They do improve a fair bit if you play Idolators since you can take them as battleline and give them a mark of chaos. The stuff that’s passable gets even better, Iron Golems with the Mark of Nurgle can get 3+ rerollable saves for instance. It doesn’t really justify Idolators very much, but it’s something different. Whispers of Chaos (Casting Value 7)– Roll 1d6 for every model in a unit within 12″. For each 6, target unit takes 1 mortal wound. If any models were slain as a result of this spell, said unit cannot is unable to move until your next hero phase. Ellarr: A strong, strong choice (especially in Despoilers) which acts as a swiss army knife for your legion. He’s a close combat monster, a highly mobile skirmisher and depending on Mark has a fantastic Command Ability to boot. My favorite build for this unit is to give him the Mark of Nurgle and the Sword of Judgement from Malign Sorcery. The DP’s native +1 to hit on the turn it charged means on a hit roll of a 5 or more against a hero or monster, D6 mortal wounds are caused for each 5 or 6. Combine this with the Immortal Champion special rule that ensures it fights first and you have a monster of a duelist that you aim like a cruise missile at your opponents lynch pin heroes and combat monsters. All that and the extremely powerful CA for the nurgle DP and you have a fun, effective and versatile hero. Gaunt Summoner Exalted Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse is a really fancy name for a rule that simply extends Archaon’s aura (if he’s the general which you’ll definitely want him to be) to be 18″ from his base. Considering just how large Archaon’s base is, this pushes his aura to an absolutely gigantic portion of the table and it should make it easier to keep units within his bubble.

If you roll a 11-12 you can choose to either replace your hero with a Daemon Prince (that retains all spellcasting, command abilities and artifacts/traits) or you can heal D3 wounds on the model. This is a huge flavor win and it’s great if your hero in question is a cheap Chaos lord on foot where it becomes a straight upgrade. On the other hand, there’s definitely a decision to be made if said Chaos Hero is one of the more expensive and killy varieties like a Chaos Lord on Karkadrak or Sorcerer Lord on Manticore. The rules included in the Warhammer Slaves To Darkness battletome are quite expansive, covering allegiance abilities for the army including battle traits, enhancements, artefacts of power, spell lores, ensorcelled banners, and rules for choosing a damned legion sub-faction of your army. Also included are Path to Glory campaign rules for your army, matched play grand strategies, battle tactics, and core battalions, and warscrolls upon warscrolls upon warscrolls. Introduced in Wrath of the Everchosen, Knights of the Empty Throne are a very unique legion. They’re intended for Varanguard spam and outside of Sons of Behemat probably one of the lowest drop armies you could possibly have. That said it’s also not cheap (I mean as in like, dollars) and like many elite armies suffers hard on the objectives, multiplied several times over here. If you run these guys it’s a real struggle but they are actually one of the most effective versions of Slaves to Darkness if you can stomach the cost. What does it get you? Archaon’s personal legion is perhaps the craziest of the legions in terms of rules for two reasons: Firstly, most of the rules for this legion are dependent on Archaon himself being your general and on the battlefield, and secondly rather than getting a list of artefacts and command traits, a bonus special rule table is provided for the Varanguard, Archie’s personal posse. The second model can either be a Standard Bearer or a regular Chosen. The Standard Bearer can either carry a large 8-pointed arrow icon or a textile banner, and there are little marks of each Chaos god plus a generic undivided daemon face icon you can attach to both. The regular Chosen wields a large two-handed hammer, and there is a choice between a helmet and bare head.

Enhancement Cards: Slaves to Darkness – 28 exclusive cards detailing the command traits, artefacts, spells, and ensorcelled banners of the Slaves to Darkness

There are also command traits available to heroes that let them fight a second time in a combat phase, roll on a special Eye of the Gods table which offers powerful boons (or treacherous traps on a poor roll), allow them to know all spells in the legion's spellbook, or become a Priest which changes the God keyword on any Undivided cultist in your army. There are also special command traits for the monstrous Daemon Princes, boosting their wounds, auto-healing nearby allies, and more. Mark of the High-Favoured: Friendly Ravagers units are affected by the bearer’s Aura of Chaos ability while they are wholly within 18″ of the bearer. This is a solid if unexciting choice because we want as many units to be covered by our Aura as possible, and Mortal heroes tend to have smaller bases so anything to help bolster the range of it can only be a good thing. B+

Extremely flexible playstyle –As discussed above this army can run the gamut from a horde to a hyper elite force and everything in between. Added in with the Marks of Chaos and even the same unit can play very differently. This also grants a lot of painting opportunities. Is he worth it? He’s much more expensive than he was, at 380 pts but not as much of an investment as Archaon at least. If you include him you really have to build around him, but he can cleave through enemies like tissues. He also has his own legion but that is beyond the scope of this article. We’ll discuss it another time. The Era of the Beast has infused the Mortal Realms with the primal energies of Ghur, and the Slaves to Darkness are no exception. Their ranks bolstered by horned brutes and mighty steeds, the worshippers of Chaos arrive with new rules befitting the Everchosen’s endless hordes.

The Chaos Chosen are faithful devotees of the Ruinous Powers – their many victories winning them power, glory, and tasty new models. On the eve of battle they are further blessed with The Rewards of Chaos , which allows each unit to roll on the Eye of the Gods table after deployment – fingers crossed they don’t get Snubbed…

What Are Our Final Thoughts On The New Slaves To Darkness Units?

We are a small team of Warhammer Enthusiasts and miniature collectors, hoping to support and further promote the hobby. Ellarr: This guy saw a serious buff in this book, and if it wasn’t for the model being tragic from a thematic standpoint I’d be snap purchasing at least one. As SRM said it fills a niche S2D otherwise doesn’t have and it’s versatility makes it an intriguing choice, especially in a Despoilers army where it has the potential to regain wounds over the course of the game. Slaughterbrute