Horus Heresy 2e Review: Pyroclast Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are solid and the squad functions very well for what it does.

Background.

Getting rid of the destroyer squads was a good move for our humanitarian hero, Vulkan. But his Salamanders still needed something to do a bit of end of days style cleansing with, so he forged the pyroclasts. Their role is one of cleansing. With fire - or more accurately a weapon of Vulkan's own devising. 

Strengths.

Two wounds each is very nice here along with It Will Not Die, and an invulnerable save against the very things they bring to the battlefield (fire, fire, and a touch of fire. Or melta, volkite, or plasma as well). I like the melta bombs here a whole lot more than I should as well. The 2+ save is, of course, great.

The flame projectors that they carry have two firing modes that can be used - one is a template with fire at S=6, the other is a melta gun variation. They also double up to perform close combat duty very nicely. 

Weaknesses.

Having to select every member in the squad firing in the same mode (template vs melta) might seem like a weakness, but it really isn't. Similarly the limited range of upgrade to the unit may also seem problematic, but the squad is already fairly optimized that you will just use the thunder hammer most of the time and call it a day I guess. And in all honesty, the price tag is not much of a negative compared to the humble support squad either for what you get for it. Pity other upgrades like a Vexilla is not available. 

Difference to First Edition.

Two wounds. The melta bombs come as standard now as well. 

Builds.

5 Pyroclasts, Warden with Power Fist (195 points).

The basic build. You will need either the power fist or thunder hammer to be fully effective. Take a transport to get where you need to be. Master craft a weapon to taste.

10 Pyroclasts, Warden with Thunder Hammer (350 points).

Can't really go too wrong, but I prefer smaller units for this squad I think. That said, put a praetor in here that is close combat orientated and you have a recipe for a nasty unit straight out of a land raider. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Vulkan

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. The rules are very strong indeed.

Background.

Vulkan is the good guy. The humanitarian. The perpetual. And amazingly a match for many of his brothers, whilst also being a consummate craftsman. Whilst his brothers played war leaders and planetary unifiers, he was more than happy to be a teacher and protector. He carried this over to his legion and sought to minimize the casualties he caused. This, of course, way not the way of some of his brothers. He was well liked by most of them all the same. 

Strengths. 

All Salamanders gain stubborn under his warlord trait which is excellent. The extra reaction in the shooting phase is solid as well. 

The stat line is great with a WS=S=T=7 at the expense on one lower initiative than his brothers. You won't mind this given his armaments though. Dawnbringer, his hammer, strikes with S=10 and AP1 just to make some of his brothers jealous. His side arm is a S=7 lance with d6 burst which is one of the better ones compared to his brothers.  Rounding this out is his 2+/3++ armour which is excellent. He re-rolls against flame and volkite where applicable, but I suspect that hardly will ever be used.

More than anything else, Vulkan is the tank among his brothers. His It Will Not Die is at 4+ and he will out last many of his brothers and tar pit others. 

Weaknesses.

Beware of getting stuck in combat yourself all game long. No doubt a lot of Salamanders players have this experience already. He's much the same in this edition. 

Overall.

As a tank, he will tank all game long. Choose your targets though. He can take on most things in the game and win, and for his brothers stands a good chance against half of them at least (forget taking on Horus or The Lion though). 

Difference to First Edition.

He's lost some of his special rules and army boosts (no more re-rolling deny the witch for instance). Beyond this, its pretty similar. And its always hammer time. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Salamanders Armoury and Psychic Powers

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars, and rounded down. The rules are strong.  

Artifice and Flame. The Salamanders are noted artisans within the background. Here they can master craft any of their weapons (1 per character for a small points cost) which is solid enough. In addition they can exchange heavy bolters for dragon's breath heavy flamers. 

Dragon's Breath Weapons. With a nice amount of S in each weapon, the key difference to base weapons is the modification of the Wall of Death rule to grant 1d6 hits instead of 1d3. These things are deadly when used right. 

Dragon Scale Storm Shield. The key difference between the Salamanders and other legions is arguably the upgrade available to shields. This turns their terminators in cataphractii armour into 3+ invulnerable saving throw monsters. This is massive, and keeps the Salamanders alive even better than their base legion rules. This is the main reason I am giving 4.5 stars out of 5 to the Salamanders here.

Mantle of the Elder Drake. Battle Hardened for a good amount of points. Its not quite as good as it was, and its not eternal warrior. But it gets close. 

Psychic Discipline: Fury of the Salamander.

This psychic discipline is used with the Awakening Fire rite of war and grants 2 abilities. The first is Salamander's Fury which changes open terrain into difficult terrain, and difficult terrain into both difficult and dangerous within a bubble. This is a magnificent power, but comes at the price of having to stay still and not do much else. The second is Elemental Horror which is a glorious template attack at S=7 with pinning, deflagrate, shell shock and psychic focus to boot. Take with a unit of heavy flamers and you will make exactly zero friends. 

Overall.

No special consul for the Salamanders, but the slight nerf to the base rules is more than made up for with a very strong armoury which even the average player will know what to do with and the average opponent might arguably struggle with. I am liking the Awakening Fire rite of war for the Salamanders in particular right at the moment. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Salamanders Legion Traits and Rites

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded down. The rules are average, and some are rather nice. 

Warlord Traits.

The Salamanders Legion has three warlord traits on offer, including a traitor one, much to my surprise. 

The Weight of Duty. For the Loyalists, the warlord and his army gain S+1 against a unit that causes fear in combat. The unit also has hatred of traitors. This comes at the cost of not being able to take the nastier, unwholesome units like destroyer squads, but the bonus assault reaction is nice. Overall this is an average trait that will see sufficient play. 

Promethian Will. Bonuses to Ld against pinning and a reduction of incoming fear is a nice, but not complete replacement of their core rules from the first edition. Shooting reaction bonus is solid, but as above, they can't take the nastier units. Once again, average, and an inferior replacement for first edition rules. 

Redemption of Flames. I find it surprising that a traitor only warlord trait exists for the Salamanders since they were selected for destruction largely as the Warmaster didn't think he could turn any of them. Recall: in the lore, the Salamanders are really the humanitarians and the good guys, despite the red eyes. The bonus +1 to wound when using flames or volkite is strong and the bonus assault reaction the same. This is the best trait of the lot. I'm sad it is not that fluffy myself.

Rites of War.

The Conenant of Fire. Pyroclasts and Support Squads gaining Line and becoming troops when using flamers is all fine and good, as are predator squads with dragon's breath equipment as troops. Not deep striking is a problematic draw back, so take some termites instead if you're playing that way. Destroyers being eliminated is fluffy, but having to take a champion consul is odd. This is an average to sub-part rite of war that just enables things to be taken as troops fundamentally and as such it might appear to be a "shrug" all round, but it will still see play. 

The Awakening Fire. Being able to take Fear as an upgrade is excellent, as is ignoring Ld modifiers for pinning. Psykers having to use the Fury of the Salamander is not really a drawback (we will look at this psychic discipline later). Having the option to take an additional chaplain is a reasonable exchange rate (and indeed at least 1 chaplain must be taken). No jump packs can be problematic, but who take cavalry (similarly restricted). Of course, the restriction of no Vulkan might seem harsh, but it is fluffy. This is a strong rite of war to my mind.

Difference to First Edition.

The rules here appear to replace some of the first edition core rules for the legion somewhat. They are not quite as powerful, but they will do quite nicely. I'm surprised at the traitor warlord trait's existence, and doubly concerned that its the most powerful! Oh well. Good luck to those Salamanders players taking the side of the Warmaster. 

 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Salamanders Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

2.5/5 stars -- rounded up to 3/5 stars. The rules are okay and can be solid enough when played well.

Background.

The Salamanders were betrayed and broken at the Massacre in the Isstvan system at the opening in the Heresy. With Vulkan missing in action afterward, the legion was reduced to guerrilla actions for most of the rest of the civil war and their splintered forces carried on confronting the traitors wherever they found them.

Legion Rules Review.

Blood and Fire grants a reduction in rolls to wound against them when using many different types of special weapons (plasma, melta, volkite, and flames in general). In addition for models with more than one wound or hull point, they gain It Will Not Die on a 6+ roll. This rule then speaks volumes about staying power and survivability, but the canny opponent might be able to work around this.

Artifacts of Nocturne grants access to the unique wargear options from the armoury whilst The Creed of Vulkan provides the warlord traits. As with some other legions, there are no unique consul choices to be had within the Salamanders.

Advanced Reaction.

Duty is Sacrifice is an interesting advanced reaction that can be used once per game. On receiving a charge a Salamanders unit can gain +1 to WS, S, and A for that assault phase. But there's a downside: roll 1d6 for each combatant and get an unsavable wound against you on a 6! Ouch! Should the charge fail though, the Salamanders gain Fearless instead of all of the above. This is an interesting reaction at minimum in the sense that it has a downside. Probably best played with multi-wound units where possible, but in the right situation it can be very strong.  

Difference to First Edition.

Overall, the Salamanders are a bit thin on the ground in terms of the sheer number of unique units that they are fielding as core in second edition. Otherwise, they retain only scraps of the rules that they are famous for as they have been hit with some significant nerfs here. I mourn the loss of Strength of Will for them in particular, but some of this is included in a Warlord Trait at least.

Summary Page Updated

Today's progress has been to update the Horus Heresy Reviews Summary page here on Warpstone Flux.

This has been a bit of effort since I've left it far too long since the last time we updated it. Quite a few legions are left to be examined, as well as substantial sections of the core army list choices. We're getting there though! 

Normal service will resume tomorrow.