To Zombie or not to Zombie?

I’m now regretting the removal of the Rage Zombies from the early Soul Reapers playtesting. It’s not like we removed them because they were broken, we mostly removed them because of my gaming bud Chet. You see Chet hates the idea of zombies in movies or gaming, with the only exception being D&D. He is also out resident Nid player and he was very vocal about the Soul Reapers getting a cheap source of bodies from the onset. So the group relented just as a way to shut him up.

Yesterday we had an Apocalypse game with the Soul Reapers paired up with the Iron Warriors against Guard and Imp Fists. All the guys urged me to bust out the Zombies, so I did. We had a blast even though the zombies munched on a few our sides Reapers and Warriors. Now we are really perplexed as how to continue, every one of the guys who played understands the significance of the zombies to the background of the Reapers. I think Chet is not going to be happy if we decide to revisit the zombies and add them into the January playtest list.

If we add them back in there will be a requirement to field Xusia of Delis to gain access to the Zombies.

Added to the Troops Selections if Xusia is part of the army.

Rage Zombie Hoards

A process perfected during the Karpathian Campaign, the infestation of the 28 nights is the pre-invasion tactic of the Soul Reapers. The Sorcerer Lord Xusia and his Apostles of Malevolence have crafted a potent bio-toxin that when released turns the citizens and defense forces into slavering rage infected zombies with only one need, the need to feed on the flesh of the living. The bio-toxin is released in remote locations so it has time to create an unstoppable outbreak. By the time the infestation reaches the large population centers the planet is in utter confusion. On the 28th night the skies light up as if the planet was witnessing a magnificent meteor storm, but this is a Storm of Chaos as the Soul Reapers bombard and descend upon the planet.

0-2 Rage Zombie Hoards

WS-2 BS-0 S-3 T-2 W-1 I-1/3 A-1 LD-10 Points-8

Unit type:
Infantry

Number/squad:
10-30 Rage Zombies and 1 Apostle of Malevolence

Weapons: Grasping hands and slavering jaws. These count as two close combat weapons.

Special Rules:
Fearless
Infected (Poisoned weapons 4+)
Feel no Pain
Rage Zombies never count as either of the mandatory troops selections and may never claim an objective.

Rage Against the Living:
Due to insatiable rage and hate fed into them by the Apostles, Rage Zombies must move every turn. While the Apostle of Malevolence is alive or have a model within 18” of Xusia, they must move toward the closest enemy non-vehicle unit, in addition they become Initiative 3. If the Apostle of Malevolence is killed and they do not have a model within 18” of Xusia, the rage zombies revert to their base Initiative 1 and become uncontrollable; moving and attacking the closest unit friend or foe. If they become uncontrollable and Xusia moves within 18” he may automatically take control of them. However if they are “Locked in Combat” with a friendly unit, Xusia must roll a D6 to attempt to regain control of the zombies, on the roll of a 4+ he succeeds they will cease combat and act normally.

Lord of the Zombies: Rage Zombie units are Slow and Purposeful, unless they are lead by an Apostle of Malevolence or have a model within 18” of Xusia.

Join Us!: At the end of every Assault phase during which the Rage Zombies have fought in close combat, before ‘pile in’ moves, roll a D6 for every casualty caused in the combat (friendly and enemy). On a roll of a 6, they are resurrected as a Rage Zombie – add a model to the Rage Zombie unit. If the Rage Zombies unit was wiped out that turn this rule has no effect. If multiple Rage Zombie units are involved in the same combat, evenly divide the new models between the units (Chaos player’s choice for any odd models).

Apostle of Malevolence
WS-4 BS-4 S-4 T-4 W-2 I-4 A-2 LD-10 Points-100

Unit type:
Infantry

Wargear:
Power armor, Bolt pistol, Force Weapon, Frag and Krak grenades

Special Rules:
Fear is for the Weak
5+ Invulnerable save

Psychic Power:

Chains of Torment:
The Apostle creates small warp rifts under his foes, launching ethereal chains that rend flesh to the bone in an attempt to drag the targets into the warp.

Chains of torment is a shooting attack that may target any non-vehicle unit within 18 inches. The target unit will suffer D6 +1 attacks at Str5 AP-. Any unit that is hit must take a leadership test or become pinned in place by the chains.

Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated.