Daemonic Thoughts, Part Too

Posted by Ranillon on 16. February 2009 02:13

So far I’ve been talking about units particular to one of the Chaos gods, but now I want to discuss everything else.

Furies of Chaos:  Essentially buff Orks with jetpacks Furies strike me as being a perpetual second choice when compared to the other power specific options.  They are as expensive as the rest, but lack the small extras like Furious Charge or Rending Claws.  They also lack the fleet which both Hounds and Seekers enjoy, although their ability to leap over (tall or short) buildings helps mitigate this.  They are merely as tough as all the other choices (with the exception of the paper macramé Seekers).  They also lack any particular “niche” within combat.  Hounds have strength 5 on the charge, Seekers have base 4 attacks, and even Screamers have melta-fangs to menace vehicles.  By comparison, Furies are lackluster – 2 attacks at strength 4.  Ho-hum.

IMHO, every unit in your army needs a purpose, preferably both in terms of the rules and the background.  The problem with Chaos Furies is that they don’t quite work either way.  They are effectively Chaos Undivided units, but such a force doesn’t exist for Daemons.  They also don’t really fill a tactical roll superior to your other options.  One possible reason to use them would be to add some speed to a slow Nurgle army or, perhaps, to beef up a firepower-centric Tzeentch force.  However, when it comes to a generic daemon army where you’ll be picking and choosing from any Chaos flavor that works well Furies will always be an unenthusiastic choice.

Soul Grinder:  If there was ever a unit that pretty much screamed “I was designed to make sure I’m in every daemon force (and therefore GW will sell a lot of copies)” it has to be the Soul Grinder.  One, it’s a fantastic looking model.  Two, it provides some of the best shooty daemons can have, and; three, it also happens to be wicked in close-combat.  Add in a wide range of possible weaponry, good armor, and the fleet ability and you have the closest thing to a “must-buy” you are likely to find in a GW product. 

Your biggest problem is liable to be figuring out whether to just rush it into combat or to take advantage of its firepower.  Personally, all things being equal I would give it the tongue ability and try to make sure it came in with the first group.  The idea would be to target enemy vehicles (which tend to be difficult for daemons to handle) until you run out of targets or events demand the Grinder get stuck in.  But, just exactly how you use it will depend a lot on circumstances and your army composition.  For instance, a Tzeentch heavy army would likely prefer a close-combat Grinder that would save points by not buying any of those extra weapons.  In general, I don’t think you can go wrong with one or two of these units in your daemon force.

Daemon Prince:  At first glance the Prince may seem like a mediocre option, especially when it has to compete for Heavy Support slots with the Soul Grinder.  However, the more I work through the combat math and possible uses of the Prince the more I like him.  He is by far that most customizable unit the daemons have and that makes him the most versatile.  In particular, he is ideal for helping to patch any holes in the make-up of your force.  For example, he can add some much needed speed (with wings) and killing power to a Nurgle force.  For that matter, his ability to take punishment would be a welcome addition to any Slaaneshi heavy army.

Buying him with wings is almost a given (the only viable alternative would be to turn him into a defense cannon of Tzeentch, but that seems a bit of a waste).  Iron Hide and Unholy Might are also high on the list of purchases.  In general, the great virtue of a Daemon Prince is that it gives you a monstrous creature that can move quickly into combat.  Think of him as an extra major daemon (in fact, the math suggests he is roughly as points effective as GDs) and use him accordingly.