How to Play Slaves to Darkness in Warhammer Age of Sigmar (4th Edition)

Slaves to Darkness in 4th edition are built around a small set of army-wide battle traits (verify the exact list and wording in your current faction pack):

• Pledge to Chaos (the Marks). Instead of locking your whole army into one god, you assign a Chaos Pledge to eligible unmarked units, and you can do this as the game develops. The four god-pledges each grant a distinct benefit, broadly: Khorne improves melee output (an extra attack), Nurgle adds durability (a ward, improving if you already have one), Tzeentch grants mobility/protection (a teleport-style move), and Slaanesh boosts charges (extra charge dice). Confirm the precise effect of each pledge before relying on it.
• Eye of the Gods / Dark Apotheosis. The signature theme. In the launch battletome this works by nominating a non-unique Warriors of Chaos or Darkoath hero who accrues Dark Apotheosis points (reportedly D3 at a time) for fighting or for holding objectives outside your own territory. Once they cross the threshold (reported as 8 points) you choose a reward: heal them and grant a lasting ward, or have them ascend and be replaced by a Daemon Prince. This is a reward for aggressive, forward play.

Note the source conflict flagged in the warnings: some previews described Eye of the Gods as a 'gift when you destroy an enemy unit' table rather than a points system. Treat the points system as current but double-check your own pack.

The core battletome offers four battle formations (subfactions). Each nudges the army toward a different plan, so pick to match your list:

• Godswrath Warband turns objectives you contest into a mortal-damage hazard for the enemy, punishing anyone who tries to share or retake them. Widely rated as the most impactful for objective-heavy play.
• Legion of Chaos rewards a varied leadership roster: field the right mix of hero types (a Warriors of Chaos hero plus a Daemon or Darkoath hero) and your units gain extra control score while contesting objectives outside your territory, i.e. aggressive board control.
• Darkoath Horde leans into the tribal side, letting destroyed Darkoath units come back (a Rally-the-Tribes style revival) so you can grind and re-contest with cheap bodies.
• Despoilers is the daemon-and-monster formation, built around a Daemon Prince and your big beasts working together (the exact benefit varies by source, so check the wording).

For a first list, Godswrath Warband is the safest all-comers pick; take Darkoath Horde if you are genuinely leaning into a Darkoath-heavy roster.

• Varanguard - premier elite cavalry hammer; expensive but hit extremely hard and are tough.
• Chaos Knights - efficient, durable cavalry with a strong charge; often the workhorse hammer of the army.
• Chaos Chosen - elite foot hammer with a punishing attack profile for grinding melee.
• Chaos Warriors / Chaos Legionnaires - resilient, armoured line infantry; your objective-holding anvils, better still when contesting objectives.
• Daemon Prince - flying monster-hero beatstick and the natural payoff of Dark Apotheosis; also a strong buff piece in the daemon formation.
• Be'lakor - premium wizard-hero offering damage plus a signature debuff that can shut down an enemy unit's ability; strong utility.
• Chaos Sorcerer Lord - budget caster for healing/buff support and pushing your plan along.
• Chaos Furies - cheap, fast fliers that screen, grab objectives and retreat safely; great for battle tactics.
• Darkoath Marauders / Savagers - inexpensive horde bodies for Darkoath builds, board presence and revival shenanigans.
• Chaos Lord / Darkoath Warqueen - affordable combat heroes and Eye of the Gods candidates to buff and lead the line.
• Archaon the Everchosen - apex named centrepiece if you want the ultimate (and very costly) hammer.

Slaves to Darkness is a proactive midrange-to-aggressive army. Your infantry is durable enough to hold ground while your cavalry and monsters deliver decisive charges, and your scoring is helped by pushing units forward rather than turtling.

A general plan: deploy a resilient screen of Chaos Warriors/Legionnaires and cheap Darkoath or Furies to control the midfield and objectives, while your hammers (Chaos Knights, Varanguard, Chaos Chosen, a Daemon Prince) threaten the decisive combat. Use Pledges reactively - Nurgle wards on a unit about to be shot, Khorne attacks on a unit that needs to win a fight, Slaanesh charge dice on your alpha strike, Tzeentch mobility to reposition. Push a nominated hero forward early so they bank Dark Apotheosis points from fighting and contesting objectives outside your territory, aiming to cash in for a ward or a fresh Daemon Prince. Trade your cheap bodies for board control and let your elite units win the games that matter.

Because points and profiles shift, confirm current costs in the latest General's Handbook / Battlescroll and build around what is efficient this season.

• Sitting back with the whole army. Both Eye of the Gods and the best formations reward contesting objectives outside your own territory. Playing too passively starves your Dark Apotheosis hero of points and wastes your control-score bonuses.
• Assigning Pledges too early or randomly. Pledges are flexible for a reason; commit them to answer the actual situation (durability, damage, mobility, charge) rather than locking in turn one out of habit.
• Over-relying on the Daemon Prince transformation. A fragile melee hero can die before reaching the ascension threshold. Protect and support your nominated hero, or plan to take the heal-and-ward reward instead.
• List over-narrowing. Reviewers note the competitive builds tend to recycle the same efficient units (Chaos Knights, Varanguard, Chaos Chosen, Be'lakor) while some Darkoath options underperform. Know that raw model variety does not always mean competitive variety.
• Where they struggle. The army can lack cheap, reliable long-ranged shooting and elite alpha-strike speed compared to some factions, and leans on melee trades; against a faster or more shooting-heavy opponent you must win the objective game with durability and control rather than out-racing them.