Horus Heresy 3e Review: Mhara Gal Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. 

Background.

What do you get if you put a smashed up Gal Vorbak inside a contemptor dreadnought? The Word Bearers have conclusively answered this with the Mhara Gal. "...that which was blessed, but now stands beyond the sight of the gods" to use the official description. The dreadnought is a cursed creation with black flames flickering around it and reality itself upset by its presence. In many ways, this is punishment with life after death for the Gal Vorbak inside.

Strengths. 

A dreadnought profile mixed with dark blessings to create something a bit more deadly. 

Explodes and Fear are nice to have, but the real question comes down to which upgrades to take. 

I like the Warp Fire Cannon. The blasts coupled with 2 damages, breaching and shred is excellent. 

The baseline burning warp fire template is nice for causing panic and probably something you should keep. The tainted claw is similarly great hitting at S=10 with AP=2 and 3 damage. I don't feel any need to upgrade to gravis bolt cannons. Melta cannon might be interesting, lascannons are okay, but you want to be close range for combat, and the same issue raises its head for the autocannon. Hence it is between the warp fire cannon and the melta cannon for me. Given that the model is sold in resin with the warp fire cannon, I really recommend that. 

Weaknesses. 

Not many. It is malefic as you might expect. Just a pity that it cannot take 2 tainted talons or 2 warp fire cannons in third edition. 

Builds.

Mhara Gal with Warp Fire Cannon and Tainted Claw (210 points). 

I genuinely think that this is the build that you should be running. 

Praetor Challenge: Word Bearers vs World Eaters

On a near airless moon, Lorgar leads his mutated followers against Angron and his crazed World Eaters! But what should they do?

It is the Word Bearers to play. The set up is as see at the start of the Word Bearers movement phase. 

Word Bearers:

1x Angron. [He has a summoning reading for a unit of 5x daemons - NB]. Unwounded. 
5x Gal Vorbak. 1 of them is down to 1 wound remaining. 

World Eaters:
1x Leviathan Dreadnought with grav flux bombard and storm cannon. 2 wounds remaining. 

1x Angron. 4 wounds remaining. 

6x Tartaros terminators. 5x Lightning Claws [1 has 1 wound remaining], and 1x Praetor with Paragon Blade (counts as) with 2 wounds remaining.  

The dreadnought LITERALLY is sat on top of an objective. Not that many of the participants seem to care!

What is the best play for the Word Bearers?

Internet kudos points await! (Only redeemable with your own friends when you boast to them about Warpstone Flux's Praetor Challenge ;).

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Saturnine Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The new dreadnought on the block costs a lot of points, but packs a good punch!

Background.

Refined by Vulkan from the design of the Saturnine terminators, this dreadnought towers over everything. The Saturnine has massive generators which are needed to power the incredible weaponry and keep alive the interred marine within.

Strengths. 

An amazing stat line with T=8, S=8, and 8 wounds plus a 4+ invulnerable save makes this dreadnought a threat in itself. 

There are 4 options for the main weapons. 

The Heavy Plasma Bombard gives you a big pie plate at S=7 and AP=2, with the possibility to overload to enhance the strength. Barrage is great here and the range is very nice. 

The Disintegrator Cannon gives a couple of S=9 shots at AP=2 and 3 damage each. The overload here is risky indeed. But with 8 wounds, you won't die on a turn one misfire from overload at least. Very powerful and useful for deleting enemy lesser dreadnoughts. 

The Inversion Beamer is a nice pie plate that is more effective under 15 inches in terms of strength, damage and AP and with a big pie plate. I actually don't like this one as much as the other options as the range just doesn't gel as well. 

The Graviton Pulverizer is similarly short range with a smaller blast but yields pinning, shock and breaching. Again, not my favourite, but the range gels okay with the inversion beamer. I like it with the disintegrator best I think. 

For the other weapons, the photonic incinerators are nice flamers for panic, concussive resonators as also a template but give you stun with two shots at the risk of overload, and particle shredders are similar with breaching. I like the flamers best myself as a defensive measure due to panic and no overload (you already have that risk if you run disintegrators). 

Weaknesses. 

Intelligence is 5 once again, and we have the liability to explode in common with other dreadnoughts. 

Builds.

Saturnine with Disintegrator Cannon and Heavy Plasma Bombard (340 points). 

Straight out of the box, and actually my favourite build. Effective against many targets.

Saturnine with two Disintegrator Cannons (350 points). 

In the realm of risking deleting yourself, but at least not on turn one, this is actually viable but don't expect it to last too long. 

Saturnine with two Heavy Plasma Bombards (340 points). 

Sit back and barrage! Its a reasonable option. 

Saturnine with Inversion Beamer and Graviton Pulverizer (350 points). 

Fundamentally shorter range. I am tempted by the concussive resonators and particle shredders here actually. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Leviathan Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Spherically excellent! Also has the rule of cool for collecting, assembling, and painting. 

Background.

When you have the resources to create an Imperial Knight, but want to keep a dying space marine alive instead and combine him with astonishing firepower or close combat potential, the Leviathan is the outcome. Their incumbents paid the price for this tough, glowing brightly but burning out fast. All the while, the Mechanicum looked on uneasy at their creation as the Leviathan was a purely Terran creation.

Strengths. 

An excellent stat line with T=8, S=8, and 7 wounds. 

The customization is excellent as well. 

Choose the Siege Claw for close combat nastiness - the AP=2 is excellent and damage=3 amazing, particularly at S=10. Paired just gives you an extra attack, so you might want to have a ranged weapon as the second armament potentially. 

Choose the Siege Drill for armour bane. You take an initiative penalty, but gain damage=3 and S=12 this way. The paired siege drills enhances the damage, but if you are going all-in on melee, I would advocate one drill and one claw overall to face off against almost anything.

The Grav Flux Bombard gives you different conditions (pinning, shock) with a big pie plate, but intermediate range. I probably wouldn't run two of them paired though. 

The Storm Cannon gives you four shots at bolt gun range which is nice over all for the strength. Paired is great. 

The Cyclonic Melta Lance is fairly short range but really powerful. Possible candidate for being paired, but I'd prefer a drill for going after other targets to be candid. 

Volkites probably are not worth the upgrade cost, but the phosphex is a good idea for those legions that don't really subscribe to the Geneva Convention. 

Weaknesses. 

Leviathans drop to 5 in Intelligence, but presumably you don't care.

It also explodes like other dreadnoughts. 

Builds.

Leviathan with Siege Claw and Siege Drill (225 points). 

Classic close combat set up. Take phosphex to taste. You will need to think about a drop pod due to the slow movement though. 

Leviathan with 2 Storm Cannons (250 points).

The classic dakka option with a reasonable range. 

Leviathan with Siege Drill and Cyclonic Melta Lance (245 points).

The anti-tank option. Don't forget the melta gun buried in the drill. 

Leviathan with Grav Flux Bombard and Siege Claw (230 points).

Mid-range. And long range weapon works with the claw realistically. 

Leviathan with Storm Cannon and Grav Flux Bombard (245 points).

Mixed ranged threats. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Deredeo Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. A weapons platform that performs well enough, but looks a bit goofy to my eyes. 

Background.

The Deredeo is a heavy weapons platform that has its history in the Contemptor class and the earlier styles of Terran and Martian designs. It remained in high demand by both sides of the conflict in the Heresy, although there were few forges that could produce them.

Strengths. 

The customization here provides the player with some strong threats. 

The Anvilus autocannons have rapid tracking and sky fire (nice). They provide a good level of threat whilst keeping the points cost down. 

They can be replaced by the hellfire plasma cannonade which is attractive for the breaching and large blasts on overload, but otherwise I think the autocannons might have and edge for sky fire purposes. 

The las cannon battery is worth it for the improved strength and sky fire (but reduced rate of fire compared to the autocannons. I haven't run the numbers, but I think both are viable, but the las cannons are simply deadlier for the higher S). 

Volkite Falconet has a high S and pinning which makes it very interesting anti-infantry and worth a look if you are headed in that direction. 

The Aiolos missile launcher is the baseline entry which is nice for barrage and ranged threat. 

The missiles can be upgraded to four lots of Boreas air defence missiles instead which have sky fire and rapid tracking, but obviously they are limited use. 

Replacing the heavy bolt guns with flamers is a player taste choice. The former gives slightly enhanced ranged fire power, the latter is more defensive to my mind. 

Weaknesses. 

Not as good a stat line as the contemptor, with losses in S and A. But so what. It is a weapons platform not a close combat array. 

It also explodes. 

Builds.

Deredeo with Autocannons, Missile Launcher (190 points). 

Effective and baseline. I like it. Occasionally I'd be tempted by the plasma or volkite, but not often. 

Deredeo with Las Cannons, Boreas Air Defence Missiles (215 points).

Pure air defence. I'd pair it with the heavy flamers. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Contemptor Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Iconic and totemic for the Horus Heresy game. 

Background.

A relatively recent design by the beginning of the Heresy, the contemptor features a massively efficient power plant that enabled increased power flow and hence the ability to be very agile and carry massive weapons. They do, however, have a tendency to go boom when they die due to all that power build up. They remain, however, a complete talisman and icon of the game. 

Strengths. 

S=7, T=7, 6 wounds and only really lacking in the Intelligence department curiously (I guess that is what happens due to being inside one for a long time?). 

There is a strong array of set ups available here. The only real question is what battlefield role the player wants out of the dreadnought? 

Close combat (and probably via a drop pod) = take double fists or chain fists.

Ranged only = take the same weapon twice if you wish, but at least take 2 weapons with similar ranges. 

Mixed = one fist and one ranged weapon and sally forth happily.  

Weaknesses. 

The explosions can hurt if you are too close, but they remain 5/5 stars from me and the points cost is good for what you are getting. [Aside: I remain surprised that 3rd edition kept the stat line rather than revert to first edition armour values, but I guess we cannot have everything].

Builds.

Contemptor with dual power fists, 2 heavy flamers (170 points).

Close combat variant baseline. Take a havoc launcher if you absolutely have to retain some minor ranged threat. 

Contemptor with 1 power fist, 1 chain fist with melta gun (175 points).

Close combat with anti-tank built in. Graviton guns work here as well.

Contemptor with 2 Kheres Assault Cannons (180 points). 

Lots of dakka. The auto cannons aren't too bad an option either. The volkites are more anti-infantry in pairs though (and yes: I like them in pairs because the rule for volkite is always to go big). 

Contemptor with 2 Melta Cannons (180 points).

The anti-tank solution. 

Contemptor with power fist, Twin Las Cannon (170 points). 

Long range threat combined with close combat potential. The plasma cannon option is also appealing here. Take a bolt cannon if you are sporting and short on points. 

Contemptor with power fist, Conversion Beam Cannon, Havoc Launcher (180 points).

Overlapping threats from all sorts of weapons.  

Dreadtober 2025: Completed Iron Warriors Contemptor

Dreadtober 2025 is now over and I have completed my pledge of one Iron Warriors contemptor dreadnought. Armed with a las cannon, this dreadnought has a long range battlefield role, but backs that up with the fist so that he can remain a close range threat. 

The final details for the work have included really focussing hard on building the base up into a quality and believable configuration that is in keeping with the rest of my Iron Warriors range. I think this has worked nicely with less being more in this instance. 

Weathering of the model has also been extensively looked at with damage added to the hazard stripes to not only look cool, but disguise the potentially less than perfect diagonals. You are very welcome to steal this idea too - it works for me as a long term painter to say the least. 

Overall then, very happy, and glad to have got another dreadnought painted up thanks to Dreadtober! See you again next year I hope Dreadtober fans!!!

Dreadtober 2025 Week 3 Update: Base and Decals

This week's progress is pictured below!

So, I finally have the base in place. One half of the base is covered in cork board and is giving the required elevation to the left foot of the dreadnought. The right foot remains on the ground level. All of the base and the cork board have been "painted" (I use the term between friends) in Armageddon dunes to create a sandy look. I plan on giving this some shading and dry brushing once fully dried out and the texture is firmly in place.

The decals have also been applied to the miniature. Classic words from the unbreakable litany feature across the chest of the dreadnought (which roughly translates as "from honour comes iron"). This decal is actually a single one that I have sliced up into three parts specifically for application across the chest. I think it broadly works. A large roman numeral number 4 is on the left knee, and a standard Iron Warriors legion symbol (not visible) on the right shoulder pad. 

In addition to this, I have started to turn my attention to some finer details. Various areas have been picked out in gold to provide a neat accent colour (e.g., part of the armour on the left shoulder at the joint, and also just below the left knee where the roman numeral is located). The eyes and shiny lenses have been picked out in white as a base coat for the reds and oranges to be applied over the top. 

One week to go on this project and I am very confident of finishing now. The base needs work, and the fine painting details are yet to come, but it is almost there. I can see the finishing line now!

Dreadtober 2025 Week 2: Weathering and Hazard Stripes

It wouldn't be an Iron Warriors dreadnought without some hazard stripes, would it?

In this week's update, I have applied some yellow to select areas of the dreadnought - right knee, right wrist, and left under belly areas for that classic Iron Warriors look. These stripes are not quite perfect, but that doesn't stress me. I will patch up with a little bit more black, but the intent is to then weather the stripes and give them a worn and scratched look regardless. This approach always disguises any imperfections in the hazard stripes. Its really a pro-tip that even average painters can benefit from. 

Weathering has also been applied across the main body of the dreadnought. This began with a Nuln Oil wash all over to get into the recesses and make it look worn. Using a sponge, I have then applied some lighter silver and black patches to give the overall impression of this dreadnought not being on his first rodeo. Perhaps even mid-battle. 

Plans for the week ahead are to add decals and think about the base in more detail. 

Dreadtober 2025: Week 1 Update

One week in and I now have actual verifiable progress on the Iron Warriors dreadnought!

The dreadnought is now fully assembled: left arm las cannons, and right arm a claw (with those nasty looking fingernails). The pose is somewhat static, but there is a slight bend in the left leg which I will put to good use on the final base where I'm planning on have a bit of a step up. 

Not only is the model assembled, but is has also been undercoated and base coated. Mostly done in lead belcher, I have applied black to selected surfaces. Some of these will eventually have hazard stripes across them, but others will remain intentionally black. 

The next stages include undertaking the nuln oil wash and then applying some edge highlighting and weathering to the paint. 

Dreadtober 2025! Pitiful Beginnings.

It is that time of year again: Dreadtober!!

This year, I am pledging to complete an Iron Warriors Contemptor Dreadnought.

To my shame, this dreadnought comes from the SECOND EDITION Horus Heresy boxed set. You remember that one, with the beak armour, the land raider, and so forth? Yeah. I've not done much with the dreadnought from that. 

Here is my literal progress so far - in time for the Friday Update.

No. 

Seriously. 

This is actual progress. 

It is out of the box. It is not going back in. It is going to be on the shelf annoying the rest of the family until this is complete. So go ahead and judge me, but I have the willpower to get this pulled off! 

Wargames Gallery: Contemptor Clash

For reasons that I swear made total sense at the time, two contemptor dreadnoughts that lack any melee armaments engage in close combat. 

In imagination, the combat was won by the best dancer since all of the damage was presumably done through sheer application of weight, the odd blast going off, and mostly kicks. 

For the curious, the Salamanders dreadnought won the battle against the Alpha Legion dreadnought. But only just. And it took a while. 

Dreadtober 2024: Completed World Eaters Leviathan

The World Eaters Leviathan is done!

I genuinely love the final stages of painting World Eaters. To some it might seem like I've ruined a particularly crisp and nice paint job. I disagree. I set out wanting to have a battle worn and bloodied leviathan. The only way to achieve this is with weathering. And blood. For the blood god. The weathering features two toned grey and black speckles using a sponge applicator. I've made chips using silver inside of significant wear and tear to emphasize this aspect. The blood has been both painted and sponged on in a consistent manner to hopefully show some up close and personal work. This features most prominently on the chest (close range fire I suspect), and on the shins (he kicked his foes, clearly). There's a lot less blood on the rear of the miniature for obvious reasons (don't turn your back on your foes!), but the weathering features both wear and tear as well as explosive impacts on the rear. 

And for reasons I am unable to explain adequately, gravitons are green. Too bad. I've decided. 

Hope you've enjoyed following along with my Dreadtober leviathan project! I'm really pleased with the outcome here and I hope you've enjoyed seeing the progress week after week! Very glad I did this, and even happier with the end result. 

My original plan was to sell this miniature on eBay, but now I'm not sure! 

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan with Decals

Progress report on my Dreadtober project: a World Eaters Leviathan. Here, I have got to the stage of applying all of the decals to the miniature. I can now get a really good sense of what the finished miniature is actually going to look like. 

The miniature looks very "clean" at this stage though. I am intending to make it a lot more mucky and stained with explosive barrages. Let alone liberal application of Blood for the Blood God to match up with the other miniatures in this particular allied detachment! It's certainly looking a lot better and even though I've been away, I am well on course to finishing this miniature on schedule - possibly even by the end of next week. Who knows. 

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan based coated in World Eaters colours

Dreadtober continues! Progress has now included applying the base coat to the Leviathan dreadnought to bring out the legion identity! As can be seen, I've settled on World Eaters here. 

In addition to the base coat of blues, whites, and iron, I have also started to pick out the recesses using Guilliman flesh. This is deliberately sloppy in application. As well as going into the recesses of the armour, there's also a stain around these recesses which will accentuate the dirty / "in action" vibe that I'm aiming for with this miniature. 

The next step will be to get some World Eaters decals in place before progressing to some edge highlights and other fun stuff. 

Dreadtober 2024: Undercoated!

Dreadtober 2024 progress. It is Week 1. An undercoat has happened. 

That's this week's entire progress on the Leviathan Dreadnought!

And what progress it was. The spray out of the can started going a bit dribble dribble. As you can see from the image, the front armour plates have long streaks of white all over them! Oh no! It's not a complete disaster, but I've not had such a poor start in a while. Hopefully the base coat can correct this and I can get going properly soon enough!

Weekend Build Part 2: Complete Leviathan - but for which Legion?

The second and final installment for this weekend: a complete Leviathan dreadnought. 

The loadout here was an interesting choice given that the plastic set doesn't allow duplicate weapons which would ordinarily be my inclination. I opted against the melta lance simply on the grounds that I wanted a machine that was firing against heavy infantry - as opposed to a true tank buster. Of course, I'm sure I could have just picked up a duplicate weapon from eBay, or even a claw, but I kind of like the look of the longer ranged dreadnought here. Plus I've not actually used a graviton weapon recently and their whole aesthetic appeals to me.

There remains one question though. Which legion should I paint this Leviathan for?

Here's the options:

Iron Warriors: Pro: very fitting. Con: already have a contemptor and don't want to overload this legion with more single member unit choices.

Alpha Legion: Pro: would complement my previous contemptor. Con: really don't want to expand this legion any further otherwise I'm going to have to sell parts of it!

Shattered Legions: Pro: could fit any of the three main legions of the shattered legions. Con: already have a Salamanders contemptor, and the shattered legions rules suck. 

World Eaters: Pro: much needed fire support. Con: everyone expects close combat armed leviathans.

Emperor's Children: Pro: would be amazing to paint in these colours. Con: wouldn't fit with the allied detachment as I already have sun killers. 

Blackshields: Pro: temptation. Con: I don't own any other blackshields nor do I yet have time or plans! 

Other: Name it! Con: I don't own much of any other legion nor do I have plans at this point in time!

Weekend Build Part 1

Uh oh! A leviathan grows!

Took a bit of fiddling to get the stepping foot to sit flush with the groin area thanks to the way that the components all glue together. The foot at the front is a flat one and rests on the (junk) of some old style imperial ruins. I'm going to get the rest of this one glued into position tomorrow. Can't wait to see how he turns out!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Deredeo Dreadnought Talon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. These are long range fire power support dreadnoughts and have to be treated as such to work well.

Background.

A fusion of mechanicum and Terran might. The Deredeo is a weapons platform strapped onto a dreadnought design. It combines fire power, staying power, and a slightly goofy looking aesthetic to my biased eyes which results in good outcomes all the same. 

Strengths.

Undoubtedly the strength of the unit comes from the weapons it carries in combination with T=7, W=6 and BS=5. 

The real question is what side arms to use, and which missiles. Coupled with the helical targeting array, this beast is a solution to air superiority attempts by opponents as well.

Weaknesses.

Forget close combat. This is not the dreadnought you are looking for. Accordingly, do not waste your time swapping out the twin linked heavy bolters for twin linked heavy flamers. They just aren't worth the deterrent. Stay out of close combat - leave that to other dreadnoughts. Sure, they will be just about okay in a fight, but you're not paying the points for that!

Difference to First Edition.

The dreadnought has obviously lost its armour values in comparison to first edition, but much else remains similar and familiar.

Builds.

Deredeo, Hellfire Plasma Cannonade, Aiolos Missile Launcher (225 points).

This is the de facto anti infantry build and the only one where I'd be taking the Aiolos. The plasma can double up to threaten lighter tanks as well. The autocannons are a bit less reliable due to their AP. Similar can be said of the Volkite Falconet. 

Deredeo, Arachnus Heavy Lascannon Battery, 4 Boreas Air Defence Missiles (225 points).

The best anti-tank, and anti-air option. Note the points cost is the same as the anti-infantry option above.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Leviathan Dreadnought Talon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. They are awesome. They also have a role in defining the whole setting along with their contemptor cousins. Well worth the points, but don't overdo it with Fury of the Ancients rite of war if you want any friends left. 

Background.

When you have the resources to create an Imperial Knight, but want to keep a dying space marine alive instead and combine him with astonishing firepower or close combat potential, the Leviathan is the outcome. Their incumbents paid the price for this tough, glowing brightly but burning out fast; whilst the Mechanicum looked on uneasy at their creation. 

Strengths.

Superb stat line including T=8 and W=7. Nicely customization as well. 

Weaknesses.

I=4 is about the weakest thing that I can think of here, although Movement=6 is a very close second.

Difference to First Edition.

Lots of changes to dreadnought rules compared to First Edition, but these bad boys are pretty game defining to be honest and here in second edition they're also slightly cheaper than they used to be. Unless you are playing with close friends, you might want to limit the number of them you include in your army list. Just my polite advice -- take it or leave it. 

Builds.

Leviathan, 1x Siege Drill, 1x Siege Claw (275 points).

The super scary close combat monster. The main issue with this build is the comparatively slow movement rate (in comparison to your presumed targets). A drop pod is probably necessary. 

Leviathan, 2x Storm Cannons (290 points).

Mid range rather than long range (unlike some of its cousin's contemptor builds), but the fire power here is genuinely scary. 

Leviathan, 1x Siege Drill, 1x Melta Lance (295 points)

Mixed threats, and my personal favourite build! Take phosphex dischargers to taste. The volkites are probably not quite worth it to be honest. I don't mind the siege claw either - it is amazingly good, but here the build is anti-tank. The grav flux bombard isn't a bad option either, its just the melta lance is more dangerous!