Don’t miss some great tips and tactics on how to take your Khorne models from the Wrath & Rapture box up to a 2000 point army in no time!
Updated Jan 29, 2018, to reflect changes in point costs.
Some of us may have opened a box of Daemons this Christmas season, and I’m not talking about dinner with the in-laws. I’m talking about the new Wrath and Rapture!
If you missed yours they may still available for sale currently.
The box that GW is releasing contains some sweet new models for the Khorne and Slaanesh, but is it enough for 2000 points of each? Let’s see how we can build around these sets to 2000 points.
Khorne Side
- Karanak: (160 Points, Leader 1 of 4)
- 5 Flesh Hounds: (100 Points, Battleline, 1 of 2 Required)
- 10 Bloodletters: (120 Points, Battleline, 2 of 2 Required)
- 3 Bloodcrushers: (140 Points, Battleline if Herald of Khorne General)
- Total 420 Points (The Flesh Hounds will be summoned in)
This isn’t a bad start with plenty of battleline troops, what you are really lacking are leaders though. Also, that unit of Flesh Hounds is actually free if you Summon them with Karanak’s special ability which you should plan on doing. So realistically you’re looking at 420 Points rather than 520. Luckily the Start Collecting Box is a great way to bolster this army which if you build a Skull Cannon rather than Blood Throne gives you a Herald of Khorne, 10 Bloodletters, Skull Cannon, and 3 more Bloodcrushers.
- Karanak: (160 Points, Leader 1 of 4)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne (80 Points, Leader 2 of 4)
- 5 Flesh Hounds: (100 Points, summoned in so free and no unit type)
- 20 Bloodletters: (240 Points, Battleline, 1 of 2 Required)
- 6 Bloodcrushers: (280 Points, Battleline, 2of 2 if Skullmaster is General)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 1 of 2)
- Total 910 (because hounds will be free)
That isn’t bad for what amounts to about $150 if you split the Wrath and Rapture with someone. If you split the bloodletters into 2 units of 10 your tournament legal as well. That would let you do whatever you want with the final 90 points, but personally, I want to run the bloodletters in a block of 20 which means I will need to get the Skullmaster to make the Bloodcrushers a battleline troop. So your new total list will look like this. *With the updated points, it will take you over 1000 points to 1010. If you are playing in a 1000 point game you could drop the Skull Cannon and max out your unit of bloodletters bringing you at 940. With the extra 60 take a command point.*
- Karanak: (160 Points, Leader 1 of 4)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne (80 Points, Leader 2 of 4)
- Skullmaster, Herald of Khorne (100 Points, Leader 3 of 4, General)
- 5 Flesh Hounds: (100 Points, summoned in so free and no unit type)
- 20 Bloodletters: (240 Points, Battleline, 1 of 2 Required)
- 6 Bloodcrushers: (280 Points, Battleline, 2 of 2 Required)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 1 of 2)
- Total 1010 (because hounds will be free)
There you have it! A relatively cheap 1000-points Khorne Daemon army coming in at under $200. But, say you want to turn it up to 2000? Believe it or not, you should get another start collecting box! You get a second Skull Cannon, 3 more Bloodcushers which would be your third battleline, another cheap hero, and you max your Bloodletters to get the max unit discount. Also, its only $85 for now.
- Karanak: (160 Points, Leader 1 of 6)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne (80 Points, Leader 2 of 6)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne (80 Points, Leader 3 of 6)
- Skullmaster, Herald of Khorne (100 Points, Leader 4 of 6, General)
- 5 Flesh Hounds: (100 Points, summoned in so free and no unit type)
- 30 Bloodletters: (320 Points, Battleline, 1 of 2 Required)
- 6 Bloodcrushers: (280 Points, Battleline, 2 of 2 Required)
- 3 Bloodcrushers: (140 Points, Battleline, 3 of 3 Required)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 1 of 4)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 2 of 4)
- Total 1460 (because hounds will be free)
You have some strong ranged attacks, a lot of fast-moving troops, and a big chunk of troops that can dish out mortal wounds. While I am all for keeping it all Daemons in this army, I think any good Khorne army needs a Bloodsecrator and Slaughterpriest. They are some of the best buffing units in the game and are super cheap! (Get the Slaughterpriest that came with a White Dwarf for under 10 bucks. *If you can find it*)
- Karanak: (160 Points, Leader 1 of 6)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne: (80 Points, Leader 2 of 6)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne: (80 Points, Leader 3 of 6)
- Skullmaster, Herald of Khorne: (100 Points, Leader 4 of 6, General)
- Bloodsecrator: (140 Points, Leader 5 of 6)
- Slaughterpriest: (100 Points, Leader 6 of 6)
- 5 Flesh Hounds: (100 Points, summoned in so free and no unit type)
- 30 Bloodletters: (320 Points, Battleline, 1 of 2 Required)
- 6 Bloodcrushers: (280 Points, Battleline, 2 of 2 Required)
- 3 Bloodcrushers: (140 Points, Battleline, 3 of 3 Required)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 1 of 4)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 2 of 4)
- Total 1700 (because hounds will be free)
You have maxed out your leader troops at this point and have a ton of variety in terms of foot soldiers and cavalry. You even have a couple pieces of artillery that can snipe heroes off the table. So, what you do with the remaining 300 points can really be anything. Personally I think you could round out your artillery and bring in 2 more skull cannons which will add a lot of ranged threat to your army. People tend to want to stay away from melee with these guys so being able to shoot buffing leaders, the more mobile units, or other ranged units off the table and then finish them with your melee is a nice one – two punch.
- Karanak: (90 Points, Leader 1 of 6)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne: (80 Points, Leader 2 of 6)
- Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne: (80 Points, Leader 3 of 6)
- Skullmaster, Herald of Khorne: (100 Points, Leader 4 of 6, General)
- Bloodsecrator: (140 Points, Leader 5 of 6)
- Slaughterpriest: (100 Points, Leader 6 of 6)
- 5 Flesh Hounds: (100 Points, summoned in so free and no unit type)
- 30 Bloodletters: (320 Points, Battleline, 1 of 2 Required)
- 6 Bloodcrushers: (300 Points, Battleline, 2 of 2 Required)
- 3 Bloodcrushers: (150 Points, Battleline, 3 of 3 Required)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 1 of 4)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 2 of 4)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 3 of 4)
- Skull Cannon: (150 Points, Artillery 4 of 4)
- Total 2000 (because hounds will be free)
This is a pretty cheap army in terms of building on a lot of starter sets, really your most expensive model will be the individual Skull Cannons and Skullmaster. Also, it’s a lot of brass and red so the painting should not be terribly difficult for the most part, there are just a lot of bodies.
Loadouts:
For your Slaughterpriest, I like Blood Sacrifice as an additional D3 mortal wound prayer and it gives you a bonus Blood Tithe point. This is especially great if there’s a hero on the board with 1 wound left and you can just knock him out. For your general’s command ability, I would go with Unrivalled Battlelust. This gives you a chance to charge in your opponent’s charge phase and deal some mortal wounds. I like to give one of my Daemon Hero’s the Collar of Khorne as well, giving you another unbind to try and prevent damage output from a magic heavy army.
Tactics:
For starters, you are going to want to use the Skull Cannons to hopefully either weaken your opponent’s strongest units or if you can snipe some key heroes off the table you will be in good shape. Your Slaughterpriest is great for unbinding and he has a prayer that cannot be dispelled that deals D6 mortal wounds. Great for picking off a hero or two.
Your Banner should be up front and planted when your Bloodletters make a charge roll. That bonus 1 Attack with a unit of 30 of them is ideal. If he is close enough to enemy casters as well, he disrupts the magic which is another bonus. Your Bloodcrushers really are ideal on charges so they are great for getting objectives to turn one or tying up your opponent’s forces. Don’t expect them to dish out much damage after their initial charge.
Finally, for Karanak you want him to get close enough to his quarry to summon the free 5 Flesh Hounds, so choose his quarry accordingly and try not to let him get shot off the table. He is a great hero killer and the free hounds can disrupt some back lines, so make sure you get that off in turn one or two.
There you have it. A cheap (if you stick with the start collecting boxes) way to get a “mostly” Daemons of Khorne army on the table that all starts with the Wrath and Rapture starter set.
Want to know more about the Slaanesh side, and how to get them to 2000 points as well? Check out our post from the holidays on just that!
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About the Author: Travis Perkins
An avid homebrewer and Detroit sports fan (yes even the Lions). I am new to the world of wargamming and very much enjoying the journey. If you have any suggestions or comments feel free to comment on the article or email me at perki116@msu.edu
