Age of Sigmar: How to Play Daughters of Khaine
Today, we look into the Daughters of Khaine faction of Age of Sigmar. Murder never looked so good.
Now that she’s a fully formed Goddess, Morathi has taken Khaine’s place as the head of the Daughters of Khaine. In the wake of her great ritual and the betrayal it spawned, Morathi now leads an army that is basically a faction unto itself, owing allegiance to no one but herself. Here are a few tips and tricks for navigating the new Daughters of Khaine battletome.
Who Are the Daughters of Khaine?
The Daughters divide themselves into Sects which worship different aspects of the lost god Khaine, within those sects they follow a strict hierarchy. At the pinnacle is Morathi, the High Oracle, she who speaks with the iron voice of the God and directly beneath her are the High Priestesses – Bloodwrack Medusae, Hag Queens and Slaughter Queens.
The true Khainites are warriors and are divided into two groups, the Scáthborn and the Sisterhood of Blood. The Scáthborn are only partially aelvish in form, souls stolen from the imprisoned god Slaanesh and reformed by Morathi in the Máthcoir – the great cauldron.
The Sisterhood are naturally born Witch Aelves and Sisters of Slaughter, and only amongst the Kraith are they ranked as highly as the Scáthborn, although in all sects, Morathi may choose the most faithful and beautiful to be granted the high honour of being changed into a Medusae.
The duties of the Daughters of Khaine are not limited to bloody ritual and battlefield duties, they also serve as gladiators, sword-dancers, assassins, and spies.
Why Play Daughters of Khaine?
One of the deadliest close combat forces in the entire game, the Daughters of Khaine are the true representation of a glass scalpel army. They move fast, hit hard, and only become deadlier as they work themselves into a mad fury. But they had better destroy, or at least cripple, their targets- every strike back will do real damage against this low wound-count, low resilience army.
Daughters of Khaine Strengths
- You may have the single most powerful special character in the game. Not the strongest, or the best caster, or the toughest, but enough of all three to make her off the charts.
- Blood Rites/ Blessings of Khaine is pretty nuts, if you can hit the triggers.
- A strong selection of magic, prayers, and combat strength to quickly shift strategies.
Daughters of Khaine Weaknesses
- Your shooting is really limited to one unit (Blood Stalkers).
- You’re skinny elves in chainmail bikinis, and your defenses reflect that.
- Hard to crack armies can blunt you if you aren’t very tactical.
Signature Rules
Battle Traits
- Anointed Ritualist/ Bloody Succession– One Hero at a time is Annointed and granted the Strident War Cry ability- if they are destroyed pick a new Hero.
- Blood Rites/Blessings of Khaine – Perform a number of different actions to unlock several very powerful End of Turn abilities.
Featured Battle Formation
- Coven of Blood– Friendly units contesting an Objective an not visible outside 9″.
Featured Heroic Trait
- Shadow-Blooded– 12″ bubble that makes Redeploy rolls below ‘4’ equal ‘4’.
Featured Artefact
- Witchbrew– On a 3+ gives a friendly unit the ability to ignore negative save modifiers for the Turn.
Top Daughters of Khaine Units
Morathi-Khaine/ The Shadow Queen
The big baddie of maaaany a Warhammer narrative, the Shadow Queen lives on in Daughters of Khaine. Manifested in two aspects- the Shadow Queen does a savage amount of damage as a big flying Monster, and is a great wizard in her Morathi-Khaine form.
Cauldron of Blood (both varieties)
An amazing centerpiece model, monster of combat, and potent support lynchpin, to say nothing of the hero on its back. There are few DoK armies that don’t include this beastie.
High Gladiatrix
An incredible hero that can turn your murder brides up to 12. She can also assassinate weakened heroes, so use her to deal with chafe support and keep your army moving.
Melusai Ironscale
If you prefer your murder a little more snakey, the Ironsacle is the choice for you. Boasting an aura that gives slap-back Mortal Wounds, she’s an extraordinary combat monster. Even if you don’t take many snakes, you might want to consider her just for the kill potential.
Witch Aelves
Your primary line unit and the murder ladies of legend. Even better in the new edition with no combat ranges, they can dish out an extraordinary amount of damage in a single turn with the right support.
Sisters of Slaughter
These alternate to Witch Aelves are excellent defensively, thanks to a targeted minus to hit and wound for opponents’ combat attacks.
Blood Hags
The “highly armoured” Blood Hags rock a sweet 5+ save. But their real strength is in their Crimson Offerings, allowing two Blessings of Khaine to be activated in a turn in which they destroy a unit in combat.
Blood Sisters
These corrupted snake ladies hit hard with their Heartshard Glaives. Usually they will have the chance to do the dicing first thanks to Crystal Touch.
Khainite Shadowstalkers
The Shadowstalkers make an excellent light-skirmish and harassment unit. Just mobile and numerous enough to steal a lone objective and be very annoying, while also able to teleport around the field causing trouble.
Khinerai Heartrenders
While they aren’t the most deadly or resilient of troops, the winged Khinerai more than make up for it in battlefield opportunism and playing the mission. Huge utility for your bloody coven.
Sample Army
Faction: Daughters of Khaine
-Battle Formation:
Regiment 1
Morathi-Khaine
The Shadow Queen
10x Blood Sisters
10 x Blood Sisters
10 x Blood Hags
Regiment 2
High Gladiatrix
20 Witch Aelves
How to Play Daughters of Khaine
Move fast, hit hard, and try not to leave any survivors. It’s pretty likely you won’t survive a protracted battle, so try to dictate every engagement.
For Khaine!
