Up now is a long overdue project, a second regiment of smashy Lower Abyssals!
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| It took a while to get the extra axes. |
Many of my recent lists for the Forces of the Abyss have tended toward the
Data and Dice rekindled my interest in the unit with a pair of recent posts. The first identified the Def4 Lower Abyssals as a cost effective unit for the army, and the second saw their overall effectiveness increase (as a horde) when you swapped over the heftier weapons. A defensive horde also made some appearances alongside me in the recent doubles tournament (at least in Game 2 and in Game 3), and did well enough to motivate me to finish these up as well. I like running a variety of things, so we’ll get back to trying some hordes of various Abyssals out in the near future though, hopefully before they get their rumored update later in the year!
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| Together, as a horde. |
Crunch-wise, I have played against a Lower Abyssal Horde a few times, but those experiences weren’t too insightful. These are probably most similar to the KoM Pole-Arms, which I unfortunately I also still don’t have a good feel for. Regeneration (and Fury) for just 5 points (and this is at both the Regimental and Horde sizes!) seems like a steal though, and hopefully we’ll get some more games in and better insights on these “fighting tar pits” soon.
Also, interestingly enough, while the Abyssals don’t pay for the weapon swap, the Kingdoms of Men effectively do, since the Pole-Arms and Shield Wall are different units with similar stats but different points values. Kingdoms of Men is the bland benchmark for a lot of armies, so this might be neat to follow-up on sometime.
From the tournament, my partner was using them as an anvil. They had Def4, so this wasn't a bad use, as they did have Regeneration, plus a lot of Nerve to cut through.
He gave them Brew of Sharpness, though I think Zaz was too busy Betraying them and casting boosted Lightning Bolts to ever Bane Chant them and make good use of the purchase. This Betrayal damage frequently added up, and unfortunately, the horde could never quite make it to the end of the game. In retrospect, my partner had 5 Points leftover, and I think the Crystal Pendant of Retribution may have been a better pick with how cavalier the unit was used. Food for thought, especially if I am going to be aggressive with my own horde.
Hobbying-wise, I’ve discussed the sprues here in many other posts. To summarize quickly, they are just ok. The minis are nice and compact, but I am not a big fan of the shields Mantic went with, nor the weapon selection in the box, so I’ve built and hobbied up a lot of Flamebearers while simultaneously avoiding Lower Abyssals, aside from that first unit. As a reward to finishing up the Centaurs and numerous side projects recently, I picked up a box of Lower Abyssals, knowing that I would get enough of the same two-handed axe to finish up a second regiment.
The two-handers continued to be an absolute nightmare to attach, but some liquid cement worked better than the super glue I had used previously, as there was enough play before it set to mostly figure out the posing. The paint was just my usual Pink Horror for the skin and Carroburg Crimson wash for the skin, and some old Agrax Earthsade over the boney bits, which I don’t think have ever had a consistent base color. I then went back with some Screaming Skull as a quick highlight on some of the boney tips, both here and on the old unit, to try and make them look more similar, and things turned out well enough.
Huzzah! Another unit off the hobbying table! This horde is interesting, and should open up some fun and aggressive possibilities for the army. We'll see what all I can do with them whenever they manage to hit the gaming table!
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