Warhammer 40K: Perfect New Berzerkers For The Blood God

GW hit it out of the park with the new World Eater Berzerker models. More like this please.

After more than two decades of service Khorne Berzerkers have new models. They aren’t coming in alone, either. The whole World Eater line has gotten a massive update full of new models. Some of these are updates to classics, while others are brand new. Aside from the Berzerkers, the new arrival of the Red Angel is a major milestone. Now it’s not secret that GW has made a few missteps with recent models. The World Eaters however really show that they can still hit it out of the park when they try. Let’s take a look at the new Khorne Berzerkers and see why.

The New Khorne Berzerkers

In many ways, these are the stars of the new release. Khorne Berzerkers are the models everyone is going to buy, and they will buy several boxes. I think the kit just does a really stand-out job of being what it is. No one would ever look at these and think they are anything other than Khorne Berzerkers. You’ve also just got a lot of options with this kit. 

Chain Axes and swords are there of course. You’ve also got the classic Khorne Berzerkers plasma pistols. On top of that, you’ve got a bunch of new two handed weapons. All it all it’s very well done. The models have a ton going on, in a very Chaotic way, but also somehow don’t feel overwhelming?  I think the relatively tame chest plates help break it up. 

I also like that the models have a number of touches that just kind of scream classic Khorne to me.  In particular the “leather” gloves instead of armor, and the bare arms. Just really classic Khornate stuff.

A Perfect Update

Most of all, however I think the new Khorne Berzerkers really work because of how well they work as updates. The classic Khorne Berzerkers unit had soldiered on for a long time, but it really needed to be updated. They were very dated models by today’s standards. The new ones are much better models but still manage to have a lot of nods to the classics. It’s not just the general look, obviously they were going to still look pretty similar. It’s the poses and overall feel.

Classic Khorne Berzerkers were famous for their over-the-top running leg poses. These guys just had their legs out all the time as they sprinted, or flopped, around the table. The new ones look a lot better, but keep this aesthetic. They have the same sort of dynamism as the classics, with a real sense of motion and lethal mass. A lot of the models have their legs kicked up in movement. It’s a good update.

They’ve also kept the kind of solid, almost chonky, feel of the old Khorne Berzerkers. The old models were pretty blocky and despite their legs, a bit static. The ones without a running pose are very very static looking. But they had their kind of very solid to feel them. It’s one that goes well with Khorne in general. The new models look much more fluid and are really good. But they also keep a real chonky-ness to them. Along with Angron, they feel very solid.

Good weapon updates, great mix of modernizing old Heresy Marks of power armor, all the classic Berzerker details, and fantastic posing. Overall the perfect update.

Let us know what you think about the new models, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.