Nihilators

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Nihilators Skorne Nihilator Unit

The skorne code of hoksune is an unforgiving ethos when carried to extremes. Those warriors who totally embrace their destiny are frightening, utterly committed warriors. These merciless savages endure pain so frequently that they are inured to all but the most grievous of wounds as they methodically slaughter all who stand in their path. Each nihilator wishes for nothing less than a glorious death after carrying out an unspeakable slaughter.

Basic Info

Nihilators
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Small SPD 6 STR 7 MAT 7 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 13 CMD 7 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 1 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 2 UNIT SIZE 6 / 10 COST 9 / 15 1.5 each N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Tough
• Berserk - When this model destroys one or more models with a melee attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved it must make one additional melee attack against another model in its melee range.
• Pain-Induced Bliss - When a model in this unit is hit by a Berserk attack made by another model in this unit, roll a d6 instead of rolling a damage roll and this unit gains Groundwork for one round. On a 1 the hit model is destroyed, on a 2 or more it is knocked down. If a friendly model directly hits a model in this unit with an initial attack, Pain-Induced Bliss immediately expires and this unit loses Pain-Induced Bliss for one round. (Groundwork - While knocked down, a model with Groundwork is not automatically hit by melee attacks, and its DEF is not reduced by being knocked down.)
• Rise - If this model is knocked down at the beginning of your Maintenance Phase, it stands up.

Weapons

• Greatsword - 2" reach, POW 6, P+S 13 melee weapon

Theme Forces

Disciples of Agony

Recent Changes

2021.10 Mega Update

• +1 POW
• Gained Rise and Pain Induced Bliss

Thoughts on Nihilators

Nihilators in a nutshell

Nihilators are, point for point, arguably among the best threshers of densely packed infantry in the game, and certainly the only threshers that actively want a little fratricidal berserking. A good melee threat range, accurate, hard hitting, and they can (and indeed must) keep hitting until they run out of targets. And as infantry go they are pretty cheap - and tough gives them a little resilience. Nihilators are unfortunately currently facing a metagame that doesn't suit them - when the metagame gets shooting-heavy their defensive stats just mean they get shot off the board, and they aren't that good at breaking armour. A more than viable choice for chewing through melee infantry swarms - and if your meta has a lot they are pretty good at what they do.

Ultimately however, despite their generalist seeming stats they are a highly specialist unit with a lot of rivals that do related jobs better. But if you are going to be swarmed by masses and masses of infantry that don't bring anti-infantry tech or have tough they are really good at their job.

Combos & Synergies

Nihilators only appear in the Disciples of Agony theme force

• Dominar Rasheth has debuffs - his feat makes them really good at taking out circles of infantry and he has the ARM debuffs needed for them to hurt most heavies - and he also likes Skorne infantry to channel through.
• Tyrant Xerxis loves infantry and especially large units of them. And can make them hit really hard.
• Supreme Aptimus Zaal can really get them threshing tougher targets under Last Stand.
• Supreme Archdomina Makeda - free strike immunity is awesome for getting them right into the heart of enemies, and they love extra speed. And knockdown immunity on her feat turn is awesome for a tough unit. Of course more than anyone else Makeda 2 would rather take Praetorian Swordsmen in Masters of War than she would Nihilators.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• They don't counter Tough so the berserk attacks end fast.
• No Pathfinder.
• DEF 13 ARM 13 means that they aren't good at either avoiding incoming fire or surviving blasts.
• 1.5 points per model is expensive
• Nihilators excel at threshing large swathes of non-tough infantry. This was great in Mk2 - and is great against anyone running infantry hordes in Mk3. But their favoured targets are seldom seen.
• They have as mentioned a number of rivals even within the Disciples of Agony theme.
  • Paingiver Bloodrunners threat further, auto-wound single wound infantry and ignore tough, have Pathfinder, have stealth and a decent DEF to keep them alive, advance deploy, and reposition. And are only one rather than 1.5 points per model. If you're expecting to face single wound infantry in normal rather than vast numbers bloodrunners are better.
  • Farrow Slaughterhousers are near-weaponmasters who can ignore tough. They theoretically have 1" less threat range, but this is made up for by Relentless Charge. Even when not Weapon Mastering they are at +2 Mat on the charge, and the Paingiver Task Master makes them no-knockdown-tough as well as giving them even more hitting power. If you're worried about armour these guys are effective at little more than one point a piece.
  • A Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor or two (two cost a point less than a minimum unit of Nihilators and two plus a unit of Bloodrunners cost a point less than a maximum unit) is an excellent pick against close-bunched infantry. They have both Pathfinder and 2" of extra threat range, their Thresher lets them attack everyone in range without having to keep chaining berserks so is far more reliable (as well as ignoring Tough), and they can sprint back to safety (6" may not seem much but remember the CMD of Nihilators is only 7").

Tricks & Tips

• Use them in waves.
• Minimum units are the same cost per model than maximum. Since there is less of them, they don't bunch up as much and thus are less likely to Berserk into each other.

Other

Trivia

• Their name comes from the word "nihilism" which means, "the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless." Privateer Press hit the nail on the head with this one!
• Released in Forces of Hordes: Skorne (2010)

Other Skorne models

Skorne Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warlocks	Hexeris1 - Hexeris2 - Jalaam1 - Makeda1 - Makeda2 - Makeda3 - Mordikaar1 - Morghoul1 - Morghoul2 - Morghoul3 - Naaresh1 - Rasheth1 - Xekaar1 - Xerxis1 - Xerxis2 - Zaal1 - Zaal2 - Zaadesh2
Lessers & Attachments	Aptimus Marketh (Warlock attachment) - Zaadesh1 (Lesser Warlock) - Makeda0 (Lesser Warlock)
Lesser	Agonizer - Aradus Scarab - Reptile Hounds - The Terrorizer
Light	Basilisk Drake - Basilisk Krea - Cyclops Brute - Cyclops Raider - Cyclops Savage - Cyclops Shaman - Razor Worm
Heavy	Aradus Sentinel - Aradus Soldier - Archidon - Chiron - Bronzeback Titan - Despoiler - Molik Karn - Rhinodon - Tiberion - Titan Cannoneer - Titan Gladiator - Titan Sentry
Gargantuans	Desert Hydra - Mammoth
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units	Cataphract Arcuarii - Cataphract Cetrati - Cataphract Incindiarii - Immortals - Legends of Halaak - Nihilators - Paingiver Beast Handlers - Paingiver Bloodrunners - Praetorian Ferox - Praetorian Karax - Praetorian Keltarii - Praetorian Swordsmen - Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer - Venator Catapult Crew - Venator Flayer Cannon Crew - Venator Reivers - Venator Slingers
Solos	Abidan the Keeper - Ancestral Guardian - Aptimus Marketh - Extoller Novitiate - Extoller Soulward - Hakaar the Destroyer - Immortal Vessel - Makeda0 - Mortitheurge Willbreaker - Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor - Paingiver Task Master - Tyrant Rhadeim - Venator Dakar - Void Spirit - Zaadesh1
Battle Engines	Siege Animantarax - Supreme Guardian
Theme Forces
Disciples of Agony - Masters of War - The Exalted - Winds of Death
Minions
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Skorne Minion
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Tough - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Berserk      (Edit) Berserk attacks will generate even more Berserk attacks. You keep going until you miss, something survives, or you run out of targets. Berserk grants an additional attack which by definition can only occur during your Combat Action. Therefore Berserk doesn't work on free strikes, impact attacks, etc. "Immediately" means you can't save it until later in your activation. Berserk must be resolved at step 14 of the attack sequence (refer Apdx A). You cannot use "Any Time" abilities while resolving the original attack, the Berserk attack, or between the attacks. Refer Apdx A. Berserk doesn't trigger during a frenzy. (Infernal Ruling) Berserk will not trigger if the target uses an ability to move the damage to another model (such as a warlock transfer). But it will trigger if they use an ability to move the attack to a different model (such as Grim Salvation). Berserk has a weird niche interaction with Agathon's abilities, which you can read here. Attack-Generating Abilities (Edit) From the core rulebook: When a model is granted more attacks as a result of an attack it made, it gains only one. If two or more special rules would grant the model another attack as a result of making an attack, its controlling player chooses which special rule to apply. If you trigger two attack-generating abilities (such as Black Spot and Kill Shot) you choose to resolve one and "lose" the other (unless you trigger it again later). If you trigger two attack-generating abilities, and one of them is compulsory (such as Black Spot and Berserk), you must choose to resolve the compulsory one. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Pain-Induced Bliss      (Edit) If/when they Berserk into each other and hit, then they gain Groundwork. If/when they Berserk into each other and hit, then they don't roll damage. Instead they have a 1/6 chance to kill, and a 5/6 chance to knockdown. If you attack them on purpose with any friendly model: If it's an initial attack, they lose PIB completely for one round. If it's a bought attack, special attack, etc ... they neither lose PIB, but neither do they gain Groundwork. You cannot have a different Berserker trigger PIB on them - they only like it when friends from their own unit slice them up. Rules Clarification : Groundwork - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Rise      (Edit) Rise occurs before Continuous Fire/Corrosion. (Infernal Ruling)