Disintegrator Squad

We're now calling them disintegrator squads. Sorry, I don't make the rules, that's just the way it is herein!

Any how, here are the members of the disintegrator squad of 5. There's 4 standard rifles, and one heavy disintegrator. These marines will become part of my Salamanders shattered legion detachment. I'm very happy with how they turned out! One head is from the resin upgrade set which I rather like. 

Only now I need to purchase some more White Scar spray paint to get the undercoat done. Hopefully I have more than enough Warp Lightning contrast paint left to get them up to a good standard - the contrast paint works wonders for the Salamanders in my opinion!

Hours Heresy 3e Review: Saturnine Terminator Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. I have rounded down due to the the overload danger and blowing themselves up!

Background.

I have raced ahead in the Liber to bring the Saturnine terminators review early to you dear readers since like me, some of you are wondering how to build these. Retonned to be an innovation of Vulkan who in turn gifted his knowledge to his brothers, the Saturnine terminator has long been in the lore. Here they have made a magnificent come back, although lacking the over head bolt gun (which was always odd looking, but hey, we're talking Saturnine anyway). For me, I actually LIKE the look of these new terminators and feel like Games Workshop has done a great job bringing them up to date so to speak. I also fully get why the community sees them as marmite!

Strengths. 

W=3 and T=6 is amazing. These terminators have superlative staying power and are competitively priced at 60 points each (although the usual points cost tax exists when forking out for the initial unit - the add ons are 60 points each).

The load outs are limited: plasma bombard, disruption fist (with or without particle shredder), and twin heavy disintegrator. The plasma bombard is excellent. You could use is with indirect fire with two bombard each and hold back. But I think mixing the plasma with the disruption fists is the way to go here. 

Don't overlook the shredder on the fists either. These template weapons are simply amazing!

Weaknesses. 

I want to like the twin heavy disintegrators. However, they are horrifically dangerous. Sure, they will melt to slag most things in the game. But with Overload (2), they will also melt the user as well!! Its a gamble to be very clear. And sometimes you will want to take that gamble. Two twin heavy disintegrators is really asking you to destroy yourself, so I'm not recommending that build. 

In all cases, remember that these terminators will also be fire magnets and you will need to think about them exploding as well on occasion!

Builds. 

Not too many builds here, but these are the more obvious ones. I deliberately EXCLUDE having 2 lots of twin heavy disintegrators as the risk tips the balance to early self destruction in my opinion - but for laughs I've included it at the end. This is your almost final warning!

3 Saturnine Terminators, all with 2 lots of Plasma Bombards (200 points). 

Sit back, and literally bombard your opponent off the board with near ranged impunity. A larger mob of these is massively deadly. 

3 Saturnine Terminators, all with twin heavy disintegrators and disruption fists with shredders (245 points).

High risk, high reward. There is very little that these terminators cannot handle. I would be tempted to add in extra bodies here, but haven't done the math-hammer to think about this statement in detail. 

6 Saturnine Terminators, all with Plasma Bombard and Disruption Fists with Shredders  (410 points).

Very points efficient and superlatively deadly at medium range and close up. This has to be the favoured and baseline build. A sensible build even. For sensible players! Which leads me into... 

6 Saturnine Terminators, all with 2 lots of Twin Heavy Disintegrators (500 points).
ONLY FOR LAUGHS - I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BUILD. Super expensive in terms of points cost. Legitimately could be the most deadly thing in any given game short of a super heavy of some kind. Will categorically result in blowing yourself up regularly due to Overload (2). But it WILL absolutely handle nearly everything you might be worried about. The play style would be to simply teleport into position, open fire, and hope you survive and your target does not. Hilarious overall whilst not truthfully being recommended because you are not making any friends here, okay?!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Optae

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Ideal for small points value games where you want a bit of a minor threat. 

Background.

Lowly commanders entrusted with certain small scale actions. When the opportunity for promotion comes around, they will be sure to have tried to get as good a record as possible off the ground. They are well connected men who generally garner the respect of their peers. 

Strengths. 

These command options are great for small scale games where you want a bit of a boost or to pack a bit of a punch where you might need it. Kill Teams, Zone Mortalis, and similar might all benefit. 

Weaknesses. 

Candidly, you won't be taking Optae outside of small scale games. Hence their utility to you depends on how many points you are playing. If like me, you quite like smaller games that you can actually get finished over a lunch time, they're great! If you're gaming for the afternoon or the entire day, they won't get used. It is as simple as that in my eyes. I'd politely suggest a limit of 750 points to include them? And on top of this, they've lost the auto-rally thing they had going for them in second edition. Boo. 

Builds. 

I'm thinking here of lower points games especially and have tried to control the amount of points spent accordingly. Clearly you can spend more, but in low points value games, you want points efficiency as much as possible.  

1 Optae, Thunder Hammer (65 points). 

Not elegant, but is a great way to bring an obvious extra thunder hammer to a fight. And if you are in challenges, it might matter as well. 

1 Optae, Twin Lightning Claws (70 points).

Goes at higher initiative than the thunder hammer?

1 Optae, Jump Pack, Combi-Melta, Melta Bombs  (85 points).

Getting more expensive here, but worth it if you don't have another dedicated melta unit potentially. In the range of a Centurion might be better here?

1 Optae, Disintegrator Pistol, Bolt Gun with Chain Bayonet (57 points).

A great way to sneak in another man with a disintegrator weapon into a standard troops selection.  

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Medusan Immortals Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded up. They are now troops and much less pressed for space compared to second edition. 

Background.

Failures. Whether in the eyes of the Primarch, or due to the fickle whims of battlefield fate, and perhaps grievous wounds too great such that they need massive cybernetic rebuilds, these marines were cast into the Immortals Squad to earn some token of redemption. Pretty bleak stuff and just underscores the dark fury contained within this legion. And people wonder why I think the Iron Hands should have been traitors. They just suffer so much abuse. 

Strengths. 

Feel no pain due to cybernetic rebuilds as standard is solid here, and this is added to Expendable (2) in third edition to make them all the better. 

There is some customization available now that the Legacies have been released as well.

Of extra note is Cool=10 which is, of course, fluffy and fully justified. 

Weaknesses. 

They are fundamentally an upgraded breacher squad. You might not need these upgrades, but so what. The models have the rule of cool (quite literally!). Excellent for Zone Mortalis style missions, and excellent objective holders to say the least. 

Builds.

10 Immortals, 2 Flamers (180 points)

My favoured build for third edition, even though I played it in second. Panic your opponent. And highly useful for Zone Mortalis as well. Take a melee weapon on the sergeant to taste. 

10 Immortals, 2 Graviton Shredders, Thunder Hammer on sergeant (215 points).

Use with a land raider?

10 Immortals, 10 Volkite Chargers, Thunder Hammer on sergeant (205 points)

Lovely martian death rays. Handy for charging out of a vehicle with. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Gorgon Terminator Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Great terminators that flash brightly if you shoot them!

Background.

Ferrus Manus was busy at work prototyping some awesome stuff before his untimely demise. This included the Gorgon terminator armour set which converts kinetic and electromagnetic energy hitting them into bright flash of lights to dissipate. Unfortunately, it also required the users to be permanently bonded to the armour. This was not a problem though for the Iron Hands because they were already pretty grim dark and down with cyber enhancements. 

Strengths. 

Feel no pain as base reflects in a fluffy manner the sheer bionics and replacements needed to wear this armour. Vanguard (3) is very nice indeed. 

If they have suffered a volley during the combat phase then they will flash with their unique ability if they pass a saving throw. This inflicts Suppressed on a failed cool test which is fair.

The stat line is reasonable with 3 attacks base, T=5, and a good willpower oddly. Thanks to the legacies release, they also have their full range of options back (seriously, this should have been in the liber in the first place). 

Weaknesses. 

The points cost can rapidly build up if you let it. The squad is worth their points overall though. 

Builds.

6 Gorgon Terminators, 2 Graviton Shredders, 2 Chain Fists, Vexilla (295 points). 
Your baseline all comers entry - nice for transport killing and getting to their contents as well! Notably cheaper than 2nd edition as well in points cost.  

9 Gorgon Terminators, 3 Reaper Autocannons, Vexilla (395 points).

Ranged work. Exactly the same points cost as second.

5 Gorgon Terminators, 3 pairs of Lightning Claws, 1 Heavy Flamer, Vexilla (245 points).

Short range, but oddly more expensive than second edition. 

5 Gorgon Terminators, 4 Combi-Plasma, 1 Plasma Blaster, Vexilla (260 points).
Plasma-cide squad. Possibly a distraction carnifex to be honest. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Iron Father

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. A solid high command choice, but a pure praetor can be better depending on your army list and favoured play style. 

Background.

Unlike the artisans of the Salamanders, the Iron Fathers of the Iron Hands cared little about aesthetics and more - much more - about brutal efficiency. Off the battlefield, they are also used by the clans of the Iron Hands to settle any internal disputes and are thus considered outside the usual structure as a vital advisor. 

Strengths. 

You gain a few things over a regular praetor. This includes battlesmith which is very nice, a servo arm, augury scanner and cortex controller. Feel no pain is also nice.

Arguably the core reason to take them is for the Lord of Automata special rule. For this, you gain one extra slot in the force organisation chart that must be filled with Castellax battle automata maniple. This is very nice and fitting. 

Legacies update: a power armour version can be taken instead of the baseline terminator option. 

Weaknesses. 

They cost differently to a praetor, and generally the cost is worthwhile. It just depends on whether this is your play style or not. 

Builds.

1 Iron Father, Terminator Armour, Thunder Hammer (185 points). 

A straight forward set up. Take the cyber familiar to taste. 

1 Iron Father, Power Armour, Paragon Blade, Combi-Grav (175 points).

Expensive, but sound overall. Can't fathom a way to get a graviton pistol or shredder though. Again, take the cyber familiar to taste. 

Horus Heresy 3e: Legacies of the Age of Darkness Released!

 

Your armies are saved.

Praise the Omnissiah! For the Emperor! Hail the Warmaster!

Finally. I say this with an immense amount of relief. 

The Warhammer Community has today released the Legacies of the Age of Darkness pdf. 

Clocking in at a whopping 207 pages, this document has, in greater part, saved third edition, in my biased opinion.

From my initial reading of the pdf, I think I can safely say that everyone's armies are now fully playable for third edition of Horus Heresy. To be clear, I have not read all 207 pages yet. That'll happen in due course. But as of today, I am very confident in my above statement that everyone's armies are now saved and fully playable. And they've also re-introduced key things like bike-mounted Praetors in the same tome. I'll have to update my earlier reviews even!

The panic over having illegal builds for our armies is over. I'm happy. It didn't have to go down like this in the first place, but the right thing has now been done. And relatively swiftly and accurately too. Well done Games Workshop. 

I will cite two explicit examples from my own forces. 

Case A: World Eaters Sergeants and Caedere Weapons. 
In Second Edition, it was the case that squad sergeants could pay a small points cost to take a Caedere Weapon. This was no longer the case for Third Edition upon release. This is now corrected. As part of the updated Armoury for the World Eater: Any Model with the Command, Champion, Specialist or Sergeant Sub-Type may have its power weapon exchanged for one Caedere weapon for +10 Points per Model.

I have already modeled and converted Falax Blades on my assault squad sergeant (see image to the right). He hasn't been playable under Third Edition until this moment. I am very, very relieved. 

Case B: Raven Guard and Mor Deythan Weapon Choices. 
In Second Edition, it was the case that the entire squad had access to combi weapons, and some also had access to melta guns. Again, in Third Edition this was not the case upon release and Mor Deythan seemed doomed to only have the resin that they were sold with. This is also now corrected as below [points cost excluded]:

Additional Raven Guard Unit Options
Mor Deythan Squad Add the following additional options to this Unit Profile: 

Any Model in this Unit may have one of the following selected for it: Charnabal sabre or Power weapon

Any Model in this Unit may have its Nemesis bolter exchanged for one item from the Legion Combi-weapons list. 

For every three Models in this Unit, one Model in this Unit may have its Nemesis bolter exchanged for one of the following: Plasma pistol / Volkite charger / Flamer / Plasma gun / Meltagun / Missile launcher

The Mor Deythan Shade in this Unit may have melta bombs selected for it.

Once more, my converted Mor Deythan with melta guns and combi-meltas (see image below) are now totally playable once more. This is more than a relief considering the time expended and cost in putting these models together. Very, very happy once again. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Shadrak Meduson

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average and a regular praetor may serve you better?

Background.

The master of the shattered legions returns to third edition with his regular panoply of war. Whole books in the Heresy series have been written about him (or maybe the Alpha Legion impersonating him).

Meduson made his escape from Isstvan and re-forced the remnants of the Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders into a new fighting force. They became guerrillas, deploying behind enemy lines and fighting as a flexible force that took advantage of each of their legion's strengths. All the while hunted by Tybalt Marr and the Emperor's Children. 

Strengths. 

The 24 inch bolt gun, Storm's Wrath, comes with breaching in third edition and FP=3. Meanwhile the Albian Power Gladius is at S+1 and AP3 which is nice, but likely you will be fighting against 2+ armour saves which you need to keep in mind. 

Battlesmith is nice to have, as is the servo-arm that Meduson comes with as standard. 

Weaknesses. 

Although he is high command and has the status of a praetor, his stat line is strictly worse than that of a praetor. Explicitly in WS and A. Keep this in mind for challenges. 

Overall.

I hope that the Shattered Legions rules for third edition will make Meduson more attractive. As he currently stands, he is strictly worse than a regular praetor, costs probably slightly more than you would hope, and is mid-range - able to do shooting and melee reasonably, but truly excelling at neither (slightly better on the ranged shots to be fair). You're taking him for the additional reaction point from Master of the Legion, the shooting, and presumably what will be re-forged Shattered Legion rules. Otherwise take a different Praetor level character such as an Iron Father or a genuine Praetor. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Ferrus Manus

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. The first Primarch review in third edition is an excellent one. 

Background.

The Gorgon. The Great Iron Father. And also the first Primarch to be betrayed and perish at his brother's hands during the opening phases of the Horus Heresy. Ferrus Manus is a tragic figure, yet he is also a stern and uncompromising leader of the Great Crusade and Primarch to the Iron Tenth; The Iron Hands. To me, it remains a surprise that the Iron Hands stayed loyal to the Emperor. They were so close to Horus that many in the legion displayed the Eye of Horus on their armour. They also had a surprisingly close relationship with the Emperor's Children. The man himself is noted as a craftsman whose equal might only be found in Vulkan. And of course, he had a highly unusual physiology himself with those silvery hands and eyes. He prized physical strength above all things and despised weakness. The kind of excess that caused a fall from glory for his brothers.

Strengths. 

I want to firstly note Forge Breaker. This is a AP=2, D=3 war hammer that slams opponents around with an additional critical hit on 5+. Although his lower initiative when using it might prove a problem in challenges, the native +3 on strength is simply amazing. This weapon alone will win you challenges. 

His individual gambit in challenges will set his toughness to 8 for the following strike step. This is an almost must-do gambit and potentially in the first round as well. 

The medusan carapace give access to a bunch of ranged weapons that cover pinning, shock, and panic which makes Ferrus Manus an excellent inflictor of conditions. 

As Sire of the Iron Hands, he can grant prime slots to breachers and tactical squads if they fill up the primary detachment. But more importantly, all infantry in the first turn gain feel no pain to allow them to better take an even greater beating at the start of the game which when combined with their S-1 effects to incoming firepower makes them amazingly stable. 

Weaknesses. 

As a primarch, Ferrus Manus has no real weaknesses. With the ability to go to T=8 in one challenge round, and T=7 otherwise, he is a beast. Battlesmith is just the icing on the cake. 

Overall.

An excellent character and army wide boost. Excellent in challenges as well. Ferrus Manus is truthfully a combat beast. It is a good question as to whether he regularly wins against his beloved brother, Fulgrim, in challenges. Fulgrim has the initiative on him though and lots of attacks. Yet he will be hard pressed to damage Ferrus Manus with his T=8 gambit and lack of critical hits on his own blade. In return, Ferrus Manus will hurt Fulgrim for sure. Its a knife edge challenge that may come down to gambits employed and who gets the charge. Difficult to predict but arguably Ferrus Manus has the edge in S and T most of the time and should win statistically in my personal opinion. 

His points cost is also in the high bracket for Primarchs. This is well justified give his army-wide boosts and his potential in combat. He really is up there in terms of the sheer damage that primarchs can dish out. Overall then, a very, very worthwhile Primarch to take. 

World Eaters Praetor / Centurion Conversion

For my growing World Eaters detachment, it is clear that I need Praetor or Centurion to make the force a little bit more rounded by opening up the force organisation chart for third edition. This conversion is what I came up with. 

The body is from the newer range of Khorne Berzerkers, but carefully chosen so that there are zero symbols of Khorne or Chaos anywhere on the miniature. It certainly communicates the character that I am aiming for here. The mace (power maul, or potentially a paragon weapon for a praetor) comes from the Age of Sigmar and is from the Storm Cast range itself. Specifically, a Stormcast Eternal Reclusian two handed mace. The tricky bit here is the right shoulder which needs significantly shaved down in order to fit a shoulder pad over it. The other arm lacks a shoulder altogether and I had to substitute a regular power armour arm to fill in the gap to the elbow. The shoulders here are one from the Berzerkers range (left shoulder pad) which features on the World Eaters symbol, and one from the chaos terminators range (right shoulder pad) which is a blank for me to apply a transfer later on. 

For the head, I have a commander's helm from the Mark II range of the Saturnine boxed set. The base is rounded off with some off cast bits from the old scenery range which I've sawed down to fit on a regular 32mm base. The backpack is an old fashion chaos space marines backpack which is a nod to the forge worlds associated with the traitors - i.e., Anvilus.  

Skyhunter

A bit of a hobby day today, and first off the table is a skyhunter. 

This particular chap is going to be an Emperor's Children squad sergeant. The build was very simple overall - and remarkably this is also the first sky hunter that I've assembled. I've put the multi melta in place for the weapon as I wanted a squad that could ride up and try to pop tanks up close and personal. In third edition, this is more challenging, but I still like the concept of doing this (that, and the low AP from second edition for plasma cannons has long gone now sadly). The left arm for the sergeant is from the new Warhammer 40k Emperor's Children range and features a jagged power sword which looks suitably vicious. The head meanwhile is from the older chaos space marine range. Overall, the vibe I'm going for is one of pre-fall Emperor's Children who might just be toying with some of the lighter range of excess that the legion would later be known for. Obviously the base needs work yet, and painting is yet to come, but I think the dynamic and the features are communicating the right ideas here for me. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Iron Hands Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. The Iron Hands return to third edition as strong as ever. 

Background.

As always with a new edition, the first legion that I always focus on are the Iron Hands. The simple reason is that this is the legion that I benchmark all others against. And more than this, they are one of the toughest legions out there in the previous editions, able to weather onslaughts of firepower thanks to their special rules. 

Armoury. 

The third edition contains some old staples, and some new entries. 

Armatus Necrotechnika returns with the ability to self-repair Iron Hands vehicles at 5+, but can also gobble up the remains of any casualties to boost this. Very handy, if a bit grim. 

Artificer Power Axe is an interesting one representing Medusan technology. Shred and Breaching are a good bonus for this weapon.

Graviton Pistols are nice and affordable upgrade for command and champion characters to have. 

Legacies update: Graviton shredders and guns now also appear in the special weapons chart, and Gorgon terminator armour can be selected by pretty much all command and high command choices. 

The Iron Clad adds an extra dreadnought who becomes a champion sub type if you fill a Prime Slot of a command role. This is nice as it thematically represents those Iron Hands who just wanted to keep on fighting. 

Tactica. 

The Iron Hands keep the -1 to wound of incoming firepower from previous editions via The Gorgon's Scales. This is, of course, their core strength and why facing off against them is so difficult in the early turns at range.

Gambit.  
Double the normal bonus for the focus roll from Outside Support thanks to Legion of One - the Iron Hands became very self-sufficient after Isstvan. Meanwhile, their opponents can only gain +2 as the maximum from Outside support. 

Additional Detachments. 
The Spearhead Phalanx is an excellent auxiliary option bringing in three slots (albeit that the heavy transport has to be a land raider or spartan - no problem with that - in addition to the tanks and terminators). 
The Medusan Vanguard meanwhile is an apex detachment that brings terminators, a dreadnought, and more at the price of the command slot here being a Praevian. No problem at all with that and very fluffy.

Advanced Reaction. 
Spite of the Gorgon allows you to fire back at full BS at a unit charging them. The cost is Overload (1) and no reactive volley. This is very reasonable, but obviously the overload is an issue. 

Overall then, an excellent and solid suite of rules that encourages shooting and survival of the incoming shots. The gambit is reasonable without being outstanding, and the armoury is sound as well. A worthy benchmark for other legions to be measured against indeed. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Centurion in Terminator Armour

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Opening up the force organisation chart, and a terminator. What's not to like!

Background.

Usually accompanying the vanguard of the army, these centurions are similarly commanders and battle officers as more regular power armour centurions are. So go ahead and storm to victory by making some carefully calculated risks and weathering the returning storm thanks to that armour. 

Strengths. 

As with the regular centurion, these men also come with Officer of the Line (2) which opens up your force organisation chart. If you don't have the power armour variant, you will certainly want the terminator armour variant for this fact alone. 

Their stat line is as good as the regular centurion, but given they are now in terminator armour they get 4 wounds, and T=5 which is beautiful really. Of course, they can take Cataphractii or Tartaros armour and the choice depends on how you feel

Don't forget your Prime Upgrades either. 

Weaknesses. 

Cataphractii comes with a slightly slower movement rate, along with Slow and Purposeful (meaning you cannot pursue) which might be something to consider in terms of the trade off. The points cost is the same though. 

Builds.

Terminators have slightly less customisation compared to regular power armour, but that's all good really. 

1 Centurion, Tartaros Armour, Prime: Master Sergeant (100 points). 

Even the most basic set up is vaible. 

1 Centurion, Cataphractii Armour, Twin Lightning Claws, Prime: Master Sergeant (105 points).
Sure, you need to get where you have to be, but that's what land raiders are for. A nasty close combat centurion

1 Centurion, Cataphractii Armour, Chain Fist, Combi-Melta, Prime: Paragon of Battle (120 points).
To face off against vehicles. 

1 Centurion, Cataphractii Armour, Thunder Hammer, Combi-Plasma, Prime: Paragon of Battle (120 points).
An almost all-comers variant?

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Centurion

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Due to the way in which Centurions can open up your force organisation chart, I'm giving them 5/5 stars. 

Background.

Commanders and battle officers, but some more unsung than others. These are the men who are in charge and know how to get stuff done. They have already demonstrated their worth is many battles and across multiple terrains and are familiar with it all. 

Strengths. 

Let's first of all mention that they have Officer of the Line (2) which means they open up 2 further force organisation slots. This is great for widening your forces and one of the main reasons to take them. 

Their stat line is solid enough overall with WS=BS=I=5, and W=3. They even get a 5+ invulnerable save as standard. Beyond this, they have quite a degree of customization available. 

Don't forget your Prime Upgrades either. 

Weaknesses. 

As with Praetors, you won't see any bikes here, but they are good enough for what they do, and you will want some on your army roster just for Officer of the Line shenanigans. 

Builds -- updated for the Legacies options of mounted Centurions. 

There are many potential builds for Centurions. Below are just ones I like. Once again, your mileage might vary. 

1 Centurion, Power Weapon (choose variant), Prime: Master Sergeant (90 points). 

Cannot go too wrong with a simple set up like this. 

1 Centurion, Thunder Hammer, Combi-Melta, Prime: Paragon of Battle (105 points).
Charge out of your vehicle and inflict damage, or just shoot away. 

1 Centurion, Jump Pack, Twin Lightning Claws, Prime: Master Sergeant (120 points).
For your jump pack armies. Take Vexilla to taste.

1 Centurion, Power Fist, Disintegrator Pistol, Melta Bombs, Vexilla, Prime: Paragon of Battle (115 points).
Put inside a large squad to beef them up.  

1 Centurion on a bike, Power Weapon (120 points).

Cheap and viable.

1 Centurion on jetbike, Multi-Melta, Power Sword (150 points).

For your tank hunting squads?

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Praetor in Terminator Armour

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. As with the core Praetor, you will want one flavour of Praetor in every standard points value game.

Background.

Masters of their legions, Legion Praetors are the commanders just below the Primarchs themselves. Every force (apart from kill teams, and probably below something like 1250 points) should take one realistically! They represent the mighty warriors of humanity and are the battle leaders of the legions that carry similarly mighty weaponry into battle and can order the requisition of rare legion detachments when needed. These are simply Praetors in terminator armour, and I am combining all types here. 

Strengths. 

The stat line is excellent and boosted compared to the standard praetor. Cataphractii and Tartaros gain another wound (W=5), whereas the Saturnine has an incredible W=6. These praetors are absolute beasts realistically. 

The Saturnine armour has the added attraction of being able to upgrade with a teleport transponder which is amazingly attractive here as it will carry its unit into play via Deep Strike. 

Weaknesses. 

Terminator armour heavier that Tartaros slows the characters down M=6 for Cataphractii and M=5 for Saturnine. Saturnine gets less attacks and initiative on top of this as well as the Bulky (4) rule. Of course, they also gain slow and purposeful except for Tartaros which retains its fluid movement and ability to chase down enemies. 

Builds.

There are many potential builds for terminator praetors here. Below are just ones I like. Once again, your mileage might vary. 

1 Tartaros Praetor, Paragon Blade (170 points). 
Paragon blades remain a favourite for praetors and terminators are no different. 

1 Cataphractii Praetor, Twin Lightning Claws (150 points).
Very melee orientated. 

1 Cataphractii Praetor, Thunder Hammer, Combi-Melta (165 points).
For all you distraction carnifexes out there. 

1 Saturnine Praetor, Concussion Hammer, Plasma Blaster, Teleport Transponder (280 points).

The teleport transponder is too attractive to ignore. But the points cost stacks up fast. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Praetor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. You will want one for every space marine army you run realistically, but I can see them being left out at lower points games for third edition. 

Background.

Masters of their legions, Legion Praetors are the commanders just below the Primarchs themselves. Every force (apart from kill teams, and probably below something like 1250 points) should take one realistically! They represent the mighty warriors of humanity and are the battle leaders of the legions that carry similarly mighty weaponry into battle and can order the requisition of rare legion detachments when needed. 

Strengths. 

The stat line is excellent with WS=6 arguing for a close combat orientated monster, although the BS=5 is nothing to sneeze at either. With 4 wounds and A=5=I, they are quick and fearful opponents. The Ld=10 alone is good enough to take them, but the bonus reaction slot that they get will prove absolutely invaluable to all armies, let alone access to the Apex Detachments that they grant. 

Weaknesses. 

There are no real downsides or weaknesses here realistically. Most upgrades are slightly cheaper than second edition as well. 

Builds - modified for Legacy Options. 

There are many potential builds for praetors, and here I've simply listed configurations that stood out to me, or appealed to me the most. Your mileage may vary. 

1 Praetor, no upgrades (120 points). 
The naked praetor is just as viable in third edition as it was in second. Sure, you are not going to see a praetor played like this, but I'm including it for completeness. Note the points cost is the same as second edition as well. In theory, you could just take Combat Retinue detachment here (hence it is still the same as Second Edition). 

1 Praetor, Jump Pack, Paragon Blade or Thunder Hammer to taste (155 points).
Front line and going places. And cheaper than second edition remarkably! 

1 Praetor, Combi-Disintegrator, Charnabal Sabre (135 points).

Tempting to just take the disintegration pistol here to make it even cheaper. Take a cyber familiar to taste. 

1 Praetor, Lightning Claws, Melta Bombs (145 points).
Cheap and cheerful to charge out of a land raider. Add on a jump pack if you prefer?

1 Praetor, Boarding Shield, Power Fist (140 points).
For Zone Mortalis and similar board configurations. 

1 Praetor, Bike, Paragon Blade (175 points).

Very much like the re-inclusion of the bike in the legacies list! 

1 Praetor, Jetbike, Paragon Blade (185 points).

As above, but more anti grav and quicker. Ideal for those Emperor's Children and White Scars fans, and others as well!

Mark II Armour Marine with Heavy Disintegrator

The first miniature that I've built out of the Saturnine boxed set is a Mark II armoured marine with a heavy disintegrator!

I really like the retro feel of these space marines. The disintegration weapons only add to that vibe. The models were really easy to build overall. There are a few issues that are very, very minor such as a gate on the mold being situated on the shoulder join, and some obvious flash that needed scraping off - most notably on the arms. Everything here though is otherwise millimeter perfect overall and I couldn't be happier with the simplicity of the build and the overall look that the marine has. Only one minor quibble is where to attach the bolt pistol holster as the side clamps on the legs get in the way of this a little bit more that I would have hoped.

The overall intent here is to build a small five man veteran tactical squad with disintegration weapons for 24 inch ranged support where needed. I think this squad will be Salamanders (and I will use the prime slot in the Apex detachment to bring in my dreadnought here as well - very convenient). This is a great way to have a primary detachment or allied detachment of Salamanders in my forces. Looking forward to completing the build and getting the entire squad ready and fit for purpose. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Force Organisation Charts

The first review of Third Edition Horus Heresy is going to be about the revised Force Organisation Chart. 

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 Stars. Rounded Up. Confusing at first glance, but actually really good when you dig beneath the surface!

To be clear from the outset: gone are the traditional boundaries for HQ, Elites, Troops, Fast Attack, Heavy Support, and Lords of War. 

Instead we have new tags (and these are ones that I will be using for the forth coming reviews on Warpstone Flux) of:
Warlords (Primarchs and similar) - note the nomenclature change and potential confusion here;

High Command (Praetors and similar)

Command (Consuls and similar)

Retinue (For your commanders company)

Elites (The deadliest members of your army?)

War-Engine (Dreadnoughts)

Troops (as you know and love)

Support (specialists)

Lord of War (Those non-primarch massive units)

Transports (as you know and love)

Heavy Assault (terminators and similar)

Heavy Transport (heavily armoured transports)

Armour (Predators and similar)

Recon (Light infantry and cavalry)

Fast Attack (Speedy units).

But what is much more fundamental is the change to the Force Organisation Chart and the corresponding lack of Rites of War which simply don't exist any longer and don't modify things like "Take Fast Attack as Troops choices" that players might have been used to in First and Second Edition. This is worth a good hard look. The key page is 284 in the core rule book which I display below under "Fair Use" and the corresponding Legio Astartes one in the Libers. 

How does this all work?

Players start with the Crusade Primary Detachment. This consists of:
1x High Command + 3x Command + 4x Troops + 4x Transport. 

In addition to this, players are ALWAYS allowed to take the Additional Detachments: the Warlord Detachment, the Lord of War Detachment, and the Allied Detachment. Note that the first two have points restrictions (no Primarchs below 3000 points games; and only 25% of points on your Lords of War). Note explicitly here that Allied Detachments can be taken MULTIPLE TIMES (core rules: page 281) with a hard limit of 50% of the points value of your army in allied detachments (and this is deep: the allied detachment can get auxiliary detachments of their own). 

Primes.

Now, there are two interesting facets to the Force Organisation Charts that must be looked into with a good hard stare. Firstly, some of the slots have a magic 6 points halo around them which denotes Prime Slots. Units selected for Prime Slots get bonuses. Hence my view (already) is to ALWAYS take Prime Slots if you are able since it will boost your army and its effectiveness. The choices are interesting:

Master Sergeant grants +1 A, WS, Ld, and Champion (or another +1 Ld if already a champion). Only once per detachment, but a very solid gain for a close combat monster. 

Combat Veterans grants +1 to all advanced characteristics which is solid if not outstanding, but critically affects the entire unit.

Paragon of Battle grants +1 A, BS, WS for a command sub type which is suitably flexible and almost the go-to choice. 

Special Assignment grants you a second high command at the price of no additional detachments. Good if you want a pure army of one faction. 

Logistical Benefit: Gain another 1 force organisation chart slot (once per detachment) for your command slot. Very handy. Very, very handy indeed and probably the go-to choice for discerning list builders like myself. Note that this is NOT a new detachment, but adds to the existing detachment. 

It is also worth mentioning here the Officer of the Line special rule which permits an extra selection of auxiliary detachments to be selected. You are going to want Officers of the Line filling those command slots in my opinion. 

Adding more detachments.

Here is where things get more interesting. For your high command slot, you can add 1 Apex or Auxiliary detachment, and for every command slot, you can add 1 Auxiliary detachment. 

Hence for maximum flexibility for your army's choices you will want to fill your primary detachment with:

1x High Command (to access 1 Apex or 1 Auxiliary detachment)

3x Command (Prime with Logistical Benefit) and all with Officer of the Line. 

The above combination will grant you a maximum of 6 Auxiliary detachments + 1 Apex (or 7 Auxiliary if you like), plus an extra slot within the primary detachment. To be very honest, this is overkill and more than you would want in a 2000 to 3000 points game, but things get more restrictive as you go over 3000 points and you may have to think harder. Hence you might not need all of these choice, and in lower points games (like the ones I like, say at 1500 points), even one or two auxiliary detachments will do the job nicely. 

Note explicitly though that Primes are NOT restricted to your primary detachment. They also exist in Allied Detachment (nice), and every Apex Detachment as well. 

Thinking about my armies right now.
I've got enough Alpha Legion bodies to work out almost any combination that I need.
Similarly for the Iron Warriors, I just need to paint up one or two more models and I'm basically entirely sorted. 

My World Eaters don't work yet though. I have an assault squad, a warmonger with terminator squad, and a leviathan. I need at least one more command or high command for this. Or. I could just Logistical Benefit to bring the Leviathan in the primary detachment and use the Warmonger slot for the terminators, so it might work that way, but I'm planning to expand this force regardless.

For the Emperor's Children, I have a praetor, apothecary, assault squad, and a specialist las cannon squad. I actually planned on adding some jet bikes too. So undoubtedly I will need another command slot here. 

For my Shattered Legions, they mostly work right now right out of the box, so I am free to add some things as I see fit. This opens the vista for expanding the Salamanders perhaps. I like the free transfers in the core box so I might actually head down this pathway. I don't like my Mor Dethan Raven Guard being obsolete (melta configuration) so I might have to use them as "counts as" or something else (support squad), but they're fine. Iron Hands are similarly fine with their breachers. 

Hence I'm actually all good to go ahead and expand things for these additional legions, which is now probably going to be more core hobby plan going forward for the Saturnine set. Just got to figure out which force is going to get the new terminators?! 

Overall.
This is a fundamental and massive overhaul of the old systems that we've used for decades. It opens up brand new ways of army building that I (and others) probably haven't thought of yet. I don't think it is broken - I haven't yet fathomed a way to break it, but it may yet exist. At the same time, it does hurt armies like drop pod assault armies - but the Deep Strike rule already curtailed them as you can only bring one unit per turn onto the board via deep strike now (WHAT?! Please FAQ/Errata this!). 

Simultaneously, armies that used to be composed entirely of dreadnoughts are now hammered by two factors: a single dreadnought is a single auxiliary detachment, AND you will need commanders in place to take them. I think this is sensible given that in second edition contemptors and similar were just over-powered, full stop. I do recall a First Edition game against a Salamanders dreadnought army which I only narrowly won by tactical use of terrain screening for my Alphas, I would have wanted to see that in Second Edition, but here in Third Edition it is going to be harder to field, and I would remain confident that an all-comers list could actually do well given the points scoring we have in Third Edition. 

I therefore like these changes, and it allows so much more flexibility than previously to build some very unique, or expansive forces. 

Horus Heresy 30k Third Edition 3e Reviews Summary

This is the summary page for Warpstone Flux's reviews of the Third Edition of Horus Heresy / 30k! 

We will be reviewing every unit as you have come to expect from Warpstone Flux over the previous years (decades even!) and providing tactical and strategic insights in depth. Clearly this is a work in progress, starting from the release date of third edition (26/July/2025). Should readers need it, then the summary pages for the older editions can still be found but are no longer updated:
Second Edition Summary Page | First Edition Summary Page

Last Updated: 10/August/2025. 
Working on: Core Rulebook, and Liber Astartes / Hereticus.
Warpstone Flux Reviews Tag: 3eHHReview

Comments: Open, welcome, and any encouragement or praise, or free glasses of wine gladly consumed. 

Core Rulebook:

Force Organisation Charts

Legio Astartes Army Common Entries:

High Command: 

Praetor (inc Mounted) | Praetor in Terminator Armour

Command: 

Centurion (inc Mounted) | Centurion in Terminator Armour 
Optae 

Heavy Assault:
Saturnine Terminator Squad 

Liber Astartes (Loyalist) Specialist Entries: 

Iron Hands: Legion Rules. 
Primarch: Ferrus Manus

High Command: Shadrak Meduson | Iron Father 
Heavy Assault: Gorgon Terminator Squad 
Troops: Medusan Immortals Squad

Liber Hereticus (Traitor) Specialist Entries:

TBA

Liber Questoris:

TBA

[...]

More to come. 

Saturnine: Arrived

It. Is. Here.

Finally - I have Saturnine, and slightly ahead of schedule!!

It is big. The parcel weighed nearly 10kg (>1.5 stones). And it is filled with glorious hobby materials! I'm going to spend some time today digesting things, and the I will get going with some THIRD EDITION REVIEWS later this week. Hope you're all looking forward to this adventure!

Excitement building!

UPS Delivery

My consignment of Third Edition is apparently with the UPS delivery company. 

I was optimistic that I might receive it tomorrow (Saturday), but I am now resigned to the likelihood that I won't get my hands on third edition until Monday next week. At that point, the new suite of reviews will begin with a bit of luck! Until then, I shall be living through all of you, looking at the miniatures you are assembling, painting, and trying to not be tooooo jealous!

End of 2nd Wargames Gallery: Strike and Fade

Tacking the traitor elements of the Alpha Legion, the Raven Guard fall back on their tried and tested assault methodology and capabilities: Strike and Fade. 

Although the Alpha Legion went hard with their drop pods and terminator assaults, the Raven Guard were rapidly in position to counter them with their Mor Deythan and a tactical squad led by a consul. The Alpha Legion sorcerer meanwhile readied his next "spell" to use. 

The terminators were ultimately very formidable even if the Raven Guard made them pay heavily. 

There's one more pic from this battle that you can just make out in the top left of the second image here - I'll post a zoom in of that later in the week I think! Then we will be well and truly ready for Third Edition. 

Summer Preview of Mark 2 Assault Squad

The summer preview that recently happened shows close ups of the new Mark 2 Assault Squads for the Legions in Horus Heresy (and presumably 40k if you want to go that way). 

What I like about this kit is not simply the posing possibilities and dynamism that is on display.  It is the presence of the accessories and weapon alternatives such as the power mauls, heavy chainaxes, volkite serpenta, disintegrator pistols, and the combat shields - which for the first time are round ones judging by the Salamanders one that was painted up! 

To me, these scream World Eaters. And it is for that reason alone that I will be buying them. That, and I'm also sick of having almost no reliable option for chain axes for the World Eaters in 30k that are not overly Khornate or come from other ranges. Simply brilliant! But don't get me wrong, I think this assault squad would suit almost any legion to be honest. After all, the legions are very large and not all of them will be equipped with chain swords. 

What I do find interesting on the Warhammer Community web page is this snippet:

"You’ll find the rules for the Legiones Astartes Assault Squad in the Liber Astartes and Liber Hereticus books, where you’ll find that the chainaxes are a points-free alternative to the classic chainsword loadout you might have seen elsewhere."

Why are they the same points values when free replacement of chain swords with chain axes was always (always) a World Eaters boon? Does this imply that chain axes have the same weapon profile as chain swords now? I will find out in a week's time, but if anyone has spoilers for me, I'd love to hear from you (either here or by email). 

Changing Hobby Plans due to Third Edition

At the start of the year, I noted down some hobby plans for the year ahead. These were:

"I'm thinking of maybe expanding my Mechanicum mini-force slightly to make a full (if minimal) primary detachment. I am more considering some Black Shields though - I just need to determine which my favourite Oaths are. Its actually a really hard choice! I might also get a unit of Solar Auxilia las rifle men to be ruled over by an Overseer when the space marine model for that gets released."

Due to the announcement of Third Edition, I am now having a bit of a re-think.

Firstly, and probably most obviously, my Black Shields are in a state of limbo (let alone Shattered Legions). We do not yet have sight of how either will be handled in the new edition. Although I liked the Black Shields, it has to be said that the Shattered Legions rules were simply a mess. 

Therefore I will shelve these ideas for the moment in favour of detachment expansion plans. Specifically, I want to look at expanding the Emperor's Children and World Eaters detachments that I already have in place. 

I will need to evaluate what to do with the new boxed set, and where the miniatures will go. I don't think I will start a new detachment just yet (even if Death Guard or Thousand Sons are appealing right now!). Instead, I think I will expand World Eaters and Emperor's Children. I am sorely tempted to also expand my Shattered Legions forces including Salamanders and Iron Hands (maybe Raven Guard, but probably not) with the Mark II miniatures included in the new set. I might assign the terminators to my existing Iron Warriors, but I'm not sold on that concept just yet. I'll have to decide! I think I won't expand my Alpha Legion any more since I have a rather full collections of Alphas already. 

As for the Mechanicum, I remain to be convinced just yet, but it remains viable. 

I also want to see the possibilities for the Overseer joining the Solar Auxilia las rifle men in a bit more detail before deciding on the colour scheme for the Auxilia and whether to glue bayonets on (etc.). None of these decisions are critical, but the new edition feels like it has put a lot of the concepts and ideas I had at the start of the year on hold for the moment. So I'll wait to see the proverbial whites in the eyes of the new rules before planning in any deeper details. 

[Image: World Eaters loyal overseer minus any Solar Auxilia!]

Horus Heresy 3rd Edition: What Will Be Moved to Expanded Units?

Legacy Units. Expanded Units. Non-Core Units.

Call them what you like, but they've been a feature for a long time. 

The first time that I genuinely took note of the movement toward such non-core units was when the Caestus Assault Ram was no longer sold by Forge World. At that point, I did wonder about what people might do to purchase them. There's clearly a reasonable second hand market on eBay, and I would wager that 3D printing can help out (but I have never looked as I don't own a printer). Yet it is the first unit that I think of when considering those Legacies. 

Although I am quite certain that the Caestus will make it into the new pdf release, I am left wondering what may or may not be transferred across from the core rule book into those pdf releases. I realise we already have some shape of that from seeing the contents pages leak for the Libers for the new books. But I'm equally conscious that we've not seen everything yet. 

I also wonder if the pdf booklets will include the unusual armaments that we've become accustomed to else where (like those melta guns on Mor Deythan) or whether we really will be stuck with un-usable conversions in all of our armies. The community - at least to my mind - really flourishes with conversions and bespoke miniatures that I frankly love to see on the tabletop. So many great conversations about conversions and paint jobs whenever I have managed to get to tournaments ensue, and I really want that aspect to continue strongly. But I remain very concerned about how Games Workshop / Warhammer will attend to these notable deficiencies. I remain convinced that power fists on Tartaros terminators will be a day 1 FAQ or similar. But what else will be? And what will be relegated like the Caestus ultimately. My Black Shields plans hang by a thread!

Horus Heresy 3rd Edition: Pre-Order Available and Thoughts Therein

The pre-order has been available since 10am UK today today, 12/July/2025. 

And to kill the tension that might be in the room: I pre-ordered it. 

So why did I pre-order it knowing that some, many, or perhaps most of the changes are not what I really wanted to see? I have to say that the miniatures alone are a massive pull factor for me. I actually like the Saturnine terminators and want them in my collection! I haven't yet planned out what legions I will use the miniatures for, but I'm going to look to see if there's another allied detachment that I might plausibly be able to take. I will also be looking to augment my World Eaters, and am tempted to expand my Shattered Legions Salamanders into a fuller main detachment. Beyond that, I will await reading the new rules. 

I also ordered the Loyalist and Traitor books, along with the Knights / Titans book. I am leaving the others until later - perhaps Christmas? I think it will take longer than that to review the units within those books alone. I am also disappointed that there wasn't a massive re-stock of Heresy items available today. I might have bought (for example) Angron if he were available today since I was ordering. The lack of re-stock for such a major release is a real head-scratcher from an economic stand point. 

Speaking of which: yes. I DO intend to review the units again for 3rd edition. I hope this will once again be a valuable resource to the community and will highlight to the rules designers what we have lost as a community. Indeed, if the rumour and leaks are true, then I will certainly be writing to Games Workshop / Warhammer about the invalidation of army choices. I would also encourage my readers to do the same. It is one thing to moan about it to each other on the internet, but another thing if we as a community get organised a start some petitions and pressure on the game designers to revise and renew unit options. All it would take would be a short pdf file which says something like:

Power Fist = +10 points, available for Tartaros terminators, ++ (etc.). 

Combi-Meltas = +5 points, available for Raven Guard Mor Deythan, ++ (etc.).

Esoteric Weapon X = +20 points. Only available to Praetors or Psykers (etc., etc.).

i.e., it doesn't have to be long, or complicated, but would solve the immediate issue if it comes to pass. 

End of 2nd Wargames Gallery: Illegal Armies on Parade?

I was going to entitle this post something like Terminator Grudge Match. But given the rumours and leaks we have been hearing, it seems like the hashtag "IllegalArmiesOnParade" has been gaining momentum and traction. If borne out, this is not great for the game, or the fan base. I hope Games Workshop / Warhammer Horus Heresy Team are ready for the on-going backlash if it is true and come up with a quick solution. 

Anyway, here are the Alpha Legion engaging the World Eaters in a terminator grudge match! Spot the power fists, chain fists, power maul, and other conversions in my armies (and I'm sure: your armies too). 

This game was ultimately fought to a standstill and was a draw. i.e., time ran out. But what an epic terminator versus terminator match it was overall! 

End of 2nd Wargames Gallery: Garrison Breach

On a lonely colony world, the World Eaters traitors assault an unassuming Iron Warriors garrison that they've kept held for a decade, unaware of the wider conflict like many of their garrisoned legion brethren. 

With the element of surprise, and needing to capture precious resourced, the World Eaters press their surprise attack against the Iron Warriors. The Iron Warriors hold the objective (the agate slice that looks mysteriously like a warp portal behind the tactical squad here!), but suffer a charge which wipes them out to a man.

Nearby, the lac cannons of the Iron Warriors make short work of the leviathan dreadnought which explodes in spectacular fashion as the lasers slice apart its critical components. 

Sadly, it is not enough for the Iron Warriors in the end. The World Eaters over-run their positions and destroy them all. Victory to the World Eaters by tabling their opponents. The narrative rolls ever onward!

Horus Heresy 3rd Edition: Saturnine Pre-Order Next Weekend 12/July/2025

It is official. The pre-order drops next Saturday, 12/July/2025. This is not a drill folks - it is here, and ahead of when I estimated it would be, but still in July!

As announced on the Sunday preview, the Saturnine boxed set and the new rule books for the third edition of Horus Heresy arrives next Saturday, 12/July/2025. 

Citation via Warhammer email, and the Warhammer Community blog, here: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/zojna4pr/sunday-preview-the-horus-heresy-begins-with-saturnine/

This will make things challenging for me as I've already made plans for next weekend! lol! Wish me luck - I hope I can get online and in the queue for this regardless. 

My hype train has no brakes right now.