Alpharius Lacks an Alignment in Horus Heresy 2e

Who's side are you on, Alpharius?

Today's Observation.

I have looked through the rules for the Primarchs multiple times over to get a better feel for them in the new Second Edition of Horus Heresy. 

I have checked my main observation for this article three times to make sure I wasn't deluding myself. But here it is all the same.

Alpharius does not have an alignment.

What I'm saying is that he is not listed as either "Loyalist" or "Traitor". All the other Primarchs have the relevant alignment next to their special rules. Alpharius is the only one to NOT have which side of the conflict he is on specified. 

Let me take this observation further. 

Almost every named HQ choice in the army list also has an alignment. Garviel Loken (Sons of Horus) is listed as a Loyalist. Argel Tal (Word Bearers) and Ahzek Ahriman (Thousand Sons) are Traitors. The Lion is a Loyalist (I was considering making a joke here, but thought better of it). 

Compare this to the other Alpha Legion HQ selections. 

Armillus Dynat lacks an alignment. 

Exodus similarly does not have it listed against his name either.  

This is quite extraordinary. I would advance the opinion that this is a very deliberate choice / no accident on the part of the designers. The upshot is that Alpha Legion players can field an Alpharius commanded army standing side by side with other Loyalists. Welcome to second edition fellow Alpha Legion players. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Master of Signals

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (ish). 

3/5 stars. Totally Playable, but you're probably not going to take him unless you are running an army based on deep striking (or are facing off against an opponent you know will use the same). The Ld re-rolling can be strong in the right situation. The BS bonus is good. Also needs a FAQ in my opinion...

Background.

In second edition, the Master of Signals is described as those marines who maintain a vital link between front line and support for the legion. They are also described as being able to call in support strikes from distant batteries and orbiting vessels - much like in first edition - but sadly the rules no longer reflect that as I don't see any orbital bombardment rules next to their name any longer.

Strengths.

Re-rolling morale and pinning checks using the Master's Ld (or any other model with him) once per turn is neat. Re-rolling reserves is good as well. The cognis-signum is nice for the bonus BS too.

Weaknesses.

Instant death. Loss of utility for orbital bombardment compared to first edition. Confused rules between supporting Deep Strike, and opposing it. Playable either way, but annoying. 

Difference to First Edition:

Worse. This character is massively, massively diminished by no longer having orbital bombardment in the rules. I am very sad about this. Perhaps it is just an oversight given what is written in the background. I hope to see this FAQ'ed. 

Builds. 

Master of Signals, Charnabal Weapon (105 points).

The Charnabal weapon here is to take advantage of the higher initiative of the Master should he get into combat -- which is very likely since you will be (or should be) running him in the same squad as a praetor in all probability. Take a jump pack if required to keep up with other characters. Gift bonus BS as needed.

Master of Signals, Nemesis Bolter (105 points).

I have mentioned before that I think we will see many Nemesis Bolters in second edition. This is a back line HQ who tries to not make himself too much of a target and can use his Ld to aid the army. Gift that bonus BS by attaching to a heavy support squad. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Librarian

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 Stars. The rules are strong. They also allow access to psychic disciplines for all legions, and the use of valuable psychic hoods. For some legions, this is the only psyker available. 

Background.

Once upon a time, all the legions featured psyker-warriors within their ranks. These librarians would be disbanded under the Edict that followed Nikaea (otherwise known as the Trial of Magnus) in the main part, but came back with interest paid during the Heresy. 

For reference purposes, the old Inferno black book listed those legions in favour and against psyker battle brothers. Those legions against the use of librarians are:

Iron Warriors

Space Wolves 

Iron Hands

World Eaters

Death Guard

Candidly, even among these legions there are librarians. The Space Wolves used rune priests to channel the power of Fenris (no doubt causing Magnus to giggle at the claim that they were opposed to psykers) and the last cadre of World Eaters librarians certainly persisted into the Heresy despite Angron finding them more than headache inducing to be around. 

Mortarion hated psykers due to his personal upbringing on Barbarus. Yet psykers persisted even within the Death Guard, and remained hidden in some famous cases. I don't have much to say about the Iron Warriors and Iron Hands avoidance of psykers though. 

Strengths.

The most obvious strength for Librarians is access to psychic disciplines. But there's one item of equipment that is easily overlooked here and that is the psychic hood. Take it. Every time. Yes, it chews up points that you might have used elsewhere, but for that army that you will face every so often that uses psykers, you will be glad that you did.

Weaknesses. 

Not many realistically other than the standard issue of instant death.

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral. The rules are comparable. That said, the whole approach to psykers and psychic powers has radically changed -- and changed for the better -- and it is worth stating that. I will look at psychic powers distinctly later on.

Builds.

Legion Librarian with Force Staff, Psychic Hood (120 points).

My baseline offering. Take with a squad in a transport.

Legion Librarian with Force Axe, Psychic Hood, Jump Pack, Plasma Pistol (150 points).

More of a lone star threat, but also good to rock and roll with an assault sqaud.

Legion Librarian in Cataphractii Terminator Armour with Force Axe, Psychic Hood (145 points).

Take a combi-weapon to taste, but otherwise ready to go with a terminator squad.

Tartaros terminator armour will drop the points cost by 10 here, if needed to fit in with such a squad.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Centurion

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 Stars. Great choice and great rules arising from the customization available.

Background.

By necessity, in any legion with many tens of thousands of members, there had to be a strong command structure. Each legion has within it its own champions who have demonstrated their worth, but might not yet have risen to the rank of Praetor. The Legion Centurion is one such character, although there are more specialized roles within the legions that are similarly common given the need to organize and create a smoothly flowing command structure. 

A Note from The Author.

I will not be reviewing Cataphractii and Tartaros armoured Centurions and Consuls distinctly. Instead they will be all bundled together for ease of reference. 

Strengths. 

A Centurion is a fighter - pure and simple. They gain a refractor field to help with their artificer armour along with the relentless special rule. They are very customizable as well in two regard: firstly the base equipment that they can use, and secondly for the Legion Consul upgrades that they can take (in brief, they can be upgraded to Forge Lords, Chaplains, Librarians and far more besides). We will review each of the Consul types distinctly, here we will focus on the Centurion himself. 

For games under 1000 points, a Centurion will be the only commander available if named characters are similarly not being used. Hence the Centurion and the Consul upgrades are important. But they also have their place in higher points games. Note that a detachment can have 3 HQ choices. Therefore it is likely a player could have up to 2 Centurion or Consul choices to go along with a Praetor (or Primarch). This can be very useful indeed. 

Weaknesses.

None really. They are 2 wound HQ selections (3 in terminator armour) that possess a high degree of customization available. As with other Praetors, just watch out for instant death. 

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral. The rules are comparable. 

Builds.

Here we list only the Centurion Builds. We will look at the other consul choices distinctly.

Legion Centurion with Nemesis Bolter (70 points).

In all honesty, I think we are going to see much more nemesis bolter action in the new edition. This centurion sits back with the heavy support and sniper squads and uses his BS=5 to take on targets of choice. Welcome to the Raven Guard or Alpha Legion.

Legion Centurion with Thunder Hammer and Boarding Shield (90 points).

Brutal close quarters fighter. Great for Zone Mortalis, and probably Iron Hands too.

Legion Centurion with Jet Bike, power weapon (lance probably) (105 points).

Charge in and strike with the power lance at AP3, then dash out again. Suited to speedy armies such as White Scars and Emperor's Children.

Legion Centurion with Jump Pack, Twin Lightning Claws, Melta Bombs (105 points).

Death from above to roam with other jump pack squad marines. Nice for armies like World Eaters and others than want to be in combat. [although if its armies like Dark Angels, take bladed weapons instead obviously].

Legion Centurion with Plasma Pistol and Power Fist (95 points).

Quite the traditional build for a Centurion to be candid. Foot slogging and meant to get in a rhino or other transport with his brothers. 

Legion Centurion with Combi-Melta and Chain Axe (75 points)

Upgrade the Chain Axe to Power Axe or Charnabal Weapon to taste. A nice touch to run alongside a squad within combat armies such as World Eaters. 

Legion Cataphractii Centurion with Chain Fist and Combi-Melta (110 points).

Wreck both vehicles and buildings ... plus their contents.

Legion Cataphractii Centurion with Combi-Plasma, Thunder Hammer, Grenade Harness (115 points).

An all rounder that will sit nicely in a larger terminator blob. 

Legion Cataphractii Centurion with Power Fist (95 Points).

Cheap and cheerful!

Legion Tartaros Centurion with Twin Lightning Claws and Grenade Harness (95 points).

Close combat orientated and suitably deadly.

Legion Tartaros Centurion with Thunder Hammer and Volkite Charger (92 points).

Another close combat terminator, but with some interesting anti-infantry ranged threat too. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Tartaros Praetor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 Stars. For the same reason as the power armour praetors, it is essential that players have access to Rites of War and taking a praetor of any sort should be a given at points values in the thousands.

Background.

Praetors in Tartarosterminator armour share all the same kinds of boons as praetors in regular power armour, but also have that magic 5+ save and unlike their Cataphractii cousins are able to undertake sweeping advances. Once again, this is the kind of praetor to lead from the front. 

Strengths. 

As with the Cataphractii praetor, the Tartaros praetor has an impressive 4 wounds and is a strong character to contend with. Of course, they also come with Master of the Legion which is all important for access to the Rites of War. Armies including this character don't necessarily have to be built around them to make best advantage of the terminator armour, but consuls that help with close combat such as a chaplain are certainly going to help. 

Weaknesses.

This terminator moves swifter fluff wise than Cataphractii armoured terminators and as a trade off has less defensive protection. This is fine though and a rational transaction for being able to sweep in close combat. Similar to cataphractii armour: look out for instant death. 

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral. The rules are comparable.

Builds. 

There are many different sorts of builds to consider here, and some will depend on not only the kind of army being constructed, but also on the individual legion in question. 

Legion Tartaros Praetor with two lightning claws and grenade harness (125 points).

A nice points cost for a very effective Praetor who will likely see use with many armies, although this one strikes me as particularly nice for Night Lords and even White Scars.

Legion Tartaros Praetor with Thunder Hammer and grenade harness (130 points).

Very little not to like here. Replace the thunder hammer with a paragon blade to taste. 

Legion Tartaros Praetor with Volkite Charger and Lightning Claw (112 points).

Arguably one of the cheapest terminator praetors in the game that is not the "naked" version.

Legion Tartaros Praetor with combi-plasma and Power Fist, with Grenade Harness (135 points).

A very generic praetor that will do well in almost any kind of situation and with any legion.  

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Cataphractii Praetor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 Stars. For the same reason as the power armour praetors, it is essential that players have access to Rites of War and taking a praetor of any sort should be a given at points values in the thousands.

Background.

Praetors in Cataphractii terminator armour share all the same kinds of boons as praetors in regular power armour, but also get the benefit of some of the best protection available in the game. These Praetors should be thought of as leading from the front and be built accordingly.

Strengths. 

With a whopping 4 wounds, the Cataphractii praetor is a beast to be contended with. Able to withstand an impressive amount of incoming fire power and bladed weapons, this terminator is strong to say the least, and as usual comes with the important Master of the Legion rule. Players should take this terminator if they are fielding an army that can be constructed around him and benefit the unit that he is a part of. Consuls like apothecaries will be important here, along with command squads and perhaps other terminator units who are also wearing cataphractii armour. 

Weaknesses.

This terminator moves slower than Tartaros armoured terminators and may not undertake sweeping advances. Otherwise, look out for instant death incoming and its going to be all good. 

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral. The rules are comparable.

Builds. 

There are many different sorts of builds to consider here, and some will depend on not only the kind of army being constructed, but also on the individual legion in question. 

Legion Cataphractii Praetor with combi-melta and chain fist (160 points).

Take on vehicles and destroy their contents if they are a transport. Great for deep strikes, and works nicely with armies wanting to tear down the world ranging from Night Lords and Iron Warriors through to Imperial Fists and Sons of Horus.

Legion Cataphractii Praetor with two lightning claws and grenade harness (150 points).

A generic close combat praetor. Need to think how he will get into combat though - remember they're slower than other units. 

Legion Cataphractii Praetor with Paragon Blade and Volkite Charger (152 points).

A nice option for armies who like blades (looking at you Dark Angels players). 

Legion Cataphractii Praetor with combi-plasma and thunder hammer (160 points).

Hammer time, backed up with plasma death on one turn. Suits Salamanders (although combi-melta or flamer is probably more tempting) and those with a more technological theme.