I held off tackling this overview directly after release, purely because I hadn't had a chance to properly read through the packed pages of the mighty Tome! But, boy oh boy, have GW given Bloodbound and Khorne Daemon players their fair share of toys!
So, before we look at what's new, lets look at whats old.
Bloodreavers went up by 10 points per 10 models to a total of 70. This is pretty reasonable, however, as they also received a 6+ save! While a 6+ is altogether underwhelming, it can benefit from terrain and Mystic Shield (if you're willing to disgrace Khorne by stooping to Sorcery), which is more than they could do before.
Khorgoraths went up 20 points to a total of 100, and remained almost completely the same; except for one small detail. All of their close combat attacks doubled in damage! Suddenly, Khorgoraths went from steaming hot flesh bags of garbage (my personal opinion, of course) to pretty decent beatsticks! One of my favourite things about Khorgoraths is their weight class. There is a sweet spot for combat mashers, who are sturdy enough that they have a solid bank of wounds, but sit just under the threshold of diminishing power, where a model such as a monster gets weaker as they take damage. A Khorgorath can be on full wounds or one wound, but thats not going to stop him forcibly encouraging people to become less… alive.
The third big change is Bloodsecrators. As much as I'm disappointed that this change has happened, it was necessary. Banners no longer stack… Banners now have an aura called Rage of Khorne. This gives you an extra attack and makes you immune to battleshock; an absolute necessity in any self-respecting Bloodbound force. However, where you used to be able to overlap banner auras and give your entire army two or three extra attacks, its now pretty clear that you are either affected by Rage of Khorne or you are not, regardless of how many sources you can receive it from. I was initially pretty disappointed by this, but I know why GW has done it.
Alright, so now that we've got that covered…
Khorne players have now got tons of Artefacts to pick from; 12 for Daemons, 6 for Mortal and Bloodbound, 6 just for Bloodbound and 3 Banners.
I honestly don't see myself ever using the banners. They're useful in their own way, but the only model who can carry them is a Bloodsecrator, and while you want his 18" Banner planted in the ground, nice and stationary, the Artefact banners only have an 8" range… You see my dilemma.
The Daemon artefacts are very solid, with six dedicated weapons designed to perform different methods to the same end; unmitigated slaughter.
The Bloodbound Artefacts are much more varied and versatile. I have a couple of favourites here. Gorecleaver is a neat weapon that adds 1 Rend to one of your weapons, while on a 6 to wound, the damage changes to Mortal Wounds. The Brazen Rune gives the bearer a 2+ against Magic damage, while they can burn the rune to auto-unbind a spell anywhere on the board. This is an incredible Artefact, especially for an army with no wizards of their own. The third one, and probably my favourite, is the Talisman of Burning Blood. The bearer of the Talisman emits an 8" bubble of +1 to Run and Charge for all Khorne units. The more buffs, the better!
Slaughterpriests now get a full set of Prayers to choose from. They are still volatile in their reliability, but the new Prayers are rock solid! There are no auto-takes. Every Prayer has its use! This is no Stormcast army that says "There are prayers other than Lightning Chariot?".
And to top it off, new Command Traits give a whole extra level of tactical flexibility. Whether you want out of sequence charges, auras or to simply up the damage output efficiency of your General.
The beauty of this book is really in the Warscroll Battalions. There are tons, and all of them have the most metal names ever! While some are alright, and one or two are actively counterproductive (Red Headsmen, you could have been the chosen one!), the majority of these are incredibly powerful.
The Murderhost (1 Bloodletter Hero & 3-8 Letters, Hounds, Crushers or Cannons) is a solid choice for Daemon players, with a measly cost of 20 points. This is a steal, and does exactly what Khorne Players want for their armies; accelerating the process of making it to combat and sinking some Hellblades into the vulnerable points in the enemy armour commonly know as faces.
The Council of Blood gives you bulk Bloodthirsters, and makes them bigger, better and angrier!
And if you love the idea of hair-trigger cannons firing non-stop all game in every possible phase, the Gorethunder Battery is for you! This formation increases the reliability and efficiency of Skull Cannons, and offers a quick far-reaching way to rack up those precious Blood Tithes!
Khorne Daemons got an absolute ton of Battalions, but they weren't the only ones to get some love. Bloodbound were also spoilt. Favourites are back, such as the Brass Stampede, while there are platy of newcomers. Regardless of your sledgehammer unit of choice, there is a Battalion for you! Love Skullreapers, Skulltake will scratch that bloodshedding itch. Dark Feast will give you the satisfaction of flooding the board with Reavers,
Two of my favourite formations in the new book are Bloodforged and Gore Pilgrims.
Bloodforged is probably the bluntest instrument in the Battalion arsenal. Every member of this formation ignores Rend 1, and most importantly, the Wrathmongers share their ability to impose self destructive tendencies upon whoever happens to be standing within earshot.
Gore Pilgrims takes the most fundamental elements of a Bloodbound army, with compulsory Battleline choices, a Bloodsecrator with a significantly increased range on his banner, and the newly empowered Slaughterpriests are far more reliable! I believe this will be a very common sight in Bloodbound armies! I know I'll be using it!
There are so many combos and layers and synergies in this book, that I've really only washed over the most superficial levels of the book! I can't wait to work through several different lists! Things are gonna get bloody…
Thanks for reading!
Gabe
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