Horus Heresy Review: Lernaean Terminator Squad

Background

Deep within the Alpha Legion, the lernaean terminator squad are all but a myth to outsiders. But to the Alpha Legion, they are the jaws of the hydra from which they take their icon. The supposed goal within the legion is to be the tip of the spearhead - to take and secure whatever objective they need to and hold on to it at all costs. For the Alpha Legion, they provide an alternative terminator team to the standard ones, but it is only barely above the baseline.

Strengths

Their first notable strength is an extra pip in WS compared to regular terminators, plus the stubborn special rule. They're kitted out with cataphractii armour coupled with power axes and volkite chargers as standard. This means that they're fundamentally a close range breed of terminators. They're also able to take some interesting options such as a venom sphere harness and conversion beamer that are clearly not available anywhere else.

Weaknesses

Continuing on the subject of the conversion beamer, its puzzling how to use it with this squad to be honest. The conversion beamer is a weapon that gets better at increasing range. And yet, the Lernaean are a close combat orientated squad that beg to be put on board a land raider and sent on their way. So there's a choice here. Should these terminators be a back-field objective defender with a conversion beamer, or should they forego it and do what they should and go forth and grab objectives and take on other units?

Secondly, they're slightly over-priced in my opinion. For example, legion terminators can get 10 regular terminators with volkite chargers for 395 points. Ten Lernaean terminators will cost 425 points instead (recall they have volkite chargers as their base weapons). Equally, this is arguably balanced by having stubborn on their side which is at a premium in 30k games.

Builds

There are a number of set ups to consider, even if the cost is slightly more than what we might be willing to pay. Let's just hope that the models are awesome enough to justify the points cost if they're ever released. 

5 Lernaean, 1 with Conversion Beamer (250 points)

The idea with this squad is to function as a back field objective squatter. Ideally the objective's location will provide a line of sight to the grater part of the battlefield and hence provide the conversion beamer with plentiful enemies to select between. If they're assaulted, they should be able to hold their own and/or win with time (but might plausibly need support against better close combat models). 

10 Lernaean, 2 with plasma blasters, Harrower with venom sphere harness (465 points)

This is a maximum squad kitted out with plasma blasters to provide good AP, and venom spheres for assaulting models in cover. Take a land raider with this squad and it will provide an excellent core to an army's tactics, particularly in concert with an appropriate HQ. Dynat for instance would be good to run along with these guys. 

5 Lernaean, 1 heavy flamer, 5 chainfists, Harrower with venom sphere harness (295 points)

This is a pseudo "terminator-cide" squad. The idea here is to deep strike them using Dynat's special rules (or a praetor's rite of war) and have them target vehicles or enemy squads as desired. The heavy flamer is more to deter a counter assault, but clearly has its uses as well. I think this set up is very thematic for the Alphas when teamed up with the right HQ choice.

Overall
Its tough to know how to best exploit them. The obvious strength is the access to venom sphere harness and conversion beamer. But how to build them is a challenge, but if the models look good (if they ever get produced by Forge World), I can see me purchasing some!