all situations. The Mark of Slaanesh is generally useless now that Terror and Fear are nerfed, while Nurgle just doesn't have any particular synergy with any of the available weapons. You should only take it if you're expecting to face an army with lots of ranged weapons.

• Chaos Marauders: The cheap and plentiful alternative to Warriors. You can mark them Khorne with Great Weapons (or occasionally Flails) for a massive horde of half-naked berserkers. Yes, they'll drop like flies, but at 5 points per model you can have a lot of them in a unit and when they hit back they tend to murder the faces off most things. It's usually good to have at least one unit of these guys to handle the few things that Warriors can't handle - like High Elves and their ASF Greatweapons. The other, less frequently used, set-up is Tzeentch with Shields and Light Armour. They get same synergy with Parry saves and the Mark of Tzeentch as Warriors, so rank them them up fairly deep for steadfast and use them to hold something nasty in place while the rest of your army sets up a flank charge. Their models are considered pretty terrible though, so a lot of people don't like to use them.

Special Units

• Chosen: 3 points more expensive than a regular Warrior, gaining +1 WS and the Chosen of the Dark Gods rule, granting a free roll on the Eye of the Gods table. For the rest they have the same options as a unit of Chaos Warriors, but a full command group costs 50 points compared to the Warriors' 30. Also note that the champion can have up to 25 points worth of Magic Items. Take the Favour of the Gods; it costs only 5 points and allows you to influence nearly all rolls you make on the Eye of the Gods table, including your pre-game roll (this is allowed, according to the FAQ). Take a unit if you have to, but do not go overboard on them.

• Forsaken: Another trap. Their stat-line is considerably worse than that of a Warrior, but they cost more points. If you want something killy, take Chaos Warriors with Halberds and the Mark of Khorne. If you want something fast, take Trolls or Dragon Ogres.

• Ogres: Opinions are mixed on these guys. They're cheaper, but less deadly and durable, than Dragon Ogres. Remember that these guys are NOT the Ogres you see in an Ogre Kingdoms list; you're not getting any Impact Hits and the other juicy stuff you get from those. They can take Chaos Armor to up their durability, but this gets expensive fast on bigger units. The only Mark worth something for them is the Mark of Khorne; combine with a weapon of choise, depending on what you're up against (I2 will mean you hit last against nearly anything anyway, don't be shy about Great Weapons), use 4-6 of them and let 'em rip. And for the love of Khorne, don't buy the metal Ogres. Use the plastic boxes, get a Spawn of two and glue on some tentacles. It'll save you a LOT of money.

Rare Units

• Chaos Warshrines: Actually pretty good. Their stat line, combined with their small frontage, makes them ridiculously durable, particularly when given the Mark of Tzeentch for a 3++ Ward. Worth taking just for their role as anvil units, but they can also buff your units by giving them a roll on the Eye of the Gods table. This works better on a unit with the Favour of the Gods in it, or if you've taken Valkia. Works in just about any army and are fairly inexpensive.

Tactics

Your main strategy as the Warriors of Chaos is always to get your army into combat as quickly as you can, in which you will generally emerge the victor. This makes them easy for beginners, but also very predictable. Always remember that your opponent is likely to want avoid fighting you up close if they can.