In this series of articles we take a deep dive into a specific Detachment for a faction, covering the faction’s rules and upgrades and talking about how to build around that faction for competitive play. In this article, we’re covering the Berzerker Warband Detachment for World Eaters.
Eightbound were a surprise addition to the World Eaters army when they debuted in ninth edition, giving us a new type of Possessed Chaos Marine, dedicated to slaughter and at war with the khornate daemons writhing beneath his flesh. Less surprising is the reveal in the new codex of a possessed-focused Detachment, giving us rules which primarily benefit Daemon units in the army.
Detachment Overview
If you’ve looked at World Eaters lists over the last few years, you’ll have noticed that many of them include a LOT of Eightbound and Exalted Eightbound, the army’s equivalent to Possessed. They’re fast, tough heavy hitters who are all about melee combat, what’s not to like?
Observing this trend, and needing to fill out five Detachments in this Codex, Games Workshop have created the Possessed Slaughterband to allow you to field an army laser-focused on these guys. The results are… ok. If you want to be competitive with World Eaters, then probably go and look at Berzerker Warband or Goretrack Onslaught instead. If you just really like the idea of a bunch of beefy daemon boys running around hitting stuff though, read on.
The Video Version
If you’d like to watch a video version of this Detachment Focus, we’ve got you covered here:
Detachment Rule: Brazen Fury
WORLD EATERS POSSESSED units from your army gain the Brazen Fury ability. In your opponent’s Shooting phase, each time an enemy unit has shot, a unit with this rule can make a Brazen Fury move if any of its models were destroyed by those attacks. This is a D6” Surge move which must end as close as possible to the closest enemy unit, except AIRCRAFT, and you are allowed to move into Engagement Range. Like normal for Surge moves, you cannot do this while Battle-shocked or within Engagement Range of any enemy units, and you can only do it once per phase.
What this boils down to is: Eightbound of all types get an equivalent to Blood Surge, though less good than the version Khorne Berzerkers have in the Codex. Still, if you want to go heavy on Eightbound, having them be trickier to shoot at is a pretty good place to be.
Enhancements
Only one of these Enhancements is tied to the Slaughterbound – the other three can be freely given to a Daemon Prince.
- Malicious Vigour – SLAUGHTERBOUND model only. You get an automatic 6 for a Brazen Fury move the bearer’s unit makes. Seems like a straightforward inclusion for making the most out of the Detachment’s core mechanic.
- Killing Clarity – DAEMON model only. Each time the bearer’s unit destroys an enemy unit you get a CP on a 4+. Note that this doesn’t have to be with melee attacks or anything, so shooting or whatever else will also get you there assuming you have any.
- Frenzied Focus – DAEMON model only. The bearer’s unit gets Critical Hits on a 5+ instead of a 6. Again, this is all attacks, though that may not be super relevant. Given you can still get both LETHAL HITS and SUSTAINED HITS from your army rule, having the Lethal Sussy Five Plussy as an option is pretty great.
- Violent Demise – DAEMON model only. The bearer’s Deadly Demise works on a 2+ instead of a 6, and does D3+1 mortal wounds instead of D3. Pretty funny if you have the spare points to throw it on something.
As Enhancements go this selection is…. Fine. Frenzied Focus and Malicious Vigour feel like the main things you’re interested in, with the other two being nice to haves.
Stratagems
As you might expect, these Stratagems work primarily on Possessed units. Two of them cost 2 CP, making this Detachment a bit CP-thirsty.
- Daemonic Resistance (Battle Tactic, 2 CP) – Use in your opponent’s Shooting phase or either Fight phase on one POSSESSED unit that was the target of an enemy unit’s attacks. Until the end of the phase, attacks against your unit get -1 to the Wound roll. Straightforwardly useful, but pricey at 2CP; you’ll want a Daemon Prince lurking nearby to make this more affordable.
- Daemonic Strength (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Use in the Fight phase on a POSSESSED unit which has not been selected to fight yet. Until the end of the phase, you get +1 Damage against everything except VEHICLE and MONSTER units for Eightbound, or against VEHICLE and MONSTER units for Exalted Eightbound. +1 Damage is great, but make sure you’re paying attention to the conditions here.
- Immortal Fury (Battle Tactic, 2 CP) – Use in the Fight phase on one POSSESSED unit that was the target of an enemy unit’s attacks. Models in that unit can fight on death. You get the good, automatic version of fight on death at the expense of it being 2CP.
- Rapid Manifestation (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Use in your Movement phase on an EXALTED EIGHTBOUND unit arriving from Deep Strike. That unit can be set up anywhere more than 6” away from enemy units, but cannot charge. Yes, the Stratagem text says 3”, but don’t forget that the balance dataslate says that any effect that says 3” really means 6”. This is cute, but you can’t charge with it, so you probably are better off just using Rapid Ingress in your opponent’s turn instead and being able to walk in your own turn.
- Warp Stalkers (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Use in your Movement or Charge phase on a POSSESSED unit that has not yet been selected to move or declared a charge. Until the end of the phase, your unit can move through enemy models excluding MONSTERS and VEHICLES, and can move within Engagement Range but not end there, and automatically passes Desperate Escape tests. This is an awful lot of conditions for not a lot of effect; it makes Fall Back moves out of wraps a little safer, and it’s neat to be able to jump over a screen and fight what’s behind it, unless the screen is A Single Rhino or something like that.
- Horrifying Violence (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Use in your opponent’s Command phase on a POSSESSED unit from your army; each enemy unit within Engagement Range must take a Battle-shock test at -1. This is ok. You’ll probably find situations to use it.
That’s quite a narrow Stratagem list here; five out of six only target Eightbound and Exalted Eightbound and the last one doesn’t even include the former. The effects are mostly just ok too, and the best ones you will want a Daemon Prince around to make affordable.
Playing This Detachment
If you’re playing this Detachment, you want to go all-in on Eightbound and Exalted Eightbound. It’s the only Detachment where you really want to run multiple Slaughterbound, and he makes a good accompaniment to regular Eightbound in full-size squads, where you can punish an opponent for not finishing you off by regenerating dead models. The Eightbound’s aura makes them a valuable piece for getting the most out of exalteds, and you can alternate using them to take out different targets.
Strengths
- Blood Surge. Getting a blood surge move on your Possessed is pretty solid, letting them get out of danger or surprising opponents who aren’t ready for a 3+” move.
- Melee Buffs. Eightbound love to kill standard Marines with their power fist attacks. They do okay into Terminators targets as well, as long as they aren’t forced to square up against damage reduction. Being able to get +1 Damage against key targets helps up your killing power when you need it in a big way.
- Speed. Not necessarily maneuverability – but your units have a high Movement characteristic, Scouts, and the ability to just hit the ground running with some big turn 1 moves, setting up for turn 2 charges.
Weaknesses
- Enhancements. The Enhancements in this Detachment are just kind of lackluster, especially when compared to other Detachments in the World Eaters’ arsenal.
- Cost. Eightbound and Exalted Eightbound are pretty pricey, while not being that durable, thanks to only having a 3+/5++ save.
- Support Units. There’s nothing here for your non-Possessed units, meaning any backup you bring will be unsupported. Forgefiends don’t really care, though.
A Sample List
May as well go hard on Eightbound. This is a test list that looks to run big units of Eightbound, supported by Forgefiends.
”Sample
The idea is to keep your charging lanes open with Goremongers, then rush forward and set up for a turn 2 “go” turn, trying to avoid losing too many Eightbound in the process (and bringing them back with the Slaughterbound). The Forgefiends are there for fire support, and likely go into Strategic Reserves in most games.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the Possessed Slaughterband is a cool idea bogged down by the changes to Eightbound datasheets – by making them much more pedestrian it severely blunts the interest in running the Detachment. And while there are some cool rules here, they do not outweigh the downside of depending on Exalted Eightbound for your offense. That said, some drops in point costs could go a long way toward fixing this problem, and standard Eightbound are still plenty playable.
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