Azrakh the Annihilator

I always loved this image of a World Eaters Chaos Lord, foreboding in Terminator armour (my favourite models since way back in Space Hulk 1st edition days).

In 2022 (when the miniature was released), artist Mark Gibbons had this to say about his painting, which was also used on the cover of White Dwarf magazine in February 1995:

Painted a mere 28 years ago, I think (the previously unnamed) Azrakh the Annihilator is my most-published Games Workshop piece, but it's a painting that almost never happened.

I submitted his sketch as a freelance commission to GW and when John Blanche reviewed it he asked for a more dynamic, arms-raised, posture. In a 'deeply uncharacteristic' fit of pique, I said if I couldn't paint him the way I wanted to, then I wasn't going to paint him at all!

John, not wanting to escalate my diva moment to Beyoncé-like proportions, relented and all these years later Azrakh strides onto the tabletop, courtesy of the warp-powered sculpting & painting masters within the GW Design Studio.

So I was pretty happy to acquire a NIS copy of the 2022 Commemorative series model recently. One day he will lead my 40k World Eaters army! 

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

To be honest his lore is not deep, and was retrospectively made up go with the model release. Then again, he is a World Eater, so depth of character isn't really a requirement!

"A pitiless killer even by the standards of the World Eaters, Azrakh the Annihilator earned his moniker during the assault on the Iron Warriors fortress dubbed Orion Gate. Of the 400 warriors that took part in this assault, only Azrakh survived. His armour was covered in the blood of not only Iron Warriors and demon engine oil, but also the blood of his fellow World Eaters."

Note to self, the backlit green light on this one is a pretty cool effect and reminiscent of the artwork (not my work)

He also doesnt stink in the original Heresy era Legion colours! (again not my work)