Tactica: Summoned Lesser Daemon Threat Range

In the Chaos Space Marine codex, lesser daemons are able to assault after deep striking off an icon. The number of models in the lesser daemon squad effects the threat range of the squad. In this post (mostly aimed at the newer player), I wanted to quickly summarize what the threat range actually is for lesser daemons on standard round bases.

The lesser daemons can deep strike within 6'' of an icon. Their assault range is a standard 6'' on top of that, so their base threat range is 12 inches -- i.e. they can assault anything within 12 inches of the point they come in to play (ignoring terrain!). When they come in to play, they must be arranged in a circle around the first miniature. Hence with the minimum squad size, the maximum threat range is approx 13 inches. To get this up to 14'', the squad must be a minimum of 8 members strong -- one central model, 6 further models in the first circle around the central one, and the 8th one forming the start of a second circle (see also Order Minoris).

To get the threat range up by another inch to 15'' requires a complete second circle (12 models to complete the second circle, 6 for the first circle, plus the central miniature, making for a total of 19) plus one that starts the third circle. That means a total of 20 models in the squad (which is also the maximum squad size for summoned lesser daemons).

Although I tend to field my Nurgle daemons in squads of 7 (to be fluffy) when I have a Death Guard army running, the above suggests I probably should invest some points in an 8th model to improve their threat range!

Lastly, it is worth noting that we could employ any type of lesser daemon in chaos marine armies. So, we could field a nurgling unit for instance. With a larger base size, this improves the threat range further (as suggested by Bell of Lost Souls some time ago).


Finally, let me acknowledge the sources of inspiration for this article:
Zombie Summoned Lesser Daemons from Order Minoris;
Death Guard Triple Vindicator 2000pts List from BoLS.