Painting Exhibitions: Flesh Hounds of Khorne

Preface 

My Flesh hounds are made of the fantasy chaos warhound kit - I didn't want to use dire wolves because some of my friends already used them for khymerae. Hopefully these will work. Here's the first ten. 

The List

Bloodthirster of Khorne with Exalted Reward and Greater Reward

Herald of Khorne with Exalted Reward on Juggernaut

2 Heralds of Khorne with Greater and lesser reward, exalted Locus on Juggernaut

Karanak

6 Bloodcrushers with Banner of Blood and Blood Hunter with a lesser reward. 

2 squads of 10 Bloodletters of Khorne, one with bloodreaper

2 squads of 15 Flesh Hounds of Khorne 

Flesh Hounds of Fantasy Chaos Warhounds

Painting Exhibitions: Bloodcrushers

Preface 

Here's the pack of the Bloodcrushers of Khorne, Sans one. Note the names - they're named after mine and my friend's pets! Strika is converted to carry an axe, which identifies him as the lesser rewarded squad leader.

The List

Bloodthirster of Khorne with Exalted Reward and Greater Reward

Herald of Khorne with Exalted Reward on Juggernaut

2 Heralds of Khorne with Greater and lesser reward, exalted Locus on Juggernaut

Karanak

6 Bloodcrushers with Banner of Blood and Blood Hunter with a lesser reward. 

2 squads of 10 Bloodletters of Khorne, one with bloodreaper

2 squads of 15 Flesh Hounds of Khorne 

Blood Crushers of Khorne

Painting Exhibitions: Grimoire of True Names Herald

Preface 

This is the grimoire dude. He's kept cheap so he's not a hard target, and he usually rides with the crushers along with karanak hoping that they don't run into too many AP2 saves. 

The List

Bloodthirster of Khorne with Exalted Reward and Greater Reward

Herald of Khorne with Exalted Reward on Juggernaut

2 Heralds of Khorne with Greater and lesser reward, exalted Locus on Juggernaut

Karanak

6 Bloodcrushers with Banner of Blood and Blood Hunter with a lesser reward. 

2 squads of 10 Bloodletters of Khorne, one with bloodreaper

2 squads of 15 Flesh Hounds of Khorne 

Exalted Herald

Painting Exhibitions: Bloodletters

Preface 

20 Blood letters to deepstrike onto the board and then remove almost immediately. God, T3 with a 5++ sucks sometimes. 

The List

Bloodthirster of Khorne with Exalted Reward and Greater Reward

Herald of Khorne with Exalted Reward on Juggernaut

2 Heralds of Khorne with Greater and lesser reward, exalted Locus on Juggernaut

Karanak

6 Bloodcrushers with Banner of Blood and Blood Hunter with a lesser reward. 

2 squads of 10 Bloodletters of Khorne, one with bloodreaper

2 squads of 15 Flesh Hounds of Khorne 

Bloodletters of do-nothing and die

Painting Exhibitions: Karanak

Preface 

Karanak makes up one solid choice for 120 points. Nearly useless for Fleshhounds of khorne, he comes into his own leading bloodcrushers, where his scout special rule ensures they keep pace with the fleshounds of khorne. 

Feel free to comment and critique!

The list 

Blood Thirster of Khorne with Exalted Reward and Greater Reward

Herald of Khorne with Exalted Reward on Juggernaut

2 Heralds of Khorne with Greater and lesser reward, exalted Locus on Juggernaut

Karanak

6 Bloodcrushers with Banner of Blood and Blood Hunter with a lesser reward. 

2 squads of 10 Bloodletters of Khorne, one with bloodreaper

2 squads of 15 Flesh Hounds of Khorne

Karanak

Magnets for the wound counter

Reviewing the Daemons Codex, Part 8: Daemon Princes.

Preface 

Saved the best 'til last, haven't I? Well, No. I've saved the Hardest part 'till last. Because of the nature of the unit, All of the Daemon princes are reasonably strong. I decided it would be best to rate them against each other. To supplement this, I will rate the generic (i.e;, the unmarked daemon prince - I do know that it is illegal,) but I feel it is the best way to write daemon princes into the rest of the review.  Note that, the generic Daemon Prince's God's Boon Bonus should be the same as the overall result for their respective entry in this post, with the overall value for the generic DP using the average value of those god's boon bonuses. As for the individual god entries, I will enter their: 

Price: Price changes drastically based on which prince you take, so it is vital that it is noted down.

Psychic Powers - These are a large part of what makes Daemon Princes so strong, so I feel it would be unreasonable to not rate this power.

Damage output: Daemon Princes are almost exclusively flying monsters. It is imperative that they can cause ranged damage or else their ability to fly is very limiting in terms of usefulness. This will only review ranged damage because all of the daemon princes are competent close combat damage dealers, without exclusion. 

Survivability: This one reviews how survivable the daemon princes are, in comparison to one another. Mostly, this one gives some small bonus to Tzeentch and Nurgle. 

Leader Choice: This one is the overall for the daemon prince's best unlocking character - for example, a tzeentch daemon prince uses Fateweaver's unlock value, while one of khorne or nurgle will always use the blood thirst/guo because they're clearly better choices than their named counterpart.

The final score for the specific daemon prince has been rounded off to the nearest .1 decimal place for simplicity's sake.

Daemon Prince: General Notes.

Strengths 

Relatively cheap Flying Monsterous Creature

4 T5 wounds with a 3+ and a 5++

Access to wings and 3+ armour saves

Access to all manner of rewards

Access to 3 different psychic disciplines, plus the god's personal discipline.

Weaknesses

T5 means boltguns can bring him down, and vindicators can potentially flatten him. Never throw one up against a wraithknight, ever.

Notes

I've assumed the Daemon Prince will always have a 3+ save and wings. I don't think one can really argue against this - it's just the best way to make the most of your investment. Daemon princes do not pack enough hits or wounds not to be flying, and can't come close to enough damage output to make charging across the board a worthwhile endeavour. Daemon princes do have one weakness, in that they have no access to divination. This is overlookable, but ensures one cannot run a screamer star alongside them.

Price 6/10 They're smack dab on huge points investment. If you're taking one of these guys, you might as well take three. Very dependent on the chosen daemon prince.

Survivability 7/10 I couldn't in my right mind give them a worse score than fateweaver, given that they get a 3+ save, but otherwise they're on par with fateweaver.

Damage Output 9/10 This is VERY subjective, and really depends on the chosen prince. 

Rules 7/10 Again, it depends on the chosen prince, but usually its rules don't hurt it. 

Gods Boon Bonus (Tzeentch) 7.5/10

Gods Boon Bonus (Khorne) 5/10 

Gods Boon Bonus (Nurgle) 7/10 

Gods Boon Bonus (Slaanesh) 7.4/10

Overall 7.1/10 They're a very good unit, but they're very pricey. You get what you pay for, but sometimes you don't pay for enough. 

Tzeentch Daemon Prince 

Strengths 

Can spam out S5 shooting like nobody's business

Reasonably survivable, re-rolling 50% of failed armour saves. 

Most reliable psyker.

Access to two of the most hilarious and fantastic close combat weapons in the game. 

Only Daemon Prince with reliable access to S8 in close combat.

Weaknesses

No access to divination makes it hard to run mono-tzeentch, and can't really support screamerstar.

Notes

This one is a really reasonable infantry strafer, it's a little strange that it is in fact the best close combatant of the choices when given a greater reward.

Price 6/10 Very expensive. Easily 350 points.

Psychic Powers 7/10 FFoT is great. 

Damage Output 8/10 Very decent, given that it is not what one looks for in a combat unit.

Survivability 8/10 Better than anyone else against small arms.

Leader Choice 8.6/10 Can I get a hell yes? Mr Fateweaver himself.

Overall 7.5/10 Very Strong choice.

Khorne Daemon Prince 

Strengths 

He's a daemon prince.

Weaknesses

No Psychic Powers, No Ranged damage unless he gets lucky on rewards. 

Notes

Khorne got shafted.

Price 8/10 Very Cheap, But you get what you pay for.

Psychic Powers 0/10 0 access to psychic powers.

Damage Output 3/10 A close combat unit who's being compared to other close combat units that perform at the same rate (or better) than he does, and has no ranged damage output.

Survivability 8/10 So unthreatening he has to be an easy protect.

Leader Choice 6/10 Bloodthirster, great! so, now you get a fantastic unit that makes your khorne daemon prince even more redundant!

Overall 5/10 It's hard to like the Khorne Daemon prince when he doesn't approach useful. 

Nurgle Daemon Prince 

Strengths 

Access to shrouded

AP3 flamer option, or AP2 large blast. Or Haemorrhage on steroids.

Access to Instant death close combat weapon.

Completely outperforms a khorne daemon prince in close combat.

Weaknesses

None really. It is fast enough that it doesn't suffer like other nurgle daemons might.

Notes

The Nurgle Daemon prince is unique, in that it can go toe to toe with even the toughest opponents. Being a daemon prince, it's got uncharactreistically high initiative, ensuring it almost always strikes first. It can topple any opponent, even a wraithknight, in close combat. 

Price 7/10 Doesn't need psychic powers as much as a tzeentch daemon does, so you can drop off a point or two if you want.

Psychic Powers 7/10 Lots of good 4+ wounding shooting to be had.

Damage Output 6/10 More than khorne, less than tzeentch.

Survivability 8/10 Decent, especially given he can usually set himself up with a 3+ against any shooting.

Leader Choice 6.8/10 A good one that lets your daemon prince hide in reserve if you wish.

Overall 7/10 He's solid.

Slaanesh Daemon Prince

Strengths 

Pumps out S6 shooting

Access to a S6 rending beam (meh)

Potentially Stops your enemy overwatching as he launches into combat.

Can move very quickly, even for a daemon prince.

Weaknesses

No defensive traits

Notes

Lash + Vector strike can be very dangerous.

Price 8/10 Read: Nurgle Daemon Prince, add a bit.

Psychic Powers 6/10 Not as good as Nurgle or Tzeentch

Damage Output 10/10 Most reliable damage output from a daemon prince

Survivability 7/10 threatening and has no bonuses for it, still a daemon prince

Leader Choice 6/10 KoS suffers from having his wings clipped.

Overall 7.4/10 Reliable. 

Adieu:

This concludes my review of the Chaos Daemons codex. I've learned some things, and I've changed my mind about certain things several times. Our overall winner in this codex is tied, between Fateweaver and the Seekers of Slaanesh at 8.6. I suppose it's worth noting that they have a higher score than my three winners in the Space Marine Codex, who scored three-way with 8.4. 

Painting Exhibitions: The Bloodthirster

Preface 

So a while ago I started playing Daemons. I'm sure you've at least glanced over my review of that codex. Anyway, I decided I'd play a Monokhorne list, and here's my warlord for it. 

He's named ambrose after my orange cat. "Of course he has cats", right?

The list:

Blood Thirster of Khorne with Exalted Reward and Greater Reward

Herald of Khorne with Exalted Reward on Juggernaut

2 Heralds of Khorne with Greater and lesser reward, exalted Locus on Juggernaut

Karanak

6 Bloodcrushers with Banner of Blood and Blood Hunter with a lesser reward. 

2 squads of 10 Bloodletters of Khorne, one with bloodreaper

2 squads of 15 Flesh Hounds of Khorne

The Balro- I mean, Blood Thirster

Reviewing the Daemons Codex, Part 7: True Heavy Support

Preface

Hi Guys, I apologise for the continually late posts, I've been unable to post sooner because of university commitments. Anyway, I'm finished with uni for the term, and so I had some spare time to talk Chaos Demons. In this section, I'm looking at the Soul Grinder and the less memorable Heavy Support sections. It's worth noting I am not reviewing Daemon Princes in this section. This is because I feel Daemon princes are a very complex set of units to discuss and so, I cannot do them justice while keeping the post thoughtful and succinct. So, I will be reviewing them in a separate article. 

Soul Grinders 

Strengths

Love your fluff, hate your model. 

AV13 shell with 4 HP and a 5++.
Decent shooting walker that's unlikely to have been erased by the end of the game.
Decent in combat, getting potentially 6 attacks OTC
Decent ranged shooter, although BS3 lets it down somewhat. 

Weaknesses
None to speak of. Maybe the model is a bit awful.  

Notes: Tzeentch
Tzeentch lets you re-roll failed invulns of 1. Not fantastic, but usable. Mostly keeps the Old boy cheap. 

Notes: Khorne 
Furious charge on a model that already strikes at S10. There's a reason it's free. 

Notes: Nurgle
Shrouded is potentially fantastic on this thing, also limits your opponents assault capabilities because they don't get charge bonuses against it. Slow and purposeful relegates it to a shooting role, ensuring it can get quite pricey. Gets interesting if you run them deep striking with nurgle plaguedrones, you can get them in combat turn 3.

Notes: Slaanesh
Probably your best bet, you can cover around 13" a turn, they'll hit turn 4 at the very latest, and with fleet they're bound to get into assault. They also provide a very solid firesoak for your army.

Price 8/10 Very Competitively priced. 185 points for a battlecannon that won't die? That's fantastic.

Survivability 8/10 Again, very solid. Soul grinders with a 3+ cover save won't be shifted. Worth noting that they're very rarely not going to come to blows given that they ignore stunned on a 2+. 

Damage Output 7/10 They strike hard in combat, but they get quagmired easily. You have to screen them carefully. 

Rules 7/10 Daemonic resilience is fantastic, and Daemon ensures soul grinders are unsurpassed in terms of competitive walkers (except by knights, but I like to pretend they don't exist)

God's boon bonus: Tzeentch 6/10 Not the worst bet, but they don't gain anything.

God's boon bonus: Khorne 1/10 The only boon here is that your model is cheaper than everyone elses.

God's boon bonus: Nurgle 7/10 Solid. It's hard to hide a Soul grinder, but if you get it right, it could carry the game for you.

God's boon bonus: Slaanesh 9/10 Makes a no-shooting soul grinder very quick, and that's pretty cool.

Overall Tzeentch 7.2/10 Reasonable, reasonably priced. The Soul Grinder carries its weight because it is what it is, not because of tzeentch.

Overall Khorne 6.2/10 The weakest of the lot, but still hits for knocks when it smacks into combat. 

Overall Nurgle 7.4/10 Solid, with a solid shooting platform in mind, or a survivable tanker. Depends on the availability of large terrain when you play. 

Overall Slaanesh 7.6/10 It can make up for it if it screws up the deepstrike, and it's a reasonable unit starting first turn on the board. You'll go far striking with one of these. 

Everything Else

Skull Cannon of Khorne

Strengths
S8 shooting
Makes charging more reliable
Can soak overwatch for other units

Weaknesses
Good luck having it on the table past turn one.
Notes:
The Skull Cannon is, in theory, a fantastic tool that lets your units have the frag grenades they're not allowed. Shame it'll never survive turn two.

Price 6/10 Price is justifiable for what it does, It's just too much for what you get in the end.
Survivability 4/10 It needs to not be Open topped, and it needs an extra hull point. Then you might be looking at something that can survive the first turn. 

Damage Output 6/10 Marginal, given AP5. Mostly you use it to get the assault off effectively.

Rules 3/10 It'll be using daemon of khorne far often than it should be.

God's boon bonus 1/10 They could've at least made the hammer of wrath S8. Then, at least it could kill some marines instantly.

Overall 4/10 It's not good. You'd get a better weapon out of a soul grinder of khorne, for only 10 extra points.

Burning Chariot of Tzeentch

Strengths
3 BS4 Lascannons OR a S5AP3 flamer!*

Weaknesses
* Oh wait, both of them are heavy. OH WELL.
AV10 chassis with 3 HP relying on a 5++.
100 points.
I guess at least it gets d6 S6 Hammer of wrath OH WAIT THEY GIVE YOUR OPPONENT FNP. 

Notes
No but seriously, they're awful.

Price 3/10 A 10/10/10 HP3 chariot with no reliable way to assault, or shoot? At least its sorta cheap. A sentinel does more, mind.

Survivability 8/10 It's so survivable because NOBODY would ever shoot at this thing, assuming first blood has been decided. 

Damage Output 2/10 A waste of time and space. The weapon could be reliable, but the minute range and heavy typing reduce its usability very drastically. A 100 point devastator squad if you succeed

Rules 1/10 In this case, the rules bone the tank. 

God's boon bonus 3/10 It doesn't really make much use of the tzeentch rules past the first blood decider.

Overall 3/10 The only thing that makes this piece of it even remotely good is the fact that it's so bad that it'll never be killed.

Seeker Cavalcade (Seeker Chariot)

Very cool take on the Seeker. Sourced from CMON (score 7.7)

Strengths
Fast status and minute price ensures that the seeker chariots can get there quickly enough, or be expendable failing to do so.
AV11 ensures that your opponent needs to put something stronger than a multi-laser into this unit, although this may make it less reliable as a damage soak given that a slaanesh list running seekers needs something to draw small arms fire off their units. I suuggest driving backwards to attract boltguns to the fleshy AV10 on the rear.
Can get up to 12 S6 rending attacks, and that's pretty cool (Plus the Exalted alluress' attacks)

Weaknesses
Weak chassis
Doesn't get the fantastic soulscent rule which would make three of these with a greater reward on eacch bloke an autotake. 

Notes
Good luck placing them on the field.

Price 8/10 Priced a little higher than a rhino, it's almost as survivable (about .33 hullpoints less survivable) and does way more in assault. 

Survivability 4/10 AV11 can actually be to its weakness, but it's reasonable given the price of the chassis

Damage Output 7/10 a 40 point unit that can reasonably do some wounds in combat.

Rules 7/10 Fast and Flesh-shredder are fantastic for this platform. 

God's boon bonus 7/10 Makes very solid use of  rending and fleet. 

Overall 6.6/10 Reasonable, if you hate soulgrinders.

Seeker Cavalcade (Exalted Seeker Chariot)

Strengths
Read: Seeker Chariot. Add 2 HP. and 2D6 attacks.
Makes an excellent firesoak because it actually hurts in close combat.

Weaknesses
Almost double the tank with no real survivability boon. (yes, two more hull points, but your opponent WILL blow it up.)

Notes
Again, a pain to place. Solid outside of this fault.

Price 7/10 Very competitive pricing.

Survivability 5/10 Better than the standard, but not overpoweringly so.

Damage Output 8/10 average 14 S6 rending attacks on the charge.

Rules 7/10 Read: Seeker Chariot

God's boon bonus 7/10  Read: Seeker Chariot.

Overall 7/10 Again, a solid unit. Not competition for the Soul grinder, though. Two seeker chariots and one of these could strike pretty hard while being relatively cheap at 185 points. 

Reviewing the Daemons Codex, Part 6: Fast Attack

Preface:

Hi Guys, I'm sorry for the late submission. I've had a bit on my plate with University and that always means I push the blog away from my mind. However, I haven't forgotten that I still need to do finish off this review! Without Further Adieu, I bring to you, my simple review of the Chaos Daemon's Fast Attack Section. 

The Beasts of Chaos:

Screamers of Tzeentch

Strengths

T4 with 2 wounds

Reasonable ability in Close Combat, Even if they don't use Lamprey's Bite

Even without a 2+ save, can stand up to a reasonable amount of damage. 

Good luck if you play Scouring.

Weaknesses

Although they're pretty much impossible to erase, they don't do very much. Expect to lose an objective to them, or to be unable to touch an objective in the scouring, but not much else. 

Notes

Look, we all Know how screamer star works, must I explain it?

Okay, so you get a 4++ from Div's Forewarning, then grimoire. Hope you have good ol' fatey for that re-roll you need to badly. Are we done? thought so. Alternatively, get Bel'akor if you're not playing too much tau. 

Price 8/10 It's correct.

Survivability 10/10 In terms of non-gimmick survivability, still about a 7. 

Damage Output 5/10 It can do it, just not a lot. Better used to tie up a key squad.

Rules 7/10 Lamprey's Bite makes them decent, if not fantastic. Slashing attack is give or take. 

God's Boon Bonus 10/10 Assuming you make use of the aforementioned Blue Chee- I mean, gimmick.

Overall 8/10 Fantastic unit, but not the top of the pops.

Flesh Hounds of Khorne

Strengths

T4 with 2 wounds, 8 points per wound

Very decent close combat unit. 

They're tough enough to require S8 to remove, but far too cheap to make the S8 worthwhile. 

One of the only units in the codex that can ride without T6 or a 3++. 

Weaknesses

Not very threatening to certain targets. A riptide charging into one neuters them completely, although at the cost of never using that riptide again.

Not the most fantastic damage dealers. 

Notes

40 T4 wounds is nothing to be laughed at, and that's what these guys bring to the table. You don't need a grimoire on them necessarily and if you throw in an exalted locus herald you can make them a very effective unit. The Scout move ensures they can hit their target turn two without fail and can always absorb the fire for something more valuable.

Price 10/10 Fantastic for their Price, Being only second to Furies in terms of price per wound, they bring so much more to the table than furies ever could. 

Survivability 8/10 Simply Fantastic. The Ideal throw-away is hard to erase and pisses off your opponent as a nuisance. That is what Khorne Dogs do. 

Damage Output 7/10 Not Fantastic, but they deal it. 

Rules 8/10 Good With Hatred, but Furious Charge isn't pivotal except against the odd AV11 OTR tank. What makes them fantastic is scout, presenting them as a more immediate threat than your real problem - the Crushers or Seekers. 

God's Boon Bonus 7/10 They Bear that one thing they get with pride, but they don't make it fantastic. Also, they'll almost never use it as you usually charge multiple things with them. 

Overall 8/10 They're Fantastic. 

Plague Drones of Nurgle

Strengths 

T5 with 3 wounds

Extremely fast for a unit with slow and purposeful. 

Hits reasonably hard in close combat. 

Reasonably Survivable. 

Weaknesses

Deathly afraid of S10, more than even blood crushers of khorne. 

They don't hit hard enough to justify their price. 

They have god awful models

Notes

These guys are best used as a way to get a great unclean one and a tonne of plaguebearers into the fray quickly with their Icon. 

Price 4/10 It's a bit over the reasonable limit.

Survivability 9/10 They're tough, but they aren't cheap enough to make it a good price.

Damage Output 7/10 Faltering, but they do okay. 

Rules 7/10 They make very good use of Cavalry/jetpack.

God's Boon Bonus 8/10 Shrouded is their friend, if they can cling to cover, they almost don't need the grimoire.

Overall 7/10 They're the worst option in this section of the codex, But any other Codex would love them intensely.

Seekers of Slaanesh

Strengths

Fantastic amount of , Low to medium Quality attacks that can drown almost any squad under their weight. 

Really Cheap

Very fast. 

Make Excellent use of Rending and 9" runs.

Weaknesses 

T3 with one wound ensures they need to be your grimoire. 

one squad is cheap, but it will take casualties. 

They don't like hard-hitting opponents, but you need to throw them at them. If your opponent's packing a half-decent close combat unit, prepare to take casualties. 

Notes

These guys work fanastically in conjunction with 2 squads of fleshounds of khorne.

Price 10/10 Fantastic given their strengths.

Survivability 4/10 You have to rely on oversaturation fo targets for them to work. 

Damage Output 10/10 One of the best, but no way of dealing with AV13+. 

Rules 9/10 They make fantastic use of their Cavalry rule.

God's Boon Bonus 10/10 Again, they make fantastic use of the D6+6" runs, meaning they can keep pace with khorne flesh hounds very easily. 

Overall 8.6/10 

Hellflayer of Slaanesh

Strengths

Uh... 7 S6 rending attacks is okay I guess. Can get S3AP2 attacks on the Alluress I guess. 

Weaknesses

2 HP, AV11.
Doesn't have the wounds to make use of Soulscent.

Notes

Just... don't.

Price 4/10 25 would be too much. 

Survivability 1/10 First Blood is easy with this tank. 

Damage Output 4/10 Mediocre given its price and competition.

Rules 5/10 soulscent has potential, but it still isn't worth it.

God's Boon Bonus 3/10 Rending is nice I guess?

Overall 3.6/10 Still a better take than the masque. 

Chaos Furies

Strengths

Cheap T35++ wounds

can be a good firesoak but is an easy kill point in scouring.

Weaknesses

It doesn't do anything. One Daemonic instability test and they're losing 5. 

Notes

They have potential, it just doesn't shine when things like flesh hounds and seekers exist.

Price 8/10 They're well priced, they just don't do enough. On a side note, a 20 Chaos Furies is 120 points and is better than 5 assault marines.

Survivability 2/10 Piss Poor. 

Damage Output 4/10 Poor, but you aren't taking them for that, are you? But I mean, what are you taking them for? Better than Assault Marines I guess. 

Rules 4/10 They make excellent use of the 5++. 

God's Boon Bonus 0/10 I wouldn't bother marking them. 

Overall 3.8 Still a better take than the Masque, on par or better than assault marines. 

Reviewing the Daemons Codex, Part 5: Elites

Preface

The Daemons codex is actually fantastic. Aside from the Troops and HQ slots, you almost can't go wrong with the choices in this book. While some are clearly stronger than others, almost everything has its competitive place in games. With that in mind, it's important to note that every .2 points here counts - scores should end up tight. In place of standard loadouts, I'm including simple notes on the unit. If there's anything that really needs to be said about how to run them, I'll mention it.

The Elites

Flamers of Tzeentch

Strengths

S4AP4 flamer on every model

2 wounds

Weaknesses: 

T4

Not awful fast, meaning they should deepstrike

Doesn't really take advantage of their powers, don't have a good way to get close to their enemy. 

Don't really hit very hard at all.
Notes:
They'll perform against hordes and swarms, 9 S4AP4 flamers will usually annihilate any squad you put in front of them. The flipside is that more than half of the armies you'll play don't really feel AP4 too badly, and if they do they'll be able to beat it up fairly easily.

One note is that the pyrocaster is BS5, which means that he might make a fairly resilient quadgunner.

Price 4/10 They don't perform well enough to justify their price.
Survivability 6/10 They're dead quickly if they're a threat, they don't matter if they aren't.
Damage Output 5/10 50:50, they perform.
Rules 5/10 Nothing of Note
God's boon bonus 5/10 I guess they make use of their re-rolls ones on saves?
Overall: 5/10 They're not awful, but they don't perform It's a coin flip as to whether or not they're worthwhile, and unfortunately usually that will not work in their favour.

Bloodcrushers

Strengths
Phenominal on the charge with the right set up.
S6AP3 OTC, 4 attacks each + hammer of Wrath
Even with AP3, they can still drown most 2+ saves in enough attacks that they have to start taking wounds.
3 wounds
Banner of Blood is fantastic in ensuring that charges go off.
Weaknesses
T4 really hurts against some armies.
They really, really, really REALLY need a 3+ armour save. Otherwise, losing grimoire on them just hurts too much.
Notes
I could write a thesis on what makes bloodcrushers viable in this edition, but I don't think I have your attention for that length of time. I'll keep it simple, to be brought up at a later date (or in the comments when you call me a retard/something else grossly inappropriate) Bloodcrushers are missing something to make them viable. If they were Toughness 5, OR had a 3+ save, OR had AP2, OR had a points reduction (to about 35 points), they would become extremely viable. As it stands now, they're still fantastic, they're just outshone by the other fantastic units in the army, which don't require such complex handling.

Price 5/10 They're just overpriced, but it's not that they're price isn't correct, they just lack something to make their price reasonable.
Survivability 6/10 T4 is shucks if they're bringing a lot of S8, but that just means you have a first turn priority to protect them from it. They're fucked against dark eldar packing too much S8, but they can usually stand up to armies that pack anything but it. It takes 9 wounds to bring one down with a 3++, which is pretty useful for soaking wounds.
Damage Output 10/10 Simply Fantastic, truly. 6 of them puts out 6 S5AP- attacks, 24 S6AP3 attacks on the charge. IF you throw in karanak, and a pair of heralds along with a bloodhunter, you're looking at 8S5AP- 20 S6AP3 attacks, 5 S6AP- attacks, 15 S6AP2 attacks with instant death. Against armies that aren't packing much Sv2+, you can get a massive amount of other benefits on your heralds which can be fantastic for pushing the game in your favour.
Rules 7/10 They make good use of the banner of blood. They also make excellent use of rage or hatred, along with furious charge and the cavalry rules. It's a damn shame they can't have hatred and rage.
God's Boons Bonus 6/10 They make good use of their Furious charge. Why can't khorne give us something else? Shame khorne only gives the one thing.
Overall 7/10 I'm biased and I'm not going to pretend I'm not. I simply love these units, I just wish they were better.

Beasts of Nurgle
Strengths

Fantastic Damage output
Fantastic Resilience
Wonderful rules for pissing off your opponents
Very tough even without grimoire
Weaknesses
Access to Locusi is annoying, if possible.
Weak Vs. Vehicles.
Notes
Beasts of nurgle are actually fantastic. They're brilliant as a concept, as fluff, as units and as damage soakers. They even do damage dealing relatively well. Let's leave it at this: BONs are wonderful and every one is unique and puppylike and if you don't like them, you're not playing the right army.

Price 8/10 Pricey, but definitely worth it.
Survivability 10/10 Technically beaten out by the great unclean one, but 45 T5 wounds with a 5++, Shrouded, IWND and possibly FNP are not going to be removed from the table. Just watch out for S10.
Damage Output 8/10 Very respectable.
Rules 7/10 Slow and purposeful doesn't hurt them too much, and Attentionseeker can absolutely swing the game in your favour. Slime Trail also means that beasts of nurgle are almost impossible to remove from the table by any means.
God's Boons Bonus 8/10 They like Shrouded, but slow and purposeful hurts a bit.
Overall 8.2/10 Easily the best in the elites slot. They're a awesome frustration unit. Even units of 3 of them will perform.

Fiends of Slaanesh

Strengths
I6 and Soporific Musk means they almost always go first in close combat.
4 S4 Rending attacks at WS4 each
can usually be left to their own devices, they don't specifically need a Herald.
Siren Song can be annoying
More wounds per point than seekers (marginally)
Take more hits that aren't S8 than seekers.
Weaknesses
Less points per attack than seekers (by a landslide)
Notes
Fiends don't compare to seekers, which makes it counter-intuitive to compare the two. While seekers hit harder against more things, it can be argued that fiends are more reliable against their targets by always hitting first, but this is where their strengths end. They need the charge set up better and need to be protected on their way to their assault. They make for a half-decent fire-soak if the game doesn't suit them.

Price 6/10 Pricey for what they're intended for, if not unreasonable.
Survivability 7/10 Their only real strength. They hit fast and don't die that easily before they get there.
Damage Output 7/10 Reasonable.
Rules 7/10 Pretty good, really. They hit hard and fast because of them.
God's Boons Bonus 7/10 They make use of that rending very well.
Overall 6.8/10 They aren't definitive, but they aren't awful.

Verdict:

Beasts of nurgle, 3.2 from the worst contender and 1.2 from their closest contender and 1.45 above the average for this section. These guys are fantastic, and should be viewed as such. They're extremely hard to rub out without the right tools, and take a bunch of hits before they die. They need very little handling and that makes them even more reliable. While they come down a little against MC and really feel daemonic instability, Beasts of nurgle can hold out for the whole game and while you shouldn't always expect them to win combat, they will always perform, every game.

Reviewing the Daemons Codex, Part 4: Troops

Preface 

The Daemon's codex doesn't really have four troops plus the Swarm unit, it actually only has 2 - the Camper and the Aggressor. What's interesting, is the two rivalries, Slaanesh and Khorne, and Nurgle and Tzeentch actually resemble these roles. Being as all these troops share some rules, they will have some strengths that are always the same. Otherwise, Note that every loadout I've given is a multiple of the army's God's Number. (9 for Tzeentch, 8 for Khorne, 7 for Nurgle and 6 Slaanesh.)

The Troops 

Common Strengths

All have a 5++

All have Fear 

All have Daemonic Instability

All are affected by the warp storm table

Common Weaknesses

All have Daemonic Instability

All are affected by the warpstorm table

Tzeentch Pink Horrors 

Strengths:

Only Infantry unit capable of shooting from Codex: Daemons

16 horrors and a herald can put out 8D6 S6AP4 shots with re-rolls to hit. 

Weaknesses:

Awful in close combat, though prescience can make them okay

Ranged is arguably mediocre, and can be completely neutered by a single dice roll

Standard Loadout:

16 Horrors with a blasted Standard (because why not), pyrocaster with lesser reward. Taken with a Tzeentch Herald with Exalted Locus, Lesser/greater reward and ML3. 

Price: 6/10 Nothing Fantastic, probably a little high, but 8.5 points is an unreasonable price to put models at. 

Survivability: 6/10 You can't honestly give any daemon unit an awful rating because they all have a 5++. But these guys aren't the best. Being able to hide on cover makes them relatively survivable, also re-rolling saves of 1 is very decent. 

Damage Output: 8/10 Only unit with any ranged damage output that isn't a vehicle or a monster, it's nice that that damage is also relatively good. 

Rules: 7/10 The Warp Charge rule is nice, the blue horror rule is give or take. IT could be useful for ending a combat soon? 

God's Boon: 8/10 Make excellent use of the bonuses of being a Tzeentch daemon. 

Overall: 7/10 They're pretty good. I don't like them, but they're nice enough.

Khorne Bloodletters

Strengths:
S5AP3 attacks on the charge, S4AP3 off the charge.
Access to the Banner of Blood means they can get charges off reliably.
Can man a quad gun effectively.
Weaknesses
Not fast enough to be worthwhile, AP3 isn't definitive enough to make them excellent.
Given the oversaturation of S6AP3 shooting weapons, their AP3 isn't as valuable because there isn't enough targets.
Expensive
Standard Loadout
16 with a blood reaper with a lesser reward and banner of blood. - 195 points

Price: 4/10 AP3 doesn't make their price fair.
Survivability: 5/10 You better be bringing some dangerous things to the table if you want these things not to die. Fortunately, this is the codex for that.
Damage Output: 7/10 Decent, but not definitive. If they simply had a power weapon, they'd be able to be the same price and could have a range of effective combat tools in their arsenal. I'd pay eleven points for that.
Rules: 7/10 The weakest rules of the daemons codex, but acceptable nonetheless.
God's boon: 6/10 They're hard to get into the charge, but S5AP3 is nice. Shame being khorne doesn't offer more.
Overall: 5.8/10 They're mediocre. Decidingly.

Nurgle Plaguebearers

Strengths
S/T4 with Shrouded, Defensive grenades, a 5++ and poisoned 4+ attacks.
decent in combat against most things
A pain to beat at any range, even combat
Weaknesses
Can't move faster than a relative crawl.
Bad at charges
Standard Loadout
14 bearers with Plaguebringer, lesser reward. Throw in FNP locus for, y'know, FNP if you want.

OR

20 Bearers with Plaguebringer, lesser reward, Virulence banner, Herald with ML3, FNP Locus and palanquin, behind an ADL with a quad gun. Never lose an objective again.

Price: 8/10 Tough as nails for 126 points? Awesome.
Survivability: 10/10 As far as troops are concerned, they're fantastic.
Damage Output: 6/10 Respectable, but not great. They are BS 3 so not awesome for holding a quad gun.
Rules: 8/10 Perfect for their intended role.
God's boon: 9/10 They make awesome use of their powers.
Overall: 8.2/10 Best cappers in daemons, probably the best cappers in the game.

Slaanesh Daemonettes 

Strengths
Rending, a buttload of attacks on the charge
Fantastically speedy
Cheap, probably should be 10 points.
5++
Weaknesses
Shoot a gun at them and they'll die. 10 guardsmen (19 shots) kill 3 of them average.
Standard Loadout
18, maybe rapturous standard? Alluress with Lesser Reward

Price: 7/10 Just behind seeker cav in terms of output per point.
Survivability: 6/10 Just a bit harder than ork boys, their speed is their best friend.
Damage Output: 8/10 Unrivalled as a troop choice. Put them in against 2+ saves.
Rules: 8/10 They do work with their run moves.
God's boon: 9/10 The Boons maketh the daemons, as one would say.
Overall: 7.6/10 Fantastic as an offensive unit. Not the best cappers.

Nurglings

Strengths
Lots of wounds
Still a Daemon of nurgle
Infiltrate them in a building or close to your enemy for turn two charge soaking.
Weaknesses
They're meh. They don't score. If they could score, they'd be fantastic.
Standard Loadout
7 bases

Price: 4/10 Meh.
Survivability: 4/10 Lots of wounds, bad toughness.
Damage Output: 3/10 Move Along.
Rules: 4/10 Can't score.
God's boon: 5/10 Shrouded is their best friend
Overall: 4/10 pretty bad. 

Verdict

As I said, the Daemon's troop section is split into two groups: Scorers and attackers. The winner is the nurgle plaguebearer, but the agressive winner is the slaanesh daemons. I don't think there should be much contest here.

Reviewing the Chaos Daemons Codex, Part 3: The Heralds of Chaos

Preface

Heralds represent the most customisable unit in the entirety of the Chaos Daemons Codex. Generally ranging from about 100 points to 200 but not much more, All Heralds are extremely capable challenge caddies and fantastic combat units. However, there are clearly heralds that are far more effective at their charges. In this section, I will review every unique and generic herald and suggest the best roles for them. 

Notes

Heralds are the most synergistic unit in the codex. While everyone of them is essentially a Troop Choice on steroids (Warp dust?), each can lend their fantastic skills to any range of their like-aligned Troop, Fast attack or elites slot. 

In this section, I will also specifically review the Locusi available to each herald, and which is the clear best. Unsurprisingly, usually the more expensive locus tends to be better, though this is not the case in every situation. 

I will review the Blue Scribes and the Masque of slaanesh in this section (separately) despite neither specifically being heralds. 

The heralds 

Tzeentch 

Lesser Locus

Transmorgification: 

Place D3 Blue Horrors instead of 1. 

So useful. I mean, I guess if you wanna run suicide pink horror squads. Which you shouldn't.

Greater Locus

Change

SD6 each turn

This could be very useful (cough) on a Pink horror. Shame 50% of the time, it won't do anything/make his strength even worse.

Exalted Locus

Conjuration

+1 S for psychic powers

If I understand tis correctly, this gives you S6 AP4 FFOT, SD6+2 TF, SD6+5 BOC, SD6+5 IG etc... Could be quite useful in the right situation, I won't lie. I would consider it, because it actually means FFOT can hurt flyers and armour. 

Herald of Tzeentch

Strengths

Access to Div, 4+ invulns, Prescience.

Most reliable Psyker herald. 

Can keep up with his charge

Can give you a cheap Multi-shot heavy bolters.

Re-rolls 1's to save.

can get 2+ re-rollable invulnerable saves. 

Weaknesses

2 Wounds, 2 attacks

Basically needs a jetbike to be good. 

Basically needs ML3 to be good. 

BS4, just to piss you off

Things to Watch

Put 4 of them in a screamer star, get 4++, give Prescience, get 4 FFOT, Cast 14D6 (14~84) S6AP4 attacks

Standard Loadout

Herald of tzeentch with Exalted Reward OR Greater/Lesser Reward, Disk of Tzeentch, ML3. One could take the Exalted Locus because it's just so damn nice. 

Price 8/10 Very reasonably priced, being no more than 175 points with an exalted reward and Exalted Locus. Still, it's one of the more expensive Heralds. 

Survivability 7/10 Touch and go. If it gets its 2++, it's untouchable. If it doesn't it'll die to a stiff breeze.

Damage Output 7/10 Best Shooting potential outside of the Soul Grinder and Daemons. Decent in combat considering. 

Rules 9/10 Access to Divination is fucking huge. FFOT is also respectable.

Army Bonuses 9/10 The second best herald for squad bonuses.
Overall: 8/10 

The Changeling

Strengths

Can gain the WS/S/T/I/A of a fighter in base contact.

Weaknesses

Forced ML1 

Force to be on foot

Forced to take Lesser Locus 

A combat unit forced into units not build for combat.

A combat unit with no AP2, or rending, or something.

Things to Watch

Watch your opponent remove him to the first S6 weapon shot at it. 

Standard Loadout

On the Shelf - a waste of a herald slot.

Price 6/10 A waste of time, not even worth the 15 point combat bonuses.

Survivability 4/10 Has to get into combat to become survivable, has to take a pink horror squad as his caddy. 

Damage Output 5/10 As good as any ML1 Herald of Tzeentch

Rules 6/10 That rule could help if you get stuck in combat, but generally... no.

Army Bonuses 3/10 He adds nothing to your army. Comp, maybe?
Overall: 4.8/10 Not the absolute worst unit in the codex, but nowhere near acceptably good. 

Khorne 

Lesser Locus

Abjuration

Adamantium Will USR

Wouldn't pay for it. 

Greater Locus

Fury

Rage USR.

Could be very useful on dogs, basically doubling their damage output if they charge one unit. Usually you want to charge more than one unit with dogs though, so unreliably effective. Doesn't compare to the Exalted Locus

Exalted Locus

Wrath

Hatred USR.

Reliably useful in multi-assaults, when you get counter-charged etc. Worth the 5 extra points over the Greater Locus. 

Herald Of Khorne

Strengths

Best user of the Lesser Rewards

S6 OTC, 4 - 6 attacks

Access to hatred

T5 if on juggernaught

Hit like a Truck

Weaknesses

No Psychic Powers

Absolutely needs combat to be effective.

Unlike Slaanesh Heralds, they don't tend to outspeed the more dangerous enemies - DE beasts.

Things to Watch

Watch one of these guys with an AOK and greater reward tear through your enemies HQ or his MC units. A herald of Khorne can cut a riptide down to size quicksmart. 

These units can also one man army most enemy units of troops. 

Standard Loadout

Herald of Khorne with Exalted OR Greater/lesser reward, Exalted Locus and Juggernaught (Exalted locus not necessary on subsequent heralds of khorne.)

Price 8/10 One of the Cheaper heralds

Survivability 7/10 T5 with 3 wounds and access to greater rewards is very nice. 

Damage Output 8/10 Slaanesh beats him, but khorne's heralds kick ass.

Rules 7/10 Furious charge doesn't compare to the bonuses Slaanesh gets. 

Army Bonuses 8/10 Can make one unit excellent.
Overall: 7.6/10 I'm probably a little biased, but these guys are clearly powerfighters in this codex.

Karanak

Strengths

Can one-man army any lightly armoured enemy target.

Rage Caddy if you don't wanna buy hatred (waste of points if you do)

Bonuses against one character in the enemy army. 

Gives your squad anti-psychic defence, makes Perils of the Warp a real threat.

Gives a squad scouts.

Personal hatred means he can one-man a squad much easier than another herald could.

T5, 3 wounds

Weaknesses 

No AP2, a Character hunter with no way of removing armour.

Things to Watch

Karanak can push a unit of Bloodcrushers up field with dogs on the flanks. 40 dogs + a crusher star makes for a very scary rush list, although Crushers may not be as effective as seekers, he ensures they keep up with the pace of the army.

Standard Loadout

As is.

Price 8/10 IF he didn't have the Greater Locus, and either had a 20 point price reduction, or cost 5 points more for the exalted locus, he'd be a ten.

Survivability 6/10 T5 with 3 wounds

Damage Output 6/10 AP values are what makes Heralds so Definitive. Karanak Lacks this, but still hits hard.

Rules 9/10 You're taking him for scouts.

Army Bonuses 9/10 Makes Bloodcrushers almost viable.
Overall: 7.6/10 About the same value as a herald of Khorne.

Skulltaker

Strengths

Instant Death

WS, BS and I9, A3

Eternal warrior

3+ save

Weaknesses

Forced Challenge caddy, AP3. 

Things to Watch

He can one-man almost any squad without a 2+ save. He can one-man any monster without a 2+ save. He beats out a skin-bones DP.

Standard Loadout

Skulltaker on juggernaught He needs the jugger to be any good.

Price 6/10 145 is frustrating because he's almost hte price of a normal herald, without adding much to your squad.

Survivability 9/10 Eternal warrior makes him a hard kill for any monster.

Damage Output 6/10 If it has a 2+ save, go home.

Rules 4/10 If it has a 2+ save, he can't go home because he has to challenge it.

Army Bonuses 4/10 Adds nothing to your army - in fact, he takes from it because he takes up a herald slot

Overall: 5.8/10 Decent, but not exceptional. 

Nurgle 

Lesser Locus

Virulence:

To hit rolls of 6 are Poisoned 2+. 

Meh. 

Greater Locus

Fecundity

FNP USR.

Huge, But not good because the Nurgle Herald lacks speed.

Exalted Locus

Contagion

To hit rolls of 6 garner extra S4AP- Poisoned 4+ hit

This one's pretty good, but it's completely overshadowed by fecundity.

Nurgle Herald

Strengths

T5 with 4 wounds (Palanquin)

4 attacks Off the charge at S5 (poisoned, too!).

Gives his squad FNP.

Weaknesses

Can't keep up with plague drones or beasts. 

Can't get poisoned and AP2. 

Things to Watch

Eh. 20 Plague Marines and one of these guys will never die.

Standard Loadout

Herald of Nurgle, with ML2, Exalted Reward (or Greater/lesser), Locus of Fecundity, Palanquin. 

Price 7/10 I'd pay 100 points to get FNP on BONbons or on Plague Drones. 

Survivability 9/10 Unrivalled in the heralds slot.

Damage Output 5/10 Mediocre. I guess a few S5 attacks could be very nice. 

Rules 4/10 Not being able to be cavalry ruins this herald so badly.

Army Bonuses 5/10 Read: rules.
Overall: 6/10 It's okay, but it's nowhere near good enough. 

Epidemus

Strengths

Tough as any herald of nurgle

Tally of Pestilence can make your scoring squad impervious. 

Weaknesses

No access to Fecundity or ML2 Biomancy.

He needs to be near the action to be useful.

Things to Watch

In the right situation, he can make a squad of 20 Plaguebearers with T5 and FNP4+.  

Standard Loadout

As is. Put him in a squad of 20 nurgle daemons with an extra herald. Try to kill lots of stuff while holding objectives.

Price 7/10 Reasonable, but not justifiable.

Survivability 9/10 Same as any herald of Nurgle.

Damage Output 5/10 The same as any herald of nurgle. Can make your squad very hard hitters as he gains momentum.

Rules 6/10 Tally of Pestilence doesn't make up for the lack of psychic powers

Army Bonuses 6/10 Tally of Pestilence could be awesome, but it's so contextual it isn't even funny.
Overall: 6.6/10 He's better than a normal herald, I guess, but that's not hard.

Slaanesh

Lesser Locus

Grace

MTC USR

Could be nice if you don't need a squad with a dedicated character killer.

Greater Locus

Swiftness

+5 Init

Makes sure your unit that already goes first... goes first? Meh. Contextual. 

Exalted Locus

Beguilement

Fuck Challenge rules

Kill that important character, your opponents Hit and Run Caddy, or remove their hardest hitter from play and hopefully kill him before he can strike. 

Herald of Slaanesh

Strengths

Hits like a laiden truck going down a hill: Fast, and hard. 

Even if it doesn't get an ether blade, it has rending and enough attacks to make it work. 

Goes first.

Enough attacks to hit anything for pain.

Extremely fast

Weaknesses

Can't definitively kill a character with more than two wounds in a challenge reliably (unless they don't have an invuln, of course) 

Low Toughness, No wounds. 

Things to Watch

Your horrified opponent remove his support suit/tigurius because you could choose who stepped up to the plate.

Standard Loadout

Herald Greater/lesser with Exalted Locus, Steed.

Herald with Exalted, Steed.

Price 8/10 Can get very expensive very quickly. Usually worth every point.

Survivability 3/10 It relies on hitting first, which doesn't work at range. Still, it's usually got 20 seekers surrounding, amping its toughness.

Damage Output 10/10 Unrivalled in low strength, high quality attacks. 

Rules 9/10 Beguilement is unreasonably good.

Army Bonuses 8/10 I don't think they add that much outside of a good amount of attacks and challenge soakers.
Overall: 7.8/10 Unrivalled for this slot. 

Non-herald class Minor Daemon HQs

Masque of Slaanesh

Strengths

The Eternal Dance could be really cool. If it could be done within a squad. And from horseback. 

Re-rolls invulnerable saves

Weaknesses

No IC, T3 with 2 wounds

Things to Watch

You remove this 2 wound lady turn 1, giving up first blood.

Standard Loadout

On the shelf.

Price 3/10 Unreasonable, given how fragile she is.

Survivability 0/10 Absolutely unredeemably fragile

Damage Output 1/10 She'll never get there. Could be good if she got there, I guess.

Rules 3/10 Would be a great unit leader, but she isn't an IC. 

Army Bonuses 0/10 Move along. 
Overall: 1.4/10 Awful. Literally the worst unit in a pretty amazing codex. Possibly a contender for the worst unit in the entire game.

The Blue idi- I mean, scribes.

Strengths 

Uh...

Spell syphon's pretty cool, I guess. 

Weaknesses

Very fragile

Unreliable psychic powers

Spell Syphon is cool, but useless.

Annoying pricing number, too.

Things to Watch 

Your 81 point investment go down the drain. 

Standard Loadout

In the store. The model isn't even worth the time.

Price 1/10 9 points would be more reasonable. 

Survivability 2/10 2 Wounds, T4 re-rolling 1's. It'll die, but not as quick as the masque.

Damage Output 0/10 Lol.

Rules 4/10 Spell Syphon could be useful in some situations, I guess.

Army Bonuses 1/10 Spell Syphon again.
Overall: 1.6/10 Awful, once again. Neither of these characters are hard enough to make them worthwhile, given their lack of the independent character special rule. Add to that, they take up a full HQ slot. You'd be better taking a plain herald than one of these jokes. 

Reviewing the Chaos Demons Codex, Part 2: The Greater Daemons HQ choices.

Preface:

Daemons is a very, very linear codex in terms of actual options. Most codexes will allow the player's HQ to take exactly the weapons and wargear they want him to have. Not so with the Chaos Demons Codex - While you get access to good weapons in the rewards '0' options, you can't give a model a specific weapon, the way you want to. As an example, you can't pay 10 points and give your herald of khorne an Axe of Khorne. You have to buy a lesser reward, which takes up rewards points. This is an interesting technique, as it is unique to the Daemons codex and limits army-list level character variations. 

Keeping this in mind, I can no longer truly offer loadout suggestions for your army. Instead, I can only suggest which rewards best suit this particular character. My "Standard Loadouts" are a suggestion of how I will usually run that unit. Also note, I won't be reviewing Daemon Princes in this section, as they're usually taken in the Heavy Support Slot. 

Finally, if you feel I've undervalued something, or if I've forgotten to include something, feel free to tell me. If I agree with the statement you present me, I will change the entry accordingly. 

Note: Metacharacteristic value is a completely useless stat. To find the Metacharacteristic value of a unit, add up their statline (that is, WS/BS/S/T/W/I/A/LD), then divide by 80. This is the percentage of a 'perfect statline' they meet.

9. Tzeentch 

Lord of Change: 

Strengths

T6 with 5 Wounds, 5++ rerolling 1's. 

Reliable (albeit Psychic) shooting

Weaknesses

Doesn't compare to the control that Kairos Fateweaver gives you.

Things to Watch:

Aim for precognition and perfect timing. If you get both, or if you just get one, go with FFoT. You'll have a very accurate 2D6 Heavy Bolter on a unit that re-rolls basically everything

Failing in that, this guy makes a very safe grimoire. Try to get the 4+ invulnerable save and your unit will get a 2+. This is the backbone of the screamerstar, as I'm sure you already knew. 

Standard Loadout:

Maxed out. Always ML3, usually either 2 Greaters 1 Lesser, or Greater/lesser reward. Run him with a Staff of Change to get 6-7 S8AP2 attacks at I6 in close combat, and make your enemies explode when you kill them. Usually 305 points.

Price 8/10 For the 1/6 of your army price tag, you get a lot to play with.

Survivability 7/10 5 wounds at T6 with anywhere from a 2++ to a 5++ that also re-rolls 1's? very scary.

Damage Output 8/10 Mostly dedicated anti-FMC shooting, but a decent combatant.

Rules 6/10 Tzeentch daemons have lots of benefits, but the Psychic powers have really noticable drawbacks. Usually, the LOC is good enough that he'll annihilate your target outright rather than giving them FNP6+. 

Army Bonuses 8/10 Want to make your grimoire tank? This is your dude to make it happen. 

Overall 7.4/10

Metacharacteristic Value: .61

Kairos Fateweaver:

Strengths

Decent Shooting, T5 with 5 wounds and a 4++, re-rolling 1's. 

One Re-roll per player turn*

Lord of Unreality Warlord Trait secured.

Weaknesses

Warlord that adds a huge amount of boons to your army. Always going to be number-one target on your enemy's shit list. 

The King of Choices has not choice when it comes to his psychic powers. 

He can't make use of all 8 of his psychic powers, Baaw!

Things To Watch

Kairos has access to two very interesting powers. the first is Forewarning in the Divination Discipline. We all know why this is good. the other useful one is Fire Shield - a 4+ cover save is as good as a 4++ against anyone but tau or eldar. 

Standard Loadout

He's perfect as he is.

* There's Contention about Kairos Fateweaver's re-roll. This could possibly be the most broken thing in the codex because, RAW, you can re-roll any dice during your turn and your opponents, including those rolled by your opponent. Furthermore, Kairos doesn't even need to be alive for it to take effect. Of course, neither of these sound correct RAI. 

Price 10/10 I might go as far as to say he's underpriced.

Survivability 6/10 So Important to some army's strategy, that his T5 becomes a real problem for him. Still, he is a T5 FMC with 5 wounds and a 4++.

Damage Output 7/10 He has it, but that's not his job. Can be useful as a flyer grounder if you need it, but avoid it. 

Rules 10/10 Two Heads of Fate can either be your best friend or your worst enemy, but it's his other rules that make him great.

Army Bonuses 10/10 Daemons are all about going with the flow and taking what comes your way. Kairos Fateweaver is all about taking all that control you surrendered back.

Overall 8.6/10 Definitely the most powerful character in the codex. 

Metacharacteristic Value: .43

8. Khorne 

Bloodthirster

Strengths

Combat beast

Annihilate almost anything in close combat

Can get massive amounts of attacks

One of the only reliable ways of killing AV14 in the Daemons Codex

Flyer Killer Extraordinaire (Mediocre against AV12 or better)

Weaknesses 

For all his strengths, he falters in the face of the Lord Of Change, that can do almost everything he can do better.

Things To Watch

Throw him at a squad with rage/rampage and a greater etherblade and watch him slaughter.

Standard Loadout

Contention over Greater/exalted for souleater/+1W/IWND combo and 2 Greater rewards for better survivability. Sucks if you get a 6 on greater though. 

Price 6/10 He'd be nicely priced if the LOC wasn't only 5 points more, and fateweaver the same price.

Survivability 7/10 3+ save can be the difference between life and death, and since most FMC get AP4 or worse thrown at them to ground them, he's pretty safe with a 3+.

Damage Output 10/10 The Bloodthirster will maul anything you want him to maul. Just watch him. 

Rules 4/10 He has nothing to make him better than a LOC, except maybe guaranteed rampage. Too bad he usually wants to stay in the sky.

Army Bonuses 3/10 What's an army bonus?

Overall 6/10 He struggles to compare to the LOC, but he'd still be useful in a khorne monotheme. 

Metacharacteristic Value: .76

Skarbrand

Strengths

Force Multiplier for your side.

7 attacks base.

Reliable Anti-tank

Weaknesses

Force Multiplier for your enemy

No Wings, No Whip. 

Needs to be Warlord to get instant death. 

No Rewards.

Things To Watch

Deepstrike him using an icon and watch your units and your enemies units roll and re-roll dice until everyone's dead!

Standard Loadout

On the Shelf. No Wings? No Way. 

Price 3/10 The Price Drop wasn't sufficient to make him worthwhile.

Survivability 6/10 Helps your enemy so much he won't be shooting at you ever.

Damage Output 6/10 Arguably a more flexible close combatant than your average thirster. 

Rules 5/10 If we pretend not having wings is not one of his rules, we could say he has nice rules.

Army Bonuses 5/10 They're great! they just help your enemy a little too much. 

Overall 5/10 A reasonable full step below the already underwhelming bloodthirster. 

Metacharacteristic Value: .78

7. Nurgle 

Great Unclean One

Strengths

Your enemy is never getting warlord, if he is warlord. 

Instant death if he ever closes in for combat. 

5 attacks at 2+/2+ means he's usually winning combat, along with his T7.

Biomancy is a bitch.

Weaknesses

Very slow. Laughably so. 

Things To Watch

Watch him get Iron arm and S9T10. Nothing will remove him while he slowly plods over to your enemy. 

Standard Loadout

ML3 with Exalted Reward and Greater to make a reliable grimoire, ML3 with greater/greater/lesser to ensure your enemy never gets warlord.

Price 7/10 He's reasonable, he's just to slow to be useable.

Survivability 10/10 Wanna talk tanks?

Damage Output 6/10 Good When he gets there, AP3/2 shooting attacks can be fun.

Rules 5/10 Slow and Purposeful hurts a lot, but biomancy makes up for it. Also, unlocks Nurgle DPs.

Army Bonuses 6/10 Not having to worry about warlord is pretty nice. Good in a flying circus, if you want reserves.

Overall 6.8/10 He's like a laiden truck. He's slow, but if you're in his way he'll hit you like, well, a truck. 

Metacharacteristic Value: .58

Ku'gath Plague Father

Strengths

+1 W over a GUO

Makes Nurglings better, Can't be charged reliably. 

Immortal Commander is a very apt warlord trait. Shame he won't get iron arm 5/6 games. 

Weaknesses

Everything bad about a GUO, but not ML3. 

Things To Watch

Necrotic Missiles can sweep the floor for you against the right targets. 

Price 5/10 Cheaper than a GUO, but not to make him reliable. 

Survivability 9/10 Poor Access to Iron Arm, no greater rewards.

Damage Output 6/10 Read: GUO, then add one attack. 

Rules 6/10 Force Multiplier for... Nurglings. 

Army Bonuses 7/10 Read: GUO, then add one wound.

Overall 6.6/10 He's arguably just a GUO with less options and a name. 

Metacharacteristic Value: .60

Slaanesh

Keeper of Secrets

Strengths

Speedy for a normal Monster. 

Can dent AV14. 

Rolls on Telepathy, Excess can actually be pretty cool. Acquiesence can set up awesome charges and keep your side alive. 

Second only to the Thirster in Close Combat.

Fleet, D6+3" runs.

Weaknesses

Not FMC. 

Things To Watch

Your Walking monster sprinting across the board at pace with your FMCs.

Standard Loadout

ML 3 with Greater/Greater/Lesser Reward. 

Lash of Despair/witstealer sword can be a very potent combination. Also makes excellent use of the Gloryseeker blade, if you decide to go exalted. Lash is equivalent to charge range, so usually softens his target with it before charging. 

Price 7/10 His Pricelessness is mitigated by his lack of wings.

Survivability 5/10 thirsters have a 3+. GUOs have their Toughness. LOC have re-rolls of 1. Slaanesh just has speed. Speed doesn't keep you alive if you're not a tank.

Damage Output 7/10 Pretty gory in close combat. Can have a decent amount of anti-infantry/light vehicle shooting. 

Rules 6/10 the D6+3" is pretty nice, as is fleet.

Army Bonuses 5/10 He doesn't add to the army, unless you want Slaaneshi DP.

Overall 6/10 About the same as a thirster, the speed makes up for the lack of wings. 

Metacharacteristic Value: .72

Afterword

Winner: 

Our winner is, and always will be fateweaver. Are you surprised? Didn't think so. 

The Wooden Spoon

While all the Greater Daemons are killy and generally pretty good in the right place, our loser is Skarbrand. Skarbrand would be awesome in a marine army, and would be perfect for a Blood Angels army. Unfortunately, he supports Khorne. Khorne is already killy without him.