40K Counterpoint: Daemon Shenanigans & Simple Fix
Sure, I would love to drop my Maulerfiend 9″ from my opponent. But that just ain’t right, is it?
I am writing this in the early evening of January 15th. I would not be surprised if, by the time this gets published, GDub and a FAQ have fixed the potential foolishness. “What foolishness Stormy?” you ask with the intonation of an innocent (or not so innocent) bystander. Well, let me tell ya…
The issue, as most of us are aware, is not the ambiguity created by the unholy combination of the keywords “Chaos” and “Daemon.” The issue is the rationalizing many of us are guilty of. You know of what I speak. “My model/unit has/have the keywords Chaos and Daemon. That means I can use stratagems and other goodies from the Chaos Daemon codex.” Wow, that sounds great! You mean I can deep strike units like my Decimator and my Maulerfiends? You mean I can drop in a large unit of Possessed? How about my Primarchs? They have the Chaos and Daemon keywords. I can use Denizens of the Warp to get them up close and personal with my opponent. Why not sprinkle a bit of Warp Time in with that to make my opponent extra salty? What about my Warp Talons (this is redundant in their case)? Think of all the buffs I can give my units that aren’t in the Chaos Daemon codex that have the awesome keywords Chaos and Daemon? OK, enough already.
You and I both know this type of abuse is crap. You can act all indignant, continue to rationalize (arguably the second strongest human drive) and perform imaginary list building shenanigans to your heart’s content. But the bottom line is that we KNOW this is not what GW intended with the Chaos Daemon dex. Seriously? I know my Decimator, Maulerfiend and Defiler are possessed by Daemons, but they are Daemon Engines (with the applicable keyword), NOT Daemons. Magnus and Mortarion could use better invulnerable saves or maybe some other tasty buff from the Chaos Daemons codex. Why not?
Because, dear reader, none of the aforementioned, or not aforementioned, datasheets are daemons from the Warp. Having those two coolio keywords is not what makes them daemons that can take advantage of some of the more interesting stratagems, Loci or psyhic powers in the new book. Is there an easy way to clear the baffles here? Yes there is. Stormy sez “Daemonic Ritual.”
The cleanest way to sweep aside all of the issues real or imagined is to simply state that Chaos Daemon stratagems,
e.g., only apply to units that have the “Daemonic Ritual” ability.
This simple statement would also apply to units in the Forge World Index: Chaos that have the “arch-Daemonic Ritual” ability. This would also apply to my best buddies; my pair of Giant Chaos Spawn. They have the Daemonic Ritual ability. The solution is simple and elegant. It eliminates ambiguity, and makes it VERY clear which units can (those in the Chaos Daemon codex and a select few other locations) and cannot (units in Heretic Astartes and a select few other locations) use Denizens of the Warp and other tasty buffs.
That’s it folks. Just a quick ride on the reality train to get us back on track…I know, I know…it even hurt to type that. No doubt the folks at Games Workshop have another solution in mind. I just thought I would put this out there in this time of confusion, fantasy, drug induced hallucination and other forms of escapism. My Thousand Sons will hopefully still have their daemon buddies to play with when the dust has settled on this one.
One final question…if the Decimator and the Maulerfield are dropped from the same height, with they hit the ground at the same time?
~What fun combination have you thought up before this gets fixed?
