Today I’m introducing a new series for the blog: Houndpack Lance Matchup Deep Dive.
In this series, I’ll break down specific matchups, discuss macro strategy, and most importantly how to identify and execute a game plan into different enemy archetypes.
This first post is about understanding what Houndpack Lance does well, where it struggles, and how to consistently lean into its strengths. This is the foundation post to this series.
What is Houndpack Lance?
Houndpack Lance detachment has arguably been the most common way to run Chaos Knights throughout 10th edition, even if the index detachment wasnt called it. During the index era, Chaos Knights heavily favoured War Dogs over their larger counterparts. However since the codex dropped last year, popularity has dropped dramatically.
Even though the codex reduced War Dogs overall play rate, I still believe this detachment is incredibly strong, when piloted well.
A typical Houndpack list includes:
• 13–14 War Dogs
• Daemon allies to fill gaps
You’ll occasionally see a big knight included, but this often introduces more problems than it solves, as you give away a fairly easy fixed secondary game plan to your opponent.
War Dog Roles
War Dogs broadly fall into three roles:
Shooting:
• Brigands
• Executioners
Combat:
• Karnivores
Combined Arms:
• Huntsmen
• Stalkers
While the Forgeworld Moirax exists, it’s significantly less efficient than codex options and is generally not worth considering in competitive builds.
Daemon Allies – Why They Matter
Most lists Chaos Knights list are supplemented by Nurgle Daemons:
• Plaguebearers
• Nurglings
• Beasts of Nurgle
• Great Unclean One - occasionally
These units don’t carry the list, they enable it:
• Fill scoring gaps
• Screen effectively
• Provide trading pieces when War Dogs dont necessarily want to.
• Add durability that War Dogs dont possess.
Detachment Rule
• Sustained Hits 1 vs a chosen target in each of your command phases.
It’s not flashy and not always reliable. Think of it as a budget version of Oath of Moment.
Enhancements
• Preyslayer’s Mantle – Grants Super-heavy Walker
• Final Howl – 6" aura of re-roll 1s to wound
• Loping Predator – Assault weapons
• Panoply of the Cursed Knight – -1 AP vs incoming attacks
Standout Enhancements:
Preyslayer’s Mantle and Final Howl are the clear winners, with the others being efficient point fillers.
Stratagem Suite
This is where the detachment really shines:
• 6" Reactive Move (and it’s a normal move)
• Fight/Shoot on Death
• “Uppy Downy” War Dog (redeploy mechanic)
• Fall Back, Shoot and Charge
• Crits on 5+ with 2+ War Dogs in combat
• Battleshock manipulation (2CP)
There’s very little missing here, this detachment has a deep and flexible toolkit.
Core Strengths of Houndpack Lance
1. Durability Through Redundancy
13–14 War Dogs means a huge volume of:
• T9 bodies
• 3+/5++ saves
• 14 wounds each
Your opponent can’t kill everything and that’s the point.
2. Efficient Trading
At 130–150pts per War Dog:
• You trade up or even into most enemy units
• You force awkward decisions constantly
3. Strong Objective Play
• Solid OC across the army
• Multiple independent units
• Ability to contest everywhere at once
How to Actually Leverage These Strengths
This is the part that wins or loses games.
1. Win the Early Trade War
War Dogs excel at deleting:
• Scouts
• Nurglings
• Kommandos
• Rangers
• Spawn etc
Clearing these early trade pieces forces your opponent to commit real assets early. If they don’t recognise this quickly, the game snowballs in your favour.
2. Fight in Waves, Not All-In
A common mistake is overcommitting.
Because of:
• Terrain
• Base sizes
• Movement blocking
You’ll often only engage with 1–2 War Dogs at a time.
So your plan should be:
• Wave 1: Clear screens
• Wave 2: Hit meaningful targets that react to wave 1 or hold until the enemy does commit.
If you overextend without support, you lose your trading advantage.
3. Maintain Close Support
Every push needs backup.
If one War Dog goes in:
• A second should threaten
• A third should be positioned to follow up
You’re not alpha striking, you’re layering pressure.
4. Maximise Stratagem and Enhancement Value
Houndpack Lance stratagems are strong.
• Reactive Move wins positioning wars
• Fight/Shoot on Death ensures value even in loss
• Fallback + Charge creates unexpected threat angles
• Uppy-downy gives your opponent something to screen every turn.
Preyslayer’s Mantle - The Real MVP
This enhancement unlocks a completely different level of play.
Final Howl - boosts reliability
This enhancement delivers reliability and is always useful when you select the extend auras faction ability.
Key Weaknesses of Houndpack Lance
For all its strengths, Houndpack Lance does have some very real weaknesses and if you don’t respect them, good players will punish you hard.
1. Board Congestion (“Car Park” Problem)
13–14 War Dogs is a lot of hulls with big bases. Even with careful movement, you will:
• Block your own lanes
• Limit your angles
Struggle to fully commit when you want to
• Preyslayer’s Mantle helps, but it doesn’t solve this entirely.
2. Reliance on Staged Engagements
The army needs to fight in waves.
If you:
• Overextend
• Commit too many pieces too early or fail to line up your second wave
You lose your trading advantage and the list starts to collapse quickly.
3. Limited Spike Damage Into Certain Targets
While War Dogs are efficient, they’re not always explosive.
You can struggle into:
• High durability bricks (Necron Warriors, Sacresants, 20 Black Templar Crusaders)
• Damage reduction
• Units that react and need one activation to deal with.
This can lead to situations where you “half-kill” units and get punished on the return.
4. Battleshock Vulnerability
Low Leadership across multiple independent units means:
• Failed Battleshock can cost you OC at key moments
• Primary scoring can swing unexpectedly
You have tools to manage this through layering objectives with multiple War Dogs and Insane Bravery, but it’s something to always keep in mind.
5. Skilled Opponents Can Disrupt Your Flow
Good players will always look to:
• Choke your movement
• Trade efficiently into your front wave
• Force awkward activations
If your sequencing slips, the army doesn’t have a safety net, it relies on clean, deliberate play. Meaning a skilled opponent can take advantage of this.
Final Thoughts
Houndpack Lance doesn’t win through raw damage alone, it wins through:
• Relentless pressure - waves of attack.
• Efficient trading
• Superior positioning
If you play it correctly, you force your opponent into:
• Bad trades
• Early commitments
• Constant decision stress
And that’s where the army thrives.
This is the broad intro into the deep dive series.
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