AoS 2 - Blades of Khorne Discussion

[Lord Krungharr]

I think Archaon can choose to take any Mark each turn, but the question is does the Mark of Khorne also grant the Khorne keyword?  I don't have the StD tome yet.  Hopefully yes, but if not then allying in my Bloodsecrator to my StDs won't do anything

But on the bright-red side of things, GW had something about Blades of Khorne using tons of little MSU mortal units in the final 8 players of their Open tournament series!  That's pretty impressive and I'm eager to see what the player's list is and how high he finishes.  

Edited November 20, 2022 by Lord Krungharr

[Grimrock]

1 hour ago, Lord Krungharr said:

I think Archaon can choose to take any Mark each turn, but the question is does the Mark of Khorne also grant the Khorne keyword?  I don't have the StD tome yet.  Hopefully yes, but if not then allying in my Bloodsecrator to my StDs won't do anything

But on the bright-red side of things, GW had something about Blades of Khorne using tons of little MSU mortal units in the final 8 players of their Open tournament series!  That's pretty impressive and I'm eager to see what the player's list is and how high he finishes.  

That's old old Archaon. In the new book he has to pick his mark after receiving the starting command points but before the start of the first turn. It's important to note though that the rule specifies he only gets the mark when taken in a Slaves to Darkness army, so if someone wants to take him in a Khorne army for example he won't get the Khorne mark, just Undivided. Also yes, when he picks Khorne he does get the keyword so for now the bloodsecrator, bloodstoker, and wrathmongers will all work on him. Pretty sure that'll all go away once the new khorne battletome comes out so enjoy it while it lasts haha.

Edited November 20, 2022 by Grimrock

[The Red King]

So with the new errata for blades of khorne I cant recall if coalition units gain the "blades of khorne" keyword or if there is now literally no reason to use the coalition rule unless the unit in question is utterly broken in it's own book since you give up all allegiance abilities on them. Is that right? 

[Grimrock]

3 hours ago, The Red King said:

So with the new errata for blades of khorne I cant recall if coalition units gain the "blades of khorne" keyword or if there is now literally no reason to use the coalition rule unless the unit in question is utterly broken in it's own book since you give up all allegiance abilities on them. Is that right? 

They just get the Khorne keyword, not Blades of Khorne, so yeah you're right. Currently next to no reason to bring anything in unless it's totally busted on it's own or it provides something we don't have access to in our book. That doesn't write absolutely everything off, Marauder cavalry for example could be decent with their speed and new ability, but generally speaking better to just run models from our book. It's also worth noting that a few things in the Tzeentch book support the Tzeentch keyword instead of just Disciples of Tzeentch, so it's not impossible they'll re-shuffle when the new book comes out.

Edit: Something funny I just noticed, all of the Khorne prayers have been updated so you can't take them on a chaos warshrine but they missed the Judgements and the Skull Altar. They still work with any Khorne priest. 

Edited January 12, 2023 by Grimrock

[peasant]

Hi yesterday I ran 3 skulltakers and were awesome! 

[Lord Krungharr]

On 1/13/2023 at 5:22 AM, peasant said:

Hi yesterday I ran 3 skulltakers and were awesome! 

Isn't Skulltaker unique though?

I for some reason today got a vision, a vague premonition, that Khorgoraths will be awesome in the next book.  I don't think they're actually too bad now for 90pts.  They're also reinforcable, not that I'd do that necessarily.  So how about this?  Could be Chaos toying with my mind, causing me to waste money.  But at least Blades units are pretty cheap right now 2nd hand

(not sure about any CTs, artefacts, etc, as I don't even have the BoK tome right now)

2 Bloodsecrators

3 SlaughterPriests

Skarr Bloodwrath

1x10 Bloodwarriors

2x10 Bloodreavers

8 Khorgoraths

Wrath-Axe Judgement

2 allied Cockatrices

Seems like it sucks.  But also, like, kinda cool.  

[The Red King]

18 minutes ago, Lord Krungharr said:

Isn't Skulltaker unique though?

I for some reason today got a vision, a vague premonition, that Khorgoraths will be awesome in the next book.  I don't think they're actually too bad now for 90pts.  They're also reinforcable, not that I'd do that necessarily.  So how about this?  Could be Chaos toying with my mind, causing me to waste money.  But at least Blades units are pretty cheap right now 2nd hand

(not sure about any CTs, artefacts, etc, as I don't even have the BoK tome right now)

2 Bloodsecrators

3 SlaughterPriests

Skarr Bloodwrath

1x10 Bloodwarriors

2x10 Bloodreavers

8 Khorgoraths

Wrath-Axe Judgement

2 allied Cockatrices

Seems like it sucks.  But also, like, kinda cool.  

Through multiple books and faqs skulltaker is in fact not unique for some reason.

 

I've spoken to someone who would know that confirms Khorne is going to be quite good in their next book so I dont think I'd make any purchases just yet.

 

As a beasts player however please dont ally cockatrice lol they're going to nerf us so badly thanks to every other chaos faction having access to it. (It does need nerfed probably, I'm jk)

[Lord Krungharr]

Wow that's weird, and cool!  Skulltaker is a good model, so 3 of him wouldn't bother me.

If I find a bunch of really cheap Khorne models I'll bite.  But good advice, I'll wait otherwise.  Cockatrices aren't cheap at all though now

 

[The Red King]

Note they didnt give me any new rumors. I just have personal confirmation that the old rumor of "the playtesters say Khorne is going to be strong" is an accurate sentence.

[Lord Krungharr]

Maybe Khorgoraths, being big walking gobs of blood, will do like a Skarr Bloodwrath thing, reappearing next to dead enemies on a 4+ or something.  That would be AWESOME!  And rend -2 or MW on hits or wounds of 6, because.  Cost more, but worth it.  And battleline if: ?.  Yes I'll cut my finger and pray for that....

[Sabush]

With a new Khorne Vanguard box on its way, I’m wondering what will happen to the existing Start Collecting box? There are some amazing models there and I don’t want them to be discontinued.

[Warboss Gorbolg]

GW stores are selling both for Stormcast and Slaves. I ‘m guessing that BOK will be the same since their box also has exclusive models like those 2.

Edited March 12, 2023 by Warboss Gorbolg

[AresX8]

Seeing everything in the preview today (See: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/03/13/rip-open-reality-and-bestow-brutish-blessings-upon-your-followers-in-battletome-blades-of-khorne/)

 

Strongly hints to me that we might be seeing an army redesign. A survivability buff via ward save for Daemons, and an extra attack buff that's not tied to an aura?!

 

[Beliman]

Some Discord rumors:

• No more 6" pile in and double-tap
• 5+ ward vs shooting and magic.
• 5+ ignore spell is army-wide, for each ignores spell, you gain a blood tithe.
• Skarbrand can charge 3D6 (18") and still has mw. 8 or 9 attacks on 2+/2+/-2/3
• Bloodsecrator: Once-per-game give +1atk
• Spend one blood tithe for 1D6" move at the end of any hero phase.
• Fury Thirster: -1 to hit bubble
• Bloodletter: 2wounds, 200p for units of 10

[Lord Krungharr]

I was wondering if mobs of Bloodletters might be viable again.  Hoping they get 2 attacks base, but not holding my breath.  I like those old 2nd edition ones and also the 3rd edition goat looking ones.  More keen on getting daemons, but the mortal models are super cheap!

[Grimrock]

2 hours ago, Lord Krungharr said:

I was wondering if mobs of Bloodletters might be viable again.  Hoping they get 2 attacks base, but not holding my breath.  I like those old 2nd edition ones and also the 3rd edition goat looking ones.  More keen on getting daemons, but the mortal models are super cheap!

I hope they'll be viable, I love painting up daemons and they feature prominently in the 40k Chaos Daemons combat patrol box so I'd like an excuse to pick that up. If the rumors are right and they're going up to 2 wounds then I'd definitely expect them to get an extra attack at minimum, and hopefully some way to attack in multiple ranks like a 2" reach or some special rule. 

Today's article looked interesting. I like the changes to the bloodstoker in particular. We're probably losing re-roll to wounds and I'm not in love with the likely return of daisy chaining, but anything to get rid of wholly within 8" haha. The other changes seem nice but it is a lot of focus on heroes that have historically been quite awful. Hopefully this is a sign that they've gone through and re-tooled all the hero profiles. 

[itgnightraven]

1 hour ago, Grimrock said:

I hope they'll be viable, I love painting up daemons and they feature prominently in the 40k Chaos Daemons combat patrol box so I'd like an excuse to pick that up. If the rumors are right and they're going up to 2 wounds then I'd definitely expect them to get an extra attack at minimum, and hopefully some way to attack in multiple ranks like a 2" reach or some special rule. 

Today's article looked interesting. I like the changes to the bloodstoker in particular. We're probably losing re-roll to wounds and I'm not in love with the likely return of daisy chaining, but anything to get rid of wholly within 8" haha. The other changes seem nice but it is a lot of focus on heroes that have historically been quite awful. Hopefully this is a sign that they've gone through and re-tooled all the hero profiles. 

they can already fight in two ranks this season as they are just straight up gally vets

[Grimrock]

2 hours ago, itgnightraven said:

they can already fight in two ranks this season as they are just straight up gally vets

Didn't they change that over to a battalion in the latest GHB? So no chance for a one drop if you want to get good use out of your melee infantry. Plus who knows what we'll have in the next season, maybe it'll stick around maybe not. I'd rather have it on the warscroll like with chaos knights.

[Sprues&Brews]

Our full review of the new Blades of Khorne Battletome is now live!

https://spruesandbrews.com/2023/03/18/blades-of-khorne-2023-battletome-review-warhammer-age-of-sigmar-3rd-edition/

We also painted up the new model too! Massive thanks to GW for the review copies!

 

 

[The_Tallest_Ork]

Based on reviews it sounds like a pretty solid upgrade! Not game-breaking, but solid. Seems to have kept the buffs and synergy element of the army, which I like, and given the mortals a much needed boost to their base stats.

I'll probably have a tough time choosing between the Goretide and Flayed subfactions. The bonus to wound when trying to take objectives is always nice, but a 5+ ward after you've already fought is a pretty interesting tactical defense boost.

[Troll.exe]

Does anyone have any clarification on the hero phase sequence of blood tithe and prayers yet?

 

Will we be able to blood sacrifice then spend that tithe for 3x d6 movement in the same hero phase?

[Grimrock]

4 hours ago, Troll.exe said:

Does anyone have any clarification on the hero phase sequence of blood tithe and prayers yet?

 

Will we be able to blood sacrifice then spend that tithe for 3x d6 movement in the same hero phase?

I think we might have to wait for a review that actually shows the new army book, the current ones are too vague or imprecise to really get a feel for the nitty gritty interactions. If I had to guess the hero phase tithe abilities will probably happen at the start of the phase and the prayers would be after, but I could be wrong.

Honestly I'm having problems getting a good feel for the book in general. Maybe it's just because I can't see everything in front of me, but it seems a touch flat so far. There are improvements here and there, but they're generally only enough to just barely cover the the buffs we're losing. Heroes have gotten better which is great, but they're generally only going to a level they should have been from the beginning. I'm not really excited for any of the units other than skullcrushers and bloodcrushers. So much has stayed more or less the same but that kinda sucks when what they were was so miserable. I probably just need to get it on the table but that'll have to wait until we can get a better look.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Grimrock

[Troll.exe]

2 hours ago, Grimrock said:

I think we might have to wait for a review that actually shows the new army book, the current ones are too vague or imprecise to really get a feel for the nitty gritty interactions. If I had to guess the hero phase tithe abilities will probably happen at the start of the phase and the prayers would be after, but I could be wrong.

Honestly I'm having problems getting a good feel for the book in general. Maybe it's just because I can't see everything in front of me, but it seems a touch flat so far. There are improvements here and there, but they're generally only enough to just barely cover the the buffs we're losing. Heroes have gotten better which is great, but they're generally only going to a level they should have been from the beginning. I'm not really excited for any of the units other than skullcrushers and bloodcrushers. So much has stayed more or less the same but that kinda sucks when what they were was so miserable. I probably just need to get it on the table but that'll have to wait until we can get a better look.

The waiting game is definitely getting to me lol. After so many years…

My gut feel was the same as yours. I did just see a post from a prominent Khorne player however stating “best Khorne book yet” after a few games. 
 

I Feel like Blood sacrifice and the new movement prayer combined with the bloodtithe movement will be absolute main stays.
I’m also picking the double activation with WoKB and another bloodthirster with the fights at the start artefact will be key. With the added survivability at range and the ability to close the gap, that will be a devastating combination.

[MotherGoose]

7 hours ago, Troll.exe said:

Does anyone have any clarification on the hero phase sequence of blood tithe and prayers yet?

 

Will we be able to blood sacrifice then spend that tithe for 3x d6 movement in the same hero phase?

Prayers are during hero phase, blood tithe is spent at the end of the hero phase.

Edited March 19, 2023 by MotherGoose

[MotherGoose]

20 hours ago, Sprues&Brews said:

Our full review of the new Blades of Khorne Battletome is now live!

https://spruesandbrews.com/2023/03/18/blades-of-khorne-2023-battletome-review-warhammer-age-of-sigmar-3rd-edition/

We also painted up the new model too! Massive thanks to GW for the review copies!

 

 

Great review overall but I feel you've missed some huge upgrades. Just some examples:

Bloodletters you say received some small nerfs but say nothing about their huge buffs. Double the previous wounds, double the attacks, double the range and +1 to hit.

Bloodcrushers got +1 save, +1 to hit and 5 wounds.

Blood warriors gained better attacks with rend in addition to what you listed.

Skullcrushers went up to 5 wounds with a 2+ save(!). Their weapons also got +1 rend so they have either -1 or -2 for the glaives.

Just a handful I noticed.

Edited March 19, 2023 by MotherGoose