40K: Wych Cults of the Drukhari
The Wyches are back and they are going to cut you. Games Workshop’s latest preview dives deep into the Wych Cults of the Drukhari. The Wyches are going to pump out lots of attacks – enough to cut down hordes and armor alike. No one will be safe from the first turn charge of these Cults either…
“The Wych Cults have an essential role in the economy of Commorragh, turning the vast influx of slaves and captives in the Dark City into life-sustaining suffering through their constant gladiatorial games.”
The Wych Cults will have 3 different Obsessions (think Chapter Tactics) that they will be brining to the table. But before we dive in we should talk about their namesakes: Wyches!
Wyches have always been able to pump out the damage, when they could make it to combat. Known for their whirlwind of attacks and deadly combat drugs, they are still rocking those things in the new codex. GW has hinted at the type of damage potential they can generate with a base squad of 10 generating 31 attacks (for a low cost of 80 points). That’s 3 attacks base plus an additional one for the squad leader. That’s already getting up there…but wait, there’s more! We’re not even counting wargear or stratagems yet. Oh and they got a little protection to boot:
Now that we have a base line of what Wyches can do, let’s go over each of the three Wych Cults and what they specialize in.
Cult of the Cursed Blade
Right off the bat we see they are getting a way to up their damage. Historically, Wyches have been strength 3 so bumping them up to 4 is going to make wounding easier with their bucket of attacks. One more thing to note is that these Obsessions aren’t just limited to Wyches only. Hellions, Succubi, and even Reavers units are going to have access to these. There will probably be other units but those were specifically called out by GW. But we have a feeling there will be more. But speaking of Succubi units…
Traitor’s Embrace is a brutal relic that be equipped on a Succubus. It’s going to make you almost want to suicide that squad into the enemy.
Cult of Strife
Here we go! Any time your unit charges, is charged of if they made a Heroic Intervention, they get an extra attack! Wyches, by the way, can be taken in squads of 20 as well. So that’s 4 attacks on the charge per model, plus 1 for the squad leader which means 81(!!!) attacks. That’s…scary. And just to add some more extra fear to the mix, they are getting a unique stratagem to boot:
You can cause that unit to attack twice in the fight phase with another 81(!!!) attacks. That’s more than frightening.
Cult of the Red Grief
The Red Ones DO go faster! I’m fully expecting to see this Cult show up a lot. Charging after an advance is fantastic and they also get the added benefit of getting to re-roll the charge distance! We mentioned that Reavers will have access to these rules and they are going to be a strong contender for First Turn charges thanks to their 18″ move plus automatic 8″ advance. 26″+2D6″ on the charge with a re-roll means they can get where they need to go – plus they have fly as well.
GW also teased that combat drugs are going to be at thing too:
“…and if you really want to make sure that you do some damage when you arrive, combine the Adrenalight Combat Drug (which provides +1 Attacks)”
Man, if only there was a way to do even more damage…Oh that’s right – there’s a stratagem for that.
Yes – even MORE attacks. I have a feeling that Drukhari are going to need BUCKETS of dice when they play. Again, remember from the previous reveals that the Archons will have ways to generate those CP right back. Brutal.
I hope the Drukhari Players are ready for the vast array of army builds that just opened up for them. It’s about to get CRAZY on the tabletop.
What do you think of the new Wych Cults? Death by 1,000 cuts is a bad way to go…
