Horus Heresy 3e Review: Atramentar Flay-Clade

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. I've rounded down due to native WS and the points cost. 

Background.

The terminator elite of the Night Lords, and all swearing fealty to Sevatar. Armed to the teeth (in some cases literally), they are noted to be shock troops employing murderous opportunism, yet also very prone to the Night Lords' failings of being little more than a disunited rabble who might plausibly turn against their own. 

Strengths. 

Two wound terminators in tartaros armour with T=5. There are several rules that set the aside. 

The first is Sworn Loyalty. They can use Sevatar's Leadership value (Ld=10) whilst he is on the battlefield instead of their own (Ld=8). This is valuable. 

The second is cloaked in murder, which gives +1 movement when setting up a charge against an already embroiled foe. 

The customization here is great. They have access to an almost full suite of terminator upgrades - which is exactly what you would expect for this elite unit. More than this, they also have native deep striking which is one of the hallmarks of the Night Lords - they really did invest in teleporter technology extensively. 

Weaknesses. 

Hopefully the subject of your charge is not only already locked in close combat, but also suffering from a status effect to activate the much needed WS+1 bonus for this unit (which has WS=4 base). This is an issue in comparison to alternatives in the Night Lords. The points cost here is also steep, and you are paying for these bonuses and the access to better weapon upgrades through the nose here. Hence the 3.5 stars out of 5. 

Builds.

5 Atramentar, 1 Heavy Flamer, (Power Axes or Chain Glaives)  (180 points).

Expensive in comparison to regular terminator squads (cf., 155 points), but arguably worth it for the extras as discussed above. 

10 Atramentar, 5 Thunder Hammers, 5 Chain Fists, 5 Combi-Meltas (495 points).

Anti-tank, but expensive. Take a Headsmans Axe to taste. 

20 Atramentar, 4 Heavy Flamers, 4 Thunder Hammers, 1 Headsmans Axe (785 points).

The large blob. Not really recommended, simply here as an illustration. Not worth the points.

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Night Raptor Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. This is a standard marine unit that can be very powerful, but you have to line them up appropriately.  

Background.

A breed apart, forged together by the simple fact that they all have similar ... proclivities. Soar above the battle field. Circle around. Look for prey. Then be really unsubtle about it all. 

Strengths. 

Essentially the Night Raptors are assault squads with built in Fear (1), Impact (I) alongside an impressive Vanguard (4). They get an extra pip in WS as well which makes them valuable. Two wounds rounds out a good value proposition. 

The WS=5 calls for a more combat orientated unit. However, with the legacies rules, you can also add on special weapons. And in third edition, I strongly recommend the flamer to cause panic and thereby trigger the Night Lords rules before you charge in. 

Of course, you can still have melta guns and others to make your squad more specialist, but I really see the flamer as the go to option. Twin lightning claws are also a realistic option here too as are chain glaives and chain blades. 

Weaknesses. 

They are still 3+ save space marines with a leadership value of 8. You need to position them well and get the charge in if you are combat orientated. 

Builds.

5 Night Raptors, 1 Flamer, 5 Chain glaives  (180 points).

A baseline build. Use the flamer to cause panic. Then charge in and finish them off. Expensive points wise, but worth it if you can position them well. 

10 Night Raptors, 8 Twin Lightning Claws, 2 Flamers (365 points).

Burn, rip, shred.

10 Night Raptors, 2 Melta Guns, 2 Chain Glaives, 2 Power Weapons (335 points).

Mixed Threats and will do well.

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Terror Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. This is a standard marine unit that can be very powerful, but you have to line them up appropriately.  

Background.

Regardless of whether it is a criminal worthy of punishment, a planetary governor, or some other victim, the Night Lords were well able to make a gruesome example of all that stood in their way. Indeed, it is notable that these true monsters (many of whom were marked for death by their Primarch) probably caused less bloodshed through their mere threat than when they were unleashed. But when unleashed, they brought ruination and dark deeds to the battlefield. 

Strengths. 

Fundamentally, the terror squad is a basic marine with bolt pistol, chain sword, and the valuable Vanguard (2) and Fear (1). 

As with other sources of fear, you need to apply some conditions and it is worth considering how to do that. 

In the upgrades, we have Flamers that cause panic, and rotor cannons for suppressive. Both are viable in third edition to help with that WS+1 bonus in close combat. 

Weaknesses. 

They are marines with a 3+ save and they die like them too. You are really paying a lot of points for fear, vanguard, and the ability to have lots of toys. See if you can infiltrate them somehow, or just take a transport. 

Builds.

5 Executioners, 3 Rotor Cannons, 3 Chain Glaives (145 points).

The baseline build to force suppressed on enemy units and follow up with close combat mayhem. Take a vexilla to taste. 

5 Executioners, 2 Rotor Cannons, 2 Flamers, 5 Chain Glaives (160 points).

Getting expensive here for 5 regular marines, but the idea is to apply different statues and follow up directly in combat. You just need positioning. Take a Vexilla to taste. 

10 Executioners, 2 Rotor Cannons, 2 Flamers, 5 Chain Glaives (250 points).

Like the above, but with more members that are really ablative wounds. Take a power fist or similar on the Headsman to taste. 

15 Executioners, 15 Rotor Cannons (370 points).

Massed rotor cannon action! Take a power weapon on the Headsman if you feel the need, and a vexilla to taste. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Contekar Terminator Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Very reasonable overall.  

Background.

The Contekar were the noble born sons of Nostramo. Corrupt, and showing utter contempt for the Imperial Citizenship, their main concern was with their own standing and haughty status within the legion. Indeed, only the Night Haunter or the First Captain could freely command them, everyone else had to be worthy of their butchery (by, e.g., being of similar noble bloodlines). More than this, they were often sent to change the commander of lesser Night Lord detachments that were deemed unworthy. 

Strengths. 

WS=5 and T=5 terminators in tartaros armour with three attacks and two wounds.

They come as standard with chainblades which grants S+1 , breaching and shredding. Functionally this is identical to chain glaives, but look cooler. They also have volkite cavitors which give you deflagrate at short range and S=6 which is very nice for softening up targets. 

There are only two upgrades to consider here: the Escaton Power Claw (which is worth the points), and upgrading the cavitors to heavy flamers which is tempting to be very honest. Even though you reduce the strength to S=5, the possibility of inflicting panic cannot be overlooked due to the core rules of the Night Lords. So take at least one - preferably much more. 

Weaknesses. 

Vanguard (3) and Fear (1) is good, but the inherent deep strike is what you are paying the points cost for. Indeed, Night Lords are one of the few legions to have superb access to Deep Strike and you should take advantage of this. 

Builds.

5 Contekar, 3 Heavy Flamer, 1 Escaton Power Claw (235 points).

This ties to the resin sold by Warhammer/Forge World and is exceptionally viable. 

10 Contekar, 6 Heavy Flamer, 1 Escaton Power Claw (435 points).

Moving up to 10 members, the points cost is less steep, and in all honesty, you could readily take it up to 15 members (635 points). 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Sevatar

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Very reasonable overall.  

Background.

All legions have their champions and their Legends whose names are known widely outside their own. For the Night Lords it is Sevatar. A lethal warrior, a dirty fighter, a repressed psyker, a murderer, and able to command every element of the legion with skill and where necessary malice. And that malice was often required given the command and structure problems present within. 

Strengths. 

With WS=7, Sevatar presents a strong presence in close combat and challenges. He has an archaic chain glaive that his Primarch discarded called Night's Whisper that grants I+1 (to make I=6) and S+2 (making S=6) and AP2. It comes with critical hitting and shredding which makes him a strong combat threat. In addition to this, he also gains Fear (2) and Precision at 4+ which adds to his presence. 

His personal gambit is Dirty Fighter which grants an attack out of the usual sequence of events. This is reasonable, but can only be used in the first round. So you get A+1 effectively thanks to this. Its okay. 

Dark Dreams represents his repressed psyker ability. Every turn you get to roll 1d6 and on a 6 you get feel no pain (which is handy), but on a 1 you drop Command in favour of Specialist. Meh. 

Weaknesses. 

Sevatar is a little bit random to use, but he is quite good. 

Overall.

I would take him as the leader of the Atramentar and with a themed army to make the most of him and play fluffily. Sure, terror squads are fine, but terminators are the way to go here in my opinion (largely because of fluff!). In terms of points cost, he is probably a bit over priced and this is reflected in my star rating. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Konrad Curze

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. A deadly primarch with occasional psychic powers. 

Background.

Cursed with psychic premonitions. Alone as a child on a gang controlled criminal world. And with a keen sense of bringing judgement to those the Emperor would see sanctioned, Konrad was almost a breed set apart from his kin. With a bit more humanity in him, he could have been very similar to Corax, but as it turned out, darkness, fear and terror were his boots, gloves and coat. 

Strengths. 

With 7's in WS, BS, and I, Curze is a quick and potentially deadly opponent. His melee weapons (artificer lightning claws named Mercy and Forgiveness) give A+2 with AP=2 and 1 damage, but with a valuable critical hit at 5+ and shred at 4+ (the latter helping alleviate the singular damage). 

His ranged weapons - widowmakers - causes breaching at 4+, but is otherwise not very remarkable.

He comes with a personal gambit - A Death Long Foreseen - which grants him a choice psychic advantage (Check against willpower at WP=8). This can be feel no pain (okay I guess), A+1 (useful), or I+2 in melee (much, much more useful and likely the top most pick). 

As sire of the Night Lords, the prime slots are grants if you have 4 terror squads or assault squads which is fluffy. And all terror squads gain infiltrate of 12 which is useful, and demands that you actually have terror squads build around him. 

Weaknesses. 

I did want a higher fear factor, but fear (2) is still useful. He is not the most deadly of his brothers, not the best fighter, not the most endurable, nor causes the most damage, but he holds his own when he needs to and the weight of attacks he has combined with some psychic powers from his gambit makes him a primarch to think twice about tangling with. 

Overall.

I was going to give 3.5/5 stars, but gave 4/5 in the end as I was struggling to make my mind up. He packs an amazing punch still. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Night Lords Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded up. The rules are mixed to good. 

Background.

Of all the traitor legions, the Night Lords ever were close to censure and skirted the edge of acceptable results against monstrous behaviour. Already close to being declared renegade, it is little wonder they threw in their lot with Horus. Nearly unique among the legions, they pretty much splintered during the Heresy itself and dissolved into much smaller warbands. Temporarily reunited for the Siege of Terra, they were a spent force after Thramas and ultimately did dissolve into renegades and those who would still visit their "justice" on the Emperor. 

Armoury. 

Trophies of Judgement. A tradition within the legion and in every edition. For a small points cost, command and champions get Fear (1). Almost always worth taking. 

Notraman Chain Weapons (chain glaive and headsmans axe) are a modest points cost for the benefit of higher S, better AP and some special rules (breaching and shred for the former, with critical hits for the latter). Almost always worth taking. 

Atramentar grants a prime slot advantage to a terminator to gain the deep strike and Impact (I) special rule. This is certainly worth taking and very fluffy - the Night Lords ever being one of the legions with reliable deep strike access. 

Finally in Legacies, we also get the Escaton Power Claw. This is more expensive, but massively impactful. Worth considering here and there. 

Tactica. 

Talent for Murder returns in third edition to give WS+1 when facing enemies that have tactical statuses. This fundamentally alters the playstyle of the legion from one with massed infantry to encourage outnumbers, to one that wants to inflict lots of statuses on enemies. These are not mutually exclusive either, and I think retention of large blobs of Night Lord units is still beneficial and fluffy (not least because of the points cost implications). 

Gambit.  

Nostraman Courage lets you swap out your challenger for someone else. The cowards literally get someone else to fight their battles! Very appropriate. Very frustrating for your opponent as well perhaps! But actually subtly powerful when done right.  

Additional Detachements. 

Terror Assault and Atramentar Hunt brings some nice extra units in the for of compulsory terror squads in the former (for extra fast attack), and an apex detachment of terminators but restricted to them all having teleporter transponders as their prime advantage. This is actually an incredible strong apex detachment and very fluffy - top marks! 

Advanced Reaction. 

Better Part of Valour lets you fall back when charged - because you are Night Lords and don't tangle with stuff you don't want to! 

Overall, the rules for the Night Lords are average with some stand outs like the teleport transponders and various upgrades. Their play style shifts in third edition from massed blobs (still valuable) to inflicting as many statuses as you can and ending your enemy up close and personally. 

Wargames Gallery: Loyalist Emperor's Children vs Traitors Word Bearers melee

A loyalist element of the Emperor's Children charges against the traitorous Word Bearers from the Gal Vorbak! 

The praetor and the Gal Vorbak leader have been set to one side for their own challenge. This leaves 10 assault squad members with chain swords and combat shields, the assault squad sergeant with twin lightning claws, and an apothecary to fight against 5 Gal Vorbak. 

Which side do the dice favour?!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Dark Sons of Death (Karaoghlanlar)

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are great for this legacy unit, but the points cost adds up fast. 

Background.

The Dark Sons (Karaoghlanlar) focus on the "unmaking" of enemies who have fallen so far as to deserve both physical destruction and spiritual oblivion. They are regarded with unease by their battle brothers and adorned with appropriate talismans and wards to protect themselves and to make Stormcallers aid them all the easier. 

Strengths. 

Movement of 12 is excellent here.

Otherwise, these are simply space marines with rad grenades. Of course, the rad grenades are great, thanks to phage on toughness as being poisoned. So my view for this unit is to go further and arm them with either weapons that enhance strength further, or templates that go over as many enemies as possible. 

The Invocation of the Razing Tempest special rule allows a Stormcaller to target them from further away with their Call of the Wild special power. This is actually insane and can get you where you need to be in short order. 

Weaknesses. 

The points cost rack up steeply here. And fundamentally, they are one wound space marines with a 3+ save. So what this unit is, in effect, is a glass cannon. You need to treat it as such. 

Builds.

5 Karaoghlanlar, all with Power Glaives (200 points). 

S+1 on the power glaives is great. But the points cost is steep. Make sure you know which target you are going for. 

10 Karaoghlanlar, 2 Flamers, 2 Hand Flamers, Champion with Power Weapon (255 points). 

Flame unit variant. Take extra men to taste. 

I think other builds are possible such as a melta-cide orientated one, but other units do such activities better than this. You want to be an anti-infantry glass cannon. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Kyzagan Assault Speeder

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average. 

Background.

This is the White Scars solution to ensuring heavy weapons keep up with the rest of the legion! Essentially it is a flying anti grav platform form those heavy weapons to fly to where they are needed and do some shooting with. They should be played like that accordingly. . 

Strengths. 

Movement of 14 combined with an impressive toughness of 7 should keep the speeder alive for it to perform its duty. Which explicitly is the unloading of lots of assault cannon and reaper auto cannon shots into its designated target. 

Weaknesses. 

For the points cost that you are paying, this is a reasonable option overall. Sure, it isn't over powered, but it is a viable threat as well. There's just not too many builds to consider. 

Builds.

Kyzagan Assault Speeder (105 points). 

I don't think the hunter killer missiles are generally worth it, but you might get some bang for the points cost if you play them right. So take them to taste. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Ebon Keshig

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average. 

Background.

Being put in terminator armour for the White Scars is not a testament of strength or honour as it might be for other legions. It is condemnation. The Ebon Keshig is a form of atonement for battle brothers who have been found wanting or lacking in honour. They are deployed as a vanguard and bodyguard, and should the marines die, then clearly they've had a final honourable death. Should they survive, then maybe they have found atonement and will be allowed back to the prior positions. 

Strengths. 

Tartaros terminators with T=5 and Leadership=10. They come with a power glaive which gives a S bonus as well as breaching and impact on AP. 

Thanks to Legacies, you can get other power weapons and power fists alongside combi weapons. 

The vexillia and the grenade harness are almost a given upgrade. 

Weaknesses. 

The points cost is steep here. You are effectively paying for Vanguard (3) (but basic terminators have this! NB), feel no pain (but only at 6+) and Expendable (2). It is worth also considering how to get them to their destinations. 

Builds.

5 Kharash, 2 with power fists and combi-meltas, vexilla, grenade harness (235 points).

A basline entry unit. But note that the points cost is high here already. Are you sure you wouldn't just have tartaros terminators instead?

10 Kharash, 5 with power fists and volkite chargers, vexilla, grenade harness (440 points).

The unit gets a bit cheaper with more members, but it is still very expensive. And you need a transport solution, or some White Scars speed ups. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Golden Keshig

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. Rounded up. Excellent heavy assault jetbikes!

Background.

Riders par excellence. The Golden Keshig are the White Scar's main heavy assault asset. They serve as line breakers and assault units - and within the White Scars they have long been noted to be the effective "replacement" for pure terminator squads (but we will talk about the Ebon Keshig in another post). Their aim is to confuse the enemy with speed, and then undertake a Horus-like tip of the spear strike at the heart of the enemy. 

Strengths. 

Movement=16 coupled with WS=5 and the rather magnificent Kontos Power Lance. Its worth just noting that this lance along grants I+4, S+5, with Impact on AP (which is native at AP3) and two damage. Oh, and let's not forget armour bane as well. In numbers, this is superlatively deadly. And you play style can also use the (now very old) Way of Saim Hann (look it up if you're not familiar with this style of winning). 

The scatter bolt launcher is reasonable and is a shredding template at S=5 with pinning added for extra fun. 

Weaknesses. 

No invulnerable, but hopefully with that movement rate you will be positioning yourself wisely before charging right in. I really genuinely like this unit. 

Builds.

6 Golden Keshig (260 points).

A max sized squad. And no reason to upgrade much here. Take the Vexilla to taste. Just a pity they cannot have melta bombs any longer (unless I've missed something). 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Stormseer

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. I have rounded up! I'm going out on a bit of a punt here to suggest that Stormseers are actually really good indeed!

Background.

It is fitting that one of the "big three" that established the librarians have their own consul for psykers to bring to the battlefield. Combining old shaman like belief systems and the librarian training has yielded spectacular results for the White Scars in the form of the Stormseers who are valued as much for their psychic wrath as they are for their wise counsel to the Khans. The believe they are bringing forth a sliver of power from Chogoris, rather than necessarily being out-and-out warp power users. I can see parallels to the Space Wolves here. 

Strengths. 

The stat line is what you might expect for a psyker librarian with Willpower = 10 and reasonable stats elsewhere. 

What sets the Stormseer apart from Librarians elsewhere is access to the Stormcalling psychic discipline, and this is the reason he gets 4.5 stars from me. There are 2 powers here. The first is Unseen Bolt which is a 36 inch range 5 inch blast with barrage, stun, AND force at S=4. I think this is incredibly powerful to put stun out at such range. 

The second is Call of the Wind. This gives you an increase in move equivalent to your initiative. That's 5 extra inches assuming you cast it on yourself. 

When you add on a jump pack or similar, this starts to be a pretty wild tactic, in addition to the usual White Scars shenanigans. 

Weaknesses. 

Cheap enough to afford and play without regret to be very honest. You can, of course, take other psychic disciplines, but Stormcalling is very good indeed, so I focus on that discipline alone in the builds below. 

Builds.

Stormseer with Stormcalling (105 points).

The standard stormcaller! Take with a bunch of veterans or similar to get where you need to be fast. Take terminator armour for 125 points instead where appropriate. 

Stormseer with Stormcalling, Jump Pack (135 points). 

A very swift proposition with an assault squad or other jump pack squad. Dangerous as well. 

Stormseer with Stormcalling, Jetbike with Multi-Melta (165 points).

Lead your jetbike units to victory with celerity. 

Wargames Gallery: Target Priority?

What would you do? What are your target priorities?

Here's the situation:

Left to Right Status:

(1) Alpha Legion Heavy Support Squad. 5x Missile Launchers. [No wounds taken all game long].

1x Master of Signals. [No wounds taken all game long].

(2) World Eaters Tartaros Terminators:
2x combi-bolter and chainfist [No wounds taken]

1x combi-bolter and power maul [1 wound remains]

1x Sergeant with thunder hammer (counts as). [1 wound remains]

[This squad started at 10 strong]

(3) World Eaters Leviathan Dreadnought with storm cannon and grav-flux bombard. [5 wounds remain]. The Leviathan is sat (literally) on top of an objective. 

(4) Alpha Legion Tactical Support Squad. 2x Melta Guns [Squad was 5 strong at the start of the game]

1x Alpha Legion Centurion with Power Fist and bolt pistol [No wounds taken all game long]

It is the Alpha Legion's turn. They are at the start of the shooting phase. No World Eaters reactions remain having used them up in the movement phase at the approach of the melta gun squad. The missile launchers have not moved. 

What would you do??!!??

Kudos and Honour to the best answer/s...

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Hibou Khan

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The traitor turned loyalist is a good choice.

Background.

A Terran born Khan, Hibou naturally gravitated to Horus thanks to involvement in the Vth legion warrior lodges. He resented the legion's growing influence from Chogoris and when the rebellion started, he threw in with Horus along with a number of other Khans (it is easy to forget just how divided the White Scars were when the Heresy began). He then sought contrition but his primarch cast him out to seek his own absolution with the Sagyar Mazan which would bring him into the orbit of the Shattered Legions. 

Strengths. 

A solid stat line including WS=6 and modest points value make Hibou Khan a middle range choice for a command character.

His special rule is Seeker of Atonement. As you might expect, he wants to atone for believing in Horus. To this end he gets a special gambit that allows him to stay alive longer than he should just to kill a few more traitors. In short: a 50/50 chance to prevent being removed as a casualty. This is good, and a last minute gambit, but has potential to swing an encounter without being overwhelming. 

He carries The Breath of the Storm, which give a vital I+1 and S+2 to make him fairly deadly. Critical hits and breaching is the icing on the cake. 

Officer of the Line (2) is similarly powerful and makes Hibou a strong choice. Combined with Expendable, and you have a great deal here. 

Weaknesses. 

For the points cost, you can't really go too wrong. The combination of expendable and officer of the line really leans hard into the Sagyar Mazan which is the way to build around him. 

Overall.

A great character, and leader for the Sagyar Mazan. A character that screams deny the opponent. You just need to build part of your army around him. And remember to take some units that might not be so expendable if you are so inclined. Very fluffy and very nice overall as a close combat character.  

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Qin Xa

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are very good for the reserve manipulation alone.

Background.

Qin Xa was a supreme warrior who fought alongside the Khan on Chogoris even before becoming a space marine. Pure fury combined with a keen intellect; if he were in another legion, his legend would be more widely known, but here in the White Scars, he is simply known internally as an commander without peer. 

Strengths. 

The stat line is reasonable for a high command figure with WS=6 and T=5 alongside strong advanced characteristics.

The Tails of the Dragon is a melee weapon that yields critical hitting and precision, alongside a valuable S+1. 

But what you are really paying for here is the Chosen of the Khagan special rule which enables you to automatically pass a reserves test of your choosing so long as the unit in question is White Scars. This is really very strong in third edition and will make your opponents jealous. 

Weaknesses. 

No ranged weapon, and you will need a transport solution. Or perhaps just take with a unit that you put in reserves to take advantage of his own skills?

Overall.

For reserve manipulation along, I would be willing to pay the points cost. Layer on top of this that he is a reasonable close combat character, and you have a deal. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Jaghatai Khan

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are reasonable without being exceptional.

Background.

The Warhawk was spirited away to a life of Chogoris during the scattering. There, he learned about rapid and devastating ways of warfare which he brought to his sons in bulk. 

Regarded as a recluse, but really just never felt the need to show off to anyone, the Khan is a leader that paved the pathway forward for the Great Crusade and made the victories of other legions seem all the greater for it, and laughed as he did so. 

Strengths. 

The Great Khan has mainly 6's but some 7's in WS, I and A which is nice. Although not at the same level as some of his brothers, his swiftness is very good when paired with The White Tiger Dao which increases this to I=9. Duellist's Edge and Impact on AM is excellent and makes him a strong opponent to many in close combat, although S=6 is an issue. 

The Storm's Voice as a side arm is nice with breaching, deflagrate, and stun, but lacks in the AP department.

Death by a Thousand Cuts as his own personal gambit is good as it reduces the strength of an opponent if they have already been wounded. This helps him with his brothers overall. 

As Sire of the White Scars he can exchange transport slots for recon slots which is nice - and there's not a restriction on the filling type either - just if 4 are filled. BUT, these must be land raider explorator units. Appropriate, but not what I might have expected. 

He also grants Fast (2) during the first turn (to even himself) which is valuable for closing out the board space. 

Weaknesses. 

Strength is an issue for him and he will be whittled down by his opponents. You will be relying on I=9 and WS=7 to win here. But your opponents are likely to use gambits against you, so select carefully. 

Overall.

The points cost is about worth while, but potentially fractionally high. The Khan gets an average 3/5 stars score from me. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: White Scars Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are rather good, but the gambit is too inconsistent to bother with.  

Background.

The White Scars were ever the outriders of the Great Crusade of humanity. They were nowhere near the centre of the action when it all started to kick off thanks to being on a long assigment on Chondax. As a result, their loyalties were initially unknown by both sides of the conflict. But once contacted, there were many elements within the legion who pushed to join Horus and the rebellion. The Khan remained fierce in his loyalty and ultimately stood defending Terra itself at the end of all things.

Armoury. 

Power Glaive is a power weapon upgrade that gives impact (AP) and breaching which will generally be a good option, but it is pricey. 

Cyber Hawk grants move through cover which is okay overall, but obviously dependent on the board set-up (but you should almost always have some cover on a board). 

The Sagyar Mazan is a way of giving you Expendable (2) special rule to an infantry or cavalry unit who have previously failed you (but you don't want to execute them - just exile them!). Very fluffy and can be handy at the expense of prime force organization slot. 

Tactica. 

Swift of Action gives you movement +2 all of the time, every turn. This is stronger than it sounds as it will also help with set up moves.  

Gambit.  
The Path of the Warrior is effectively a 50/50 gamble to predict your next focus roll (high or low). Guess correctly and you ignore all negative modifiers and only have positive ones for the focus. It is very random.   

Additional Detachments. 
Chogorian Warband gives 2 jetbike slots (one is Prime) and 2 outrider slots. This is very fluffy and appropriate. And you were probably taking these units regardless I would wager.  

Advanced Reaction. 
Chasing the Wind allows you to move if an enemy moves within 12 inches of you. You could go either way with this (toward the triggering unit, or away) as you see it.

Overall White Scars have a fluffy set of very appropriate and bespoke rules that enable them to move swiftly and hit hard with expendable units if they wish. The gambit is poor though. 

Emperor's Children Praetor

A recent acquisition that I bought is the relatively (I use the word under advice) new praetor for the Emperor's Children. This character is in near regal Tartaros terminator armour which is simply exquisite in ornamentation and detail - very nice from Forge World to say the least. 

The armaments are also interesting to note. The combi volkite is often overlooked in terms of combi-weapons available to terminators. This is, perhaps, understandable as melta and plasma are often more highly desired and prized. However, I think the key advantage here is that a combi-volkite can fire both components all the time. There is no "one use only" rule for either. You get the best of both worlds, all of the time. 

The sword meanwhile is similarly ornate. But here I find it interesting as you can start to see a very, very subtle creep towards Slaanesh with a hint of a nod toward that power's symbol on the hilt of the blade. I like this detail. Not quite corrupted, but perhaps on their way long the path. Could still be loyal, but yet there might be early signs.  

In terms of putting the model together, this one was very straight forward and in the relatively easy category. There's only one place where each of the parts are going to go and only one way to glue them into place. Hardly any dry fitting required in the slightest. I like this very much. I think it would also be easy to convert if you wanted different armaments for the character making it a flexible and very cool kit overall. A fine additional to a collection.