Warhammer 40k World Eaters Faction Focus Brings Endless Skulls for the Skull Throne
| Tags: General
| Author Bence Loksa
Warhammer 40k World Eaters Faction Focus brings us back to the forces of Chaos from the Imperium and the xenos, and boy, Angron and his sons are angry indeed!
After the Leagues of Votann and the Sisters of Battle got their Faction Focus articles (which you can find on ESTNN among other Warhammer 40k content!) it’s time for the bloodiest warriors to showcase their new toys. The World Eaters are looking like true servants of Khorne in the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k, where they will receive a plethora of changes – but will still be one of the scariest melee armies to face in the tabletop game.
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Faction Rules Showcased in the Warhammer 40k World Eaters Faction Focus
Even though the codex for the World Eaters dropped only a little while back, the 10th Edition doesn’t have room for Blood Tithe points and the mechanics tied to them. Instead, the angriest of boys now receive Blessings of Khorne, which they can activate through a very fun minigame: at the start of the Battle round, you roll 8 D6, using the results to activate up to two Blessings, which give bonuses to all of your units. Each blessing specifies how many dice they need, but Khorne usually asks for pairs or triples of different results – or bigger, if you have an abundance of one dice.
There are 6 different blessings of Khorne, which can be used to power up your army for a whole turn:
- Rage-Fuelled Invigoration gives your units +2” to their move, and costs any double of dice, for example two ones, so even the rolls which would otherwise be considered bad can be used,
- Wrathful Devotion gives your army a Feel No Pain 6+, or improves their ability to shrug of Damage by 1 if they already have a Feel No Pain for 2 doubles, just like Rage-Fuelled Invigoration,
- Martial Excellence gives your units’ melee weapons the Sustained Hits ability, meaning that they’ll score an extra hit with each 6 rolled in their Hit rolls. This ability costs a Double 3+, as it’s a bit stronger than the first two,
- Total Carnage is where triples first come in with the Blessings of Khorne, as it requires any three of the same result, or a double 4+. This Blessing gives your units a weaker version of the Fight on Death ability, as they can only fight before being taken off the board if they haven’t that phase, and you have to roll a 4+ for each model – but this is still an extremely strong ability,
- Warp Blades needs a double of 5+ or any triple, and in exchange, Khorne grants your army the Lethal Hits ability for their melee weapons, which makes them autowound on Hit rolls of 6,
- And finally, Unbridled Bloodlust lets every unit from your army Advance and Charge, but requires a double 6 or a triple 4+ to activate – which is not THAT hard to achieve out of 8 dice, and can result in some first turn charges even on a 60” by 44” battlefield, which is extremely strong.
While in the Chaos Daemons Faction Focus it was revealed that Chaos Space Marine armies can still take some Daemonic allies, the monstrosities of the Warp can’t receive the Blessings of Khorne – these are only for World Eaters units. However, the 6 Blessings are still strong as is, and should make the 12th Legion a scary enemy to face.
Unit Spotlights of the Warhammer 40k World Eaters Faction Focus
Khorne Berzerkers were the first unit showcased in the World Eaters Faction Focus, further proving that troops will be one of the most important units in the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k, as almost every Faction Focus have featured a Battleline unit of the given army. They still have their pistols, chainblades and Khornater eviscerators, and of course, their Blood Surge ability, which lets them close distance to enemy units which have caused casualties among their ranks. They have an Objective Control characteristic of 2, meaning they are perfect for storming and holding objectives, and once they are in, they can reroll one dice from the Blessings of Khorne rolls if they are in range of an objective marker, making them essential for every single World Eater army.
But what is a Legion of Astartes without their Primarch? (Ask every Chapter and Legion except the Ultramarines, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, Dark Angels and World Eaters…) Angron is the second unit which had one side of the datasheet revealed, and oh boy, does he look like the incarnation of rage. He lost same Wounds but gained 2 pips of Toughness – as per usual in the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k, while his melee weapons got increased Strength, with the strike profile having 16, -4 AP and D6+2 damage.
But the real frightening part of The Red Angel is his abilities. Angron has a power called Wrathful Presence, which is similar to the skill Roboute Guilliman or the Triumph of Saint Katherine has: at the start of the Charge phase, Angron can choose one out of three auras, which stay active until the start of your next Charge phase:
- Glorious Bloodletting lets friendly World Eaters units reroll Charge rolls of 1 if they are within 6” of Angron, meaning they will be able to reach their target with ease,
- Infectious Rage gives and extra melee attack to World Eaters within 6” if they are Below Starting Strenght, so the units that have suffered casualties can still hit like a truck once they get close,
- Righteous Slaughter let’s World Eaters within 6” of Angron reroll Hit rolls of 1, which as we all know, is the strongest ability in the game.
And if his 2+ Save and 4+ Invulnerable Save wouldn’t be enough, Angron received an upgraded version of his resurrection. Reborn in Blood lets you use a triple 6+ of the Blessings of Khorne dice return a dead Angron to Strategic Reserves with full Wounds instead of a damaged Red Angel, which is the current ability of the World Eaters. This means that even if you manage to take him down, Angron will just get right back up – but hey, those skulls don’t gather themselves!
Weapon Spotlight of the Warhammer 40k World Eaters Faction Focus
With the reveal of Angron, only one Weapon had the place to be showcased in the Faction Focus. Games Workshop showed us the Daemongore cannon of the Lord of Skulls, the giant Khornate servitor. This is one of the few weapons that got an all-around increase, as its Strength went up to 12, and it’s damage has been increased to D6+2, while also keeping the -4 AP, making it a true tank killer – while also being a monster in melee, as per usual for World Eaters.
Stratagem Spotlight of the Warhammer 40k World Eaters Faction Focus
Blood Offering is the showcased Stratagem of the 12th Legion, which tries to counteract the somewhat weaker shooting of the World Eaters. For 1CP, you can keep an objective under your control after an opponent blasts your Berzerkers or Jakhals off of the battlefield. This Stratagem forces your opponents to come and take the objective if they want it, which means that the other World Eaters can pile up on them.
Overall, the World Eaters Faction Focus is one that is incredibly flavourful and fluffy, while also showcasing the best parts of the army. The 10th Edition of Warhammer is getting closer and closer, with the rumoured release date being June 26th. I can’t wait for the new rules to be showed, and for a whole new way to play the most popular wargame on the planet!