40K: 5 Changes We Want To See In Codex Chaos Daemons
Codex: Chaos Daemons is coming this month – but what changes will it bring?
The Index version of Chaos Daemons has been holding down the Warp-fort for the past 1/2 year. It’s been a noble effort – but really, Chaos Daemons were pushed to the back if your name wasn’t “Something” Horror or had Daemon Primarch in your title. Daemon Princes and the Greater Daemons were also holding it down – but let’s be honest, there were a handful of units that really didn’t get a whole lot of love in that index. Was it playable? Sure. Was it a show-stopper? Parts of it could be. Was it what folks would call a “good” army? Only if you built it a very specific way. But we’re hoping that all changes.
With that in mind, here is our list of 5 things we’d love to see in the upcoming Codex. Some of these are wish-listy. Some of these we think are mandatory. We’ll let you decide what you think.
A Viable Khorne Melee Army
Bloodthirsters are great. I’m not arguing that. But the rest of the army has some problems. If you wanted to run a PURE Khorne Daemon army, I hope you have a ton of cover and your opponent left their guns at home. While their meat-and-potato units are good in melee, they have a BIG problem: They have a hard time getting there. Right now, I think the best thing they can do is take a HORDE of Bloodletters and run full speed at the enemy. Maybe you take some risks and summon them in – but THAT IS the problem.
Right now, Khorne Daemon do not have a reliable way to get into Close Combat, where they actually do well. The upcoming Locus of Rage will help, but will it be enough?
We’re hoping for something besides just a re-roll for their charge distance. It’s good – and we’re glad to see it – but in an age where folks can deepstrike in and get 3d6 on their assault rolls (looking at you Blood Angels) then I think Bloodletters should be able to as well.
The Return of Some Chaos Flavor
Nurgle is getting a TON of cool models with this release. Tzeentch got a bunch of cool stuff last year, and Khorne did the year before that. What about Slaanesh? That’s probably later. But for now, we’re hoping the rules help to give some of that Chaosy Character back to the Daemons. Again, we know the Loci are coming and they DO seem to be on the right track. We’re just hoping that’s not ALL they got. We want to see Chaos Daemons get their personality back as well as something they excel at – something that makes them unique and different from each other.
For example, Nurgle is looking pretty darn tough! They always have been, but now they are extra scary because of their renewed focus on being all about Plagues and doing extra Mortal Wounds. That’s good! Tzeentch has always been about spells, and we want to see that continue. The fact that they are getting some “dice manipulation” is also fitting. Khorne has always been about Martial Combat and Slaanesh was all about speed and temptation. How will those aspects be represented? How will those armies play different from each other? That’s where that chaosy character and “flavor” comes in. We hope there is SOMETHING that makes those armies work.
Expanded Lore on the Great Rift
After the events of the Gathering Storm, Chaos had basically won. Or rather, they had achieved a major victory. They had ripped the galaxy in half and the Cicatrix Maledictum was created. For the first time, the Chaos Daemons were not relegated to the Eye of Terror – on some back-water planet where a cult had taken root, hidden from the eyes of the Imperium. Chaos has finally become “the big bad” and rightfully so! Sure, the Imperium has had some victories and is attempting to rebound. But Chaos has redefined the battlelines and can strike just about anywhere – that’s a big deal!
We want to see what the heck has been going on since then. Sure, Nurgle sent the Death Guard after Ultramar. We all know how that went. But what have the other chaos forces been up to? Khorne “helped” the Blood Angels – but what about Tzeentch and Slaanesh? How are they pressing the attack? Are they back to bickering and squabbling or are finally getting on the same page and pressing the advantage? That’s what we want to know!
More Options and More Characters
We know Nurgle is getting a bunch of cool, new Heralds that are named. That’s great! What about everyone else? Are we going to see named Khorne/Tzeentch/Slaanesh Heralds, too? What about some “custom” Daemons from chosen factions. It’s a pretty safe bet that we’re going to see 6 warlord traits per chaos god. We’re all going to go out on a limb as say there will be 6 psychic powers per chaos god (minus Khorne, of course). And hey, let’s just assume that they are getting more stratagems, too. We think those are all things we can count on in the new book.
However, it’s within those specifics that we’ll find the “Options” we want to see. We’re hoping these aren’t just bland, recycled warlord traits – oh sure, we’re going to see some of the same themes we’ve seen before, but hopefully each one will get something new and fancy. This book could be like the Space Marines book in that it’s got 4 distinct and different armies that can work independently OR in concert. We’re hoping that Chaos Daemons will have enough characters and options to support viable armies.
Anything For Slaanesh
Look, Slaanesh has been pretty much dormant for YEARS at this point. We’re just hoping to see ANYTHING from them. Just give us some signs of life. Does Slaanesh have a pulse? Blink twice if you can hear us!
In all seriousness, their Locus is actually pretty amazing. One of the things we’ve been really curious about is how this will impact Seekers of Slaanesh. We have the index entry so that’s probably a good base line:
Seekers already had unholy speed – they could always move 14″, advance d6″ and charge 2d6″. On top of that with the Intruments, they get 1 to their Advance and charge rolls. They have rending on their attacks as well. So…will their Locus even apply to them? Are they going to get a change in their rules to do something else and then the Locus will give them charge after advance? What about the rest of the Slaanesh army?
Those are the types of questions we have been asking when we learned about the Chaos Daemon was inbound. We’re really excited to see what it will bring to the game and how they will play out on the tabletop.
What are somethings you’re hoping to see in the Chaos Daemons book? What changes, big or small, are you wanting to see?
