Help Starting Chaos STD/Khorne

[Bearit39]

Hey All!

 

I am thinking of starting a new army using Khorne mortals and slaves to darkness. Since my local shop is closed I haven't had a chance to grab either battletome. ☹️ I don't know a lot about building a list in aos either. I really just want to base my force with lots of warriors and calvary (Basically I enjoy painting these) and make a semi-decent list. I just don't know how the units will interact with each other or which heroes will benefit both factions. I mostly want to use Blood warriors and skullcrushers from Khorne and then back them up with choas knights and mounted marauders.

 

Any help with ways to run this or what Heroes work best would be supper helpful! I just found some old Blood warriors I had and really enjoy painting and converting chaos and inspired all this.

[Grimrock]

Hmm, well I will say that right off the bat you're in for a bit of an uphill climb competitively. The great thing about the Khorne book is you can run pretty much anything you want to some degree of success, but certain things require more effort to build around. Blood warriors and chaos knights aren't exactly the best units but they can certainly be made to work with a little elbow grease.

For support the first things you'll want in Khorne are slaughter priests and the scenery piece. They provide a lot of the support the army needs through their prayers and shore up the lack of ranged damage. If you're going to include StD units then a warshrine is a really good choice as well since its buffs are very strong. I think a bloodstoker is also a must for the army since it helps knights and blood warriors quite a bit. A bloodsecrator is welcome in pretty much any khorne list... and I guess to keep with the cavalry theme you could also pick up a Chaos Lord on Karkadrak. He's pretty beefy, buffs chaos knights, and hits like a truck if you give him one of the -3 rend artifacts from malign sorcery. 

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Grimrock

[Slave2Chaos]

Sounds like you have a solid theme/idea in your head and your just looking for ways to get it on the table. Like @Grimrock was saying, it  isn't exactly using the most competitive tournament options, but don't let that dissuade you if that's not the gaming environment you frequent.

First off id like to note that on the GW website and/or with the Azyr app you can check out the warscrolls for free to get an idea on what everything does. Also take a look in the blades of khorne and slaves to darkness topics as they have loads of good information there as well.

Based solely off what you've said thus far Id recommend running Khorne allegiance vs slaves to darkness. This will let you use the models you mentioned and  give you access to more toys and a less finicky synergy system to manage. I would prioritize the Blades of Khorne book in that regard. The terrain piece and judgments are also highly recommend buys if you go this route. Remember that anything that has  or can be given the Khorne keyword can be used in  this allegiance.

Heroes are an integral component to the Khorne war machine. This is where most of your synergies will be derived from and will dictate list creation significantly. My notes and recommendations will reflect the units that you've mentioned with a bias towards the mortal side of things as a result.

Slave to darkness options =
Karkadrak - I  fully endorse the crackerjack from S2D as  above. He is a pure beatstick and buffs your knights.

Demon Prince of Khorne - With wings he can keep pace with your cav and  is no slouch in combat, but his command ability is great at controlling  board space and allows you to dictate when and where combats occur. Especially handy in conjunction with units that receive bonuses when charging. (lances, some command abilities etc ....). Another highly recommended option.

Chaos Lord - This guys main draw is his command ability which at the start of the combat phase allows a mortal slaves to darkness unit wholly within 12" to fight for a second time during that phase.  But being on foot will usually mean its hard to keep him in range of cav. 

Blades of Khorne options = 
Lord of Khorne on  juggernaut. I will mention this guy because you specifically wanted to include  skullcrushers, and if  you make this guy your general skull crushers become battleline. He is good in combat and has a command ability allows you to pick 3 mortal units  within 16" that have made a charge to  reroll ones to wound. Combining him with a demon prince to dictate those charges makes the most of this ability. He is fun to use and a great model but wouldn't consider him a must have unless you want to lean heavily on skull crushers.

Slaughter priests - These guys are amazing and I include at least 2 in almost every list. Their prayers cannot be unbound and just happen if you make the D6 roll. In addition to the prayers on their  warscroll they have access to 1 more from a list of 6  in the book.  Ranging  from battle shock immunity, buffing to hit, buffing  armor save,  and dispelling an endless spell on a successful prayer roll.  A must have purchase IMHO.

* Judgements of khorne are very similar to endless spells in form and function and as such are purchased with points while list making.  That being said they are still prayers that can be used by any Khorne priest. 
* Note that the warshrine with mark of khorne, while not a hero, is a priest as well and will gain access to Judgement and the Khorne prayers in addition to what's on his warscroll.

Bloodsecrator - This guy is a pure support piece that adds 1 attack to friendly khorne within 16", and also hampers enemy casters by making them reroll successful casts within that same 16". This model is great and is considered an auto include in many a list. Unfortunately he is only available  on foot and your cav may outpace him quickly. A solid hero choice that will make most lists.
Bloodstoker - Another great support piece that picks one friendly unit and adds 3" to run and charge rolls and also allows that unit to reroll wounds. Said unit must be wholly within 8". Again this model is only available on foot so your cav  may not see the benefit but it can help your foot troops keep pace better.

Bloodthirsters - A quick note here, they guys are expensive and eat a lot of points, and synergize with demons not mortals. BUT they are massive distraction pieces that can also be summoned with blood tithe. Might be worth picking up one as a result. But I wouldn't prioritize it with your current theme.

There are plenty of other hero options that have a place and can be used but these would be my primary recommendations. I will also add that you may want to look at battalions as well. Gore Pilgrims being a very popular option that forms a good foundation that buffs the bloodsecrator range. It would mean including at least 1 unit of blood reavers as well but they are good chaff, and when they die (which they will) you get a blood tithe.

On the subject of blood tithe, this allegiance ability resource provides great utility. One of which is summoning Khorne demons to the battlefield. They can be used to capture objectives or provide additional chaff screens/threats. So keep in mind that some demons will always be handy.  Personally, I've found that Flesh Hounds, Bloodletters, and Heralds to be my most commonly used in that regard. 

Hope that helps and happy gaming.




 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Slave2Chaos