Crusade: Pariah Nexus

Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition

by Games Workshop

The Zone of Silence Spreads

The Silent King and his Necron legions have expanded the boundaries of the Nephilim Anomaly, raising sinister noctilith pylons upon world after world. Whole systems have vanished beneath this smothering anti-psychic shroud, but the Necrons' efforts to sever realspace from the warp have not gone unopposed. A fresh Imperial armada, overseen by the acquisitive Archmagos Cawl, has struck deep into the Nephilim Anomaly. But have they come to topple the ominous noctilith technology of their enemies, or to harvest and exploit it for themselves?

This 120-page hardback book is a Crusade expansion for Warhammer 40,000 that lays out the unsettling narrative of the Nephilim War and the Pariah Nexus, along with the rules you'll need to play narrative games, build and upgrade a Crusade army between battles, and run your own campaigns.

THE ZONE OF SILENCE
Richly detailed background sections lay out the narrative of the Nephilim War, from the unnerving opening moves of the Necron nobility and the initial Imperial investigations, to the fervent ambitions of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the nightmarish technologies that are unleashed as the conflict escalates out of control. The story of this nightmarish war in the depths of 'The Anomaly' is told through stories, maps, and ominous illustrations.

SHOWCASE
A stunning showcase of Citadel miniatures painted by the 'Eavy Metal team, representing forces embroiled in the conflicts raging through the Nephilim sub-sector. Each sweeping diorama includes narrative notes on that battle and the combatants involved.

CRUSADE RULES
All the rules you will need to take your army of Citadel miniatures on a Crusade across the stars. Crusade campaigns allow you to track the development of your army between games, acquiring resources and injuries with each victory or defeat, turning the greenest of recruits into hard-bitten veterans over the course of many battles.

You'll learn how to muster a Crusade army, track Experience points, purchase Requisitions, suffer Battle Scars, and rank up to gain Battle Honours.

THE NEPHILIM WAR
A wealth of exciting Crusade rules content to help you play out a Pariah Nexus campaign on the tabletop, as any number of players form alliances between Seekers, Protectors, and Interlopers. You'll also find unique Battle Traits, Crusade Relics, Agendas, and Crusade Blessings – themed around the Nephilim War, but usable by any faction – plus rules for harvesting and harnessing Blackstone Fragments to empower your Crusade Force.

MISSIONS
15 immersive and exciting Crusade missions, perfect for narrative games and your Pariah Nexus campaign. Claim precious noctilith shards in a Dig Site Raid, seize vital comms relays to overcome Gheists in the Static, and bring down impossible defences in a Quantum Siege.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k

120 pages, Hardcover

Published February 3, 2024

About the author

Games Workshop Group PLC (often abbreviated as GW) is a British miniature wargaming manufacturing company. Games Workshop is best known as developer and publisher of the tabletop wargames Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.

Reviews

[T R Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This campaign book for the Warhammer 40,000’s Crusade style of play focuses on the increasingly heated conflict with this Nephilim Anomaly between the Imperium and the Necrons. The storyline of this book sees Guilliman dispatch an Adeptus Mechanicus task force, lead by Belisarius Cawl, to reinforce the Imperial forces in the Nephilim Anomaly and attempt to counter the effects of the Necron’s contra-immateria nodal matrix.

The background section of the book begins by giving a recap on the events that have happened in the Nephilim Anomaly until now, and while this has been covered in previous publications in greater detail it would still be helpful for those new to the conflict. After this, the book moves on to the new developments in the conflict with Cawl’s forces fighting an increasingly destructive war against the Szarekh’s forces, while Imotekh the Stormlord takes the chance to strike a blow against the Silent King, before the book leaves things with the arrival of powerful forces that could spell doom for all sides. These new developments in the story of the Pariah Nexus are quite interesting and entertaining to read, while the twist at the end connects the conflict to wider plot arcs and leave things in an interesting position.

The art in the book (much of which, I think, has been included in previous publications) is as good as usual. I particularly like the Necron are as it has great atmosphere. The Showcase section is also as good as usual.

For the rules section, the generic rules are mostly the same as those released in the Tyrannic War Crusade book and the Leviathan Rulebook. There are some rules specific to the campaign, such as Crusade Blessings, Crusade Relics and the ability to gather Blackstone that can be used to grant upgrades to units. There is also the addition of the Strategic Footing rules that gives one player a bonus in the campaign specific Crusade Missions. All these rules seem relatively good.

Overall, this was a pretty average campaign book for Warhammer 40,000.

[Ted Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of crusade rules and scenarios for fighting games within the Pariah Nexus.
There is also a selection of short fiction pieces and a Showcase of appropriate painted units.
This isn't a bad book by any means, and if your a Necron fan, there are some suitably themed scenarios you can use.
I just don't feel this goes far enough for the cost of the book, and would probably not buy another of it's type unless the content was expanded substantially