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?
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 Age of Sigmar, 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 can be a good starter army for new players, as it is 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 (Skarbrand- say his name!)
- Potent prayers that can empower your units or harm your enemies
- Even unit loss is a benefit for you
Weaknesses
- Because of how strong Khorne is, they are expensive and can lack board presence in some builds
- The army is pretty ‘techy’- this means it is easy to get lost if you aren’t familiar with all your parts
- Limited shooting means you need to do everything in combat
Signature Rules
Battle Traits
- Blood Tithe– Earn a Blood Tither point any time any unit is destroyed. Spend them to use the Blood Tithe keyword abilites.
- Spelleater Curse/Slaughter Triumphant/Murderlust/Brass Skull Meteor/ Heads Must Roll– These effect are all incredibly powerful, costing between one and eight Blood Tithe points. They vary from one unit moving three inches all the way to plus one attack army wide for the rest of the battle or even bringing back a destroyed Bloodthirster!
Battle Formations
- Khornate Legion– allows Bloodbound to chain activate off daemon units.
- Murder Host- when non-monster Daemons Fight, they gain a 5+ ward for the turn.
- Brass Stampede– Cavalry Strikes-First on an 8+ to charge.
- Bloodbound Warhorde– Plus one to hit for Bloodbound when taking an objective.
Featured Heroic Trait
- Firebrand– become a Priest.
Featured Artefact
- Halo of Blood– ignore negative modifiers to controls score, to hit, and to wound.
Blades of Khorne Key Units
Every Khorne player will have a slightly different playstyle, but these are some key units you should check out to get you started.
Skarbrand
The most bloodthirsty of Bloodthirsters, Skarbrand is your premiere Greater Daemon in Blades of Khorne. Most armies include him and he has a truly prodigious damage output (over 40 Damage on a perfect swing). His axe Carnage rocks a 2 attacks with a game-high Damage 8 and Crit(Mortal). Scary!
Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
The glorious boomthirster with his giant ax, pulses out an 8″ radius of D3 mortal wounds every time he scores a critical hit thanks to Outrageous Carnage.
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 and give a Gorechosen keyword unit Strike-first. 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 quite nice. Once per game he gives out a nice and large +1 attack bubble, and he gives three extra dice when he issues Rally to Bloodbound units.
Slaughterpriest
Your support piece, able to slice a friendly unit for a Blood Tither every Hero phase and unbind enemy spells.
Blood Warriors
One of your primary troops, and the ones you’ll may want as your lynchpin unit. They roll extra mortals when they die, which Khorne wants them to do anyways.
Bloodletters
The foot soldiers of Khorne’s daemonic Legions, Bloodletters are excellent at lopping off heads with their Hellblades. You will want them in combat, exclusively.
Claws of Karanak
These crazed mortal cultists venerate the great Flesh Hound, Karanak. They hold Flesh Hounds in such high regard that they double their chances of a critical hit while within twelve inches of a unit with Pack Hunters.
Flesh Hounds
These vicious Beasts are quick and pack a lot of attacks. Unfortunately their animal nature limits their control score.
Mighty Skullcrushers
Mighty Warriors of Khorne mounted atop brazen Juggernauts, Skullcrushers can mount a devastating charge. But where they really shine is resilience, being one of the few units in the game with a base 2+ save.
Sample Army
Faction: Khorne
– Battle Formation: Murder Host
Regiment 1
Skarbrand
10 x Bloodletters
Regiment 2
Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster
10 x Bloodletters
Regiment 3
Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
10 x Bloodletters
Blades of 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!
