GW just revealed three new 11th Edition Chaos Space Marines detachments alongside three for Chaos Daemons, and every one targets a different Legion playstyle.
It’s time to pray to the Dark Gods once again, as GW just dropped a six-cluster Faction Focus covering both Chaos Space Marines and the daemonic legions side by side, with three new detachments for each army ahead of the 11th edition Armageddon launch.
If you’ve been running a Chaos Space Marines list into 10th, the new options cover a sorcery-leaning psyker build, an Iron Warriors-flavored siege list, and a Night Lords-shaped raiders detachment.
Chaos Daemons also get a fast cavalry build, a lesser-character buff strategy, and a horde Battleline detachment on top of the recent rules update for this faction. Six new detachment rules for both armies in one Faction Focus is exactly what 11th edition Chaos players have been waiting for.
- Cabal of Chaos buffs Dark Pacts on both sides of the army: Psyker units get +1S on shooting Dark Pacts, and non-Khorne Daemon Princes get +2S and +1AP on melee Dark Pacts.
- Devotees of Destruction makes Havocs and Obliterators a real anchor: Their ranged attacks pick up Heavy, and a 1CP strat stacks Lethal Hits and Sustained Hits 1 on a Dark Pact.
- Murdertalon Raiders rewards picking off bloodied enemies: Raptors and Warp Talons re-roll 1s to hit against battle-shocked or under-half-strength units, and Plunging Talons adds Lance on the charge.
- Cavalcade of Chaos keeps Mounted Daemons mobile after melee: A Mounted unit that fell back can still shoot or declare a charge, and Warp-Riders hands a unit Mobile to move through ruins.
- Warptide makes Battleline Daemons the army’s main pressure layer: Advancing Battleline gets Assault on its ranged attacks, can still charge, and a 1CP strat heals 3 wounds in the Command phase.
Cabal of Chaos Hands Heretic Astartes Psykers a Real Damage Spike
Cabal of Chaos is the sorcery-focused detachment for the people who like Sorcerers, Possessed, and Daemon Princes hanging around the same list. Empyric Wellspring rewards Dark Pacts on both the shooting and the melee side of the army, with Khorne sitting the psyker stuff out while everyone else gets to swing harder for the same blood price.
The Touched by the Warp enhancement turns any non-Khorne CSM character into a PSYKER, which means a Master of Executions could suddenly start hurling Infernal Gaze. Add Fleshy Curse on top, and you’ve got a 1CP psychic strat that throws 1, D3, or 2D3 mortal wounds at 12″ depending on the dice.
- Empyric Wellspring detachment rule: Psyker units’ ranged Dark Pacts get +1S; non-Khorne Daemon Princes’ melee Dark Pacts get +2S and +1AP.
- Touched by the Warp enhancement: a non-Khorne CSM character gains the PSYKER keyword and their weapons get [PSYCHIC].
- Fleshy Curse strat (1 CP): a friendly Psyker unit picks an enemy within 12″ and rolls for 1 / D3 / 2D3 mortal wounds.
Devotees of Destruction Brings Iron Warriors-Flavored Heavy Fire
You don’t have to be running Perturabo’s Legion to use Devotees of Destruction, but the design is pointed straight at the Iron Warriors for sure.
Havocs and Obliterators already shoot the kind of lascannons and missile launchers that pin most other armies in place, and Rain of Ruin hands them the [HEAVY] keyword on top, which under 11th edition means +1 to hit when they’re unengaged, didn’t deploy this turn, and didn’t move more than 3″.
The Pact of Destruction enhancement is a Warpsmith-only buff that re-rolls Leadership for Dark Pacts and heals 3 wounds whenever Dark Pact shooting kills an enemy model. Ruination’s Bounty solves the usual Dark Pact dilemma for 1CP, with Havocs or Obliterators getting Lethal Hits AND Sustained Hits 1 for the phase instead of having to pick.
- Rain of Ruin detachment rule: Havocs and Obliterators ranged attacks have [HEAVY].
- Pact of Destruction enhancement (Warpsmith only): re-roll Leadership on Dark Pacts and heal 3 wounds when Dark Pact shooting kills an enemy model.
- Ruination’s Bounty strat (1 CP): a Havocs or Obliterators Dark Pact gets [LETHAL HITS] and [SUSTAINED HITS 1] for the Shooting phase.
Murdertalon Raiders Let Raptors and Warp Talons Hunt Wounded Prey
GW basically called this one the Night Lords detachment in the article, and it makes sense. Prey on the Weak skews the math hard against bloodied enemies, with Infantry Fly units re-rolling 1s to hit against battle-shocked or under-half-strength targets while those same targets eat -1 to hit shooting back.
What it all means is that Warp Talons and Raptors are a real problem after the rest of the army has softened a unit up.
Shadowcowl Talisman also gives a Chaos Lord with Jump Pack a 5+ invulnerable save, which keeps a Raptor character on the table for one more turn. Plunging Talons is the 1CP charge strat that adds Lance to the unit’s melee attacks, which is wound-roll re-rolls on a squad that just dropped from the sky.
- Prey on the Weak detachment rule: friendly Heretic Astartes Infantry Fly attacks against battle-shocked or under-half-strength units re-roll 1s to hit, and incoming attacks against those Fly units have -1 to hit.
- Shadowcowl Talisman enhancement (Chaos Lord with Jump Pack only): 5+ Invulnerable Save.
- Plunging Talons strat (1 CP): a charging Heretic Astartes Infantry Fly unit’s melee attacks have [LANCE].
Cavalcade of Chaos Keeps Bloodcrushers and Seekers in Perpetual Motion
Cavalcade of Chaos is the high-speed upgrade for Bloodcrushers, Seekers, and Fateskimmers, and it solves the classic problem where a fast cavalry unit gets stuck in a fight it doesn’t want. Unholy Avalanche lets a Mounted unit that fell back this turn still shoot OR declare a charge, which lets you peel off a bad fight and immediately go pick a better one, which is pretty clutch.
Soul-shattering Charge fixes the big-base-in-terrain headache, letting friendly models within 3″ of engaged enemies still target those enemies on a charge, so more of your squad actually swings. Warp-Riders is a 1CP movement strat that makes Mounted units more mobile for the phase, so they can plow through walls and ruins instead of routing around them.
- Unholy Avalanche detachment rule: a Mounted Daemon unit that fell back this turn can still shoot or declare a charge.
- Soul-shattering Charge enhancement: on a charge move, friendly models within 3″ of engaged enemies can target those enemies.
- Warp-Riders strat (1 CP): a Mounted Daemon unit gets MOBILE for the Movement phase.
Lords of the Warp Rewards Lesser Daemonic Characters
Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes get all the spotlight, but Lords of the Warp is a detachment that pays attention to the smaller named characters like Bloodmasters, Contorted Epitomes, and Sloppity Bilepipers. Loci of Power feeds the +1 Ld and +1 OC straight into the Shadow of Chaos battle-shock layer that the daemon armies already lean on.
Swollen with Power puts +2 Wounds on a non-Monster character via upgrade tag, so you can stack it across multiple lesser characters in the same list. Carnival of Excess is the Slaanesh-flavored 1CP reaction that hands your non-Monster Slaanesh character Fights First when an enemy unit fights, and they get to be the next unit you select.
- Loci of Power detachment rule: non-Monster Legiones Daemonica characters get +1 Leadership and +1 OC.
- Swollen with Power enhancement: non-Monster Daemon character gets +2 Wounds (upgrade tag, multiple units eligible).
- Carnival of Excess strat (1 CP): a non-Monster Slaanesh character gets Fights First and is the next unit to fight.
Warptide Pours Battleline Daemons Across the Board
Warptide is the horde detachment for the rank-and-file daemons like Bloodletters, Plaguebearers, Daemonettes, and Pink and Blue Horrors. Shudderblink lets a Battleline unit advance, gain [ASSAULT] on its ranged attacks until the end of the turn, and still declare a charge (after advancing), so Horrors can move-shoot-charge in one activation while Bloodletters and Daemonettes slam into the line ahead of schedule.
Bane-forged Weapons hands +1 Strength to a Battleline unit’s attacks, and because it’s an upgrade, up to three units can carry it. Daemonic Infestation is the 1CP Command-phase patch that heals 3 wounds on a non-Pink Horrors Battleline unit, which keeps a 20-Plaguebearer block on the objective for an extra turn.
- Shudderblink detachment rule: a Battleline Daemon unit that advances has [ASSAULT] on its ranged attacks until the end of the turn and can still declare a charge.
- Bane-forged Weapons enhancement: a Battleline Daemon unit’s attacks have +1S (upgrade tag, so multiple units in the same list can carry it).
- Daemonic Infestation strat (1 CP): a non-Pink Horrors Battleline Daemon unit heals 3 wounds in your Command phase.
Final Thoughts on the New 11th Edition Chaos Space Marines Detachments
Six detachments in a single Faction Focus is more rules support than Chaos has gotten in one drop in a long time, and the design choices are honestly pretty solid. Each detachment plays to a recognizable archetype, which is GW locking faction identity into the detachments themselves rather than punting it in supplements down the line.
Chaos getting six broader-themed detachments looks like GW front-loading index/codex content, so expect the Chaos Space Marines index to ship with these as the printed detachments and watch for the eventual 11th Edition codex drop to push the same shape onto whichever Heretic Astartes archetype isn’t covered yet.
🔗 Related Reads:
- 11th Edition 40k Three-Year Release Plan
- New 11th Edition Space Marine Detachments
- Chaos Space Marines Combat Patrol
- 40k Codex Release Schedule and Roadmap
- GW Updates 40k Chaos Daemons Rules Again
