Using Balazar's Dominion for Wargaming | 40k (Community Content)

With such an expansive range of miniatures in our catalogue, our amazing community often finds creative ways to bring a touch of Bestiarum flavour into their other wargaming hobbies.

This article was created by a community member and does not represent the official position of Bestiarum Games. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with any other gaming systems or intellectual properties mentioned in this content.

The first thing I imagine most people think when they see the Bestiarum miniatures range is, “Wow, I’d love to have a full army of those.” I know that was my reaction.

My name is Aaron Eskenazi and I first discovered Bestiarum a few years ago. Their miniatures were so compelling, so beautifully grotesque, that I bought a 3D resin printer just to print them. They were simply too incredible not to explore in full. Since then, I’ve printed, painted, based, and collected a wide array of Bestiarum sculpts, enough to assemble a sizable force of eclectic horrors. In this blog, I want to share what I’ve learned while trying to slot these stunning miniatures into some of the tabletop game systems I know best.

Let’s begin with the obvious: Warhammer 40,000 (40k).

It’s the 40,000-pound gorilla in the room, by far the most popular and widely played wargame on the planet. That makes it an excellent choice for showcasing converted armies, especially since most casual 40k players (especially at friendly local game stores or casual tournaments) are more than happy to face off against an army of proxies, provided they’re clearly presented and creatively executed. It’s also the game my friends and I play the most, so naturally, I started by exploring how to bring Bestiarum miniatures into the 41st millennium.

Bestiarum’s latest release for August 2025 features a new wave of models for the Balazar's Dominion: the Cabal of Languor. It’s a perfect place to start. Warhammer 40k includes a wide range of armies and factions, but the Court of Balazar’s twisted elegance and demonic excess align beautifully with the forces of Slaanesh. Both share a thematic core, otherworldly beauty, decadence, cruelty, and perverse delight. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the Court of Balazar models and how they can be organized into a Chaos Daemons army.

The first step in building a proxy army is to make two lists: one of the Bestiarum miniatures you have available, and one of the units you want to proxy them as. For each miniature, you’ll want to figure out three key things:

• What is the base size of the miniature?
  
  
• What is its rough physical size?
  
  
• What is its silhouette or implied battlefield role?

The goal is to match miniatures to units that are roughly equivalent in size, share the same base dimensions, and have a similar battlefield profile, so your opponent can easily tell what’s what during the game. Clarity is king. Your models can be wild, weird, and completely custom, but your opponent should never be confused about what they’re fighting.

With that in mind, let’s begin mapping out how the Balazar’s Dominion units can find their place in the grimdark galaxy of Warhammer 40,000.

Let's start by mapping out the various units from the Balazar's Dominion range.

Next, let's map out the Chaos Daemon part of our army and see what can be proxied.

With all of that laid out, it’s clear we have a lot of options, some straightforward, others that require a bit of creative interpretation. Let’s start with the most obvious.

Bestiarum’s Demonette miniatures are natural fits for Daemonettes of Slaanesh. The silhouettes are nearly identical, the sizes are comparable, and they serve the same role on the battlefield. With a solid paint job, your opponent will instantly recognize their purpose. This is a huge plus, since Daemonettes form the core of most Slaanesh Daemon armies.

Next, we come to the biggest centerpiece of a Slaanesh Daemons army: the Keeper of Secrets. It’s worth clarifying, both Games Workshop and Bestiarum have models called “Keeper of Secrets” which are very different things, but unless otherwise noted, I’m referring to the Warhammer 40,000 version. This Greater Daemon is a towering monster, fast, brutal, and elegant, and mounted on a 100mm base.

The best Bestiarum equivalents for this role are Selthara, Mistress of Obsession, and optionally Vorukhan, Master of Liberation (if corrected and resized). These models embody the right scale and aesthetic, towering, regal, and exuding otherworldly excess, making them ideal choices to represent a Keeper of Secrets.

Now let’s turn to some standout models from Balazar's Dominion and explore where they can fit into your Slaanesh army.

The new Weaver of Binding is an impressive sculpt, perhaps too large to be a standard Daemon Prince, but not quite imposing enough to be a Greater Daemon. However, with some clever basing, there’s a sweet spot: if you mount her on a 75x42mm oval base and remove a few of her attendants, she could be a perfect proxy for The Contorted Epitome. If you paint her blood-filled bowl as a mirror and lean into highly reflective metallics, the visual language aligns perfectly.

Next up are Shaezarin, the First Concubine, the Visage of Many Griefs, and the Demonic Mistress, all large, imposing characters on 50mm–60mm bases. These make excellent proxies for Daemon Princes of Chaos. The Demonic Mistress may need a slight upscale, but she should comfortably fit on a 60mm base, and her silhouette reads powerfully. These three alone give you a solid trio of Daemon Princes, great support for any Slaanesh force.

Lamashtu and General Atraxes also make strong candidates for character units. Originally sculpted on 50mm bases, they can be either reverted to that size for use as Syll’Esske or scaled up slightly more to serve as additional Daemon Princes. Just be aware that larger rescaling may require more extensive support edits.

One of the limitations of the Warhammer 40k Slaanesh Daemons range is its narrow variety of units in the mid-size (32mm to 40mm) base range. The range is dominated by huge monsters, chariots, and small infantry, with very little in between. That means some Bestiarum models won’t have a direct analog, but this is where creativity shines.

The only standard 32mm Slaanesh character is the Masque of Slaanesh, so pick your favorite Balazar's Dominion miniature for this role (tough decision, I know). Just keep in mind that the Masque is a fast, aggressive melee character, so options like the Exalted Talon, The Ravager, or a slightly upscaled Cabal Assassin or Cirxe the Enchantress would all work beautifully.

The Tranceweaver is another character model on a 25mm base, meant to accompany Daemonettes. Here again, the Exalted Spears or Cabal Assassin work well as proxies.

Finally, don’t forget the subtle upgrades available to Daemonette units, an icon bearer and a musician. Bestiarum’s Demonettes don’t currently feature these elements, but this opens the door to incorporating some flavorful miniatures like the Court Mage and Voice of Lords. The former works great as a standard bearer, while the latter, with the right pose and paint, makes a convincing musician proxy.

That gives us a lot of options, and let's take a look at what kind of list we can make using the above proxies.

The Masque of Slaanesh (95pts): proxied using an Exalted Talon.

Contorted Epitome (100pts): proxied using Weaver of Binding

Daemon Prince of Chaos (190pts): proxied using The Mistress

Daemon Prince of Chaos (190pts): proxied using Shezarin, the First Concubine

Daemon Prince of Chaos (190pts): proxied using the Visages of Many Griefs

Keeper of Secrets w/ Soulstealer (305pts): proxied using Domina, the Greater Demoness

Keeper of Secrets (290pts): proxied using Demon Prince

Tranceweaver (60pts): proxied using Exalted Spears

Tranceweaver (60pts): proxied using Exalted Spears

10x Daemonettes (100pts): proxied using Demonettes, Voice of Lords, and Cabal Mage

10x Daemonettes (100pts): proxied using Demonettes, Voice of Lords, and Cabal Mage

10x Daemonettes (100pts): proxied using Demonettes, Voice of Lords, and Cabal Mage

10x Daemonettes (100pts): proxied using Demonettes, Voice of Lords, and Cabal Mage

10x Daemonettes (100pts): proxied using Demonettes, Voice of Lords, and Cabal Mage

Total: 1980pts

This army can adapt to a few different playstyles depending on which Detachment you run it with, but the standout option is the Daemonic Incursion detachment. It lets you take full advantage of the speed and aggression of Keepers of Secrets, who can rush forward to establish Shadow of Chaos zones, creating ideal staging grounds for Daemonettes to deep strike within 6 inches and charge with ease.

The army performs best by overwhelming your opponent with waves of Daemonettes, swarming the battlefield to restrict enemy movement and blunt their counteroffensives. Meanwhile, Daemon Princes and Keepers of Secrets hunt down key targets with higher strength weapons, creating openings your opponent will struggle to recover from as the game progresses into the late turns.

The Bestiarum range is, without question, the finest collection of resin 3D STL files I’ve seen on the market. Nothing else comes close in terms of detail, variety, and sheer atmospheric presence. But for many of us, miniatures aren’t just meant to sit on a shelf looking pretty; they’re meant to see battle. We want to field them, roll dice, crush our enemies, and forge unforgettable stories on the tabletop.

This Chaos Daemons army list, built around proxying Bestiarum miniatures, lets you do exactly that. And with the tips and suggestions shared here, you’ll be able to convert even more of the Bestiarum range into unique, custom armies ready to dominate any battlefield, or any game system you choose.

By Aaron Eskenazi

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This post was written by one of the lovely members of our community. If there's an article, guide or other feature you'd like to share, reach out to us at contact@bestiarumgames.com!

Editing by Sam Franquet

This article was written by a member of the Bestiarum community and reflects their personal views only. It does not represent the official position of Bestiarum Games.

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