My Buddy Plays Khorne. I Play Ultramarines. How Do I Win?

Your buddy has a plan.

He puts his Khorne army across the table, looks at you, smiles, and starts moving toward you.

You already know what's coming.

Chainblades. Eightbound. Berzerkers. Maybe Angron if your buddy is feeling particularly enthusiastic about your suffering.

And you've probably made the mistake at least once.

You move your Ultramarines toward the middle of the table because that's where the objectives are.

Your buddy moves toward the middle of the table because that's where your Ultramarines are.

A turn later, you're wondering why your carefully painted Space Marines have been reduced to expensive blue confetti.

Here's the good news:

You don't have to beat Khorne at Khorne's game.

You don't need to charge first.

You don't need to kill everything.

And you definitely don't need to stand in the middle of the table and ask a World Eater to see who has the bigger sword.

You need a plan.

The current 11th-edition Ultramarines rules give you exactly the tools you need: flexible Combat Doctrines, reactive movement, damage mitigation and the ability to change how individual units operate from turn to turn.

Your job is to turn that flexibility into one simple battlefield principle:

Make your buddy fight the battle you want to fight.

First: Know What You're Fighting

If your opponent is playing Khorne in 11th edition, you're generally dealing with an army that wants to turn its mobility into melee pressure.

Khorne Berzerkers move 8", have Objective Control 2, and can make a Blood Surge move when casualties are inflicted on them during your Shooting phase. Eightbound move 10", have Scouts 6", and bring serious melee damage. Exalted Eightbound combine 10" movement with Deep Strike and powerful anti-Monster/Vehicle melee attacks.

And then there are the characters.

Lord Invocatus can give the unit he leads Deep Strike and the ability to move through models and terrain, while a Lord on Juggernaut can push a unit to 10" movement and allow it to move horizontally through terrain.

In other words:

Don't measure the threat by where the unit is standing now. Measure it by where the unit could be when your opponent charges.

That's the first major change you need to make.

Rule #1: Don't Feed Khorne Your Army

The easiest way for a World Eaters player to win is for you to give them a series of convenient charges.

You put one unit on an objective.

They charge it.

You put another unit behind it.

They charge that.

Then you counterattack.

Then another Khorne unit charges your counterattack.

Suddenly the entire game has become:

"Which unit dies next?"

And that's exactly what Khorne wants.

Instead, think in layers.

Your front unit isn't there to kill your opponent.

It's there to make your opponent choose between:

• taking a bad charge,

• exposing a valuable unit,

• abandoning an objective,

• or waiting another turn.

Every time you make your opponent wait, your guns get another opportunity to work.

Every time you force them to charge something they didn't want to charge, you're winning.

The Ultramarines Army You Want

If you're specifically building or modifying an Ultramarines army to fight Khorne, I'd look for five jobs.

1. A unit that refuses to leave an objective

2. A unit that can absorb a brutal charge

3. Reliable mid-range firepower

4. Long-range anti-armour

5. Units that can move around the fight and score

You don't need every unit to do everything.

You need the army to function as a system.

Heavy Intercessors: Your Anvil

Heavy Intercessors are one of the most interesting tools for this matchup.

They're Toughness 6, have three wounds each, and have Objective Control 2. More importantly, while they're within range of an objective you control, attacks with Damage 1 effectively have to work harder against their armour.

That's exactly the kind of unit you want sitting on an objective while Khorne is trying to take the board away from you.

They're not there because they're going to annihilate Berzerkers.

They're there because:

Khorne has to spend something valuable to remove them.

Put them somewhere your opponent needs to go.

Make him decide whether killing your Heavy Intercessors is worth the time, movement and attacks required.

And remember: Objective Control is part of the weapon.

You don't have to kill the Berzerkers.

You just have to make sure they don't control the objective.

Terminators: Your Midfield Damage Sponge

If Heavy Intercessors are your anvil, Terminators are your brick wall.

A standard Terminator squad has Toughness 5, a 2+ armour save, 3 wounds per model and a 4+ invulnerable save. They also bring power fists and meaningful mid-range firepower.

This is exactly the sort of unit Khorne doesn't want to waste attacks on.

That's useful.

Put your Terminators where your opponent wants to be.

Not necessarily where you want to fight.

There's a difference.

You are asking:

"What happens if my buddy charges these?"

Not:

"How much damage can these Terminators do?"

If the answer is "he spends an entire unit killing them while my other units take the objectives," that's a good trade.

Your Terminators don't need to survive the game.

They need to make their deaths expensive.

Bladeguard Veterans: The Counterpunch

There's another place where Ultramarines can surprise a Khorne player.

You don't want to initiate a brawl.

But once your opponent has committed a major melee unit, you want something that can hit back.

Bladeguard Veterans are excellent for this role because they have 3 wounds, a 4+ invulnerable save and Damage 2 power weapons. Their Bladeguard ability also lets them choose between improving their own melee accuracy or making attacks against them harder to hit.

That gives you an important tactical option:

Don't counterattack because you're angry. Counterattack because your opponent has committed.

Let Khorne come to you.

Then hit the unit that has overextended.

Eradicators: Kill the Things That Make the Rest of the Army Possible

Eradicators are particularly useful when your opponent brings vehicles, transports or other large targets.

Their melta rifles reach 18", hit at Strength 9 with AP -4 and Damage D6, while their Total Obliteration ability allows rerolls against Monsters and Vehicles.

That's important because Khorne isn't necessarily just a pile of infantry.

Current World Eaters lists can include Rhinos, Land Raiders, Predators, Daemon Engines and other heavy threats.

Your Eradicators shouldn't wander around looking for something to shoot.

Give them a job.

Kill the transport.

If the Berzerkers are riding toward you in a Rhino, the Rhino is part of the Berzerkers.

Destroying the transport can force your opponent to spend another turn getting into position.

That extra turn is worth far more than the Rhino's points.

Gladiator Lancer: Make the Big Things Nervous

If your opponent brings serious armour—or you simply want a reliable long-range threat—a Gladiator Lancer is an excellent tool.

The current Lancer has a 72" laser destroyer at Strength 14, AP -4 and Damage D6+3, and Aquilon Optics lets it reroll one hit, wound and damage roll each time it shoots.

That gives your army something Khorne doesn't particularly enjoy:

a threat that doesn't care how fast his infantry are.

You can spend the early turns shooting the vehicle or monster that would otherwise force you to react later.

Don't waste that firepower on something merely because you can see it.

Shoot the unit that changes what your opponent is allowed to do.

Inceptors: Don't Get Trapped in the Brawl

Your opponent wants the game to become a pile of models in the centre.

You should have at least one unit that doesn't participate in that nonsense.

Inceptors are extremely useful for this.

They have Deep Strike and can use Meteoric Descent to arrive more than 6" horizontally from enemy units, although they cannot charge that turn when using the ability.

That makes them useful for:

• taking an exposed objective,

• scoring in a distant area,

• forcing your opponent to turn around,

• finishing damaged units,

• threatening weakly defended objectives.

Think of them as your escape hatch.

While Khorne is trying to turn the middle of the table into a slaughterhouse, your Inceptors are somewhere else asking:

"Who said the game was happening over there?"

Infiltrators: Stop the Sneaky Khorne Charge

Don't overlook Infiltrators.

Their Omni-scramblers ability prevents enemy units arriving from Reserves from being set up within 12" of them.

That matters enormously against an army where mobility and aggressive positioning are central to the game.

Put them somewhere that makes your opponent's reserve options worse.

You're not necessarily trying to kill anything.

You're controlling the geometry of the battlefield.

And that's the recurring theme of this matchup:

You win by controlling where the fight can happen.

Your Most Important Ultramarines Tool: Combat Doctrines

The new Space Marine army rule is practically designed for this matchup.

Combat Doctrines let your units change how they operate during the game:

Devastator Doctrine: a unit can shoot after Advancing.

Tactical Doctrine: a unit can shoot and charge after Falling Back.

Assault Doctrine: a unit can charge after Advancing.

Each doctrine normally gets one use per battle, although certain detachments and abilities can provide additional flexibility.

This is enormous against Khorne.

Why?

Because Khorne wants to lock you into a fight.

You don't have to stay there.

The "Khorne Just Charged Me" Turn

Imagine your Terminators get charged.

Don't panic.

If they're going to survive, let them fight.

If they're not going to survive, ask yourself whether staying locked in combat actually helps you.

If you need to escape, Tactical Doctrine can let the unit Fall Back and still shoot and charge.

Now the situation changes.

Your Terminators can leave the combat.

Your shooting units can fire.

And if the situation demands it, you can charge something else afterward.

That is how Ultramarines beat Khorne.

Not by being tougher.

By being harder to pin down.

Three Stratagems You Should Know by Heart

If you're playing the Blade of Ultramar detachment, there are three stratagems I would put at the top of your cheat sheet.

1. Armour of Contempt

When an enemy unit targets your unit in the Shooting or Fight phase, Armour of Contempt worsens the AP of those attacks by 1 for the phase.

Use it when the enemy is committing serious attacks into a unit that needs to survive.

Don't automatically spend it.

Ask:

"Will this CP change whether this unit survives?"

If the answer is yes, spend it.

2. Tactical Foresight

This is one of the nastiest defensive tools you have against a melee army.

After an enemy unit selects your unit as a target in the Shooting or Fight phase, Tactical Foresight gives you -1 to wound against attacks whose Strength is equal to or greater than your unit's Toughness.

This is exactly what you want against the Khorne unit that has finally reached something important.

If the World Eaters player has lined up the attack that is supposed to remove your midfield anchor, this is the moment to make that attack less reliable.

Again:

Don't spend CP because something is being attacked.

Spend CP because the attack matters.

3. Practical Tactics

This might be the most important stratagem in the entire matchup.

After an enemy unit ends a Normal, Advance or Fall Back move, an eligible Adeptus Astartes Infantry or Mounted unit within 8" can make a Normal move.

That move becomes up to 6" if the unit is under Tactical Doctrine.

Think about what that means.

Your buddy moves his Eightbound toward your objective.

You move away.

He moves another unit toward your objective.

You move another unit away.

He finally gets something close enough to charge.

And suddenly the charge isn't there anymore.

You are making the Khorne player spend movement to chase you instead of spending movement to reach you.

That's the game.

The Khorne Player's Biggest Weapon Isn't Damage

It's pressure.

Your opponent doesn't have to kill your army to win.

He just has to make you afraid of being charged.

If you respond by backing up your entire army, you'll eventually run out of table.

Instead, identify the units you are willing to sacrifice.

Then identify the units you absolutely cannot afford to lose.

That's your target priority.

Kill these first:

1. The unit that can reach your important objective this turn

If Eightbound can make the charge and Berzerkers can't, shoot the Eightbound.

2. The unit enabling other units

If a character is dramatically improving a melee unit, consider whether killing the character or the bodyguard changes the matchup.

3. Transports carrying melee threats

A Rhino isn't merely a Rhino.

It's movement.

Remove the transport and you can change the timing of the entire attack.

4. The unit that can kill your armour

If your Redemptor or Lancer is critical to the plan, identify the Khorne unit capable of removing it.

That unit gets priority.

Don't Shoot the Closest Thing

This is perhaps the hardest lesson for a new player.

Your buddy puts Berzerkers in front of you.

You shoot them.

It feels good.

But what if the Eightbound behind them are the unit that can actually reach your objective?

The Berzerkers may be the obvious target.

The Eightbound may be the important target.

Shoot the unit that changes the next turn—not the unit that is easiest to see.

A Simple Game Plan

If you're sitting down across from Khorne tomorrow, try this.

Turn 1: Make Him Come to You

Stay hidden where possible.

Don't rush objectives you don't need yet.

Establish your screening units.

Put Heavy Intercessors or another durable unit somewhere that makes your opponent commit if he wants the objective.

Shoot the fastest or most dangerous melee threat you can realistically remove.

Don't chase kills.

Turn 2: Punish the Commitment

This is where your army should start working.

If your opponent has committed Eightbound, Berzerkers or another major melee unit, concentrate your fire.

Don't split your damage across four targets.

Delete one threat.

Then reposition.

If he moves toward an objective and you can use Practical Tactics to make that objective harder to reach, do it.

If he charges something durable, make him pay for it.

Turn 3: Counterattack

This is when Bladeguard, Terminators, Redemptor Dreadnoughts or your other melee-capable units become important.

Your opponent has spent the first half of the game moving toward you.

Now his army is spread out.

Some units are damaged.

Some have been pulled away from objectives.

Some are stuck fighting units they didn't really want to fight.

That's your moment.

Counterattack where the Khorne army is weakest—not where it is strongest.

What If He Brings Angron?

Different problem.

Don't treat Angron like a normal unit.

Angron has 16 wounds, Toughness 11, a 2+ save, a 4+ invulnerable save and extremely serious melee output. He can also return to the battlefield through Reborn in Blood if the World Eaters player gets the necessary Blessings roll.

The mistake is thinking:

"I have to kill Angron."

You don't necessarily.

Ask:

"Can I win the mission while Angron is alive?"

If the answer is yes, make him irrelevant.

Move away.

Feed him something that doesn't matter.

Make him spend turns moving toward objectives instead of killing the units that actually score.

If you have a Gladiator Lancer and Eradicators, obviously you can try to bring him down.

But don't make "kill Angron" your entire game plan.

Khorne would love that.

The Army Changes I'd Make

If your current Ultramarines army struggles badly against Khorne, I would look for these changes:

Add:

• 1 unit of Infiltrators

• 1 durable objective unit, such as Heavy Intercessors

• 1 Terminator or Bladeguard unit for midfield

• 1 strong anti-armour unit such as Eradicators

• 1 long-range anti-armour platform such as a Gladiator Lancer

• 1 mobile scoring unit such as Inceptors

Be cautious about:

• armies overloaded with slow melee units

• armies with no cheap screening units

• armies relying on a single expensive unit to hold the middle

• armies without enough anti-armour

• armies that need to win by tabling the opponent

You don't need a perfect counter-list.

You need enough tools that your opponent can't solve your army with one plan.

The Secret to Beating Your Buddy

Here's the part worth remembering when the dice start going badly.

Your Ultramarines don't need to be stronger than Khorne.

They need to be more difficult to fight on your terms.

Khorne wants you to ask:

"How do I kill all these Berzerkers?"

Ask instead:

"What does my opponent need to do to score?"

Khorne wants you to ask:

"Can my Terminators survive this charge?"

Ask instead:

"What happens if I let him charge my Terminators?"

Khorne wants you to ask:

"How do I get to the objective?"

Ask instead:

"How do I make him spend another turn getting there?"

That's the Ultramarines advantage.

You have options.

You can Advance and shoot.

You can Fall Back and continue fighting.

You can reposition in response to your opponent.

You can make one unit harder to wound.

You can reduce incoming AP.

You can put durable units on objectives.

You can hit hard from range.

And when your opponent finally commits his most dangerous unit, you can counterattack.

Your buddy brought Khorne because he wants a fight.

Give him one.

Just make sure it's the fight you chose.

For Macragge.