Of all the gods of Chaos, in all the Mortal Realms, there are two that stand out more so than all the others. In the red corner there is Khorne, the Blood God, known for his violence and for causing great pain. In the other corner, Nurgle – a fan favourite and Lord of Pestilence. They are two heavyweights, born of the darkness and reigning the Mortal Realms with iron fists. Between the Bloodthirsters and Great Unclean One, there is very little room for anything else.

This is, it has to be said, a total shame. Alongside Khorne and Nurgle there are two other great gods of Chaos who often get missed out. They slink in the shadows, to only occasionally bear a mention in the occasional novel or White Dwarf. They are kept on the sidelines of the main plot in the war of good vs. evil. These are, of course, Slaanesh and Tzeentch. These are, of course, the Prince of Pleasure and the Changer of Ways.

Recently, I began collecting Warhammer again and instantly fell in love with one of the gods of Chaos. I can often be heard on this blog singing about Nurgle, but this time I felt like a change (pun totally intended). This time I went for Tzeentch.

The Secret Badassery of Tzeentch

I may be a bit slow off the mark with this article, as Tzeentch recently received a bit of love in the Age of Sigmar world; however, I always thought it was a shame about how little he was mentioned in the past. There have always been some beautiful miniatures in the Tzeentch range that rarely saw the light of day because of (what was effectively) a lack of good PR. Tzeentch was all about magic, and not everyone wanted to play a magic game.

That being said, Age of Sigmar has given our old bird-faced god a bit of a revamp, and now he has come back with a vengeance. Now, it is safe to say, that Tzeentch has gone from zero to hero. He has gone from young Bruce Wayne to Batman in a single move. Yes, Tzeentch is a badass.

The Secret Power of Tzeentch

Age of Sigmar has really done a favour for Tzeentch by making him more playable. He really has become the Lord of Change, with the simplified rules meaning he is just as fast paced as everyone else without getting bogged down in an overly elaborate magic phase. This allows for Tzeentch players to spend their time strategising and scheming without having to roll too many dice.

Tzeentch’s core ability however, is that ability to change. The most amazing thing about the army, and the thing that originally attracted me, is that nothing placed on the field is exactly what it looks like. Yes, there is still magic, but the real power comes from ensuring the enemy can’t prepare for the attack. Instead of being straightforward (or as straightforward as the daemons of Chaos can get with their constant streams of summoning) they have a few tricks up their sleeves which mean that it is possible to take the enemy by surprise and seize the battlefield to be your own.

There are a few units in particular who do this, my favourite and the one I am building my army around, being The Changeling – who is quite possibly the most amazing unit in Age of Sigmar if played correctly.

The Amazing Changeling

The Changeling is one of those game changing units within Age of Sigmar that is just freaking awesome. For those unaware of the sheer power of that one unit – The Changeling is an infiltration unit, who can be deployed behind enemy lines. It cannot be recognised by the enemy, breaking all rules of deployment and proximity of units, at its own whim, unless it performs an action (not just movement, but attacking or casting magic or unbinding) within 3″ of an enemy hero. When it attacks, it has the option of using the weapon profile of the unit it is attacking. Yes, The Changeling is a potential game-changing unit because it can hack away at enemies without really getting into any real trouble of its own.

Units like The Changeling are what Tzeentch is all about. They manipulate the battlefield and the rules to create situations where they come out on top. Nowhere is this more relevant (and to name another unit) than with the Pink Horrors of Tzeentch.

Release The Horrors

For a Demons of Chaos army, revolving around the ever-changing Tzeentch, the Pink Horrors are the core units. Like all of the Demons of Chaos, they have some pretty neat abilities. They can spawn more Horrors, for instance, which is a great way of fleshing out the battlefield (and even turning the tide) when the enemy least expects it.

Where Horrors really come into their own though is when Blue Horrors and Brimstone Horrors are introduced. They turn Warhammer into a scene from Fantasia. Yes, if you kill a Horror (which has one wound, so it’s not all that hard) then you get two Blue Horrors. So, for those counting, that is three wounds out of one initial demon.

It doesn’t end there however. If you kill a Blue Horror then you get two Brimstone Horrors. So, for those keeping up with the maths – one Pink Horror has the potential for seven wounds and, oddly enough, gets more attacks the more damaged it gets.

It’s a weird and amazing rule surrounding the horrors, similar to the notion that Zombies make Zombies. Horrors make Horrors – only far more efficiently.

The Strategies of Tzeentch

Each of the units of Tzeentch seems to have their own abilities and special rules that make them amazing, so they become an incredibly tricky army to deal with. They always have something which makes them difficult to nail down or kill. This should make them incredibly fun to play, if not a little bit rough around the edges. They should deal a lot of damage, whilst being able to employ several different strategies, and, I hope, win a lot of games.

I mean – I used to play Night Goblins – so it would be nice to win at something, right?

So, what’s your favourite god of Chaos? Which do you have the most fun playing or like the idea of the most? Let me know in the comments below.

Published by Luke

Board game nerd, comic book geek, Rubik's Cube solver, Splendor player, and Blogger. View all posts by Luke