Fracture 2026 Army Overview
The Forces of the Abyss is a mid range melee army with a lot of tools to heal units. Most of the units in the army have regeneration, where you have a chance to recover previously lost wounds in your movement phase. This makes the army a natural counter to gunlines, and means that the higher the nerve value of a unit the more powerful it is as you are more likely to regenerate.
Most units in Forces of the Abyss have average defense and speed. It is common that you will often have to survive being charged by faster melee armies. The key to doing well in these matchups is to use positioning and abilities to survive the enemy charge so that again your regeneration can kick in and allow you to win in the grind. The Abyss has access to units with ensnare, hordes with decent defense, powerful spells and so on that all help the Abyss to win these melee matchups.
Many of the units have a strong defensive focus. The army only has access to a few hammer units, and so you need to make the most of the hammers you do bring. List building for Forces of the Abyss has a natural tension between the balance of anvils and hammers, with many different and effective anvils but only a few expensive viable hammer choices. Lots of units have no crushing strength or are only crush 1, so you need a plan for how you will deal with an enemy with lots of defense 6.
The army does have a few ranged options and a lot of access to fireball. Fireball is a short range magic missile that has the ability to deal high burst damage. In 4th edition you can only kill enemy units in shooting if you devastate them, so in general you either want to take a lot of shooting or none at all. While you can build a full firebolt/fireball army with Forces of the Abyss, its short threat range and lack of pierce means that usually this is a weaker option for the faction and you will not win a shootout against other dedicated gunlines. The short range of fireball also usually means that the shooting build is weak against fast melee armies.
In general smaller units (Troops, some Regiments) are less effective in Forces of the Abyss than they are in other armies because they are likely to die in one hit and then you never get to take advantage of the expensive healing abilities you are paying for. All of the above is not to say that a shooting build or MSU (Multiple Small Unit) armies can’t work for this faction, but those builds do not play to the natural strengths of the army.
Regeneration is a powerful and expensive ability, but it only works if your units can survive an attack be it shooting or melee. Focusing on hordes with high nerve, units with rallying, or items like the staying stone or aegis of the elohi all play into the faction’s strength. Including multiple ways to heal so that you can quickly bring an injured unit back is very powerful and can demoralize an opponent. The Forces of the Abyss is currently a top tier faction in the game when focusing on the inherent strength of the regeneration keyword and the resultant overlapping synergies.
With a staggered release of books for 4th edition overall faction balance has sadly devolved into the haves vs. the have-nots. With the Fracture book the Forces of the Abyss land firmly in the “haves” category. They are now a strong faction with a unique approach and playstyle. I think 4th edition will be better overall when all of the factions have all of their rules.
So putting it all together. I regularly play at both 2000 and 2300 points. I have included a 2300 point list below as it lets you play with all the toys.
Sample Forces of the Abyss 2300 point list:
[2300 / 2300]
Battalion 1
Ba’su’su the Vile [U] (Hero (Inf)) 1 [235]
Warlock [2] (Hero (Lrg Inf)) 1 [185]
– Banner of Command [20]
– +The Dark Pit+(2) [30]
Warlock [2] (Hero (Lrg Inf)) 1 [200]
– Amulet of the Fireheart [15]
– Bane Chant (2) [20]
– Scorched Earth(3) [30]
Lower Abyssals (Inf) Horde [155]
Lower Abyssals (Inf) Regiment [100]
Gargoyles (Hvy Inf) Troop [105]
Abyssal Guard (Inf) Horde [320]
– Brew of Strength [40]
Abyssal Guard (Inf) Horde [295]
– Staying Stone [15]
Abyssal Guard (Inf) Horde [295]
– Orb of Towering Presence [15]
Molochs (Mon Inf) Regiment [225]
– Blade of Slashing [5]
Nagarri (Cht) Regiment [185]
– Dwarfen Ale [10]
The list prioritizes staying power and unit strength. The list has a lot of nerve, a lot of regen, 28 unit strength and has all the tools to blunt the enemy hammers. Three Abyssal Guard hordes are great token carriers, or are good for taking midboard objectives or claiming board areas while also being your main hammers. Triple Abyssal Guard Hordes are a stat check block that lots of opponents just can’t overcome. The gargoyles and lower abyssals work as chaff or holding awkward objectives. The Nagarri boost the nerve of the Guard, and the Nagarri and Molochs can see over the height 2 infantry to counter attack/combo charge problem areas. Ba’su’su gives orders and provides the army some flyer defense, while the warlocks are there to weaken the enemy. The banner of command means I get two orders at 3 dice and one at 2 dice per turn, adding consistency to the expensive but powerful orders of the faction.
I’ve done very well with this list, despite the obvious lack of speed. I’ve won entire games only losing 2 units. I don’t need to kill my opponent, just outscore them. Forces of the Abyss is very good at this playstyle.
Review Tier System
S Tier
The best units in the army. Exceptional value, battlefield impact, or utility that can define lists and regularly outperform their cost.
A Tier
Excellent units that consistently perform well and fit naturally into a wide variety of army builds.
B Tier
Solid choices that reliably fulfill their intended role and provide good value for their points.
C Tier
Situational units that can succeed in the right list or matchup but have notable limitations.
D Tier
Niche or underperforming options that are often difficult to justify over stronger alternatives.
F Tier
Units that are significantly outclassed by competing choices and rarely offer enough value to earn a place in a competitive list.
Tier ratings are based on overall value, battlefield impact, list-building flexibility, and performance across a wide range of matchups.