Chaos Tactics
Here I'll try to present my view upon the various different forces that a chaos general can command. I'll list what are, in my opinion, the strengths and weaknesses of the various troop types together with uses for them. At the end of the article is a general tactic section that gives guidelines to follow as a Chaos commander.
If you have ANY comments about this article then please dont hesitate to let me know.
Chaos Warriors :These are one of the toughest infantry units on the battlefield - maybe even the toughest. Their strengths are many such as high WS, S, T, Ld and A. Their only weakness, in my humble opinion, is that they are very costly and present the opponent with one fat juicy target. Your Chaos warriors are awesome in HtH-combat so get them there quick! Don't lumber around the field with their average movement get them into combat instead. They can be given chaos-armour that increases their survivability, but it also increases their cost. The main threat to your warriors are magic and warmachines. Trust me you don't want to be on the receiving end of a Lavastorm or well aimed Rocklobber with your costly Chaos warriors. Also look out for well coordinated cavalry charges which can give your opponent a temporary advantage and can allow him to break and rundown your expensive warriors.
Beastmen : These should be included in every chaos army because of their general usefulness. Two wounds, toughness 4 and a decent WS makes these guys a bargain for the points. Their weaknesses are mainly the Strength of "only" 3 and a low leadership. The leadership is taken care of by including a leader but it also means that if the leader is taken out the unit is in danger. The infighting rule can also cause trouble despite the high Ld of Chaos Characters. Sometimes you roll that 11 or 12 so be prepared for the fact that your Beastmen might suddenly be taken out of the action. Beastmen are wonderful in large units with their high survivability coupled with the low cost per model (compared to other chaostroops anyway). It takes the opposing general a LONG time to whittle down your regiments with missilefire and in HtH they can hold their own. Sure they're not as good as the Chaos Warriors but their cost means that you often have more of them and can enjoy a full rankbonus of +3. They're not as vulnerable to magic as the Chaos Warriors as their survivability lies in their wounds and toughness and not in their armour. Watch out for warmachines that cause multiple wounds, such as the Dwarf organ gun. A unit of Beastmen often benefit greatly from a banner that can be used to increase their battleprowess further or add even more protection. As a Slaanesh general you even can render them immune to psychology and break tests which makes for a very persistent unit indeed.
Trolls : These creatures are tough and good in a fight especially against opponents with high toughness. They're very resistant to punishment due to their regeneration and stone Trolls have a 4+ dispel against magic. They're fast for a infantry unit and are excellent as flank protection or for engaging large blocks of enemy troops. Watch out for being made to take any leadership based tests and keep your general close or else you will loose them fast. . Rivertrolls are better than Stone Trolls in a fight due to the slime but aren't resistant to magic so which type of troll you take depends on what role they're going to play on the battlefield. Trolls cause Fear.
Minotaurs : Very tough HtH troops that should get into combat as soon as possible. Their three wounds and high toughness makes them very hard to kill. Better WS than the trolls and a very good Ld for basic troops. High movement and the ability to carry a standard are their other advantages. Their main fault are their high points value and their low armour protection (6+ as best). Look out for Repeater Bolt Throwers and other warmachines together with magic. Since they can take a magic standard it can be wise to make that a protection against magic. Minotaurs start to feed on their victims after the first combat so they can be hard move after a fight so keep that in mind if you intend them to continue to fight after their first combat. Minotaurs cause Fear.
Chaos Knights : IMHO The best heavy cavalry in the game. Really good statistics but a awesome price, especially with Chaos Armour. Save at 2+ or better and a strength 6 charge coupled with 2 attacks makes them excellent shocktroops that can wipe out the best units in the Warhammer world. Look out for overcomitting and forget that second rank as it's just too costly. You're better off buying the Battle Banner instead. The main threats are warmachines and magic so they should always be considered and if possible dealt with. Something else to think about when using Chaos Knights is that you don't want to get bogged down in protracted fights so look out for multiple wounds trooptypes that survive your charge or nonbreakable units. Your knights are very well protected but they cost too much to fight 40 goblins with the Crown of Command during the entire battle. Charging and breaking the enemy is where the Chaos Knights excel and they do it very well, especially when supported by other trooptypes such as other cavalry units or charging characters.
Dragon Ogres : The heavy heavy cavalry. Excellent strength and toughness coupled with four wounds makes them a horror on the battlefield. Their leadership is not as good though so watch out for Ld based test and I tests as this is also low. Just charge them in and bash some skulls and give your opponent as little time as possible to hammer them with magic and warmachines. They draw a lot of attention due to their apperance and fearsome reputation. They can carry a banner which can be used to protect them or make them even more horrible to face in a battle. The champions of the Dragon Ogres are awesome too but very costly. Is further streghtened by lightning but probably all of your opponents will go out of their ways not hitting them with any lighting so it's of limited use.Causes fear.
Harpies : Cheap airborne harassment troops. They can hold their own in a fight but their lack of leaders coupled with a very low leadership limits their stayingpower. Harpies lack armour so missile fire can get to them but thier T of 4 and two wounds saves them some. They're really good at attacking warmachinecrew, small units such as missile cavalry or lone weaker characters. They can also be used to great effect in staying close to units hindering marchmoves and for charging in the rear or flank on already engaged units. Look out for magic and psychology effects (the scarecrow banner comes to mind). Don't engage good HtH units that you'll loose combat against or else you will watch your harpies flee the battle. One trick is to keep the Army Standard close so that you can reroll Ld-tests.
Chaos hounds : Fast troops with good statistics. Chaos hounds make for good raiding troops and is really good at supporting charges by charging in the flank. Their relatively high movement allows then to maneuver and take up good positions on the battlefield. Lok out for their low Ld and lack of armour. The leadership can be adressed by including a champion and it also looks good on the battlefield. (The General surrounded by his pack of hunting Chaos Hounds) Cheap troops but vulnerable to missilefire since they lack extra wounds or armour.
Demonettes : One of my favourite troops in the Chaos army list. They look good and are awesome in combat. High Weapon Skill and number of Attacks makes them lethal on the battlefield. Excellent Ld and their ability to cast magic is also very handy. Get the Demonettes into combat fast because they are actually quite brittle with a toughness of only 3 and only their deamonic aura as protection. To speed them up and to make them even more deadly it's a good idea to mount them on Steeds of Slaanesh which gives them a charge range of 24" A good tactic is to use them in concentrated attacks with Chaos Knights and / or Dragon Ogres with the demonettes maneuvering to get to charge in the flank. An extra bonis is that they cause fear. Look out for warmachines, missilefire and troops that are charging.
Fiends of Slaanesh : Have lots of special rules but are pretty mediocre in combat. They're pretty fast so they can get around the enemy and get them in the flanks or rear. Cause Fear.
Bloodletters : Mean fighters that can really tear into the enemy. Excellent stats except for a toughness of three. At their best against troops with multiple wounds due to the Hellblade. Vulnerable to missilefire and can't have a banner. They're actually pretty cheap. They take some time to get across the battlefield so the opponent has a lot of time to decimate them with every missile weapon that he has. You can mount them on Juggernauts to speed them up and this adds lots of punch - however it does make them very expensive.. They look really good on the battlefield though! Let the Bloodletters take the fight to the enemy and especially aim for those expensive troops with multiple wounds. Bloodletters cause Fear but can't cast spells as the other Daemons.
Flesh hounds : Fast and mean troops that are immune to magic. Good for overwhelming characters as their magical weapons will be useless. Also very good in HtH but be cautious as units of Flesh Hounds tend to be small. Quite expensive and can't have a banner. Cause Fear.
Plaguebearers : Plaguebearers have the same strengths and weaknesses as the Bloodletters but have the Plaguesword instead of the Hellblade. They can't be speeded up by adding a fast mount. Good in HtH but vulnerable to missilefire. Can ride beasts of Nurgle which makes them even better in HtH. Plaguebearers cause Fear and can cast spells.
Beasts of Nurgle : Slow but good at blocking an area of the battlefield. Good in HtH with a special attack that works well against heavily armoured opponents. Really low Ld and mediocre WS. High toughness but a S of only 3. Cause fear.
Nurglings : Enhanced snotlings which can actually do some damage. A good trooptype for bogging down the enemy but watch out for their mediocre leadership so its a good idea is to keep the general or Army Standard Bearer nearby. Pretty cheap but they have mediocre statistics, mostly threes. Their main advantage is the three wounds coupled with their demonic aura and the fact that they cause fear.
Flamers of Tzeentch : Bouncing missile cavalry. Has great speed and a good flaming capability. Flamers are pretty good in HtH too due to their Strength of 5. Has a mediocre WS but a high BS and is at their best stopping the enemy from marchmoving while peppering them with flames. Can bound over obstacles without any penalty and has a high movement. Has good toughness and has two wounds. Causes fear. Excellent for harassing your enemy with and takes care of those pesky missiletroops with ease.
Pink horrors : Really cool deamons that split into two Blue Horrers when killed. They're good in HtH but suffer from a low Toughness. Their movement is not so great and the Blue Horrors are mediocre in combat. Horrors are good at binding up the enemy as they split when killed but they lack the deamonic aura so missile weapons can hurt them a lot. Can cast spells and one of the spells (Tzeetch's Firestorm) creates new Pink Horrors! Horrors cause fear.
Generally the Greater eamons are all very expensive and very powerful. Be wary of charging them into combats you can't win against large units with the battlebanner etc. They will easily break your deamon and kill it when it flees. They are best used as augmentors of attacks with other units or for killing enemy characters in HtH. They all cause Terror which is quite useful for routing units and causing them to flee if you move within 8". This tactic is especially powerful against low leadership troops such as Empire, Skaven, Goblins etc. They all have Deamonic auras except for the Bloodthirster which has armour instead. One great weakness is that they can't have magical items but then they rarely need them except for the protection against hostile spells. Magic and Warmachines are the two greatest threats that have to be considered and countered. Another threat is specific items that are especially useful against deamons such as the Black Gem of Gnar or the Talisman of Ravensdark. Don't just use the Greater Demons as sorcerers as your'e better off buying a regular one which is cheaper and can carry magical items to augment his magical powers. Don't be afraid of commiting your Greater Deamon. Even if they are valuable they are useless if you don't use their powers. Just remember their weaknesses as well as their strengths and you'll do fine.
Greater Deamon of Slaanesh, Keeper of Secrets : Great model and a horror in HtH. Great statistics coupled with level four magical powers makes this Greater Deamon a real powerhouse on the battlefield. It's special ability can make low leadership troops so entranced so that they will just stand there and get butchered. Has a high movement but is hampered by its inability to fly so it's quite easy for your enemy to attack.
Greater Deamon of Khorne, BloodThirster : THE toughest single model in the game and it's an absolute terror in HtH. Has the best stats in the game and consequently has a hefty points cost. It lacks the Demonic aura but has armour with a 3+ save instead so it's actually better off. The Bloodthirster carries the axe of Khorne which when paired with it's ten attacks gives it the capability to do an awsome amount of damage. Bloodthirsters have the ability to fly and this should be used wisely to ensure that your Bloodthirster does the maximum damage to your enemy. Use it in conjunction with some other troops and you'll wipe out most units with ease. Leave it on its own and you'll soon be facing more magical attacks and cannonballs than you can shake a stick at so keep it moving and in combat. The major drawback of this beauty is it's lack of magical abilities but Khorne frowns on that kind of girly stuff so just stick to spilling Blood for the Blood God.
Greater Deamon of Nurgle, Great Unclean One : Big bad demon with an attitude. I really like Nurgle and the model is a blinder which every self respecting Nurgle General should own. The Great Unclean One is durable and has access to the powerful spells from the Nurgle spell deck. It's good in combat but not in the league of a Bloodthirsters so don't treat it like it is one. It also has the stream of corruption ability which really can injure low initiative troops. The major drawback is it's movement of four which makes this particular demon a lumbering behemoth on the battlefield. The trickiest thing about the Great Unclean One is to get it within range so that it can use the stream of corruption or get into combat.
Greater Deamon of Tzeentch, Lord of Change : This model also looks great and it's probably the most versatile of all the Greater deamons. It's a level four sorcerer with the ability to fly. In combat it can kill off most opponents but the same goes for the Lord of Change as for the other Greater Deamons, stick to battles you can win fast. Since it's flying it is very mobile so use that mobility to strike where you want to, and as a sorceror it can position itself so to make optimal use of its spells.
The characters in the Chaos army are some of the strongest
you'll find in the world of Warhammer. They do come with a hefty
points cost though so you'll struggle to stay within your
character allowance. All the characters in a Chaos Army must be
deicated to a Chaos God and the choice affects the special
ability you'll get. Khorne is the favourite among many Chaos
players since it gives you free Chaos Armour plus Frenzy. Frenzy
with the high number of attacks that Chaos Champions have are
truly lethal. Beware of units with high staying power (cannot
break etc) and lonely characters who may carry something nasty
like the heart of woe etc. Alignment with Nurgle simply gives you
plus one in toughness. This is great as it makes your Champions
more resilent and requires no thought to use. Tzeentch gives you
a 4+ dispel and this saves you the need to equip your characters
with anti magical items. Slaanesh gives you immunity to
psychology AND break tests. This means that even if your troops
break your champions will jump out of the unit and continue
fighting, ie no catching of your fleeing troops. You never have
to worry that your general will flee and embaress himself but
don't get bogged down with 100 goblins or something like that.
The use of Champions of different gods also gives you acess to
god specific items which may be well worthwile.
Lords, Heroes and Champions : These are your regular mean, badlooking and asskicking Chaos Champions. They are expensive but they are worth every point. Look out for no save weapons and magic, but they do have a high toughness amd excellent stats so they should be able to kill most adversaries. They are expensive though so try to use them effectively as you wont have very many of them.
Army Standard Bearer : The Chaos Army Standard Bearer is a hero, not a champion like all the other armies standard bearers. He can carry two magical items and has outstanding stats. This means that he can actually function as a unit leader and not only as a plus one combat resolution with a magical banner. I often mount him on a horse or a Chaos God mount and place him with some fast deamons or Chaos Knight as the unit leader. He is very expensive at 243 pts but he makes it all up with his versatility and fighting prowess.
Beastmen Champions, Heroes and Lords : These have a relatively low points cost and with that extra wound these guys are really worthwile. They don't count as chaos champions which means that they lack access to chaos rewards and can't be chosen for certain chaosgifts. They don't, however, have to take the eye of the god test which means that you happily can rain gifts on them without risk. They suffer from a low leadership compared to chaos champions especially for the so they are less suited as unit leaders. One exception is the Beastman Lord which is a bargain at 200 pts as he has good stats and is good enough to lead a unit. They don't have a mark of chaos so they don't get that bonus but they are good solid characters.
Minotaur Champions, Heroes and Lords : These guys are real good fighters but they do have some quirks. Their stats are excellent except for Ld and WS. They suffer from the same thing as all other minotaurs - they feast on your opponents corpses. This is quite in character but it means that you may end up having loads of points eating and burping instead of fighting for a couple of turns so consider yourself warned. They are devastating to the unit that they attack though so they are quite useful and many opponents fear them because of their size and reputation.
Dragon Ogre Champions, Heroes and Lords : Dragon Ogres on steroids. The character Dragon ogres is as tough as you get them but they do cost an absolute fortune in points. A Dragon Ogre Lord can crush almost anything in combat and is quite enjoyable to use on the field of battle. When your opponent sees you have a Lord he will wet his pants. However once he has chaged his boxer shorts he will attack it with everything he has so beware of cannons and spells. That Dragon Ogre characters draw a lot of attention isn't necessarily a bad thing since it lessens the damage the rest of your army will take.
Centaur Champions, Heroes and Lords : Real fast characters with good stats. The models are hard to find except through mailorder. High mobility and the only chaos characters that is allowed to carry a bow, did someone say Sky Arrow of Naloer... Quite pricey and and suffers from a relatively low Ld and WS at least compared to Chaos Standard.
Chaos Sorcerers : The sorcerers of Chaos doesn't have the same mark of Chaos as the champions. Khorne frowns on the use of magic and naturally don't have any sorcerers. Nurgle Sorcerers have a cloud of flies around them that negates magic within 6" from lower level sorcerers and gives an dispel against spells within that radius. Tzeentch have that 4+ dispel and Slaanesh sorcerers can't be shot at or targeted with spells (goes for the unit too in the case of spells) within 12". As usual with chaos characters they have very good stats and a horrible points value but they are fully capable of holding their own in a fight, unlike many other magic wielders. The spells for Chaos Sorcerers are good with a solid mix and they have the ability to choose dark magic spells too. I always take at least one dark magic spell since this gives me the ability to discard cards to get more powercards.
Almost all of the chaos troops and characters have great stats
and a awesome points cost so you'll almost always be outnumbered
but your troops will be of a far superior quality. Chaos excels
in one area above all other armies, combat. Not many armies can
defeat a chaos warhost in close combat and thats where you want
them. Get stuck in as fast as possible. However since you lack
artillery of any kind and only have Centaurs with bows you really
don't have much of a choice! At your disposal you have scores of
really fast troops with high hitting power so you have every
opportunity to reach your enemy fast and shred him. Many Chaos
Generals just charge in and rely on their superior troops to win
the battle. This won't work against a good opponent since he will
take measures to bog you down and attack you with superior
numbers, spells or warmachines. This means that your proper
tactic should be to attack units you can break real quick and
then move on to the next one - don't get bogged down. Try to take
out your enemys artillery and spellcasters since they are your
primary threat and can cause immense havoc if left unattended.
For this use your flying units, attack the crews and then you'll
feel a lot safer. You have loads of troops that causes fear so
use it. This will help you to rout units even faster and it makes
your units immune to fear which is great since you often have
smaller units than your opponent. Treat chaos gifts as bonuses
and don't rely on them to win the battle as the chaos gods are
fickle. Try to keep a low level champion at hand if that dreaded
cosmic duel or eternal labour comes up. Last but not least use
your opponents fear of your army against him. Many generals dread
to face Chaos because of their rumoured powers and this will
hopefully make him hesitant. Use this and increase his doubts by
bragging and pointing out your many strengths. This is also in
character with chaos so it's ok to brag and gloat. You and I know
that chaos is far from unbeatable and that it has its strengths
and weaknesses like any other army but hey he doesn't have to
know that.
Good luck and have fun fielding your Chaos horde and may the Chaos Gods look upon thee favourably.
Written by: Hans Lundgren