Sorcery of the Damned

Yes, OK, this has been promised for ages, but I was busy, so go and whinge to someone who cares. Anyway, be happy, it hath arrived most joyously, and splendiferously shall it be ever entertained....

Nurgle:
Nurgle magic is made for being 'up-close-and-personal'-a very orcish type of magic. The best use of sorcerers of this type therefore is to have them accompany units into battle, where their close range magic is put to its best use- plaguing the enemy with running pustules, etc. A good combination of spells to protect your unit and soften the enemy just before you charge or while in combat is to cast Cloud of Flies and Rancid visitation on the unit, and Pit of Slime on any Champion present in the unit, as this both prevents him from fighting, but also has the added bonus of possibly being able to kill him. Obviously the best spell you can get is Plague Wind, but you only want to use a powerful spell like this when you've got Total Power, or when you know your opponent has no dispels(don't forget about High Magic!), as otherwise you stand the very real risk of losing 3 power cards, and how often do you manage to get that when it's your turn on the offense? A wee bit less often then when you're o the defense, guaranteed. The best units for Nurgle Sorcerers to accompany are those capable of inflicting a fair whack of damage in their own right, like Chaos Knights, Warriors, Minotaurs, etc., as this magic makes them all but unstoppable, but as their magic is fairly short-range, you also want them to get in close quickly, so this cuts out Chaos Warriors(too damn slow).

Slaanesh:
A nice B&D magic deck, this one. That's Bondage and Discipline, for those semi-normal people out there(and the ultra-conservatives). The Slaaneshi magic is aimed fairly squarely at holding the opponent where they stand, so you can batter them when and where you choose(being Slaaneshi, these can be particularly cruel and unusual places indeed). Of course, this deck also has a few offensive spells, the most notable and dangerous one being Chaos Spawn(formerly Fleshy Curse, a much better name), which has awesome destructive capabilities, especially with the new whole army panic caused by the death of your general... But again, make sure you've got Total Power, etc. The best units for a Slaaneshi sorcerer to join are a unit of Centaurs(with bows, so they can sit back and shoot up the enemy), Daemonettes on Steeds(so you can place your opponents into a most unfavourable position, like blocking up the whole army if used correctly, as well as getting into combat shockingly quick), or other fast units. A good combo of spells to kick the enemy into next Sunday is to hit an enemy unit in charge range with Pavane of Slaanesh, then use Succour of Chaos(a fantastic spell) on yourself, thereby making the enemy unable to move, shoot, or even fight back, and your troops become even more elite fighters, so when you step into the fray, you can easily cut them to ribbons. This is a fantastic deck to use on armies that tend to rely quite heavily on charging, speed or other pansy things like that, so Bretonnians and High Elves are quite obvious targets for Slaaneshi magic.

Tzeentch:
Tzeentch is the artillery of Chaos, this magic is long range and really nasty if you're standing in the firing arc of the Sorcerer. The best use of a Chaos Sorcerer of Tzzentch is to put them on a Disc so they can freely fly about merrily toasting the enemy, and being able to pick and choose their fights. Always remember that a Chaos Sorcerer is the equivalent of a human Lord in terms of WS, BS, S and Ld(most of the time), and is tougher than one, and when taking spells into account, are very able to take down a Champion, and some smaller units. A nice spell combo is to cast Boon of Tzeentch, to get yourself more power, then Bolt of Change on the enemy general or head sorcerer, as this spell will almost certainly kill them if it doesn't get dispelled. Just as a note: Louen Leoncouer, and any characters with say the Talisman of Obsidian can theorectically be attacked by the Incandescent Assassin, as this spell does not attack the model, a firey projection of the Sorcerer attacks the model. The spell itself doesn't attack the model, the sorcerer does, hence the Tabard of Kings, etc, is no protection. In a few days I will check this with the Roolzboyz and paste their verdict in here. If you intend to get into close combat, begin by toasting your opponent with the Blue Fire of Tzeentch, then put on the Shield of Fire(while in the middle of nowhere, so you are no immediate threat), then when you've charged and hopefully down loads of damage, if not already victorious, then you can use the Touch of Tzeentch to finish off any characters in the unit.

Note: Always give your Sorcerer a lance if mounted, and an extra hand weapon, and any Nurgle Sorcerers should also be given an appropriate Reward, such as Iron Hard Skin(for the 4+ unmodifiable save), or Nurgles' Cloud of Flies(for the -1 to hit on the enemy, although this also affects your troops). Another very nice weapon to give sorcerers is a flail if they are among foot troops, as Chaos Sorcerers are still potent warriors(along the lines of a human lord in fact), the extra +2 strength is very handy.

There are a good variety of Magic Items and Rewards that your Chaos Horde has access to to, and these are mostly there to make your horde even more formidable and terrifying in combat. Below I have listed my own personal favourites, and a few combos to make your hordes the greatest since the days of the Incursion.

For 30 points, this is the BEST protection you can get for your General from attacks made by infantry and most champions. This works like a Parrying Blade(20 points), by causing an opponent to lose one attack, however, keeping your magic weapon, you can use the Gaze to remove 1 attack from all opponents, so your General can quite comfortably charge that unit of 12 Grail Knights, and kill loads of them, especially if you take a magic weapon like The Blade of Leaping Gold(+75 points), which give your Chaos Lord a mighty 8 attacks... not to be sneezed at. Sadly this mighty Reward is available only to Champions of Slaanesh, but I always give it to my General, who is incidentally always a Slaanesh Lord.

Who can forget this fantastic book? Given it you can take one spell from any deck. Any. Give this to a Chaos Sorcerer Lord, and not only do you get 5 spells(banned at most tournaments), but you can take a High Magic Spell(you don't have to use it!), Dark Magic Spells and Chaos Spells, giving you a Sorcerer who can use Dispels as Powers, and Powers as Dispels, the ultimate in magical authority. What a bargain!

OK, whoever forgot to show this to the GW staff is a moron, in all of the Chaos battles that have ever been printed, none have ever had this item. This item alone has been the cause of the demise of almost every General-type Special Character in the game! This little baby gives you unconditional protection from the special effects of a magic weapon. This rocks. Nuff said.

Slaanesh knows how many times this little baby has saved the asses of my Chaos Knights from a punishing hail of bolts from Repeater Bolt Throwers, too many to count, I assure you. This is the best way of insuring your Knights, as this means even the sharp-eyed Elves need to roll 5+ to hit with their nasty little War Machines, and then when you get into combat, it keeps on protecting you, so the average Elf needs a 5 to hit, and then they still need to be able to get through your armour, no mean feat, especially for a pansy Elf.

OK, it's not a magic item anymore, but if you're stupid enough to say that, then you're likely too stupid to think 'Maybe I should give it to all my characters?'. Oh well, some people just can't be helped.

Chaos is a nasty army to face, where else are you going to come across infantry characters with a 2+ save for 15 points? Not too many places I'd imagine. OK, so a 5 point magic item may seem a waste of a magic item slot, but sometimes you're going to have a character who can't afford much more.

This is possibly the best anti-character weapon in the game for its points. With this item you don't even have to wound the enemy, just hit them, and Chaos Sorcerers with their high WS can do that no problem. In addition to this, Orcs have notoriously high toughness(as high as Chaos in fact), however, they have notoriously low Leadership, so that when you are faced with an Orc army all you need to do is get a wizard in a charge against an Orc Lord(or whatever they're called) and voila, instant lost leadership. Just hope he hasn't got Mork's War Banner(otherwise it's Kentucky Fried Chaos Sorcerer). The other bonus of this weapon is that there can be no saves, so even the most decked out character laden with all manner of wards, magical armour, dispels, anything, can be toppled with a single blow.

Well, that's all I have to say except: note the low points value of these items. These are among the most potent and useful items a Chaos Lord has access to, and lo and behold, only one of them extends beyond 50 points(and then only to 60). I'm a big fan of low value magic items(remember that a lot of Undead troops are immune to non-magical attacks, so even a 5 point magic sword can come in handy).

Back