STARTING A CHAOS DAEMONS ARMY IN 11TH EDITION: PICK A GOD AND LET THE WARP PROVIDE
Chaos Daemons are the army of the Warp: no armour, no tanks, no uniforms, and four Chaos Gods whose models paint completely differently. This page covers which god to start with, what to buy next, and when to earn a Greater Daemon.
Pick one god on day one
Daemons split across the four gods, and each god's models paint differently, so the single best decision you make is to pick one and stay there. Khorne means Bloodletters: red, brass and rage, one of the fastest satisfying paint jobs in the game. Nurgle means Plaguebearers, where washes and texture do most of the work and every mistake looks intentional. Slaanesh means Daemonettes, pale flesh and sharp contrast. Tzeentch means Pink Horrors, a riot of colour for painters who find drab uniforms boring. Whichever calls to you, buy the current starter-style box for that god, or two squads of its core daemons and a herald-type character. Paint that god's core before you buy a second god.
The same god, deeper
Deepen the same god before you flirt with another. Daemon armies live and die on their infantry blocks, so more core troops come first, and a table full of one god's daemons has a visual unity that mixed forces rarely match. Then add your god's cavalry or beasts for speed and a change of silhouette: Flesh Hounds, Plague Drones or Seekers. On the practical side, 11th edition refreshed datasheets and points for the whole pantheon, and starter offerings rotate, so glance at the current points before you commit to a list shape.
The Greater Daemon, and Be'lakor
This is why people collect Daemons. Every god has a monster of a centrepiece kit: the Bloodthirster for Khorne, the Great Unclean One for Nurgle, the Keeper of Secrets for Slaanesh, the Lord of Change for Tzeentch. Each is a painting project in its own right and the visual anchor of the whole army. Behind all four stands Be'lakor, the Dark Master, an undivided prince who works with any of them and is arguably the finest daemon model ever made. Paint the rank and file first, then buy the Greater Daemon as the reward.
What the Warp can wait for
- A second god before the first has a painted core.
- Be'lakor and a Greater Daemon in the same month. One apex predator at a time.
- Chariots and oddities. Charming, but they will not carry a fledgling army.
- Anything bought because it briefly topped a tournament list. Points are as fickle as the Warp.
A grimoire for the legion
Daemons are hard to pin down, so pin yours down properly. Record every kit when it arrives and mark it as boxed, built or finished. Watching a single god's column fill with finished units is the difference between owning some daemons and commanding a legion, and it tells you which squad to paint next. When you are ready to browse everything the pantheon can manifest, the full unit catalogue is on the Chaos Daemons faction page under Data.