The ATC has come and gone and it was a ton of fun! There were lots of great players with lots o good lists and it was a great weekend of 40k.
This ATC was unique in that this was the first year I can remember where so many teams brought dramatically similar lists. The Doom builds of Wraiths, Knights, Wraithknights, Flyrants, and gigantic Thunderwolf units were everywhere. There is lots that can be said about the event itself, but right now I want to focus on The effectiveness of the Khorne Daemonkin at this event. When Daemonkin first came out, I wrote a review of the units in the codex based off my initial impressions of the book. Now, with a lot more experience under my belt, lets take a look at the Units I used at the ATC:
Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
Before the event, I was on the fence about this guy. Could he make it into combat? if he did, would it matter? Well, after ATC, I have decided I will never NOT take this guy! He was incredible, and was the single unit that turned the tide against Wraith and Thunderwolf armies. The real trick is just putting him in situations where he can be used to the fulllest, something I failed to do against both Eldar and Tau, but am now confident that even in those match ups he can excel.
Bloodletters
For the points you pay, bloodletters are not amazing. However, it was very clear after ATC that in khorne daemonkin, they work just fine. They are great for grabbing objectives or deepstriking next to the enemy and fit very well into any Khorne Daemonkin list.
Chaos Terminators
These guys bring something to the table that many daemonkin lists are missing: Guns. I ran 3 units of 3 with combi-meltas and they were a consistently good unit throughout the weekend. they were not amazing, but did solid work, and were a huge factor in winning progressive objectives. They have a place in any daemonkin list.
The Gorepack
This is by far the best formation in the Khornen Daemonkin codex. The ability to take so many units of Bikes and flesh Hounds is great for daemonkin and really lets them build a powerful assault army.
Chaos Bikers
Bikes from the Gorepack Let Daemonkin do something their daemon and CSM counterparts can’t, and that is take even more fast assault units. These guys are also great for building up blood points.
Flesh Hounds
The flesh hound is the best unit in the Khorne daemonkin codex. These guys were steallar in every single game I had and are the backbone of any Daemonkin Rush list. having the fearless special rule is simply amazing, and is the reason I was able to do well against thunderwolves and wraiths, and score 11 points vs 5 wraithknights.
Blood Points
This mechanic is amazing. I was not sure how much it would do for me at ATC, but the answer was a lot. With the flexibility to spend your points how you need to spend them, you can really pick and choose the abilities you need against certain opponents. Feel no Pain was a huge winner against all my opponents, But I summoned hounds, bloodcrushers, and even a bloodthirster in different games, all to great effect. The Skullcannon, however, proved to be an extremely helpful summoned unit, and showed me that I really need to buy at least 2.
Overall, the daemonkin really proved their worth at the ATC. I Had 3 big wins against Thunderstar, Grav-Bikes, and Tau, A dead even draw against Necrons, a Loss in Kill points to the dreaded Eldar, and a minor loss to a 5 wraithknight build, giving me a total score of 126, a personal ATC best for me. I learned a lot, and feel way more confident with the army if I were to play the same match ups again. But most of all, the Army was a ton of fun! ALL my games were close, and even when I was just getting stomped by wraithknights, summoning with blood points kept me in the game and having fun.
I have been playing 40k for 8 years now and have played a lot of different armies and a lot of different lists. I can honestly say that Khorne Daemonkin is THE MOST FUN army I have ever played. If you have any inclination to do something with Chaos, then I highly recommend going with the Khorne Daemonkin. They are a great combo of fluff, fun, and power that every codex should aspire to.
