Dreadtober 2026: Saturnine Built, and Base Based

Dreadtober has progressed!

The Saturnine dreadnought has now been built and assembled. I liked the choice of parts for the dreadnought which was nice to have. Some of the bits are certainly fiddly though with the shoulder pads being one of the prime examples. I would also politely contend that it doesn't need as many bits as it is supplied with, but hey, as a veteran I don't mind that either as it gives extensive possibilities. 

I have posed the dreadnought in a slight walking (baseline) pose with the left arm swivelled to the side to point at a target and the head looking in exactly the same direction. This is a dreadnought in the middle of shooting and destroying!

As for the base from last week, I have dolled it up with some cracked surfacing. My pro tip here is to use watered down PVA glue to ensure that the cracks stay where they dry rather than peel off. Works a treat. I will put the dreadnought on to the base at a later point and come back to add some flora later on. 

So after one week of Dreadtober, I can safely say that significant progress has been made, but there is much more yet to do!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Scyllax Guardian Maniple

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

Background. 

If you drew a Venn diagram of cyborgs, robots, and servitors, then the Scyllax might sit at the intersection and be a bit mistrusted by large parts of the mechanicum for their icky origins. There are claims that over time they gain something of self-awareness despite their minimal organic components. Their purpose is as a Magi's bodyguards and a melee unit. 

Strengths.

With 5's on the stat line in most places, the Scyllax are are strong proposition for the poins cost and like enhanced marines otherwise. 

The come equipped with a combat array for AP=3 with breaching. This is made worse for opponents due to the inherent rad furnace to reduce their toughness. The phased reactor shields are interesting as well for improving the invulnerable save against attacks to 5+. 

Beyond this, there is the option to upgrade with a bolt gun. This is so cheap it is in the category of "why not". 

Weaknesses.

The poinst cost is cheap enough to not be that bothered if they grind to a halt, and they can be effective even with 2 wounds and a 3+ save in many battlefield locations and situations. Obviously stronger in close combat than in ranged shooting - they just need to get there. The "Compact" rule will help if you need to transport them. But even as abalative wounds considering their retinue status, they are useful if not outstanding. 

Builds.

5 Scyllax, 5 bolt guns (135 points).

I selected 5 members only because it gives a final number divisible by 5 when upgrading to bolt guns. Otherwise this is a pretty standard unit. 

 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Arcuitor Magisterium

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars. Lords of the Malagra give excellent bang for the points cost. 

Background. 

In effect, these are the judges of tech-heresy and lords of the Malagra. Over many years they have become as close to the machine god as possible and are known as the grandfathers of the Malagra. Magi in their own rights, they are (socially) powerful and respected. On the battlefield, they are advisors by nature and rarely in command.

Strengths.

It is worth pointing out the WS=6 in the stat line here. This is the epitome of the Malagra - ready for close combat. The rest of the stat line is similar to a Magos, but with I=4 and A=5.

A well placed Arcuitor can cause serious WS and BS issues to nearby enemy units, and this combined with their own stat line makes them a clear threat. Combined with infiltrate, and you have the makings of something quite spectacularly deadly. 

The customisation is strong here, but for full effect the character will need to be kitted out for close combat. 

Weaknesses.

For the points cost, this character is as good as it gets! Hence 5/5 stars from me. 

Builds.

Arcuitor Magisterium, Thunder Hammer, Overcharged Reactors (135 points). 

A baseline build for close combat and buffing.

Arcuitor Magisterium, Thunder Hammer, Overcharged Reactors, Melta Bombs, Rad Grenades, Rad Furnace, Flamer (190 points). 

A more maximal version. The flamer is purely for the tactical status. The rest is mainly achieved through radiation poisoning and the thunder hammer. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Magos

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. Solid choice with or without an Abeyant. 

Background. 

The Magos Dominus fill a gap between the Archmagos Prime and the rest of the army / feuding states / technocracy. They are masters of the cybernetica and build the cortex automata for the Mechanicum. Some are at the very edge of heresy themselves thanks to all the body modifications that they put themselves through, and most are eccentrics and obsessive about their technologies.  

Strengths.

As with the Archmagos, there is a glorious amount of customisation available for the Magos. I will refer readers back to the Archmagos for some general thoughts. 

The stat line here is less than an Archmagos as might be expected: 5's are everywhere, with 4 wounds and WS=4 and I=3. Intelligence is still 9 which is important for commanding Mechanicum and their cyber rites. 

Weaknesses.

WS=4 is an issue for combat, as is I=3. I therefore regard the Magos as more of a support character choice than a full-on commander. 

Builds.

Magos, Conversion Beamer (130 points). 

Very much a ranged character, but I do like it a lot. Add some rites to taste. 

Magos, Abeyant, Rad Furnace, Thunder Hammer, Melta Bombs, Rad Grenades, Overcharged Reactors (200 points). 

A close combat version. The danger here is spending too many points on a single character who is not the archmagos to be honest. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Archmagos

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars. You will be taking one, basically. With or without an Abeyant.

Background. 

These unique individual are the high adepts of the machine cult of the Omnissiah. They have likely upgraded themselves for the purpose of war and might have gone as far as placing their remaining organic components inside the equivalent of a dreadnought. Armed and armoured with the best Forge World available kit, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Strengths.

With sixes in most places on the stat line, the archmagos is already rather powerful and maybe more powerful than a Praetor in some regards. Adding to this are special rules like feel no pain at 5+, battlesmith at 4, and firing protocols. And don't forget the ability to score victory points as well - this implies arming for at least a bit of close range action. 

The Archmagos is also highly customisable. They can take anything from the mechanicum gear and the magos gear. There's a lot to be had there:a cortex controller is almost always going to be useful, augury scanners are optional, cognis-signum is solid, cyber familiars are good, servo-arms are nice, melta bombs to taste, rad grenades are good at close range, nuncio vox is nice if no-one else has them. The rad furnace is attractive, and the machinator array similar. 

Choose from the rites as well (see here). I think players should be thinking about a couple of these regardless of anything else. Other armaments are to taste really. 

Weaknesses.

WS=5 is slightly lower than what is useful for a commander who might like to engage in challenges. 

Beware of spending too many points on the character with attractive upgrades galore!

Builds.

I'll try to provide one build per trait to give some ideas. There are obviously many more besides. And far too many permutations to list. Hence I hope it at least gives some ideas. Abeyants are the obvious upgrade here and also worth taking in any build below. They give T+1 and Command Throne to help with reactions at the price of being bulky and exploding. Worth it. 

Archmagos [Archimandrite], Overcharged Reactors, Chastise the Machine Spirit, Paragon Blade (165 points).

Trying not to spend too many points, but here we are focussed on using Cyber skills mainly. Other things like a cyber familiar are of course usable. 

Archmagos [Cybernetica], Overcharged Reactors, Cogitator Purge, Paragon Blade, Rad Furnace, Rad Grenades (190 points).

Take and hold objectives. Take the melta bombs, nuncio vox and augury scanner to taste.

Archmagos [Lacrymaerta], Fleshknit Protocols, Omega Protocols, Paragon Blade, Rad Furnace (175 points).

To take alongside your flesh and metal creations. 

Archmagos [Myrmidax], Overcharged Reactors, Paragon Blade, Rad Furnace (160 points).

Although you should go close combat, there's a case here for ranged as well - like the following.

Archmagos [Myrmidax], Conversion Beamer (150 points).

An interesting ranged option. A bit of a waste of close combat potential though.

Archmagos [Malagra], Overcharged Reactors, Paragon Blade, Cortex Controller (150 points).

This archmagos is all about positioning to be honest. 

Archmagos [Macrotek], Servo Arm, Machinator Array, Thunder Hammer, Overcharged Reactors (175 points).

Run alongside your tanks. Also a candidate for a conversion beam.

Archmagos [Reductor], Thunder Hammer, Deactivate the Limiters, Unseal the Portal, Melta Gun (175 points).

Reducing things to smaller things. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Cybertheurgy

Cybertheurgy, or cyber spells, are used by models with the Cybertheurgist trait, or cyber sorcerers. In short then, these are the members of the Mechanicum who understand how to manipulate robots, electrical flows, transitors, something approaching AI, and magnetic fields (or similar). They are not warp based magic in the slightest, even though some of the outcomes might seem like they border on those results.

To activate these abilities, an Intelligence test is conducted, with a modifier for the difficulty level (as a negative). Handily, other cybertheurgists can help out if they are in the same unit to give +1 bonueses. Failure leads to feedback which is essentially perils of the warp under a new name. 

There are three common statuses to be aware of that arise from these powers. Quicken gives movement+1 and I+1 (or movement+3 if it lacks intelligence). Fortify gives S+1 and T+1 (or a chosen armour value +1). Guide gives WS+1 and BS+1.  

Standard Rites:

Programming Interrupt gives ones of the three above statuses and can make a free reaction at the cost of removing the status. This is good, and sound, and should be used. 

Cogitator Pulse removes those statuses and inflicts a feedback outcome. Also basic and very reasonable, if situational given the opponent. 

Overcharged Reactors also applies statuses, is easier to cast, and gets removed at the end of the turn. Very basic, and you probably should aim for programming interrupt given an option and some good die rolls. 

Lacrymaerta Rites:

Omega Protocols removes statuses, suffers feedback, and if any models are removed then two more S=6 hits get applied. Essentially and upgrade for Cogitator Pulse. 

Flesh-Knit Protocols gives fortify or quicken. It is a touch easier to cast than Overcharged Reactors. 

Reductor Rites:

Unseal The Portal forces an emergency disembark and inflicts a feedback. Nice, albeit short ranged.

Deactivate Limiters is essentially a long ranged version of Overcharged Reactors. 

Esoteric Rites:

Fury Of Ages is for Myrmidax and gives fortify or guide at short range and low difficulty. 

Chastise The Machine Spirit is for everyone and gives Stunned or Suppressed as well as a feedback. This is good. 

We will cover Machina Malefica distinctly.