Tribe of the Living Flame

Perhaps a slightly unusual idea... I haven't read nor seen Animal Farm, before anyone asks. The idea was very simply born between the unavoidable link between the beastmen and their (often domesticated) animal counterparts many years ago (including comments about teaming the Skaven with the Beastmen to fight the Lizardmen and once and for all find out the superior military power of the petting zoo vs the vivarium, and the inevitable jokes about Lambert the Sheepish Beastlord and white fluffy ungor dancing around him singing...).

With all that swirling in my subconscious from many years of gaming and stupid jokes, one of the triggers was stumbling across the Cult of the Slaughterer's Blade by Ryan Poliakoff of the Warmongers. Seeing a theme similar to what I had wanted to do for a long time, and those brilliant daemonic chickens I was just inspired to do an army like that for my next list...

So, the basic theme was set... now to choose a god. At a lack of a better choice, I could always fall back on Chaos Undecided - especially with a Beastman army that doesn't contain a lot of marks to begin with. Nurgle? Nah... this was a farm, and not THAT wracked with disease. Besides, I didn't want to copy my source of renewed inspiration. Slaanesh? Nah, can't see it happening with this theme. This leaves Tzeentch or Khorne as viable suspects... Tzeentch, because something had to change them into what they would become, and Khorne because they'd likely be angry and out for blood.

With this in mind I went to look at the army background - that is, what would make a farm turn into a host of blood-thirsty mutants? Well, mutation obviously, but unless the farm is near the edge of the Chaos Wastes or something, there had to be a source of it. A rampaging chaos warband? No, that would bring my host into servitude... A chunk of warpstone or something, perhaps?
Yes... a chunk of warpstone, found by the farmer while digging a well. Maybe he stores it in hope that he can get a good price from a travelling wizard at the market, and things start happening? If so, there has to be control within the change, and controlling the change means Tzeentch.

Taking a bit more time about it - warpstone might work, but finding it would be highly random, and it still contains very random change, so out with the warpstone and in with an artefact. If the artefact has sentinence (such as, say, a bound daemon) it could call the farmer to dig in the right place, and slowly over time work its power over the farm animals to grant them both humanoid shape and sentinence. Much better idea, methinks...
Having the army being Tzeentch also allowed me to take Tzeentchian daemons... and if warmaster carrion can be daemon chickens, then warhammer carrion could be even bigger chickens. Score!

Obviously, not all creatures would fit the theme... things such as chaos mortals were out (this is the farmyard revolution, people. Farmers need not apply beyond the rank of banner ornament), and some creatures such as dragon ogres (normal or shaggoth), ogres, trolls, giants and even centigor wouldn't fit the bill. Beast herds are a must, of course, and can be easily representing goats and sheep. The same goes for Bestigors and any characters. Minotaurs are obviously in as well, cows are cows after all, even if they are ten feet tall and carry large axes. Chariots... warrior chariots are out, of course, but a beastman chariot is rickety enough to be something like a hay cart or a meat wagon. Furies and Screamers are chickens, as mentioned earlier, and Chaos Spawn are usable for those who cannot hold their change. Warhounds? Well, there are always dogs...
Horrors of Tzeentch could be acceptable, but I won't put them in the list, at least not for games under 2000 pts - there's always room for some indigo fire though.