The Slaves to Darkness are a force to be reckoned with in their own right – but they’re also allies of convenience for all the forces of Chaos. Between Archaon, Be’lakor, and the many vainglorious lords beneath them, the rewards are great for an ambitious sell-sword.
Two new Regiments of Renown and an Army of Renown in Battletome: Slaves to Darkness provide ample opportunity to unite the diverse legions of Chaos. Take Lord Skaldior’s Chosen: loyal to the Everchosen, they rove the lands doing his bidding while fighting alongside the faithful of Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, Tzeentch, and even the forces of The Great Horned Rat.
Sworn to fight in eerie silence by some oath to Skaldior, a mounted Chaos Lord, this cohort of five Chaos Knights and 10 Chaos Warriors are Ironclad Despoilers, benefiting from +1 to their save rolls while contesting objectives you control and +1 to wound rolls while contesting an objective you do not control.
IRONCLAD DESPOILERS
Passive
Punching into the enemy lines like a mailed fist, once these warriors have taken a vital position on the battlefield, little can be done to wrest control from them.
Effect: Add 1 to save rolls for units in this Regiment of Renown while they are contesting an objective you control.
Add 1 to wound rolls for units in this Regiment of Renown while they are contesting an objective you do not control.
Only a handful of the most formidable warriors can climb the heady heights of the Path to Glory and achieve daemonhood. When one such individual manages this unlikely feat, they may find themselves petitioned by the Ruinous Powers. A Godmarked Ascendent is a boon to any of the armies of the four Dark Gods, taking on a faction keyword, and revelling in the associated Gifts of Chaos, including extra attacks, sorcerous powers, resilience, and speed.
GIFTS OF CHAOS
Passive
This daemon takes to the field redolent with god-given gifts.
Effect:
If this unit has the Blades of Khorne keyword, add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of its Hellforged Weapons.
If this unit has the Disciples of Tzeentch keyword, it has Wizard (1).
If this unit has the Maggotkin of Nurgle keyword, it has Ward (5+).
If this unit has the Hedonites of Slaanesh keyword, add 1 run rolls and charge rolls for it.
Always in the shadows, Be’lakor has now amassed enough power to play his own game with the Ruinous Powers. His Legion of the First Prince has a wide roster, including eight daemon units (which have warscrolls in the battletome): Bloodletters, Bloodcrushers, Screamers and Flamers of Tzeentch, Plaguebearers, Beasts of Nurgle, Fiends and Hellflayers.
The First-Damned Prince is more than happy to use them as inhuman shields, gaining a Ward (4+) and the ability to pass damage off to these infernal hordes. The Dark Master can Bestow Favour to his followers improving their Control score and granting increased resilience.
FIRST-DAMNED PRINCE
Passive
Be’lakor courts the favour of all of the Chaos Gods to crush his foes. In battle, he surrounds himself with their lesser daemons to do his bidding.
Effect: While a friendly Be’lakor is within the combat range of any friendly non-Hero Legion of the First Prince Daemon units:
That friendly Be’lakor has Ward (4+).
In addition, each time you make a successful ward roll for that friendly Be’lakor, allocate 1 damage point to a friendly non-Hero Legion of the First Prince Daemon unit within this unit’s combat range after the damage sequence for this unit has been resolved (ward rolls cannot be made for those damage points).
BESTOW FAVOUR
Once Per Turn (Army), Your Hero Phase
The Great Game plays out in the blackened skies above the First Prince’s legions as oaths are sworn, enemies are crushed, and dark rewards are granted.
Declare: If a friendly Be’lakor is on the battlefield, pick a non-Hero Legion of the First Prince unit to be the target.
Effect: Until the start of your next turn:
Add 5 to the target’s control score.
If the target is a Daemon unit, add 1 to save rolls forthe target.
If the target is a non-Daemon unit, it has Ward (6+).
He even has a Spell Lore rooted in shadowy manipulation. Casting Shroud in Darkness lets a unit move up to d6” as long as they don’t end in combat, and it obscures them to any unit more than 12” away. Sometimes direct damage and a Dark Cantrip can inflict harm to up to three targets, and a cabal of Chaos Sorcerer lords all casting this Unlimited spell can become truly devastating.
SHROUD IN DARKNESS
Your Hero Phase
At the sorcerer’s bidding, unnatural shadows fall upon Be’lakor’s warriors, allowing them to move unseen.
Declare: Pick a friendly Legion of the First Prince Wizard to cast this spell, pick a visible friendly Legion of the First Prince unit that is not in combat and is wholly within 12" of them to be the target, then make a casting roll of 2D6.
Effect: The target can move D6". It cannot end that move in combat. In addition, until the start of your next turn, the target is not visible to enemy units while they are more than 12" away.
Keywords: Spell
DARK CANTRIP
Your Hero Phase
Uttering blasphemous words in the Dark Tongue, the sorcerer calls forth bolts of black chaotic energy that strike the foe, searing flesh, melting armour and leaving them as a bubbling mass of tentacles.
Declare: Pick a friendly Legion of the First Prince Wizard to cast this spell, pick up to 3 visible enemy units within 18" of them to be the targets, then make a casting roll of 2D6.
Effect: Inflict 1 mortal damage on each target.
Keywords: Spell, Unlimited
This can all be found in Battletome Slaves to Darkness, which is available for pre-order on Saturday. Next, we’ll be finding out how the Darkoath do battle in Spearhead.
