Horus Heresy 3e Review: Reaver Titan

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars. A medium sized titan!

Background. 

A battle titan in name, and in role. The Reaver is a most ancient design of Mars, and sees use throughout all of the Titan Legions. Considered almost holy by Martian standards, its origin has long since been lost to ancient history. 

Strengths.

As with other titans, if you are bringing one to the battle, then you should let your opponent know and plan for them doing the same. This argues for having high strength weapons. The main issue that you face here is that many weapons have the power hungry special rule. This means other weapons only fire snap shots. Let's have a look at them.

The Gatling Blaster gives 5 shots at S=9, AP=2 and 4 damage. This will rip through lighter tanks and really hurt elite formations given the opportunity. Armour bane is the icing on the cake.

The Laser Blaster is S=10, and 5 damage, but reduces the fire rate to 3. Armour bane here as well which means this is almost a go to weapon for anti tanks and even anti-titans. 

The Melta Cannon has S=12 and the valuable melta rule with a pie plate and 8 damage. Of course, only one shot here though. 

The Volcano Cannon is your real titan killer. With S=13 and a whopping 12 damage, it will cause serious problems. But it is also power hungry with a small pie plate. 

The Power Fist is treated as a ranged weapon in the third edition since you don't get titans entangled with close combat really. With S=12 and 10 damage with armour bane it can wreck lighter vehicles and knights in one hit. But you have to get up close since the range is only six inches. 

Weaknesses. 

The missile launcher on the carapace is the only choice. In previous editions it could at least be swapped out to a vortex missile or turbo laser destuctor. This really needs to be re-instated. To be very honest, I would like to see the full range of weapons available at epic scale to be implemented at 28mm scale. Including a return of the chain fist. Pretty please?

Builds.

Reaver Titan, 2 Gatling Cannons. 

Arguably a bit of a waste, but if you upgrade to a Majoris crew, then this will rip apart quite a lot of elite troops and lesser tanks.

Reaver Titan, Volcano Cannon, Power Fist.

For your titan and knight killing pleasure. But you have to move to get up close and personal. Switch out the power fist for a melta cannon or laser destructor for a better ranged option. 

Reaver Titan, Laser Blaster, Melta Cannon.

A balanced ranged option that doesn't have the power hungry rule to worry about. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Warhound Titan

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars. It is a titan - enough said!

Background. 

The smallest of the true titans! It is classed as a scout as it moves quickly and can be deployed as such by the legions.

Strengths.

I'm broadly copying my notes from First and Second Edition here since they still apply. 

So let's be honest about something. If we're taking a titan, we're probably going to be opposed with titans. Therefore, I strongly would recommend that any titan is equipped with at least one high strength weapon to try to counter any enemy titans or super heavies. 

One overlooked "strength" to remember is that titans can move. Yep. Seriously. They have legs. They walk, jog and run. Remember to think about this: it is a mobile weapons platform after all.

For the weapons:

The Vulcan mega bolter is a 12 shot S=7 monstrosity that inflicts suppressive. Nice for shooting up heavier units thanks to 2 damage per shot, and the AP is 3. 

The Inferno Cannon is also S=7 hellstorm template that has panic and inflicts a remarkable 3 damage at AP=3. Clearly nice for clearing out weaker enemies. 

The plasma blast gun is S=8 pie plates at AP=2 and 5 damage which increases to S=9 and more damage with a larger pie plate is you're willing to take the power hungry rule (snap shots with other weapons). 

The turbo laser destructor is your anti-titan weapon with S=12, 6 damage, AP=2 and armour bane. It is almost an auto-include I suspect for certain types of games!

Weaknesses. 

It is the smallest class titan, so "only" has 2 void shields. You can live with this.

Builds.

Apart from weapons, the main consideration is what crew to use. I recommend at least a Senioris to increase the BS to a value of 4. 

Warhound Scout Titan, 2 Vulcan Megabolters. 

Don't bother unless you know for certain there are no other super heavies or land raiders on the enemy side. Pumping out 24 AP3 shots every turn will rapidly decimate any space marine army otherwise. No fun for the opponent in this regard (but then, you're taking a titan!). A candidate for a Majoris crew to be honest (BS=5). 

Warhound Scout Titan, 2 double-barrelled turbo laser destructors.  

Tank and titan killing weapons with a 5" blast every turn is serious business. This is the kind of titan that is ready for anything. Nothing in the game cannot be handled by it. Take it. 

Warhound Scout Titan, 1 plasma blast gun, 1 double-barrelled turbo laser destructor.

A more balanced titan (if such a thing exists! lol!), the massive blasts from the plasma gun is amazing at range and fun to play. Its also high strength and is flexible (depending on if you're facing hordes for instance). And the laser destructors are for the enemy titans to contend with.

I don't like the inferno cannon especially, but it can have its uses on smaller boards or ones where you can readily move the titan into position. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Triaros Armoured Conveyor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The rule are good.

Background. 

The secrets of this armoured transport are guarded well by the Mechanicum. So well, in fact, that not even the space marine legions have access to the arcana that gave them birth. They serve many roles from hermetically sealed environments, through to ramming, and being able to transport a large number of troops.

Strengths.

For a transport, AV=14 on the front is valuable, and 12's elsewhere are solid enough. With 7 hull points, they are likely to get you where you need to be, but the real sell here is the 22 transport capacity. 

The volkite calivers are good and the mauler bolt cannon backs this up with some status effects. Auto repair is strong here too, as is the flare shield. The shock ram is also an encouragement to plough through enemy formations.

Weaknesses. 

For a transport, the points cost is, of course, steep so you won't be taking too many of these in all probability. 

Builds.

The only build upgrade is whether to take hunter killer missiles and these are probably to taste for this vehicle and the army as a whole. They are cheap enough though (especially as a fraction of the tank's cost). 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Secutarii Cohort

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. The only troops choice possible for a Titan Ordinal detachment. 

Background. 

Developed in parallel to the Skitarii legions, the Secutarii share many of the ancient and near unknowable ways of old Mars. Their purpose is, simply put, to defend the titan legions. This might seem absurd at some level. But there are many threats to titans. The Secutarii are there to take care of would be ambushers and human sized targets that would simply not regularly be targeted by the building-shaking and tank-busting weaponry of the titans. Further, they are there to mop up the human sized remnants of anything the titans blow up. Like the people who are being transported in tanks or the ones taking cover in a bunker that the titan targets. They are also regularly deployed to defend a titan landing zone or just generally help with the titan legions, as required.

Strengths.

The stat line is strong for mortals (even those enhanced by the Mechanicum) with WS=BS=4. 

They come standard with arc lances and mag-inverter shields. The mag-inverter shield gives the shield trait but is also interesting for reducing the charge distance of an enemy by 1. This can sometimes make a difference. The arc lance meanwhile is I+1, S+1 with precision and shock (suppressed) which is tactically excellent, an the AP=3 is excellent here. 

This pair can be swapped out for galvanic casters. Shred and rending at bolter like range with 3 shots is very attractive and can cause damage even though the AP is a measly 6 and the S=3. I'd advise going big here. 

Rad grenades will help with all of the above, but the price tag adds up fast. 

Weaknesses. 

T=3 is a key weakness. The save of 4+ with a 6+ invulnerable is not going to keep them alive too long either. Remember to use shield (mag inverter) or smokescreen (galvanic caster) where needed too.

Builds.

Secutarii Cohort, 20 members, Galvanic Caster (315 points).

The ranged version. 

Secutarii Cohort, 10 members, Arc Lances and Mag-Inverter Shields, Rad Grenades (185 points).

The close combat version. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Secutarii Axiarch

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The only command choice possible for a Titan Ordinal detachment. 

Background. 

Axiarchs are the leaders of the Secutarii cult within the Mechanicus. Rather than being selected on merit, they are chosen for having defended a downed titan, or having recovered one from the field -- one of the most "sacred" of tasks that the sect are called on to perform. Subject to further testing and evaluation, they are then rebuilt in armour forged from a dead titan and upgraded with protocols to replace parts of their brain. The outcome is something beyond a space marine.

Strengths.

With WS=BS=5, these former human beings have been extensively upgraded and have advanced stats to match. 

They come with an arc lance which is very reasonable, but can be swapped out for power swords (keep the lance) or arc mauls (sacrificing initiative for strength which is a rational transaction). The mag-inverter shield gives the shield trait but is also interesting for reducing the charge distance of an enemy by 1. This can sometimes make a difference. 

As a Legio Armsmen, they ignore warhorns, gain Ld+1, but suffer panic checks when their friendly titan gets toppled. 

Other upgrades are rad grenades (generally worth it) and cyber-familiars (Intelligence check bonus of 2 which might be situational, but could be worth it). 

Weaknesses. 

T=3 is a key weakness but you do have a 2+ save in this edition to make up for it which is good.

Builds.

Secutarii Axiarch, Arc Maul, Rad Grenades, Cyber Familiar (110 points).

This is the maximal upgrade version. Since you are playing with titans my logic here is that player can afford the points cost for the upgrades. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Legio Titanicus Rules Overview

The second half of Liber Questoris covers the Legio Titanicus - the Titan Legions of the Horus Heresy.

Without doubt, the Titans of the Forge Worlds were responsible for more of the Great Crusade victories than the Astartes themselves. They are deadly. They are big. And there's lots of special rules about them.

Detachments.

You can take a titan with an ordinary army as a Lords of War choice. Or you can use the special Titan Ordinal primary detachment. You only get 1 titan though, and a bunch of Secutarii and their transports. I really wanted Titan maniples against each other. Of course, that's still possible, you just have multiple single detachments. But its a bit odd. 

Profiles.

We have (typically) 4 profiles per titan. One for each region of their body: Head, Carapace, Arms, and Legs. They each have different armour values and hull points. 

Speaking of armour values, there's 2 versions: primary armour (which you will use all the time) and exposed armour (once you get to crippled status for a titan). And you also have void shields to get through first which are AV=13 and can be re-booted depending on the crew trait of the titan. War horns are also mounted on titans which can unleash terrible noises. This reduces advanced characteristics by (X) within 24 inches which is handy for forcing routs and similar. 

Damage.

Damage adds up as you might expect by reducing hull points through penetrating and glancing hits. Glancing hits though result in a roll on the damage table but if crippled then you get 1 hull point instead. The damage table gives some negative modifiers to your next turn. But if you get down to zero hull points, the relevant part (head, carapace, arms, and legs) suffer significant problems and their armour counts as exposed. Crippled parts that are hit again roll on the critical damage table. It is here you get mortal blows to the Princeps, the reactor exploding, weapon breakages, and for the legs - the titan literally falling over (splat!). 

Tactics of Desperation.

Small units have the option of swarming the titan as an assault action. They literally climb the structure looking for minor flaws. This involves an intelligence test with modifiers based on the units type and the titan's crew. If successful, then the attacking unit can make a choice of effects to cause the titan such as stripping the armour (future attacks are against the exposed armour value for the turn) and jamming the actuators (the controlling player can't move the titan in the next turn). The swarm attack can also be to cause damage (get bonuses on the intelligence test) or to escape harm (reduce incoming damage in exchange). Of course, the mitigation cost is steep. S=8 time d6+1 incoming hits result against the unit, but if a cool check is passed, then these are only at 1 damage and AP=4. If failed, then 2 damage and AP=2. 

Engine Kill and Missions.

The missions included in the book make clear that you should tell your opponent you will be fielding a titan, and that you can't take the titan detachment outside of these special missions. That's okay. 

Different types of titan (Scout like warhouds, or Battle like reavers) are worth different victory points. But what I found really interesting with the missions is the existence of strategic objectives that only the titans can take. There are macro emplacements (AV=15, gains 5 victory points per 5 hull points lost - with an infinite number of hull points possible curiously enough! I've not seen an infinity in a game yet - this is not a great idea gaming wise I feel); communications bunker (AV=14, 20 hull points) which is worth 10 victory points and reduces your enemy reserve rolls to 6+ for the rest of the game (I like this); and a Command Post (same as the above in terms of stats) worth 10 victory points which causes suppressed for every unit in their army if they fail a cool check outside of combat.