Their arms and bodies are comprised of the solidified magical energies of Chaos and will tear through all that does not bear the protective enchantments of Sigmar or the other gods of the Old World Pantheon, just as only consecrated weapons or purifying fire may stand a chance of killing these fell beasts. [4a] Lord of Change • Changecaster • Fateskimmer • Fluxmaster • Disc of Tzeentch • Flamer • Horror • Screamer • Burning Chariot It took the great bloodletting wars of the 1800s to begin turning the tide against the practice. The prominent doctor Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence) set off a fury when he began bleeding people dry during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. By all accounts, Rush was a bloodletting fanatic and in general a real piece of work: “unshakable in his convictions, as well as self-righteous, caustic, satirical, humorless, and polemical,” writes doctor Robert North in a biography. Chaos Rhino • Chaos Predator • Infernal Relic Predator • Chaos Vindicator • Chaos Land Raider • Chaos Land Raider Proteus • Infernal Relic Land Raider Achilles • Land Raider Hades Diabolus • Relic Sicaran Battle Tank • Maulerfiend • Forgefiend • Defiler • Brass Scorpion • Blood Slaughterer • Blight Drone • Foetid Bloat-drone • Kytan • Plague Hulk • Venomcrawler • Myphitic Blight-hauler Bloodcrushers of Khorne · Chaos Knights of Tzeentch · Heartseekers of Slaanesh · Hellstriders of Slaanesh · Hellstriders of Slaanesh (Hellscourges) · Pox Riders of Nurgle · Seekers of Slaanesh · Skullcrushers of Khorne

Arcalux, Prince of Fury (Multiplayer only) · Caress, the Darkling Prince (Multiplayer only) · Grand Vomitus, Prince of Buboes (Multiplayer only) · Kysis Crystal-King ( Trials of Fate only) · Red Ulgor, Prince of Slaughter (Multiplayer only) · Zarrivyk, Feathered-Prince (Multiplayer only) Exalted Bloodthirster · Exalted Great Unclean One (Death) · Exalted Great Unclean One (Nurgle) · Exalted Keeper of Secrets (Shadows) · Exalted Keeper of Secrets (Slaanesh) · Exalted Lord of Change (Metal) · Exalted Lord of Change (Tzeentch) · Herald of Khorne · Herald of Nurgle (Death) · Herald of Nurgle (Nurgle) · Herald of Slaanesh (Shadows) · Herald of Slaanesh (Slaanesh) · Herald of Tzeentch (Metal) · Herald of Tzeentch (Tzeentch) Chaos Furies · Chaos Furies (Khorne) · Chaos Furies (Nurgle) · Chaos Furies (Slaanesh) · Chaos Furies (Tzeentch) · Chaos Warhounds of Khorne · Chaos Warhounds (Poison) · Flesh Hounds of Khorne · Plague Toads of Nurgle · Rot Flies · Screamers of Tzeentch

How Bloodletting Bled Out

Few foes can withstand such an onslaught, for the sight of their own comrades cut in half and butchered by howling Bloodletters is enough to break even the stoutest soldiers. Those combatants not instantly slain or fled are greeted with a frenzied rage, the Bloodletters screaming with fury as they fall upon them with dark blades, teeth and claws. As they slash at their opponents, the Daemons spit obscene promises of death and suffering, their guttural voices inspiring dread in all who hear them. It is not uncommon for Bloodletters to fall upon each other in their competition to spill the most vital fluid or claim the skulls of the greatest warriors on the battlefields; in such a way, each strives to distinguish himself before the eyes of the their legion's Heralds or Bloodthirster, as well as before the almighty Khorne himself. Exalted Bloodletters have better armour than their rank-and-file counterparts and they are tougher, more fearsome combatants. They also possess better weapons, their Hellblades blazing brightly with the power of their fury. Once they slay enough foes on the battlefield, their blades are empowered by the Blood God, greatly increasing the Exalted Bloodletters' strength and thus allowing them to become more effective the longer the battle rages on. Red-eyed and perpetually snarling, each Exalted Bloodletter has the Mark of Khorne emblazoned upon its skull. [5a] It may be helpful for people with a few particular blood abnormalities. Doctors still use bloodletting, for instance, in cases of polycythemia—an abnormally high red blood cell count—and in a hereditary disease called hemochromatosis, which leaves too much iron in the blood. A Bloodreaper is a Bloodletter who has been chosen to lead a small unit of its fellows into combat. They are effectively the non-commissioned officers of Khorne's Blood Legions.

Led into battle in vast legions by the most veteran of their number, the Heralds of Khorne, they tend to march in disciplined regiments accompanied by horns and drums, a living example of Khorne's militarism and a sharp contrast to the armies of other Chaos Gods. However, the craving for skulls, bloodshed and competing for personal glory and the glory of Khorne in battle usually turns this discipline into frenzy once they charge the enemy. Bloodletters are notorious for their fearsome advances and ferociously brutal charges but are also capable of vile and low tactics. [1] [2] [3] Exalted Bloodletters are more powerful Bloodletters who were among the foremost of Khorne's followers in their mortal lives, said to possess a will as implacable and blood-hungry as the Blood God himself. Exalted Bloodletters gather in their own regiments, chanting brutal prayers to their Bloodfather. In the fashion of the mortal Chaos Warriors they once were, each unit marches beneath a blood-soaked banner upon which the names of those they have slain are inscribed. [5a] Great Unclean One • Herald of Nurgle ( Poxbringer • Spoilpox Scrivener • Sloppity Bilepiper) • Battle Fly • Beast of Nurgle • Nurgling • Plaguebearer • Daemon Prince of Nurgle • Rot Fly • Molluscoid • Blight Drone • Plague Hulk • Plague Drone • Foetid Bloat-drone • Feculent Gnarlmaw • Glitchling • Plague Toad • Pox Rider Beast of Nurgle · Bloodthirster · Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch · Great Unclean One · Keeper of Secrets · Lord of Change · Soul Grinder (Khorne) · Soul Grinder (Nurgle) · Soul Grinder (Slaanesh) · Soul Grinder (Tzeentch)Bloodletters also fair poorly in auto-resolve, and are prone to being annihilated when ordinarily, and in actual battle, they will brutalise most early to mid game infantry.

But the design of that study doesn’t rule out a placebo effect—which has certainly contributed to bloodletting’s popularity in the past. What’s more, other studies suggest that too little iron is bad for cardiovascular health, so again, the potential benefit of removing blood is unclear. In the Ode de Martin Lantre, the Questing Knights do battle with these Daemons in the Bretonnian heartwood. In the Imperial Chronicles, witch hunters have discovered them in villages deep within the Empire. [4a]

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Bloodthirster • Bloodmaster • Rendmaster • Sacred Executioner • Skullmaster • Bloodletter • Bloodcrusher • Blood Slaughterer • Brass Scorpion • Flesh Hound • Juggernaut • Blood Throne • Skull Cannon • Skull Altar