Forces of the Abyss: Lower Abyssals

The denizens of the Abyss are numerous and varied. The further away they dwell from their infernal masters, the less powerful they are, but they become far greater in number. Within the first circle of the Abyss dwell the lowest amongst their ranks – so called Lower Abyssals. These are the foot soldiers of invasions, armed with wicked weapons such as flails, tridents or curved blades. Their realm is the closest to mortal planes and they can commonly be found torturing captured mortals. Imps run at their feet, delighting in the cruelty of their brethren. Conflict is constant as each demon vies for dominance. Those who rise victorious be come the more powerful Abyssal Warriors.

The Lower Abyssals kit can be used to create the core troops for your army from high quality hard plastic sprues. You can create a unit of hate-filled demons armed with a wide variety of weapons from tridents to two-handed axes, with shields to add more protection. There are also extra components to build a standard bearer, musician and champion for your regiment. Each sprue builds five lower Abyssals and two Imps – which means a regiment has twenty Lower Abyssals and ten Imps and a horde has forty Lower Abyssals and twenty Imps. You can spread these around large bases as you like to create Imp swarms.

The kit also includes enough arms to build your models as Flamebearers. These are sorcerous ranged troops who throw firebolts into their foes. There is a selection of sculpted flames coursing from hands, which can be painted as you prefer.

In terms of gameplay, Lower Abyssals are standard troops – on par with those of most other races, with good stats across the board. You can arm your Lower Abyssals with hand weapons and shields as standard or two-handed weapons, which lowers their defence but grants them Crushing Strength (1).

Flamebearers have slightly worse stats, but make up for it with a ranged attack with Piercing (1). This will be useful against most units with normal defence, but may struggle against those with a really high defence score.

They have a big advantage over others as both Lower Abyssals and Flamebearers have the Regeneration rule. This allows them to heals back any and all damage dealt to them and can be a huge thorn in your opponent’s side. In addition, all units in this army have Fury which allows them to counter charge, even if they’re wavered. These two combined make these troops very dangerous, they will survive more punishment than normal and will be more of a threat, too.

Imps are cheap, great as screening or flanking troops. Whilst you can easily see over the top of their diminutive forms., they will prevent enemy units from charging you if you keep them in front of units that you want to protect. You can also use them to harry your opponent, as they can’t be ignored but aren’t a huge threat, either. Distract with them as your actual force goes for the true objectives.

Tomorrow, we’ll be taking a look at the Elite troops that you have access to in the Forces of the Abyss. What would you like to see?

The Lower Abyssals are available for Pre-order now and will be shipping at the end of February!