Type / to choose a block

Commands

Fleshknit – S
Fleshknit gives a unit that already has regeneration a +1.  The order is easy to get off, requiring only a single 4+.  This is a faction defining ability that gives the Abyss their identity and is very powerful.  Most of the units in the army already have the regeneration ability and this order further pushes those units to the front.  This can be especially powerful in matchups vs. gunlines who may leave a unit heavily damaged but not devastated.  Because the order is easy to issue you can use this in any army builds, even if you decide to only include champions.

Regeneration as a rule is stronger the more damage you have taken and survived, so naturally this command pairs well with any units with high nerve value like your hordes or Molochs.  That said it can still be potentially game changing taking Gargoyles to a 3+ regen or giving Subbubi a 5+ regen to survive one more turn in the grind.

As a general this should be one of the first commands you consider targets for every turn.  Broadly speaking if you have any heavily damaged unit with the regen rule it is a good target.  Obviously the math is you will return an extra wound per 6 damage.  So, maybe a horde with 18 wounds taken would on average now heal 9 instead of 6.  Does that allow them to survive one more hit?  It could.  If it won’t then look to an offensive command like Blessing of the Dark Gods instead.  Conversely, while this command is powerful it is often not worth prioritizing on units that have only taken a few points of damage.

Hellfire – C
Hellfire gives a unit the Fireball spell on a 4+, with more success leading to a stronger fireball for that turn.  I have found in practice this ability to be very lackluster.

In my experience the best builds for the current Forces of the Abyss rules are heavily melee focused.  In 4th edition ranged damage has to devastate a unit to be able to kill it, so small amounts of ranged damage can be almost pointless.  In addition, to cast fireball you hav to have stayed still or taken a normal move, but as a melee army you often want your units moving At the Double.  Finally, the short range of fireball, 12″, means that if you are moving slowly to cast you are usually in enemy charge range.

Even in fireball/firebolt focused Abyssal armies, the few non shooting/casting units you take often need to prioritize their position, and so are not moving slowly to be a valid target of this command.

There are some niche cases where you might consider this order.  If due to terrain and the positioning of units, you might have a unit that can’t make a legal charge, but still is close enough to enemy units that it has nothing better to do.  A unit of gargoyles screening a fast character might only move 10″ to take a double pivot, and giving them a quick fireball to potentially waver opposing chaff can be useful.

At the end of the day, Forces of the Abyss is stacked with amazing commands and this is not one of them.  You are almost always better choosing one of the other orders available to you.  The damage potential is low, and this can only be used if your melee units are moving slowly.

Blessing of the Dark Gods – B
Blessing of the Dark Gods grants Elite and Vicious to a unit in exchange for dealing damage to that unit.  It is situationally very powerful, especially on units with high nerve that are not in danger like Molochs or Abyssal Guard.  The order is difficult to get off on a 5+, so to use it dependably you want warlords or to include the Banner of Command so you are rolling 3 dice.  Even if you can get the order off dependably there are some considerations to be aware of.

Most important is that this command does damage to your unit BEFORE you roll your attack dice.  While it does not cause a nerve test, this does mean that if you use this on one of your own units that is already heavily damaged you have a chance to devastate yourself, halving your attacks before you roll.  Perhaps I am very unlucky, or often in desperate situations, but I have accidentally devastated myself multiple times using this order.  It is best used on a fresh or lightly damaged unit as a consequence.

Another point is that because this order does damage to your own unit, if you are looking to already overkill an enemy unit, issuing this order just injures you for no real gain on the battlefield.  Now most of your units have regeneration, so it may not matter.  But if you are in the thick of combat, have an easy kill, it is often best to not cast this order so your unit is healthier for the opponent counter charge.

Finally, units with low crushing value and/or melee value benefit a lot less from this order while still suffering the full downside.  Issued on say a regiment of lower abyssals, on average they won’t even deal one more wound, while they will on average take at least 4 wounds in return.

All that said, on your big hammer units, especially in very close fights, this is one of the best orders at your disposal.  If your hammer unit is looking to put an enemy down to eights to break on average, pushing a few more wounds through to guarantee the kill is well worth the small amount of damage your units will take in return.  This order can win games if issued to the right unit at the right time.  

FoA lists can often have too many anvils and not enough hammers.  This command can help your hordes punch up and your hammers to finish off enemies instead of bouncing.  Because this order can win games by allowing you to kill large threats it is well worth considering taking commanders with 3 command dice.  This is a well designed order asking you as a general to balance the upsides and downsides.

Ultimate Betrayal – A
This is arguably the best command of the bunch, but I rate it lower than Fleshknit because it is difficult to get off needing a 5+ and the value depends on the opponent’s army.  This order gives an an attacker the Me and Crush values of your unit.  The Abyss have a number of units with terrible values, like Lower Abyssals and Gargoyles which suddenly become fantastic roadblocks to enemy hammer units made even better by the fact your units regenerate.  This order can stop opponents who prioritize expensive, elite hammer units.  Conversely, if you are normally facing zombie or goblin hordes and the like this order has less value.

Ultimate Betrayal only works on one enemy unit, and the opponent picks which unit is effected if they multi-charge.  That means that casting this order on a unit normally forces the opponent to either commit two units to your trash to kill them, or often they just won’t charge at all.  This is obviously very powerful when setting up counter attacks, or to allow your weaker hordes of Lower Abyssals to survive a double front charge.

A lot of the power of Forces of the Abyss comes from regeneration, which means you need to be able to survive the enemy attack.  This order can be a great way to blunt the enemy hammers, giving you the edge in the grind.  If your opponent prioritizes small numbers of expensive elite units in their list building this order can single-handedly win you games.

Combined with Blessing of the Dark Gods, you have two very powerful orders that require a 5+, highly incentivizing taking a warlord or two and the Banner of Command in all of your lists.