Horus Heresy 3e Review: Veteran Despoiler Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. Extensive customization is available. 

Background. 

Elites and veterans who just love to get up close and personal. The veteran despoiler squad is armed with a breadth of tactical flexibility according to the background which ensures that they can be found in the thick of the battle - or highly prized for boarding actions in Zone Mortalis. 

Strengths. 

Space marines with 2 wounds, 3 attacks, and WS=5. These are veterans who want to be in close combat to get the most out of them. Ld=8 and Cl=8 round out the advanced characteristics. 

Instead of Line, the veterans have Vanguard (3) which all but ensures that they want to be charging and denying the enemy any objectives. 

Players will want both the vexilla and the nuncio vox as the basic upgrades. 

Beyond that, there is serious customization to be had here. Any model can have a legion sergeant melee weapon for their chain swords. This gives free chain axes at a basic level, but a squad full of power weapons is highly tempting as well - despite the obvious points cost implication. Pairs of lightning claws are also nice here too. 

The chainsword and bolt pistol can also be swapped out for heavy chain swords and heavy chain axes all round. The World Eaters thank you. Otherwise, you can have combat shields or legion pistols. Both are viable, and I particularly commend the hand flamer here for Zone Mortalis. 

Disintegration pistols are interesting here too as options, if you want a real glass cannon build at short range. 

Weaknesses. 

The basic 3+ save is a concern. 

Builds.

5 Veterans, All with Twin Lightning Claws, Vexilla, Nuncio Vox (165 points). 

Effective so long as you get in combat.

5 Veterans, Combat Shields, Power Weapons, Vexilla, Nuncio Vox (175 points).

Invulnerable saves and power weapons are great. 

5 Veterans, 2 Disintegration Pistols (1 on sergeant), 2 hand flamers, 1 power fist and 4 chain axes, Vexilla, Nuncio Vox (155 points).

Very much recommended for Zone Mortalis. 

5 Veterans, 5 Heavy Chain Axes, Vexilla, Nuncio Vox (140 points). 

World Eaters and Space Wolves will like this thematically. But every legion can take it regardless!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Auxilia Combat Technician Section

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 stars, rounded down. The rules are valuable for the Combat Decryptor in a Zone Mortalis game, but will be wasted on other battlefields.

Background. 

These mortals are combat technicians who don't usually see contact with the front lines as their specialisms are likely too valuable to be risked. But when they are called forth, they provide non-Mechanicum-sanctioned means to interrogate vox transmissions and ensure their cohorts advance without technological interference.

Strengths. 

The reason to take this unit is the Combat Decryptor. In short, this device gives the unit battlesmith and Intelligence=9 for the purposes of making the Bypass Cogitator Zone Mortalis Advanced Reaction. This in turn opens and seals doorways and is a superlatively valuable part of Zone Mortalis play. Hence this unit is probably going to be vital to the Solar Auxilia in such scenarios, but wasted in most other battle spheres. 

Weaknesses. 

They are very mortal here with T=3, 1 wound each, a 4+ save, and very poor leadership of 6 (or 7 for the Prime). 

That said, they are cheap enough. My recommendation is multiple small units and to use them early, and perhaps as a screening unit later on. 

Builds.

5 Technicians, all with las rifles and blast chargers (35 points). 

Cheap and cheerful. Take multiple squads of these depending on the points value of your game. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Veletaris Raider Section

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 stars, rounded down. The rules are quite good.

Background. 

These are Veletaris who have access to unusual close combat weapons that ordinarily are not contained within the Principia Bellicosa. Perhaps they grabbed them from the elites of the rogue traders or similar. 

Strengths. 

The customisation here is interesting. Indeed, there is even a designers note suggestion conversions using regular Veletaris storm sections with added Necromunda weapon bits swapping. 

The standard breaching shot gun is solid at S=5 with stun, but it is a short range weapon fundamentally. This can be swapped for a boarding shield and storm maul instead. This might be a good thing to help keep them alive a little bit more (even against bolt gun fire) whilst the shock maul gives a valuable breaching at S+2 (i.e., S=5). Shield wall advanced reaction might be a good thing to have in Zone Mortalis too. 

The vox interlock is almost a given, and the vexilla may be wise to also take. 

Weaknesses. 

With T=3, one wound, distinctly average leadership, and a 4+ saving throw, the unit is not going to last long if you don't play wisely. The points cost is reasonable though, but can add up with the shields. 

Despite the name, the breaching shot gun does not providing breaching!!

Builds.

10 Raiders, Vox Interlock, Vexilla (95 points).

The breaching shotgun build. 

10 Raiders, Vox Interlock, Vexilla, All with power mauls and boarding shields (135 points).

Probably what most players will ultimately go for. I actually like the look and feel of this unit, even if they aren't going to last long compared to space marines. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Castellax Infernus Maniple

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

Background. 

Built especially for the close quarters of Zone Mortalis, the Infernus configuration of the Castellax replaces the usual melta weaponry with purging incinerators and flamers that are well suited to vaporize entire tight corridors of enemies. 

Strengths. 

The purge incinerator is a template weapon with S=6, breaching and panic. Strictly better than a heavy flamer, but still not with the valuable AP=3 for dealing with space marines. It does, however, have AP=4 which makes it very effective against mortal squads. 

The power blades are good as is the phased refractor shields which augment the already good T=6 and W=4 with a space marine like saving throw. Vanguard and firing protocols round this out. 

Weaknesses. 

No real long range threat. This is a pure flame build with excellent close combat potential. Although I like the incinerator, I did wonder if the multi-melta might still have been preferable? I'm on the fence. 

Builds.
There are no options here to discuss other than the number of Castellax to use in the unit. These extra bodies don't come with a discount, so I'd suggest taking whatever your points cost or build aesthetic wants or needs. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Zone Mortalis Advanced Reactions, Reserves, and Detachments

Zone Mortalis Advanced Reactions

(1) Take Cover.
This is an obvious advanced reaction in many ways. When you are shot at, players can use this to gain the Shrouded special rule. This is only at 6+, so it is debatable how worthwhile this is, but it might help once in a while.

(2) Bypass Cogitator. 
A more interesting one to use in the movement phase where an enemy comes within 8 inches of a battlesmith. The battlesmith then closes or opens doors up to his battlesmith number if an intelligence test is passed. This is interesting in the context of Zone Mortalis and encourages players to take battlesmiths just for the boarding action use here. 

Reserves.
These work exactly as you might otherwise expect and brings online all the different flavours used over many years. This includes Reinforcements (own board edge), Forced March (like reinforcements, but more likely to succeed at the risk of being pinned when they arrive), Encirclement (deploy on the opposing player's edge), Flanking Force (side edges), Mass elevators (you need an elevator platform in play), or Teleport Strike (deep strike as you might expect, with the usual risks). 

In addition, a prime advantage can be selected to buy teleport transponders for anyone wanting to risk a teleport strike, which is generally worth it if you can manipulate your rolls to avoid a result of 1 and destroying your own unit!

Detachments.
There are 3 detachment that players can use instead of their normal primary force. 

Zone Mortalis Strike Force has 8 slots: high command, command, heavy assault, and troops. This is nice and very welcome for the general player.
Zone Mortalis Bulwark the same number, but this time: high command, command, war-engines, support, and troops. I actually like this one a lot!
Zone Mortalis Linebreaker also has the same number with: high command, command, heavy assault, troops, and elites. 

Of course, players can expand these in the normal fashion to include auxilliary, apex and other detachments. 

Overall, these rules are nice and streamline and I quite like them. 

Painted Vindicare Assassin With Glitch Camo

A painting experiment complete!

This is a Vindicare assassin with glitching camouflage.

The central portions are painted with contrast (Guilliman Flesh) and highlighted with a dry brush and stippled technique with eldar flesh dry paint. Some further highlighting was applied to make everything consistent. 

One of the interesting parts was the Imperial Eagle which is affixed to the building ruins. I have given the assassin some silvery grey on his calf to try to mimic this and blend in even further. I think this has mostly worked as well in the abstract sense. 

The outer parts were picked out in Eshin grey and then dulled down using nuln oil. I picked out some parts in silver (parts of the rifle, the close combat blade sheath) as well as the red on the end of the blade and the red lens with yellow and white highlights. 

For the glitching, I've used a steady build up from dark blue through to lighter blues (3 different colours there in fact) and a vanilla and white highlighting. Hence 5 different colours layered on top of each other. The base dark blue was applied probably a bit to thick on the joint between the ruins colours and the black and grey of his uniform, but this only serves to enhance the glitching. Although I was originally intending to make the glitching a bit more digital by having squares painted freehand, I think the straight forward approach is much easier and works just as well. 

The base rounds it out with Armageddon technical grit which has been inked and highlighted to blend in with the rest, and some application of green knots of weeds. Not sure if I'll keep him or sell him on eBay at a later point, but that's a decision for later. Hope you like this paint scheme.