Tactica: Khorne Daemonkin – Part 13 – The Gorepack
VROOM VROOM! Today is all about the Gorepack. Get ready for another bloody installment of Tactica Khorne Daemonkin.
Hey guys! In this installment of Tactica Khorne Daemonkin I will be discussing the one of the Formations available to the Khorne Daemonkin and ways in which I feel it can be used to its utmost potential! I will do a separate article for each Formation so I can go into detail on army composition and tactics execution.
The Gorepack
Easily my favourite formation in the entire codex. Not only is it comprised of already very powerful units but it grants some Fantastic benefits on top! This formation is not only a fantastic addition to any Blood Host detachments but also pairs well with a Combined Arms Detachment as it gives you up to 8 fast attack units without occupying a single fast attack slot! This leaves room in your Combined Arms Detachment for Heldrakes and Chaos Spawn.
Gorepack Bonuses
The formation bonuses are fantastic, you get:
Move through cover, the Flesh Hounds already have this thanks to being beasts but your bikes do not, this is great as bikes treat all difficult terrain as dangerous, but if they are taken in Gorepack they will automatically pass those dangerous terrain tests! Brilliant!
Preferred Enemy Psykers, this rule is so situational that I personally have never even used it and I have ran a Gorepack in my last 20+ games. That being said it has a lot of potential, as long as the enemy unit you charge has 1 psyker in it you get re-rolls of 1 to hit and wound.
Run them to the ground, this rule is where the money is! All of the flesh hounds in the formation gain Hammer of Wrath! That can equate to 1 Auto hit attack at Initiative step 10! This is fantastic as it can soften your enemy before the combat even begins! But that is not all! Since your bikes already have Hammer of Wrath this formation gives them shred on those Hammer of Wrath attacks!
Hammer of Wrath can be seriously powerful, for example Flesh Hounds get 2 attacks base and often hit on a 4+, this means in an ongoing combat or one where the enemy charged you, you are going to average 1 hit per turn… So Hammer of Wrath on the hounds effectively gives you a free round of combat before the combat begins!
Gorepack Units
Now lets take a look at the units available and how I recommend fielding them:
2 – 4 Chaos bikers, I love chaos bikers, LOVE THEM! They are fast, hard hitting, tough, perfect for MSU armies and can be kitted out for a variety of battlefield roles. My personal favourite is a unit of 3 with 2 melta guns. This hundred point unit will really put the scare on enemy armour. Make sure your champion is at the front so he dies first, keeping your meltas in action and generating an early blood tithe. The only drawback to this unit is low leadership and thanks to the small unit after every casualty you have to take a morale check, the key here is to use your hounds to get his attention and distract from the bikes.
1 – 4 Flesh Hounds, another amazing unit that has always been a fan favorite, especially when taken in this formation. These guys have so many applications! First do not forget they get a 12″ scout move before the first turn, BUT if you make the scout move you cannot charge in the first game turn. So sometimes it is best not to scout. One thing I love to do is place all of the objective markers 6″ or so out of the deployment zones then give your opponent turn 1, chances are he will move toward you seeking that objective so he is now 18″ away, then in your turn your hounds move up 12″ and charge the further 6″ and boom! Turn 1 assault!
Another great use for hounds is a sacrificial distraction. If you have other hard assault units like Bloodthirsters in your army that you are afraid will get shot down before they get a chance, a great use of the hounds is to scout forward 12″ before turn 1, then in turn 1 move a further 12″ then run so you are as close as possible to the opponent. He will panic and open fire into the hounds keeping your bloodthirster alive to mop shit up! Best part is the hounds are so darn tough you will probably wind up with a bunch leftover that can still make a strong turn 2 assault!
Hounds also make fantastic Tar Pits, I have successfully used them to lock an imperial knight in combat for 2-3 turns several times, sure the Strength D will instant kill them but he only gets 3 attacks that hit on a 4+ and you still get your invulnerable save against all bar 6s to wound, as for stomps, due to both the large base of the knight and the large bases on the hounds it is pretty easy to spread out so he only hits 1 hound per stomp and that usually equates to a single strength 6 hit. I have also tarpitted a unit of Broadsides for an entire game stopping them from ripping my bloodthirsters apart with all of their missiles.
As if that wasn’t enough reason to take flesh hounds there is more! Due to thier 50mm bases they can spread out to occupy a huge area! This gives you excellent board contol as the units footprint is able to cover such a large space. If there is an enemy unit you do not want moving (perhaps an ObSec infantry unit) you can use your hounds speed to block thier path before they get a chance to move. This makes them a fantastic denial unit!
Another use (yes there are more) for hounds is escorting a Chaos Lord/Herald mounted on a Juggernaut. The hounds not only provide additional wounds and opportunities for Look Out Sir rolls but they also confer Scout onto any independent character that joins them! You can make a seriously powerful unit by adding some characters to your hounds 🙂
The last thing I want to mention with this formation is it is fast! With this many fast units no objective should ever be out of reach. If you draw a “secure objective x” card just turbo boost to wherever you are needed… this speed Combined with power and durability is what makes the Gorepack my favorite formation by far!
What are your thoughts on the Gorepack? Can you think of any uses or tactics I might have missed? I would love to hear what you have to say 🙂
Thanks again for tuning in! Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the next instalment of Tactica: Khorne Daemonkin! and while you are at it head over to Blog for the Blood God, give me a like, and join in on the other great content! Everything from Battle Reports to Hobby Tutorials, Rules discussions and tactics to Animated movies and 40k based comedy.
