Supplement Review: Be'lakor The Dark Master

Well 40k fans we have been given quite the treat from Games Workshop this time. They have release a digital data slate for the character Be'lakor for both 40k and fantasy. This new way of delivering rules opens a plethora of possibles for further contain at reasonable price and quick release.


The dataslate format is exactly what players have been asking for. With the new inclusion of digital 40k the biggest issue people have lamented about is the price of digital codices. We are already paying a premium for a new codex and the digital prices were not that much cheaper. You could not look at a forum or listen to a podcast without hearing  players complaining about how they don't want to pay 30 plus dollars on 2 pages of rules. Well here you go, now for the price less than a combo at McDonald you are getting a brand new character with fluff and rules. Just think of the future where all models will have playable rules. We may one day see Cypher on the field, the Red Doom, of even yet DOOM RIDER!

The dataslate gives you fluff behind Be'lakor which is pretty interesting as they are claiming him as the first daemon prince to exist, empowered by all four Chaos gods he is their most valued possession. He is for the most part the precursor to Horus and Abbadon. Be'lakor's rules do reflect his back story as you can see a little bit of all the Chaos gods in his abilities. There is also a very brutal and grimdark short story with Be'lakor and a Relictor space marine that will get you in the mindset for putting this behemoth on the tabletop.

Now to the part that everyone really wants to hear about, the rules for Be'lakor. He comes in at a really hefty price of 350 points. I can hear the complaints already but to be honest as a Chaos player that is nothing new if you are using any monstrous creatures. If you try to make a daemon prince close to what Be'lakor has you are already play 315 points and still missing out on a lot. Be'lakor has the normal stats for a daemon prince but he has enough special rules that your opponent might just think he is some home brewed monstrosity. Be'lakor comes with Eternal Warrior, Fearless, Psyker Mastery 3, 4++ save, shrouded and the ability to pass all dangerous terrain tests. Be'lakor will destroy the minds of your foes with the fact that he know all the Telepathy powers and he gains D3 warp charges when one or more units fail morale tests in the previous turn. That means that he has the chance to expend 6 warp charges in one turn, beat that Eldrad! On top of all that he has a beatstick weapon that will crush all but a handful of things. The Blade of Shadows is swinging in at ap2, armourbane, fleshbane, +1 str and master crafted. Lastly if you wanted to use him as your warlord he makes your opponent have -1 to leadership for fear test, kind of useless but it may have it's place in some games.

Be'lakor's tactical implications might be overlooked by many players with the first statement of "He's too expensive!" I say nay to the.....nay sayers! He isn't going to be an autopick for sure but he will fit in the hands of tactical players with his powers of disruption. First of all one of his downsides is that he doesn't have an armor save. This is a plus and a negative depending on how many grav weapons are in your meta. To counteract not having an armor save you have shrouded which gives you 2 plus to your cover saves. So just flying around your opponent will need 6's to hit you and you will have a 3+ jinx save if you didn't cast invisibility or a 2+ if you did. If you are really afraid of getting shot well just hop into combat, everyone will need 5's to hit you and on most things 5's to wound you. On the offensive side of things Be'lakor can hallucinate anything that you are afraid of like those pesky death stars looming about. Or he can puppet master a Riptide or Wraithknight that is messing up your battle plans. Actually better yet how about he just go over and slap them with his sword of death. I am not saying send this guy directly at a super chapter master on bike or go paladin hunting but with the right spells up he could smash through a lot of models.

I have'haven't gone deeply into list that will full utilize his toolkit but off the top of my head I am thinking about allying him into an IG list with two to three psyker battle squads. Think of the carnage of destroying three unit's leadership with the battle squads then using terrify, dominate, and psychic shriek with Be'lakor. It sound Delicious to me! I am going to try and fit this guy in my current flying circus list right now and see how the dark master performs.

Be'lakor is the first in a fruitful future where new units are introduced to counteract codex creep, a future where every model has updated rules, and a future where digital content will always be fresh and new every month. Even if you don't think Be'lakor is a good character he shows promise for possibilities for both competitive and narrative play.