If we throw our minds back to 8th Edition, which I thoroughly enjoyed but can certainly recognise that it was not perfect, it reminds us of a time where characters were oft overlooked past the bare essentials...
A general.
A battle standard bearer.
A wizard or support character.
Some armies, of course, benefited from having more, while forces like Lizardmen could tick all three boxes with a Slann.
But these days, your playstyle, synergies and combos are built upon the back of Heroes. Whether they are unique, unnamed, minuscule or riding atop a towering monster (sometimes the hero IS the monster), every hero has a purpose and a place in one army list or another. Sure, there are certain characters that are better than others, as with any game, but all are useful.
On top of that, your selection of heroes can have a huge impact on how your army plays. You could field the same selection of units and alternate characters, and that army would operate on a completely different wavelength!
I'm going to delve into my logic behind the selection of characters, using Khorne Bloodbound as a prime example.
With any army, I think there are four categories of characters.
Commanders, usually picked for their great command abilities. My go-to, as many would know is the Mighty Lord of Khorne.
Buffers, used primarily for their abilities to empower those around them. While Bloodstokers fall into this category, the standout Buffer for Khorne is, of course, the brutally efficient Bloodsecrator. 
Toolkits are usually wizards or heroes with a handy little selection of abilities to be used throughout battle, whether offensively or defensively. With a total lack of magic, this role falls primarily with the Slaughterpriest, with their ability to halt magic with ease and using prayers to cause chaos and disarray in the enemy ranks!
And lastly, Brawlers. If there is one thing that Bloodbound have in abundance, it's Brawlers, characters designed purely around crushing heads and spilling blood. Take your pick! From the Skullgrinder to Exalted Deathbringer, they all love killing, but my top pick would have to go to Valkia! She is just a rocket-propelled slaughter-machine!!
Obviously, other factions may have other roles, and some characters land in multiple roles, but in my mind, Bloodbound Heroes will always fall into one of these.
After a time of indecision (see last post for a glimpse of this), I've refocused and decided to punch out the remaining forces left to complete my Bloodbound, and if there's one thing Bloodbound can boast, it's an absolute plethora of Heroes! 
This my current cast of heroes! While this gives me plenty of options, the collector in me probably will continue adding to this pool until I have one of each plastic sculpt. And while there are probably characters that I would typically not use in Matched Play, there is a significant-sized Narrative Campaign that will occur later in the year, that will delve into a Khorne-led campaign and explore the cast of influential characters as they progress through the events of the Campaign.
But I digress; more on that later...
Heroes mould and guide the creation and operation of forces on the table, and I can't get enough of the characters that are finding the limelight on the table! From Orruks riding Maw-Crushas to the big dog, Nagash himself, the attendance of these characters adds a level of cinematic grandeur that keeps me coming back again and again to witness these titanic clashes and perfectly orchestrated combos that land the knock out blow upon their foes!
Man, I love this game!
Do you have a go-to Hero or a must-include Champion?
Thanks for reading,
Gabe
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