Having been lured back into Warhammer 40k after 10 years clean. I was seduced by the new model lines. After a brief flirtation with T’au getting their starter boxset and the new Primaris marines. I quickly converted to my new “main” army in the form of those wicked hedonists. The Drukhari.
I liked the look of their dribbling monsters and superfast vehicles. I had decided to try and get their Starter set but looking at the models involved the Wytches weren’t where I was trying to take the army preferring a more Coven/Kabal feel. When I walked into a local comic book store that was having a closing down sale (a shame) I found the “Gangs of Commorragh” mini game on sale for just £39.99. Inside were 6 Reavers and 10 Helions. This was a bargain as the Reavers alone were worth £50. I purchased on impulse and was a happy man. Of course there’s always a problem and the “Gangs” didn’t come with flight stands. This put a hold on things and instead I painted up some of the old Space marine army I had bought back in the day and was still sat waiting for me.
During this time I found the Kill Team rules were very much to my taste and had brushed off a few model from my old armies to play some Sadhammer in my limited free time.
Work was very kind to me and I started getting plenty of vouchers that could be used on amazon for some projects I had gone over and beyond for. I used these to build up my Drukhari force.
First came the Warriors and the Archon. I wanted to try and get a dark colour scheme that didn’t copy the black/greens of the GW box. I went with a dark blue (Kantor Blue) with Warplock Bronze for the metal sections and red spot colour to make everything standout. I think they look cool and they also standout better from my Space Marines who have a black and red theme.
As I was using Kill team I wanted the Dark lance and blaster over the shredders. Kill team also led me to get a box of Wytches. I was trying to keep my expenditure down to £20ish per month and simple squad boxes seemed the way to go. I also made the decision to put all the wargear options on my wytches so I’m going to have to either get more or go under strength.
I got another squad of Warriors to convert my unassembled Archon as the pose was a bit naff. This has also left me with a 9x Warrior squad so can’t take another heavy weapon as the tenth warrior had his legs cut in half to make a better pose on the Warlord.
I added a converted Llamdon to the force in the form of a Female Genestealer Magos. It was a fairly easy conversion with the staff replaced with a splinter pistol, the icons removed and then a head swap. She stands a good head above everyone around her because of the high heels though so may become an Archon in her own right.
A raider was the next purchase. As a heavy transport I felt it really added to the look of the force. Drukhari are raiders not foot sloggers.
With the army gathering pace but barely anything painted up/assembled even. I used up all my vouchers to buy a cut price battleforce box. The Poison blade raid boxset. Containing 2x 10 Warriors, 1x Archon, 3x Reavers, a Venom, a Razorwing Jetfighter and a Talos. This would essentially double my force and allow me to field a dual battalion by converting one of the Venom crew into a Succubus.
In terms of efficiency this isn’t great as to get the Kabal/Cult/Coven traits the detachment needs to be mono faction. So I couldn’t have my Llamdon Archon run with the Succubus and the MSU Wytches to let the Reavers and Helions bask in the Red Grief goodness. Unless my opponent lets me have the Llamdon as a Succubus.
On the plan is to get a Drukhari starter set for another 3x Reavers (for a total of 12) another Venom 10x Wytches and that actual Succubus model. I want to get the dughters of Khaine models form AoS to convert into a much more “exotic” set of Wytches. At £30 plus the starter boxset this is another little project in its own right that needs saving up for.
I’ve actually placed these at the back of the queue and allocated my next £100 saved up to getting 2x 5 man Wracks, a Haemonculus and some Skaven Storm Fiends to convert using the Talos spares into grotesques. This should give me another light detachment to run them in. After all it was the coven stuff that I liked in the first place I should actually get my feet under me and buy some.
Once that lot has been purchased I’m looking at completing the Talos unit with another 2 and a cronos for support. Try and get plenty of Raiders and Venoms. Hopefully enough that the whole infantry section has dedicated transport. I probably won’t be able to ever get that far but here’s hoping.
More likely the air wing will get more Razorwings and a Voidraven bomber. A Ravenger or three will also be on the cards to be purchased.
Of course I require Incubi and the Drazar model along with the creepy mandrakes.
If I make it that far I’ll then move onto the specials like Slyth and Medusi. I really like the idea of a Beastmaster pushing around a clawed fiend.
Given the fact I’m collecting Space marines, Grey Knights, Genestealers and want to polish my Necron and Ashyrani forces. The chances of me getting to that point in the next 20 years are slim.
Narrative reason for campaigning.
I intend to play narratively with reasons and objectives based on the narratives for each army. I'm not a competitive player (not smart enough) and find its another arm of the hobby that I get great satisfaction from following. As such here is my lore and reasons for my Drukhari to be out in the field.
The Lord Archon is a patron of the Gladiatorial theatre and has engaged the various wytch cults to entertain him, his Kabal and his serfs with games and specticals of skill and glorious torturous death. He orders his various agents to seek out and retrieve live specimens of the most dangerous creatures in the universe to populate his cages and unleash upon slaves and victims of his ire.
His Kabal will often enter into real space from his manor in the webway in search of slaves and the next big attraction.
The Archon cares little for realspace or for the politics of Corromargh only for his games. He says the greatest torture is to be given hope where there is none and offers his slaves a chance to be returned to their home if they survive the theatre three times.
Slaves that would be of little entertainment are sent to his forges to make the weapons needed for further raids or to the covens to provide biomass for his Kabals continued regeneration.
The Lord Archon will only ordain to leave his Manor on the most entertaining of hunts. He particularly craves the sight of the fast and elusive Genestealers in his games and the greatest prize is that of a mature Patriarch. His agents have rarely been able to appropriate one for his experiments. Capturing it alive and sedating it long enough to have its psyhic powers removed before transportation into the webway has proven difficult on a number of occasions. A mature Patriach has a large protective cult surrounding it and calls to them even when sedated. The cult will stop at nothing to retrieve their “father”. Added to that any overt attack pulls in other combatants such as Imperium defence forces, Asyrani meddlers or the un-timely intervention of the Hive itself. The Archon has turned such hunts into a game of wits where he uses subtle strikes against seemingly unrelated targets to force the cult to the surface to be weakened by their enemies so the Drukhari can slice through to the prize itself.
Games can therefore be based around a Hunt and a strike against one of those un related targets, defence of the manor, a battle staged on the theatre floor against suitable opponents.
