Wormhole Daemons Tactics

Wormhole Daemons
Setting:	Grimdark Future
Games:	Grimdark Future, Grimdark Future: Firefight
Species:	Daemons
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Wormhole Daemons

The wormhole daemons are really four smaller armies fit into one group. All of them have their own unique rules, you'll notice that all of them have a generally similar pattern of things.

Pros:

• Incredibly powerful heroes with a decent amount of customization
• Your army lists are rather simplistic since you have four of them under the same banner
• Each army list comes with their own specialty
• Ambush/Scout all over the place

Cons:

• Your strong heroes are costly
• No synergy between your different daemons
• No transportation, so your forces need to use Ambush or get shot back to hell
• Unless using an Ascended Daemon Champion, buying the Daemon Champions ranged weapons robs them of all melee ability.

Universal Special Rules

• Daemon: A rule given to all of your units, this gives you an option between either Ambush or Scout. Both of these options are very powerful, as Scout allows you to set up your battle lines closer to the foes.

Daemons of War

The Daemons of War are bluntly simple with their passions: ripping things up in close quarters. Your army is Furious as par for the course, and you have beasts that are even Fast on top of that. While you have no spells, you still have the means to block spells if you pay for it.

Special Rules

• Resistance: These models can block spells as if they had Psychic(2), giving you the only means to stop them.
• Symbol of War(X): When this unit is activated, roll a d6; on a X+, an enemy unit within 18" takes 3 AP(2) hits. This gives you enough to bloody an elite unit or tank.

Units

Heroes

• Greater Daemon of War: Greater daemons are no joke to be around, and War's is no different. Fear, Furious and Flying make for a sinister combination and it has Tough 12 to guarantee its survival.
  • Melee: Its base Exalted Fire Axes are already a monstrosity of a weapon, able to carve holes in near anything, and you can trade either for an Exalted Fire Hammer, sacrificing attacks for crowd-busting. The Exalted Flame Gauntlets provide you with AP(4) if you find yourself frequently facing high defense units that don't necessarily too many wounds - after all, you have A9. Your most costly option is an Exalted Flame Spear, sacrificing attacks for AP(4) Deadly(3) - the thing made to puncture vehicles and titans.
  • Shooting: While normally the Greater Daemon of War has no shooting, you can replace a weapon for an Exalted Fire Lash for some measure of shooting. While not very long-ranged, it's still a barrage of attacks at AP(2), capable of ripping apart mobs before charging. You also have the option for a Symbol of War, a costly means for out-of-turn damage that doesn't count as shooting.
• Daemon Champion of War: The daemon champion is essentially a diet greater daemon - for war's instance this means no flying (by default; you can buy this back), fewer attacks with all weapons despite otherwise being the same and being only Tough 6. This makes for a better place for a Symbol of War, though you will still stand out as a target. If you really don't care about that at all, you can buy Ascended Daemon, giving a second weapon and an additional 6 wounds for a hefty pricetag.
• Champion of War: Essentially an elite Blood Warrior, but you still have the same weapons as the other heroes (though at the fewest attacks of all) and maintain the option for a Symbol of War, though now it's auto-confirming on a 1+. That said, you are still a murder machine, though now you should consider hiding in a unit since you're at Tough(3) on a 4+ defense.
  • Mounts: The champion can take a mount, either a very tanky and charge-friendly Brass Beast or a beefier Throne of Blood that confers a frenzy of AP(2) attacks and Fear - the option comes down to what you plan on accompanying.
• Cerberus Hound: Your elite blood hound has a frenzy of attacks plus Fear and a 3+ quality and defense. This dog's not just a gimmick either - it's also got anti-psych collars for Resistance. If you're not facing wizards though, it's kind of a waste and you'd be better served by the spiked collars for Impact(3).

Infantry

• War Furies: Your cheapest but also your least impressive with 5+ to quality and defense. Fortunately, they still get AP(2) on their claws and Flying so they can make for a good kamikaze unit to distract enemies.
• Blood Warriors: Your basic infantry has Furious and AP(2) on their attacks, making them very keen on ripping apart most infantry. Grab a command group and they get Fear while a Banner of War gives Impact(1). You can also give the unit a different set of weapons, be it a second CCW, Rending or AP(4). These guys benefit more than any other from exploiting Ambush, since they have no other means of getting close and will die if they get hit. It might help to consider merging units in those instances, especially if you use them to hide a Champion.
• Blood Hounds: Blood hounds are a bit more aggressive in combat with 3+ quality. While Fast, you'll notice that they trade potency for weight of attacks as they only get AP(1) on their bites. You can buy the pack Resistance or Impact(1) depending on what exactly you plan on doing with them.
• Brass Beast Riders: The brass beasts give blood warriors a lot: Tough(3) on a 2+ defense, Fast, Impact(3) and another set of attacks. However, they are incredibly expensive at 100 points a model and you can only give them Fear from a command group. If you plan on bringing them, then you'd best know where to throw them and make sure that absolutely nothing stops them from their goal.

Vehicles & Monsters

• Cannon Chariot: This is a piece or artillery with serious bite. Not only is this cannon able of flattening any squad it hits, but it can also fight back if it's in melee - hell, you might even want to charge just to make use of Furious.
• Crab Daemon of War: This is a crab daemon meant to take on other tanks as it has a better AP than the crabs of other gods, and you are absolutely paying through the nose for it. You can trade off the melee weapon for a Flame Sword, giving a flurry of attacks at AP(2), while the Flame Cannon can be changed out for a Heavy Flame Cannon with AP(4).

Daemons of Change

The Daemons of Change are more defensive than most. The entire army has Stealth across the board. The daemons of change are also very focused on casting, as all the heroes have some manner of Psychic potential. The minions, on the other hand, present the only venue of infantry-based shooting available to the entire army.

Special Rules

• Symbol of Change(X): When this model activates, roll a d6; on a X+, an enemy model within 18" takes a lone AP(3) Deadly(3) hit, giving a very potent ding on any heavies.

Psychic Spells

• Breath of Change (4+): Friendly unit within 12" can now charge 3", giving you the means to control the flow of battle a bit.
• Inferno (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 2 AP(2) hits. Somewhat equivalent to havoc blast, though it hits the entire unit.
• Cursed Mutations (5+): Enemy unit within 18" takes -1 to hit, which can help since you have more squishy models.
• Fire Storm (5+): Enemy unit within 12" must take a dangerous terrain test.
• Blessed Mutation (6+): Friendly units within 12" gain a Regeneration save that passes on a 4+, a great save.
• Bolt of Change (6+): Enemy unit within 12" take an AP(4) hit with Deadly(3). Rest assured that whoever you target, they will DIE.

Units

Heroes

• Exalted Daemon of Change: The exalted daemon is the emphasis of everything Change is. Max psychic casting, Stealth, flight, Tough(12) and incredible stats in combat. Fortunately, Stealth helps mitigate some of the walking target appeal and casting Blessed Mutations on it can also help provide an additional layer of meat.
  • Melee: The stock Exalted Power Staffs give a bunch of AP(1) Rending attacks, either of which you can exchange for an Exalted Power Hammer for a few less attacks with Blast(3) to handle mobs. The Exalted Power Gauntlets provide AP(3) if you intend on fighting monsters. Exalted Power Spears for also sacrifice attacks but have a powerful AP(3) and Deadly (3) to stand a chance against titans.
  • Shooting: You can also buy an Exalted Magic Blast in place of a weapon if you want some form of non-magical shooting, giving a flurry of AP(1) attacks for a decent price. While the Symbol of Change is also available for non-shooting shooting, the price and lower chance of going off does hamper its uses.
• Daemon Champion of Change: A lesser hero in almost any way except for base stats, though this means that you aren't spending so much for max casting when Psychic(1) may suffice. You can also buy back Flying and Psychic(2) if you feel it necessary. For most games, this may likely be your go-to hero as it hits that happy medium between cost and effectiveness. If that's not your style, you can still buy Ascended Daemon for an extra weapon and more wounds.
• Champion of Change: An elite Change Warrior toting scaled-down versions of weapons from the other heroes. Alongside those weapons, it also has the option to take a Symbol of Change that auto-triggers on a 1+ and Psychic(1).
  • Mounts: For mounts, the champion can ride a Disc of Change for Fast and Strider, incredibly helpful for support casting and comes with some extra wounds. If you intend on actually last in a fight, you can instead go for a Flame Chariot for a mobile bundle of attacks on a tankier frame without sacrificing maneuverability.

Infantry

• Change Furies: Your cheapest chaff. While they can't shoot like Change and colored Warriors can, they do come with Flying, giving them the ability to outmaneuver enemies.
• Change Warriors: Your basic infantry are the only ones out of the entire army to have a stock shooting weapon, though it's pretty meager. Their CCWs are also rather meager at only an AP(1) attack that hits on a 4+. Also unique among them is their ability to gain Psychic(1), giving you an extra venue of casting. You can buy a Command Group for Fear, and then complement it with a Banner of Change to make their melee attacks AP(2). If you're planning on extra melee, you're likely to buy them extra CCWs, though you could also buy them magical CCWs for Rending or a great weapons for AP(3).
• Pink Warriors: Essentially change warriors with a ramped-up price tag but no upgrades. Why is that, you ask? Well they have a secret rule that means that if any models die, they become...
  • Blue Warriors: Two of these guys. Note that these guys likely wouldn't carry any upgrades over and are weaker, but they're protected by the pink warriors until they're all gone. If these guys bite it, then they turn into...
    • Yellow Warriors: This. There is no unit more pathetic as they, for they will immediately die if hit by anything with only a 6+ defense to save them. You can try to use them to hit back anything while protected by the blues, but by this point the unit's lost.
• Manta Daemons: These guys are very mobile with Fast and Strider while Tough(3) lets them take a blow before they can close in to attack. Their role is to pretty much tie up units so that your others can focus their fire at others.
• Flame Daemons: Pretty much the upgrade to Change Warriors. Each of them has three AP(1) attacks that can hit a little further away but have no AP in melee. While they're capable of fighting up close with three attacks hitting on a 4+ and Tough(3), that shooting's what they are best at.

Vehicles & Monsters

• Flame Chariot: Essentially what happens when you put a flame daemon onto a vehicle. This allows the daemon to cover more ground with Fast and Strider and it gets a bunch of extra melee attacks as well as Fear, letting them stand their ground against infantry.
• Crab Daemon of Change: The crab daemon gives you a much beefier monster that can stand strong. Its Power Claw gives you something good for ripping open tanks and elites, which you can replace for a Power Blade if you want more attacks better suited for hordes of infantry. The Power Cannon lets you blast infantry and you can make it a Heavy Power Cannon so you can blow up tanks.

Daemons of Plague

The Daemons of Plague are a thematic opposite to the Disciples of Change. Where Change focuses on avoiding getting hit at all with Stealth spam, Plague focuses on taking all blows with Regeneration being freely available while being able to give it back with Poison. This does come at a cost however, as Regeneration makes all units that take it very expensive and AP is not as prevalent as it is with War or Change.

Special Rules

• Symbol of Plague(X): When this model is activated, roll a d6; on a X+, an enemy unit within 18" must test for dangerous terrain. This isn't quite as dangerous, so you're less inclined to hesitate on slapping it on your greater daemon.

Psychic Spells

• Blessed Plague (4+): Friendly unit within 12" gets Stealth the next time they get shot at. Now you have protection before AND after you get shot.
• Muscular Atrophy (4+): Enemy unit within 6" must take dangerous terrain test.
• Deadly Poison (5+): Enemy unit within 12" takes an AP(4) Deadly(3) hit, making it a good sniping power.
• Toxic Blades (5+): Friendly unit within 12" gets +2 to the AP of all melee weapons for the next fight phase, making them super dangerous on heavy armor.
• Poison Wind (6+): Friendly unit within 12" immediately moves 6". Pretty much Havoc Warp for your daemons.
• Rot Wave (6+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 4 AP(2) hits, making this better for most small units.

Units

Heroes

• Exalted Daemon of Plague: Your behemoth of an exalted daemon has Regeneration, which makes them nigh-invulnerable when combined with its 2+ save and Tough(12), meaning any focus-fire strategies will need to throw everything at it for a kill. Helping matters is also its ability to cast with Psychic(2) - the Plague spells grant a nice mix of support and damage.
  • Melee: For offense, it carries not only Psychic(2) but also two Exalted Plague Sword, whose every swing carries the risk of Poison. If you want to guarantee those blows, you can instead swap in the Exalted Plague Hammer that adds Blast(3) to crush hordes for free. Exalted Plague Gauntlets give you AP(2) for more guaranteed AP. Last is the Exalted Plague Spear with AP(2) and Deadly(3) on top of poison, only useful against titans.
  • Shooting: You can replace a weapon for Exalted Toxic Spit for a flood of poisoned shots. On top of that is the costly Symbol of Plague, giving you on-demand dangerous terrain checks for a few more kills.
• Daemon Champion of Plague: Though diminished in power, it remains just as dangerous with poisoned weaponry. You can get all the same weapons as well as Flying and access to Psychic(2), though no cheaper Psychic(1). Also available is Ascended Daemon, a costly but mighty upgrade giving a spare weapon and more wounds.
• Champion of Plague: Weaker than the other heroes, but still retains the loadout and capacity to be Psychic. Also helpful is the option for Toxic Spit without losing anything and auto-guaranteed Symbol of Plague.
  • Mounts: For mounts, the champion has the Throne of Plague for a frenzy of poisoned attacks and the Giant Snail, a beefier option that makes the champion Slow but also spread it to any units that fight it in melee.

Infantry

• Plague Furies: While slightly more expensive than the Plague Warriors, they exchange their quality and defense for more attacks (still toting Poison) and Flying so they can show up anywhere.
• Plague Warriors: These daemons have Regeneration, so they're more than capable of taking the same abuse any of their colleagues can and then some. The banner of plague grants Rending, which goes well with the Fear given by a command group (though it invalidates the need for magical CCWs). Its base weapons are decent enough with Poison, though like other warriors you can upgrade them for a second, a version with Rending or a version with AP 2.
• Plague Swarms: The swarms are weak but give you more attacks and Tough 3. This makes them a little better suited for tying up distraction units.
• Plague Fly Riders: Your Plague Warriors now have Strider to become more mobile and an extra three attacks with AP(1) from the fly's stinger. Your options are cut pretty short in return, only getting the ability to add Poison to those new stinger attacks and a ranged Poison attack.
• Plague Beast: Essentially a slab of well-guarded meat. Not only is this thing Tough(3) with Regeneration. That aside, it's not much more than a giant distraction made to hassle whatever it faces.

Monsters

• Crab Daemon of Plague: What you should really be bringing if you want a monster that can hurt things. As per course, both its basic weapons have Poison and the daemon has Regeneration. This leaves its Plague Claw being capable of handling most infantry with AP(2), while you could replace it with a plague blade for more chances to trigger Poison at a discount but losing any AP. The Plague Cannon can meanwhile be upgraded to have AP(2).

Daemons of Lust

Lust is all about speed. Your units have some form of Fast to allow them to cover ground quickly and a lot of attacks. They'll need those attacks because they lack any special defenses or much AP. Their melee game contrasts with War because Lust focuses more on throwing tons of die whereas War is about making hits that cut down enemies while laughing at their armor.

Special Rules

• Symbol of Lust(X): When this unit is activated, roll a d6; on a X+, two enemy units take 3 hits each. This isn't quite as powerful as the other symbols, but it gives you more firepower since it hits more units.
• Very Fast: Fast +1. The unit can move 12" and charge/rush 24".

Psychic Spells

• Seizure (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes an AP(2) Deadly(3) hit. Another psychic sniping spell that can handle most heroes.
• Twisted Ecstasy (4+): Enemy unit within 12" suffers -1 to shoot on their next turn. Important since most of your army is only protected by a mere 4+ save for the most part.
• Pain (5+): Enemy unit within 12" takes three AP(2) hits. Not much, but it can soften up a bigger unit.
• Pleasure (5+): Friendly unit within 12" gets Regeneration whenever they suffer wounds next. Awesome.
• Frenzy (6+): Friendly unit within 12" immediately charges 6" and gets +1 to hit them that turn. Most spells just settle for moving you into combat, but this makes sure the charge actually takes.
• Overload (6+): Enemy unit within 6" take a single wound for each model, making it way deadlier for hordes.

Units

Heroes

• Greater Daemon of Lust: If ever you needed to find out what a rocket-powered blender would look like, then the exalted daemon of lust would be the first thing on the list. Though it lacks Flying, Fast is a good alternative in helping go wherever you need.
  • Melee: On top of being fast and Psychic(2), this thing has a staggering TWENTY-FOUR attacks with Rending using its default Exalted Ritual Blades. You can swap either for an Exalted Ritual Hammer to make half your attacks in exchange for Blast(3), a bit of a limited need unless you want to wear down Tough Units but refunds points. The Exalted Ritual Gauntlets provide you a more reliable AP(2) attack to fight monsters. Instead, you could buy an Exalted Ritual Spear for a few tank-crushing blows at AP(2) Deadly(3).
  • Shooting: In addition to Psychic(2) and the optional Symbol of Lust, you can also replace a weapon for an Exalted Limb Strike for a barrage of shots, though no AP.
• Daemon Champion of Lust: Slightly less of an overload on attacks, but you're still getting something that will drown the enemy in dice. Alongside the Symbol of Lust and Psychic(2), the daemon champion can also gain Flying despite the greater daemon being unable to do so - it's pretty neat to make them even more mobile. For a sizeable price tag, you can also buy Ascended Daemon, providing a spare weapon and additional wounds.
• Champion of Lust: The Lust Warrior that thinks it's a daemon champion. That's not a knock, as it's still got plenty of blows and all the upgrades available to the other mounts. Symbol of Lust is especially handy on this, as it auto-triggers and is most effective on infantry
  • Mounts: The champion also has two different mounts: a Lust Beast for Very Fast and Impact and a Daemon Champion that gives some extra-deadly attacks and some tankiness.
• Lust Harpist: This champion only carries a harp, giving plenty of attacks at a decent range but harried by Indirect and a lack of Fast. Though it lacks any other powers or weapons, you can buy it from two special rules: Song of Summoning (Lets you summon a band of Lust Warriors upon activation) or Song of Banishment (Upon Activation, you force an enemy unit within 18" to roll for difficult terrain). Whichever rule you pick depends on where you plan to keep this harpist.
• Sacred Mirror: What you have here is essentially a psychic turret. This is your cheapest Psychic(2) hero and it comes with some short-range shooting as well. Not only can it cast, but it's also a very powerful spell-blocker with Magic Absorption giving a +2 to block rolls. While not Fast, it remains a pretty powerful strongpoint for your forces.

Infantry

• Lust Furies: Flimsy, but swift chaff with Flying to complement Fast. The number of attacks also offsets its 5+ quality somewhat.
• Lust Warriors: Your infantry comes with two attacks, an appreciable benefit alongside Fast. The Banner of Lust grants Strider, giving the warriors even more mobility. As with other warriors, you can still grab a Command Group for Fear (in case you wanted to weight combat resolution harder in your favor) and replace the CCWs with either dual CCWs, magical weapons with Rending or heavy weapons with AP(2).
• Lust Beast Riders: Lust warriors are already wicked fast, so the fact that they can ride beasts with Very Fast and Impact 1 just makes them even more blinding. These will absolutely be the first to the fray and the first to demolish, especially if you sprung for Fear by buying a Command Group.
• Lust Fiends: Essentially beefier beasts. While they're just Fast instead of Very Fast, they have Tough(3), Impact(3) and 6 attacks so they're better suited for more drawn-out combat. That said, they're more prone to getting shot up at the outset.

Vehicles & Monsters

• Razor-Flail Chariot: An engine of mass ruination if there ever was any. This armored behemoth has a staggering Impact(9) and 8 normal attacks (plus two poisoned ones). Since it has Tough(6) and 2+ defense, it's rather well protected but it is a very visible but very nimble target.
• Crab Daemon of Lust: You've got a mobile weapons platform that can also fight back. Both weapons give you a bunch of attacks, with the Lust Claw giving AP(2) in melee. That claw can be exchanged for a Lust Blade so you can get an absolutely stupid number of attacks, while upgrading the Lust Cannon to a Heavy Lust Cannon makes the gun AP(2).

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

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Tactics

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See Also

• Wormhole Daemons
• Wormhole Daemons Quickplay Armies
• Grimdark Future Tactics
• Grimdark Future List Building
• Grimdark Future Strategy
• Grimdark Future

Wormhole Daemons
Overview - Tactics - Firefight Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Firefight Quickplay Armies