Things That Go Bump In the Warp!

Hey gang! Hopefully by now you have checked your mail boxes or made your way down to your FLGS/FLHS to pick the new White Dwarf. Luckily, I grabbed the last copy that my store had. Awesome! To my surprise, I found a new rules supplement for 40K/WFB Chaos Daemons in the package. The hits just keep coming since 6th edition reared its shiny, new head. Stop shaking your head, you love it and you know it. This mini-codex is seven pages of rules, fluff and artwork that GW has put together for arguably the most unique army in both the 40K and Fantasy universe. So let’s dive in and take a look shall we?

What's Changed!

Flamers of Tzeench

To the seasoned Daemons player a couple of obvious changes appear right off the bat.

1. The base unit size has stayed the same, but the max size is limited to nine models in the unit.
2. The unit itself has gotten cheaper at twenty three points per model as opposed to thirty five points per model.
3. Tzeench is getting wiser in his old age, and Daemon players now get a squad leader (sergeant) for a whopping five points. This upgrades one model to a Pyrocaster and gives you a model with one more attack.
4. The biggest change to these guys is removal of the Bolt of Tzeench upgrade. Gone are the days of that 24” Strength 8 A.P. -1 shot that can just ruin your day.

All in all they got a little nerfed, but they came away with a leader option that gets an extra attack for a small cost.   Just remember who the first to go is if things don’t go the Dark Prince’s way.  

Screamers of Tzeentch

                These guys got a pretty good overhaul.

1.      Like the Flamers, the unit size has gone to a max of nine models per unit .

2.      On top of that Screamers are now more expensive.  Previously they were 16pts/model in 5^th edition to a hefty 25pts/model.  Are you starting to get that feeling in your stomach after you eat your mother’s meatloaf?  Well grab an antacid, it will be alright.  I promise!

3.      The new Special Rules are the saving grace of this unit.  GW took away Warp Jaws (awe no more flying melta bombs!), but added Lamprey’s Bite and Slashing Attack.  Let’s take a look.

a.      Lamprey’s Bite is your typical close combat attack

                                                                          i.      Strength 5, A.P. 2 with Melee and Armourbane(USR)

b.      Slashing Attack has the same base concept of those pesky greenskins and their Big Bomb attacks.  This is both really cool and really scary at the same time.  If the unit turbo-boosts over any enemy unit(s), including vehicles, the enemy unit takes D3 Str – 4 Ap – hits per Screamer in the unit!  That’s potentially 27 hits being dished out in the movement phase to a single unit.  Ouch!  Note that vehicles will always be hit on their side armour regardless of approach vector.

 Personally, I like what has been done so far with the 40K side of things for Daemons. Unfortunately I can’t speak to the Fantasy realm, since I don’t play that system, so you'll just have to read it yourself. In my next entry I will take a look at the new shinies that have come to the side of Daemon players everywhere…Hellflayers and Seeker Chariots.

Until then…happy gaming!