Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Flesh Is Weak

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Replace your flesh with metal. Because either the war demands it, or you've discovered forbidden (necron?) technology. Bonus marks for the rule of cool. 

Background.

In the very long war, you're going to find that your flesh is (sic) weak. You will therefore need to replace it with bionics. Or maybe forbidden technology from those Forge Worlds you conquered. Or those necrons that you totally didn't wake up. Seriously, this has so many interpretations its wonderful. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of DORNIAN HERESY Iron Hands arise because of this. You know you want to do those delicious conversions. I certainly am tempted!

Rules Evaluation. 

Infantry and cavalry becoming automata might not seem to be so great, but you get a delightful 5+ feel no pain roll to make matters better. However, you also have to shoot and charge the nearest opponent if you can. This is actually fine, and you don't have to take on opponents that you cannot hurt which makes things much better. But no psychic powers either, oh well. 

Augmetic transport bays in your rhinos and so forth also have their capacity increased. This is very beneficial for larger blobs to get where they are needed. I see this as a mobile infantry force which you point at things and go click, backed up with dreadnoughts as well potentially. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Average combination that is weighed down by being very situational. There's probably better ones, but I suspect you will want Iron Hands here potentially?

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. More Iron Hands stuff here? I'm just guessing. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. You are already robots. You might as well make it even better by being programmed for eternal war duties! Glory to the Tenth! Wait, what?

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Pirate robots! Those survivors from Isstvan went wild...

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Not a combination I can get along with. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: 0/5 stars. You cannot have psykers. This combination is useless to you. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Aberrants and clones that maybe ripped off their mutations and replaced them with bionics? The perfect merger of Emperor's Children and Iron Hands? I don't know where I'm going with this argument, but rules wise you don't need another damage mitigation roll via clones, but bionic monsters could work. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Automatons shouldn't really care that much about petty warlords. Unless they're full of scrap code! Hello bizarre Word Bearers combinations!

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Maybe you love being automatons and are proud of this fact. Obviously gorgon terminators who went too far. This Oath really is Iron Hands heavy isn't it. I really should try to think of other things. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Necron automatons! Dornian Heresy Iron Hands! 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Desperate robots? Alright, I can dig that. Things got out of hand on that Forge World. 

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! 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: An Eternity Of War

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Madmen who want to be in combat, but suffer when they are not. I'm not convinced the benefits quite outweigh the drawbacks, but extra marks for fluffiness?

Background.

These are marines who have totally lost it. They might as well be chanting blood for the bloody god. But they've not trod that path - arguably. They're just battle mad. Ideal for any blackshields that might have fell to Khorne outside of the World Eaters, proto-chaos space marines, or just crazies. 

Rules Evaluation. 

The benefits of this are really interesting. If your unit fails a morale check due to incoming fire, then you get to make a consolidation move. Great! You also count any wounds from (successful) charging reactions in the player's favour for combat determination. Also great: you get cut down but actually that's a big bonus. However, the penalty here is severe. After turn 1 unless you're in combat that round or locked, then you're taking wounds. Invulnerable saves can help, but there are several questions to be addressed here.

The main question is how you are going to get into combat in the first place. And stay there. You've got to think about those speedy opponents as well who will run circles around you all day. And those that are spread out a lot. The consolidation moves will only get you so far. Otherwise, how are you going to survive? Maybe lots of cataphractii? I don't know honestly. I'd give this oath less stars out of 5, but I do like its fluffiness factor!

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. This one gels really well, albeit at the cost of limited applicability which is why it only gets 3 stars from me. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Go on, take those chain axes from the World Eaters armory. Khorne insists. Or how about some power daggers from the Alpha Legion for those extra attacks in close combat. Great value to be had here across many legions. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. If you're going to lose wounds, you might as well lose lots of them. Good luck! But compelling!

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like this a whole lot. Plenty of oath breaking all around and stealing from the dead. You are a crazy pirate with this combination. 

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Crazed automatons that just want battle. Not sure how I feel about this overall. Khorne necron conversion opportunities perhaps. Someone must have a better interpretation of this combination than me. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Crazy psykers is a reasonable combination. Not so sure about the warp torrent psychic power being too useful though. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Crazed clones and monsters works splendidly to my mind. Corax really stuffed up didn't he. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. An average combination that might well work. Petty warbands all collecting together as mad men to bring about their own end? Sure, why not. Not top of my list, but its actually okay. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Renowned veterans who go crazy is not unreasonable. Its just the word "pride" here - why are you proud of your armour, and then you're also crazy. Not working well for me. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Crazy marines who like xenos weaponry is very reasonable! Lots of xenos halo blades in a veteran squad would be very nice I suspect. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Crazy desperadoes? Yes. Lots of yes. Just not much overlap with the ranged weapons and the close combat upgrades you'd ideally want though. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Spoils of Victory

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars, rounded down. I like these rules and there's some terrific combinations to be had!

Background.

Having abandoned their oaths of allegiance, these warbands exist for the sheer plunder! They're in it only for themselves and have become little better than pirates that prey on those who have what they want. I actually really like this premise and it suits potentially a lot of different styles. 

Rules Evaluation. 

By sacrificing sweeping advances throughout the army completely, roll 1d6 when you would otherwise would have made such a sweep. On a 4+, you gain 1 victory point. i.e., you are not chasing them down, so much as plundering what they left behind! Very fluffy. And, in all probability, something that can change the course of an entire battle potentially. Assuming that you can play it right. It might not happen all the time - to be clear - but doing such sweeps often enough can pay massive dividends. Let alone think of the cool conversion opportunities there might be for true space pirates! I'm anxious to see a skull and crossbones on the battlefield myself. Don't let me down, chat!

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work for me in a narrative sense since you've eliminated your previous oaths already in favour of being pirates. Sure, you might have a particularly despised enemy, but I'd steer clear of this. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Obviously they started their thefts by stealing from another legion's barracks. Perhaps their own?

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Another combination that is oath-bound, versus having abandoned oaths. Doesn't work for me from a narrative perspective. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well! Lots of breaking of oaths and not caring! Equally, you want to be in combat all the time so there's a need to think about how to accomplish that. 

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. An average combination, but has some really cool conversion possibilities. Pirate automatons are just cool.  

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. If you like pirate automatons, then why not pirate psychics? Sounds good to me. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Pirate clones and monsters. I really like this!

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Disgraced pirates? Yes. Absolutely yes. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work with the narrative really. Pirates are unlikely to be the most renowned veterans of their legions adhering to the old ideals. But who knows. Maybe this could work in extremis?

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Pirates that use Xenos kit? Yes! This really works as well! Give me those awesome conversions! 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 5/5 stars. Another excellent combination of pirates using desperate weapons! Loving this. No wonder they are scavenging from other forces when they sweep. They just want weapon upgrades! A brilliant narrative combination. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: Only in Death Does Duty End

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. The rules are good, but come at a steep price. Some great narrative combinations are possible though. 

Background.

They have sinned. And they must atone. The only way of doing that is through battle. All are sworn to go out this way. 

Rules Evaluation. 

These rules mean that units in this detachment will always pass morale tests regardless of what caused them to take it (NB: this is not pinning or psychic checks - just morale checks). The price for it is steep though: take 1d3 automatic wounds to the unit, but you can save with invulnerables. This is a good rule overall, but those 1d3 unsavable wounds are going to obliterate most units short of a terminator unit, and even then you're going to struggle. At least you won't get shot off the board and routed. Very fluffy overall, but the 1d3 wounds (instead of 1 wound) is a steep price to pay overall to my mind. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This is such a great combination thematically for me and strongly recommended! You have to think carefully about which legion to take though. And the limited applicability is the only reason it doesn't get 5/5. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Another great combination and one that opens up some nice conversions and bits borrowing. I like it!

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. This combination just doesn't work well in a narrative manner for me. You are oath-sworn to die, but you also loot the bodies of your enemies having abandoned your oaths? That's a nope from me. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well!

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I really like this one. You've replaced too many organic bits to go back, and you are ready to die. Iron Hands, Iron Warriors, and perhaps some mechanicum aligned units would work nicely here (e.g., those World Eaters aligned with Sarum forge world for example?). 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. You're sworn to die. But you're also psychic. Why not? Sounds good for Thousand Sons, White Scars, and Blood Angels blackshield origins alike. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like this for some Raven Guard builds. Or maybe you're just cloned warriors and don't feel the good vibes that the Emperor's children once gave you? The combination works for me all the same. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. A set of disparate warbands all cobbled together with a common wish to die. Yeah, it could work narratively and I'm not opposed to this combination!

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Prideful. Ready to die. Yes - this ticks all the narrative boxes for me, and is a good combination with the right builds I think! Almost 5/5 stars territory here. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Maybe those sins that you are oath-bound to were caused by some Xenos? Its a stretch of the imagination, but can work. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Your gang of desperados who are oath bound to atone, but not exactly equipped well! A great combination with a strong narrative for me!

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.