In this updated reversion of my old article(Small Hordes), it is my intention to portray in the truest sense the excitement and cunning behind creating an army of around 1000-1500 points. While in larger battles the same army selection doctrines that you apply to your normal battles(2-3000 points) can also be applied, this is not the case where much smaller armies are concerned. Further to that, the tiny nature of these battles means that entire battles can be won or lost by the tiniest of faults or the result of a single dice-roll.
The first thing that must be realised when designing armies such as these is that characters and their equipment will play a much less vital role in the game, and as such their points value must reflect this. To begin with, select your general, it may be wise to use a Shaman or Sorcerer for this if you command Beastman or Chaos Warrior armies(Daemon Armies have little choice but to select a Daemon prince for 1000 point battles), as they are capable fighters(Chaos Sorcerers in particular), and are also able to use magic, thus fulfilling two roles in one model and more importantly, one points cost. However, if your army is intended to be Khornate, this is bound to be entirely against the very concept of your army, so it is preferable to take a Lord or Hero to lead your army. Whichever you choose, the equipment for these characters must be very carefully selected, lest they consume too large a proportion of your points allowance. First consider the role of your general, are they to take the battle to the enemy, or sit back and provide support and leadership? For a close combat general, give your leader the fastest mount they are able to take, such as a Disc of Tzeentch or a Steed of Slaanesh, this will give them the speed to a) join their shock troops at the fore, and b) allow them to take advantage of the lance. If yours is a Beastman army then the Beastlord should accompany Gors or Bestigor, in sufficient numbers that this will form the centre of your army. It is from this position that your General will be best able to assault the enemy with his many attacks, large strength, and exceptional weapon skill. This may seem immediately like encouraging you to 'put all your eggs in one basket', but in battles of such a small nature this one regiment is unlikely to be destroyed except by the most determined(or lucky) of opponents. As far as magic items are concerned, a single well chosen item is far more likely to turn the battle than a plethora of items designed to counter every possibility; if you expect to encounter many repeater bolt throwers, the ruby chalice is an excellent choice, when facing high toughness opponents, perhaps the potion of strength in order to deal with characters, or when facing the undead the Crown of Command. Daemon princes have nothing like the choice of any other race, and must choose from their few(but undeiably powerful) Rewards, where Daemonic Robes or Ward of Chaos may save your prince several times.
It is inevitable that this will leave you with many points, and you will doubtless be tempted to select another character, which for 1500 points may be acceptable, but in battles of 1000 points, the rest of your points should be spent on the retinue, in order that you not be outnumbered to a huge extent. In 1000 point battles the enormous cost of Chaos troops becomes far more obvious, and you may find that while your foe manages to include 3 regiments and 2 war machines, you will be restricted to 3 regiments, one of which will doubtless barely reach the minimum unit size. Of course, if you lead a Daemon Army this would be a fairly standard operation, but the armies of Chaos Warriors will be severely outnumbered, though the Beastmen may be able to bolster their ranks with large numbers of Ungor. Whichever army you choose, the forces of Chaos are often outnumbered, and so the selection of troops is possibly more important than in any other size of battle. Beastman armies must support large units of Gor and Bestigor(probably only one of each) with a number of Ungor units, harpies and Chaos Hounds; Chaos Warriors will likely be hard pressed to include Chaos Knights, so Marauder horsemen may an option, or replace Chaos warrior support with Marauder support, enabling you to include some Chaos Knights(led by your mighty General); Daemons will be pushing to include anything more than the basic lesser daemons(e.g. Daemonettes and Fiends), but if they take several units of the magic wielding variety, then they will be given the opportunity to use much more magic than probably any army they will ever have to face, especially if combined with a magic user Daemon Prince.
Small armies such as these which also include a single character must employ bold and decisive tactics, which only the foolish would dare use in a normal battle. The faster you can engage your enemy the better, as while they may sit back and shoot you to pieces, you could be forming up fopr flank charges, which is clearly a foolish course of action, it would be far better to maneuvre the army in as much cover as is possible, then charging directly into the front, even if this means that your Chaos Knights or whatever reach the foe a turn or two before the rest of the army, that is the way the battle must be fought in order to stun your opponent at this 'brash' move, which is far more intelligent in light of the small number of soldiers present on the battlefield. If any of your troops have special movements(such as Harpies, Chaos Hounds, Flamers, etc.) then these should be used to their maximum potential, the Harpies flying over terrain to land in cover or combat, Flamers bounding over obstacles to engage the enemy from behind farm walls, Chaos Hounds leaping away from their pack master leaving him to catch up(incidentally the new Chaos Hounds are cool miniatures, buy some!). Whichever way you play, few people have any difficulty restraining themselves from this sort of play, so run riot, and destroy all before you!