A Veritable Khorne-ucopia...

Phew - finally finished all my Khorne stuff and boy am I glad to set aside the red and gold paint!

The followers of Khorne comprise the largest contingent in my Chaos army, mainly due to the vagaries of ebay and what survived from my old childhood collection. Thankfully I never did sell of the four Greater Daemons I bought on a whim - still remember filling in and cutting out the order form from White Dwarf magazine!

So here's the Khorne part of the army in full - as you can see it's based around three Greater Daemons as per the 2nd ed rules - more on them later.

A Chaos army is organised slightly differently to other armies in that you start by selecting the Greater Daemons. For each Greater Daemon you can take between three and five supporting detachments, which represent that Daemon's mortal and daemonic followers.

Below is the Bloodthirster with supporting detachments of Bloodletters, Flesh Hounds, Minotaurs and two detachments of Juggernauts.

My intention is that this force will be a relatively faster force designed to assault heavily defended objectives.

The next army group is based around a Lord of Battles and I decided to theme it a bit - taking along two detachments of Chaos Squats (the evil geniuses and creators behind the various Daemon Engines and war machines), a detachment of Daemon Engines (I have one spare so can tailor the exact combination according to the kind of enemy I may be up against), a detachment of Chaos Androids and a battery of Cannon of Khorne.

 This group should do a good job of providing fire support for the hordes of close combat troops that need to cover the ground, as intact as possible, to get to grips with the enemy.

The final Greater Daemon of Khorne that I can field is Angron, Daemon Primarch of the World Eaters. Somewhat changed by the gifts lavished on him by Khorne, Angron now towers above his loyal Traitor Marines! Primarchs are a little different to the other Greater Daemons in that you can take along a legion of Chaos Space Marines from their own Legion as well as the normal three to five supporting detachments. So Angron leads a legion of World Eaters, supported by detachments of Beastmen (fresh from their service with my Imperial Guard Army!), Dreadnoughts, Chaos Androids and two detachments of Juggernauts.

This group has a more flexible role - able to take and hold objectives with the fire power of the Marines after the initial wave of close combat troops has moved on or launch
 the main offensive itself.

As Chaos armies are essentially close combat armies, the main problem is getting enough of your troops across the table in one piece. Having played Imperial Guard a few times, it doesn't seem like you get an awful lot of troops for your points either.

There are some good units for giving supporting fire but you're probably going to find yourself outgunned by most opponents.

However, once you get stuck in, the victory points (and skulls) should come rolling in! Especially with troops like Minotaurs with their Close Assault Factor of 5. Getting ten stands and a Chaos Champion for around 200 points isn't too bad either.

Juggernauts are a little faster with a move of 15cm and also have a CAF of 5. However, their main strength lies in the fact that they are very hard to kill. In game, this is represented by the rule that allows them to fight on in the Close Combat Phase even if they were shot and killed as they charged by troops on First Fire orders.

Hey good buddy, those long haired friends o' Jesus best mind their britches - looks like we got us a convoy! At least that's what I think a large number of Juggernauts should be called anyway...

To help them get there, troops like Chaos Squats can be handy. Not as powerful as the Thunderers their goody two shoes cousins can field, they do still get two attack dice per stand for their Heavy Bolters.

Chaos Squats are also useful for defending objectives and artillery from marauding enemy assault troops - especially when placed in cover and left on first fire orders.

The big guns come in the baroque and ornate form of the Cannon of Khorne - massive war machines fashioned by the Chaos Squats. These cannon hurl huge fireballs of warp energy across the battlefield and can be hugely destructive to buildings, troops and Titans alike - if they don't deviate from the target or blow up in a disastrous misfire...

 The Daemon Engines of Khorne can also pack a punch although they do always have to be given advance or charge orders, thanks to the Khornate lust for battle!

The Cauldron of Blood is a favourite if mine - both because of the model and its weapon of choice - a cannon that sprays molten Daemon blood over a wide area. Great for winkling out troops hiding in cover as it ignores cover modifiers.

The Tower of Skulls is another firm favourite - maybe because of this great illustration that graced the front of White Dwarf and the Renegades expansion book.

The Tower of Skulls is one of the more shooty Daemon Engines with 11 attack dice in total and 5 of those with a -1 save modifier to represent the heavier guns it carries. Mind you it has a pretty respectable CAF of 5 and an all-round saving throw of +2 - no weaker armour on the sides or rear.

The Death Dealer has a multitude of short range guns, the Gatling Cannon alone giving you 6 attack dice and one longer ranged heavy cannon on the tower. This Daemon Engine can carry up to 5 stands of troops - a tad risky perhaps, even with a saving throw of +2 all round.

The Brass Scorpion is a nasty little bugger - a bit faster than the other Engines and a large number of attack dice from its jaw cannons and Gatling "sting". The buzz saws make it a terror in close combat and it can even move through woods, treating them as difficult ground as it saws it way through. The only safe place for infantry to hide would be in a building.

The Lord of Battles is a Greater Daemon imprisoned in a mechanical body and so enjoys the same benefits as the other Greater Daemons - critical damage can be saved by using Chaos Reward cards. It should hold its own against enemy Titans with a CAF of 10, however, I'd say it was more suited to grinding enemy infantry and tanks underfoot.

This particular one came with a Death Storm cannon capable of firing rocket propelled shells at a high rate - 5 attack dice with a -1 save modifier. Its other weapon is more suited to taking out Super Heavies, Titans with no void shields left and buildings. The Doom Burner fires a bolt of molten metal that ignores cover modifiers, destroys buildings, has a -3 save modifier and adds +1 to damage rolls on enemy Titans.

Then there's the Head Cannon and 6 attack dice worth of short range, hull mounted flame throwers! Oh and if Chaos are winning the battle, like all Daemon Engines, the Lord of Battles gets +1 on all to hit rolls, +1 to its saving throws and rolls an extra dice in close combat.

As well as all the big scary Daemons and weapons of mass carnage, one mustn't forget the lowly foot soldiers - every army needs its cannon fodder! Beastmen fill this role admirably (as do Chaos Cultists) and can act as a screen for more valuable troops or even as a body guard for Greater Daemons against the dreaded Grey Knights. With a CAF of 3 they're not too shabby if they do make it into combat with the enemy!

Chaos Space Marines make excellent shock troops as well as fire support - with a CAF of 3 and missile launchers that have -1 save modifier they are good all rounders. Not to mention their high morale. Chaos Space Marine Legions also get a special Chaos Reward when fielded as a Legion. The World Eaters have been gifted with the Blood Rage of Khorne which sends them into a berserker rage.

 Chaos Dreadnoughts can add even more fire power although are surprisingly weak in close combat.

Then there's Angron himself - Primarch of the World Eaters. Drawn in to the rebellion by Horus, who he regarded as a brother, Angron realised too late that he was fighting on the wrong side. However his pride prevented him from withdrawing from the war and he fell into the embrace of Khorne - a fitting God for the Primarch of one of the most savage Marine Chapters.

Angron has a huge CAF of 12 and can let loose a deafening roar once a turn that forces any enemy troops within 15cm to take a morale test. Should they fail they have to go onto fall back orders.

So there are the mighty forces of warlike Khorne and the backbone of my Chaos Host.

Next up - Nurgle...