Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Daemon Swarms

Background. 
Swarms have been a feature of daemons since the earliest of days when we saw Nurglings for the first time. However, for the other chaos gods, there are few analogues. Indeed, Nurglings were supposed to be the analogue of steeds -- given the tenuous associated with palanquins. These days, Tzeentch competes via screamers (with a stretch of the imagination), and via brimstone horrors perhaps as well. Khorne and Slaanesh doesn't really have anything in this category.

Strengths. 
Lots of wounds are the main strength of the daemon swarms. That's about all there is to write home about.

Weaknesses. 
They're systematically weaker than other troops across the stat line apart from Leadership and Saving throw. However, for the price, the wounds are probably worth it. They are also support units.

Sadly, they can only take one emanation of horror as well. This makes things a tough choice.

Builds.
Resplendent Terror Build:
10 Swarms, Warp-Scaled Hide (250 points).
I actually like the naked build here. Add in an armour saving throw and they're a real pest.
Possibly take miasma of rot instead to get that negative modifier in play for this army.

Crimson Fury Build:

8 Swarms, Brass Collars (200 points).

Same issues as above.

Creeping Scourge Build:

7 Swarms, Miasma of Rot (161 points).

These are Nurglings, but poorly built! Get that negative toughness modifier in play. Equally, Nurgle is not short of this ability. 

Lurid Onslaught Build:

6 Swarms, Stupefying Musk (138 points).

No idea what these are in terms of the background. 

Maddening Swarms Build:

9 Swarms, Warp Scions (207 points).

These actually work for Tzeentch. Maybe take 10 instead of 9, but regardless, you're competing further in the psychic phase which is good for this build. Perhaps represent with lots of brimstone horrors on one base and you're done. 

Mirror of Hate Build:

10 Swarms, Wings (250 points).

Flying swarms. Let's say no more about this in terms of lore. They could easily be represented by small critters with wings. I really like what wings does for them and in game. 

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Daemon Beasts

Background. 
Aping some of the forms seen in human armies, the beasts of chaos are recognisable from the earliest days of daemons in the old Realms of Chaos books. Fiends of Slaanesh. Beasts of Nurgle. Oddly though, Flamers of Tzeentch and Fleshounds of Khorne don't seem like a good fit overall, largely due to the large (40mm) bases needed. Juggernauts of Khorne might do in a pinch as well.

Strengths.
Fundamentally, the Beasts entry in the army list has one pip extra in S and T compared to lesser daemons, they're also troops, and they are classed as beasts. For this, they are double the points, but this is arguably a good investment.

Weaknesses.
They can only take two emanations of horror, rather than three (lesser daemons can take three).

Builds. 
Resplendent Terror Build:

3 Beasts, Bone Shard Harpoon, Crushing Claws (98 points). 

A basic, shooting unit, with potential in close combat. 

Crimson Fury Build:

8 Beasts, Brass Collars, Sundering Fangs (280 points).

This is actually a dangerous combat unit with good staying power combined with S=10 attacks if needed. Notice the use of 8 here -- Khorne's associated number.

Creeping Scourge Build:

7 Beasts, Miasma of Rot, Warp-scaled Hide (231 points).

Pseudo-beasts of Nurgle. They're nothing like beasts of Nurgle, but they're the best I could do given the lack of options.

Lurid Onslaught Build:

6 Beasts, Stupefying Musk, Crushing Claws (198 points).

An attempt to build Fiends of Slaanesh. This one isn't too bad overall. 

Maddening Swarms Build:

10 Beasts, Warp Scions, Flaming Ichor (310 points).

Of course, I was going to go with 9 beasts here, but the flaming ichor calls for multiples of 5. These are the Flamers of Tzeentch build, and I actually like it. 

Mirror of Hate Build:

3 Beasts, Rift Barb, Horned Crown (93 points).

The light tank killer unit. Horned Crown is to follow up against any occupants. Take multiple small units. 

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Lesser Daemons

Background. 
Fans of the setting will know precisely what these creatures are: the plague bearers, bloodletters, horrors, and daemonettes. But also perhaps furies. All are appropriate for this entry in the ruin storm daemons list and in the builds below, I try to recreate them explicitly, and more besides. The background from the book states that these are the bulk of the hordes and found in all shapes and colours. There's much scope here for customisation.

Strengths. 
They have a stat line like a space marine, but with two wounds and attacks. Their leadership is a bit more than rubbish though at seven. Hence there is a need here to be careful with them against too frequent perils of the warp. Their saves are basic daemon as well.

Weaknesses.
Despite the two wounds, these daemons are vulnerable to many units in the game. Sure, in the first few turns, they are really powerful, should they be in a position to charge. But later in the game, they cannot be relied on. When they drop to three in toughness, they can be instant killed much more readily. Hence despite being troops (i.e. scoring), they are in serious danger later on. Plus, at 12points each, the points cost soon starts to add up to large values.

Builds. 
Lots to consider here. Most of them are large units, but smaller ones are fine in a number of cases too. I've chosen larger ones for threat level really, but also to keep some wounds on the table when they lose some of perils of the warp. However, smaller squads are very reasonable to take some of the more powerful shooting weapons that are restricted to 1 per X members of the squad.

Resplendent Terror Builds:
20 lesser daemons (240 points).
Naked daemons! Eek! They're just a screen and a big blob. But enough of them means trouble.

20 lesser daemons, wings, crushing claws (440 points).
Furies, almost. Fly in, start to kill things. Replace the crushing claws with flensing talons, or sundering fangs to taste.

20 lesser daemons, bone shard harpoons (300 points).
Daemons with bolt pistols? Use them like marines I guess.

Crimson Fury Build:

20 lesser daemons, brass collars, crushing claws (440 points).
Pseudo-Bloodletters. I find it a pity that I cannot give them something like an AP3 sword. Oh well.

Creeping Scourge Build:
20 lesser daemons, miasma of rot, warp-scaled hide (400 points).
These plague bearers will be sticking around a lot! As an alternative, replace the hide with (or simply crank up the points by adding) molten blood to simulate Nurgle's Rot.

Lurid Onslaught Build:

20 lesser daemons, stupefying musk, crushing claws, quicksilver speed (460 points).
An attempt at daemonettes. Save points by removing quicksilver speed?

Maddening Swarms Build:

20 lesser daemons, warp scions (300 points).
Pink horrors or blue horrors. Perhaps add some shooting for added utility.

Mirror of Hate Build:

20 lesser daemons, spine volley, wings, warp scaled hide (500 points).

No idea what I'm doing here, but it felt good! Too expensive realistically. 

Warhammer World: Tzeentchian Cabinet

Deep in Warhammer World, I snapped this image of a set of Tzeentch daemons that caught my eye. I have a series of these kinds of snaps from some of the cabinets. Taking these images is tough due to the high reflectivity and the lights that are shining in multiple directions.

The thing that caught my eye about this set up is not particularly the miniature themselves - although they are interesting given the square base, of course, these days, but rather the paint scheme itself. The blue colour that has been used here is a much darker and sombre tone than I am used to seeing (or even painting myself -- I usually go for something a bit more in the ultramarine blue range for these miniatures). I think it has worked well as the flames on the flamers themselves are muted too. Although there are yellows and oranges in there, the reds are not as hot as I've seen some painted and I was taken as well by the little flames flickering at the bases. The black arms as well help the flames stand out more and that is something that I think I will be personally taking away from the colour scheme for critters like this.

The one on the left hand side stands out even further as his (her?) (its?) flames are in a totally different palette to the others. The head of the flamer is a Genestealer purple colour. This contrasts with the almost ghostly, ethereal green colour that is spewing out of the creature's mouth (orifices?) at the upper end, with a trail to white at the tips. I like this one as it appeals to the magical nature of these creatures. 

Meanwhile the scribes at the back are resplendent for their own authentic colour scheme that is in total keeping with expectations and the miniatures around them. Again, I might have opted for a tone lighter myself, but I really love what I saw in the cabinet here. 

My only genuine criticism is that the bases are not much. Maybe in this day and age one expects a little more on the bases, or a little more attention being paid to them. Its one of those things that has increased in the hobby over the years I guess. Apart from that, I really like this cabinet a lot. More daemons from it at a later date!

Nurgly New Year

Hi Folks: We're back after a longer than expected break due to various things happening in real life.

The new year on the hobby front appears to have kicked off with a very solid start with the plethora of new Nurgle models available. The one that caught my eye the most is the new Great Unclean One. And the main reason that it caught my eye was that it seems to harken back to the older Realms of Chaos era.

The image above shows one such example of the Realms of Chaos era Great Unclean One. This is a metal monster, standing a bit taller than a modern space marine (or Primaris marine). There are a number of salient features that this model has and is shared with the newer, larger plastic one. These include the belly tear and the possibility of that tear being turned in to a maw for chomping on nearby Nurglings (or others) that was featured in a different metal model. The snake like tongue is also an interesting feature.

However, the more things stay the same, the more that they change as well.

The biggest change (pun not intended) is the sheer scale of the new plastic Great Unclean One. It is literally huge and towers over the older, metal versions of the model. The model retains the weapons (swords, etc.) that are not seen in the Realms of Chaos version. I think this is a good thing as it gives the threat level a big increase visually over the older metal ones which just seems to be pointing and gesticulating in an unfriendly (or maybe even friendly?) manner across the gaming board.

Also retained are the Nurgling additions. These have almost always been an addition included in many of the sets over the years and can be used to decorate the bases and various critical nodes of the Great Unclean Ones (and more besides).

I wrote a while ago that I was concerned that the Death Guard was increasingly looking more like cartoon villains. This is not the case with the Great Unclean One, but I do worry it seems to be the case with the new Plague Bearer heralds. These seem to be continuing along the line of comical. I will freely admits that Nurgle does have some jovial interpretations. However, there's a difference between a gruesome figure looking jovial, to what should be a gruesome figure appearing a bit too comical in nature. So for me, the Great Unclean On is sheer win and I might even purchase it. But not so much the Plague Bearers that have been released.

More ramblings soon (probably Dorn related!).

Plaguebearer conversion with four arms

One of the neat aspects of having plastic plaguebearers (as opposed to the old metal ones) is the greater increased potential for conversions.

This conversion is actually a rather straight forward one, but one that also has a high impact: a 4-armed plaguebearer!

Creating this relies on the shoulder areas of the plaguebearer torso. They are roughly the correct shape to take an extra arm (each of which has a concave area where it would ordinarily attach to a torso at the "correct" location). Given the pustules and boils on the surface of the plaguebearer, it is somewhat necessary to smooth over the largest protrusions that are on the shoulders and (potentially) the lower set of arms.

To finish the conversion, note the positioning of the death head. Gravity is doing its usual trick and pulling it downward. This gives some "real world" credibility to the upper, extra arms and gives a grizzly appearance to this grimdark-appropriate conversion. Finally, the pair of plagueswords provides a threatening visage to this one (appropriate for a Herald even). The positioning of the swords is critical: they need to look like the plaguebearer actually knows what its doing with them, hence why I chose two of them that were at significantly different angles: one ready to slice, the other looking like it might have already done so.  Am looking forward to painting this one!

Chaos Daemons Review: Nurglings

Not only can they deep strike, they can also infiltrate.  Seriously: infiltrating nurglings!  Sneaky critters! I'm actually in love with the new nurglings: they're cute, playful, loving, caring and have sharp teeth and claws for invaders.  Oh, and they like turning milk sour.  And other fun things!  (mostly involving slime, disease, decay and disgusting things).

But at 45 points for 3 bases (or swarms as they're now referred to), are they worth it?  They each have an incredible 4 wounds and attacks, but everything else is 3's across the board (save leadership).  This isn't so bad to be honest.  I can see uses for them in the front as a magnet, in the backfield as a rock, or about anywhere else as a conga line of tarpitting.  But they're up against plaguebearers: are those extra wounds and infiltrate worthwhile?  Its a balance to be sure.  A unit of nurglings and several plaguebearer units could be great in tandem.  But slow and purposeful will hurt.

Here's my suggestion:
7 Nurgling Swarms (105 points).
Why 7?  Because its Nurgle's sacred number. And its enough to form a solid conga line. Enough said.

Chaos Daemons Review: Daemonettes of Slaanesh

Daemonettes are still high initiative and good WS.  They still lack in the toughness department and they still have rending and fleet.  Plus they can run a valuable extra 3" thanks be being Slaaneshi.  Keep the pink horrors at home: I'm taking these androgenes and the plaguebearers!

Sure, they lack durability.  But that's not the point.  They can hit hard, travel quick, rend light vehicles to death and out-initiative marines in close combat.

The Alluress upgrade should be automatic: the extra attack for 5 points is a great deal for the Slaaneshi player. In terms of rewards, the ether blade (normal or greater variant) should be a great option for the daemonettes.  The rapturous standard is interesting, but probably not strictly required I think -- unless the daemonettes are aiming at taking monstrous creatures down.  The instrument is also worthwhile on one squad here and there.

Here are a pair of sample builds

12 Daemonettes of Slaanesh, Alluress with Etherblade (123 points)
A small tactical and surgical strike squad suitable for forward deepstriking.  They'll probably get shot to pieces, but a few should survive to rend their opponents.  Alternatively look to rend a light vehicle to death. And 12 is a multiple of Slaanesh's holy number (six), so its also fluffy.

20 Daemonettes of Slaanesh, Alluress with Etherblade, Instrument of Chaos, Icon of Chaos (215 points)
A large squad of forward deepstriking, or rear guard actions, and also scoring.  Get them in combat as soon as possible.

Chaos Daemons Review: Plaguebearers of Nurgle

Sure, they're not as tough (literally) as they used to be, but plaguebearers are still a strong choice.  And they're now cheaper than they've ever been, making them very tempting for troops choices in the chaos daemons codex.

Shrouded is great for Nurgle daemons, and although it comes at the price of slow and purposeful, it is not a strong issue (and one that has been with plaguebearers already).

Taking a plagueridden champion is almost mandatory - the extra attack in close combat is going to be good.  Interestingly, they have a none-zero BS now.  Hence they can potentially use a quad gun on a defence line if required.  This provides many tactical options - particularly for placing an objective behind such a line and sitting there all game long.  Having plagueswords (which CAN glance a vehicle to death) is powerful, hence the lesser and greater rewards aren't actually too tempting overall.  A random greater reward could be taken for an offensive build though, but I'm feeling that the ability to save on points here is useful.  The instrument and icon are both great choices (again, particularly for aggressive armies), but the plague banner is an excellent choice for such aggressive builds -- do not underestimate poison 2+ -- it is very potent stuff!

Finally, if you're going to take plaguebearers, let me emphasize that they have great resonance with Heralds of Nurgle.  Add in a herald with the greater locus to grant feel no pain to the entire unit for an extra 70 points - this should almost be an automatic play!

Here are some builds to think about.

14 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, Herald of Nurgle with greater locus, Aegis Defence Line with quad gun (323 points)
Its fluffy because its a multiple of 7.  Its great because just what the heck is an opponent to do?

20 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, Herald of Nurgle with greater locus (250 points)
Camping on an objective?  This is not a bad start!

10 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, including 1 plagueridden, instrument of chaos and plague banner,  Herald of Nurgle with greater locus and level 2 psyker (245 points)
The aggressive build for a small, dedicated unit.  Probably going to see a few of these kinds of build in a mono-Nurgle army.

10 Plaguebearers of Nurgle (90 points)
Sorry, just got to include this one. Really, really cheap.  And they can still work.

Chaos Daemons Review: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch

The pink horrors have changed quite a bit since the last edition.  Their saves are weaker (5+, but re-roll 1's) and their shooting is no longer assault 3 -- rather, they are a brotherhood of sorcerers with access to the change discipline.  They are, however, quite cheap.  And that is perhaps their strongest appeal.  But that has to be weighed up against the fact plaguebearers cost the same (and are hardier), as do daemonettes (and are better in close combat).  Even if the primaris Tzeentch power is okay, this is truly not a strong shooting unit any longer.

The best use I can think for them is as a screen for a herald.  Indeed, a herald of Tzeentch is about the only reason that I'm going to field my horrors any longer.  The instrument is fine, and the icon is welcome.  The retaliation wounds from the blue horrors arising is okay (but a bit meh).  Take a lesser reward hoping that you get a shooting (2 in 6 chance) attack if you like.  But don't worry about them otherwise I think.

Here's a few builds:

18 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, with an iridescent horror that has 1 lesser reward, instrument of chaos, icon of chaos upgraded to blasted standard,  (207 points)
Fluffy (because its a multiple of 9!) and fully upgraded.  They get 3 warp charges per turn and are otherwise completely expendable.  That's probably why you're not going to take them!

10 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (90 points)
Seriously: they're a cheap screen.  Use them as such.

Chaos Daemons Review: Bloodletters of Khorne

The bloodletters of Khorne have lost 1T compared to the previous edition.  This is actually a serious detriment to bloodletters and their survivability.  To compensate, they've also become plenty cheaper.  But with a 5+ invulnerable save, they're frequently not going to make it to their target.

So what use are they?  Well, I'm still seeing them as a herald delivery system (or skulltaker delivery system).  They are simply there to soak up some wounds and be part of a large Khorne horde.  Their attacks are nothing to be ashamed of: AP3 is still powerful and on the charge, they are going to take care of space marines readily.

In terms of options, they can get plenty of extra members for their unit: clearly if playing horde this is a great option.  One member can also be upgraded to a bloodreaper, gaining an extra attack.  For a small investment of extra points, this is one that should always be taken (unless you're worried about challenges?  but you're playing Khorne - you shouldn't be!).  They can have lesser and greater rewards as well. As an option, the Axe of Khorne seems appealing as well.  The instrument is also a good option here.  For a khorne army, the icon is a good idea, as might be the banner of blood for extra charge range.

Here are a few sample builds.

10 bloodletters of Khorne, including 1 bloodreaper with an Axe of Khorne, instrument of chaos (125 points)
A distraction unit.  Used as a screen.  If it survives, it charges and makes a mess of space marines.

20 bloodletters of Khorne, including 1 bloodreaper with an Axe of Khorne, instrument of chaos, icon: banner of blood (245 points)
The fully upgraded unit.  And the price tag is still rather reasonable, even despite the low toughness models.

16 bloodletters of Khorne, including 1 bloodreaper with an Axe of Khorne (175 points)
A herald delivery unit, with a fluffy number of models.

Chaos Daemons Review: Herald of Slaanesh

The Herald of Slaanesh is a neat choice, and has application in both mono-Slaaneshi forces and mixed forces.  I think these daemonettes have many interesting configurations and options.

Firstly, in terms of the rewards that they can choose, the Slaaneshi weapons in both lesser and greater rewards are tempting (S5 rending and 2d6 ranged assault weapons).  The etherblade is not bad either with AP2 (but we already have rending), so if we're doing that, then perhaps a greater etherblade would be superior.

In psychic abilities, the herald has access to the telepathy and Slaanesh's own discipline.  Telepathy is, of course, powerful, but it can be a bit of a gamble to get a good roll there.  So if we're doing psychic abilities, I'd be taking level 2.

The Locus abilities are similarly strong.  I'm particularly smitten with the exalted locus: re-rolling all to hit rolls and selecting who accepts a challenge in melee.  The greater locus (+5 I) is neat, but perhaps not as needed.  The lesser locus (move through cover) is okay.  But for me, the exalted locus is where it is at!

The herald can also select a steed of Slaanesh, chariot and exalted chariot.  The first is useful so that the herald can run with the other pleasure-seekers, whilst the chariots are a good way to top up the totaly number of chariots in the army should a mono-Slaanesh player be going down that particular route.

Here are a selection of builds to consider:

Herald of Slaanesh, Exalted Locus of Beguilement, witstealer sword (85 points)
A lower points value build, but valuable inside a maximum sized squad of daemonettes.

Herald of Slaanesh, Exalted Locus of Beguilement, Steed of Slaanesh, Level 2 Psyker (140 points)
To run with the seekers!  Consider a greater etherblade to taste.

Herald of Slaanesh, exalted seeker chariot, lash of despair, level 2 psyker (195 points)
A hugely expensive herald, but a way to have many more chariots inside the army.

Chaos Daemons Review: Masque of Slaanesh

The victim of one of Slaanesh's mood swings, the Masque is cursed to eternally dance across the galaxy and draws mortals and unborn alike in to her jig.

As per the previous edition, her major draw back is the lack of independent character status.  She can and will get shot to shreds in next to no time should the opposition desire it.  So to use her, she needs to be screened until she is in position (12") to use her dance abilities on enemies at which point she wants to charge (along with another nearby unit preferably).

She has 3 different dances that she can use on opponents.  These range from -5WS (strong, but not the best), some AP2 hits (not going to do much given S1), and -5BS with no overwatch.  This latter one is powerful and can keep (e.g) potent flamer units at bay.

Her final boon is to re-roll her invulnerable saves: this is a solid buff, but it won't stop her from getting slaughtered.  Her low toughness and lack of independent character status will bring her down very quickly.  I used to use her in the previous edition to drag opponents out of cover, but this is no longer possible.  Hence I don't think I'll be using her any longer.  This makes me sad, but its kind of inevitable.  

Chaos Daemons Review: Herald of Nurgle

Unlike Epidemius, the Heralds of Nurgle have remained a reasonable option in the Chaos Daemons army.  Certainly their cheap base points cost make them appealing, and combined with their high customizability, I can certainly see that they're going to get used on the battlefield (me included!).

For the rewards available, I think the plague flail (lesser reward) is entertaining and tempting.  For a +1 S weapon that allows an extra wound from a T test (should an unsaved wound be caused in the first place), a few of these heralds could spell trouble for any multi-wound opponent (especially space marines).  The balesword (greater reward) doesn't do much for me though -- instant death is good, but its mixed in with an anti armour ability that means its points are probably wasted.  I can see some reason for it, but the plague flail feels better to me.  Most of the exalted rewards are probably not quite worth it on a herald, but I could see a portalglyph being employed on a deep striking unit.  The high T of the herald means that the herald stands a chance to set it up when he wants.

For the loci, the lesser one (2+ poison on a 6+ roll to hit) is somewhat appealing, but pales into insignificance against the feel no pain greater locus.  The exalted locus is okay (suffering an additional hit on a 6+ to hit), but the greater reward is still much more of a buff for the unit in my opinion.

For survivability, the palanquin ranks up there as a great way to take a herald up to four wounds.  But I find myself wondering if this is strictly needed.  Sure: 4 wounds at T5 (presumably with FNP) is awesome.  But can still be instant killed.  I think I'd somewhat prefer to have a cheaper herald hidden in a big mob (although yes: I realize that he could still be sniped).

And the psychic powers are strong here as well.  Biomancy inparticular is strong in combination with Nurgle.  Added to that is probably the best psychic power in the book: plague wind (at least in terms of pre-close combat assault!).  Plague wind (a large template poisoned attack) is also pretty good should it be rolled.  Hence overall, having a psyker herald is sorely tempting.

Here are a few builds to consider.

Herald of Nurgle, Greater Locus of Fecundity (70 points)
This should be everyone's baseline herald of Nurgle.  He grants his unit feel no pain - enough said.

Herald of Nurgle, Greater Locus of Fecundity, Plague Flail, Level 1 psyker (105 points)
The plague flail adds an extra dimension to the herald, whilst the psyker ability allows a strong assault orientated power to be selected from Nurgle's own domain.

Herald of Nurgle, Greater Locus of Fecundity, Level 2 psyker (120 points)
A more buffed up psyker who is relying on these abilities in place of a plague flail.  Probably much more effective to be honest.  But the price is getting up there as well.  This flavour is going to be seen frequently at higher points games.

Herald of Nurgle, Level 2 psyker (95 points)
Replacing the feel no pain for a little biomancy.  Not a bad exchange perhaps?

Herald of Nurgle, Greater Locus of Fecundity, Level 2 psyker, Palanquin of Nurgle (160 points)
An expensive distraction. Deep strike in the back lines and watch as the enemy tries to take it down.  Hope that they don't have S10 weapons.

Chaos Daemons Review: Epidemius

Oh woe is Epidemius.  For his army wide multiplication rule from the previous edition has been replaced by a radius of effect.  To be fair, this had to happen, much in the same way that psychic hoods in space marines had to get a radius of effect.  What is irking though, is that Epidemius' ability to pump up his allies no longer extends to anything with the Mark of Nurgle.  Rather, it is now only daemons of Nurgle with 6" that benefit from the Tally of Pestilence.  Still, at least all unsaved wounds anywhere on the board by Nurgle daemons still count toward the tally -- it could have been worse.

The Tally itself sees a re-jig.  The first boon is +1S, followed by a toughness increase (to take plaguebearers back to what they were in the last codex - lol!) and then poison and feel no pain (at advanced rolls).  But the numbers needed for each have gone up too.  And there's no power sword equivalence any longer.

In terms of other equipment, he carries a standard plaguesword and has a lesser locus of virulence.  This rule (if playing for Tally increases) will rapidly become useless thanks to the poisoned attacks granted by the Tally.  I personally would have liked to have seen at least the greater locus for Epidemius.  But, of course, this could be purchased through an additional herald and added in to the unit for good measure.

The other good thing about Epidemius is the fact he has 4 wounds.  But hold on, his toughness is only 5.  So he can still be instant killed until the Tally gets above 14.  Better get the runs on the board quickly!

In terms of what to run him with, I'd take him with a complementary herald of Nurgle, both of which are buried inside either a large mob of plaguebearers the deepstrike the front lines, or within a large swarm of Nurglings - for laughs (but could be very deadly in due course!).  Beasts and plague drones have a different movement rate, so don't pair Epidemius with them.  Adding in a Great Unclean One seems like overkill (but I can imagine such a "plague star" unit hitting the board).

To be honest, at his points value, he's actually reasonable quality, but only take him in (near) pure Nurgle daemon armies.  He gets wasted (in terms of fulfilling his potential) doing otherwise.

Chaos Daemons Review: Herald of Tzeentch

The herald of Tzeentch is highly configurable, much like all of the heralds.  But the thing that really appeals to me is the ability to configure them as a high level psyker for a low points level.  Importantly, the not only get access to Tzeentch's own Change discipline, but they also get access to Divination.  Much has already been made of how good divination can be, so I won't repeat that here.  But this is the prime reason that I can see to take and configure the herald for.

In terms of the available rewards, the staff of Tzeentch is a decent anti-character weapon, but why do we want horrors of Tzeentch in melee? The mutating warpblade is fun: I've always been fond of creating chaos spawn out of enemy characters.  But again, this version of the spawn maker needs to slay the characters in question.  Again: horror's aren't true close combat exponents.  But the appeal is there for me personally!  Out of the exalted rewards, the portalglyph seems appropriate.  Since the horrors and the herald are avoiding close combat for the main part, they seem like a reasonable choice to set up the portalglyph and watch the ensuing madness. The Grimoire of True Names has a certain appeal as well, but I'd soon that be taken by a tougher HQ choice to be honest.

Of the loci, the locus of transmogrification is clearly there to be used in conjunction with large numbers of horrors.  This could actually be a useful road-bump ultimately, but little more.  The greater locus of change will result in an improved S value more than half of the time - its just a pity that it doesn't stack with the lesser locus.  The exalted locus of conjuration gives +1S to psychic powers.  This is actually worth while to have (and not random!), if it weren't for the points cost.  You'd certainly want to run such a herald with horrors for maximum benefit, but I can see that a solo herald on a disc or chariot would also be cool.

Naturally, both the disc of Tzeentch and burning chariot option make the manoeuvrability of the herald much greater.  I still like the chariot option and it can be a good option.

Here's some sample builds.

Herald of Tzeentch, Level 3 psyker, burning chariot of Tzeentch, exalted locus of conjuration (170 points)
Drop the locus if the points cost is too high, but otherwise, this is quite a functional herald: able to zoom around the battle field taking pot shots at any and everything.

Herald of Tzeentch, Level 3 psyker (95 points)
Run with a batch of horrors.  A happy and cheap configuration that is worth it.

Herald of Tzeentch, Level 3 psyker, Portalglyph (125 points)
Set up the portal, and then go forth and out-psyk the opposition.

Herald of Tzeentch, lesser locus of transmogrification (55 points)
The road bump.  Implant within a huge horror squad and tie up a suitable enemy unit for a couple of turns until help arrives.

Chaos Daemons Review: The Blue Scribes

They're not psykers!  Yes -- they don't need to pass any psychic test.  AND they still manifest powers.  That said, the power manifested is a randomly determined one from a psychic discipline of the player's choice.  This is the only unit in the game that retains this kind of ability from the previous codex. But the drawback is huge: you never know what you're going to get for this power!

Their other principle power is interesting.  For every enemy psychic power that goes off, the scribes get a counter.  At the start of the turn roll a d6 for each counter.  On a 6, a friendly nearby unit gains a warp charge point.

Now the latter ability mechanic is actually awesome ... if only the roll weren't a 6.  A 3+ (or thereabouts) would have been much better.  And might have meant that the Blue Scribes were worth taking.  To be clear: I don't think they are.  They haven't even got a locus ability.  Even in Apocalypse, the Blue Scribes are not going to be seen.  Take a Herald of Tzeentch instead.  On a personal note, I actually sad about what has happened to the Blue Scribes.  The previous codex was better, it only needed tweaks (psychic tests, change of points value) to bring it in to line.  This incarnation of the Blue Scribes is just not worthwhile.  Sorry!

Chaos Daemons Review: The Changeling

Alas, gone are the days of the Glamour of Tzeentch and controlling the opposition's firing solution.  In its place, we have a new HQ (instead of unit upgrade) that is able to and and all of its prime stats (WS, S, T, I, A) to that of an enemy it is in base contact with.

In addition, he comes with a lesser locus of transmogrification which means (on average) more blue horror tokens for squads of horrors when they perish in close combat.  Its not fantastic, but clearly suggests that he should be placed inside a pink horror unit to make the most of him.  And clearly, a pink  horror unit (a large pink horror unit at that) is probably a good way to "deliver" him in to base to base contact with an enemy.

He (she, it?) is also a level 1 psyker, selecting powers from Tzeentch's own change discipline.  This isn't much, but can provide a powerful shooting attack when required.  The major drawback of The Changeling (in common with most entries in the daemons codex) is the relatively poor saving throw.  Even with the mark of Tzeentch and being able to morph in to the stats of another creature, the best we can hope for is going to be a stalemate.  I can almost guarantee that anyone he is put up against is going to have a better saving throw.  Hence the Changeling has become a road bump.  An interesting one, to be sure.  But little more.  Take him as part of a mob of pink horrors and cause a little havoc engaging enemy characters and their "command squads".  But make sure there's some backup coming.

Chaos Daemons Review: Herald of Khorne

The herald of Khorne is an enhanced bloodletter with a variety of options to select between. They can choose one loci form any of lesser, greater and exalted.  Of these, the greater (rage for the unit) and the exalted (hatred for the unit) are both strong options and one of them probably should be taken.

They can also have up to 30 points of lesser, greater or exalted rewards, taken in any combination.  The Axe of Khorne (AP2, decapitating blow) seems like an ideal and cheap option (for a lesser reward) and provides a good way to grant a little bit of anti-terminator strategy for the Khorne player.

The transport options are also strong. The juggernaut is a classic way of upgrading a herald and is still a great option.  The blood throne is a new option for a dedicated transport, and I'll review that separately.  Suffice to say, that I think the bloodthrone is also a good choice for the herald as it can transmit and loci to Khorne daemon units within 6".  This can make for several horrendous units in close connection to each other.  Consider playing this in concert with chaos space marines and other daemons for a fun multi-unit death star.

Let's have a look at a few potential builds:

Herald of Khorne, Greater Locus of Fury, Juggernaut of Khorne, Axe of Khorne (130 points)
Run with a unit of flesh hounds or bloodcrushers to devastate enemy forward lines.  Even a big unit of bloodletters might be an option as a "delivery" method.

Herald of Khorne, Exalted Locus of Wrath, Bloodthrone of Khorne, Axe of Khorne (165 points)
This is a mini-force-booster.  Surround him with friendly daemon units and use chaos space marines as a forward screen.  Charge in and enjoy!

Herald of Khorne, Exalted Locus of Wrath, Blade of Blood (100 points)
Cheap and unsubtle.  Run with a large mob of bloodletters in a low points army, or as a set of 4 heralds in a larger daemons (primary FOC) army.

Bloodcrusher Standard Bearer Based

The final bloodcrusher of my pack has finally been based after much time has elapsed.  The reason for this is that I bought the old herald when it first came out in metal (you remember working with that medium, right?). 

The base of the bloodcrusher features a few bits from Hirst Arts (the column in white in the foreground, similar to the columns I've placed on my other bloodcrushers) which was cast with regular hobby plastercast (rather than dental grade material).  The rest of the base features bits from the 40k basing kit (in particular the space marine helmet in front of the column), and an etched brass cog to the rear.  This is augmented with scattered slate of small and medium sizes on the rest of the base.  Once painted, some flock of static grass will be added to the base for added detail.  I think this guy is going to fit in well with the rest of his pack...!