The Court of Nemekh - Post Echoes of Nihilus

 

The time is nigh! In just two days the second HATE club 40k campaign is set to kick off, and some major players from the first campaign, Echoes of Nihilus, are set to make a reappearance in the Orberus sector including my very own Khertet Dynasty. For the majority of the last campaign I was utilising the Necron index for my army as there was no codex available until towards the end of Phase 2, as such I had plenty of characters to fill up the only detachment I could use at the time, the Awakened Dynasty. Today I thought I would take the time to look at the biggest winners as well as the biggest losers out of all the characters in my order of battle going into the Reclamation of Orberus campaign, starting with the biggest losers first and ending the article with the biggest winners.

8. Peletesz the Wretched

Of all the characters under the command of the Phaeron Nemekh the Summoner, Peletesz the Wretched was by far the least fortunate. Having only joined the campaign roughly half way through the campaign, Peletesz, almost fittingly given his background, suffered both a Battle Scar (Fatigued) and a Devastating Blow in just four games, losing the incredibly useful Godpyre Mantle relic he picked up on his third game during the final battle. Worse still, Peletesz made no notable impact in any of his battles, his necrodermal body had been smashed to the point of requiring extra special attention from his arch rival, Baltha'zyr the Enslaver and as such he has been removed from my order of battle completely to be reset at a later point.

7. Szarazs the Charnal King

Like Peletesz the Wretched, Szarazs the Charnal King has also been removed from the Khertet Dynasty's order of battle having suffered a Battle Scar (ironically, Battle Weary) and a Devastating Blow with no notable Battle Traits left to his name. The main difference between Peletesz the Wretched and Szarazs the Charnal King is that Szarazs's sacrifice was not in vain and in fact held some real narrative significance - from running rampant across Ultrus Prime's northern continent and sewing chaos to being one of the only characters to take down the infamous Othar Ruinspake in the campaign's climax, few matched Szarazs for pure narrative brutality. No-one really knows of Szarazs's current whereabouts, but the threat of the Charnal King is always lurking and, at some point he may return refreshed...

6. Oblivion's Herald

Oblivion's Herald made its first appearance in the campaign in the second mission against a rival Necron faction where he heralded the arrival of it's master, Szarazs the Charnal King. Unlike its master however, Oblivion's Herald still has a place amongst the Khertet Dynasty's order of battle having suffered only one Battle Scar, Fatigued, meaning it is completely useless when it comes to objective control. In trade off however its six Enmitic Disintegrator Pistols all have bonus strength and AP thanks to their combined weapon profile. Unfortunately, Oblivion's Herald didn't make a huge narrative impact overall and made even less impact once the Necron codex was released and it lost precision on its attacks, though I suppose extra AP combined with Ignores Cover is nothing to sniff at when it comes to the armies toting 3+/4+ saves.

5. Zarakeph the Fallen

Once a Necron Lord known as "Zarakeph the Indiscriminate" then "Zarakeph the Tragic" in the club's 9th edition campaign, Zarakeph would be brought back for the second mission of Echoes of Nihilus having fallen to the Destroyer curse. Though his contribution to the war effort is negligible at best and he didn't even accrue enough experience to rank up once, what Zarakeph didn't accomplish is offset by the fact he did not receive a single Battle Scar or Devastating Blow even once, very unlike his 9th edition incarnation. Maybe his luck is turning...

4. Rakantyr the Baleful

The Khertet Dynasty's renown Plasmancer saw more action in the campaign than any other Cryptek, maybe even any other character, due to his fearsome special rules coupled with quite possibly the luckiest and and most destructive Tesla Immortals ever witnessed. Rakantyr did end the campaign much like Oblivion's Herald, with a single Battle Scar (also Fatigued) and a Weapon Modification giving his Plasmic Lance an enhanced Ballistic Skill stat and an additional Attack, meaning he was shooting with the same accuracy as his subordinates, however whereas Oblivion's Herald and Zarakeph had little impact on their games both narratively and in battle, Rakantyr did and his Battle Scar is largely offset by the fact he is often leading a unit of OC2 Immortals. Whilst not especially dangerous on his own, what Rakantyr brought to each of his battles was utter destruction and even now I consider him an auto-include in many-a-list.

3. Kharimekh the First

Kharimekh the First was the Lord that initially led the Khertet forces until they had reawakened their Phaeron, and whilst he did taste defeat a few times he never accrued any actual Battle Scars or Devastating Blows. He did, however get bonus Strength and an additional Attack to his Staff of Light after ranking up. Unfortunately Kharimekh lost out massively when the Necron codex released and Games Workshop removed Lords as an option so Kharimekh kind of lost his way a bit. I did use him as a proxy Royal Warden for the remainder of the campaign to keep him in the narrative, but I will likely use the Lord profile from the Warhammer Community's legends Datasheets going forward as I have allowed legends in the campaign for all players (it's narrative afterall, who cares about balance!).

2. Eratoth the Enfeebled

Despite not seeing much use in games having often lost out to Rakantyr the Baleful when it came to my lists due to his pure destructive potential, Eratoth the Enfeebled still proved an annoyance to my opponents in the games he was fielded in. His Timesplinter Mantle ability proved to be an adequate defense for whatever unit he leads and a mild annoyance for most armies I faced. At time of writing Eratoth not only has no Battle Scars to date but even has a Battle Trait pending, oh the possibilities I can think of going into a fresh campaign with fresh ideas...

1. Nemekh the Summoner

The head honcho. The numero uno. The big cheese. Phaeron Nemekh the Summoner is definitely the winner out of all the Khertet Dynasty characters following the events on Ultrus Prime. After being reawakened by Kharimekh the First's forces at the end of Echoes of Nihilus's Phase 2, Nemekh reclaimed all the experience they accumulated back in 9th edition giving them an automatic two Battle Traits; the Crimson Medallion relic and Endless Legions in this case, making them more of a utility character on the battlefield - fitting as Nemekh's lore is that of a backfield commander as opposed to a warrior noble. On top of this, Nemekh has not accrued any Battle Scars and is a mere two experience points away from achieving the Heroic rank, being the only survivor of the climax battle against the Hedarai Vultures in the campaign. Going forward however, Nemekh will be sharing the spotlight with their fellow Overlords - their brother, Nemesor Phaen and the mysterious Banityn the Hidden. Sounds like a great excuse to try out the Obeisance Phalanx detachment to me!