Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Outrider Squadron

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded down. The rules are fine.

Background.

They are recon space marines. They have bikes. They are space marines on bikes. Not sure there's much more to know!

Strengths.

I may have mentioned that they have bikes. This gives them a good movement rate! Shroud as well. Hammer of wrath and firing protocols for the full trifecta.

Scouts and relentless are nice to have in there too. 

Weaknesses.

T=4 combined with W=1. They will be vulnerable. Play accordingly. 

Difference to First Edition.

Mainly neutral. Some options like melta bombs are no longer there which I find a bit crazy.

Builds.

3 Outriders, all with twin-linked melta guns (130 points).

Not very subtle, but that's also not the point. Ride up and gun down those tanks and dreadnoughts. Expendable, so don't stress too much if they don't survive. Several of these squads can be a headache for opponents. Take a nuncio vox to taste?

5 Outriders, all with twin-linked plasma guns, Sergeant with power fist (195 points).

Cheap enough to be effective and not to get too stressed about if they die easily. This is a roving plasma wall of doom with a power fist to grant a touch of combat effectiveness. 

10 Outriders, 4 Power Weapons, 5 hand flamers, Sergeant with Power Fist and Artificer Armour (305 points).

More of a close combat squad. Take power axes as a suggestion. Nuncio vox and vexilla to taste. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Seeker Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good.

Background.

Commencing our review of the Fast Attack slots are the legion seeker squads. This squad is the brain child of the Alpha Legion. Its purpose is to destroy the command structure of the enemy by placing the best shots in the legion in the right place to take out whatever sorry excuse the enemy had for a leader or priest (etc.). They come with special ammo, although clearly their use is better suited to some legions than others. 

Strengths.

With BS=5, these marines are indeed good shots. The Kraken Bolter comes with both Tempest and Scorpius rounds, both of which have their place should you need to ignore cover saves and the likes. 

What they do have that is a great combination is infiltrate with precision shots (and Marked for Death also helps too). This combination allows the squad to be very effective at their mission purpose.

More than this is the customization that can be undertaken with the unit. Multiple combi-meltas could spell doom for high value targets with the right circumstances and set up and this fundamentally makes them more than just a bolt gun squad, but a threat to many. 

Weaknesses.

The leadership is weak here. It is probably best to think of this squad as serving its purpose after round 2 has concluded. If they've survived that long and shot down some targets, then they've done well enough I would think. For a fast attack choice, they also not very fast unless you want to buy them a rhino or other carrier. You're reliant on infiltrate otherwise which will, of course, be perfectly sufficient.

Difference to First Edition.

Mainly neutral. Although note that Scorpius Rounds now lack AP2. Drat. You can take a nemesis bolter here, but other squads can do this almost as well, so I don't see much point. Chain bayonets are also interesting options. 

Builds.

5 Seekers, Melta Bombs, 2 combi-meltas, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour (175 points).

Small and a bit of a Swiss army knife style of unit ready to take on a variety of threats as needed.

10 Seekers, 10 combi-plasma (280 points).

Very much like a tactical support squad, but with infiltration and those other special rules. Its hilarious when it works well. Could be even better unloading out of a land raider. 

10 Seekers, Sergeant with power fist and artificer armour (205 points).

Something of a more basic set up that will suffice for sharp shooting enemy sergeants and the like. Might be worth taking a combi-disintegrator here for the sergeant. Take chain bayonets if you're expecting to charge in after shooting (225 points total for this instead).

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Alpha Legion Effrit Disruption Cadre

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

Background.

We interrupt the regular chain of events here to review the Effrit Stealth Squad -- for no other reason than I have been waiting for this one to come out since the Exemplary Battles in the Age of Darkness series commenced. That, and I always liked Omegon in the Black Library books being in command of this secretive cadre. 

The Alpha Legion is no stranger to infiltrating deadly squads in to position, and the Effrit are similarly tasked with missions that might be suicidal for others. 

Strengths.

Two wounds, and BS=5 makes for mixed strengths. They have good attacks in close combat, but need better AP to be fully effective in this role, while their 3+ armour save is distinctly normal. 

They do come with a variety of upgrades such as infiltrate and scouts (nice), along with a Hydra's Wail disruption array to cause Ld penalties on enemies in closer range, shroud bombs to keep them alive longer, and some banestrike shotguns which is very interesting to find here! Shred, breaching, and concussive makes for a very strong close range threat. 

Weaknesses.

More durable than headhunters, this unit suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. I feel that they need to be upgraded in one of two ways: either with the nemesis bolters for longer range work, or with the power daggers to ensure they can hold their own in the inevitable melee that will following their shooting phase. Final problem is that they are elites and thus take up a crammed slot on the force chart. 

Builds.

5 Effrit, All with Nemesis Bolters (195 points).

Exploiting the BS=5 from long range, the idea here is to set up and ping the enemy until it dies. I think this set up is actually a bit of a waste. You might be tempted to instead toy with the idea of one or two nemesis bolters instead but there's no easy way around the heavy 1 implication of these weapons. 

5 Effrit, Power Daggers, Melta Bombs, Principal with Power Weapon (200 points).

A much better proposition! Use those banestrike shot guns to whittle things down (don't forget the Wail) and charge in to mop up the rest. The power daggers shine here. The power weapon is subject to taste - the sword is nice enough, an axe gives that AP2 that might be needed (but is unwieldy) whilst a Maul gives improved S, and the lance could be great in the right scenario too. I'm torn on this aspect. Add in 5 more members for 105 points and you have an infiltrating force to be reckoned with here. 

Wargames Gallery: Salamanders Defence

The bitter remains of a Salamanders expeditionary force defend their objective; part of a larger Forge World necessary to prosecute the war for the Loyalists. They remain in the dark about the fate of their Primarch. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Remus Ventanus

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

2.5/5 stars, rounded up. The rules are fractionally below average.

Background.

The hero of Calth and its saviour, Remus was the commander of the 4th company of the 1st chapter of the Ultramarines. He not only rallied the remains of the legion on Calth but also evacuated as many as possible, including civilians whom ultimately entered the underground arcologies. 

Strengths. 

As a praetor level character, Remus Ventanus has a stat line that is slightly lower than a standard praetor. He comes with a warlord trait that allows automatic passing of morale and Ld checks required when in the presence of an objective. This is fine, but not every game is objective based. He sports a rending power sword as well as a variety of special rules such as Adamantium Will along with equipment such as a legion standard (very handy!) and a nuncio vox. 

Weaknesses.

The lower WS than the standard praetor will hurt in the long term. This is a mildly sub-standard HQ selection that tries to make up for it with some nice equipment and special rules. I do like the adamantium will rule here. But he still falls short for me personally.

Difference to First Edition.

Nerfed. I cannot understand why. 

Overall.

Take a regular praetor instead unless you are intent on modelling a force for the Battle for Calth. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Praetorian Breacher Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are slightly above average, but they compete against other more valuable uses of the elites slot.

Background.

Before admission to the Invictarus Suzerain squads, Ultramarines typically rise through the ranks of the Praetorian Breacher squads to hone their skills a bit. 

Strengths.

Very much like regular breacher squads with the exceptions of increased WS, 2 wounds, and power swords instead of ranged weapons. They are also chosen warriors and carry a handy hammer of wrath. 

Weaknesses.

Given that this squad is also an elites choice, it competes directly against the Invictarus Suzerains for a slot in the force organisation chart. The Invictarus Suzerains will win this comfortably. As I suspect other terminators (etc) would. If they were troops, I think we'd be seeing a lot more of them to be candid. To give them legatine axes makes their points cost more than the Invictarus Suzerains in fact. Nice for hammer of wrath potentially I guess. 

Builds.

5 Praetorians, Primus with Power Fist (150 points).

The baseline. Nice for boarding actions / Zone Mortalis. Need a transport otherwise.

10 Praetorians, 5 with legatine axes, nuncio vox, legion vexilla, primus with power fist and artificer armour (340points).

A flexible squad who uses the baseline marines as ablative wounds where necessary. Again, good for Zone Mortalis, but I would honestly be looking to take Invictarus Suzerains instead.