Chaos Lord
Chaos Lords are the leaders of many Chaos Space Marine forces.
Overview
Chaos Lords are not necessarily those who rose through the ranks properly in a hierarchical fashion, but are often those most blessed by the Chaos Gods or simply the most powerful or charismatic. The greatest Chaos Champions become Chaos Lords and are often granted with mutations and alterations by the gods to further their cause. Chaos Lords are so powerful as to be able to bind the forces of Chaos to their will, although this often brings a dangerous position as advancement is commonly achieved through killing their leader. Some Lords lead through brute strength, others through cunning and some are maniacs bent on self-aggrandizement. Others are truly worshipers of Chaos with a zealous dedication to the dark gods.[1]
Champions often come with a mark of one of the four Chaos Gods. Champions of Khorne are savage and value physical strength and combat over cunning and strategy. Tzeentchian champions are often very knowledgeable and many of them are sorcerers. Champions of Nurgle are the most distorted and physically corrupted of Chaos' followers, their bodies dulled from pain enabling them to endure physical injury with little trauma. Slaaneshi champions are often those who seek the most intense pleasures possible and are often physically the fastest Chaos warriors due to their hyper-sensitive minds.[1]
Variations
- Lord of Contagion — Chaos Lords of the Death Guard
- Plaguelord — Chaos Lords of the Death Guard[4]
- Lord of Virulence - Death Guard Chaos Lords who have adopted the Mantle of Virulence[11]
- Lord of Poxes - Death Guard Chaos Lords who have adopted one of the Mantles of Corruption[10]
- Sorcerer Lord — Sorcerers who command their own Warbands[5]
- Lord Discordant — arcane masters over machinery, similar to Warpsmiths, which they use to enhance the powers of Daemon Engines[7]
- Lord Exultant - Emperor's Children Chaos Lord known for their sadism and strategic ability.[9]
- Lord Kakophonist - Noise Marine Chaos Lords[9]
Notable Chaos Lords
- Abaddon the Despoiler — Warmaster of Chaos
- Ahriman — Lord of the Prodigal Sons warband of Thousand Sons
- Araghast — of the Black Legion
- Bale — of the Alpha Legion
- Eidolon — Lord of the Phoenix Conclave of the Emperor's Children
- Eliphas — of the Word Bearers
- Erebus — of the Word Bearers
- Fabius Bile — Leader of the Consortium
- Honsou — Leads the Bloodborn faction of the Iron Warriors
- Huron Blackheart — Chaos Lord of the Red Corsairs
- Kharn the Betrayer — Leads the Butcherhorde
- Kossolax the Foresworn — of the World Eaters
- Kranon the Relentless — Lord of the Crimson Slaughter
- Lucius the Eternal — Leader of the Cohors Nasicae warband of Emperor's Children
- Marduk — Lord of the 34th Host of the Word Bearers
- Shon'tu — of the Iron Warriors
- Talos Valcoran — of the Night Lords
- Thagus Daravek — of the Death Guard, Lord of the Legion Host
- Typhus — Lord of the Plague Fleet of the Death Guard
Images
Chaos Lord, 10th Edition
Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, 10th Edition
Night Lords Chaos Lord with Jump Pack and Lightning Claws, 10th Edition[13]
World Eaters Chaos Lord on Juggernaut (9th Edition)[6]
Obsidius Mallex (8th edition)
Kranon (6th edition)
Chaos Lord with Jump Pack, 4th Edition
Chaos Lord in Terminator Armour, 4th Edition
Chaos Lord Terminator Armour, 4th Edition
Emperor's Children Chaos Lord (4th Edition)[12]
Chaos Lord, 3rd Edition
Chaos Lord, 3rd Edition
Notes
In 3rd Edition, a Chaos warband was typically had two commanders, a Chaos Lord and a Chaos Lieutenant, the latter of which had psychic ability and played the role of a Sorcerer.[Needs Citation]
Since 4th Edition however, Sorcerers play a role in a Chaos warband more analogous to a Librarian in a group of Space Marines. Sorcerer Lords are Chaos Lords with psychic powers, and are often followers of Tzeentch.[2]
Sources
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- 1: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), [Needs Citation]
- 2: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition), [Needs Citation]
- 3: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 21
- 4: Crusade (Novella), Chapter 2
- 5: Assassinorum: Execution Force (Novel), Prologue
- 6: Warhammer Community: Warhammer Preview Online – Take Skulls and Spill Blood with Hordes of New World Eaters Units (posted 19/11/2022) (last accessed 19/11/2022)
- 7: Chaos Space Marines Focus: The Lord Discordant.
- 8: Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned, pg. 83
- 9: Warhammer Community: LVO Preview 2025 – Establish exactly how much is too much with the Emperor’s Children (Saved archive page, dated 16 January 2025, last accessed 16 January 2025, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/evne31tw/lvo-preview-2025-establish-exactly-how-much-is-too-much-with-the-emperors-children/)
- 10: Warhammer Community: LVO Preview 2025 – Nurgle coughs up a new Lord of Poxes (Saved archive page, dated 16 January 2025, last accessed 16 January 2025, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/elxrte0d/lvo-preview-2025-nurgle-coughs-up-a-new-lord-of-poxes/)
- 11: Codex: Death Guard (8th Edition), pg. 30
- 12: Games Workshop Chaos Space Marine Emperor's Children Lord Saved page, original link: http://uk.games-workshop.com/storefront/store.uk?do=List_Models&code=300901&orignav=10
- 13: [https://web.archive.org/web/20250131070038/https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/w8oPyC5d/adepticon-2024-chaos-space-marines-on-the-warpath/ Warhammer Community:
AdeptiCon 2024 – Chaos Space Marines on the Warpath (posted 21/3/2024)] saved page, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/w8oPyC5d/adepticon-2024-chaos-space-marines-on-the-warpath/ (last accessed 31/1/2025)