Today Karim is sharing with us his first part of his Abaddon series: Cometh the Despoiler. Karim is a long time Black Legion player and has much to share: enjoy.

An in-depth look at Abaddon the Despoiler

When the time came for my first, purpose written contribution to the blog, I knew it would be some exploration of Chaos Marines. And who better to focus on than Abaddon himself? Since his appearance on the front cover of the first Chaos Space Marine codex, Abaddon has been a central character to the forces of Chaos. I intend this to be a four part series, that will delve into Abaddon – both on the tabletop, on your painting tray, and his portrayal in the lore & art of the 41st Millenium. We’re going to start with Abaddon on the tabletop; how he plays, and how to get the best out of him.

PART 1: DARK TACTICS

Abaddon has always been fantastic on the tabletop, and 8th edition is no different. A good showing from him in the initial Chaos Codex release has recently been bolstered by Vigilus Ablaze. If you’re playing competitive Black Legion, and not taking this guy, you’re probably doing something wrong…

Let’s dive into why he’s so good.

The Statline

Abaddon is a beat stick. 6 attacks at WS 2+, STR 10, AP -4 and D3 damage with his Talon is nothing to be sniffed at. It’ll make a dent in anything you throw him against, and that’s not even including the additional D6, S6, AP -3, Flat 3 damage attacks he deals with Drach’nyen. He’ll cut through most units short of a Knight, and that’s not counting his potential to be buffed.

Even the Talon of Horus’s shooting is a little more respectable now, given the beta ‘Bolter Discipline’ rule. Four STR 4, AP-1, D3 damage shots is ok at cutting through chaff, useful at clipping wounds off light vehicles, and good at killing primaris equivalents, where the multi damage really shines.

In Vigilus Ablaze, Abaddon gained 1 Strength, and 1 Wound. The additional Strength is very useful, as it means that:

a.) He wounds T8 targets on 3s with the Talon

b.) He wounds T5 targets on 2s with the Talon

c.) He wounds T5 targets on 3s with Drach’nyen

These changes, whilst seemingly small, are very useful. They increase the number of wounds he can deal against a host of targets (Bullgryns, Knights, Repulsors), meaning it’s easier to get more utility from his close combat ability.

Even if you do charge Abaddon into close combat against an unwise target, he’ll probably still stick around for a few combat phases. His 2+/4++ save, 8 wounds and T5 means that most light attacks will bounce off him. Even heavier attacks are negated somewhat, by his fantastic ‘Dark Destiny’ rule – which halves all incoming damage. This means that a lascannon can only do a maximum of 3 damage to him – which makes heavy weapons fire, and strong close combat attacks a good deal less terrifying. There are some effective ways of boosting his survivability, which we’ll get onto later.

A shortfall of Abaddon’s statline is his mobility. Whilst his 6” is better than most warriors in terminator armour, he’s likely to spend a long time footslogging up the board – which makes him susceptible to small arms sniper fire. T5 will mostly protect him from most snipers short of a Vindicare, but even a few wounds off the Warmaster can be unhelpful. Given the Black Legion’s ability to advance and fire, you should be consistently advancing him; at least till he makes into charge range.

You DO have alternative methods of delivering him. Obliterators and Terminators make for a devastating deep strike attack to accompany him, and a Land Raider can still carry him across the battlefield – despite his upsized model. The problem with these options (alongside Dreadclaws, Termite Drills, etc) is that you’re failing to use some of his most powerful abilities: his aura.

The Auras

Abaddon has two fantastic auras. The first is ‘Lord of the Black Legion’; the second, ‘Mark of Chaos Ascendant’. If you choose to make him your Warlord, you’ll have to use his Warlord Trait ‘First Amongst Traitors’.

Lord of the Black Legion has recently been buffed. Whilst its previous iteration allowed for friendly Black Legion units within 6” to reroll missed hits, you now have the option to reroll all hits.. This is good in most situations, and excellent in others. Outside of Sicarans and Deredos, Chaos didn’t really have an answer to some competitive mainstays – namely Aeldari fliers. Whilst you’ll still struggle to take out Alaitoc flyers with Lightning Fast Reflexes, Abaddon enabling havocs, hellbrutes and Obliterators to reroll missed hits regardless of modifiers means you pose a significantly greater threat.

The Mark of Chaos Ascendant makes all Heretic Astartes units within 12” immune to morale. In an edition where morale serves as the bane of massed infantry, this ability is fantastic. Smaller squads of Black Legion units won’t benefit from this massively, as even your bog-standard Black Legion Chaos Space Marine is already Leadership 9, due to the Legion’s Trait ‘Black Crusaders’ (LD10 if they pay 5 points for an Icon of Vengeance). This ability shines when using large squads of infantry. Seeing Abaddon surrounded by over 100 cultists is a familiar site for those who frequent tournaments, and they make the most use of this aura. It’s also worth noting that unlike Lord of the Black Legion, this ability affects ALL Heretic Astartes units, regardless of Legion. This, coupled with the new Red Corsairs stratagem could make for some nasty combos. 20 Chaos Marines in cover can be deceptively difficult to shift. If you throw fearless into the mix, along with their 3CP ability to return to the board at full strength, it’s not unimaginable to see the humble Chaos Space Marine seeing a little more usage.

Abaddon’s last aura ability is First Amongst Traitors; which allows Death to the False Emperor to trigger on a 5+ for Black Legion units within 6”. This makes him especially powerful against Imperial Armies if he is your Warlord, which he probably will be – given that it nets you an extra 2CP!

The Playstyle(s)

Because Abaddon has great, force-multiplying rules, alongside a fearsome statline, there are various, legitimate ways to run him in a competitive setting. I’ll suggest a few ways of doing so here.

The Lost and the Damned

This is the most frequently seen way of running the Despoiler. It involves a cultist horde moving up the board slightly ahead of Abaddon. This helps maximise the efficiency of his Mark of Chaos Ascendant rule, as well as Lord of the Black Legion rule – 90 cultists rerolling hits is nothing to be sniffed it – especially if Veterans of the Long War (for shooting), or Soultearer Portent (for melee) is involved.

Whilst this has been a mainstay of Chaos play for a while, I do think there’s something to say about complementary units. You’d want to play a few sorcerers around Abaddon, to further increase the survivability of the cultists (through Delightful Agonies and Miasma of Pestilence), and a new Dark Apostle or two with Benedictions of Darkness, and Illusory Supplication. Furthermore, given that Havocs can now move and shoot, the idea of a rear-guard of havocs with Reaper Chaincannons supporting the cultist horde as it moves up (whilst rerolling all hits!) is very tempting…

The Nuclear bomb

This tactic pivots on Abaddon’s ability to allow surrounding units to reroll all failed hits. It involves Abaddon, and two squads of 3 obliterators. With a little help from our friend Endless Cacophony, you’re looking at a whopping 72 with an average profile of S8, AP-2, D2. To hit modifiers aside, with Abaddon’s reroll, you’re looking at 80 hits. The quality and quantity of fire is enough to level most targets.

It’s tempting to overindex on this strike, but given that this combo contains almost 1000 points, you’d be unable to put more units in reserve (unless your game is over 2000 points). If you did want to support this strike, you’d likely want to move up a Master of Possession, as the Malefic Discipline is great for obliterators. A normal sorcerer could also help out with a cast of prescience, and using the ‘Devastation Battery’ detachment, coupled with Field Commander would also allow them to reroll 1s to wound vs Vehicles.

It’s worth noting that if killing chaff is your goal with these guys, a squad of 10 terminators with chain axes, combi bolters, and Mark of Slaanesh would likely be more cost efficient.

The Death-Star

8th Edition heavily favours synergies. This combo focuses on buffing Abaddon to god-like potential.  This requires 3(!) Sorcerers, an Exalted Champion, Veterans of the Long War and Abaddon. You can also utilise a Dark Apostle with Soultearer Portent, if you’re afraid your opponent is likely to use Agents of Vect on your VOTLW attempt. It relies on stacking various psychic buffs on Abaddon, riffing on the fact that he has the KHORNE, SLAANESH, NURGLE and TZEENTCH keywords.

Firstly, cast Diabolic Strength on Abaddon, and Miasma of Pestilence (+2 Strength, + 1 attack, -1 to hit). Next, cast Weaver of Fates on him (+1 invulnerable). Lastly, cast Delightful Agonies (5+ FNP). Finally, if you’re against an Imperial Player, cast Prescience (+1 to hit). This vastly increases his survivability, all but ensuring your ability to fight twice with him. To prove this, let’s run some numbers against the sturdiest of targets; a PAIR of Knight Gallants.

If Abaddon charges 2 Knight Gallants, he will strike with the Talon of Horus first – hitting on 2s, rerolling 1s – with 7 strength 14 attacks. Prescience, plus First Amongst Traitors means DTTFE is triggering on a 4+ – netting him an additional 3 attacks, hitting on 2s, rerolling 1s. Add Diabolic Strength and VOTLW to that, and you have 11 hits on the Gallant, wounding it on 2s, rerolling 1s thanks to the Exalted Champion. The -4 means that the Gallant will get no save, hitting the Gallant for 22 damage. Drach’Nyen would then trigger, with an average of 5 more attacks thanks to Prescience & DTTFE – wounding on 3s, rerolling fails. The Gallant would get a 6+ save against this – but around 3 wounds are likely to get through, for a flat 9 damage – for 31 in total, with 7 wounds to spare!

The Gallant’s buddy then activates – his best chance at downing Abaddon is his Reaper Chainsword. He’s -1 to hit thanks to Miasma of Pestilence, so hits on 3s for 3.33.. hits. Wounding on 2s, he’ll put out 2.78 successful wounds. With a 3+ invulnerable, the Gallant will get through 0.93 wounds on him – let’s call it 1. Out of the 6 damage this wound would deal, Abaddon will half – due to his Dark Destiny ability. Finally, Delightful Agonies will negate 1 of those wounds, meaning only 2 wounds would get through, taking Abaddon down to 6 wounds remaining (which you could heal back with the Grandfather’s Blessings, if you feel inclined!). You can then activate Fury of Khorne for 3CP, allow Abaddon to attack again – killing the second Gallant. This is obviously a very hypothetical situation; a good player will screen out his Knights effectively. But I hope it serves to illustrate just how nasty he can be, and how much damage he can absorb. Not bad for 240 points!

Note that this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list of all the ways to run him. There are plenty of ways to do so that I don’t cover here. Why not run him with Berserkers, making great use of First Among Traitors, and reenacting the attack on the Citadel of the Kromarch? Or how about running him alongside multiple Forge World dreadnoughts and Daemon Engines, utilising the Noctilith Crown and the Lord of the Black Legion ability to form a formidable gunline? Abaddon is fantastic, and there is a variety of ways to play him – I look forward to seeing new combos and ideas utilising him, as the new Chaos Codex sees more playtime.

Very interesting Karim, looking forward to the next piece on the big naughty man himself! Let’s see how many loyal souls are temped by those very scary tactics.