It’s Like Tactics: Daemon Prince Review

My Tactics pledge: I am not the greatest player, nor a seal pup. I will endeavor to speak from my experience and always be honest about what is theory and what is play tested. Never will I assume to know better than anyone else... unless I must call out ego or pretension.

To understand how to use Daemon Princes in 6th edition, let us start by looking at the differences between the 5th edition and 6th edition codex. Here is a side by side comparison.

(Click to Enlarge)

 Compare & Contrast

• Cost increase from 110 points to 145 points
• Must take a Mark
• Stat increases and more wargear options
• Removal of Eternal Warrior
• Chaos Mark overhaul

 --A Price Tag you can Believe in--

The Daemon Prince got a much need point increase, before it was undercosted now it feels just about right. The point increases comes with better stats and access to more options. Only problem, most options are must haves.

--Making Fluffy Sense--

In a decision that makes the most fluff sense, Daemon Princes must submit to a specific Chaos God. The idea that a follower of Chaos could become a Daemon Prince without the help of a single Chaos God never fitted with fluff, with even Abbadon not attaining such undivided stature. The only problem with choosing a Chaos God means calculating those points into the basic cost of a Deamon Prince.

--In Praise of the Chaos Gods--

Now Daemon Princes are truly mighty creatures of legend. With Weapon Skill nine and Initiative eight leading the charge. Daemon Princes also get access to Daemon Weapons and various equipment; too bad they cannot get a 4+ or better invulnerable save.

--Forcing the Issue--

The biggest hit to Daemon Princes is the removal of Eternal Warrior. Now your Daemon Prince is one lucky Halberd wound or Vindicator shot from dying. It is shame really, especially because Daemon Princes have no way of getting toughness six.

--Marks my Deamon up--

Putting it all Together...

Daemon Princes ain’t cheap, especially when you factor in all the hidden costs and must buys. A Daemon Prince will at least clock in at 235 points. At such a cost, only having Toughness five and 5+ invaluable save is too hard to swallow. Luckily, this expensive beast will almost always be Flying meaning they will harder to hit, but suffer extremely from being grounded. The biggest pain with Daemon Princes has to be their inability to unlock Cult Troops. You would think, a Chaos Lord leading Cult Troops would apply to Daemon Princes the same; this was an obvious case of design over logic. Making matters worse Daemon Princes cannot join Chaos Space Marine units which means no spreading the Fearless.

So what place is there for a Daemon Prince?

Daemon Princes are now the expensive second HQ choice. You take the Chaos Lord to get the units you want and the Daemon Prince for the hammer you need. It means on average you are going to invest upwards of 500 points in just HQs alone. What you get in return is usually a spell casting, flying, four wound monstrosity that strikes fear into most opponents.

Taking a Daemon Prince means no Chaos Terminators or Chaos Bikers, and pinning your hopes on four Wounds is enough to get into assault. Flightless Daemon Princes are not an option, they're too easy to get picked off by low AP weapons. The best way to protect your Daemon Prince is too keep flying and hoping for good Psychic powers. Namely, you are hoping for Iron Arm. The Iron Arm Biomancy power is amazing for Deamon Princes because they give them everything they need (Eternal Warrior & Toughness) to survive. Really, almost everything in Biomancy is the way to go. Iron Arm, Endurance, and Life Leech all increase a Daemon Prince's survivability.

What this all means is you cannot half ass a Deamon Prince. If you are going to use one better be ready to spend the points. Here is general breakdown of what you are really spending on a Daemon Prince.

Daemon Prince Base + 145 pts

Power Armor + 20 pts

Wings + 40 pts

Mark of Tzeentch + 15 pts

Mastery Level 3 +75 pts

Spell Familiar + 15 pts

= 310 pts!

What other single model costs this much? The closest answer is Hive Tyrant. You still can make Daemon Princes even more expensive by adding a Daemon Weapon.

I have just gone on and on about how expensive Daemon Princes are, and all you get is a (more than you imagined) fragile unit. The new Daemon Princes are too expensive. Without Grenades, a better invulnerable save, Eternal Warrior, a 2+ armor option; means Daemon Princes cannot be trusted Flying or not.

What I am getting at is Daemon Princes are just not a justifiable HQ choice anymore. They cost too much and you get too little! It is really a sad state, because at first glance they seemed so impressive, but if your best hopes are pinned on random Psychic powers you have problems.

Still, if you want to make the most out of your Daemon Prince models here are some limited options.

--Ways to play Deamon Prince--

The following configurations are by no means meant strictly for competitive play, they represent a cross-section of the Chaos Space Marine codex allowing for flexibility and variety.

Death Star Configuration: They're all Death Stars!

Balanced Configuration: 245 pts Deamon Prince with Daemon of Slaanesh, Wings, Power Armor, , Burning Brand of Salalathrax

Shooting Configuration: Unless you love Witchfire spells avoid thinking about shooting with a Daemon Prince

Khorne Configuration: 255 pts Daemon Prince with Daemon of Khorne, Wings, Power Armor, Axe of Blind Fury

Slannesh Configuration: 260 pts Daemon Prince with Daemon of Slaanesh, Wings, Power Armor, The Black Mace

Nurgle Configuration: 285 pts Daemon Prince with Deamon of Nurgle, Wings, Power Armor, Mastery Level 2, Spell Familiar

Tzeentch Configuration: 310 pts Daemon Prince with Deamon of Tzeentch, Wings, Power Armor, Mastery Level 3, Spell Familiar

If you have any questions feel free to email me using the contact information below.

Final Thoughts...

Overall, Deamon Princes are a real disappointment. They were the best unit in the past edition, but the changes that were made for this edition was overkill. Now, all we can hope for is the new Deamon codex and see if any combos come to light so the Chaos Space Marine Deamon Prince has something to do.