Verdict
The chosen of Khorne are back, angrier than ever. The new Codex retools every unit so it makes sense as part of this horde of psychopaths, with weaker units buffed and former auto-includes toned down. New detachments offer very different play styles, but are rigidly focused on subsets of the model range.
- Everything is on theme – unchecked aggro!
- Weaker units have been buffed.
- Former auto-include units toned down.
- Detachments only work with very specific models.
The least subtle army in all of Warhammer 40k just got even less subtle. The 10th edition Codex World Eaters is here, and it is a gloriously straightforward army. If you want to ignore the psychic phase, breeze through the shooting phase, and scream like a maniac in the fight phase, this is the army for you.
This Codex World Eaters review looks at the army holistically. Does the new book shake up their playstyle in Warhammer 40k? Is there much choice in how you construct a force? Do they have a coherent mechanical identity, distinct from other Warhammer 40k factions? And what do the new toys offer to players?
Wargamer received a digital copy of the World Eaters Codex as a review sample from Games Workshop, along with the upcoming Gorestorm Slaughterpack box set. The review is based on a thorough read through of the rules section of the Codex, but not a playtest.
Interested in another army? We have a handy guide to all of the current Warhammer 40k codex release dates.
World Eaters playstyle
In broad strokes, the World Eaters in the Codex have the same playstyle as they did in the Index. Their army has a core of powerful, fast-moving melee infantry, with ready access to the 40k abilities Scout, Infiltrate, and Deep Strike to speed them up even more. Characters provide transformative buffs that can turbo charge individual units. The infantry assault is backed up by vehicle-mounted ranged firepower, and terrifying Daemon Primarch Angron.
But look at the specifics, and you’ll see that there have been subtle adjustments. The engine has been taken apart, components replaced, and it’s been put back together a little differently. That’s before we get onto the options afforded by the various detachments.
The World Eaters are now, reliably, faster than they were before, but their maximum theoretical threat range is slightly reduced. There are options to take truly enormous swarms of infantry, and support for bringing all those bodies to bear in melee. And the ranged units, which were always at odds by the army’s game plan and not supported by its buffs, fit in much better than they did before.
Reliably fast
Every datasheet in the army is faster than it was before. Infantry units have two inches of extra movement speed, and bigger units get an even larger buff. The Helbrute now has a nine inch move, and the Lord of Skulls has gained four inches, plus the ability to move through terrain that’s four inches or less tall.
This increased movement speed more than replaces the ‘Rage-fuellled invigoration’ Blessing of Khorne, which doesn’t work quite as it did in the Index.
As in the Index, the World Eaters start each battle round by rolling eight D6, and spending the results to activate up to two Blessings of Khorne that will be active for the round. The Blessing ‘Rage-fuelled invigoration’ used to need any two pair of dice to activate – a mathematical certainty when rolling eight dice – and granted units +2” movement.
It now requires at least a pair of twos to activate, and it increases the Pile-in and Consolidation moves of units from three inches up to six inches. That extra pile-in and consolidation range is a massive assistance for the World Eaters’ ability to claim objectives, and for bringing every body in a large squad to bear in combat.
This is a flat-out upgrade to the World Eaters’ movement speed, damage output, and objective presence. However, another change to the Blessings caps the maximum distance at which they charge.
Unbridled Bloodlust used to require two sixes or any three matching dice to activate, and allowed units to charge after advancing. When combined with the Apoplectic Frenzy 40k Stratagem from the Berzerker Warband detachment, which turned an advance into a guaranteed six inch move, this gave at least one unit incredible reach.
The reworked Unbridled Bloodlust can now be activated with any pair of dice – making it an automatic ability you can use any turn – and grants re-rolls on charge rolls. It’s always available and makes regular charges far more reliable, giving a 69% chance to succeed on a nine inch charge and an 83% chance to succeed on a seven inch charge, but cutting off the extremes of the World Eaters’ threat range.
No, faster than that
When the Goremongers were released, players praised them as a key piece of tech that could protect the World Eaters’ many Scout units from being blocked into their deployment zone by enemy Infiltrators. They still do that – and the World Eaters still have good Scout units. But not quite the same ones as before.
Eightbound still have a six inch Scouts move. Chaos Spawn gain an eight inch Scouts move, and the ability to charge after advancing. This is perfect for their role as mini distraction Carnifexes, there to gum up the enemy gunline as fast as possible and harass enemy objective holders, and they can do this faster than ever.
Lord Invocatus no longer allows you to Scout a big chunk of your force forward. He retains a six inch Scouts move of his own, which he can use when part of a unit of Eightbound. But his new Fire Riders ability grants his entire unit the ability to Deep Strike, and the ability to ignore models and terrain when moving.
The Lord on Juggernaut no longer lets the unit he leads re-roll Advance, Charge, and Blood Surge moves: he gives his unit a ten inch movement speed. That isn’t actually a boost when he’s leading either strain of Eightbound, and although he has another ability (which we’ll get to later), his natural home is leading a big unit of Khorne Berzerkers.
Speaking of Khorne Berzerkers, they’re even faster when you prod them with a stick. Their Blood Surge moves, which let them move towards an enemy that just destroyed a model in their unit with shooting, are now D6+2 inches. If an enemy shoots them while contesting the same objective, there’s a very good chance they’ll make it into contact.
Frenzied Firepower
Although the World Eaters Index contained a bevy of different Chaos Space Marine support vehicles, they always felt out of place. Although they were theoretically useful to provide long ranged firepower to cover the World Eaters’ advance, they were conspicuously worse than the equivalent units in Codex Chaos Space Marines, getting no real benefit from the Blessings of Khorne or Stratagems.
Every vehicle profile in the book has been reworked in a beautifully simple way. World Eaters’ vehicles now have a paltry BS4+, but just about every one of their guns gains Rapid Fire.
This is just hilarious on the World Eaters Land Raider: its paired Soulshatter Lascannons are now Rapid Fire 2 weapons. This thing fires eight, wildly inaccurate, Lascannon shots at anything within 24 inches. Even funnier is the Predator Destructor: its revamped autocannon has Rapid Fire 6.
Some unit abilities have been retooled around this theme of short-sighted, ill-discipliend violence. The Predator Annihilator can re-roll Wound rolls and Damage rolls when targeting the closest eligible Monster or Vehicle within 18 inches. Similarly, the Forgefiend re-roll Hit rolls when shooting at the closest eligible target within 18”, and Terminators can re-roll ranged Hit rolls against the closest unit, and Charge rolls against the closest eligible target.
A tidal wave of psychopaths
Warhammer 40k books depict the World Eaters as attacking in a relentless horde of frothing maniacs, and the rules now support this a lot better. Most obviously, Khorne Berzerkers now have a minimum unit size of 10 models, and a maximum size of 20.
The reworked ‘Rage-fuelled Invigoration’ Blessing of Khorne, which lets a unit consolidate and pile-in six inches, is a big help for maximising the combat effectiveness and objective control of this enormous ball of models. The Lord of Khorne on Juggernaut also helps here, allowing models from his unit to fight if they’re within three inches of an enemy unit that their unit is engaging.
If you want to run maximum size units of Eightbound, the new Slaughterbound is easy to recommend. As long as at least one of his bodyguards is alive, his Rage Eternal ability lets you return one destroyed model to the unit during each Command phase.
A max sized block of Exalted Eightbound led by a Slaughterbound costs more than Angron. But it’s an equally vital target for your opponent to kill in a single turn, and you can put both on the table by deep strike.
Angron himself has been toned down, slightly. He doesn’t hit quite as hard, his aura buffs are less impactful, and if he’s Reborn in Blood he only returns on eight wounds instead of his full sixteen. The niche combination of abilities that once gave you a 50/50 chance of resurrecting him has been removed from the game. He’s still a wrecking ball, but he’s not the auto-include he was before.
Less stamina
Most of the World Eaters infantry have one point lower strength on their melee attacks than they did before. The Eightbound have been sidegraded with simplified weapons profiles that make their roles very clear; Eightbound are amazing at chopping up Space Marines, while Exalted Eightbound rip through tanks and monsters with fewer attacks but Anti-Vehicle 3+ and Anti-Monster 3+.
Berzerkers, Jackals, Goremongers, and Terminators won’t notice this change during the turn they charge in either the Berzerker Warband and Goretrack Onslaught detachments, which provide very healthy charge bonuses. But the army has no abilities that allow units to fall back and charge, so once engaged, you’re stuck with your base attack profiles. These are still vicious, but the charge turn is more important than ever.
As far as defensive abilities go, World Eaters still rely on making sure the enemy is dead rather than tanking hits – there are defensive Stratagems, but no defensive abilities. The World Eaters’ Daemon Prince on foot loses the Infernal Fortitude aura of invulnerable saves, and instead gains a once per battle round ability to reduce the cost of a Stratagem targeting a unit within 12 inches by 1CP.
World Eaters Detachments
Most of the new World Eaters’ 40k detachments are tightly focused on a narrow band of models – only the Berzerker Warband provides its benefits evenly to all your (melee) troops.
- Berzerker Warband – units get +1 Attacks and +2 Strength on their melee attacks after making a Charge move.
- Cult of Blood – Angron, Daemon Princes, and Lord of Skulls project an aura that grants nearby Jakhals and Goremongers either a 4+ invulnerable save; +1 to Hit and +1 to Wound; or +1 inch Move and +1 to Advance and Charge rolls. Jakhals and Goremongers become Battleline.
- Possessed Slaughterband – Eightbound, Exalted Eightbound, and Slaughterbound gain D6 inch ‘Brazen Fury’ moves (essentially the same as Blood Surge moves).
- Goretrack Onslaught – after a World Eaters unit disembarks from a Transport, it gets +1 to Charge Rolls and the Lance ability for the turn.
- Khorne Daemonkin – gives access to daemonic Blood Legions units (Khorne Daemons). Destroying an enemy units will grant you Blood Tithe Points on a roll of 3+, which can be spent in subsequent turns to permanently activate abilities.
Building a Cult of Blood, Possessed Slaughterband, and Goretrack Onslaught will be quite linear; all of their Enhancements and Stratagems support the models they provide a detachment bonus to. You can splash in other units for specific roles: the Slaughterband should bring some Goremongers to counter enemy infiltrators, for instance – but they incentivize lists that bring lots of the units they support.
Khorne Daemonkin
The Khorne Daemonkin detachment is a callback to a beloved seventh edition Codex. It has some quite off-putting features.
Daemon units in the army don’t benefit from the Blessings of Khorne – though an Enhancement mitigates this for an area of the battlefield, and activating a costly Blood Tithe ability also can. And as they’re a bunch of fast-moving, hard-hitting melee troops, they’re very similar to the rest of the World Eaters. Their main difference is universal access to Deep Strike.
I’m skeptical of any Detachment with advantages that only activate after you’ve killed some enemy units. You need to kill quite a few units, too, since every unit kill only nets you a Blood Tithe Point on a 3+, and the least least ability, a 5+ FNP save against Mortal Wounds and Psychic attacks, costs two points.
The Stratagems are good, though, and maybe that saves it. While you have a Blood Legion unit close to a World Eaters unit, you can use Stratagems that let you return destroyed Daemons to play, give your World Eaters unit access to the Daemons’ invulnerable save, or give your World Eaters Lance on melee attacks.
The single CP Stratagem Summoned by Slaughter lets you set up a unit of Bloodletters from reserve anywhere within nine inches of the last model to be removed from a destroyed unit, which isn’t within engagement range of an enemy. When your units die you can bring in Bloodletters to hold onto objectives – when you shoot away enemy screening units, you can bring in Bloodletters right at your opponent’s throat.
Forgefiends and even Predator Destructors will be handy additions to this list, letting you cull smaller units for early BTPs or set up those nasty Bloodletter deep strikes.
Conclusion
The World Eaters Codex reworks the units so that they all support the same game plan – get into your opponent’s face as fast as possible, and tear it off. Units that always felt out of place have been given a mechanical identity that makes sense, and those basic Khorne Berzerkers have been given a boost that means they may emerge from the shadow of their Primarch and their possessed brethren.
The new detachments offer distinctive twists on that general theme by focusing on small parts of the model range – but there isn’t the same opportunity to use one collection of minis in a variety of different ways that we saw in the recent Emperor’s Children Codex.
Codex World Eaters is single-minded and incredibly violent. Khorne would be proud, if he knew anything other than rage.
Source: Wargamer
