Long before he became Abaddon the Despoiler, Ezekyle was a hero of the Imperium with a fanatical loyalty to Horus himself. Believed to be a direct clone progeny, Abaddon's rules attempt to live up to this in a number of ways.
Firstly, he is a master of the legion. This means like a Praetor, if you have him as a HQ, you can select any rite of war that you like. This is handy if you wanted to (for example) choose the Pride of the Legion and field a Justaerin terminator based army.
His statistics are impressive in the WS department, but then distinctly average (much like a chapter master or equivalent) for the rest. And, he does not have eternal warrior, so can be single shot killed. If you're campaigning in a narrative series of events, this may be less important as he has the "marked by dark fates" rule and can re-roll any result so that he has a better survival chance to the next game.
What he does have (that is lacking in many other characters) is fearless. This can clearly be a great boon! He also has a teleport homer which can re-roll any deep strike mishap -- unlike Horus, he does scatter when he comes on to the board. But he can deep strike in any game, regardless of the mission (normal terminators cannot do this unless the mission allows it).
His equipment is an eclectic mix. He is inside enhanced terminator armour (2+/4++) with a power fist, combi-bolter and grenade launcher. I would much sooner him be wielding a bladed weapon to be honest, but I guess powerfists are the norm on characters anyway. And in challenges, he's going to do okay regardless, should he come across some lightning claws by chance. I'd be a bit concerned about force weapons, but otherwise, I think Abaddon is going to win very well against other characters and squads -- particularly if he is inside a squad of terminators himself.
I regard him as a very capable HQ selection for the Sons of Horus, but somewhat pricey at the same time. As with Horus, his use is clearly going to be dependant on getting him in to the fray where he is needed. A few turns out of combat, or being run around by assault / fast troops and he won't be collecting his points back. But otherwise, he's an excellent choice.
2 comments:
Does he get any use out of the sword he's modelled with?
Hi David, as an option, he can switch his combi-bolter for a power sword at no extra cost. This is not in the original publication, but it is contained in the Forge World FAQ (dated 8th May 2013). Doing so leaves him bereft of a ranged weapon, but equally, I can see the close combat advantage. Hence this is up to personal taste and the kind of unit you're going to use him within. If this unit is a close combat one and contained in a land raider or deep striking, the switch makes sense. I think I would recommend taking it though!
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