Hobby Update: More Lower Abyssal Ghouls

Up now are some more Lower Abyssal Ghouls for the forces of the Abyss!

This unit is a continuation of one from last June, my old Abyssal Ghouls. At the time, I had stopped at just the one unit due to lack of bodies. I'm not sure when I picked more up, but I've had a little hobby box set aside with everything the units needs for many months now. Over the last week I had three unexpected free evenings and a work from home day, and was able to finish the unit up, along with a number of other lingering projects.

The new unit.

A lot has changed since I finished up that first unit! The Abyssals got a rules refresh in late 2024, and the Abyssal Ghoul unit was actually done away with. Previously, the unit intrigued me as it was a cheap unlock and good US for the price, and had some good Nerve. Overall, it seems like a neat take for objective-play or for cheap unlocks, despite lacking Regeneration like so many other Abyssal units.

Nowadays, the Ghouls have been folded into the Lower Abyssals, which bums me out since I was just starting to like the Lower Abyssals as a combat unit, and actually didn't get to properly explore the Ghouls either. Now, the new unit keeps the Lower Abyssals name, has Regen, but hits on 5's, really limiting it's combat potential. 

A different angle.

Still, the revamp seems successful, with the Abyssals ticking up in popularity per some of Data and Dice's tournament-tracking metrics, and the Lower Abyssals have also seemed to increased in popularity, as cheap unlocks. If memory serves, they are now the cheapest US3 unit in the game (by 5 points, again, if memory serves), and the cheapest unlock for the Forces of the Abyss. Most Abyssal Generals are now gravitating towards the Berserkers, and the Lowers here provide a cheap way to carry a token or two for scenario play while leaving the Berserkers free smash-face.

Hobby-wise, this unit is basically the same as the old unit, with Zombie and Ghoul bodies, and then headswaps utilizing Abyssal heads. This time though, I took an evening to cut and trim the stands, which makes for a better-looking unit at the end, though some of the minis are a little precarious and I'm sure will need re-gluing at some point.

They're done, so huzzah, but I don't quite know what possessed me to finish the unit. I guess just a streak of stubborn completionism. I have already have a horde of actual lower Abyssals with two-handers, and another horde with shields, and I am not too excited about using either of those currently, so the Ghoulish unit is just added into that category. Hitting on 5's, even the hordes don't have good damage output, and are paying a ton for Def 4 and Regeneration. Grabbing both on a "trashy" tar-pit unit seems bad, as the significantly cheaper trash units of Zombies or Scarecrows in other armies are going to have the same survivability most of the time. Hordes are probably not the way to run the Lower Abyssals anymore (though maybe there is an "area-denial build" with a horde grabbing a table third and your forces concentrated elsewhere), and taking regiments for unlocks and scenario play does seem like the best use of the unit now. Still, the unit is done now, and we'll see what we can make of it in the future.