Blades of Khorne: Inside the Covers
We are kicking off our week of Blades of Khorne coverage on BoLS. Let’s take a look as what makes this book tick:
Welcome to Chaos Battletome: Blades of Khorne, the latest GW Age of Sigmar book dedicated to Chaos. We’ve been buried in Age of Sigmar Khornate models since the Summer of Sigmar back in 2015, and the Brass Throne is back for more.
This book is a new style Battletome that is fully in line with recent post General’s Handbook releases such as Beastclaw Raiders and Disciples of Tzeentch. That is, you get Allegiance Abilities, Artifacts, Gifts, Blood Prayers, and last but not least, Pitched Battle points.
The book builds heavily upon the Khorne Bloodbound and Daemons of Khorne sub-factions already found in the Grand Alliance Chaos book. All of those units are in Blades of Khorne and many new battalions. Let’s take a look at the table of contents:
Notable new arrivals are the huge pile of Batallions from the groundshaking all Bloodthirster Council of Blood to the steroid infused Blood Pilgrims.
As you would expect, the book opens with a heavy dose of background on these mixed mortal and daemonic units, famous individuals and the bloody gear they use:
Which two fingers and toes would you choose to sacrifice to the Blood God?
All you ever wanted to know about Khornate weapons. First Skarbrand killed them – then he made them kill for him.
Interesting to see a new reference to the Great Horned Rat rising to the Chaos Pantheon.
The next section covers the special rules for fielding the Khorne Allegiance armies. As you would expect – there is a heavy emphasis on artifacts, weapons and blood blessings. Here is the defining special rule for the faction: Blood Tithe, allowing you to power up your army during the game based on units that have been wiped out – friend or foe (Khorne cares not from where the blood flows) – very COOL! You’ll have to buy the book for the details on exactly how the Blood title points are gained and used.
The Batallions and Warscrolls come next, with some very interesting standouts here and there. My favorite is the Council of Blood which makes your team of Bloodthirsters (already a scary concept) even better at taking down tough enemies, while the Brass Stampede deals out free mortal wounds to nearby units like there is no tomorrow.
Battletome: Blades of Khorne $40
BEHOLD THE REIGN OF GORE
AdvertisementAll fear the coming of the Blades of Khorne. The air is rent with bloodcurdling howls as the Bloodbound Warhordes march forth. Cruel axes hew limbs and lop heads, and the blood flows thick enough to tear open reality itself. Bounding, red-skinned figures hurl themselves through the breach in the world, hell-forged blades thirsting for flesh and eyes blazing with hateful flame. The Daemons of Khorne have come, and torrents of gore shall be spilled in the name of their raging god.
Battletome: Blades of Khorne collects together the rules and background you need to combine the Khorne Bloodbound and Daemons of Khorne into a single bloody fist, ready to smash down upon the worlds of Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Manifestations of primal rage and senseless bloodlust, the daemons of Khorne are far from subtle, shunning the trickery and deceit of magic in favour of crushing physical might. His mortal followers fight with comparable ferocity, hoping to gain enough favour to tread the path of skulls and ascend to blood-soaked glory.
The 152-page hardback Battletome: Blades of Khorne contains:
Background
– A detailed explanation of the machinations of the Blood God – how his kingdom in the nightmarish Realm of Chaos functions with his Brass Citadel at the dark heart, as well as guides to the daemons of Khorne and his mortal followers, the Bloodbound;
– The Ranks Infernal – an overview of the supremacist hierarchy of Khorne, from the Exalted Bloodthirsters of the First Host down to the Legions and Charnel Hosts;
– A particularly grisly look at the icons, weapons and heraldry of Khorne – images of grinding industry, descriptions of cruel, rough-hewn axes and the colours of the claws, horns and teeth that define the look of the Blood God’s armies;
– The Ages of Blood – this is a timeline of key events and battles since the last days of the Age of Myth, in which Khornate armies have littered the landscape with corpses;
– Information and details on every daemon of Khorne, and every one of the Bloodbound; each of the faithfully bloodthirsty covered in grim detail.Rules
A host of rules and abilities for Khornate armies both daemon, mortal and mixed:
Advertisement– Allegiance Abilities allowing a Khorne army to draw from Battle Trait and Command Trait tables, featuring suitably brutal rewards (heal units after a kill, add to the Attack characteristics of weapons, leverage blind fury to re-roll attacks and much more);
– Blood Tithes – a Khorne army generates Blood Tithe points whenever a unit belonging to any player is destroyed. Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows! These can be expended for rewards from the Blood Tithe table; these rewards range from the calamitous to the apocalyptic…
– Artefacts of Power – potent tools of death and destruction wielded by mortal or Bloodbound Heroes in your army;
– Daemonic Gifts – deadly weaponry and powerful icons for daemonic Khorne Heroes in your army;
– Blood Blessings of Khorne – ancient rites and rituals performed by Khorne priests – these sacrifices allow them to call upon their infernal master for aid;
– 2 Battleplans – Gathering Bloodstorm and Skulls For the Skull Throne! – which epitomise and showcase the brutally efficient fighting style of the Blades of Khorne;
– 33 Warscrolls – rules for fielding mortal and daemonic Blades of Khorne miniatures in your games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, with 23 Warscroll Battalions providing extra rules and tactics for specific collections;
– Pitched Battle profiles featuring points valued for every miniature and Warscroll Battalion, for use in Matched Play games.
~We have much to cover all week – so check back soon!
