Pull up a chair, dear readers, and let’s talk about Abaddon.
A good chunk of the 40k community doesn’t hold The Warmaster in high regard. He has even earned the nickname Failbaddon, in case you had doubts about this. Something most people bring up when explaining why Abaddon is borderline useless is the number of Black Crusades. In the past, GW has said that Abaddon has attempted to take the Cadia gate multiple times, only to be denied by the combined might of the Imperium. (the Eldar help sometimes too.) In the newest Codex, however, this has changed. We get a little more detail into what the Black Crusades were all about, and what Abaddons plan is.
We can see from the map (Found in the Black Legion Supplement, I believe.) that Abaddon has moved around a lot. His Crusades take him across half of the galaxy, and are not focused on the Cadia Gate alone. Something else to consider is what the objectives of the past Black Crusades were. The first Black Crusade was all about getting Abaddon his new sword, Drach’nyen. You could think of these as quests, before the big battle. Abaddon has been working on a larger plan, to gather resources and weapons. To forge alliances and debt, so that he can call upon them when he is ready for his final assault.
We are also told about the Crimson Path. Abaddons plan is to create enough pain and suffering in one area, and extend the Eye of Terror. The Warp is the realm of energy and psychic power, and emotions reflect into it. The more emotion in a single area, the more turbulent the Warp. The whole reason the Eye exists is because the Eldars empire slid so far into decadence that it birth a being of emotion, so I can see this as a good plan. This has the added bonus of permanently taking the Cadia system away from the Imperium. As one of the best defended world in the galaxy, this would be a major blow to the Imperium, and leave it vulnerable. The Primarchs would also be able to join the fight, and not need to be sustained or be thrown back into the Warp.
Hopefully you’ve learned something new by reading this. This information can be found in the Black legion supplement and the Chaos Codex, in more detail. The art above is for Aaron Dembski-Bowdens Black Legion novel, The Talon of Horus. This book takes place shortly after the Horus Heresy, and I’m thrilled. I loved Aaron Dembski-Bowdens writing since his Night Lords series, and I recommend Soul Hunter to all Warhammer fans, especially Chaos marine enthusiasts.
I’d like to continue with this type of post, so leave any ideas you have in the comments below. If you have your own blog, be sure to check out the Artisan Alliance, my own Blog Network. Sign up, and get your content out there! I’ll be sharing some of my favorites on my Facebook Page, as well as on the Alliance Homepage.
Cheers everyone.
-Tarvick