Greetings Kings of War players, I am bringing you another list dissection from the upcoming U.S. Masters, this one is from Mike Grant of the West Coast. As a prospective Forces of the Abyss player, I was really interested to see what players were bringing to the Masters. There were a few lists that caught my eye, but Mike’s stood out, lets find out why!
As always these are just my predictions for how the list plays, I could be completely off base and maybe Mike plays it completely differently. It should also be noted the U.S. Masters is 2,300 points this year, so that is how many points this list is. I will be back tomorrow with another army dissection, with a new one each day until the Masters, this Saturday!
Mike’s list comes in at am impressive Unit Strength 28, and a respectable 14 drops!
215, Succubus Regiment– Brew of Strength— Lurker
205, Succubus Regiment– Hammer of Measured Force— Lurker
155, Abyssal Ghoul Horde– Liliana’s Tear
260, Abyssal Horseman Regiment– Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar
275, Abyssal Horseman Regiment– Brew of Sharpness
90, Abyssal Ghoul Regiment
90, Abyssal Ghoul Regiment
90, Abyssal Ghoul Regiment
90, Gargoyle Troop– Blade of Slashing
90, Gargoyle Troop– Mace of Crushing
175, Abyssal Fiend
120, Abyssal Warlock– Conjurer’s Staff— Bane Chant (2)
90, Abyssal Warlock
90, Abyssal Warlock
265, Manifestation of Ba’el
So let’s start with what I see the “main battleline” of this list.
Battleline
One of my favorite things about Mike’s list is the variety that he has worked into this core. First we have the two Succubus Regiments, both with the Lurker upgrade to provide the all important Pathfinder. Succubi are great buzz saws, with 20 attacks, and hitting on 3s, if your Defense is 4 or lower they will cause you massive damage.
Mike has tried to make this damage out put more reliable by giving one regiment Brew of Strength, which when backed up by a Bane Chanting Warlock can easily be CS2. Mike also gave the other regiment Hammer of Measured force, so they always wound on 4s. I am less certain about this upgrade, with Bane Chant in the list, it really means these units are best suited to hitting Defense 6, but are going to struggle against any of the tarpit units Succubi traditionally are designed to clear. However, even wounding things on 4s they will project a reliable amount of damage.
Both units have all important Pathfinder, allowing them to jump into terrain, which when combined with Ensnare will let them survive most charges, or charge unimpeded into vital points. If they face any junk units they will just tear right through and keep going. As a regular Undead player I hate seeing these chicks, as their Ensnare, and damage output, gives me fits.
To support these two buzz saws Mike has taken 3 Abyssal Ghoul regiments and 1 Abyssal Ghoul horde! Abyssal Ghouls are fantastic to buff out a main line, they are dirt cheap, provide Unit Strength 2 and 3, with a decent Nerve. At Melee 5+ they aren’t really killing anything, but they are perfect for grabbing objectives, holding enemy units up till the Succubi or other units are available, and are perfect for carrying Loot counters! I love it! Plus, this amount of units on the board will just look cool, giving the army some real gravitas.
Hammers
While the Succubi can function as hammers, the true threats in this list are the 2 regiments Abyssal Horsemen, the Abyssal Fiend, and the Manifestation of Ba’el.
Lets start with the Abyssal Horsemen, these are a under hyped, but fantastic unit, with 18 attacks, Melee 3+, Crushing Strength 1, and Thunderous 1 they are going to hit, and hit hard. Speed 8 makes them faster then most battle lines, but even speed with most enemy cav. Fury means they will be Counter Charging, or dead; and finally Regen 5+ lets them shrug off some light damage, though they are prone to being killed by shooting.
Mike has given one regiment Brew of Sharpness, increasing their melee to 2+ ! The other regiment has Potion of the Caterpillar, which lets this unit be more reliable, threatening “bunkered” units in terrain, and control large chunks of board space.
These units will be perfect for removing the tougher units the Succubi may struggle against, while also having the Speed to project threat, and support his main line.
In addition to these two threats, Mike has taken the Abyssal Fiend, a completely new unit, but one I think is quite good. Basically, it is a slightly weaker Archfiend, without wings. It has 7 attacks, hitting on 3s, Crushing Strength 2, and Vicious. Interestingly it also has Brutal, Fury, Inspiring, and Fireball (10), basically all the rules! While this beast doesn’t have Nimble, it can support those Abyssal Horsemen by following up behind them, or charging in alongside them. Mike may also run this monster with his main battle line, to lend it a bit more punch.
Finally, Mike took the expensive, but impressive Manifestation of Ba’el. Ba’el is very similar to the Fiend, but he has fly and Stealthy (really important for keeping him alive vs WarEngines). He also has Lightning Bolt 7, a nice little addition. And finally, and most importantly he has “From the Pit I Curse Thee!” which may be the coolest sounding special rule in KoW, and I feel like every time you use it you have to do it with flair.
So what does this mouthful do? It’s a once per game ranged attack, that when used all enemy units within 6″ of Ba’el become Disordered! This means it strips Thunderous AND more importantly the ability to shoot, basically a big FU to Warengines that I am certain Mike thinks he will be facing.
Ba’el is an interesting choice, he add some punch, some shooting, and some maneuverability to the list, but at nearly 300 points, only a 14/16 nerve, and Defense 5+ he is squishier then I would prefer to see.
While I think I see what Mike is trying to do here, I also think a Seductress could do almost as good at countering Warengines, while being more maneuverable due to Individual, and with Duelist threaten casters, banner dudes, and enemy regiments. For Ba’el points you could take two! They don’t have the punch of Ba’el, or the dope sounding rule though.
Support
And now we have the support Mike brings.
Mike has 3, THREE, Warlocks, one of which has Bane Chant, and the Conjurer’s Staff to make that Bane Chant (2) more reliable. They others are naked. However; these little jerks have five 18″, Piercing (1) shots, with Steady Aim! They also are Nimble, Inspiring, and have Regen. Coming in at Height 3 they can see over Mike’s main line, or trundle along the sides blasting bolts, with Ba’el’s Lightning Bolt, and the Fiend’s Fireball, this list has a decent amount of support fire.
It wont wipe out major units, but it can threaten pretty much any chaff the enemy brings, helping deliver those tasty Succubi into combat! In addition to these shots, Mike brought 2 Gargoyle troops.
Ah Gargoyles, still some of the best chaff in the game, and though they went up in points, they gained 2 attacks, meaning they can threaten flanks and Warengines a bit. But, most importantly, with Fly and Nimble they can keep up with Mike’s Abyssal Horsemen, blocking enemy units, so that those scary bastards can pick the charges they want. In a pinch Gargoyles can dart around the board, grabbing objectives, killing Warengines, or threatening flanks, but nearly always I suspect they will be flying in support of the Abyssal Horsemen.
Summary
So there is the list, and the breakdown, now why do I like it so much. First, this is a very different Abyssal army compared to what I saw last edition. I love taking the cheaper bodies in the Ghouls to really pad out that battle line. The addition of the Warlocks, the Fiend, and Ba’el give some really nice threats to the army, and finally I love the flexibility in the support.
With Pathfinder, if need be, the Succubi can ditch the Ghouls and move as supporters for the Horsemen. With 3 units with Pathfinder, Mike really can take advantage of terrain, without being hindered by it. The Warlocks all Inspire, as does the Fiend, and Ba’el, meaning now matter how he moves, most of his army should be Inspired, which while not always necessary, is never a bad thing.
Finally I love that on the surface this seems like a punch you in the face list, but it brings just enough shooting to be flexible. But mostly, I just love the way that this is a balanced, interesting list, that brings a variety of threats and movements, while also putting a TON of unit strength on the board.
I do think this list could struggle against true Alpha strike, it isn’t quite fast enough to deal with a full speed list. Something with 4 dragons for instance I think could give it real headaches, and even Kris Kapsner’s list I reviewed yesterday I think doesn’t mind this matchup.
A Warengine list, if it gets a lucky turn one, could cause some problems as well, particularly with Ba’el’s lower Nerve, but Mike should be able to hide his essential units in turn 1, and then all the opponent will have to shoot is Stealthy Succubi, or expendable Ghouls.
Against other balanced builds, or against a trash, fill the board army, I think this list will do amazing. Succubi love this kind of match up, and there is enough punch in the Horsemen and monsters to deal with high Defense options.
Overall, it doesn’t have any truly horrendous matchups, other then maybe 4 dragons, and it has the tools to do well in every scenario, well done Mike, can’t wait to see how the weekend goes for you!
