The Emperor’s Children will soon be unleashed upon the world, so it’s time to look inside their new Codex and pick out some of our favourite bits. Today it’s the turn of the detachments – there are six in total, and we’ll take a close look at two.
The Army Rule is Thrill Seekers, which plays off their unnatural agility, letting the sons of Fulgrim flit between combats, so long as enticing new morsels present themselves.
Thrill Seekers
The Emperor’s Children are skilled warriors all, their transhuman might enhanced by a lifetime of ceaseless conflict. Their ingrained desire for sensation in all its forms sees them move rapidly across the battlefield, flitting between targets as they attempt to satiate their never‑ending hunger for fresh experience.
If your Army Faction is Emperor’s Children, this unit is eligible to shoot and declare a charge in a turn in which it Advanced or Fell Back, but when doing so:
It cannot target a unit it was within Engagement Range of at the start of the turn.
It cannot target a unit that was the target of another unit’s charge or attack this phase.
This focus on agility and graceful movement sets the Emperor’s Children apart from other Chaos forces, with plenty of ways to flow around the battlefield maximising damage. Each of the six detachments then indulges in one of their chosen aspects of war.
Making brazen boasts and ill-advised wagers is very on-brand as they seek to prove themselves ever better in the eyes of their patron. The absolute worst of these soul-gamblers form a Coterie of the Conceited, staking their own lives on grand moments of slaughter that may or may not attract the attention of the Dark Prince.
Fail to meet your pledge and your warlord will be punished, but powerful effects start to kick in once the tally of Pact Points begins to grow, turning even the most basic of Infractors into a close combat monster.
Pledges to the Dark Prince
At the start of the battle round, if your Warlord is on the battlefield, you must pledge a number to Slaanesh representing how many enemy units will be destroyed this battle round. At the end of the battle round, if the number of enemy units destroyed this battle round is greater than or equal to your pledge, you gain a number of Pact points equal to your pledge. Otherwise, you do not gain any Pact points this battle round and your Warlord model suffers D3 mortal wounds.
Emperor’s Children units from your army gain a bonus depending on how many Pact points you have gained during the battle, as shown below (these are all cumulative).
Pact Points | Bonus |
1+ | Each time a model in this unit makes an attack, re‑roll a Hit roll of 1. |
3+ | Each time a model in this unit makes an attack, re‑roll a Wound roll of 1. |
5+ | Melee weapons equipped by models in this unit have the [Lethal Hits] and [Sustained Hits 1] abilities. |
7+ | Each time a model in this unit makes an attack, a Critical Hit is scored on an unmodified Hit roll of 5+. |
Characters can soup themselves up even further with Enhancements, such as a Pledge of Eternal Servitude for a second chance at life. That’s even less likely to happen when an allied unit uses the Embrace the Pain Stratagem to redirect an attacker’s ire onto them – though it’s less to protect your leaders and more to hog all the sensations.
Pledge of Eternal Servitude
Through Slaanesh’s favour, this warrior has defied death more than once and each time has been agonisingly resurrected to offer more souls to their patron.
Emperor’s Children model only. The first time the bearer is destroyed, take a Leadership test for the bearer at the end of the phase. If that test is passed, set the bearer back up on the battlefield, as close as possible to where it was destroyed and not within Engagement Range of one or more enemy units, with D6 wounds remaining (up to its Wounds characteristic).
Embrace the Pain - 1CP
Coterie of the conceited – Strategic Ploy Stratagem
The Emperor’s Children revel in every sensation – even ones that would slay lesser mortals outright.
When: Start of the Fight phase.
Target: One Emperor’s Children Infantry unit from your army.
Effect: Until the end of the phase, each time an enemy model within Engagement Range of your unit selects targets, it must select your unit as the target of its attacks.
The Emperor’s Children wouldn’t be a Chaos faction without some (un)healthy rivalries competing for their god’s favour, and Slaanesh’s Chosen are all about the grind for the Dark Prince’s approval. Internal Rivalries mark your Warlord as the top dog from the start of the game, but all of your other Characters are eagerly waiting to steal their thunder and claim the valuable Wound re-rolls for themselves.
Internal Rivalries
Emperor’s Children Character units from your army can ignore any or all modifiers to their Move characteristic and any or all modifiers to Advance and Charge rolls made for them.
At the start of the battle, your Warlord’s unit is your army’s Favoured Champions. The first time in each player’s turn that an Emperor’s Children Character unit from your army destroys an enemy unit, after resolving all of its attacks, that Character unit becomes your army’s new Favoured Champions, replacing the old one.
Each time a model in your army’s Favoured Champions unit makes an attack, you can re‑roll the Wound roll.
Should these champions be struck down, they’re even more likely to make their demise a Beautiful Death for Slaanesh’s pleasure, lashing out with one last deadly strike. Others may look upon their favour with Heightened Jealousy, fighting ever harder to attract their patron’s gaze before one of their other opportunistic compeers snatches glory away.
Beautiful Death - 1CP
Slaanesh’s Chosen – Strategic Ploy Stratagem
The more extravagant and luridly violent the kill, the greater the Dark Prince’s appreciation.
When: Fight phase, just after an enemy unit has selected its targets.
Target: One Emperor’s Children Character unit from your army that was selected as the target of one or more of the attacking unit’s attacks.
Effect: Until the end of the phase, each time a model in your unit is destroyed, if that model has not fought this phase, roll one D6, adding 1 to the result if your unit is your army’s Favoured Champions. On a 4+, do not remove the destroyed model from play; it can fight after the attacking unit has finished making its attacks, and is then removed from play.
Heightened Jealousy - 1CP
Slaanesh’s Chosen – Battle Tactic Stratagem
Rivalries are commonplace amongst the champions of the Emperor’s Children as all vie for Slaanesh’s boons.
When: Your Shooting phase or the Fight phase, just after an Emperor’s Children Character unit becomes your army’s Favoured Champions, or just after your army’s Favoured Champions unit destroys an enemy unit.
Target: Your army’s Favoured Champions unit.
Effect: Until the end of the phase, each time a model in an Emperor’s Children Character unit from your army that is not your army’s Favoured Champions makes an attack, add 1 to the Strength characteristic of that attack.
Members of a Mercurial Host surrender to their whims and dart around the battlefield, putting their warp-fuelled speed to good use covering ground and dodging attacks. The Advance re-rolls their Detachment rule Quicksilver Grace grants seem deceptively humble, but they make the Emperor’s Children some of the most reliable assault troops in the game.
The Rapid Evisceration Detachment trades legpower for horsepower, bundling its troops into a selection of powerful transport vehicles while empowering those who disembark with the Detachment rule Mechanised Murder. Its Stratagems similarly want you to use a vast motor pool of transports, allowing them to slip into Strategic Reserves, disembark troops right into the melee, and more.
The Emperor’s Children are famed duelists, and the Peerless Bladesmen rule puts them front and centre. Charging units show off their Exquisite Swordsmanship,while Enhancements and Stratagems are laser-focused on close combat, including a particularly tasty option that can let your best Character fight twice in a Fight phase.
Slaaneshi forces that enlist the aid of daemonic forces whip up a Carnival of Excess, bringing screeching Daemonettes and supercilious Keepers of Secrets into the material world to fight alongside mortal warriors. Look out for a future article about how daemonic allies for the Emperor’s Children work.
There’s plenty more to cover from Codex: Emperor’s Children, so pay rapt attention to Warhammer Community for more.
