Hobby Update: More Abyssal Hellhounds

Upon finishing the first troop of Hellhounds and writing about how I was going to use them in the escalation league, I realized that while that was true, that was not the full picture, since that is not how I operate. I don't build my collections towards a precise list. I collect sprawling armies, and then run a variety of lists in order to just try things out and keep things fresh for me and my opponents. Even if I think a unit is weird and inefficient and unwieldy, if I have it, I want to try it out. Now that I had one troop of Hellhounds, I'd need at least one more, in order to run the unit at the full regimental size. So here we are. Up now are more Hellhounds for the Forces of the Abyss!

The full regiment.

Like the original troop, I'm not doing anything unusual or really worth elaborating on from the hobbying-side of things, though the models are detailed enough that one could have fun with crackling glowing rock effects or the like. I just went for a dry brushed stone look on a lava base to match the rest of my army.

On the table though, I did not get this unit quite right. For whatever reason, in my head, I had linked Fury and Ferocious Charge, thinking I got +1 CS on a Counter-charge. That Special Rule is Vengeance, and is on stuff like Dwarf Berserkers.

Ferocious Charge, which showed up I believe first in Clash 2025, is +1 to hit when you are not disordered and make a clean charge (and also not using Strider or Pathfinder). I should have remembered it from both the KoM and Herd Command Orders. Oops. 

The new troop.

I meant to publish this post prior to Battle 130 when the regiment debuted, but time got away from me, so in an unusual turn of events, I've actually already played a game with the full regiment, so I can be a little less theoretical about using the unit on the table!

The old troop.

Being a berserker-style unit, that is, a unit with a lot of attacks but hitting on 4’s, Ferocious Charge is a neat new rule for the Hellhounds. The rule was gained in the revamp, and really turns them into a glass-cannon unit, with neat implications for both regiments and troops. 

The Hellhound regiment clearly overperformed in that game. Breaking any opposing regiment is still very unlikely, especially an opposing regiment with Def5. That was a fluke. Ferocious Charge should still net good hits, but getting through the Defense rolls is still a big hurdle, and that's the downfall of the unit. You could add an item (Brew of Strength, or the cheaper Helm of the Drunken Ram) and any of these could be fun for the regiment, not to mention the Brew of Sharpness in order to hit on 2’s off a clean charge! I might explore this with some future MMU play, but any item is going to push this unit over 200 points, and while theoretically viable, is not generally my style. Having a Bane Chant caster around could be feasible, though you need to be cognizant of spacing and ranges, since the Hellhounds are so speedy, and could outpace the spellcaster. Overall, the regiment was fun to use, but it does not seem like an efficient use of points, and I think it will only catch folks off-guard once or twice before it will become a liability.

The regiment again.

Troops look more appealing to me. The 120 points is a significant commitment for a throwaway unit (you could maybe compare these to something like Gur Panthers), but the Hellhounds hit harder on the charge, their speed makes them hard to engage, and running them up for a blocking charge while the rest of your forces advance until a little less pressure seems attractive to me. If you are running Nagarri, having the Hounds block and interdict for that unwieldy support unit could be a nice roll for a troop took take on as well.

There is a real risk of doubling-down on a mediocre unit and over-committing points to them. A troop could be fun and useful and catch people off-guard, but if you are spamming troops or boosting up to a regimental-size, or distributing items or giving BC support, I think you need to have a strong plan for the unit, since it is a lot of points, and rather fragile itself.

All that said, the Abyssals in general are a bit of a risky army to play in my opinion, since so much seems to hinge on their regeneration rolls, so the Hellhounds do feel rather at home here! It’s been a fun unit to mess around with the last few games, and while they likely won't be a staple of my lists, we’ll release the hounds now and again, now that we have them all finished!