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Choosing a Chaos Army

There are now three separate army lists for Chaos:

Chaos Warriors
Beastmen
Daemons

How to Choose an Army:

75-100% of your points must be spent on your chosen warband, either Chaos Warriors, Beastmen, or Daemons. You cannot mix the three in that 75%. You may choose up to 25% of your points as allies.

Choosing a Warband

To choose a warband, you first choose a Warlord, and then a retinue for him. You repeat this procedure until your points are exhausted.

Nominate a General

Once you have chosen your army, nominate one of your Warlords to be the General. You can choose any Warlord, but it is obviously advantageous to choose the character with the highest Ld. You may not choose your General from amongst allies. There is a flowchart on page 97 of Warhammer: Realm of Chaos that shows how to choose your Warband.

Beastman Warbands

Beastman Warlords

The Warlords are very important to the Beastmen, possibly more so than any of the other types of Chaos Warbands, as their Ld is needed to overcome the Infighting rule.

Beastman Chieftans
There are two levels of Beastman Chieftan:
Beastman Chief
Beastlord
Chieftans are powerul and viscious leaders.

Beastman Shamans
Beastman Shamans are also Warlords. The Beastman Shaman can take spells from any of the three Chaos spell decks, and he may mix spells from all three. Alternatively, he may choose spells from the Dark Magic deck. I believe the Beastman Shamans make very good magic users, as they have a wide variety of Chaos spells.

Beastman Battle Standard Bearer
You can only ever include one Beastman Battle Standard Bearer, and you should include a Beastman Battle Standard Bearer. The rerolls of Ld tests that he allows are very important to a Beastmen Warband. If you have the points, and it is allowed in the game you are playing, the army standard should be a magic standard, and I would choose one of the Chaos Banners.

Beastman Retinues

Beastman Gors

These should be the backbone of your Beastman Warband, as they have good WS, T, and 2 Wounds. I would place a champion with as many units of Beastmen as possible, always include a standard bearer and musician, and I would give as many as possible magic standards.

Beastman Ungors

Ungors are very cheap troops, they are under 5 points each, which means that all equipment is at half price. They have decent stats, with average WS and S, good T, but low Ld. You should always lead these with a Champion. I would think about giving the Champion a magic item that aids Ld or gives rerolls of Ld tests. One unit of Ungors may skirmish, and they are good for this role. I would use these troops in large horde units to maximise their rank bonus and staying power, as they are cheap enough in points to be able to afford a lot of them.

Bestigors

You may have one unit of Bestigors. This is your shock unit. I would give them shields to protect them from shooting until they have a chance to close with and charge the enemy. The Banner of Rage would be a good standard for this unit. Another good banner would be the Battle Banner.

Beastman Chariots

You must have at least one unit of Gors, Ungors, or Bestigors to have any Beastman Chariots. Beastman Chariots are pulled by fierce Tuskgors and make good shock weapons, but remember, they fight as individual units, so use them to attack flanks and weak units that are susceptible to being broken. Do not charge strong enemy units with these frontally if at all possible. I would give the Chariots scythes to increase the damage they do and the crewmen halberds. I would also give the crewmen light armour and shields. The Chariot makes a good mount for a Beastman Warlord, as it gives him mobility and somewhat extra protection. One Chariot may be given a magic standard chosen from the magic item cards in Warhammer Magic.

Minotaurs

Minotaurs are expensive pointswise, but in my opinion, worth it. They have a M of 6, WS of 4, S and T of 4, 3 Wounds, and 2 Attacks, with a Ld 9. This is another very hard hitting unit, and Minotaurs have good mobility. Minotaurs may have a magic standard, they may have a standard specific to one of the Chaos Gods. This is another good flank unit. Minotaurs may have Leaders based upon the size of the unit. The larger the unit, the more powerful the leader can be.

Chaos Hounds

Chaos Hounds should always be led by a Beastman Champion. They have above average stats with 2 Attacks, but with low Ld. They can be led by a Beastman Champion, and they should be.

Tactics

This is one Chaos army where you can actually have numbers of troops.

To me, the basic units are the Ungor herds and Gor herds.

1.  Ungor herds:  Build these five ranks deep so that if they take casualties they will still have full rank bonuses.  I would arm them with spears and shields, which only cost 1/2 point each, making for a very cheap priced basic troop.   You should always give them a standard and musician.  Give the Champion the Crown of Command, if you can get away with it.  If not, choose a magic weapon that will increase the number of hits and/or wounds he will get.

2.  Use Ungor Skirmishers to protect your other troops from enemy missile fire until they get close enough to fight.

3.  Gor herds are tougher are tougher than Ungors due to their two wounds, and they have slightly better Ld and WS.  They make good basic shock troops, and I would arm them with halberds, light armour, and shield.  These are another troop type that is a real deal for the price!  You have a troop that has WS 4, T4, 2 Wounds, halberd (+1S), shield and light armour (5+ save) for a total of 15 points each.  I don't think you will find a more efficient use of points than these are, except maybe Chaos Marauders.  These can stand against any other army's standard troop type, except possibly Chaos Warriors, and you can have two of these for every Chaos Warrior.  You should always include a standard bearer and musician, and I would give these something on the line of the Battle Banner to aid their combat result.  Also, with this unit, I would always include a Beastman Champion.  Make sure you have at least four ranks.

4.  Bestigors are excellent assault troops, with high WS, above average S and T, and 2 Wounds.  At 18 points, this is also a good deal, as they are immune to infighting and panic caused by Ungors.  I would give them a shield to aid their survivability against missile fire.  If you have not given the Battle Banner to a Gor unit, give it to this unit.  Or give this unit a Chaos Banner.  These also should be led by a Champion.  Make sure you have at least four ranks.  Attack with these, do not allow them to be attacked.

5. Beastman Chariots are very hard hitting units, and at 88 points each I would include them in my army.  I like to give the crewman halberds, and light armour and shields, and give the chariot scythed wheels.  These make good mounts for your Beastlord, Chieftans, and Standard Bearer, and they are best used as shock troops.

6.  Minotaurs are your cavalry.  They move 6" normal move, and 12" charge move.  A unit of three Minotaurs with a Minotaur Champion can truly do massive damage.  I like to arm them with two hand weapons and light armour, a standard bearer, especially with the Banner of Rage makes this a very potent unit, and one your opponents will come to fear.  Use them to take out your opponent's best unit.   Make sure you are the one that gets to charge.

7.  Chaos Hounds are useful for harassing your enemy and blocking and tying up enemy units until your more powerful units can deal with them.  Chaos Hounds can also do quite a bit of damage in their own right.

 

With these troops, I would suggest your army contain mostly Ungor and Gor units, with Chariots and Minotaurs as shock units.  With Ungor Skirmishers as screens, and Chaos Hounds for their harrassment value, I would always have at least a Beastman Master Shaman, and one lesser Shaman.  I would lead the army with a Beastlord on a Chariot and I would mount the Battle Standard Bearer on a Chariot also.  Chariots should be used either on the flanks or in a single combined unit to strike and destroy a chosen target in the enemy's line.  Minotaurs should also be used to destroy a chosen target.  Do not just randomly attack with these expensive units, conserve them until the time is right, and then attack relentlessly, where they will do the most good.  I like to hold a Chariot/Chariots unit as a reserve that can be used to attack where I find an opportunity or to rescue any weak link in my own line.

This army has the numbers to make the Horns Line Formation a very good choice against some of the more restricted armies such as Brettonians.  Surround them and destroy them.

Against armies that have a high concentration of missile troops, use terrain and Ungor Skirmishers to protect your troops until you can get into hand to hand.  Against most missile troops, your units should be able to defeat them in hand to hand, so engage them as quickly as you can.  Don't give your opponent the time to decimate your ranks with missile fire.

Sample Army:

Note: This is only an example of what can be done, and it is not an attempt to tell you what you should use in your own army, as you must design your army to fit your own fighting style, and you can only do that with practise and learning what you like and don't like about each unit and troop type.

Beastlord with two-handed weapon, Chaos Armour, shield, Helm of Many Eyes, and a Potion of Strength, and mount him on a Beastman Chariot (see retinue).  Total cost: 248 points.

Retinue:
Beastlord's Beastman Chariot with scythes (crew have halberds, shields, light armour).....113 points
Beastman Chariot with scythes (crew have halberds, shields, light armour).....118 points
20 Beastman Gors with light armour, shields, and halberds, standard bearer and musician, with Rapturous Standard and Champion with Silver Sigil Sword......460 points

Total for Beastlord and Retinue: 939 points

Battle Standard Bearer with heavy armour, shield, and Banner of Might, mounted in a Beastman Chariot (see retinue).  Total Cost: 179 points.

Retinue:
24 Ungors with spears and sheilds, standard bearer and musician, with Champion with Chaos Armour......215 points

Total for Battle Standard Bearer and Retinue: 394 points

Beastman Master Shaman with Chaos Armour, Skull Staff, Dispel Magic Scroll.  Total Cost: 295 points.

Retinue:
2 Minotaurs with extra hand weapons and light armour, including standard bearer with Banner of Rage, and Minotaur Champion with Relic Sword......318 points
10 Ungor Skirmishers with shields and hand weapons.........50 points

Total for Shaman and Retinue:  663 points.

Total Cost for Army: 1996 points

 

This is a powerful army without relying on very expensive magic items.  The highest cost of any magic item is only 50 points, and that is for magic standards.   Use your two Chariots together as a crushing blow to attack your enemy.  Put your Ungor unit in five ranks to make it survive enemy missile fire and still have the maximum rank bonus.  You can increase the number of troops you have in this army by lowering your general to a Beastman Chieftan and adding more foot troops if your wish, but I would keep it as it is.  The Minotaurs can deliver a fast crushing blow at a different area from where your Chariots attack, or they can back up your Chariots with a secondary blow to the same area of your opponent's line.  It will depend on the army your opponent is using.  Against such enemies as Bretonnians and other Chaos armies, I would use the Minotaurs to aid the Chariots.  Against more numerous but less dangerous foes, I would use them at the opposite end of the line or at the center of the line.  It also depends on the terrain you must fight over.  Always observe the lay of the terrain, and take this into account when making your battle plan (and ALWAYS make a battle plan!).

Another choice would be a mostly infantry army with large numbers of Ungors and Gors, but it would have more of a problem closing with the enemy.

Always take into account the fact that Ungors and Gors are subject to infighting.

 

Sample army #2

Beastlord with two-handed weapon, Chaos Armour, shield, Helm of Many Eyes, and a Potion of Strength, and mount him on a Beastman Chariot (see retinue).  Total cost: 248 points.

Retinue:
Beastlord's Beastman Chariot with scythes (crew have halberds, shields, light armour).....113 points
9 Ungor Skirmishers with shields.....45 points
2 Beastman Chariots with scythes (crew have halberds, shields, light armour).  One Chariot has the Rapturous Standard......286 points

Total Cost for Beastlord and Retinue: 692 points.

Beastman Battle Standard Bearer with Banner of Might, heavy armour, shield, flail, mounted on a Beastman Chariot (see retinue).  Total Cost:  181 points.

Retinue:
Cheif's Beastman Chariot with scythes (crew have halberds, shields, light armour).....113 points
24 Ungors with spears and sheilds, standard bearer and musician, with Champion with Chaos Armour......215 points
Beastman Chariot with scythes (crew have halberds, shields, light armour) with War Banner........118 points

Total Cost for Chief and Retinue:  627 points.

Beastman Master Shaman with Chaos Armour, Skull Staff, Dispel Magic Scroll.  Total Cost: 295 points.

Retinue:
3 Minotaurs with extra hand weapons and light armour, including standard bearer with Banner of Rage, and Minotaur Champion with Armour of Meteoric Iron.......383 points

Total Cost for Shaman and Retinue: 678 points.

Total Cost for Army: 1997 points.

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Disclaimer:   The above information is based on the Warhammer: Realm of Chaos book, published by Games Workshop. You will find the complete stats for all of the above in the aforementiuoned book. All rights to the Warhammer Realm of Chaos book are the sole property of Games Workshop Ltd.


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