Ok, it is that time again!

Time to start my 2016 ITC Tourney experience!

This year I have switched from Dark Angels, who were terrible at the beginning of 2015, but turned into a powerhouse army by the end of the year. Instead for the 2016 season it will be Khorne Daemonkin! I made this decision well before the release of the new Chaos Daemon rules, having built my army with a very specific idea in mind. I can never stay away from Chaos for too long anyway.

Typically, when you see Daemonkin it is all about Flesh Hounds with the Gorepack Formation. While it is a powerful formation I decided I didn’t want to be like everyone else. Instead, I am taking a rare Formation for the basis of my army: The Bloodied Horde. Here is the what Formation looks like…

Requirements: 8 Bloodletter Units, 2 Bloodcrusher Units, 2 Skull Cannons

Restrictions: All units must have the Khorne Daemonkin Faction.

Special Rules: Rage.

The Bloodied Horde Unleashed: All units in this Formation must begin the game in Deep Strike reserve, even if the mission doesn’t normally allow for it. When making a Reserve rolls, make a single roll for the entire Formation, which you can choose to re-roll. On a successful Reserve roll, all units from this Formation arrive from Reserve.

Daemonic Tide: Each time a unit of Bloodletters or Bloodcrushers from this Formation is completely destroyed, roll D6 on a 4+ you can immediately place a new unit into Ongoing Reserve that is identical to the unit that was just destroyed. These new units must enter play via Deep Strike and count as being part of the original Formation, so roll a D6 as described above if they are subsequently destroyed. Victory points are awarded as normal for new units in this Formation that have been completely destroyed.

Source: Warhammer World Exclusive: Blood Oath

You don’t see this Formation for a few reasons.

• Requires a lot of models.
• Comes from an rare supplement.
• Takes up a lot of points.
• Must Deep Strike
• What do you pair it with?

Most players are unaware of the the Bloodied Horde because it comes from a campaign book you can only buy at Warhammer World in England! Taken bare bones the Formation is also 1160 points. The biggest drawback though is from a tactical standpoint is you must put the entire Formation in Deep Strike reserve.

This means you have to be very careful about what you do with the the remaining 690 point in a standard 1850 tournament. Having almost 700 points actually does leave you with a few options. The most critical thing though is making sure you pick units or combinations that can survive a few rounds, just in case you roll badly getting the Bloodied Horde in. You cannot necessarily take units to compensate for things the Bloodied Horde lacks, you have to take units with resilience. You can accomplish it one of two ways, either make a tough single unit or go with multiple units your opponent cannot possibly kill in enough time.

The first approach seems like a good idea, either a baby Deathstar or Shooty Star unit, luckly Daemonkin have a good ally selection. Top of the list are Necrons with great Formations like the Royal Court, Destroyer Cult, and Canoptek Harvest being a few. You can go the Tau route with something like the Riptide Wing to really piss people off. All those are good options, but against the right alpha strike armies especially psychic ones you will most likely be devastated.

The second approach and the one I am using is the spam route. This means I am doubling down on what this army already has, with the goal of unit saturation. With that in mind, I had just had use the new Detachment and Formations from the Daemon update. I settled on my real favorite Chaos God Nurgle. Taking the Daemonic Incursion Detachment with the Tallyband Formation. So on top of the 12 Bloodied Horde units, I am adding another 8 to the mix with Nurgling spam, and still have enough points for a CAD for Objective Secured units.

This doesn’t do much for my killing power, but the idea here is just to stay alive long for the Horde to come down and do the real damage. As well with the ITC format I have a lot units to take objectives. Depending on the match-up I can also put most non-Bloodied Horde units into Deep Strike reserve as well. One of the hidden benefits though, is using the Tallyband Formation rules in concert with the Bloodied Horde. Like Nurglings can charge units denying Overwatch and reduce there Toughness and Strength. Not to mention the Daemonic Corruption Detachment power for holding Objectives.

This does leave my army with not the best killing power, making the list mostly about attrition and picking off weak units. It cannot deal with Imperial Knights or other Vehicle Super-heavies, but with so many units and most of them re-spawning one way or another the list can be an unending tide of Daemon love for an opponent. I am sure there are matchup nightmares, but this list should be fun for both me and my opponent and is very thematic!

Follow the link below for the complete look at this list…

TastyTaste’s Storm of Silence 1850 Daemonkin List

The first test drive for this list is happening this weekend at the Storm of Silence Major ITC Event in Spokane Valley Washington. It is hosted by one of the great American game stores Gamer’s Haven. The event is pretty much straight ITC and is allowing the crazy new Space Marine psychic powers, so I am bracing for the worse. At least, I will get in some much need practice and can make the proper list tweeks going forward. As it is customary with large events I go to, I will be taking a lots of pictures and as well get the Top lists from the winners of the event. I cannot wait and hope to have some good stories to tell!