Games Workshop / Warhammer Preston

It has been a while since I travelled to a new Games Workshop / Warhammer store. But there I was in the North West of England with a few spare minutes on my hands and I wandered to the Warhammer store in Preston (Lancashire). 

By utterly pure coincidence, I visited on the anniversary of the store. In some ways this was very fortunate as there was a lot going on and certainly a number of people in store engaged in all manner of hobby goodness. In other ways, it was slightly hard to wander around and take pictures, so I'm afraid the outside of the store is all you're getting on this post. 

Physically the store is located on Lune Street in Preston city centre. It is very close to the major shopping arcades. Lune Street itself though feels more like a minor street running off the more prominent Fishergate which felt like almost the main shopping street in Preston -- equally I'm not a local so I'm sure someone will correct me here if I'm speaking out of turn. Seems like a very reasonable and accessible location with less than a two min walk from the train station (which was closed due to the strike when I visited). 

Shout out to Siobhan who spoke to me - she had some awesome painted nails feature the logo of many different factions on them (Iron Warriors, Thousand Sons on one hand that I saw, and White Scars and Salamanders on the other along with other loyalist chapters I think?). Jealous! 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Ordinatus Ulator

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Excellent.

Background.

A sonic weapon on steroids. On wheels. And allegedly watered down from early Mars patters. It would be better suited to a titan. But that's why it is in the Lord of War section. You won't need much else on the battlefield with this, and you're not making too many friends either.

Strengths.

The Sonic Destructor is dreadfully impressive. First up, it is a destroyer weapon. Read it and weep. Oh, and the range of 72 beam is awesome, coupled with 5 inch pie plate, at S=6 and importantly AP=2. Things will just die to this. It doesn't really need anything else, but it gets them anyway: murderous strike, pinning, ignoring cover, armourbane. 

It also has AV=14 on the front and 14 hull points. That's before we mention IWND. 

Weaknesses.

It costs a lot of points. They are points well invested all the same. There are only two real defences against it. Firstly is to adopt a "cloud" formation (scatter everything far and wide so that some of your army survives). Secondly, take it out before it takes you out. 

Builds. 

There are no upgrades here, hence no build to discuss. Pay the points and good luck to you. 

Questoris versus Mechanicum Knights

What is the difference between Questoris Knights and Mechnicum Knights in the Horus Heresy?

I've been asked this question a small number of times, but thought I would save it up until I reviewed the Knights out of Liber Mechanicum to make a quick summary.

Background.

In terms of the lore, the difference is remarkably straight forward. The Questoris Knights have sworn loyalty to the Imperium of Man - or rather are the more adventure seeking, plunder happy, wanna be Mechanicum escapees made of loyal noble households and able to wage their own wars should they feel the need and are generally loyal to the original ideals of Unity (but not necessarily, because, you know, Heresy). The Mechanicum Knights serve the Mechanicum directly by contrast.  

Unit Rules.

The stat lines of the common knights are identical as you might expect (i.e., the Questoris Knight Magaera and the Mechanicum Knight Magaera are identical). For this reason, I don't think I will be reviewing each unit distinctly! However, there are a few special rules different between the two. 

Mechanicum gets IWND at 6+ and an added Flare Shield. These are not bad upgrades overall, but the Mechanicum variants do cost slightly more than the Questoris versions. 

Faction Rules.

The biggest and most obvious difference comes from the faction rules. The Questoris Knights get everything to do with the Household ranks, but at the cost of having to field 2 Troops for every Lord of War -- which is to say you have to have Armigers. Not ever Moirax. It has to be Armigers. This isn't all bad since Armigers can serve good roles as anti-marine shooters at long range (in a pinch this can also hurt vehicles with lucky rolling), and melta killers at shorter range. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Knight Moirax Talon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars, rounded down. Great rules!

Background.

An unseemly tool that wasn't seen much until the Heresy. This is scout class knight able to mount otherwise restricted weaponry. Their pilots were accordingly lesser and expendable in the grand scheme of things - tainted slowly by the otherwise radioactive poison of these machines. 

Strengths.

Excellent customisability is standard here. If you want something to cut through space marines, then I strongly recommend the lightning locks. Or maybe sit back with the conversion beam cannon? Or what about a double siege claw for close combat? 

With 6 wounds at T=7, these knights are relatively fast and can be a pain to almost every enemy who will have to choose them or a bigger target. Take several in a talon to improve your odds.

Weaknesses.

Arguably WS=BS=4 is not so fantastic here, but it will certainly serve its purpose well enough. Ld=8 is a problem. The Greuso Protocol is an interesting advanced reaction that you will also see players take advantage of from time to time, so its not really bad at all and I'm just pulling out a few things that stand out to me.

Builds. 

4x Moirax, all with 2 Lightning Locks (820 points).

Pretty rude, but will absolutely deal with large blobs of power armour opponents.

2x Moirax with Conversion Beam Cannon (420 points).

Two hits from the conversion beam cannon at maximum range is deadly. Even mid-range is going to have the same effect as a las cannon in terms of raw strength. Hang in the back field and take down those enemy tanks swiftly. Take another 2 just to make sure the job gets done either here or in a distinct unit?

I Take a Short Break and Fulgrim Ascends?!

I don't know folks. I take a short break, and look away for a mere few moment, and what do you all let happen? You let Fulgrim ascend. I hope you're happy with yourselves. 

But wow. What an ascension!

I think I'm minded to forgive you all for allowing this to happen whilst I was away! I'm absolutely loving the look of this miniature and can't wait to see the rules for him in the new release when it comes out. The model is a serious contender for one of the best ever made. Top marks from me! Well done Forge World team - you've outdone yourselves!