Warhammer 40K Meta Hotness: Abaddon the Despoiler!
Chaos Space Marines are starting to show up in events top 8’s and leading a lot of the armies is Abaddon the Despoiler. Here’s why!
This guy is a monster as he can fit into almost any Chaos army (that’s right any Chaos army would love to have him). He gets Agent of Chaos if he isn’t in a Black Legion army and this lets him give out his reroll 1’s aura to CHAOS CORE models which covers a whole lot of armies out there. On top of that he is a beast in combat. Not to mention just a monster to try and remove with all the CSM Marks, and a combo of 3 Warlord traits. Oh, don’t forget the 3 wounds cap he can take during a phase.
Abaddon Basics!
Here is the one of the ultimate enemies of the Imperium and he is a straight cold badass. He has a lot of attacks, hits like a freight train, has some sweet auras, is tough as heck, and he can buff units around him. This is the ultimate centerpiece Hero for the Chaos Space Marines with his 3 warlord traits on top of everything else. He can hide within units too so even if you get near taking this guy out is a pain in the butt. Abaddon’s only real issue is he moves 6 inches and doesn’t shoot that well. But hey – Chaos Space Marines are more of an assault army so who needs their bullets to be good?
Why Is Abaddon Good?
Really he buffs and can dish out damage. That combo of things makes him a slam dunk in most CSM armies. While he won’t show up all the time he probably will show up a ton of the time. Just look at Anthony’s list he won the Salt City GT with. Anthony is a good player who had some serious runs with Dark Eldar and Nids this past season. I love seeing him go to CSM as he is a strong player. Heck our game was great at the Dallas Open a few years ago and I expect him to continue kicking butt with CSM.
Sample List
Anthony Vanella – Chaos Space Marines – Won the Salt City GT a 55-player, 8-round Major in Syracuse, NY, US on July 22 2022.
++ Supreme Command Detachment +3CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [15 PL, 300pts, 2CP] ++
+ Configuration +
Detachment Command Cost [3CP]
Gametype
Legion: Black Legion
+ Primarch | Daemon Primarch | Supreme Commander +
Abaddon the Despoiler [15 PL, 300pts, -1CP]: 3. Merciless Overseer, 5. Eternal Vendetta, 6. Paragon of Hatred, Stratagem: Warlord Trait
++ Battalion Detachment -3CP (Chaos – Chaos Space Marines) [85 PL, 1,699pts, ] ++
+ Configuration +
Detachment Command Cost [-3CP]
Gametype: 4. Chapter Approved: War Zone Nephilim
Legion: Emperor’s Children
+ HQ +
Dark Apostle [6 PL, 110pts]: Illusory Supplication, Mark of Slaanesh
. 2x Dark Disciple: 2x Close combat weapon
Lord Discordant on Helstalker [10 PL, 190pts, -2CP]: 1. Flames of Spite, Aspiring Lord, Baleflamer, Gifts of Chaos, Mantle of Traitors, Mark of Slaanesh, Techno-virus injector
Lucius the Eternal [5 PL, 120pts]
+ Troops +
Cultist Mob [2 PL, 50pts]
. 9x Chaos Cultist w/ cultist firearm: 9x Cultist firearm, 9x Frag & Krak grenades
. Cultist Champion: Autopistol
Cultist Mob [2 PL, 50pts]
. 9x Chaos Cultist w/ cultist firearm: 9x Cultist firearm, 9x Frag & Krak grenades
. Cultist Champion: Autopistol
Noise Marines [12 PL, 244pts]
. Marine w/ blastmaster: Blastmaster
. 7x Marine w/ sonic blaster: 7x Bolt pistol, 7x Frag & Krak grenades, 7x Sonic blaster
. Noise Champion: Astartes chainsword, Sonic blaster
+ Elites +
Chaos Terminator Squad [19 PL, 375pts, -1CP]: Mark of Slaanesh
. Chaos Terminator: Chainfist, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Combi-bolter, Power fist
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Chaos Terminator: Accursed weapon, Combi-bolter
. Terminator Champion: Black Rune of Damnation, Chainfist, Combi-bolter, Trophies of the Long War
Possessed [7 PL, 140pts]: Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations
Possessed [7 PL, 140pts]: Possessed Champion
. 4x Possessed: 4x Hideous mutations
+ Fast Attack +
Raptors [7 PL, 120pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
. 4x Raptor: 4x Astartes chainsword, 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades
. Raptor Champion: Astartes chainsword, Bolt pistol
+ Heavy Support +
Havocs [8 PL, 160pts]: Mark of Slaanesh
. Havoc Champion: Astartes chainsword, Astartes chainsword
. 4x Havoc w/ lascannon: 4x Frag & Krak grenades, 4x Lascannon
++ Total: [100 PL, 1,999pts, 2CP] ++
Abaddon Closing Thoughts
If you want to do well with CSM you should probably look at fitting in Abaddon in a list. He gets Agent of Chaos which allows a whole lot of funky things in armies. He is amazing with Chaos Knights too as his Auras are something they are missing on top of giving the army access to Banners and other fun things. Between Abaddon and the terminator brick, it looks like CSM is going to have 2 rough hammers to dig your way out of.
Let us know what units you think are hot right now, down in the comments!
