Khorne unit Review

Khorne, like the other deities in Codex: Chaos Space Marines, have been ripped on (thanks Jervis). That's not to say we're sitting ducks, though. A Khorne army, if played correctly, has a chance against any army, even Tyranids!

Strange as it may sound, purity is important in a Khorne force. This means sticking to Khorne-only entries, or possibly Chaos Undivided, if you must. The units below are the only units you should use in a Khorne themed army.

Chaos Lord
Daemon Prince
Bloodthirster
Chaos Terminators
Chaos Space Marine Veterans (can be converted to appear Khorne-like)
Khorne Berzerkers (duuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh)
Possessed Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Space Marines (can be converted to appear Khorne-like)
Chaos Cultists
Bloodletter Daemons
Flesh Hounds
Chaos Space Marine Bikers (can be converted to appear Khorne-like)
Juggernauts of Khorne
Chaos Raptors (can be converted to appear Khorne-like)
Chaos Havocs (can be converted to appear Khorne-like)
Chaos Dreadnought
Chaos Predator
Chaos Land Raider

With that settled, now we can review them. Be aware though, that I will be only reviewing Khorne units, I am leaving out 'possible Undivided units', like Havocs, since they can likely be covered better by someone who has more experience with Chaos Undivided (Ed. Pretty much the same as their loyalist Space Marine counterparts).

Chaos Lord
Who's the red-armoured howling man that gets all the trophies? Shaft! I mean, err, Chaos Lord. He's the second most devastating model in your army, provided you equip him right. If you're ever curious about whether to go for Exalted or Mighty, don't even waste your time thinking about it, go for Exalted. Mighty champions are utterly useless. For the cost of a single bolt-gun Chaos Space Marine, you can give your Champion an extra wound. This makes all the difference, especially when facing something like Tyranids, with implant attacks. An Exalted Lord would survive with one wound after being damaged with an implant attack, whereas a Mighty Champion would be slain. I think I'd rather have a more durable Champion than one extra boltgun, wouldn't you?

Pros: Excellent in close combat. He can also have a Retinue, which is a leg-up over the Daemon Prince. You can give him some pretty gnarly wargear as well, like an Axe of Khorne. Heh, ever seen a Chaos Lord inflict 7 wounds?

Cons: Leadership. Sure, he's Leadership 10, but it's not that hard to break him in close combat.

Daemon Prince
While I'd like to think I'm an authority on Chaos (hehehe), I must admit that I'm not familiar with the Codex: Chapter Approved Daemon Prince upgrades. Therefore, I'm going to skip this entry, rather than give out uninformed info.

Bloodthirster
BlOoD fOr ThE bLoOd GoD!
His sheer presence may be enough to determine whether you win or lose. Nah, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still, I cannot stress how important the Bloodthirster is. It is also relatively difficult to summon him, and also risky. For 140 points, you don't want to make a mistake. I have played games where I haven't even had the opportunity to summon him, and wasted 140 points. But, he's invaluable, especially in small games. Even if you're playing a 500 point game, take him! He's brutal!

Pros: He's the incarnation of a god, on the battlefield. His opponent better be pretty damn cheesy if they have any chance of beating him. With the second highest WS of any unit I've ever seen in 3rd edition 40k, and 5 attacks base hitting at Strength 8, you can be sure that unless your opponent is a Dark Eldar Shadowfield Archon or follower of Nurgle, they aren't gonna survive more than one hit.

Cons: Expensive. For 140 points, you could buy a 9-man squad of Chaos Space Marines. He also has a low initiative, hell, he strikes at the same time as ordinary plain-jane Space Marines. He's also susceptible to bolter and lasgun fire, since he has a 5+ invulnerable save. The possession bit is a killer too. You have to make sure that you have a ton of Aspiring Champions, or that Bloodthirster might never even show up.

Chaos Terminators
Possibly the only two entries in Codex: Chaos Space Marines that didn't get screwed over are the Bloodthirster and Chaos Terminators. Chaos Terminators, put in scientific terms, kick ass. They're 6 points cheaper than their Imperial counter-parts and are better, too. Even if a 5 man squad of Imperial Terminators charges a 5-man squad of Chaos Terminators, the Chaos Terminators have a decent chance of ripping those ninnies apart before they can even unload with their power fists.

They're also very customizable, for heavy weapons you can take the autocannon or heavy flamer. Combi-weapons are also a big plus, you can take combi-flamers or combi-meltas. You can even upgrade to a powerfist, lightning claw or chainfist! (Ed. Don't forget the new Berserker Cult Terminators in the Chapter Approved Book. +1Strength & Fearless!!)

Pros: Highly customizable, cheaper than loyalist Terminators, are about the only units that can deep strike.

Cons: Although cheaper, still expensive.

Khorne Berzerkers
The meat and potatoes of your army. Or at least they should be. For 5 points more than a Chaos Space Marine, you get +1 attack and the Fearless special rule. That isn't bad, but it could be better. I liked the house rule in White Dwarf by Fred Reed, that you reduce their attack by one, and give them +1 strength. I think this makes more sense, but, whatever.

Pros: Their high amount of attacks in close combat can mow down scores of lightly armoured foes, such as Orks or Guardsmen. They're fearless as well, which means that they're there until either they or the enemy is destroyed. That can be looked at as good or bad, depending on the situation.

Cons: Weapons. Only the Aspiring Champion can be given a good weapon, everyone else is stuck with close combat weapon. A chainaxe isn't going to help very much when you're pounding on a Hive Tyrant's 2+ carapace. The option to take plasma pistols is good, but they're still very limited when dealing with vehicles and high-toughness opponents, like Talos' or Wraithlords.

Bloodletters
What can I say? They've been butchered in this edition. Now, they're Chaos Space Marines that have traded in their bolters and power armour for +1 Attack and Leadership. They may be useful as a surprise tactic to bolster your ranks and absorb fire, but for 15 points apiece, I'd much rather have cultists taking those hits at 3 points each.

Pros: Summoning them can get you out of a tight situation, like being outnumbered in close combat.

Cons: Where do I begin?

Flesh hounds
I have not actually used Flesh Hounds, so I cannot pass judgement on them. They seem pretty damn good though, seeing as how they strike at Initiative 5 with Strength 5. I may incorporate them into my Khorne army in the future.

Juggernauts of Khorne
Take them! Take them! They may be expensive on the pocket, but they're worth it. For 45 points, you get a mini-Bloodthirster. Four attacks, striking at Strength and Initiative 5… that's pretty damn good, even if it doesn't ignore armour saves. A unit of 2 or 3 of these guys could easily bring down a tactical squad by sheer weight of attacks.

Pros: Great stats vs. cost, extraordinarily high rate of attacks.

Cons: Expensive to buy, doesn't ignore armour saves, must be summoned, vulnerable to bolter/lasgun fire.

I hope that, having shared my experience, I can help someone out. Grab a skull for me while you're out there. Blood for the Blood God!

WAR ANGEL

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