WFB TACTICS: Gifts of the Changer of Ways
Hello BoLS readers, I’m Kaptin Scuzgob, and this is the final part of my Daemons of Chaos Gifts Review. Enjoy, and leave a comment!
It appears a mortal has stumbled upon our great library. Most unusual.Indeed! As a reward, shall we let it browse for a short while?Very well, but only a short while. Maybe it would be interested in the abilities of our servants?Most likely, but that might give it an advantage. Then again, maybe not.We hope it doesn’t notice how, despite the claims of our scheming and plotting, all our servants can do on this “table top” is throw large balls of fire at things.An erstwhile comment! But, we might add, that these mortal’s limited senses can only understand our great machinations as little more than huge explosions.It may also note that we have not given the individual gifts “scores.” Or, there were scores, but we had them removed.Indeed, we were fearful that, because the scores were in penta-dimensional multi-phasic hexadecimal string code, the mortal’s mind would buckle under the strain. So there are no scores.Indeed. Just as pla-No. No, we’re not doing that.
Twin Heads (Lord of Change)
In my opinion this is best upgrade for the Lord of Change. One of the most powerful casters in the game (you’re not allowed to take one if you’re not upgrading it to a level 4 wizard) using one of the most powerful lores, Twin Heads only boosts his spell flinging. Compared to the other upgrades for the Lord of Change, it’s pretty much mandatory (some readers may begin to complain a Lord of Change with full wizard levels & Twin Heads is very points heavy, but it’s a Greater Daemon, what do you expect? Just keep it safe from cannons and don’t let it get charged) and there’s still enough points left over for Master of Sorcery if you prefer some other lore, probably Fire, Metal or Heavens. Mmm, Heavens…
In summation, the Lord of Change’s job is to have superspells and be able to cast them, and Twin Heads helps that very much.
Tzeentch’s Will (Lord of Change)
Just a few points less than Twin Heads but nowhere near worth the cost, Tzeentch’s Will occasionally saves you from a random wound or Miscast. With Daemons, and especially Greater Daemons, you should spend your points on stuff that helps them smash things before they get hurt, not a vague chance at avoiding a wound or two.
Spell Destroyer (Lord of Change)
A situational gift, this one. If your opponent has low magical potential, it’s probably best to pass it over for Twin Heads, but it might be worth taking if you think you’ll be up against some powerful magic, such the Slaan special characters. Zapping away their uber-spells (you know the two) cuts down their hitting power severely. It’s also quite fun to use against Vampire Counts. Why? Blast away their general’s Raise Dead and watch the enemy cringe as his most crucial spell is ripped away. It also works well against Skaven, who tend to be magic heavy.
Keep in mind that it’s not a guarantee that the spell will be destroyed. If it wasn’t for that randomness to it, this would be a strong contender against Twin Heads
Staff of Change (Lord of Change & Herald of Tzeentch)
This is a fun gift for Lords; because players expect Lord of Changes to be bad in combat for some silly reason (just because they have a focus on magic doesn’t mean they’re not big flying monsters). A Lord of Change is more than a match for anything apart from Bloodthirsters and other powerful characters, and this gift boosts that a little. It’s an extra threat to monsters (though they’ll more than likely pass their test) but this gift plays merry hell with elf characters. It’s a good gift on Lords of Change, but it’s probably better to focus on its magical abilities rather than its combat skills (it’s like giving a Wizard Lord a Runefang).
Mostly a waste of points on Heralds, as they are supportive characters and crap at fighting. There are better things you can give your Herald.
Power Vortex (Lords of Change & Heralds of Tzeentch)
A handy supportive gift this, I like to give it to my Heralds, and have my Lord of Change use the power dice they generate. It’s very effective (my Lord of Change usually nabs 9 power dice to himself; 4 for being a lvl4 wizard, the 2 power dice the army gets for showing up, and the 3 extra generated by his 3 Heralds). It’s not just Tzeentch who benefits either, as you can swap the Lord of Change for a Great Unclean One or Keeper of Secrets. You just have to make sure the Heralds are safe, or you’ll lose the extra dice. One of the better gifts for the Heralds of Tzeentch.
As for putting it on a Lord of Change, that’s up to you. If you have the points spare, go for it. I usually don’t however, because my Lord of Change has Twin Heads and leaves the support stuff to his lackeys.
Daemonic Robes (Lord of Change & Herald of Tzeentch)
Again, daemons are better when built offensively. Your Lord of Change can fly into positions where he can’t be war machined without your opponent risking hitting his own troops, or just magic the crew to pieces, and your Herald can manage just fine with his ward save. As for high strength close combat monsters, well, if you let a Tzeentch unit get into close combat you deserve what’s coming to you.
Dark Magister (Lord of Change)
Another almost worthless gift. Yes, the Lord of Change is going to be throwing spells everywhere and yes miscasts are bad but they’re still unlikely. This is Chaos, dammit, save your points for things which increase your killing output, rather than for avoiding the occasional random dice screw-up.
Flames of Tzeentch (Lord of Change & Herald of Tzeentch)
A shooting attack? In my Chaos army? Are you insane?
This is basically a guaranteed Fireball, and works best on a Herald. It makes sure they actually get to hurt something if your opponent dispels their magic missiles. Don’t expect it to destroy things entirely however. A good use would be war machine hunting, as a Herald with this gift on a Disc can easily destroy/panic a war machine crew in one round of shooting (and that’s if his spells don’t do the job first). Helpful on a Lord for the same reasons, though it’ll probably be passed up in favour of other gifts. It’s not utterly vital, but there are a few good uses for it.
Don’t forget you get to stand and shoot with it too.
Iridescent Corona (Lord of Change & Herald of Tzeentch)
Oh no, a Strength 3 attack before combat happens…
Hey, it’s Flaming!
Nope, still crap.
Basically, if either Tzeentch Daemons are in combat for whatever crazy reason, your Lord of Change doesn’t need the help if it comes at this points cost for such a weak effect, and your Herald will die anyway. But, on the off chance it actually kills one of them it’s spared you an attack or two, so that’s something, I guess. This Gift is really there to lessen the impact of combat on your wizards, but you’re better off saving the points for something else and concentrating on keeping out of combat in the first place, rather than having this kind of “just in case” ability.
Master of Sorcery (Lord of Change & Herald of Tzeentch)
The Lore of Tzeentch may be powerful, but it’s not exactly reliable. Five of the spells have a random dice roll in there somewhere, ready to random up your plans by rolling 2 Strength 1 shots (oh, that wacky Tzeentch!), and the sixth depends on whether your opponent has a wizard or not.
If this crazy random is not to your tastes, then this is the gift for you! Choose whichever of the eight Lores you want! Bear’s Anger your Heralds! Law of Gold those pesky magic items! Drop comets on people! Avoid Lore of Life because it’s utter pants! Completely mess up a unit with Doom & Darkness and the Slaanesh abilities! Seriously, avoid that Lore of Life!
The best thing is you get the whole Lore; you don’t have to roll for spells. This gives your Tzeentch characters huge flexibility as you can change which Lore you are using depending on your opponent.
Here, I just thought: Lord of Change with Flaming Sword of Rhuin. Five Strength 9 attacks that hit on 2+. Who’s laughing now, Mr. Close Combat Character?!
Spell Breaker (Herald of Tzeentch)
Seeing as the only other daemon who can take this pseudo-Dispel Scroll is the Bloodthirster, the Herald of Tzeentch is the better choice. Give them to your Heralds if you feel you’re going to need some auto-dispel, though a Tzeentch army is going to be swimming in dispel dice, Scrooge McDuck style. Unfortunately, each Herald can only have one Spell Breaker, because Daemons can’t have multiples of the same gifts. Otherwise, use it as you would any other Dispel Scroll.
Winged Horror (Herald of Tzeentch)
Hey. Why give your Herald this when a Disc gives you an extra attack, gives you a bit of armour (because it counts as a cavalry model and thus the Herald gets a tiny bonus for being mounted), doesn’t take up your gift allowance, and is the same points?
BATTLE STANDARDS
When it comes to battle standard bearers and the Herald of Tzeentch, the only thing he has between being alive and being a massive chunk of Victory Points for your opponent is his 4+ Ward, and thats not really much compared to the potentially high-armour Herald of Khorne or the hugely resilient Herald of Nurgle. He does have one advantage over the others, and that’s getting a Disc or Burning Chariot; the only flying mounts in the book. With one of these, the Herald can zip about and give the standard’s benefits to any unit that needs it.
Standard of Chaos Glory
Not much to say here, except that the Herald of Tzeentch might be too fragile for such an expensive banner (he’s nearly 300pts with this thing!). He’s best in a big unit of Horrors, avoiding combat, but since this banner works best in or nearby combats it’s probably too risky. With this banner, hand the duties to a hardier Herald.
Banner of Hellfire
Because this banner is best near the enemy, this could be risky as the Herald of Tzeentch is so easy to take out in combat. However, a pure Tzeentch army could make good use of this banner, as having yet another bound spell alongside the Lords of Change, Heralds, Horrors and Banners of Change means you’ll still have spells left once the enemy has run out of dispel dice.
Also, the Herald can be given a Disc, where he can fly into the midst of the enemy and be the biggest, most expensive distraction ever. If you do this, be prepared to take back his VP cost when he inevitably gets shot down.
Great Icon of Despair
Tzeentch-wise, the best use for this banner is to stop units charging you by making them take Fear tests with a leadership penalty. It’s quite effective at keeping lesser units away so you can blast them a bit more. Also, its ability has the same range as the Gift of Chaos spell, so it makes any panic tests caused by that spell even worse.
Banner of Unholy Victory
This banner only works in combat, and the problem with that is that Tzeentch daemons are not that great in the chopping phase. A bit of a waste when given to a Herald of Tzeentch, it will be more effective on one of the other three daemon types.
HORROR STANDARDS
Banner of Change
Ow. Okay, Horrors aren’t that great in combat. Helpfully, this Icon goes some way to helping them by causing a ton of hits before combat starts. Being a bound spell, it can also draw a dispel dice or two away from your other spells, and if your opponent lets it through it’s bound to cause a few wounds.
An even zanier scheme involves actually charging into things with your Horrors and then using this Icon to damage such units. If you’re going to do this kind of insanity, make your Horror units big enough to use Gift of Chaos, which is the only spell they can cast while in combat. This gives them extra punch, and has a good chance of either one or even both spells getting cast. It might even work, because Horrors charging is so unexpected.
But, in essence, this is an ability that only works in combat that you can only give to a unit that is mediocre in combat. Make of that what you will…
Icon of Sorcery
The cheapest Icon on offer, this gives greater benefit for less cost the larger your unit of Horrors is. In units the size capable of casting Bolt of Change or Tzeentch’s Firestorm it’s almost mandatory, as you’ll likely be saving your power dice for Lords of Change and only using those power dice the unit generates for itself to cast spells. In essence, a big enough unit of Horrors is potentially a level 4 wizard with 40 wounds which can cast very destructive spells, so a little boost is always helpful.
Live from Armageddon and fighting for the Orkz, this has been Kaptin Scuzgob, signing off.
~We already know what you’re going to what you’re going to say below. So you may as well say it anyway. It amuses us!
