New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 1

Three of the top five most read posts on this blog are from my Chaos Space Marine “List Building and Analysis” series. As such it only makes sense that I do the same with Chaos Daemons. I am on a strict timetable as I need to come up with a new list and build and paint the conversions by Adepticon, so look for these posts to be coming in rapid succession!

The new codex means some proxies meet the tabletop.

Knowing I would be at the Indy Open, I preordered a copy of the new codex in Indianapolis.  This meant that while I was painting all night Friday, and on the ten hour drive home, the four of us who made the trip from Minnesota got to make ourselves familiar with the book and start working out some combos. As such not all of the ideas in this post are my own. Extra credit goes to Hulksmash who I have been bouncing ideas off of.

My original plan was to keep the CSM as my primary detachment and just ally the daemons so that I could keep using two heldrakes, but the fact that I cannot put four heralds in a single unit for an allied detachment put that plan to the kibosh. I decided to make a list that included most of the units I wished to try out (excluding Beasts of Nurgle, which as cool as they are happen to be far too pricy).

Check the list out after the jump!

Herald of Slaanesh (Greater Reward/Exalted Locus/Psyker Level 1/Steed)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Locus/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)

Great Unclean One (Warlord/Psyker Level 3)

17 Horrors

10 Plaguebearers

20 Seekers (Heartseeker/Icon)

Soul Grinder (Warp Gaze/Tzeentch)

Chaos Lord

10 Cultists

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

5 Havocs (4 Lascannons)

Yup, the points for this is 45% HQ models. My opponent was my teammate and regular test partner Scott and his Necron Hit Squad;

Overlord (Warscythe/MSS/Weave)
Royal Court
-Cryptek (Voltic Staff/Lightning Fields) (a)
-Cryptek (Abyssal Staff) (b)
-Cryptek (Abyssal Staff) (c)

Nemesor Zahndrekh
Royal Court
-Cryptek (Voltic Staff/Lightning Fields) (e)
-Cryptek (Abyssal Staff) (f)
-Cryptek (Abyssal Staff) (g)

5 Deathmarks (Nightscythe) (b,f)
5 Deathmarks (Nightscythe) (c,g)
10 immortals gauss (a,e)
5 Warriors (Nightscythe)

5 Warriors
5 Warriors
5 Wraiths (2 Whip Coils)
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge

Annihilation Barge

Our mission was Adepticon Primer #2, five objective crusade with kill points. I won the roll to go first and night fight was in effect. Here are my thoughts in terms of why things were included in my list and how I feel about them after the game;

One Million Rolls - My list has thirteen psychic powers and several rewards. I already had tokens for warp charge, but I think I am going to make some laminates that I can write on with dry erase to better mark my powers as the game goes on. I will note here that despite this being my first game with the new book, the game took less than 2½ hours. I have no concern that the style of play and the number of charts will be an issue at tournaments.

Herald of Slaanesh – I hoped to roll the first power on the discipline of excess, but did not. I essentially have a 50% chance of being able to make my foes -5 initiative since at level one she can only take one power from the table. I wish there was a way to make her reroll the wounds as well as to hit rolls on her, as she would then absolutely destroy any foe. I forgot the extra attack she gets for being on a steed.

Seekers – In this game Scott was able to get a long charge on his first turn with the wraiths into the seekers, which cost me a fair amount of casualties. That said, these ladies with their WS5 and rerolls to hit are absolute buzzsaws, even against the wraiths who ignored the effects of their rends. I can’t wait until I can charge something juicy. The heartseeker did not come into play, but I like her in the unit as a model to take unwanted challenges.

Great Unclean One – This guy is why the seekers have an icon. They are so fast, moving 12” and running 6”+D6” that with the icon allowing differently marked models to deep strike within 6” at only 1D6” scatter I can reliably bring him on the table into my opponent’s deployment zone on turn two. A 6W and T7 monstrous creature is not what you want in your deployment zone. I maxed out his psyker abilities so as to take advantage of biomancy, because honestly a T10 warlord (as is possible with iron arm) is hilarious. It is precisely because of the fragility of the heralds that I need this guy, but he also helps me get rid of land raiders. In the game against Necrons he dropped it, wrecked a barge, but was then killed when his deathmarks came in from reserve and marked him (I had downed both of their transports and he was the only target in range), doing serous work with their rapid fire weapons wounding on ‘2’.

Heralds of Tzeentch & Horrors – This is the unit that took me by surprise, and I think it will do the same for anyone across the table with me. Each herald takes the Tzeentch primaris and then two divination powers. I try to have two guys with prescience, and then take a variety of other powers with the 4+ invo, cover ignoring, and save reroll powers the most desired. Honestly though I actually want to have scriers gaze as it means I can get the units I want in and keep the ones I don’t out. Each herald on average uses one buff/malediction, though more can be used if needed.

The fact of this unit is that they are one of the premier shooting units in the game. The locus makes all the shots S6. If each herald uses one power previously the unit can put out on average 45.5 S6 shots. Don’t forget this will usually be prescienced and have a target that has been given a malediction. I can’t eve describe how awesome this shooting is. This squad by itself took down Scott’s HQ bunker (two characters with a 2+, two crypteks, and ten immortals) and shot down a night scythe.

Grimoire of True Names – Give a 3++ to a different unit each turn for 30 points? Yes please! The downside of -1 to an invo is not that bad when you consider the difference between a 5++ and a 6++ is not too bad. The shift to 3++ is so demoralizing many opponents will shift their target priority, protecting units more than just the better save will.

Portalglyph – The other exalted reward in the unit is there to create more scoring units for me, with my preferred choice being plaguebearers. With the amount of space a seeker unit takes up I can actually drop this thing with relative precision despite the scatter. It is worth noting that you can not choose to not have units exit the portal if the roll of the dice says they must come out, so watch out for that in kill point games.

Soul Grinder – Though I never planned to use one, this model became my favorite over the last two months and was consistently my MVP. I was not set on him here though, with Scott noting that he had not done anything all game. His skyfire is not worth getting excited about at S7 and even prescienced the S10 gun is not too fantastic. The only way I would run him in the future would be deep striking off of an icon to get into the action early. I took tzeentch because rerolling saves of ‘1’ for five points seems worth it.

Chaos Space Marines – This gambit is essentially a heldrake, because they are above awesome, some long range firepower in the form of havocs, and then the lord/cultist tax I get for taking a heldrake. The heldrake did as it does, the havocs supported, and the lord was a complete weakling (seeing how he had zero upgrades.

In the end Scott only had two barges, three warriors, and a cryptek left while I still had a ton of scoring units, winning both mission objectives. Despite that success there are a few changes I will make.

Chaos Sorcerer – Because all the other warp charges are not enough. This guy will take biomancy and hope for catalyst and enfeeble. The downside is that he is not fearless, but honestly Ld10 should be fine.

Great Unclean One – I added a greater gift. 4/6 of the table go directly toward making him more survivable. If I don’t like my gift or if I am facing lots of multi-wound models then I will take the balesword. I can’t wait to fight a trygon with that weapon, a poisoned AP2 weapon with instant death. I am excited to start rolling for him on that table.

Screamers – I am dropping the soul grinder for six screamers. This is currently only thought of as a test right now, but as I see it they are filling the same anti-tank role (though less efficient against land raiders), but also can mess up infantry, and they are going to be in position to strike turn two. These guys can go solo or work a flank with the seekers. The best part is that even though they got nerfed you still need to deal with them, meaning less fire on my other units during the early turns.

Herald of Slaanesh (Exalted Reward/Exalted Locus/Psyker Level 1/Steed)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Locus/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)

Great Unclean One (Warlord/Psyker Level 3/Greater Reward)

17 Horrors

10 Plaguebearers

20 Seekers (Heartseeker/Icon)

6 Screamers

Chaos Sorcerer

10 Cultists

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

5 Havocs (4 Lascannons)

I have a game tonight against a good Grey Knight player and will be doing a video battle report, so you can look for that in the near future.