Warhammer Fantasy – Daemons of Chaos – First Impressions

So I'm back for a quick look at the brand spanking new Daemons of Chaos for Warhammer Fantasy.  Now, I've always been intrigued by Daemons in the Warhammer setting.  They have always been an intrinsic part of the setting and deeply rooted in the current events of the setting.  The new book takes the daemons from an army based on incredibly destructive units that are incredibly vulnerable to a more toned down version that relies equally on numbers, destructive force, and movement tactics to win the day.  In addition, to give the book a more demonic feel they added rules for animosity among daemon factions, some random effects from the winds of magic, and a few other tidbits that add to the overall flavor of the book.  So let's take a look at the new book and see what we need to prepare for on the tabletops!




First let's take a peek at the overall changes that affect the whole army.

• Daemonic Alignment - This new set of rules is really split into two different sections; the individual daemon rules for each god and then the rules affecting allegiance.  This section clearly explains that each type of daemon (Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle, or Tzeentch) suffers from Hatred for daemons sworn to their nemesis (Khorne vs Slaanesh, Nurgle vs. Tzeentch).  In addition Khorne daemons gain +1S on the charge, Tzeentch rerolls ward save results of 1 (and wizards can reroll channeling attempts of 1), Nurgle daemons have a _1 penalty to be hit in close combat, and Slaanesh retain their armor piercing from previous editions.  Now, the larger part of the rule is this;  Daemons receive no benefit from the general's Inspiring Presence rule or the battle standard bearer's Hold the Line! rule unless they are of the same allegiance.  Mono-god lists here we come!
• Daemonic Instability - Instability works largely the same with two big exceptions.  If the unit rolls double ones then all friendly models removed in that phase are returned to the unit as time flickers back to a previous point before they died.  However, if double sixes are rolled then the entire unit is banished.  Personally, I don't like this as it makes battles even more unpredictable.  Let's say you have a unit of 50 Daemonettes and lose combat by 1... then roll double sixes and suddenly the entire unit is GONE and it may have only lost one or two models.
• Reign of Chaos - This is an interesting ability that adds a certain random factor to the daemon army.  Essentially whenever the winds of magic are generated the daemon player consults a chart with the winds of magic dice (the two highest if playing Storm of Magic) and sees how it affects the army.  High number mean bonuses (new units emerging, +1 to ward saves, etc), low numbers mean penalties (instant instability tests, -1 to ward saves, etc).  Daemon players shouldn't worry about this too much since it is a random table and definitely don't plan your tactics around this.  Some of them may not affect anything at all depending on how the daemon army is constructed.
• Demonic Gifts - Random, ugh.  Essentially you pay a set number of points for a roll on a specific table (75, 50, or 25).  The effects are random but the daemon may always swap the result for the "0" option just like spells.  None of these abilities are harmful in any manner.  Examples of each table include; Lesser Gifts (Impacts hits, Multiple Wounds (2) ability, ASF, etc), Greater Gifts (+2 Attacks, 2+ Armor, +1 Wound, etc), Exalted (+2 Toughness, +3 Strength, extra dispel dice).  The 0 options amount to magic items.

Now let's look at the Core units and see how they stack up to their previous incarnations.

• Bloodletters - Bloodletters saw a moderate point increase and the loss of a point of strength but gained a 6+ armor save.  Given the frequncy of these units on the tabletop, it's easy to see that GW felt they were a bit undercosted for S5 with killing blow.  So they reduced the strength and raised the point cost.  Now, remember that on the charge they are still S5.  With the new changes they are less of a no-brainer but still useful for overall combat.
• Plaguebearers - The core Nurgle daemons saw a small points increase and the addition of the daemon of nurgle rule (-1 to hit in close combat).  They cost less than bloodletters but more than horrors of daemonettes.  The penalty to hit them in close combat is a nice addition that adds to their survivability.  Overall, they are great for anvil or horde units but at WS3 and I2 they are still not the best fighters.  Excellent to screen your lines if monsters are about or against those absolutely combat power-house units but I'd stick with other core units for causing damage or filling out large numbers.
• Pink Horrors - While they didn't suffer from a point change or stat changes, Pink Horrors experienced some of the largest changes overall.  First up, they lost their flaming attacks rule.  They retained the ability to cast spells, but they will only ever know a single spell that is rolled for at the start of the game.  Additional ranks of horrors only add to the bonus to cast the spell.  Lastly, horrors gained the blue horror ability.  This rule essentially means that as the unit takes damage in close combat the enemy unit will take more damage the more horrors they kill.  All of these rules tie together to indicate that horrors are probably best run in multiple small units and can actually pose some threat in close combat, particularly with the locus abilities of any attached heralds.
• Daemonettes - Daemonettes really didn't change much at all other than a small point decrease.  Now, this point decrease does mean that daemonettes are slightly easier to purchase in bulk and with WS5, I5, and 2A with armor piercing they can cause quite  a bit of damage.