Age of Sigmar: How to Play – Blades of Khorne
Today we look at how to play the Blades of Khorne in Age of Sigmar. Who needs magic when you have RAAAAGE?
Somehow in all our How to Play posts, we never touched on the OG Warmonger himself, Khorne. The Blood God and his mortal followers hate magic in all forms, preferring to solve their problems with good old-fashioned violence. If you want to bring the murder machine to the battlefield as well, check out this quick starter on how to get the most out of your barbaric brutes.
Who Are The Blades of Khorne?
The Blades of Khorne are the combined forces of Khorne’s mortal and daemonic followers. They are one of the primary antagonists of AoS, and were the featured baddies in the 1.0 starter set. Like their bloodthirsty god, they despise all forms of magic, and can bring some of the most powerful melee units to the battlefield. In place of magic, they have powerful divine prayers, calling down the fury of their god on their enemies. Even in death they are serving their god; after all, Khorne cares not from where the blood flows.
Why Play Blades of Khorne?
The Blades of Khorne are one of the most powerful melee factions in the entire game, and reward you for killing enemy units or losing your own. This is a good starter army for new players, as it is very forgiving while offering powerful rewards when piloted well. For more advanced players, the BoK can dance circles around their enemies, survive protracted combat much longer than most would expect, and punish the enemy for every kill.
Strengths
- Powerful melee units that make a mockery of all but the thickest armor
- Deadly Greater Daemons that can remove entire units a turn
- Arguably the deadliest large character in the game
- Potent prayers that can empower your units or harm your enemies
- Even unit loss is a benefit for you
Weaknesses
- Because of how good Khorne is, they run a little points heavy
- Lack of magic can be a detriment against spell heavy forces like Tzeentch or Lumineth
- You are tough and deadly but not extremely fast
- Limited shooting means you might never see combat
Signature Rules
- Blood for the Blood God! – Every time a unit, friendly or enemy, is destroyed, you get a Blood Tithe point. You can spend those points to buy a variety of powerful rewards, from extra command points to permanent regeneration or exploding 6s. Once you choose a reward you lose all your points, so make sure you spend them wisely. You can also spend these points to summon daemonic allies.
- Hatred of Sorcery – Any time a Khorne unit is affected by a spell or endless spell, you roll a d6. On a 6, you ignore the effects and gain a Blood Tithe point.
- Legions of Chaos – Allows you to include Slaves to Darkness or Beasts of Chaos units as coalition forces.
- Locus of Fury – Khorne Daemons are so angry, they make all their allies angry, allowing them to re-roll 1s while nearby.
Terrain Piece
The Skull Altar of Khorne is an awesome terrain piece, designed to make your Khornate Priests even deadlier. All Khorne Priests can re-roll chanting rolls while wholly within 8″, and any miscasts cause d6 mortal wounds instead of d3. In addition, if a non-Priest hero garrisons the Altar, it can attempt to summon Invocations and gets the benefits of the re-roll. Of course, you’ll probably want your heroes on the battlefield, so that last part might never matter.
Subfactions
The Blades of Khorne have six subfactions, called Slaughterhosts, three for Mortals and three for Daemons, just like all the other Chaos factions. Each one is suited to a different style of play, from the Bloodthirster-heavy Baleful Lords to the anti-hero Goretide.
Blades of Khorne Key Units
Every Khorne player will have a slightly different playstyle, but these are five units you can’t leave out.
Mighty Lord of Khorne – A massive hulk of armor and muscle, accompanied by a deadly Flesh Hound. He can dish out a ton of attacks, unbind spells, and if he deals any wounds but doesn’t kill his target, he can suck them into Khorne’s Realm on a 5+. While he’s not as strong as he used to be, he’s still a terrifying threat on the battlefield.
Bloodsecrator – More of a support piece than a damage dealer, the Bloodsecrator is nonetheless essential. He forces nearby Wizards to re-roll their successful casting rolls, and all Khorne units wholly within 16″ get an extra attack. He might be a good candidate for the Altar garrison, but more likely you’ll want him right behind your heavy hitters.
Skullreapers – These murder machines are immune to Battleshock, dish out a ton of damage, and EVEN if your opponent manages to kill one of them, they can potentially explode into damage. These are absolutely essential models.
Slaughterpriest – Your support piece, able to buff your units with prayers and unbind enemy spells. You need a Slaughterpriest to help you generate Blood Tithe points, so never leave home without it.
Blood Warriors – Your primary Battleline, and the ones you’ll want as your lynchpin unit. They can attack back when they die, deal damage back on successful armor saves, and some can carry the deadly Goreglaives. Build your army around this unit.
Sample Army (1000 pts)
Army: Blades of Khorne
Leader: Mighty Lord of Khorne – General
Leader: Bloodstoker
Leader: Slaughterpriest
Battleline: 20 x Blood Warriors
Battleline: 10 x Blood Warriors
Khorne Tips
Charge! Unit death matters little, so long as you take down more than you lose! This army favors aggression, so give it what it wants.
~BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
