Nightmare Hunt: The 11th-Edition Chaos Space Marines Terror Detachment

Four clauses, and unusually for a detachment rule they all apply to Heretic Astartes units generally rather than to a narrow keyword.

• In the Battle-shock step of your opponent's Command phase, an enemy unit below its Starting Strength within 12 inches of one or more of your Heretic Astartes units must take a Battle-shock test with -1 to the result. Units affected by this rule take no other Battle-shock tests that phase.
• Each time your Heretic Astartes models attack a unit that is Below Half-strength, add 1 to the Hit roll.
• Each time an attack targets your Heretic Astartes units, if the attacking model is battle-shocked, subtract 1 from the Hit roll.
• Each time your Heretic Astartes models attack a battle-shocked unit, add 1 to the Wound roll.

Those clauses feed each other. Your shooting thins a unit below half strength, the second clause gives you +1 to hit it, the first clause forces a Battle-shock test at -1 in your opponent's next Command phase, and once it is battle-shocked the third and fourth clauses give you +1 to wound it and -1 to be hit by it.

That is a lot for 2 DP, and it is the reason the detachment carries a Unique Tag: it cannot be taken alongside Murdertalon Raiders, which is the other NIGHTMARE detachment.

Six, all 1CP. Two boost damage against the condition, three manufacture the condition, and one is pure mobility.

• Prey on the Weak (Shooting or Fight) — a Heretic Astartes Infantry unit re-rolls Hit rolls against battle-shocked and Below Half-strength targets.
• Talons Sunk Deep (Shooting or Fight) — the same targets, +1 Armour Penetration.
• Sadistic Display (Fight) — just after a unit destroys an enemy unit, every enemy unit within 6 inches and visible (excluding Monsters and Vehicles) takes a Battle-shock test.
• Horrific Incursion (Movement) — a unit that arrived from Reserves this turn forces one enemy unit within 12 inches (excluding Monsters and Vehicles) to take a Battle-shock test at -1.
• Relentless Terror (Movement) — after Falling Back, a Heretic Astartes Infantry unit can shoot and declare a charge.
• Malicious Surge (Charge) — declare a charge after Advancing.

Sadistic Display and Horrific Incursion are the two that turn a good turn into a cascade: one kill can break three units, and every broken unit is a permanent -1 to hit against you and +1 to wound for you until it recovers.

• Sorrowscent Vulture (35 pts) — Chaos Lord with Jump Pack only: models in the bearer's unit have Scouts 6 inches. The Munitorum Field Manual notes it can lead Warp Talons.
• Greyveil Hex (25 pts) — Chaos Lord only: models in the bearer's unit have Stealth, and while the unit is within range of an objective marker you control it can only be targeted by ranged attacks from within 18 inches. That second clause is close to immunity for a unit holding a point behind terrain.
• Terrorglut Parasite (20 pts) — Heretic Astartes model only: at the start of the Fight phase, each enemy unit within Engagement Range of the bearer takes a Battle-shock test at -1.
• Warp-Fuelled Thrusters (20 pts) — Chaos Lord with Jump Pack only: at the end of your opponent's Fight phase, if the unit is not engaged, remove it into Strategic Reserves.

(Points come from the Munitorum Field Manual and move with updates; confirm in the app.)

• Raptors — fast Heretic Astartes Infantry to reach the units your Battle-shock effects just broke, and a natural Malicious Surge target.
• Chaos Lord with Jump Pack — two of the four enhancements are gated on this model.
• Chaos Lord — the only legal Greyveil Hex bearer, which is the enhancement that makes an objective-holding unit genuinely hard to shoot.
• Legionaries — the 12-inch aura is measured from any Heretic Astartes unit, so spread cheap infantry to widen the bubble rather than clumping it.
• Nemesis Claw — reprinted as a datasheet in the pack, and thematically the Night Lords terror squad this detachment is built for.

Take it when you want a whole-army effect that gets stronger as the game goes on and you are happy to build around attrition rather than an alpha strike. Compared with Dread Talons, which shares the fear premise at the same 2 DP, Nightmare Hunt has four clauses instead of three and adds Hit and Wound bonuses on top of the Battle-shock pressure. It is the bigger detachment.

Be clear-eyed about the trade. It carries the NIGHTMARE tag, and so does Murdertalon Raiders, so the obvious 2 + 1 pairing with jump packs is illegal. If jump packs are your plan, take Dread Talons instead, which does a similar job with no tag. Nightmare Hunt is also slow to start: on turn one nothing is thinned and nothing is broken, so the rule does almost nothing until you have done damage.

Sample gameplan: spread Heretic Astartes units so the 12-inch bubble covers the midfield. Shoot to push a unit below half strength, then take the +1 to hit it on the following turn. Spend Horrific Incursion when something arrives from Reserves and Sadistic Display the moment you destroy a unit in melee. Put Greyveil Hex on the Chaos Lord holding your central objective and Terrorglut Parasite on whichever character is going to end up in Engagement Range.