When Sigmar abandoned the Mortal Realms closing off all paths to Azyr, the Realm of Heavens, the mortals have been offered a simple choice: death or join the Chaos forces. In front of such an offer, many renegaded their previous patron to proclaim their oaths to the Dark Gods.
This addition to the Slaves to Darkness roster has its origin in the Darkoath Chieftain, a model first released with the Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower boardgame in 2016 and then exalted with the addition of the Warqueen as a herald of the Malign Portents representing Chaos. For years they were rumoured, and finally the Darkoath Savagers‘ release represented the first taste of this new expansion which replaced the old Marauders kit.
Now, they are playable in all formats, from Age of Sigmar main game with the appropriate battle formation, to Spearhead and of course Warcry. Obviously, the Darkoath Savagers are not included, but there’s enough for a proper warband.
Background and Lore of the Darkoath Warband
The Darkoath are the lowest rank of the Slaves to Darkness, those mortals who pledged their life (often after being spared from sure death) to the Dark Gods only to find themselves locked in a vicious cycle of continuously pleasing their new patrons or die trying.
For many the Path to Glory will end in death or even worse, but the few who manage to attract the favours of the god are rewarded with the dreaded black armour which adorns the Chaos Warriors. But to get their attention, they need to complete increasingly more dangerous oaths sealed with their own blood on the tribal oathstone or suffer the consequences.
The Darkoath tribes are scattered across all Mortal Realms and are all united by their hate of the betrayer, Sigmar, and work in unison to topple anything he and his people build. But when they don’t have a specific target, they can be found infighting for control over territory or other power squabbles.
The best warriors can violently arise to the level of Chieftain or Warqueen by proving their strength and ferocity. To keep that role, however, is even harder as they have to constantly win challenges to the death and impress the Dark Gods with deeds greater than the previous ones. The dark oaths they proclaim are sealed in blood and breaking them has terrible consequences.
The Dark Gods are not exactly merciful, so death is not always the end. Often Chieftains who fail are transformed in Wilderfiends, beings of extreme strength with sorcerous powers who will protect their tribe as long as they provide the right sacrifices. The real origin of the Wilderfiends is kept secret, but is not unusual for these beasts to kill a Chieftain who has proved too weak to lead his tribe, or even slaughter all of them in a fit of rage.
Some of the most famous tribes are the Brands and the Takblood, both immortalised by iconic miniatures (Brand’s Oathbound box) which were also protagonist in an episode of a popular show on Warhammer TV and have their own novel series. Gunnar Brand and his tribe has been instrumental in following the Skaven plan and corrupt enough ley lines to allow Skavenblight, the vermin’s capital, to emerge in the Great Parch in Aqshy, Realm of Fire, instantaneously slaughtering all previous inhabitants including many Darkoath tribes.
It was then that Gunnar Brand and Tanari Takblood swore to slaughter every Skaven present in the Adamantine Chain and liberate their lands from the scourge.
A great oath indeed, but how do they plan to put that in motion in a Warcry game?
Fighters in the Darkoath Warband
Note: if you haven’t read the basic rules for Warcry before reading this article, it might be helpful to know that the game’s abilities are activated by using 6 dice that you roll at the start of your turn.
If two of the dice show the same value, they can be used to activate a Double ability. If three show the same value, they can be used for a Triple ability, and so on.
So, when this article refers to an ability being a Double, a Triple or a Quad, it refers to this system. It might sound a bit confusing, but takes no time to get used to when you start playing
The Darkoath warband is made of 17 different fighters, of which 9 are leaders.
Darkoath Chieftains
- Darkoath Chieftain on Warsteed: 220 points
- Darkoath Chieftain: 140 points
At the top of the Darkoath commanding chain there are the Chieftains, both with the same melee profile: 4 attacks at Strength 4 for 2/5 damage. Where they differentiate is that the Darkoath Chieftain on Warsteed has 10″ movement, Toughness 3 and 28 wounds but is mounted, so restricted in movements in enclosed spaces, like opening doors or climbing. The Darkoath Chieftain has Toughness 4, only 4″ movement and 20 wounds but that bit of Toughness more is actually pretty advantageous.
The most important ability shared by all fighters but the Wilderfiend is the Double Oath of Murder, which makes the fighter who uses it “oathed”, meaning that as soon as an enemy dies during their activation (either murdered directly or as part of an ability) they become “favoured” allowing them to obtain greater buffs from the other abilities.
For example, the Chieftains Triple, Warleader, allows to pick a fighter which did not activate yet this round and activate him/her directly after. If the Chieftain is favoured, he can pick 2 more, and each of them, can use Inspiring Presence (the universal Triple) to chain activate in their turn enabling with some smart positioning to use many fighters before the opponent is able to react.
The warband reaction, Glorious Death, can be used when a fighter who has yet to use one or more actions is killed. They will provide immediately a Double 1, or a Triple 1 if they are a hero or a Quad 1 if they were favoured giving extra occasions to use abilities to the surviving fighters, in particular the Double Oath of Murder to continue the cycle, or the Wilderfiend’s Quad.
Darkoath Warqueen: 155 points
At the top of the tribal hierarchy there’s not only men: the Warqueens can gather several tribes under their banner with their display of ferocity and raise equally to fame. The top fighter at Archaon’s side is indeed Abraxia, which started as a gladiator in the Spire Tyrants gladiatorial arenas.
The Darkoath Warqueen is the main candidate for a role of leader of this warband with her Toughness 5 which is the highest in the warband. Her attacks are also pretty devastating with 1 more attack than a Chieftain (5) losing only 1 point in damage on critical hit (2/4).
Her ability costs a Triple but gives any Marauder within 6″ a bonus move action and, if she is favoured, they count double on objectives. Warleader is good to chain activate fighters, and a Chieftain may be worth to keep as a second hero just in case, but bonus moves are just more actions.
Darkoath Fellriders
- Fellrider Champion with Javelin: 145 points
- Fellrider Champion with Axe: 140 points
- Darkoath Fellrider with Javelin: 125 points
- Darkoath Fellrider: 110 points
The Fellriders represent the light cavalry of the Darkoath and have 2 different weapon layouts, each with their own Leader option.
The Fellrider Champion with Javelin is the Leader with the ranged attack (10″ for 1/3 damage) while in melee doubles his attacks (4) but loses in Strength (3 instead of 4). The Darkoath Fellrider with Javelin has the same profile but the ranged attack drops to Strength 3. Their ability, Swift Attacker, costs a Double and allows a cinematic ranged attack at 1″ range after a move action and adding the ability’s value to the damage (both hits and critical hits) if they are favoured. It may be tricky to pull it off (they don’t exactly have a killer profile) and they have only 2 ranged attacks at Strength 3, but a high Double and some luck…
The other profile does not have a shooting attack, but the Fellrider Champion with Axe increases his attacks to 5, while the Darkoath Fellrider is still at 4 attacks, making him identical to the Javelin counterpart but without the ranged attack. Their Double ability allows to heal up to 6 wounds (half the ability’s value plus 3 if they are favoured).
All of them have 10″ movement but they are mounted, which means restrictions in areas they can reach. They have decent wounds (20 and 18 respectively) but very low Toughness (3). They could be used as scouts, as they are not too expensive because of the low Toughness, but the Leaders cannot compete with other options, and more than one Fellrider is probably too many.
Darkoath Marauders
- Marauder Champion: 100 points
- Marauder Champion with Spear: 100 points
- Darkoath Marauder: 70 points
- Darkoath Marauder with Spear: 70 points
The Darkoath Marauders are the basic infantry. They also have 2 weapon loadouts, each with their own Leader option. They all share 4″ movement, Toughness 4 and the absence of any dedicated ability (except if a Warqueen uses her Triple to give them a bonus move).
The Marauder Champion with Spear has the 2″ range useful to attack without being engaged, but drops to 4 attacks at Strength 3, while the Marauder Champion has 5 attacks with same Strength and damage (1/3). They are both Leaders, but not the first option.
The Darkoath Marauder goes down an attack (4), same as the Darkoath Marauder with Spear (3 but same 2″ range), and overall, their cost is in line with their profile. You’ll need few of them to fill the gaps and take the objectives.
Darkoath Wilderfiend: 300 points
The Darkoath Wilderfiend is the most expensive fighter in the warband and is indeed a beast (in all senses, as it has the Beast runemark which prevents him from opening doors, etc.). It has 6 attacks at Strength 5 for 3/4 damage, Toughness 5 and a great 6″ movement making it the most deadly fighter in the warband.
It can’t take oaths (Oath of Murder) and its death does not generate abilities (Glorious Death) but it has a Quad, Eye of the Dark Patron, which does three main things: allows to activate another Darkoath within 6″ immediately after, has a chance to do some damage to an enemy within 6″ (rolling 6 dice, for each 4+ half the ability’s value) and adds 2 to the melee attacks of the Wilderfiend this activation (8 attacks per action is pretty devastating).
It does cost a fortune, so there’s that. But any warband that needs a tank cannot go out without it.
Brand’s Oathbound
- Gunnar Brand: 165 points
- Warqueen Tanari: 185 points
- Singri Brand: 200 points
- Dendrel Direbrand: 125 points
- Broken Nadja: 95 points
Brand’s Oathbound is a group of characters with their own novels and even an appearance in Warhammer TV. The 2 leaders of this group are Gunnar and Tanari.
Gunnar Brand has the melee profile of a Warqueen but Toughness 4 and 25 wounds. His ability costs a Triple but allows to add half the ability’s value (or the entire value if he is favoured) to the melee attacks for this activation, that is a great way to increase his damage potential 11 attacks per action with Strength 4.
Warqueen Tanari instead has the same profile of a Warqueen but with 5″ movement and Toughness 4. Her Triple allows her to attack all the enemies within 1″ (or 3″ if she is favoured) once. The wording is a bit complex, but the summary is this. And you have to roll for each attack separately.
Singri Brand starts as a Fellrider with Javelin, but with some improvement: more wounds, shooting range extended to 18″ with Strength increased to 4 and damage to 2/4, all at the cost of 1 less attack in melee. She is also much more expensive than a Fellrider, but her shooting attacks are well worth the cost. And that’s because her ability, a Triple, allows to add half the ability’s value (or the full value if favoured or targeting an enemy engaged with Gunnar) to all ranged attacks in that activation. That is a potential 16 shots at 18″ range!
Dendrel Direbrand is a decent hitter (1 attack less than Gunnar or a Warqueen) and maintains Toughness 4, but in addition, for a Triple, he can score hits on a 3+ (basically ignoring enemy Toughness) and if favoured (easy with his profile), can even score critical hits on a 5+.
Broken Nadja is the only wizard in the warband with the classic 3″-7″ attack for 3/6 damage but at a poor Strength 2. In melee she is even worse, so the main reason to take her is her ranged ability which, for a Triple, allows to do half the ability’s value damage on each 4+ rolled out of 6 dice (or 9 if she is favoured).
Abilities for the Darkoath Warband
- Oath of Murder (Double, Everyone except Wilderfiend): This fighter becomes oathed until they take down an enemy fighter. Then they become favoured for the rest of the battle and obtain a Double with value 1.
- Swift Attacker (Double, all Fellriders with Javelin): After engaging an enemy, perform a bonus ranged attack against an engaged enemy. If favoured, add up to 6 to the damage allocated by each hit and critical hit of the bonus action.
- Raider’s Tenacity (Double, Fellrider Champion with Axe and Darkoath Fellrider): Heal up to 3 (or 6 if favoured) damage points.
- Warleader (Triple, all Chieftains): Pick a fighter within 6″ that has not activated to activate immediately after. That fighter (and 2 more if the Chieftain was favoured) can activate Inspiring Presence without using any dice in their turn.
- Rally the Tribes (Triple, Warqueen): Each Darkoath Marauder within 6″ makes a bonus move action, and if the Warqueen is favoured, they count +1 when contesting objectives.
- Eye of the Dark Patron (Quad, Wilderfiend): Another Darkoath within 6″ can activate immediately after. An enemy within 6″ receives up to 3 damage for each 4+ on 6 dice rolled. The Wilderfiend obtains +2 attacks on melee actions.
Brand’s Oathbound abilities
- Carve a Path to Glory (Triple, Gunnar Brand): Add up to 3 (or 6 if favoured) to the number of attacks in melee.
- Uncanny Shot (Triple, Singri Brand): Add up to 3 (or 6 if favoured or targeting an enemy engaged with Gunnar) to the number of attacks in ranged actions.
- Warqueen’s Fury (Triple, Warqueen Tanari): Perform a bonus attack action against each enemy within 1″ (or 3″ if favoured, in that case her range is increased to 3″).
- Withering Death (Triple, Broken Nadja): Allocate up to 3 damage for each 4+ rolled against an enemy within 9″ after rolling 6 dice (or 9 if favoured).
- Demolishing Strikes (Triple, Dendrel Direbrand): For this activation he scores hits on a 3+ and, if favoured, critical hits on a 5+.
Reaction for the Darkoath Warband
Introduced in the new season of Warcry, Reactions are things that can be done in certain circumstances, but always during the enemy turn. They cost one action, so they can be used only by fighters that have not activated yet or are waiting. There are 3 universal reactions and one specific to each warband:
Glorious Death (Everyone except Wilderfiend)
- When: A melee attack action would do enough damage to take down this fighter.
- What: Obtain a Double with value 1, if they are a Hero obtain a Triple instead or if they are favourite a Quad.
Strategy and Tactics for the Darkoath Warband
The Darkoath warband is an interesting warband with a thematic variation on the oath system already introduced in the Darkoath Savagers. They still need to kill someone, but this time they declare their oath any time before killing an opponent and they become favourite as soon as the Oath of Murder is completed.
This is extremely thematic, as these barbarian tribes will swarm the battlefield swearing to the Dark Gods to slaughter in their name, and, as every time a fighter becomes favoured it obtains a Double 1, it will encourage another fighter to raise his oath. And should a fighter die without having activated, as a reaction they can donate to the cause a Double, Triple (if they were a hero) or even a Quad (if they were favoured).
But why would you need more abilities and why oaths are important? Many fighters have access to a specific ability, but if they are favoured, they get a greater buff. For example, the Warqueen, which is also our favourite leader for her survivability, damage potential and cost, has access to Rally the Tribe, which normally allows Marauders within 6″ to perform a bonus move for a Triple. But if the Warqueen is favoured, all Marauders double their value when contesting objectives, so now 1 puny Marauder may take over an objective from a mighty Stormcast.
The second choice for leader has to go to the Darkoath Chieftain. He is a great support guy (lower Toughness but decent damage potential) and his Triple, Warleader, is another excellent example of why you need to make your leaders favourite as soon as possible. Usable by both Chieftains, it allow to chain-activate several fighters reducing opponent’s interaction.
How does it work practically? Let’s assume that you have a Chieftain, 2 heroes (a Warqueen and a Marauder Champion) and another Marauder within 6″ of the Chieftain. If he completes his oath and becomes favourite, he can pick the Marauder to act immediately after him, then pick the Warqueen and the Marauder Champion so that in their turn they can activate Inspiring Presence without the need of using dice. In this case, each of the 3 heroes will always be followed by another fighter, activating 6 fighters in 3 turns.
Or, should you not have that many heroes, or want to chain activate faster, you can have the Chieftain pick a Warqueen and the Warqueen can pick another fighter immediately after her for 3 activations in a row.
Aside from these two leaders and their combos, the Marauders are a good cheap infantry, with Toughness 4 and a number of attacks, but they don’t have any specific ability, and can’t really take advantage of the favoured status (except to die giving a Quad to a better fighter). The Fellriders have Toughness 3, making them an extremely fragile scouting unit. In that sense, much better the one with Javelins, at least can still attack while keeping the distance.
For this reason, you’ll need a damage dealer. It is extremely expensive, but you can’t really go on the battlefield without the sacred Wilderfiend to protect your tribe. Massive beast, with great defence and excellent attacks, has also access to the only Quad of the warband, the one you will want your favoured fighters to sacrifice for. Aside the chain activation with another friendly fighter and the random damage to an opponent, a Wilderfiend with 8 attacks per action at Strength 5 can take down a Stormcast Eternal in one activation!
So this leaves us Brand’s Oathbound. If you can manage to include them in your narrative, or you are not particularly interested on that aspect, Singri is better than 2 Fellriders but has a greater synergy with Gunnar, who is an ok Warqueen (but with lower Toughness). If you give up a Wilderfiend, then Dendrel is a decent replacement and is not a beast.
You can, of course, play with the entire Oathbound and still have some spare points for some Marauders, it really depends on the narrative you are building. Remember
Whichever way you go, Darkoath is a fun re-interpretation of the oath system already saw in the Savagers. They have a great Spearhead box which allows to play them also in the Spearhead format and is a lot of fun, and provides incidentally 2 Warcry warbands! All you would need is a Wilderfiend and, if you are a completionist, the Brand’s Oathbound box and the 2 Chieftains.
Pros and Cons of the Darkoath Warband
Pros:
+ Interesting thematic abilities
+ Easy to collect for a legacy army
Cons:
– Weak ranged attack
– Limited mobility
Some thematic warbands for the Darkoath
Just for fun here we present few thematic warbands, meant more for fun or narrative context than for competitive play. Note that in narrative play you need to complete a quest that allows you to recruit a Hero before being able to add him to your roster.
Out of the box: from the Spearhead box, Darkoath Warqueen, 3 Darkoath Fellriders with Javelin, 3 Darkoath Marauders with Spear, 3 Darkoath Marauders (if you squeeze in a Wilderfiend from another box you can replace 1 of each troop for its place).
Gunnar and his merry band: Gunnar, Singri, Nadja, Dendrel, 3 Darkoath Marauders with Spear, 3 Darkoath Marauders (if you want Tanari you can replace 1 Marauder each).
How to buy a Darkoath Warband
The best way to start a Darkoath warband is through the Darkoath Raiders Spearhead box (£87.5) which incidentally is also a good way to purchase another Darkoath warband, the Savagers. This box contains a Darkoath Warqueen, 5 Darkoath Fellriders, 10 Darkoath Maruaders, and indeed a box of Darkoath Savagers.
All the models are available in individual boxes as well:
- Darkoath Chieftain on Warsteed (£31.5)
- Darkoath Warqueen (£24)
- Darkoath Chieftain (£20)
- Darkoath Wilderfiend (£37)
- Darkoath Fellriders (5 models for £40, only a single Champion)
- Darkoath Marauders (10 models for £34, only a single Champion)
- Brand’s Oathbound (£47.5)
Tips on painting a Darkoath Warband for Warcry
Darkoath are are classic barbarians and can be painted however you prefer. Warhammer Community has an old video on how to paint the Darkoath Warqueen, the predecessor of all Darkoath barbarians.
Skin tones and their textures, are perfect for contrast paints and Warhipster presents his take on a series of videos, starting with the Marauders, which can be used as base sample, while the Fellriders expand on the horses component and concludes with a Wilderfiend.
You can also check our recommendations on how to paint Darkoath Savagers.