Preferred Enemies - Warriors of Chaos: Lords and Heroes pt. 3

This installment of Preferred Enemies will deal directly with the Mutations, Magic Items and the Daemon Prince which should wrap up the Lords and Heroes portion of this Preferred Enemies cycle.

 

Chaos Mutations and Powers:

 

Daemon Blade – 50 pts, Magic Weapon

Wielder gains the Random Attacks rule (D6+3), however every roll of 1 can not be rerolled and strikes the bearer.  This power has the potential make an exalted hero a murderous whirlwind but you do not often see it much due to its hefty 50 pt price.  It also counts as a magic weapon.

Collar of Khorne – 45 pts, Talisman.

Magic Resistance 3, wearer must have the Mark of Khorne or be a Daemon of Khorne.

Unholy Strike – 35 pts

Rather than use his normal # of attacks, the character may make 1 attack that is at double his Str score and causes D3 Multiple Wounds.

Flaming Breath – 30 pts

Character gains a Str 4 Breath Weapon with Flaming Attacks rule.  This power is obviously deadly against Wood Elves, especially if they have been hexed by Curse of the Leper. 

Chaos Familiar – 25 pts, Arcane Item.

Owner knows 1 additional spell from his chosen lore and adds +1 to his channeling attempts.  This is a great item to take to almost ensure you get the right spells you want.  This is most disconcerting when a Lore of Nurgle caster takes it.

Scaled Skin – 20 pts.

Scaly Skin (5+).

Allure of Slaanesh – 15 pts.

Any opponent wishing to attack the character with this gift must pass a LD test.  If they fail the model can not attack that phase.  Does not affect attacks that do not roll to it.  Models with Mark of Slaanesh or Daemons of Slaanesh only.  This is especially good when you have Phantasmagoria in effect and you are wanting to wreck your opponent’s unit.  Having a Daemon Price be able to attack without models attacking back is golden.

Poisonous Slime – 15 pts.

Points attacks special rule and 5+ ward vs. Poisoned attacks.
 

Acid Ichor – 10 pts.

Whenever a character suffers an unsaved wound in close combat, attacker must pass an initiative test or take a Str 4 hit.

Burning Body – 10 pts

Character gains flaming attacks special rule and 5+ ward vs. flaming attacks.

Soul Feeder – 10 pts

Roll a D6 for every wound caused in close combat, for every 6 rolled the chaos character regains a wound.

Third Eye of Tzeentch – 10 pts.

Character may reroll ward saves of 1.  Mark of Tzeentch or Daemon of Tzeench only.  This is an annoying spell as it makes trying to killing blow Mark of Tzeentch very difficult .

Nurgle’s Rot – 10 pts

At start of every magic phase, any enemy model in base contact suffers a S1 hit with no armor save.
Mark of Nurgle/Daemons of Nurgle only.
 

Hideous Visage – 5 pts.

Character has Fear special rule. However, other models may never use his leadership.
 

Of all the Chaos Boons, the one that causes the most consternation is the Flaming Breath but the other actually happens to be Allure of Slaanesh.  It is imperative that models marked with certain gifts are killed as fast as possible so that their random rules don’t disrupt the players train of thought.

Dread Artefacts of Chaos

The Hellfire Sword – 65 pts.

This is my personally favorite magic item out of the entire book.  It grants the user Flaming Attacks and the Multiple Wounds (D3) special rule but most importantly at the end of combat, the player rolls a D6 for each unsaved wound caused.  On a 6, the enemy unit suffers an additional D6 Str 4 hits resolved as shooting and these wounds count towards combat ress.  The drawback is that the end of the magic phase the player rolls a d6, on a 1 he suffers a wound with No armour saves.  This weapon is often coupled with the Soul Feeder boon.

The Sword of Change – 30 pts.

If any enemy monster/character is slain by this blade then you roll a D6.  On a 4+ the model turns into a Chaos Spawn under the wielder’s control!

Filth Mace – 30 pts. Mark of Nurgle Only.

Close combat attacks with mace have Poisoned Attacks rule.  Once wielder has slain an enemy model in close combat, then he gains the Terror special rule and in the next combat phase all the poisoned attacks hits inflict D3 Multiple Wounds.
 

Helm of Many Eyes – 25 pts.

Grants wielder Always Strikes First and +1 to their armor save.  Also grants stupidity.  Work around? Mark of Khorne = Frenzy and immunity to psychology.  No stupidity test then. 
 

Skull of Katam – 15 pts. Arcane Item

The bearer of the skull may consult the skull prior to trying to channel power dice.  If he does, then he rolls 6 dice to channel rather than 1.  For every 1 rolled, he then suffers -1 to LD for the rest of the game.  Mark of Tzeentch casters may not reroll the 1’s when using this item.

Chalice of Chaos – 10 pts. One Use.

Grants character 1 advantage/curse, they roll a D6 and consult the table.  They may suffer a wound with no saves, may gain ASF, Regeneration, 5+ Ward, or Killing Blow til end of turn or they may turn into a Daemon Prince.

Pendant of Slaanesh – 50 pts.

May only be worn by Mark of Slaanesh models.  Character may not join units with other characters in it.  Whenever the bearer’s unit needs to make a break test, they roll 1 dice. In addition for every unsaved Wound the character suffers, he gains +1 attack for the game.
 
Blasted Standard – 25 pts.
Models with Mark of Tzeentch only.  Everytime bearer’s unit suffers a shooting attack, roll a D6. On a 2+ the strength of the attack is halved, but on a roll 1 the strength is doubled.  Against shooting attacks without a str score it does not function.

 Banner of Rage – 25 pts.

Mark of Khorne – Unit gains Frenzy and they can never lose it.

 Of all the magic items, the most power ones are the Hellfire Sword and the Chalice of Chaos with the Skull of Katam coming in a strong third.  While the Hellfire sword eats up a chunk of points, it does yield an absolutely devastating result against Wood Elf units.  Characters wielding this blade must be dealt with at range and not by Flammable models.  The Skull of Katam has the ability to upset the magic phase by flooding the caster’s pool with dice.  Finally the Chalice of Chaos has a 1 in 6 chance of unleashing another Daemon Prince unto the field which brings us to our final selection from the Lords list…

The Daemon Prince of Chaos. 

The gift of immortality, the final reward for serving the Chaos Gods.  The ascension into what can only be described as a godlike being of darkness and destruction upon the field of battle.

The Daemon Prince is the premiere choice to lead a Warriors of Chaos army.  The Daemon Prince has a superior stat line to that of even a Chaos Lord and may be elevated to 4^th level as a Wizard at the same time.  The Daemon Prince is perhaps the most destructive Lord choice to encounter in close combat of all the Warhammer Fantasy armies except perhaps going toe to toe with a Bloodthirster. 

                                M            WS         BS           S              T              W            I               A             LD

Daemon Prince   8              9              5              6              5              4              8              5              9

Special Rules: Daemonic Attacks, Terror, Unbreakable

Daemonic Invulnerability: 5+ Ward save

Magic :   May take up to 4 levels of Wizard.
                Mark of Tzeentch : Lore of Metal, Lore of Tzeentch

                Mark of Nurgle: Lore of Death, Lore of Nurgle

                Mark of Slaanesh: Lore of Shadow, Lore of Slaanesh      

Troop type: Monster (Character)

Upgrades: (Must choose one of the Marks)

                Daemonic Flight  - it gains Flight

                Mark of Khorne: +1 Str when it charges for the turn – hatred: Daemons of Slaanesh

                Mark of Tzeentch: May reroll ward save rolls and channeling attempts of 1. – hatred: Daemons of Nurgle

                Mark of Nurgle: Enemy models -1 to hit in close combat against Daemon Prince. Hatred – Daemons of Tzeentch

                Mark of Slaanesh – Armor Piercing , Hatred – Daemons of Khorne.

The Daemon Prince may be tooled up to be devastating on the field of battle.  It may take up to 100 pts in Chaos Mutations and Powers, 25 pts in magic items, Chaos armor and Daemonic Flight.  It must choose a Mark and unless a Daemon of Khorne take Wizard levels. 

Standard Daemon Prince General:

Daemon Prince – 235

Level 4 – 140

Mark of Nurgle -10

Daemonic Flight – 40

The Other’s Trickster’s Shard – 15

Dragon Helm – 10

Poisonous Slime – 15

Scaled Skin – 20

Burning Body – 10:
Total: 495

You now have a Daemon Prince that has a 2+ ward save against fire, a Level 4 Nurgle caster that has the chance to have his Toughness raised every magic phase, and someone who now has poisoned attacks and flaming attacks.  The model is unbreakable, thunder stomps and forces you to reroll successful ward saves when base to base.  The daemonic flight provides it with the advantage of flying across the field and chewing up the backend of your arm and finally to top it all off the Daemon enjoys his opponents suffering a -1 to hit him in close combat, 6’s if they failed their Terror test or they are not at least weapon skill 5. 

So how does a Wood Elf general handle this type of monster?  The best way is to engage the Daemon in close combat and issue a challenge.  Ranged attacks will work but at best you’re going to make him have to fail at 2+ armor save and a 5+ ward from within 15” away.  You can handle him that way but I think your ranged firepower would better be used on other supporting units that the Daemon Prince is bringing to bear. You will want to augment a hero or lord to be at least Toughness 8 (Lore of Life: Flesh to Stone + Throne of Vines) and having a weapon that ignores armor saves is the best option since that will remove the 1+ armor save and also make sure you have Annoyance of Netlings.  You will need to be mounted on a horse, eagle or stag in order to prevent being Thunder stomped and to provide the hero with that additional +1 T and Armor bonus.  You will need to block his magic phase and disallow him from hexing your or undermining your advantages.  Ideally, you will be able to tie this Monster up with your highborn and then heal him with the Lore of Life attribute or the Regrowth spell.  The Treeman ancient might also be a good option but against the Daemon Prince he will receive a 6+ armor save and be granted no ward save, the Daemon prince will still have to wound him and if you have him at T8 or T10 that will help but I think the better option is to have a geared up Highborn.

If your spellweaver has chosen Lore of Beasts, the same ideas hold true.  You will cast Pann’s Impenetrable Pelt, Wyssan’s Wild Form, and Savage Beast of Horros to provide the following benefits:  +4 Strength, +4 Toughness, and +3 attacks.  Your spellweaver could also try to spear the Daemon Prince with the Str10 Amber Spear or your spellweaver could also go balls out and charge the Daemon Prince and hope to get off Transformation of Kadon and turn herself into a Dragon and see how that battle ensues.  While the Transformation of Kadon option is truly epic and would make for one hell of a story afterwards… it’s not your best option.

This will wrap up the Preferred Enemies – Warriors of Chaos : Lords and Heroes segments.

We’ll start in on the Core choices later on until we’ve covered the entire book (or the Wood elves get a new book – gasp! Omg! That would mean I’d have to rewrite 43 articles!)

Until next time…

Preferred Enemies - Warriors of Chaos: Lords and Heroes pt. 2

Warriors of Chaos - Lords and Heroes - Part 2.

The Chaos Sorcerer Lord/Sorcerer – the madmen that actually seek to embrace the magic of Chaos and foolishly seek to gain power from it.  These are by far some of the most dangerous models on the board when you field a Warriors of Chaos army.  The Sorcerer Lord and Hero share the same statline as your standard hero from another army book, not to mention they also come with Chaos armor that provides them a 4+ armor save.  In close combat he is handled much like you would the Exalted Hero, isolation and assassination.

The real threat that the Sorcerer Lord and Hero pose is with their magic.  Sorcerers have the option of being marked or unmarked.  If they choose to be Marked and gain the benefits of that mark, then they have their access to the Lores available to chaos restricted.

A.      Unmarked Sorcerer – access to: Lore of Death, Shadow, Fire or Metal.

B.      Mark of Tzeentch Sorcerer – access to Lore of Tzeentch or Lore of Metal.

C.      Mark of Nurgle Sorcerer – access to Lore of Nurgle or Lore of Death.

D.      Mark of Slaanesh Sorcerer – access to Lore of Slaanesh or Lore of Shadow.

M            WS         BS           S              T              W            I               A             LD                          

Chaos Sorcerer Lord       4              5              3              4              4              3              5              3              8

Chaos Sorcerer                 4              5              3              4              4              2              5              2              8

Special Rules: Eye of the Gods

 

                The Chaos Sorcerer Lord and Hero are far more difficult to slay in close combat since they are tougher, fight like normal heroes and can blast you with their chosen magic.  They only become even more deadly when they are mounted (and they have the same options available to them as the Chaos Lord/Hero). 

                The biggest benefit that a Sorcerer Lord or Hero would gain from being mounted would be from when they ride a Daemonic Mount where they gain +1 T and a Sorcerer Hero gains a wound.  The other benefit is mobility, with so many of the spells from the Lore of Death or any of the specific Chaos Lores requiring shorter range, having a mounted sorcerer provides a tactical advantage for unleashing spells.

As mentioned before in the Chaos Lord/Exalted Hero post here are the benefits and how to deal with mounted Sorcerer Lords and Sorcerers.

A Chaos Sorcerer Lord may be mounted upon the following mounts:

A.       Chaos Dragon – One of the most destructive choices that a Sorcerer Lord may choose and most expensive.  This creature shares a stat line similar to an Ancient Treeman and two breath weapons (one Str 4 and one Str 2 that allows no armor save).  The Sorcerer Lord benefits from the Large Target rule and if he is the army general his Leadership bubble is 18”.  Wood Elves are no longer able to Killing Blow the Lord off the Dragon with Waywatchers so they face a new challenge in that they must now find different options to deal with this power combo.

a.       Highborn w/ Bow of Athel Lorn and Arcane Bodkins – you can shoot the Lord and hopefully kill him with shots that permit no armor save.

b.      Hail of Fire – devote one or two units worth of Glade Guard fire at the unit and hope that you score enough wounds to cause failed armor saves on the Lord.

c.       Engage in close combat with a mounted hero (Stag/Elven Horse/Eagle) that is equipped with the Annoyance of Netlings and Glittering Scales (properly augmented).  The mounted hero/lord will prevent your character from eating Thunderstomps from the chaos dragon.  The most ideal option in this instance is to use the Highborn with the Annoyance of Netlings, Stone of Crystal Mere, Glittering Scales and a Great Weapon.  Augmented with Flesh to Stone and you have a T8, S6, -1 to hit (6’s in a duel), +3 ward save character that can stand toe to toe with the Chaos Sorcerer Lord.

B.      Manticore – the other Monstrous option choice for a Lord is the Manticore.  The manticore is half the cost of the dragon and yields almost as many benefits.  You may handle the manticore riding Lord the same as you would a Chaos Dragon only no worries about the Breath weapon.

C.      Gorebeast Chariot/Chaos Chariot – both of these options are brutal as they provide the Lord with an opportunity to inflict Impact Hits upon a unit and also his mounts are incredibly tough.  The best way to deal with a Gorebeast/Chaos Chariot is to either shoot the Lord/Hero off his ride or shoot the ride out from under him.  More often than not since the Gorebeast chariot is T6, you will have a difficult time trying to kill that in close combat without using augmented Treekin or a Treeman.  Also keep in mind that the Impact hits on the Gorebeast chariot have Killing Blow.

D.      Chaos Warshrine – not an option that you often see as the Chaos Lord is better suited for other roles in the army but you do see the Sorcerer Lord on it, the Warshrine can still be a difficult adversary to deal with.  The warshrine will provide the Sorcerer Lord a ward save and will ensure that he is in the very center of the army.  The best way to deal with it is to hit the unit with Treekin on one side while the Annoyance of Netlings Hawk Rider hits the other flank.

E.       Daemonic Mount – the Daemonic Mount comes in five flavors.  Your standard Daemonic Mount is a Monstrous Beast that turns your Hero into a 3 wound, T5 model.  On the lord it becomes a fairly cost effective mount for fitting into cavalry units or charging down the field.

a.       Base Daemonic Mount – Daemonic Attacks, Fear

b.      Mark of Nurgle – Daemonic Attacks, Fear

c.       Mark of Slaanesh – Daemonic Attacks, Fear, Fast Cavalry, Armor Piercing and Poisoned Attacks.

d.      Mark of Tzeench – Daemonic Attacks, Fear, Fly.

Daemonic Mounts are best handled or are easiest to deal with when they are in a cavalry unit or infantry unit.  You can Waywatcher strike a unit of Chaos Knights and isolate the Lord or you may Dweller’s below the infantry unit and pick off the remaining models with archers.

F.       Chaos Steed – your most comment and cheapest mount option.  Provides+2 armor save (with barding) and has a S4 attack.  This option is by far the best of the cheap mounts.

 

The Lores of Chaos –

Lore of Tzeentch:

Lore Attribute: Boon of Chaos – when a spell from Lore of Tzeentch is successfully cast, make note of how many 6’s were rolled.  The Wizard gets a power die for each 6 that only he may use.

Signature Spell:

Blue Fire of Tzeentch:  Cast on 5+/8+

Magic Missile with 24” range.  Causes D6 Strength D6 hits with Warpfire special rule. May increase range to 48”

Treason of Tzeentch – Cast on 7+/10+, Hex

Range 24”/48” – until next magic phase enemy unit may not use General’s Inspiring Presence or the BSB’s Hold your Ground special rule.

 

Pink fire of Tzeentch – Cast on 8+, Direct Damage

Teardrop template, roll artillery die and move it accordingly. All models under template suffer a S D6 hit with Warpfire special rule.

Bolt of Change – Cast on a 8+, Magic Missile

24” range, Bolt thrower spell that does Str D6+4 hit with Multiple Wounds (D3) special rule

Glean Magic – Cast on a 8+, Direct Damage

18”, targets enemy wizard.  Wizards roll a D6 and add their wizard level to the score.  For every point the caster beats the enemy wizard, the enemy wizards suffers a S3 hit and loses a wizard level and a spell.  The casting wizard then gains the spell and all stolen spells use the Boon of Magic lore attribute.

Tzeentch’s Firestorm – Cast on a 13+/16+, Direct Damage

Small round template within 30”, Large round for larger casting cost.  – scatter D6”.  All models under template suffer a S D6 hit with Warpflame rule.

Infernal Gateway – Cast on a 16+, Direct Damage

24” range, unit suffers 2d6 Str 2d6 hits with Warpflame Special rule.  If 11 or 12 is rolled, al hits are resolved at Str 10 and the unit suffers 3d6 hits instead.

Warpflame Special Rule: at the end of the phase, any unit that suffered an unsaved wound from a spell with the warpflame special rule must make a toughness test.  If they fail they suffer D3 additional wounds with no armor saves.  If they pass, they gain Regeneration (6+) or +1 to their current Regeneration (max 3+).

The Lore of Tzeentch is difficult to combat since it is primarily direct damage and magic missiles.  Caster’s will spend most of their defensive dice trying to disallow the big spells like Infernal Gateway or Firestorm and might allow things like Treason and Bolt of Change to get through.  Glean Magic is the big spell that should worry a Wood Elf Lore of Life caster.  Losing a spell level and a critical spell like Dweller’s Below or Flesh to Stone can be disastrous for the Wood Elves.  So a good wizard will always hold onto some dice to prevent that from happening if they know their opponent has that spell.

 

Lore of Nurgle:

Lore Attribute: Bloated with Disease – When a Lore of Nurgle spell is successfully cast, roll a D6 after resolving the spell effects.  On the roll of a 6, the caster’s Wound’s and Toughness are both increased by 1 for the rest of the game.

Signature Spell:

Stream of Corruption – Cast on a 7+, Direct Damage

Teardrop template with large end touching caster’s base, all models touched by template must pass a Toughness test or suffer a Wound with no armor save allowed.

Miasma of Pestilence – Cast on 5+/10+, Augment

18” range, until next magic phase any enemy unit in base to base contact with target unit have their Weapon Skill and Initiative reduce by -1.  The bigger version of the spell reduces it by D3.

Blades of Putrefaction – Cast on 8+, Augment

12” range, Unit gains Poisoned Attacks.  If they already have Poisoned Attacks they then wound on a 5+ rather than 6+ to hit.

Curse of the Leper – Cast on a 10+/13+, Augment/Hex

18” range, If cast on friendly unit then unit gains D3 Toughness til next magic phase.  The spell cast as a hex on enemy unit it then reduces their toughness by D3.  The higher casting extends range to 36”.

Rancid Visitations – Cast on a 10+, Magic Missile

18” range that inflicts D6 Str 5 hits.  The target unit must then pass toughness test or suffer an additional D6 Str 5 hits and this will continue until unit passes a toughness test.

Fleshy Abundance – Cast on an 11+/22+, Augment.

18” range that provides regen to target unit.  If unit already has regen it improves it by +1 up to max of +2 regen save.  Spell my target all friendly units within 18” with the larget casting cost.

Plague Wind – Cast on a 15+/25+, Magical Vortex

Remains in play, small round template. Roll artillery die and multiply result by caster’s wizard level. The template then moves that number of inches in the direction the player indicated.  If misfile place template over caster and roll scatter die then it moves the # of inches of the caster’s level.  All models that pass under template must pass a toughness test or suffer a wound with no armor saves.  Move randomly in subsequent turns.

The Lore of Nurgle is a primarily defensive lore with some pretty brutal synergy for combos.  Curse of the Leper should never be allowed to be cast as it is just too good.  A unit affected by Curse and then hit with Rancid Visitations or Plague Wind is just going to die.  If you anticipate that you’ll be getting into combat with a unit with the Mark of Nurgle, do not let Miasma of Pestilence get off as it could mean that if you have your weapon skill reduced too much you would be hitting on 6’s.  The Lore of Nurgle almost requires you to kill the wizard’s unit first in order to prevent a prolonged and protracted combat from happening.

Lore of Slaanesh

Lore Attribute:  Bliss in Torment – When a spell from Lore of Slaanesh is successfully cast, roll a D6 for every unsaved wound caused by the spell.  For each 6, the caster’s Weapon Skill, Initiative and Attacks are increased by 1 until next magic phase.

Signature Spell:
Lash of Slaanesh – Cast on a 6+, Direct Damage

24” range, extend a line 24” in length within caster’s forward arc.  Any model touched suffers a S3 hit with armor piercing special rule.

Acquiescence – Cast on a 6+/9+, Hex

24”/48” range.  Target unit gains Always Strikes Last and Random Movement until next magic phase.

Pavine of Slaanesh – Cast on a 7+/10+, Direct Damage

24/48” range, targets single enemy model.  Target must pass LD test on 3d6 or suffer wound with no armor saves.

Hysterical Frenzy – Cast on an 8+, Augment/Hex

Remains in Play.  24” range – if cast as an augment or hex the target unit gains Frenzy which is not lost if they lose combat.  However the unit also suffers D6 Str 3 hits.  If the unit had the Frenzy special rule they gain +2 attacks

Slicing Shards – Cast on a 10+, Magic Missile.

24” range – target suffers D6 Str 4 hits with Armor Piercing Rule.  The unit must then pass a LD test or suffer an additional D6 Str 4 hits with Armor Piercing rule.  The unit wil continue to make LD tests until they pass a LD test or the unit is removed as a casualty.

Phantasmagoria – Cast on a 10+/20+, Hex

24” range – Until next phase on all LD tests, the unit must add an additional d6 and discard the lowest roll.  The spell may affect all enemy units within 24” with the greater casting cost.

Cacophonic Choir – Cast on a 12+/24+, Hex.

12” range.  Target unit takes 2d6 hits that wound on a 4+, no armor saves allowed.  If at least 1 unsaved wound is inflicted, unit gains Always Strikes Last and Random Movement(D6) rules.  May affect all enemy units within 12” with the greater casting cost.

The Lore of Slaanesh is a deceptively dangerous lore to fight against.  If you are a good leadership army like Wood Elves, the threat is slightly minimized but still there nonetheless.  You obviously never want Phantasmagoria to get off as this will ensure the spells like Cacophonic Choir and Slicing Shards completely wreck your army.  Also spells like Acquiescence and Cacophonic Choir remove one of the big advantages that Wood Elves have which is high initiative.  It is best to block Phantasmagoria and try to weather the rest .

 

The next installment of Preferred Enemies will cover the Magic Items, Chaos Mutations and Powers as well as the final Lord option … The Daemon Prince.

Preferred Enemies - Warriors of Chaos: Lords and Heroes pt. 1

Preferred Enemies – Warriors of Chaos

 

Fighting for the glory and favour of the Dark Gods, these battle-hardened killers slaughter in the name of the Ruinous Powers.  Their dark deeds and nefarious schemes do nothing but cause agony and despair to whomever is in their path.  The tide of chaos must be stopped…

 Scrolls enumerating these dark deeds have been recorded within the hallowed halls of Coeth Mara and committed to song so that future generations of Asrai would learn from the battles of the past.  Never again would the Wood Elves suffer the ravages of those like Ghular Festerlung who assaulted the forest of Loren.  The Asrai would never allow chariots to rampage unchecked amongst their ranks like Ragnar Painbringer’s killers did.  The Wood Elves learn from these horrific deeds and vow to never repeat the past.  There have been portents of a new Everchosen being selected by the Ruinous Powers, the Prophetess cautions his power is beyond comprehension and that he has begun his march against the Old World.

 Let us consult the scrolls of Coeth Mara to deal with our new foe…

 This installment of the Preferred Enemies will deal with the Warriors of Chaos army book that was released earlier this year.  This will be dedicated to the entire book and we will be taking it section by section with the first installment being the Army General Rules and then the leadership of the army; the Lords and Heroes.

 Army General Rules:

Daemonic Attacks – these attacks are obviously magical and affect or rather negate the Forest Spirit Ward Save.

Eye of the Gods – models with this special rule benefit from rolling on the Eye of the Gods table whenever the defeat a character or champion in a challenge.  The Chaos champion/character must also always issue a challenge when possible.  The benefits of the Eye of the Gods are permanent  and range from gaining +1 toughness, ballistic skill, armor save, weapon skill, initiative, attack, or strength.  They model could be allowed to reroll one hit or wound roll, gain a 6+ ward save or be turned into a Chaos Spawn or Daemon Prince.

Marks of Chaos:  The Warriors of Chaos are able to “mark” their units/characters signifying that this unit is dedicated to a specific dark power.  Each mark yields a specific benefit to the unit:

1.       Mark of Khorne: Models with this Mark have the Frenzy special rule.  – This is both handy and annoying to Wood Elf Players.  While the unit is immune to psychology and therefore can not be panicked by inflicting heavy casualties, they unit can be lead around by a fast cavalry, an eagle or another fast moving unit and hopefully kept out of close combat.  The standard configuration for a unit marked with Khorne is to give them two hand weapons which will yield 4 attacks in the front row which can be devastating.  You want to really try to avoid combat with Khorne marked units until they have been reduced to a manageable size.

2.       Mark of Tzeentch: Models with this mark have a 6+ ward save, or if they already have an existing ward save it betters it by 1 up to the maximum of a +3 Ward Save.  It also allows casters to re-roll channeling dice rolls of 1.  – This mark aids the Warriors of Chaos units the most out of the army as it now grants them a 5+ parry save if they are equipped with a sword and shield.  This mark however does not confer immunity to psychology so it is easily combated by ranged attacks and spells that may cause panic tests.

3.       Mark of Nurgle:  This mark confers a -1 penalty to hit models “blessed” with this mark in close combat.  This mark is arguably the best mark of the four gods.  It pretty much ensures that the entire unit will be hit on 4’s at the very best and more often than not they will be hit on 5’s.  Models marked with Nurgle should generally be handled with ranged attacks as to not diminish the close combat capabilities of your forces. 

4.       Mark of Slaanesh:  Models with this mark will automatically pass any Fear, Terror or Panic tests that it is forced to make.  This however does not mean the unit is immune to psychology nor does it mean they pass all Break or Rally tests. 

 Lords and Heroes:

 The Chaos Lord/Exalted Hero – The Chaos Lord is your mortal juggernaut of destruction.  The human incarnation of the Chaos hosts rage, fury and vileness.  Very few things can stand toe to toe with a Chaos Lord in close combat and hope to walk away.  They are the undisputed lords of the host and the merciless conqueror of the world of man.

                              M            WS         BS           S              T              W            I               A             LD                                          

Chaos Lord         4              8              3              5              5              3              7              5              9

Exalted Hero      4              7              3              5              4              2              6              4              8

 Special Rules: Eye of the Gods

        
                A canny Wood Elf general will not seek to battle a Chaos Lord in close combat unless they absolutely have to.  It is generally thought of as “ill-advised” to enter into a duel with a Lord of Chaos and expect to come out with a positive combat resolution.  If you are going to engage the Chaos Lord you have few real options - synergy and duels. 

A.      Synergy – You will want to augment any unit engaged with a Chaos Lord in close combat.  This means you are hitting them with Lore of Life’s – Flesh to Stone spell granting them +2 T or +4 T.  The ideal would be +4 T making your standard Eternal Guard – T7 or your Treekin T9.  If you are able, hitting your unit with Regeneration or having a Ward Save in the unit (Rhymer’s Harp comes to mind) will prolong its longevity in close combat with the Chaos Lord.

B.      Duel – You may also seek to isolate the heavy hitter in the unit by issuing a duel to the Chaos Lord or by accepting the duel with a unit champion.  You will always want to try to engage the Chaos Lord in one of two ways:

1.       Highborn/Noble with Annoyance of Netlings and Glittering Scales.  This option provides you with a -1 to be hit in close combat (much like the Mark of Nurgle) by models attempting to strike you.  The Annoyance of Netlings states that you may only be hit on a roll of a 6 when engaged in a duel.  Augment the character’s unit with Flesh to Stone for +4 tough and you will have a model that requires 6’s to hit and is T7 in close combat.

2.       Treeman Ancient with Annoyance of Netlings.  This is your best “duel” character if you have augmented him with spells.  He has a Strength of 6, Toughness of 6 and has enough wounds to whether the storm of attacks a Chaos Lord would unleash.  If you properly augment him he could be T10 and keep in mind if the Chaos Lord/Hero is on foot, he gets his S6 Thunderstomps as well.   You will only run into issues with this choice if you have a Chaos Lord with the Burning Body gift or the Hellfire sword – Flammable Treeman bad!

The other side of the coin is if the Lord/Hero is mounted. 

                A Chaos Lord may be mounted upon the following mounts:

A.       Chaos Dragon – One of the most destructive choices that a Chaos Lord may choose and most expensive.  This creature shares a stat line similar to an Ancient Treeman and two breath weapons (one Str 4 and one Str 2 that allows no armor save).  The Chaos Lord benefits from the Large Target rule and if he is the army general his Leadership bubble is 18”.  Wood Elves are no longer able to Killing Blow the Lord off the Dragon with Waywatchers so they face a new challenge in that they must now find different options to deal with this power combo.

a.       Highborn w/ Bow of Athel Lorn and Arcane Bodkins – you can shoot the Lord and hopefully kill him with shots that permit no armor save.

b.      Hail of Fire – devote one or two units worth of Glade Guard fire at the unit and hope that you score enough wounds to cause failed armor saves on the Lord.

c.       Engage in close combat with a mounted hero (Stag/Elven Horse/Eagle) that is equipped with the Annoyance of Netlings and Glittering Scales (properly augmented).  The mounted hero/lord will prevent your character from eating Thunderstomps from the chaos dragon.  The most ideal option in this instance is to use the Highborn with the Annoyance of Netlings, Stone of Crystal Mere, Glittering Scales and a Great Weapon.  Augmented with Flesh to Stone and you have a T8, S6, -1 to hit (6’s in a duel), +3 ward save character that has a chance to stand toe to toe with the Chaos Lord.

B.      Manticore – the other Monstrous option choice for a Lord is the Manticore.  The manticore is half the cost of the dragon and yields almost as many benefits.  You may handle the manticore riding Lord the same as you would a Chaos Dragon only no worries about the Breath weapon.

C.      Gorebeast Chariot/Chaos Chariot – both of these options are brutal as they provide the Lord with an opportunity to inflict Impact Hits upon a unit and also his mounts are incredibly tough.  The best way to deal with a Gorebeast/Chaos Chariot is to either shoot the Lord/Hero off his ride or shoot the ride out from under him.  More often than not since the Gorebeast chariot is T6, you will have a difficult time trying to kill that in close combat without using augmented Treekin or a Treeman.  Also keep in mind that the Impact hits on the Gorebeast chariot have Killing Blow.

D.      Chaos Warshrine – not an option that you often see as the Chaos Lord is better suited for other roles in the army, the Warshrine can still be a difficult adversary to deal with.  The warshrine will provide the Chaos Lord a ward save and will ensure that he is in the very center of the army.  The best way to deal with it is to hit the unit with Treekin on one side while the Annoyance of Netlings Hawk Rider hits the other flank.

E.       Daemonic Mount – the Daemonic Mount comes in five flavors.  Your standard Daemonic Mount is a Monstrous Beast that turns your Hero into a 3 wound, T5 model.  On the lord it becomes a fairly cost effective mount for fitting into cavalry units or charging down the field.

a.       Base Daemonic Mount – Daemonic Attacks, Fear

b.      Mark of Khorne – Juggernaut - +2 Armor save, Daemonic Attacks, Fear, +1 Str on Charge, Fear.

c.       Mark of Nurgle – Daemonic Attacks, Fear

d.      Mark of Slaanesh – Daemonic Attacks, Fear, Fast Cavalry, Armor Piercing and Poisoned Attacks.

e.      Mark of Tzeench – Daemonic Attacks, Fear, Fly.

Daemonic Mounts are best handled or are easiest to deal with when they are in a cavalry unit or infantry unit.  You can Waywatcher strike a unit of Chaos Knights and isolate the Lord or you may Dweller’s below the infantry unit and pick off the remaining models with archers.

F.       Chaos Steed – your most comment and cheapest mount option.  Provides+2 armor save (with barding) and has a S4 attack.  This option is by far the best of the cheap mounts.

The main thing to avoid when dealing with a Chaos Lord or Exalted Hero is allowing them to do the damage that they are capable of in combat.  They are both literally wrecking balls the moment they get into base to base contact with an enemy unit.  Allowing them to run unchecked will only cause ruination amongst your ranks.