It’s Like Tactics: Daemon Prince Review

The journey to equality starts by looking at a side by side comparison between 2008 and the 2013 Chaos Daemon codex.

(Click to Enlarge)

Compare &  Contrast

• Stat Changes
• More expensive 80 to 145
• Psychic Powers & Rewards
• Moved from Heavy to HQ
• Must choose a Chaos God

--You can be Godlike--

Just like the Chaos Space Marine codex Daemon Princes got a major boost to their stat sheet. The most noticeable is going from I5 to I8, making Daemon Princes go first in most assaults. Then there is the matter of more Wounds and higher Weapon Skill making this unit more worthy of its description.

--Selling your Soul to the Highest Bidder--

Before, an effective Daemon Prince was a cheap investment, but now you can easily spend over 300 points for a tricked out Prince. The cost increase is justifiable and there is no lose to customization as a Daemon Prince can fit into whatever army list you design.

--Random as the Gods--

The biggest improvement to Daemon Princes is perhaps Psychic powers. Not only did it make sense to give them access, GW went further, by giving them Biomancy. No other unit makes better use out of Biomancy, and unlike Greater Daemons aren't subject two only two psychic discipline choices. Daemonic Gifts were replaced by Daemonic RewardsA Character has the option to purchase a certain points' worth of Lesser, Greater, and Exalted Daemonic Rewards in any combination-- the nature of those rewards is randomly determined and with a little element of randomness you can vastly improve your Daemon Princes survivability and utility. No matter the God you choose Daemonic RewardsA Character has the option to purchase a certain points' worth of Lesser, Greater, and Exalted Daemonic Rewards in any combination-- the nature of those rewards is randomly determined should always be part of the plan when designing your Daemon Prince.

--Things just got Heavy--

The best nuanced changed made to Daemon Princes was moving them from Heavy Support to HQ...sorta. Taking Greater Daemons you can make them Heavy Support again. In theory this means you can have four Princes flying around, but it will cost you.

--You must choose Wisely--

What you get with Daemonic FlightA daemon Prince with Daemonic Flight Gift changes its unit type from Monstrous Creature to Flying Monstrous Creature is speed and survivability. The speed is important because you can assaulting come turn two, but survivability is what matters the most. Lascannons don't kill Daemon Prince, small arms fire does. Nothing is worse than losing a Daemon Prince to something like lasguns; just because an Imperial Guard player can shoot 30 of them. Being only hit on 6s when flying can never be underestimated especially when you only have T5.

After Daemonic FlightA daemon Prince with Daemonic Flight Gift changes its unit type from Monstrous Creature to Flying Monstrous Creature the next almost must have is Warp-Forged ArmourThis Grants an armour save of 3+. This goes once again into protecting against small arms fire, having 3+ save greatly diminishes that lasgun actually causing a wound. You should start seeing the true cost of a Daemon Prince, 145 points + choosing a god + wings + armor = 215 pts at best. Unfortunately you cannot stop there, you still need to save room for Daemonic RewardsA Character has the option to purchase a certain points' worth of Lesser, Greater, and Exalted Daemonic Rewards in any combination-- the nature of those rewards is randomly determined and psychic powers. Daemon Prince are truly the Thanksgiving feast of units, but unlike everything else in 40k spending more on a Daemon Prince is worth it. It doesn't mean you have to go all the way, because depending on list design and points value there is always some wiggle room. Generally, if you are going flying circus you will be spending around 300 points per Prince.

There are few ways to approach creating a Daemon Prince. The first thing you must determine is the role a Prince is going to play.

Is this Daemon Prince a PortalglyphThe portalglyph can be placed once per game at the any point in your Movement phases. Place within 12 inches of the bearer and scatter it 4d6 inches. Once placed at the end of your Movement phases roll a D6. On 4+ a new unit of D6 Daemons enters play from the Portalglyph. delivery system? Is this Daemon Prince Biomancy monster? Is this Daemon Prince an all comers flyer or is your Daemon Prince just about brute force?

If you plan on going the PortalglyphThe portalglyph can be placed once per game at the any point in your Movement phases. Place within 12 inches of the bearer and scatter it 4d6 inches. Once placed at the end of your Movement phases roll a D6. On 4+ a new unit of D6 Daemons enters play from the Portalglyph. route a case can be made for going flightless and no psychics. The idea being keep it cheap and guard the PortalglyphThe portalglyph can be placed once per game at the any point in your Movement phases. Place within 12 inches of the bearer and scatter it 4d6 inches. Once placed at the end of your Movement phases roll a D6. On 4+ a new unit of D6 Daemons enters play from the Portalglyph.. The other, probably more prudent course, is go all in with psychic powers, because the Daemon Prince can survive without the defensive bonuses possible with many Daemonic RewardsA Character has the option to purchase a certain points' worth of Lesser, Greater, and Exalted Daemonic Rewards in any combination-- the nature of those rewards is randomly determined. 

Then you have perhaps the most common load out, Biomancy Daemon Prince. If you take Mastery Level 3 you have pretty good chance of getting Iron Arm and putting a sad face on your opponent. Even if you don't get Iron Arm there is still Warp Speed and Endurance to make your opponent groan. This kind of Prince takes the least brain work, costs a mint, and if you're strapped for points consider ditching the Daemonic RewardsA Character has the option to purchase a certain points' worth of Lesser, Greater, and Exalted Daemonic Rewards in any combination-- the nature of those rewards is randomly determined.

What about taking a balanced approach? Balanced starts with Daemonic RewardsA Character has the option to purchase a certain points' worth of Lesser, Greater, and Exalted Daemonic Rewards in any combination-- the nature of those rewards is randomly determined and at least Mastery Level 2. First see what you get with the reward results, and have that dictate the psychic paths you take. It requires the most skill to play because you really have to judge your opponents list and what tools you need to deal with it. At the same time, you also need mild faith in the dice gods to not screw you over.

The Daemon Prince of smash-kill is easily the cheapest and one best suited for Khorne or Slaanesh. If you take Khorne rack up those Daemonic RewardsA Character has the option to purchase a certain points' worth of Lesser, Greater, and Exalted Daemonic Rewards in any combination-- the nature of those rewards is randomly determined and go to town. If you go Slaanesh, take Mastery Level 1 and roll the die on Telekinesis and hope for Telekine Dome or Objuration Mechanicum to cause untold havoc on your opponent.

-- Daemon Prince Configurations--

Portaglyph Configuration: 220 point Daemon Prince with Daemon of Tzeentch, Exalted Reward, Warp-forged Armour

Biomancy Configuration: 325 point Daemon Prince with Daemon of Tzeentch, Greater Reward, Mastery Level 3, Daemonic Flight, Warp-forged Armour

Balanced Configuration: 305 point Daemon Prince with Daemon of Slaanesh, 2 Greater Rewards, Mastery Level 2, Daemonic Flight, Warp-forged Armour

Assault Configuration: 270 point Daemon Prince with Daemon of Khorne, 2 Greater Rewards, 1 Lesser Reward, Daemonic Flight, Warp-forged Armour

A Word about Allies

Deamon Princes make great allies. Mixing and matching the different options with Chaos Space Marine Daemon Princes and Chaos Daemon Princes is great fun and effective. For the non battle brothers, having a Daemon Prince providing an assault punch for otherwise shooty armies is another good bet.

Remember unlike other Battle Brothers Daemons ICs cannot join with Chaos Space Marine units under any circumstance.

Final Thoughts...

Overall, the Daemon Prince is one of the best units in the Daemon Codex. Between flight, psychic powers, and all the other options it is hard to go wrong. The only drawbacks is losing access to T6 and inevitable mint you will be spending to equip one. Unlike the newer lines of Monsterous Creatures, Daemon Princes are easier to hide and can easily wreck the competing Tau and Eldar monstrosities traipsing through the meta.