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The Kabal of the Shattered World Early History: "You are a worthless coward, who only stabs his foes in the back!" - Last words of Edariphel Blacksword "Correction: I have others stab my foes in the back." - Kalios Rhidainyan, at the Battle of Ardanu The Rhidainyan family has long been one of Commorragh's noble class, famed for producing numerous talented warriors over the millennia, many of whom are even primarily loyal to the lords they choose to serve. When the youngest son of Irnach Rhidainyan, the ancient and cruel Master-Patriarch of the Rhidainyans, proved to be essentially worthless as a warrior, Irnach carefully arranged a suicide mission for his son to lead, in the guise of a 'daring raid' at the head of a number of other lacklustre warriors. In this way, Irnach planned to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the Rhidainyan family. Accompanying his son were a handful of Irnach's personal enforcers, to ensure the youth 'died heroically' in the coming battle, as well as their personal enoturages of skilled veteran warriors. But the son in question, one Kalios Rhidainyan, was no fool, and laid his plans to counter-act his father's death sentence. While he was, in truth, a poor combatant, Kalios' real strength lay in his natural charisma and cunning. Whilst en route to the planned 'raid', on the Imperium-held world of Ardanu, Kalios was able to win the loyalty - if temporarily - of not only the bulk of inexperienced troops, but several of his father's veterans, promising them a glorious future if he survived the inevitable betrayal. Sure enough, the Imperial World of Ardanu was much too heavily defended for a raiding party to make much progress, but Kalios was prodded into leading the battle from the front by his father's enforcers. When the Imperial defences began firing, the enforcers were supposed to cut Kalios down. Instead, the enforcers themselves were torn apart by the rest of Kalios' army. Kalios immediately ordered the retreat, but the webway portal used to access Ardanu was damaged by Imperial artillery, and did not lead the Drukhari home. Instead, the portal spat them out in a dark, forgotten corner of the webway, the way out behind them sealed by the destruction of the webway gate on Ardanu. In this un-natural realm of twisted and broken paths, Kalios and his party were lost. Only the constant threat of attack by monsters both terrifying and malign kept the raiding party from fracturing into squabbling fragments, along with the slick charisma and guile of the wily Rhidainyan son. After an interminable time wandering the broken paths of the webway, the raiders happened across what was, unmistakably, the ruins of a long-forgotten Craftworld. Long-bereft of life and covered by the undisturbed dust of countless aeons, the raiders were at last able to find shelter against the monsters that dwelt outside. At the Craftworld's heart, the raiders found a webway gate, that, in response to their presence, flickered into fitful life. Kalios, fearing what could happen if he returned alive to Commorragh, swiftly made the proclamation that this broken shell, dormant and forgotten in a nameless, dark corner of the webway, would be their new home. He swayed the raiders and their leaders with promises of a glorious future, one rich in prisoners and treasure, where they would rule this broken city as kings. And thus, the Kabal of the Shattered World was created. Recent History: "We are no longer simply soldiers to die at Lord Irnach's will. We have become the destroyers of worlds - and no foe can stand before us." - Archon Mephirion the Bleak The Kabal of the Shattered World operate mostly around the region of space called the Glastheim Rifts. Nominally an Imperial territory with thinly-spread defences, Kalios' aptitude at picking his fights carefully has seen the Kabal grow considerably in strength since their creation. The Rifts are anything but a soft target, however. No fewer than Six Chapters of Space Marines encircle its borders, embroiled in an eternal battle not only with alien invaders, but against the God-cursed servants of Chaos. Besides these arrogant giants, the Rifts boast a myriad of Imperial regiments, fleets and even an Order of the Adepta Sororitas. Nevertheless, Kalios is adept at reading the flow of the eternal wars that rage around the Glastheim Rifts, and is most often found guiding his Kabal to battlefields of his own choosing, away from impossible odds. Hundreds of worlds have felt the poisonous wrath of the raider-kings of Kalios' Kabal. This is not to say the Kabal of the Shattered World are afraid of the Imperial war machine, however. Notably, in the dying years of the 41st millennium, the Kabal of the Shattered World completely enslaved the population of the Space Marine recruitment world of Kynasa, formerly in use by the Chapter called the Champions of Athlum. Those who were not taken by the Drukhari were slain, their skin torn from their corpses and used as banners by the Kabal. This act has earned the undying hatred of the crimson-clad Champions, who have since devoted themselves to intercepting and destroying the Kabal wherever they can be found. Most recently, the Kabal of the Shattered World have managed a successful raid on the world of Talhon, the homeworld of the White Hawks Chapter of Space Marines, burning a town to ashes and taking many prisoners for their experiments. While it is surely inevitable that the Kabal of the Shattered World will eventually either be rediscovered by the keepers of Commorragh, so far the Kabal of the Shattered World remain isolated. Kalios is building the power and grandeur of his Kabal with the eventual intent of returning home a conquering hero, at the head of the most elite military force ever to grace Commorragh. In this way, the unwanted heir of the Rhidainyan family hopes to supplant his father as the leader of the family and it's strongest political force. Homeworld "Don't you see? We've built something here that nobody can take away from us - not even my Father!" - Kalios Rhidainyan The Kabal of the Shattered World live in the crashed ruins of an ancient Craftworld, deep in some dark, forgotten corner of the Webway. Access to and from this ruined ship's webway gate is generally limited to areas around the Glastheim Rifts. The vessel itself was, originally, covered in runes so ancient that even the most learned amongst the Kabal struggled to decipher their meaning. Time had at least partially eroded many of the runes, but those that remained seem to speak of sombre despair and the pain caused by grief. This is, of course, of scant regard to Kalios and his Kabal, who have converted most of the remaining sections of the ancient ship into something more befitting the Drukhari. Gladiatorial arenas, slave pens, and twisted laboratories dominate much of the vessel, surrounding Kalios and his generals' personal quarters inside a large, metal tower at the ship's centre. Organisation "We were all supposed to die. That's the truth of it. Instead, countless worlds cower at the thought of us. This is the destiny we were born to achieve." - Morrlagh the Dreaded As noted, Kalios Rhidainyan is not a warrior. He leads through cunning and guile rather than brute force. He holds the rank of "High Archon", allowing his lieutenants to claim the rank of Archon for themselves. Interestingly, Kalios always makes sure to treat his generals and most prized fighters well. This is but one of the reasons none have sought to overthrow him - nobody in Kalios' inner circle can be truly sure the rest of the Archons would back anyone else attempting to usurp the Rhidainyan Scion. In other respects the Kabal is organised mostly as one would expect a Drukhari force to be organised - factions vying for influence and power have sprung up between the Kabalites, all competing for the "right to raid" under one of Kalios' Archons. Battle Doctrines "Death comes for them, in a blaze of violent glory!" - Idarileth Skinsplitter The Kabal of the Shattered World prefer to face unprepared foes, or those already weakened through hard-fought battles. But when forced into action against a competent foe, they have proven to be fierce foes. Focusing mostly on superior speed and mobility, the Kabal typically use Scourges, Hellions, Raiders and Ravagers to strike at a foe's flanks whilst the bulk of their infantry, beasts and haemonculus-created monsters march forward at the centre, crushing any foe unfortunate enough to be caught in their way. The Kabal uses lots of Wracks in support of their Warriors and other units - there is much evidence to suggest these Wracks are created mostly from human prisoners, primarily the ones taken from Kynasa. These lumbering shock troops are treated as utterly disposable, since the Kabal make a point of breeding their prisoners to ensure there is always plenty of "fresh meat" available. [+--++ Pict-Captures of the Kabal of the Shattered World's forces are currently Pending ++--+] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

In my efforts to expand the kill team options available to Aeldari players, I've developed a new kill team list for Dark Eldar players - Kabalite Trueborn. Many Dark Eldar players don't have Wyches, but these players most likely have Kabalites, so this gives such players a way to play SWA with their existing units. You can see the rules here. This is just my first stab at the rules and I hope to refine it with playtesting and feedback.

I was musing my way through a 500pts list when I remembered my Mandrakes (still in cellophane, before you ask...). They seem quite useful, albeit not particularly cheap. With their shrouded rule they have a little bit of resilience so could do well as a unit to pop up unannounced to send some baleblasts somewhere your opponent doesn't want them (you get a few shots so can fish for those 6s too) and to top it off they're fairly swift with an 8" move and no slouches in combat with their number of attacks so they can follow it up with some combat if you need. If you wanted more MSU sounds best to get the most from their rules by targeting different units potentially. Extra numbers would be good to absorb return fire as well as extra shots. Has anyone used them in 8th yet? Special bonus question: my DE are pale skinned, should I still stick with the classic dark skin? I'm thinking a more charcoal colour...

It's finally time for me to dust off my Dark Eldar... literally. The water on the bases was a different colour before being assaulted by a brush I've only played one game with my DE, where a (proxied) Succubus managed to defeat an Ork Warboss in a challenge - so at least I can say I've a 100% win record However - and this will be no surprise to anyone who has followed my other projects - I find myself dissatisfied somewhat with my original colour scheme. I don't dislike it per se but I feel needs something different. I need to decide how much different, so I'm open to and considering full repaints. I've only got 21 models finished (and many times more unpainted) so it'll be far less work than my previous repaints by orders of magnitude :P Anyway, here's a quick picture to demonstrate the current scheme: I'm fine with the base, intended to be a sort of dead world but I could go for something a bit different (desert?), depending on the army scheme I settle on. Any ideas or suggestions (picture/examples a bonus!) welcome as I need to spread the net far and wide - even if I don't know what fish I'm looking for until I see it (and that's as far as the analogy goes). With my recent escapades in my Chaos force I'm thinking perhaps a bolder and brighter scheme? This will be a slow burn project, time required to decide on a scheme aside, but I'm hoping to get something for the Xeno Files event if possible.

I entered my Lady's chambers at her command. The room I was required to wait in was empty. Unusual. My Lady normally had her consorts around her at all times, usually to watch them torture a Mon'Keigh. I had no idea how long I was to wait, so I stood. It would not do to anger her. Her mood has become darker and darker of late, especially after hearing news of Ynnead's emergence. It was dividing the Dark Kin more than ever, many taking sides hoping for an advantage. The Biel Tan Craftworld in ruins a Mon'Keigh King has re-awoken and worse still, rumours afoot of my Lady's arch rival wishing to destroy Commoragh. My lady wishes to stop him. I have no idea how. A curtain to her private chamber is flung back, and an underling leaves, his face ashen. I am glad I am not in his place. "Ml'Hur." The tone in her voice was not encouraging. Whilst slow to anger, recent events has changed this. I must tread carefully... "My Lady Malys." I bow deeply in genuine respect. My loyalty is hard earned, and she has done so a thousand fold already. She beckons me to her chamber. I pause, unsure of what to do. My instinct is to accept my fate. She had already summoned four of her advisors already. They haven't been seen since. She knows of my discomfort, and makes no secret of her pleasure. I approach the threshold and enter. I am surprised to see a very conservative decor. Many Kin I have served in the past lived in opulence, even for our kind. This room was...unnerving. "Do you know why I have summoned you?" I did not and responded as such. "I know you have heard things. Things that even I know nothing of. Let us discuss current affairs. I do not wish to be kept in the dark on the mood of Commoragh." She beckons me to sit next to her. Her beauty is intoxicating, balanced by an extremely shrewd mind and a ruthlessness I have rarely seen. "Tell me. Tell me what you know of Yvraine..." ++++++++ Hello and welcome to my WIP for my eventual Kabal of the Poisoned Tongue! I've never played Dark Eldar before. When I first played 40k in the late '80's/early '90's and before my previous retirement from the game (end of second edition to very late fifth), they didn't exist (as didn't Tau, Necrons and Sisters as we now know them), so I've only recently thought of making a small army. I was drawn to Lady Malys, mainly because of her fluff, but also it served as a chance to kitbash my own model, seeing as she doesn't have one. So, to begin with here are a few WIP pictures of her and Ml'Hur. I have a squad of Wyches, a Succubus, Leilith Hesperax and a Raider as well, but they'll be added to this topic soon. As Lady Malys has a bladed fan, I was struggling to work out how to make one for her. As I'll be using the generic Archon rules, it wouldn't have any effect in the game, but she it's an iconic part of her, so I knew I wanted to make one. In the end, I cut three Witch Aelf blades from their hands, glued them together and whilst it isn't perfect, it certainly passes muster for now. I added a DE weapon to her hip to finish her off. The Marine shoulder guard at her base will have the badge of a known Chapter soon. Just need to work out which Here is a picture of what she looks like with some paint along with Ml'Hur: Forgive the poor pictures, as my proper cameras can't be used as I lost the memory cards and they aren't easy to get replacements for these days! I will make sure to take better ones soon though. Thanks for looking!

First LVO reveal up. We all knew this one was coming.