How to Play Blades of Khorne in Warhammer Age of Sigmar (4th Edition)

Khorne's signature mechanic is the Blood Tithe. You earn 1 Blood Tithe point each time a unit is destroyed, whether it's yours or your opponent's, so violence from either side feeds you. In your hero phase you spend those points (via the army's "Skulls for the Skull Throne" ability) to unlock Blood Tithe abilities.

In the current battletome the Blood Tithe works as an ability tree of persistent effects rather than one-off boons. Murderlust starts unlocked and is free: it lets you replace a die in a charge roll, at the cost of some mortal damage to the charging unit. From there you spend points to unlock further abilities that do things like debuff enemy casters, punish units that stay out of combat, penalise enemy shooting, or add attacks and hit-roll bonuses to your chargers. Once unlocked, these effects stay on for the rest of the battle, so your army snowballs harder the longer the fight goes.

Unlocking an ability also triggers the Blood-Drenched trait: you pick a friendly Blades of Khorne unit and it gains a permanent buff based on what it is. Broadly, the target ignores positive save modifiers on the enemy, Bloodbound units gain a mortal-wound crit effect, non-monster Daemons gain extra Rend, and Monsters gain extra Damage. This lets you stack a marquee threat into a genuine hammer over the course of the game. Confirm the exact ability names, costs and effects on your warscrolls, as these can shift with errata.

The 2025 battletome offers four core battle formations. Each nudges you toward a particular build:

• Khornate Legion — the mixed-army pick. After a Daemon unit fights, a friendly Bloodbound unit can immediately pile in and fight too, letting you chain activations. Ideal if you run both halves of the faction together.
• Bloodbound Warhorde — rewards the mortal side, boosting hit rolls for Bloodbound units when they fight over objectives. Good for an objective-grabbing, infantry-heavy list.
• Brass Stampede — the Cavalry/Monster formation. It adds to charge rolls based on how many friendly Cavalry or Monster units have already charged nearby, so a wave of Skullcrushers, Bloodcrushers and Bloodthirsters lands reliable charges.
• Murderhost — the mobility formation for Daemons: units that fought can make a short move at the end of the turn (as long as they leave combat), helping fast Daemon lists reposition and threaten objectives.

Pick the formation that matches your core: mixed lists lean Khornate Legion, mortal footslogging lists like Bloodbound Warhorde, big-beast lists take Brass Stampede, and pure Daemon speed builds enjoy Murderhost.

• Bloodthirsters (Wrath of Khorne, Insensate Rage, Rage-driven, etc.) — the army's premier hammers. Fast, hard-hitting Greater Daemons that make ideal Blood-Drenched/Bloodlords Supreme targets for stacked Damage.
• Skarbrand — a centrepiece melee monster with enormous damage output; a classic "point him at the biggest threat" unit.
• Bloodletters — core Daemon infantry with reliable combat output and improved mobility; a dependable objective and body unit.
• Blood Warriors / Skullreapers — durable mortal Bloodbound infantry that hit hard and hold ground.
• Bloodreavers — cheap mortal chaff for screening, board presence and feeding the Blood Tithe.
• Mighty Skullcrushers & Bloodcrushers — Cavalry hammers that shine in Brass Stampede.
• Flesh Hounds & Karanak — fast Daemon cavalry with anti-magic utility; Karanak repositions the pack to hunt priority targets.
• Slaughterpriest & Bloodsecrator — key support heroes. The Slaughterpriest brings prayers/mortal-wound output, while the Bloodsecrator is a long-standing buff piece for nearby Khorne units.
• Skull Cannon — the army's rare ranged option, offering some chip damage in an otherwise melee force.

(Exact stats, weapon profiles and roles can change with the current battletome and Battlescroll — check your warscrolls.)

Blades of Khorne is a proactive melee army: you want to be the one charging, on your terms, from turn one. There is no meaningful shooting phase and no wizards, so magic defence comes from priests, Flesh Hounds and simply killing enemy casters in melee.

A typical plan: screen with cheap Bloodreavers and chaff so your hammers arrive intact, use Murderlust to make critical charges reliable, and funnel Blood Tithe points into the abilities and Blood-Drenched buffs that turn one or two units into game-ending threats. Trade aggressively — because both friendly and enemy deaths feed the Blood Tithe, even losing units advances your engine. Prioritise contesting objectives with your infantry while your Bloodthirsters and Cavalry delete the enemy's key pieces. Because your power grows as the game goes on, look to win the mid-to-late turns rather than trading everything away early.

The most common error is over-committing on turn one and getting hammers stranded in the open, where they get shot or counter-charged before they connect. Screen properly and be patient with your alpha strike.

Khorne genuinely struggles against armies that refuse to engage: fast, shooty or highly mobile forces that kite you, sit on objectives out of reach, and win on primary points while you fail charges. Failed charges hurt disproportionately in a melee-only army, so use Murderlust and charge buffs to protect your key threats. Magic-heavy opponents can also punish you if you don't apply anti-caster pressure early. Finally, avoid spending Blood Tithe points aimlessly — plan which abilities and Blood-Drenched targets actually win you the game, rather than unlocking whatever is cheapest.