Drukhari | Warhammer 40,000 Tactical Guide

Probably the weakest of the Lord upgrades in terms of personal gain, but the Trueborn are great and so worth the price of admission, and for 15pts he hardly breaks the bank.

Ability- Splintered Genius

Once per game, at the end of the Fight Phase, the Archon gets to fight again provided they are in Engagement Range. Useful to finish off a unit, or cause enough of a dent to deal with them later, especially if you have an Archon geared for combat. Also useful for Pile In/Consolidate Shenanigans, though given this happens at the end of the Phase that can be countered by a canny opponent, and as it’s once per game you could end up using it at the wrong moment, whiffing, or waiting for the right opportunity only for it to never turn up. Again at 15pts it’s not a huge cost, just something to bear in mind.

Relic- Soulhelm

A nice defensive Relic, granting a -1 to be Hit as well as a 5+++. Whilst it won’t help you kill stuff all that well, and thus doesn’t synergise amazingly with Genius, making your already frustrating to kill Archon even more annoying can be worth it if no other Relics take your fancy.

Warlord Trait- Consummate Weaponmaster

+1 Damage to all their non-Relic Melee weapons. It’s fine, but there are better combinations of Traits with Relics that make far more effective combat characters (or just use other Characters entirely). Safely pass.

Favoured Retinue- Kabalite Trueborn

Granting BS2+ and the ability to ignore any hit and BS modifiers (be it special rules, Dense, moving with a Heavy weapon etc), Trueborn become incredibly accurate and reliable, able to lay down a withering hail of poison fire, or lend some potent anti tank punch via Blasters and Dark Lances, all whilst remaining mobile and not needing to worry about things that might make them worse at their jobs. The cap of 10 hurts a bit given the wargear limitations of the Warriors, but a unit of 10 with 2 Blasters and a Lance is a very reasonable 145pts, making them an efficient anti armour unit.

The strength here lies in the ability, albeit with a fairly middling Warlord Trait and Relic. The flexibility you get from the ability for 15pts is great however, and Bloodbrides are a solid choice, and though by no means an auto-upgrade are well worth considering if you have the ability to use them.

Ability- Show Stealer

Grants a 6” Consolidation that lets you move in any direction, allowing the Succubus to essentially never be attacked back unless they’re charged, interrupted or fighting something with Fight First. Use it defensively to move back to protect against Shooting, to tag something for next turn, or to effectively “Fall Back” and free them up next turn. An all round fantastic ability.

Relic- Dancer’s Edge

An Archite Glaive with an extra AP and +1 Dmg, that also ignores Invulnerables on a 6 to wound. It’s a decent relic, but there are generally better ones available to Succubi.

Warlord Trait- Whirling Death

Instead of attacking normally, the Succubus can make attacks equal to the number of enemy models within 2” +3. This allows the Succubus to be a pretty scary horde blender, though a canny opponent that anticipates it (or should you position badly) can mitigate it. However, there are many things in the army that can already deal with hordes, and against lone models or units with only a few models in range, this can be a waste when compared to other Traits which are more universally useful.

Favoured Retinue- Hekatrix Bloodbrides

WS2+ is nice to have, however with Power From Pain effectively granting this from Turn 3 onwards it may not be the most useful thing (though that can of course be useful for any minuses that may occur and still let you hit on 2s). The main strength lies in making Blade Artists boost to a whopping -3, meaning even your basic Wych Blade has the same penetrating power as a Blaster at that point. However, given the sheer quantity of already great attacks that Wyches can churn out, this is often overkill, being meaningless vs 5+ Saves, and against anything with an invulnerable it is usually a waste (outside of cases such as 2+/5++). Given it also only has effects via Blade Artists also means its not the most reliable of AP sources, so whilst a nice bonus, it is not an essential one. Yes there will be times when you roll a ton of 6s and wipe a unit by sheer virtue of them not getting saves, but chances are you were doing enough damage on them at that point that it’s a wash. By no means an essential upgrade, but still a good option to have if you’ve some spare points.  

The most expensive option (though still a very reasonable 20pts), the Haemonculus is probably the most well rounded of the Masters in terms of options, with a solid defensive ability, as well as opening up a powerful Relic and a decent Trait. On top of that the Haemoxytes are a great upgrade for making a surprisingly tough to shift unit.

Ability- Alchemical Maestro

Come back to life at the end of a phase on a 2+, with D3 Wounds. Now obviously you don’t want to have to be using this, but it’s a great ability to have in a pinch. Don’t go out of your way to use it, but be thankful when it keeps your Haemonculus around for another turn to buff your units or enact a sneaky ploy of some kind. 

Relic- Poisoner’s Ampule

A once per game relic that you use on an enemy unit within 9” at the end of your Movement Phase. The unit takes D3 Mortal Wounds on a 2+, their Auras turn off and they can’t be affected by friendly Auras. Whilst once per game and only on one unit, the effects are powerful whether used on a unit benefiting from multiple important auras, or to shut down a whole chunk of an opponent’s battleline by targeting a Character. The Mortal Wounds are icing on the cake and should not be considered the main power of the Relic, but if an opportunity arises to use it and finish a unit off, it’s useful for that as well of course. 

Warlord Trait- Twisted Animator

A friendly WRACK unit within 3” in the Command Phase can be chosen to revive D3 of them back to the unit. A nice trait to use alongside your already tough (for Drukhari) Wracks, and especially with your Haemoxytes.

Favoured Retinue- Haemoxytes

With a +1 to both their Armour and Invulnerable Saves (so a 5+/5++, and a 5+/4++ from Turn 4 onwards), this gives the unit a bit more survivability on top of their innate 5+++. This is further enhanced by their other rule, mainly the first saving throw failed every phase becomes Damage 0, effectively ensuring at least one attack from a unit is worthless. As it triggers after a failed save, this can be frustrating for a foe to deal with if you make a string of saves, though it can of course be overcome with sheer quantity of firepower.

All of your Poisoned Weapons get +1 to Wound, to a max of 2+, and any units that suffer casualties to Poisoned Weapons take a -1 to Combat Attrition checks that turn. Obviously you need to build into this with lots and lots of Poisoned Weapons, but it’s a strong ability, generally making your core anti-infantry/monster weapons unmodified 3+ to Wound. The Attrition modifier is cute, though it might not come up all that often. The main issue is that there are other combinations of traits that can do a similar job (mathematically) and have a more universally useful secondary benefit, making it a tough sell to select this unless you’re adamant on using their unique things below.

A 5+++ vs Mortal Wounds and a 6” Aura of ignoring Combat Attrition Modifiers. Whilst the first part is semi useful to offset the new found weakness to Mortal Wounds, the second part is fairly weak unless you’re running hordes of Warriors (Tip: Don’t). Can be safely passed.

A Splinter Pistol with +6” Range, +1 Shots, AP-2, D3 Dmg, ignores cover and Look Out Sir, and is Poison on a 2+ to boot. Phew. Lots going on here, and it’s a decent little Relic for Character hunting. The main issue is it won’t be killing most Characters reliably, and often you’ll be better off just using combat to deal with them. And at 18” range, that will be happening soon at that stage.

For 2CP you can redeploy up to 3 units before Turn 1 begins, including the option of putting them into Strategic Reserve at no additional cost. This is the main reason for choosing Poisoned Tongue as it gives you great flexibility in deployment, able to cover a poor choice, counter deploy, or adjust based on who gets turn 1. Remember non-Poisoned Tongue units can go into Poisoned Tongue Transports, which can then be redeployed, allowing you to effectively put a unit of Wyches, Wracks, Incubi or what have you, where they will be most useful.

All VEHICLE units get +2” Move, and any units that FLY or are embarked on a unit with FLY get to ignore Light Cover. A decent trait, but obviously useless when on foot or not running Vehicle heavy. As it’s quite narrow in scope, you have to build around it, so it’s not the most universally useful, however it does have scope when mixing Detachments. Incubi in faster Raiders for example, and there is nothing to stop a Flayed Skull unit benefiting from their trait when aboard a Dark Creed Venom.

+1 Attack and +1 Strength. It’s super simple, but effective, especially when combined with something like the Djin Blade to make a very murderous melee combatant. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done.

A 4++ for your Archon. Again, it’s nothing flashy, but it’s a simple boost, either to give you a backup for when the Shadowfield fails, or to give you something to use against a less scary hit (such as Dmg1) so as not to risk turning off the Shadowfield.

In the Shooting Phase, a unit gets +1 to Hit against an enemy unit with FLY, or +2 vs AIRCRAFT. A nice boost vs a wide variety of targets, able to ensure better accuracy, or offset any minuses. Remember that the +2 vs the AIRCRAFT can still only ever be a +1 to Hit should they be Hovering (or similar), but great for when they’re airborne.

+6” Range to all non-Pistol and non-Relic Ranged Weapons, and reroll a single Wound Roll each time a unit Shoots or Fights. A very reliable and always useful trait, increasing your Rapid Fire Range, allowing you to outrange other units whilst still peppering them with fire, or to threaten units that would otherwise have been safe from you. The reroll to wound is also a fantastic bonus, further pushing the reliability of your many single shot weapons. As always with these types of rules, try to use those “big” weapons first, so as to maximise the reroll- if you don’t need to use it, it’s now not wasted when you come round to your smaller arms.

+1 Strength to all non-Relic weapons. It’s fine, and affects Ranged and Melee weapons, but generally there are better Traits to be taken. Whilst the thought of a Str9 Blast Pistol is fun, at +1 Str on a Huskblade still only makes them Str 4, and one reroll via the trait won’t cut it vs the all rerolls from Hatred Eternal.

Grants a 3+ Save and -1 to be hit in Melee. On a Master Archon, just take the Soulhelm if you want a defensive Relic as it’s just better. The 3+ Sv can occasionally be handy, but at anything more than AP 2 (ie most melee weapons), you’ll be looking at using the Shadowfield, rather than say, dying. Can be passed fairly safely.

Each model that fails a Combat Attrition test in a unit can Shoot, or make 1 Melee attack. If they kill a model, none of them flee. It’s fine, but Attrition is unlikely to be a major worry for Kabalite Warriors due to their leaning of MSU style, and as you need to kill an enemy model, one attack or some splinter shots will generally not be worth the CP spent to try and do it. It can occasionally be useful, especially if you have a Dark Light weapon and want to do some damage to something before they die (you don’t have to try and kill anything after all), but it’s uses are rare.

+1 Strength means you have a lot more flexibility in choosing Combat Drugs, or you can double up and hit that tasty Str 5 (or 6 in the case of Hellions and Reavers). The Mortal Wound on 6s to Save in melee is fun, and can cause some headaches even in death. The downside is you’ll have to slow or at least batch roll, as once the unit dies they can’t keep making saves to try and bounce wounds back. Also note that even if there are abilities that ignore Invulnerable Saves, you can still roll on your Armour Save in an effort to do the Mortal Wound, even if you’ll die anyways- remember AP modifies the roll, not the characteristic, and Cursed Blade calls for the unmodified roll of a 6. It doesn’t say anything about saving and not dying.

Unmodified saves of 4+ trigger the Mortal Wound, rather than on 6s. The two don’t stack, but the same principles apply- even if the Save would fail or otherwise not actually pass for whatever reason, roll it for the Mortal Wounds anyway. Fun for sure, though not the most overt offensive ability compared to other Traits, especially as it involves you taking hits- you’re generally better off killing what would hurt you in the first place.

If killed in Melee, do D3+3 Mortal Wounds to the unit that did the deed on a 2+. Hilarious as a “taking you with me” effect, though as with the Warlord Trait, it involves you not killing something before it swings at you, and taking up your Relic slot precludes you from the weapons that actually do damage for a Succubus. A cute choice, but not a go to.

Allows a unit of Wyches to Overwatch, using up to 5 Plasma Grenades in the process, and making them Poisoned (2+) to boot. Whilst effectively allowing you to Overwatch twice in a phase, the latter part is lacklustre. Your Grenades are only going to be useful within 6”, and you’ll still need to roll 6s to hit. Fun, but can be passed. Will occasionally come up, but don’t feel like you need to put yourself in a position just to use it.

Reroll Charge rolls is fantastic, and the +2 to Advance rolls combines well with Power From Pain Turn 2 onwards. This Cult all but guarantees the charge in Turn 2, but doesn’t carry the overall offensive buffs the other Cults can have. Fortunately Cults are plenty killy, so it’s not the biggest loss, though still hard to swallow. Also of note it specifies you add 2 to the Advance roll, so if you don’t roll you don’t add the bonus (looking at you Reavers).

Any Hit rolls against you automatically miss on unmodified rolls of 1-3, regardless of any other rules. Transhuman but for melee and hit rolls, which is a nice defensive buff. A flat 50% of attack rolls missing ups your survivability significantly, but as with other defensive abilities, usually offense is the best form of defense, and killing the attacker first is usually the better course of action. By no means a bad trait, especially if you’re looking at making a Succubus that is there to tie things up, or you’ve already used other offensive Traits.

An Archite Glaive with +2 Str, AP -3 and Dmg 3. Makes the Glaive an actual interesting choice (and frankly closer to what it actually should be), but it competes with things like the Triptych Whip which is generally the better choice – similar levels of maximum damage, whilst having more attacks to even out the spread and usually better chances to wound. The only real time The Blood Glaive wins out is if you’ve already got the Whip elsewhere, or are expecting to go fight VEHICLES (but why?).

An INFANTRY unit can Embark on a Transport if every model is within 6” instead of Consolidating normally. You can do this even if the unit Disembarked this turn, though other restrictions still apply (you have to be able to fit in there, the Transport can’t be in Engagement Range, etc). A useful Stratagem to have, but it’s not the most reliable and you do need to set it up well.

Every model gets a 6” Aura imposing -1 Ld and -1 to Combat Attrition tests to enemy units makes melee and close range shooting a nastier prospect with any Morale checks that might happen, as well as synergising nicely with things like Tormentors and Phantasm Grenades. In addition, your melee attacks get +1 to Hit when against enemy units with the same or lower Ld as you, ensuring your attacks are connecting. Whilst it doesn’t stack all that well with Power From Pain, it helps in the earlier turns, and can be useful to offset unit that’s might rely on minuses in combat to survive. Whilst not the most obvious in terms of power, there’s definitely some uses for this with a bit of thinking.

One enemy unit within 9” at the end of your Movement phase loses Objective Secured, stops any Actions and can’t do Actions until the start of your next Movement Phase, provided you roll over their Ld on 3D6. Might not always trigger, but this can be utterly game changing if it kicks in at the right time. Consider that the avg roll on 3D6 is a 10, and most units are Ld 7 or 8, you have a good chance of changing up your opponent’s plans. The major downside is of course getting your Haemonculus there, but as it’s done at the end of the Movement, you’ve actually got a good amount of flexibility, as well as ensuring you can get units in range to benefit from their Ld minuses.

A Stinger Pistol with 3 shots, AP -3 and ignores Invulnerable saves. It’s ok, still only Damage 1 and 12” hurts it’s utility, but Covens weren’t exactly flush for Relics already. Safely pass.

A CORE or CHARACTER unit can ignore Look Out Sir for a turn for 2 CP, or 3CP if TALOS. Could be worthless (ohhh a Stinger Pistol from a Wrack!), could be utterly bonkers (3 Talos firing Heat Lances). But is it really worth the CP? Probably not, though don’t neglect the sheer fear it can impose, dictating movement of a key character away from certain units.

Your non-Relic Melee weapons improve their AP by 1, and you can still perform Actions and shoot. The first part is of course widely applicable and offers a potent melee boost across the board. The second part is extremely niche as most of your INFANTRY (ie the units that do the majority of Actions) don’t have guns, though it’s nice to have to ensure your Liquifiers are still useful, and in missions where other units can do Actions (such as Strategic Scan) this makes your army a prime mission player. 

Reduce all Damage done to the Warlord by 1. It’s simple, but effective, and helps him stick around and provide his buffs for longer.

Haemonculus Tools with AP -2 and Dmg D3, which becomes flat Dmg 3 vs CHARACTERS. A decent melee upgrade if you’re looking at getting your HQ in the thick of it. Admittedly most of the time you probably don’t want to do that with Covens, but this can offer a nasty surprise to enemy Characters, especially the support style ones lacking an Invulnerable.

For 1CP a HAEMONCULUS inflicts Mortal Wounds after Consolidating on an enemy CHARACTER in Engagement Range, provided they aren’t a VEHICLE or MONSTER. Niche of course being limited in both users and targets, however with a very good chance (2+) of doing D3 Mortal Wounds this can help finish off a Character, or make them weak enough to finish off in a later turn. Whilst there is some appeal of fishing for the D3+3 Mortals and one-shotting an enemy Character, it’s only a 6 so don’t bank on it. Good for finishing off or weakening, not outright killing.