Mixed Chaos Battleline Options

[Dreggs]

I'm new to AoS and a returning GW addict. I have been list building and reading for the last month or so.

I like having a balanced force in most games, and suspect AoS to be no different.

Mixed chaos doesn't seem to offer a solid shooting choice that jumps out at me. I like the idea of a giant blob or two of useful models, and a few objective grabbers.

Are blood warriors a stable battleline unit that is efficient outside of a specific theme?

Plaguebearers seem strong and reasonably priced.

If I grab 30 daemonettes or bloodletters will they perform reasonably without their locus active? I suspect a lord on daemonic mount is a "good" model in most forces.

Are clanrats the go to cheap battleline unit?

Do warriors of chaos require a little more from their army to really boost them beyond the feel of an army tax?

Thanks for your advice.

[mrstimpson38]

I'm not super competitive and only have a handful of games with them under my belt, but I've been very happy with units of 10 Blood Warriors with gorefists.

 

They have a reasonable armour save, especially in cover, the gore-glave can go on the champion and can put out some alright damage, especially under a banner, they have a chance to put out mortal wounds, and they get their attacks off even in death with their no-respite rule. For their price, I think they're a great battleline option for a mixed Chaos force.

 

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[Furious]

Do you care about theme/fluff of your army? That might decide whether you take clanrats, ungors or marauders as a minimum. All three are 60pts for 10. They have their different uses, but clanrats or marauders are probably best in combat, and ungors best for capturing objectives/intentionally getting in the way due to their speed options.

If you want to invest and don't care about theme (or if they happen to align with it), 30 bloodletters is a great unit. Mortal wounds on hit rolls of 5+ with 30 of them! As well, if you find you don't have room for a wizard, go Horrors! They're expensive, but again, think of them as a wizard with 10 wounds and capturing power.

Off the top of my head. Not sure what else is battleline... I don't have any experience with or against anything else anyway.

[Dreggs]

Great tip on horrors! I am planning to pick up some wizards, as that is thematically what I like. What a great reason to splash horrors though.

So, gor speed is a pretty solid boon in objective matches?

 

Great tips folks. I feel confident picking up 10 blood warriors now, I didn't know the champ could use the glaive, that's dirty!

[Praecautus]

16 hours ago, Dreggs said:

Great tip on horrors! I am planning to pick up some wizards, as that is thematically what I like. What a great reason to splash horrors though.

So, gor speed is a pretty solid boon in objective matches?

 

Great tips folks. I feel confident picking up 10 blood warriors now, I didn't know the champ could use the glaive, that's dirty!

I love my blood warriors, a unit of 10 is a great addition. Mine have gorefists due to being in starter sets - the damage on a save of 6 is nice but don't rely on it. 

If picking up 10 then invest in the start collecting box. The slaughterpriest is a great addition with his bloodboil and prayer to move enemy units out of position. Pull an enemy wizard on to your blood warriors or pull an enemy unit off an objective. 

[Aspirant Snaeper]

Gors and Ungors - Speedy infantry, good for the current meta. Bray-Shaman is almost auto-include though. Dont hit very hard though.

Marauders - Good all arounders. Solid save of 5+ for 60 points. Hit okay standard but are open to buffs when marked. 

Bloodreavers - Hit hard for 60 points, get real crazy when buffed. Soft as paper though.

Chaos Warriors - Sturdy. Would be good if magic was getting thrown around a lot more. Okay with buffs.

Blood Warriors - A good balance of hitting hard and staying put. A little on the expensive side though.

Plaguebearers - "Disgustingly Resilient". Daemons are great with 10 bravery and these guys just stick to the board like fungus. They dont hit hard or move quickly though.

Bloodletters - Recommended dosage is 30. Makes Heros and Monsters disappear but only slightly more resilient than Marauders. 

Daemonettes - Fast and choppy, not sure of the points but theyre worth comparing to Gors. 

Flamers - Magic and Ranged with okay staying power. 

All Skaven - Not sure on Skaven. Loads of bodies.

Arcanites - Expensive, but a good mix of range and melee. 

Tzaangors - Lose mobility options of regular Gors, but they hit harder instead. 

Chaos Dwarves - Tough in melee, decent in shooting. Good for standalone units since they dont mesh well at all. 

[Dreggs]

Looking at the damage output of daemon units and most battleline stuff makes me think there is a gap in -2 rend. I'm not to familiar with AoS yet. It seems like high volume damage is a good function to tune an offensive battleline unit towards... So, maybe daemonettes have a place in that function? They seems like a pretty high damage output unit that is fast.

I'm trying to understand the resillience and utility that battleline units should have vs over investing on units that are still a "tax" to some extent.

[Aspirant Snaeper]

Chaos is lucky to have a lot of solid Battleline choices. It wont hamper your list too much putting Blood Warriors or regular Chaos Warriors alongside some speedy Gors and shooty Flamers. 

On the flip side, Ungors or Marauders and/or others can be used to fill your battleline tax to let you spend your points on the good stuff without wasting them completely.