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Warriors of Chaos builds · Chaos Knights
Best Mark for Chaos Knights: is Khorne worth it?
The best Mark for Chaos Knights is Khorne, as long as they get the charge. Four Khorne Knights with lances won 69.6% of their charges across 3,000 simulated combats.
Quick answer: the best Chaos Knights build depends on the job
- If they charge
- Khorne + lances (69.6%)
- If they receive
- Nurgle, though no Mark does well here
- Avoid
- Ironbreakers: 30.5% even for the best build
Chaos Knights are a charging unit. Khorne makes that job better; nothing makes them good at receiving.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 6,000 complete combats for each Chaos Knights build on this page: 500 against each of six benchmark opponents, charging and receiving. The whole Warriors of Chaos lab ran 478,800, and these were the Chaos Knights results.
I stripped the Chaos Knights tests back on purpose, with no terrain, no magic, no characters and nobody deciding anything for the other side, which isolates the unit but is not a real game. Every Knight charge in the lab went in cleanly from the front, which is the best case for lances and Khorne alike. They show the right place for Chaos Knights in a list; your dice on the night are another matter.
4 Khorne Chaos Knights with lances, charging win rate by opponent. n = 500 combats per matchup
| Opponent | Charging win rate |
|---|---|
| Rat Ogres | 85.8% |
| Clanrats | 84.6% |
| Knights of the Realm | 82.8% |
| Gors | 70.2% |
| Jade Warriors | 63.6% |
| Ironbreakers | 30.5% |
Mark comparison with body count fixed at 4 Knights. n = 500 combats per matchup
| Mark | Charging | Receiving |
|---|---|---|
| Khorne | 58.0% | 16.6% |
| Nurgle | 42.3% | 20.9% |
| Tzeentch | 36.1% | 15.0% |
| Undivided | 35.6% | 14.9% |
| Slaanesh | 34.9% | 15.2% |
Why I think this happens
Marks apply to the riders, not their mounts. Khorne’s extra charging attack gives the unit its edge, and it was the best charging Mark by a wide margin in my tests.
Chaos Knights want to be the charger whatever the Mark. Even the best receiving build I found won only about a third of its fights.
Ironbreakers remain the problem matchup: the best build still won only 30.5% of its charges into them.
Unit-by-unit Battle March results
I also ran smaller, narrated Chaos Knights batches against each opponent:
- Khorne Chaos Knights with lances142 pts · Elite shock cavalry
More Warriors of Chaos builds
- Best Mark for Chaos Warriors, and the weapon to pair it with
- Best Chaotic Cult for Marauders, and are they good?
- Best weapon for Berserkers: flails or additional hand weapons?
- Best Huscarl build: a Mark of Chaos or a sixth model?
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use Khorne Chaos Knights with lances for charging and running down medium infantry, cavalry and monsters. I would not use them to receive charges or to grind into Ironbreakers.
FAQs
Are Chaos Knights with the Mark of Khorne good?
Yes, when they charge. Four Khorne Knights with lances won 69.6% of charges across six opponents in my simulations, and over 80% against Rat Ogres, Clanrats and Knights of the Realm.
Are Chaos Knights good at receiving a charge?
No. With body count fixed at 4, no Mark won more than 20.9% of fights when receiving a charge. Nurgle was the best of them.
What beats Khorne Chaos Knights?
Ironbreakers. The Khorne lance build won only 30.5% of its charges into them, because elite defensive infantry absorbs the lance hit and forces a grind.