Horus Heresy Review: Lord Marshal Ireton MaSade

Background

MaSade had basically retired. But then came along the Horus Heresy. And he rose to war again, largely out of hatred for the traitors.

Strengths

With the ability to redeploy some of the army, MaSade's warlord trait is situational but could come in very handy in a switch / bait approach to setting up armies. 

Having an entire system at his disposal, he also gains a one-third probability to have the first tank exploded or destroyed in his army come back via on-going reserves. This is handy, but not guaranteed by any means sadly. That said, it could be used in concert with the combat augment array relic to make sure this happens every time. This is a nice combination to run for the Solar Auxillia player and gives his a points cost edge over any opponent. 

Weaknesses

In comparison to the regular Lord Marshal, MaSade is much weaker, with one less pip in WS, BS, I and A each. This is probably meant to be a reflection of his age, even though he is noted to have had the rejuvenating treatments. Unlike Astartes, normal humans are not immortal despite all these treatments, and this is very much in line with the background.

Overall

Apart from his strength, he has a smattering of reasonable equipment like an iron halo and a psi-jammer that could be useful in a battle. With a 2+ save and It Will Not Die though, and a reasonable invulnerable save, he is a Lord Marshal to reckon with, even with a deteriorate stat line due to his advanced age. Although I wouldn't be afraid of playing him aggressively, he could equally hold a back line.