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.
Chaos Warrior Warbands
Chaos Warlords
Chaos Warlords may be either Champions, Heros, or Lord level characters.
Chaos Sorcerers are also Warlords, and they may be chosen from any of the four levels of Sorcerers.
The Chaos Battle Standard Bearer is also a Warlord. You can only have one Chaos Battle Standard Bearer.
Warrior Retinues
You must choose a retinue for each Warlord that must equal or exceed the Warlord in points.
Chaos Knights
These are expensive (66 pts. or 80 if you give them Chaos Armour) troops, but are very hard hitting and mobile, they have very good stats with high WS, BS, S and T, and 2 Attacks, and high Ld. These are the troops you use for breaking the enemy's line and / or his troops such as Bretonnian Knights, etc. You should always give your Chaos Knights a standard and musician, and a magic standard if possible.
Chaos Warriors
Chaos Warriors are foot versions of the Chaos Knights, they are good troops for anchoring an important section of your line and for attacking heavily armoured foes. You should also give Chaos Warriors a standard and musician, and a magic standard if possible.
Chaos Chariots
Chaos Warrior crewed Chariots are very expensive, but given scythed wheels, they are devastating. Use these to attack flanks and tactically important locations in the enemy line. Just remember Chariots need open terrain to maneuvre.
There may also be Chariots crewed by Marauders and pulled by Warhorses. These are much cheaper than Chaos Warrior Chariots but are still effective as assault troops.
Chaos Chariots do not have to be in units of five. They may be used as singles. One chariot may carry a magic standard.
Chaos Hounds
Chaos Hounds should always be led by a Chaos Champion or Hero They have above average stats with 2 Attacks, but with low Ld. They can be led by a Chaos Warrior, and they should be.
Chaos Marauders
Chaos Marauders are the wild barbarians of the North, and they make very effective troops to fill out your warband, as they have good WS and S, and they are led by a Chaos Warrior. Their lower points value make them appealing choices for the mass of your troops, especially when fighting armies with low Toughness and high numbers. Marauders have the 2 Attacks the same as Chaos Warriors. One unit of Marauders may have a magic standard.
Marauder Horsemen
Chaos Marauder Horsemen make good fast cavalry for making flank attacks. My choice of weapons for them would be flails. They may have a standard bearer and musician, which they should have, and my choice for a magic standard would be the Standard of Shielding to increase their survivability until they can impact the enemy. You may use a Chaos Knight as a leader. If you do, keep the role of the Marauder Horsemen in mind when equipping him.
Ogres
Ogres are large and powerful creatures, with high T, and multiple Wounds and Attacks. They have a good Ld value, but they are very expensive. The type of leader you may choose for Ogres depends on the size of the unit. My preference would be to use small units of Ogres led by a Champion.
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.
Daemon Warlords
Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes cannot have magic items or Chaos Rewards that are given to Chaos Champions, they may only be given Daemonic Rewards.
Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes that bear the Mark of a Chaos God may only have Daemons of that God in their retinue. This does not apply to Daemon Princes that do not have a Mark of a Chaos God.
Bloodthirsters
Exspensive, mobile killing machines that can have Chaos Armour and the Axe of Khorne. Bloodthirsters can fly.
Great Unclean Ones
An exspensive, huge killing machine. Great Unclean Ones may have magic levels bought for them from the Daemonic Rewards.
Lord of Change
A flying Daemon that causes terror. Lords of Change may have magic levels bought for them from the Daemonic Rewards.
Keepers of Secrets
Keepers of Secrets may be given an entrancing aura chseon from the Daemonic Rewards, which can put opponents in base to base contact into a trance-like state in which they cannot fight unless they pass a Ld test. Keepers of Secrets may have magic levels bought for them from the Daemonic Rewards.
Daemon Princes
Daemon Princes can be modified by the use of Daemonic Rewards to fight in several different manners. They can even be given magic levels to make them powerful Chaos sorcerers. Daemon Princes can fly, and cause terror. You can buy the Marks of the Chaos Gods for them to make them able to take certain Daemonic Rewards that are limited to the followers of a particular God. The Chaos Marks also bring special abilities or protections with them. The Daemon Prince is my favourite to be the general of a Daemon Warband.
Daemon Retinues
Daemon Battle Standard Bearer
The Daemon Battle Standard Bearer may be:
Bloodletter Champion
Plaguebearer Champion
Pink Horror Champion
Daemonette Champion
The Battle Standard Bearer must include a unit of the same type
of daemons as it is. The Battle Standard Bearer replaces the
unit's normal leader. The unit cannot have but one Champion. The
Battle Standard Bearer replaces the normal Champion. The Battle
Standard Bearer rides the same type of steed as the unit.
The Battle Standard Bearer may carry the Magic Standard of the
Standard Bearer's God. It must always be the Magic War Banner of
the patron god.
Chaos Spawn
Chaos Spawn may be included in the retinue of any Daemon Warlord. They do not have to be organised into units of 5 or more. If your army includes up to five Chaos Spawn, these form a single unit. Six to ten may be one or more units, and so on. Chaos Spawn are good for disrupting the enemy's advance and breaking his line. Be careful where you place them, and make sure that if you have mortal allies they are not in front of the Chaos Spawn at any time.
Bloodletters
Bloodletters have high stats, they cause fear, and they carry the fearsome Hellblade. They make good assault troops, and they may be mounted on Juggernauts. Make sure to give the unit a standard bearer and musician, and these guys are really a good choice for the Banner of Rage! Point them at the enemy's most dangerous unit and turn them loose!
Flesh Hounds
Flesh Hounds are some of the more useful Daemons, they are fast, high WS, S, I, and Ld, with 2 W, they cause fear, and they wear the Collar of Khorne, which protects them from magic. Use the Flesh Hounds' speed to maeuver them to strike where yur enemy is the most vulnerable.
Nurglings
These are some of my favourite Daemons, these nasty little bugers can wreak havoc on your opponent.
Plaguebearers
They carry the Plague Sword, and may ride Beasts of Nurgle, they cause fear and they have a magic level equal to one for every five models in the unit, up to level four. Their cards are drawn from the Nurgle deck. These also make good assault troops with magic ability added in. Make sure to give them a standard bearer and musician so that they will have the Gong of Despair, and give them a magic standard. The Plague Banner is a good choice. I would use most of these units as foot troops, but a small unit mounted on Beasts of Nurgle as Plagueriders can be useful in some instances. Plagueriders do not have to have a minimum of five models in a unit. A Plaguerider unit can be a single model.
Beasts of Nurgle
These Daemons, with their special rules, can be quite nasty on the battlefield. Again, this is a limited use troop type, which is used mainly for attacking your enemy's vulnerable units and for disrupting his advance.
Pink Horrors of Tzeentch
I like the look on my opponent's face when he kills five Pink Horrors just to be faced with ten Blue Horrors in their place. Blue Horrors fight along with any remaining Pink Horrors in the unit. A Pink Horror unit has a magic level of one for every five Pink Horrors, up to level four. Blue Horrors do not count toward this magic level. Always give the unit a standard bearer and musician so that it can have the Drum of Change and the ability to store one extra magic card. You can also give the unit a magic standard.
Flamers of Tzeentch
Bounding, mobile flamethrowers, with a firey hug. These are some of the most mobile troops in a Daemon Warband, as they are not slowed by obstacles.
Daemonettes of Slaanesh
Daemonettes have high stats, cause fear, have a magic level of one per five models, up to a level of four, and may be mounted on Steeds of Slaanesh (with a special tongue attack) to make very fast moving hard hitting troops that also have magic and special abilities to aid them. Always give them a standard bearer and musician so that they may have the Siren Flute, and you can give them a magic standard to increase their abilities.
Fiends of Slaanesh
Fiends have three attacks, including a special poisonous attack with their scorpion-like tail. The Daemon exudes a soporific musk, making enemies in base to base contact suffer a -1 to hit penalty.
Montrous Host
Harpies
Harpies are useful for harassing your opponent's rear areas and artillery. They can fly, so they have good mobility, and can strike most areas of the battlefield. Their drawback is that they have low Ld and they cannot be led by any character, and they cannot have standards or musicians, even though they must be in units of at least five models.
Chaos Trolls
Chaos Trolls must always be led by a character model to be of use, as they are subject to stupidity. Any unit of Chaos Trolls may have a standard bearer and/or musician costing double the points cost of a Chaos Troll. With these guys' low (almost non-existent) Initiative I would always arm them with two-handed weapons, as they will strike last anyways.
Dragon Ogres
Dragon Ogres, even at 87 points per model, are useful troops. Five Dragon Ogres with a magic standard can wreak havoc upon much larger units, and they have the benefit of causing fear. Dragon Ogres have scaly skin, giving them a save of 5+. With their low Initiative, I would give them double-handed weapons. The level of Leader you can give to a Dragon Ogre unit depends on its size. To have a leader, the unit must be at least five models strong.
Chaos Spawn
Chaos Spawn may be included in any Warband as allies. They do not have to be organised into units of 5 or more. If your army includes up to five Chaos Spawn, these form a single unit. Six to ten may be one or more units, and so on. Chaos Spawn are good for disrupting the enemy's advance and breaking his line. Be careful where you place them, and make sure that if you have mortal allies they are not in front of the Chaos Spawn at any time.
The Chaos Warbands have several large monsters available. Of these, the only one that is unique to the Realm of Chaos is the Chaos Dragon, the rules for which can be found in the Bestiary of Warhammer: Realm of Chaos.
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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