Unleash Chaos Daemons with four unique new Warhammer 40k Detachments for Slaanesh, Nurgle, Khorne, and Tzeentch!
Chaos Daemons have always been iconic for their raw power and thematic flavor, but these detachments truly bring their gods’ influence to life. Whether you enjoy Slaanesh’s psychological edge, Nurgle’s suffocating resilience, Khorne’s sheer brutality, or Tzeentch’s manipulative schemes, there’s something here to energize your games. If you want even more Chaos Daemons, make sure you watch the Amazon Secret Level 40k Animation featuring Lt. Titus, and keep your eyes peeled for the latest announcements on Henry Cavill’s big Warhammer project, too.
Whether you’re new to the war-torn galaxy of Warhammer 40,000 or a long-time follower of its bloody chronicles, these Chaos Daemons detachments are a twisted blend of dark lore and brutal gameplay mechanics.
The Daemons Invade Grotmas
The Grotmas Calendar brings exciting new opportunities for Chaos Daemons in Warhammer 40k. Each of the four major Chaos gods has unique detachment rules that grant flavorful abilities and game-changing tactics.
From the seductive gambits of Slaanesh to the unrelenting rage of Khorne, each detachment captures the essence of its patron while adding strategic depth to your army. Let’s take a closer look at the rules and highlights for each, which you can download here!
Legion of Excess: The Seductive Gambit of Slaanesh
The Legion of Excess is Slaanesh’s favored force of calculated risks and devastating precision. By sacrificing the Fight First rule with the Seductive Gambit, your units gain re-rolls to Hit and Wound during charges. This calculated gamble ensures your attacks hit harder, encouraging bold, well-timed charges. Here’s how this detachment excels, blending battlefield mobility, psychological manipulation, and razor-sharp melee precision.
Enhancements to Dominate Combat
Enhancements in the Legion of Excess give Slaanesh’s daemons even sharper claws, boosting performance and spreading despair across the battlefield:
- Dreaming Crown (Aura)
Units within 6″ gain +1 to Hit rolls in melee, turning your daemons into terrifyingly accurate combatants. - False Majesty (Aura)
Friendly units within 6″ gain +1 to Wound rolls in melee, ensuring even the toughest foes feel the sting of Slaanesh’s wrath. - Avatar of Perfection
This Monster-exclusive buff allows re-rolls for Advance and Charge rolls when no friendly units are nearby, rewarding lone wolves with unyielding aggression. - Soul Glutton
Heal D3 wounds after slaying an enemy model in combat, keeping your powerful units alive longer.
Stratagems That Shape the Battlefield
Slaanesh’s stratagems empower your forces with tactical flexibility and psychological warfare:
- Phantasmal Longing
Move through terrain features with ease during your Movement or Charge phase, turning obstacles into advantages. - Sensory Excruciation
Trigger Battle-shock tests across the battlefield for all units within the Shadow of Chaos, potentially disrupting enemy plans—and even affecting your own forces. - Cavalcade of Blades
After a successful charge, roll dice for every model in Engagement Range. Every 4+ deals Mortal Wounds, turning your charges into a whirlwind of destruction. - Archagonists
Enhance the lethality of your units by adding +1 to Wound rolls in melee, ensuring your attacks hit where they hurt most. - Overwhelming Excess
Force an attacking unit to take a Battle-shock test. If they fail, they can’t target your unit, adding a defensive edge to your arsenal.
Why Choose the Legion of Excess?
Slaanesh’s Legion of Excess offers the perfect mix of speed, risk, and precision. By embracing its unique mechanics, you’ll overwhelm opponents with an elegant, calculated ferocity. If you’re ready to turn the battlefield into a showcase of twisted perfection, the Dark Prince awaits your devotion. And the perfect way to prepare for the upcoming Emperor’s Children update!
Plague Legion: Nurgle’s Rotting Presence
The Plague Legion brings Nurgle’s unrelenting decay to Warhammer 40k. Through the Melancholic Miasma, Nurgle’s daemons create an aura of despair, forcing enemy units within 9″ to take Battle-shock tests. Failed tests deal Mortal Wounds via the Shadow of Chaos, slowly but surely dismantling your opponent’s forces.
This detachment thrives on attrition, grinding down enemies with resilience and pestilence while ensuring your units remain on the battlefield.
Enhancements to Empower the Rot
The Plague Legion’s enhancements bolster your units and ensure the horrors of decay are ever-present:
- Cankerblight (Aura)
Each time an enemy unit within 6″ fails a Battle-shock test, one model in that unit is destroyed outright—perfect for eliminating key threats. - Font of Spores (Aura)
Nearby units gain improved Armour Penetration, making even Nurgle’s slower units more lethal. - Maggot Maws
Force enemy units within 6″ to take Battle-shock tests and deal D3 Mortal Wounds on a successful roll, combining offense with disruption. - Droning Shroud (Aura)
Limit enemy ranged attacks by preventing units outside 18″ from targeting allies near the bearer.
Stratagems to Spread the Rot
Nurgle’s stratagems enhance your ability to wear down opponents while keeping your forces in the fight:
- Foetid Resurgence
Bring back destroyed models or heal Monsters in your Command phase, ensuring the plague keeps spreading. - Murkshadows
Boost Infantry mobility by adding 5″ to their Movement characteristic, helping Nurgle’s typically slow units keep up with the battle. - Seeping Virulence
Score Critical Hits on unmodified Hit rolls of 5+ in melee, ensuring your attacks stick and pile on the damage. - Fever Visions
Add +1 to Hit rolls in melee or shooting, and force an enemy unit hit by your attacks to take a Battle-shock test. - Plague of Woes
Chain Battle-shock tests by forcing additional units within 9″ to test after an initial failed check, spreading despair across enemy lines.
Why Play the Plague Legion?
The Plague Legion excels in suffocating enemies under waves of despair while ensuring your own forces regenerate. This detachment rewards patience and methodical advances, bringing inevitable doom to anything standing in Nurgle’s path. If slow, steady, and crushing tactics appeal to you, Nurgle’s gifts will not disappoint.
Blood Legion: Khorne’s Unstoppable Fury
The Blood Legion channels the raw, unyielding rage of Khorne, embodying an aggressive, combat-driven playstyle. With the Murdercall rule, Khorne’s units surge toward nearby enemies after they move, keeping the fight close and relentless. Objective control is bolstered by Blood Tainted, which locks objectives under your control until opponents can physically overpower your forces.
This detachment thrives on unrelenting combat, ensuring your forces deal devastating blows while holding the battlefield.
Enhancements to Unleash the Fury
Enhancements in the Blood Legion amplify the power and brutality of Khorne’s units, ensuring every model contributes to the carnage:
- Gateway Unto Damnation
Transforms the death of a Khorne Monster into a catastrophic explosion, dealing D3+3 Mortal Wounds if it has already destroyed a unit in the game. - Slaughterthirst (Aura)
Grants the Lance ability to nearby units’ melee weapons, increasing their effectiveness against tougher targets. - Fury’s Cage
Sacrifice D3+1 wounds to re-roll Hit and Wound rolls for a Khorne Monster in combat, making their strikes devastatingly precise. - Brazenmaw
Add +2 to Charge rolls for the bearer’s unit, ensuring they hit combat sooner and with more impact.
Stratagems to Fuel the Bloodlust
Khorne’s stratagems are tailored to enhance aggression, keep the fight going, and ensure your enemies feel the fury of the Blood God:
- Wrath Undeniable
If your unit is destroyed in melee, roll a D6 for each model. On a 4+, the model can fight before being removed, ensuring no blow goes unanswered. - Sheathed in Brass
Temporarily grants your unit a 3+ Save during your opponent’s Shooting phase, allowing Khorne’s forces to weather incoming fire. - Blood Begets Skulls
Charge after advancing, ensuring your units reach combat as quickly as possible to spill blood for the Blood God. - Fools’ Flight
Punish enemies who Fall Back by immediately charging them, keeping your forces in relentless pursuit. - Skulls Beget Blood
Hurl flaming skulls at nearby enemies, dealing Mortal Wounds to soften them up before combat.
Why Play the Blood Legion?
Khorne’s Blood Legion is all about relentless, brutal combat. From punishing enemies who retreat to ensuring every model fights, even in death, this detachment thrives on violence and objective domination. If you’re ready to unleash chaos and bring the fury of the Blood God to your games, the new Warhammer 40k Chaos Daemons Blood Legion Detachment delivers unparalleled aggression.
Scintillating Legion: Tzeentch’s Fates in Flux
The Scintillating Legion channels Tzeentch’s ever-shifting schemes into a battlefield of unpredictability. Through the Fates in Flux rule, you and your opponent can re-roll crucial rolls using Flux tokens, adding a layer of strategic tension to every phase of the game.
The detachment thrives on manipulation and control, using clever abilities and stratagems to turn the tides of battle. This is a faction built for those who enjoy intricate gameplay and outwitting their opponents through misdirection.
Enhancements for Strategic Superiority
The Scintillating Legion’s enhancements give your forces unparalleled precision and survivability:
- Infernal Puppeteer
Monsters can measure range and line of sight through nearby daemons, allowing for perfect positioning and devastating ranged attacks. - Inescapable Eye
Gain additional Flux tokens in your Command phase, letting you keep the momentum of re-rolls in your favor. - Neverblade
Improve the Strength, Attacks, and Armour Penetration of melee weapons while granting a +1 to Hit rolls, turning Monsters into close-combat powerhouses. - Improbable Shield (Aura)
Nearby units gain Feel No Pain 4+ against Psychic Attacks and Mortal Wounds, making them far more resilient to devastating abilities.
Stratagems for Control and Chaos
Tzeentch’s stratagems offer ways to frustrate your opponent, enhance your forces, and create chaos at key moments:
- Flickering Reality
Roll a D6 and deny all unmodified Hit rolls of that number for the rest of the phase, shutting down enemy attacks and mitigating damage. - Impossible Eclipse
Extend your Shadow of Chaos to selected battlefield areas, gaining control over key zones for a tactical edge. - Pyrogenesis
Add +2 to the Strength of your unit’s weapons—or spend a Flux token for an even greater bonus, including improved Armour Penetration. - Fateborne Nightmares
Allow units to move through terrain during the Movement or Charge phase, giving flexibility to reposition or engage targets. - Delirium Unmade
Remove units from the battlefield at the end of the Fight phase, placing them into Strategic Reserves to set up for future turns.
Why Play the Scintillating Legion?
Tzeentch’s Scintillating Legion rewards players who thrive on unpredictability and deception. With the ability to manipulate the battlefield, counter enemy attacks, and control key objectives, this detachment ensures every move is part of a larger scheme. If you enjoy a cerebral approach to Warhammer 40k, Tzeentch’s twisted brilliance will keep you enthralled.
Final Thoughts on the Four New Chaos Daemons Warhammer 40k Detachments
Chaos Daemons have always been iconic for their raw power and thematic flavor, but these detachments truly bring their gods’ influence to life. Whether you enjoy Slaanesh’s psychological edge, Nurgle’s suffocating resilience, Khorne’s sheer brutality, or Tzeentch’s manipulative schemes, there’s something here to energize your games. Let the warp consume your foes and march under the banners of your chosen god!
See All the New 40k Detachment Rules Here
What do you think about the new Chaos Daemons Warhammer 40k Detachments rules from the first Grotmas Calendar?
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!
