Check out all the 40k Chaos Daemons codex rules leaks we’ve seen so far and some new spicy rumors for the Greater Daemons!
Please remember that all of this is pure speculation (even though some of these are from people who said they have seen the new physical codex). It is worth noting that GW supposedly recently “fired” some of its playtester pool recently who were thought responsible for leaking rules. However, the information-sharing policy is supposedly okay once it is leaked.
Regardless here are the latest Chaos Daemons rules rumors and leaks with a look at the official preview by GW first!
Chaos Daemons Codex Art & Details Revealed By GW!
There’s another ever-present threat lurking just behind the material veil. Gibbering, bloodthirsty legions of daemons claw at the walls of existence, taking advantage of any tear in realspace to manifest plagues and curses, tempt mortal souls, and slaughter untold millions. All it takes to invite devastation is one ill-considered ritual drawn from a blasphemous grimoire… speaking of which, Codex: Chaos Daemons is on the way.
As we said, there weren’t too many rumors floating around about when this would actually come out. Maybe that’s because it was basically next in line! Also, we’re not sure if many new minis will come with the book, but we expect at least one new character model.
However, they don’t give an exact date as of yet.
The warp-wrought children of the Chaos Gods are bursting out of the immaterium with a 152-page tome packed with eldritch esoterica, forbidden daemonology, and in-depth rules for games of Warhammer 40,000. There are more ways than ever to bend the mortal plane to your will, thanks to 56 datasheets split between the four Chaos Gods – and Be’lakor, with his very own Army of Renown – alongside 25 Warlord Traits, 24 Relics, 36 Stratagems, and a profane slate of psychic powers for all.
The book will be quite large and, from the looks of it, plenty for every Chaos god!
Rumors: All the New 40k Daemons Codex Leaks (so far)
This new list comes from Reddit, and seems to encapusulate everything following as a compilation of all the latest Chaos Daemons Rumors out there.
- The rumored 1 GD per detachment rule was removed at the last minute (this has been confirmed by other people as well)
- Great Unclean one Profile – 7″/2+/3+/S7/T8/22W/7A/LD10/4+|5+ Cast 2, “Notable psyker options”. -1 to hit spell and a 5+++ spell Disgustingly resilient is now a -1d trait. Plague flail – 7″ assault D3+3 User/-3/2 Vomit – 12″ Assault D6 – S5/-2/1 Autohits Bileblade or Bilesword or Doom Bell BB – S7/-3/2 rerolls wounds and can trade 1MW for +1 to cast BS – Strike and sweep profiles DB – ok melee, brings back d3 Plaguebears in an aura during your command phase
- Common changes- Wounds on GD’s increase to 18 or more Most troops limited to 10 per squad, Daemonettes capped at 20. Most elite slots are capped at 6 models per unit. Most auras are now command abilities. Most units deep strike for free
- Tzeentch changes- Horrors split on a 5+ for free. Treason of Tzeentch turns off auras Infernal gateway has been buffed – Causes mortals on a target and mortals on all units on all units within 3″ of the target unit (old was aura from one model) Kairos gets +X to cast where X is the battle round LoC keep +2 to cast
- Khorne changes- Bloodletters are more stabby. Buffed to 2 attacks @ S5/-3/2. Buffs available to bloodletters include auto-wounding 6’s, rerolls and extra attacks New unit named the Rendmaster (name change for herald on a chariot) BT has much tankier stats and hits with 8 attacks @ AP-4 and D3+3 damage or 16 sweep attacks at ap-3. Everything Khorne has +1 toughness, Bloodcrushers are 5 wounds
- Nurgle changes- Nurglings are fast attack. Plaguebears at T5/2W. Better Ap on Plaguebears Disgustingly resilient is a -1 damage trait. Units have a “touch of rust” style ability. All Nurgle units will have abilities to improve wounding Beasts are “dreadnought” tanky. Beasts of Nurgle are getting capped at 3/unit from 9/unit.
- Slaanesh changes- Access to fight first, fight on death, fight last abilities. Chariots are T6 Daemonettes are “greatly improved”. Character auras give full rerolls or auto-wounding 6’s. Epitome and masque have been overhauled
- Allies in the warp. Daemons now have a brood brothers style mechanic. You can bring 25% of your points as daemons with the type attached to the army depending on faction (IE: WE – Khorne, TSONS – Tzeentch, etc) CSM may bring 25% of their points as any god, but must be one god.
- Unit-specific stuff- Seeker chariot stats 14″/3+/3+/S4/T6/7W/10A/LD8/4+|4+. Mortal wounds on the charge (average 1) attack profile is USER/-2/1
- Hellflayer- 14″/3+/3+/S4/T6/7W/7A/LD8/4+|4+ -1 to hit. Same attacks at Seeker plus 4-8 axel attacks at S6/-2/2
- Daemonettes- 7″/3+/3+/S4/T3/1W/4A/LD8/4+/5+ Melee is user/-2/1 (Baked in -2ap rather than better ap on 6’s) Seekers get 2 bonus attacks from the seeker at User/0/1
- Soulgrinder- 8″/3+/3+/S8/T8/16W/5a/LD8/4+/5+ Cannon is 48″ heavy 6 – S6/-2/2 Tummy cannon is 36″ heavy D6 – S8/-2/3 Claw is Sx2/-3/D6 Sword has two bonus attacks @ S8/-3/D3+3 Warpclaw has four bonus attacks @ S8/-2/2 Gets bonus based on mark Tzeentch – 4+ in melee Khorne – +1 attack Nurgle – +1T Slaanesh – +2″ movement
- Flamers- More expensive, smaller units (6) D6+2 shots @ S5/-2/1 T4/3w with a 3+/6+. 12″ move. Flickering flames still exist – +1 to wound
- Screamers are 3 attacks @ S6/-3/2, hitting on 4’s. Can teleport rather than advancing but can’t charge and lose the ability to cause mortals on things they fly over. (Base 16″ move)
- Khorne Heralds give a 6″ bubble of rerolling 1’s to wound for CORE. Rendmaster- 8″ move, WS 2+, T7, 9w, 4+/4+ 5 attacks @ S6/-3/3 plus 4 attacks @ S6/-3/2
- Skull cannon 8″/3+/3+/T7/9w/4+4+ Range D3+3 shots @ S8/-3/2 Melee similar to rendmaster
- Skarbrand is insane- 9 attacks @ S16/-4/D3+3 ignoring invulns OR 18 attack @ S8/-2/2. Rage embodied shout is only 6″ range now. 20 wounds, T8, 4+/4+, can deep strike, and has warp locus.
New Chaos Daemons 9th Edition 40k Rumors Video Rules (July 07, 2022)
Here’s the video that started off all the Chaos Daemon rules rumors from mid-summer that claim to be from playtesters.
If these rules do not turn out to be true, what this video does 100% show, if anything, is some very passionate wishlisting from a Chaos Daemon player whose faction has been anything but competitive in 9th Edition.
A great place to start cause everyone loves Slaanesh, except maybe GW sometimes. They seem to have access to the rules you would expect, and now the Daemonettes may also be character blenders.
Perhaps bigger changes are on the way for Nurgle as they may be regaining a touch of rust-like ability again. The rumored buff for Plaguebearers and Disgusting Resilience is very spicy indeed!
It seems that Tzeentch will get some adjustments, including turning off auras and having some very big buffs to casting for the larger models.
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More adjustments and buffs are coming for the rage monsters that are Khorne, starting with their base troops, and supposedly splashing around some +1T to all the datasheets as well.
Whew, that first one is wild and if true, will fundamentally change the save for Daemons since their introduction. Plus, porting over the wholely Age of Sigmar style rule seen on Nighthaunt models will be interesting to watch how it interacts in Warhammer 40k.
More bangers, if true, these rules seem to tap into both how daemons previously played and how they feel to play in most players’ minds. It also seems to align with current Warhammer rules and restriction “norms.”
RUMORS: More New Chaos Daemons 9th Ed. 40k Rules (July 11th, 2022)
It looks like more and more new Chaos Daemons units and overall rules are being leaked across various platforms online like Reddit. Here’s a round-up of the latest we have found out there.
So, basically, the place where all the Tyranid stuff got leaked had more to show off today. We now have stats for Great Unclean Ones. We don’t have ALL his stats-notably, it doesn’t mention BS, WS, or Strength, but we do have a lot.
-Daemonic Saves are confirmed to exist, GUO’s have 4+ on shooting and 5+ on Melee. Basically, Daemonic Saves replace Invulns, and they have 2 characteristics, 1 for melee, 1 for shooting, and they cannot be ignored or changed with AP. We also know that Lords of Change have 3+ for Shooting, 5+ for Melee.
Leaks also say that these saves are dependant on which Chaos god the Daemon serves, meaning that these statistics would also be the saves for other Nurgle and Tzeentchian daemons. Additionally, the guy who leaked DS’s said that none of them are lower then 5.
Great Unclean One Rules Rumors
- He still has Disgustingly Resilient. (Which is supposedly -1 damage)
- T8, W22.
- Flail is 7 inches, D3+3 Attacks, , Strength of User, AP-3, 2 damage
- Vomit is 12 inches, Auto hits, D6 worth of Attacks, S5, AP-2, 1 damage
- Bileblade is User Strength, -3 AP, Damage 2, Can reroll for wounds.
- Bilesword has 2 profiles, Normal and Sweep. Normal is +1 Strength, D6 Damage, AP -3, 6’s auto wound. Sweep is User Strength, AP-3, 1 Damage, has twice the number of attacks as the user’s profile.
- The leak also mentions Nurgling Attacks.
- He gives Nurgle CORE units rerolls.
- Gear-wise, if he has a bell, he has a Necron-style resurrection action where he can bring Plague Bearers back.
- If you take Bileblade, he has “improved casting”, assumingly for himself (for some reason, this part isn’t very clear. It just says it gives “improved casting”, with no specifications.)
Various Chaos God Abilities:
- the tradeoff is mainly related to the Warpstorm table. You generate points by rolling dice. You get points from there, and can spend them for effects. Mixing gods reduces how many dice you get to roll.
- Apparently adding Be’lakor to the list removes this handicap
- Most Khorne units are a 4/4 or 4/5 save and Khorne is the “most improved.”
- Some Tzeentch units have a 3+ for ranged but not all. Tzeentch is always at a worse save in melee.
- Icons give you the ICON keyword which is relevant for the WS table. The instrument seems to be a morale reroll.
- Less reliable from the discord: Pinks, PB’s, and BL’s are all 10 ppm.
Be’lakor Rules
- Rumored to be +40 points 20 wounds -1 to hit and wound at range and melee
- -1 damage at range
- No rerolls to hit
- S8 T7 4+, 4++
RUMORS: Daemons Get Free Deepstike 40k Rules (July 19th, 2022)
More rumors about some spicy new Deepstrike rules that Daemons may be getting in 9th Edition are coming in hot. These were spotted on Reddit recently from one of the various discords where they supposedly originated with edits for grammar.
A few keen-eyed individuals (most everyone) had noticed the “Warp Locus” keyword on certain CSM units (Master of Possession, Khorne Lord of Skulls). I’m here to tell you at least part of what it does. As you may have heard, you will be able to deepstrike Daemons for free–but that’s not all! When in the Warp, these daemons gain special deepstrike rules.
They can deepstrike as normal, or if you set them up wholly within 6″ of a Warp Locus unit, they can be set up just outside 6″ from enemy units! (Instead of 9″). If you have allegiances, you have to stick with your friends. Warp Locus isn’t a particularly common keyword but an important lynchpin to enable brutal strategies.
You are no longer shelling out 2 or 3 cp to get a guaranteed charge with Bloodletters. I mean, you will still be able to enhance charges in other ways, but now the floor is much higher. Looking to counter or stop your enemy from dropping hell on your doorstep? You’ll want to remove enemy Warp Locus models as efficiently as possible.
But that certainly won’t be simple in most cases. The cool news is that deepstriking via the Warp has some other interesting rules if you’re pure Daemons that make it even more appealing; those fighting daemons should generally stay out of daemonic territory and keep a good sense of leadership.
That’s it for that. A good mechanic to keep in mind as you read any upcoming information. I think it offers some good counterplay while enabling some of the most reliable changes in the game. PSA: As always, understand things can change before release. So salt it a bit.
So it seems that there may be a high value placed on Warp Locus units both for army construction and target priority! However, anything that allows you to break basic rules of the game, like arriving within 6″ for example, is always worth more than a second look.
It’s also great to see an emphasis placed on closing the gap across the board for armies that rely on assault, first with Tyranids and now supposedly with Daemons. That bodes very well for the arrival of World Eaters in Warhammer 40k as a stand-alone faction, hopefully, sooner rather than later.
RUMORS: New 40k Chaos Daemons Skarbrand Rules (July 25th, 2022)
These rumors come from Reddit.
As is appropriate for Skarbrand, his damage output has gone from “middling” to “through the roof”. His bellow has quite literally doubled in potency, and at the top profile, you get the choice between 9 attacks at S16 ap-4 D3+3 damage ignoring invulns or a whopping 18 at s8 ap-2 d2. His “rage embodied” also remains the same as ever, though the range has shortened a tad to only 6″.
The beast is no slouch durability-wise either – with 20 wounds, t8, and a 4+ save in both melee and shooting, he’s far from easy to take down, but if you’re still worried, just feel free to deep strike him – everyone in daemons can do that, remember?
Oh yeah, one other thing – he’s a Warp Locus.
While these are rumors, it finally feels like he is the combat monster he’s supposed to be! While the damage output might be a little over the top, we’ll have to wait on points.
Compared to the new Avatar (obviously, Skarbrand is stronger, but the Avatar points are fairly new), he’s obviously stronger and more durable.
The Avatar is 280, so it seems like could easily see Skarbrand cresting into the 400 range. He’s always been somewhat straightforward (as he should be), so it will really just come down to points for how often the model will see play. Lastly, with the ability to deepstrike, he should be able to make it to combat, which is just nice!
We have also heard from an industry insider that Khorne-aligned armies supposed will have a way to get Skarbrand’s anti-fall back rule army-wide!
RUMORS: New 40k Chaos Daemons Psychic Powers Rules (August 4th, 2022)
These rumors come from Bolter&Chainsword and are pretty interesting. Keep in mind they are still just rumors until verified…
Here’s some insight into psychic goodness from our daemonic friends.
A few tidbits:
Treason of Tzeentch has an entirely new purpose. No more mind controlling your opponents unit/model to fight for you. It’s now an effect that exists elsewhere in the game but isn’t terribly common.
The gaze of Fate is no longer a free reroll but now interacts with Warp Storm Points interestingly.
The Slaanesh discipline is (IMHO) almost all good stuff. Fighting in the psychic phase is gone, but most of these spells have a time and a place they want to be used.
Khorne obviously does not have psychic powers.
That said, here’s a brief sampling from Tzeentch and Slaanesh (edit: and Nurgle). Please note again that the wording on some of these is not final, and we may see changes between now and the release.
So besides Khorne, already some big changes coming in the Daeoms codex, it looks like. No word if Nurgle will still get it’s -1 to hit spell that is extremely useful.
Tzeentch Psychic Powers:
Two Tzeentch Spells
Bolt of Change (7): Choose a unit within 12″ and visible to the caster, roll 9d6. Each 5+ is a mortal, for each model killed that unit takes an additional mortal wound.
Infernal Gateway (8): The closest enemy within 12″ and every enemy within 3″ of them takes d3 mortals. On a 12+ they all take 3mw.
Slaanesh Psychic Powers:
Two Slaanesh Spells
Symphony of Pain (7): Choose a visible enemy unit within 18″, they have -1 to hit and -1 to wound in melee
Hysterical Frenzy (7): Slaanesh CORE unit within 18″ gets +1A and exploding 6s in melee.
Nurgle Psychic Powers:
Two Nurgle Spells
Nurgle’s Rot (7): Roll 2d6 for each enemy unit within 6″ – if you beat their toughness, they take d3 mortals. If you double their toughness, they take d6 mw.
Miasma of Pestilence (8): Pick an enemy unit within 18″, it cannot perform actions, any actions it is currently performing fail, and it loses obsec.”
RUMORS: New Chaos Daemons Soul Grinder & Chariot 40k Codex Rules!
These rumors come from Bolter and Chainsword, and Wallace on YouTube. Let’s start with the chariot.
The statline is pretty decent, and with a 4+/4+ it should have decent survivability. However, the real strength comes in with the shooting. Even though the three shots don’t auto-hit, S9 at BS3, -4 AP, and D2, it could dish out some serious damage.
However, the 2d6 shots auto-hitting a5 S6 and -2AP could really wipe out big units of lightly armored units. In melee, it also has some decent stats, then when you consider the double aura, it looks quite strong! We’ll just have to wait and see on points for how it really plays out.
Now, let’s check out the Soulgrinder!
Statline:
- 8″M 3+ws/bs S8 T8 16W 5A 8LD 4+/5+ ranged/melee Daemon save
Ranged guns:
- Cannon 48″ heavy 6 S6 -2ap D2
- Belly gun 36″ heavy d6 (blast) S8 -2ap D3
Melee weapons (iron claw and one of the others):
- Iron claw Sx2 -3ap d6
- Sword S8 -3ap d3+3 damage +2 attacks with this weapon
- Other claw S8 -2ap D2 +4 attacks with this one
Depending on which god:
- Tzeentch – 4+ in melee
- Khorne – +1 attack
- Nurgle – +1 toughness
- Slaanesh – +2″ movement
- Edit: that was about it; obviously at 16W, it will bracket somehow, but they didn’t mention it
Overall this looks pretty good with plenty of beef, good melee and shooting attacks, good buffs from the marks, and overall just cool!
So again, take all these rules for the rumors they are until we get more information to cross-reference as if the pattern holds; we will see more and more leaks now that the first ones have started…
Here’s all the latest on the upcoming rules updates and points changes for Warhammer 40k.
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Here’s the most up-to-date list of new Games Workshop bits from all preview models that we should watch out for. Click on the gallery above to see dozens of Rumor Engines with new models still left to be revealed!
All the Latest Chaos Daemons Rules & Rumors
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
