With Battletome: Slaves to Darkness now available to pre-order, we’re looking into the heart of madness with Les Martin – a playtester from The Faithful and a long time Chaos fan. Read on for game-winning tips, top units and more…
This article was originally published on the Warhammer-community site.
Les: When Archaon calls you to the Varanspire, you answer.
Archaon, in this case, was my good friend Martin Morrin, and the call was to allow me to wax lyrical about the new Slaves to Darkness book.
I have had a deep-rooted love for the Chaos Gods for a long while now – over nine years – with the first-ever non-Warhammer 40,000 army I collected being the Warriors of Chaos. When this book was sent out for us to playtest, I was naturally super excited to summon my warband and torment the realms under the banner of the eight-pointed star once more.
Archaon
For me, the coolest thing about a Slaves to Darkness army is the host of powerful champions at your disposal. There are so many great and iconic models available, each offering different tactical options to your force. One, however, stands out above all the rest.
The Exalted Grand Marshall of the Apocalypse.
I don’t think I could start this section any other way than with the big man himself. In Battletome: Slaves to Darkness, Archaon has a shiny new warscroll, complete with Rend -2 on the Slayer of Kings! (At last!)
Archaon is a great choice to lead your army. His Warlord Without Equal rule now gives you an extra command point at the start of the hero phase while he is on the battlefield. In a game where command point generation to activate your cool abilities is key, you can never have too many.
Chaos Sorcerer Lord
No self-respecting Chaos Lord would go to battle without a sorcerer to accompany him. I have focused on this guy in particular due to his awesome warscroll ability, Oracular Visions. This allows you to pick a Chaos unit and re-roll armour saves.
He also has access to a great warscroll spell in Daemonic Power, which allows a nearby unit to re-roll hit and wound rolls.
This combos up really well, with either your hard-hitting attacking unit or, say, a giant three-headed daemonic mount with the baddest Chaos Lord ever on top!
Chosen
I have always had a soft spot for Chaos Chosen. The idea of horde of elite foot soldiers has always got me excited.
The Chosen in the new battletome are great heavy hitters, being fast for foot troops at Move 6” while still hitting like a tonne of bricks. They’ve got 3 Attacks each at Rend -1, inflicting mortal wounds on 6s to hit in addition to their normal damage, meaning they really pack a punch.
One of their coolest abilities is the Slaughter-leaders rule. This allows Chaos units within 12” to re-roll wound rolls if the Chosen have killed anything that phase.
Chaos Knights
Personally, I don’t think there’s anything more iconic than the Chaos Knight. These guys ride fast, hit hard and are incredibly resilient. With 3 Wounds each and a great Save characteristic, they’re going to be key in any Slaves to Darkness force. I’d recommend arming them with lances – they pack a brutal punch with Rend -2 and Damage 2 on the charge.
Untamed Beasts
Since the release of Warcry, I have been itching to collect some of the warbands that have been released. The option to include them in your Slaves to Darkness army now gives you the perfect excuse.
Whilst they don’t stand toe to toe with the elite killing machines in a Chaos force, they do provide you with lots of tactical flexibility. The Untamed Beasts are my favourites, not only for the aesthetic, but for the great return on points they offer, with a pre-game move plus a great Move characteristic. These are the guys that will score objectives while your opponent is dealing with the hard-hitting elements of your force.
Top Tips
This Chaos army plays how you would expect, with everything working in synergy. Using Archaon’s Dark Prophecy ability ensures you’ll never be on the back foot – knowing who is going next is massive in Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Pinning units with your resilient Chaos Knights when enhanced with Oracular Visions allows you to focus on the key combat elements of your opponent’s army. Target them with Archaon and the Chosen, and your force will be very scary indeed.
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