Interesting stuff as always! I was wondering when the Abyssals might be up for discussion. Some intriguing results in the analysis too, and I’d concur with most of these.
- The Abyssal Fiend is a frequent pick for me, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to give the Abyssals a try. Tons of versatility to be had from that titan!
- The Abyssal Ghouls caught my eye recently as well, and I am currently finishing up a regiment of them, and I am kicking myself for not planning ahead to have enough to make it a full horde and get it all done at once. They are not a great combat unit, and lack regeneration, but they are cheap, unlock, have decent Nerve and are Def4. Not a bad unit to just hold ground for a few turns or babysit some tokens.
- And in that vein, I am not too surprised to see the Lower Abyssals hordes score highly. Regeneration on a horde has proven to be potent, like with your own NA Naiads.
- Lastly, I was surprised to see the Succubi Regiments rating so high! I have not had much success with them, even at the basic 150 points. I think they need multiples (threat saturation) and/or babysitting (dedicated Bane Chant, supporting unit, magic item or Lurker/Pathfinder upgrade) to be effective, which makes them harder to use.
Not to complicate your analytical efforts, but I had a few other thoughts as I read through the analysis…
Firstly, how do weapon swaps impact the standings? I’ve mostly run my Lower Abyssals and Abyssal Guard with CS weapons. So am personally curious how these shake out in the comparisons.
Secondly, the Abyssals have some upgrade options. Sacrificial Imps are widely available, but don’t seem worth it most of the time. They can probably be safely ignored for the analysis. But Succubi and Molochs have some potentially impactful upgrades…
- Molochs can take a Champion to get Brutal and Vicious. Anecdotally this is a very popular upgrade, and I think is an easy take with Molochs.
- Succubi can take a Lurker to Gain Pathfinder. To me, this is a points sink, but has been popular previously and might be worth crunching out.
And I think Boss’s practical summary is accurate, and also supports your general thesis, as does the (limited) date from your “Rise of the Abyssal Dwarfs” post. The forces of the Abyss have some good and interesting tools, but no outrageous units to lean on. Victory comes from smart play and experience with the army’s limits.