Imperial Agents: Ordo Malleus Daemon Hunters Detachment Guide (11th Edition)
The daemon-hunters — consistent re-rolls across the board that spike hard whenever daemons appear.
SprueSentry strategy commentary for 11th edition, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly — always confirm against the current official rules and your latest dataslate before a game.
Ordo Malleus Daemon Hunters is the classic Inquisition-versus-Daemons detachment, anchored by characters like Coteaz and their Grey Knights allies. Its appeal is reliability: a broad accuracy buff that works in every game, plus a sharpened edge that switches on against Daemons specifically. In our view it's the most 'always fine, sometimes brutal' of the Ordo detachments — you never feel dead-ruled, and against a Daemon army you feel dominant. This is SprueSentry commentary, not the official text; verify the exact re-roll conditions and unit eligibility in the current faction pack and the 40k app.
Detachment rule in brief
The mechanic centres on re-rolls with a Daemon-hunting escalation: reviewers describe re-rolling hit rolls of 1 for your attacks generally, with an added wound-roll re-roll (of 1s) when you're targeting Daemon units. So you get baseline consistency every game, and a meaningful damage spike into the exact enemy the detachment is built to purge. Thematically it also carries psychological-warfare and warding elements against daemonic foes. Treat the precise re-roll conditions as general and confirm them in the pack before relying on the maths.
Why you'd play it
Choose this if you want a detachment that is never wasted. The general re-roll improves your reliability in every matchup, which is valuable for a fragile, model-light faction that can't afford to miss with its few good attacks. Then, against Daemons — Chaos Daemons, daemon-heavy Chaos Marine builds — it becomes a hard counter, layering wound re-rolls and warding on top. It's the safe, evergreen pick among the Ordos with a devastating best-case.
Key pieces and support
Coteaz is the natural centrepiece — a durable, hard-hitting Inquisitor who thrives against Daemons — supported by additional Inquisitorial characters and, where allied, Grey Knights elements that share the daemon-hunting theme. A Vindicare adds character removal and a Culexus punishes psykers and daemons alike if legal. Bring some cheap bodies for scoring, as ever. Check the 11th-edition pack for which units and enhancements are currently available and legal.
How to play it
In most games, treat the re-roll as a quiet efficiency boost: it makes your limited attacks land more often, so play your normal target-priority and objective game. Against Daemons, be proactive — push your buffed hitters into the daemonic threats you're built to erase and use the warding effects to weather their counter-attacks. As with the other elite Agents detachments, don't overexpose your key characters; their value is in the buffs and the kills they enable, not in tanking the whole enemy army.
Common questions
What does the Ordo Malleus detachment rule do?
It gives a general re-roll benefit (hit rolls of 1) that helps in every matchup, plus an extra wound-roll re-roll against Daemon units and thematic anti-daemon warding. So it's consistent everywhere and spikes hard against Daemons. The exact re-roll conditions should be confirmed in the current faction pack and 40k app, as wording can shift with dataslates.
Is it worth taking if I won't face Daemons?
Yes — the general accuracy re-roll applies in all games, which suits a fragile faction that can't afford misses. You simply don't get the Daemon-specific bonus. That evergreen floor is a big reason players rate Ordo Malleus as the 'safe' Ordo detachment even outside daemon-heavy metas.
Who is the best character for this detachment?
Coteaz is the iconic anchor — a tough Inquisitor who excels against Daemons and fits the theme perfectly. Support him with other Inquisitorial characters and, if you're building wider, daemon-hunting allies. Confirm current datasheet options in the pack. For allying these characters into a bigger army, see the [Imperial Agents army guide](/40k/armies/imperial-agents/guide).
- Imperial Agents Faction Pack (v1.2) — official 11th Edition rules PDF
- New40k — Download new Imperial Faction Packs today (Warhammer Community)
- 11th Edition Faction Pack Review: Imperial Agents (Goonhammer / Tabletop Battles)
- 7 Warhammer 40k Imperial Faction Packs Arrive With New Detachments + Rules (Spikey Bits)
- Starting an Imperial Agents Army (Warhammer Community)
Written by SprueSentry with SprueSentry editorial (hand-authored, research-grounded), grounded in the cited sources — original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.