The Mighty Rends – the CORE’s Wrecking Crew

As that the terrifying robots of the CORE are about to release in just under a month, and as that they are some of my favorite models in the faction starter box, I thought it was about time to take a closer look at…

…the Rend.



Huge powerhouses of martial force, the Rends are tall and powerful war robots that were originally designed to help clear out the Dragyri-filled tunnels intersecting the CORE’s ever-expanding hive complex. With two arms that end in rock-cutting chainsaws, Rends are NOT subtle pieces of machinery – they are killers, plain and simple.



The best part is, Rends do not have to travel alone – they come in packs. Fielded in squads of one to three Units, Rends are the CORE’s equivalent to the Outcast Brutes, Skarrd Golabs, Brood Sawblades, and other large-based melee killers. They pound across the battlefield, using their human-average Movement statistic to pick their targets, driving hard toward tougher foes and sweeping through easier ones along the way through its reputation… and its Cause Fear special ability.

With armor as thick as the Kevlar a Forsaken Bane wears and sporting 2 HP each, Rends can shrug off a lot of damage as they come to bear upon their targets. Their average DF of 5 means that it will dodge a lot of lesser attacks, but the good ones will probably still find their marks. It is not a travesty if they take a damaging hit, though. Even a damaged Rend, with its terrifying basic weaponry, can make short work of even multi-HP models. Once in combat, three AP with two swings each at 4x2 PW can cut anything in the game down…anything.

Their cost can be a little daunting at first, coming in at 80 points at each, but this is only when we look at the basic Rend. Things get a lot more promising once we take into account the one thing that makes CORE models variable and adaptable to each player’s play style and somewhat adjustable based on an expected opponent – Upgrades.

Not all CORE models have access to Upgrades, but the versatile and deadly Rends do. This means that every player can make their Rend squads uniquely fitting to their needs. A Rend squad’s members must all choose the same Upgrade, but depending on which Upgrade chosen the squad will become far more efficient in one way or another. Not to mention, what CORE Upgrades can mean for hobbyist modelers out there! Of the various CORE Upgrades the army has to choose from, there are a couple that really stand out as useful for Squads of Rends, but possibly for different reasons.



- Useless to a single Unit, adding a Broadband Network to a larger squad of Rends is as easy as pinning a few pieces of wire antennae to the model, and it allows the Squad to stretch out their footprint quite a bit by doubling their coherency. This gives them an easier time finding cover as they cross the battlefield as well as gives them a greater degree of options to get those charges off and engage enemies where they want to.

- Adding a series of Flamethrower upgrades to the Rends means attaching an appropriate bit to the model, possibly shoulder mounted or underslung at the hip. Once the game actually begins however, the Rends can add an impressive spray or stream template at those “harder to reach” foes. Free flaming hits at someone is never a bad thing from a formerly melee-only Unit.

- Gyrostabilizers are easy to model with a few spare pieces of spring or wire around the legs, but giving Rends a MV of 4 means getting these bad boys in combat that much faster!

- Rends can make great use of Plasma Conduits if they are going to be used as berserkers only. Adding strength to their attacks as well as making them walking bombs means they can be a danger to each other and their friends – but it also means once they start slicing and dicing into the opponent’s lines they are just as deadly when they finally succumb to enemy attacks.

In conclusion, while the CORE army can happily manage to destroy its enemies without them, having a solid squad of Rends stomping, charging and cutting their way through them is never a bad thing. The Rend as a warrior-robot is a fine example of the central CORE AI’s fantastic ability to create new models for specific purposes when the hive requires it. Whether it is crystal-energized insectoids as big as mastiffs, walking artillery pieces, or chainsaw-armed ogres…the CORE is ready for anything.

If it isn’t…it soon will be!