It’s time to get wicked. The Faction Focus series steadily approaches its end, with only a few factions left to cover, and today we descend into the depths of Commorragh for an evening with the Drukhari.
Exhibition of Slaughter
As one of the pillars of Drukhari society, wych cults are well known for the murderous skills they display in the arena and on the battlefield. Over the course of their long lives, they’ve fought just about everything that walks or crawls, and know thousands of weak spots to exploit for lethal blows.
EXACTING CRUELTY
With long lives spent honing their murderous skills against the most powerful opponents, the renowned fighters of Commorragh’s arenas have an instinct for just where to strike to bring their prey low in the most painful and elegant manner possible.
Friendly WYCH CULT units' melee attacks have [LETHAL HITS: non-MONSTER/VEHICLE].
This detachment has the WYCH CULT tag and cannot be taken with another WYCH CULT detachment.
While Wyches are lightning fast and can throw out a bunch of close combat attacks, they aren’t naturally strong, so can struggle to wound some of their tougher foes. Lethal Hits conveniently lets you sidestep the need to Wound at all, though it won’t work against the really big guys – some abilities in the new edition have conditions attached, like the [LETHAL HITS: non-MONSTER/VEHICLE] above, which means it’ll work on everything except Monsters and Vehicles.
Wyches aren’t overly tough either, come to think of it, so it helps to avoid being shot at all. A Succubus leading a squad of Wyches can take the Periapt of Torments enhancement to avoid fire when setting up for a charge, as snap shooting attacks are the way you shoot during Overwatch.*
PERIAPT OF TORMENTS
This hollow black stone is worn as warrior jewellery. The sinister organism that lurks within it can detect those who intend malice to its bearer and punishes them by lashing their psyches with its psi-barbs.
SUCCUBUS model only. Enemy units cannot target this unit with snap shooting attacks.
Sometimes there aren’t any suitably person-sized targets around to shank, so what is a Wych to do when the only thing nearby to bury a knife into is a giant tank or alien monstrosity? Think back to their gladiatorial training, and execute some carefully Planned Strikes to sever tendons and rupture fuel tanks – anything that will score some damage on their quarry.
PLANNED STRIKES (1CP)
EXHIBITION OF SLAUGHTER STRATAGEM
Murderous rehearsals ensure that those who survive can bring down the most resilient of prey in puissant displays.
WHEN: Fight phase, when a friendly WYCH CULT unit is selected to fight.
TARGET: That WYCH CULT unit.
EFFECT: Your unit’s melee attacks have [LETHAL HITS].
Kabalite Agonysts
By far the most numerous warriors among the average realspace raid, Kabalites torment their foes from afar and act as the eyes, ears, and blades of Commorragh’s Archons.
CONTRACTED HARVEST
Directed to inflict as much suffering as possible amongst the enemy’s soldiers – on pain of their own torment – a kabal’s vicious warriors spare no opportunity to unleash deluges of painful firepower.
Friendly BLADES FOR HIRE/KABAL units’ ranged attacks have [SUSTAINED HITS 1: non-MONSTER/VEHICLE].
This detachment has the KABAL tag and cannot be taken with another KABAL detachment.
The poisoned splinter weapons used by Kabalite Warriors are lethal to Infantry targets and have no trouble wounding even the toughest of them, so the best thing you could add to the mix is a load more hits from Sustained Hits 1. Scourges with shardcarbines also get heaps out of the detachment rule thanks to the Blades for Hire keyword, in case you like your venomous barrage hailing from the skies.
While Archons and their Incubi bodyguards are perfectly capable of killing things, they don’t capture objectives as well as others, and the Drukhari lords’ Towering Arrogance could never abide such a comparison. That indignity must be corrected – and luckily, it can be fixed with an enhancement.
TOWERING ARROGANCE
So absolute is this war leader’s self-belief, so monstrous their ego, that it is virtually a weapon in its own right. Drukhari are drawn in their wake, unable to resist the charismatic certitude they exude. Enemies, meanwhile, give ground and lose heart beneath their witheringly contemptuous glare.
ARCHON model only. This unit has:
+1 Ld and OC.
Sneakiness is as much a Commorrite virtue as cruelty, and the kabals have long perfected the ability to stay hidden in the shadows while tormenting their prey. Shadows’ Reach lets you unleash a barrage and then melt back into hiding as if you weren’t there. This is good on most units but really good on Scourges with heavy weapons, who can destroy a vehicle with a volley of dark lances from 36” away without being noticed.
SHADOWS’ REACH (1CP)
KABALITE AGONYSTS STRATAGEM
The capability of militant kabals to project their killing power is rightfully feared, as is the fact that the perpetrators can usually never be found.
WHEN: Your Shooting phase, when a friendly BLADES FOR HIRE/KABAL unit has shot.
TARGET: That BLADES FOR HIRE/KABAL unit.
EFFECT: Those attacks do not prevent your unit from being hidden.
Tools of Torment
Last but not least, the haemonculus covens make up the third leg of the Drukhari trifecta, and their horrific creations are some of the most durable units in the otherwise fairly frangible roster. Of all their malevolent constructs, the Cronos and Talos are some of the deadliest, with thickly armoured shells that can resist serious firepower.
DARKEST ARTIFICE
A Haemonculus’ most resilient Engines of Pain are each a dark triumph valued as a work of malevolent genius. Their finely wrought armoured carapaces shield toughened mech-organic strata and slabs of mutated cartilage.
Attacks that target friendly CRONOS/TALOS units with a S greater than that unit’s T have -1 to wound rolls.
This detachment has the COVENS tag and cannot be taken with another COVENS detachment.
Is a -1 to wound penalty not going far enough? Boost the unit’s natural 6+ Invulnerable Save to 5+ with the wonderfully named Elixir of the Corpse Courts enhancement. With that, Feel No Pain 5+, and the Cronos’ ability to heal wounds by destroying enemy models, you’ll have a right brick wall of a unit that can soak up all kinds of firepower meant for your less sturdy minions.
ELIXIR OF THE CORPSE COURTS (Upgrade)
Flowing from surgically grafted vials, this milky substance causes tumorous masses of pallid and nerve-deadened flesh to grow. It sloughs away in sickly lumps when struck, but is soon replaced in a regenecyst cycle of cutaneous ablative armour.
CRONOS/TALOS unit only. This unit has 5+ InSv.
It should come as no surprise that the Drukhari are really good at battle-shocking people, what with all the horror and spikes and torturous weapons, so a way for them to take advantage of units cowering in fear is the icing on the cake. Salting the Wound is just such a stratagem, giving your Cronos and Talos the ability to slip right past their target’s defences and access the gooey interior with ease.
SALTING THE WOUND (1CP)
TOOLS OF TORMENT STRATAGEM
Confusion, terror, and panic are triggers for a Haemonculus’ Engines of Pain, which stimulate them to drive their evil augmentations even deeper into the foe.
WHEN: Fight phase, when a friendly CRONOS/TALOS unit is selected to fight.
TARGET: That CRONOS/TALOS unit.
EFFECT: Your unit’s attacks that target a battle-shocked unit have [DEVASTATING WOUNDS].
Drukhari armies have often championed realspace raids with a mixture of Cult, Kabal, and Coven units, and the new detachment system is perfect for setting that up. Whether you’re taking all three of the above for a balanced approach or adding one to an existing Codex detachment for some variety, they work great and allow you to mix and match your favourite Drukhari in whatever combination suits you best.
Join us again tomorrow as we prepare to channel the magical might of the Warp with the greatest sorcerers in the galaxy** – the Thousand Sons.
* We covered the Snap Shooting rule in the Orks Faction Focus.
** Sorry, Aeldari, you should have farseen that one coming.
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