Zone Mortalis Journal Tactica: First Impressions

It is a rare occurrence that I manage to pick up a new release from the gaming store on release day itself. Today is one of those rare days though!

Zone Mortalis is the newest Journal Tactica for the third edition of the Horus Heresy. The book is short, of course, clocking in at 48 pages, of which some 13 pages are full page or nearly full page illustrations. Naturally, the main focus of the book is the new rules for Zone Mortalis. These in turn are based heavily on using the (older) 12 inch square tiles. That said, this one is full to the brim with new rules unlike other editions of the journal tactica which have quite a lot of lore in. This one doesn't have lore. It has rules by the bucket load, new units, missions, and everything else you might expect.

Terrain features heavily. There are ceilings all around (so you don't get to fly around in interceptors or use barrage, of course), walls, doors, corridors and tight fighting spaces. Corridors have confined spaced and you risk dangerous terrain deaths. Doorways have widths and you can get through some of your bigger models with a bit of ducking that impeded your setups and charges. Battlesmithing and intelligence tests help open doors that are otherwise closed off. 

Happily, teleport strikes are back in full here! There's a whole load of other strategems fit to use as well which we will have a look at in the future. Missions and detachments exist by the load and we'll also look at them distinctly. 

Today, I wanted to pull out 2 new rules especially.

The first is Breacher Charges. If you have a boarding shield and you are a high command or sergeant character, then you can take them for 10 points. It hits at S=10 and yields d3+3 damage against fortifications. 

The second is the advanced rule of Unknown Enemies. This heralds a return to Space Hulk no less! Instead of deploying your figures, you deploy "blips". These are 25 to 40mm bases that you simply mark with a number or rune of your choice that corresponds to an entire unit. You move these blips at the movement rate of the lowest member of your squad or unit that it represents (you obviously
need to keep track of which blips corresponds to which unit). When you are properly sighted by another unit, replace the base with a single model from that unit, and arrange the rest in coherency around that first model with no model closer to an enemy that caused them to be revealed! I actually love this rule and am looking forward to seeing how it plays out (but let me know if you've already experimented with this!). 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Acastus Knight Asterius

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. A knight that must operate at the longest range possible to get the most out of it.

Background. 

The machine spirit is said to be all consuming fire and rage. It is therefore of no surprise that only the veteran pilots in a household will bond with this type of knight. Doubly so given that it is a very long range knight and lacks any glory in melee given its armaments. It remains exceedingly rare in any given household.

Strengths.

As with the Porphyrion, the armour on the front is a fabulous AV=14 and it has 18 hull points to keep it in the game for a long while. The Ionic Flare Shield only accentuates this. And as with its sister knight, this is also a long range affair which can legitimately park at the backfield with the more vulnerable AV=11 rear armour to the board edge. 

The Conversion Beam Desolator Array is interesting. As with other conversion beams, it gets stronger with distance from the target. All ranges come with massive pie plate and ordnance on damage. Strength starts at 8 and goes to 10, AP starts at 4 and goes to 2, and damage is the inverse of that. This is very impressive, and you get 2 shots as well. You really need to go long range though (42 inches and above) to get the very best out of this beast, otherwise you have really wasted your points value and your attacks. 

The Karacnos mortar has a very good range as well and brings a much smaller pie plate with phage on toughness, pinning, poisoned, and barrage. Although S=6 and the AP isn't great, it can work. The remaining volkite culverins are similarly S=6 and reasonable range for anything that gets too close. 

The auto repair is impressive at 4+ which is what really sets this knight apart and why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3 (which I would have been tempted to due to the conversion beam range issue of needing maximum ranges). 

Weaknesses. 

Explodes! And at 4+! This is something to consider. 

For the same points cost, you can actually get a Warhound Titan. That is fundamentally the balance here and the trade off to consider deeply. 

Builds.

There are no build here to speak of or analyse. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Acastus Knight Porphyrion

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The rules are good for this rare knight.

Background. 

What is the machine limit that a single human mind can safely interface with? Apparently it is the Porphyrion, after which you will need more minds to take care of the scout class titans. 

This is a different class of knight altogether compared to the ones thus far visited. It is not only rare, but often taken to be the symbol of a household authority itself. Its vast form means it is almost strictly a long range knight.

Strengths.

AV=14 on the front begs for the knight to be placed at the back field with its AV=11 rear at the board edge. With 18 hull points, it isn't going anywhere fast anyway.

The Neutron Wave Battery has an impressive range of 120 inches, so my advice above can remain true all battle unless you are playing on an Apocalyptic scale. With four shots at S=12 and AP=2 with 4 damage, this is impressive. Armour bane, shock from stunning, and ordnance on damage escalates things further and means you can potentially pick off other knights, land raiders, and pose a threat to titans as well. 

Added to this are the iron storm missile battery giving you a nice large blast to take care of marines and similar, and some auto cannons in case you felt you lacked in the shooting department. 

Being a colossus means it doesn't need a base, and things are measured from its hull directly. It also blocks lines of sight. Auto repair is fine, but the independent fire rule is excellent and will come in very handy here.

Weaknesses. 

Explodes!

You are also only 25 points away from a Warhound Titan itself. The points cost is incredibly high here. There's a legitimate question about whether to just get a titan instead?

Builds.

There are no build here to speak of or analyse. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Cerastus Knight Atrapos

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 stars, rounded down. A knights knight for destroying knights and other foul xenos macro constructs. 

Background. 

Exceedingly rare. The Atrapos is typically a gift for a blood debt, or a spoil of war. They are designed to be enemy knight killers (against xenos macro-constructs) and it is considered a major honour to pilot them, although such outings are only at the command of the head of the household him or herself.  

Strengths.

The graviton singularity cannon is impressive. It has a valuable large pie plate, with AP=2, S=9, and a whopping 8 damage! 

If that's not enough, then there's also heavy on damage, armourbane, and critical hitting. 

The phase cutter also has armour bane, but is at S=12! The damage is a mere 6 though, and it has AP=2 with some small modifiers to initiative and attacks which is acceptable. 

Weaknesses. 

Explodes!

The overload on the cannon is a mild issue, but tolerable. This is made up for with a 4+ auto-repair which is excellent compared to other knights of its chassis design. 

The points cost is high here, but I think it can just about be justified. To be clear, this is a specialist knight and needs to be treated as such. You are after destroying other knights or vehicles with this, so don't waste it chasing primarchs!

Builds.

There are no build here to speak of or analyse. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Cerastus Knight Lancer

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars. An ideal knight for the points value and 5 stars too because it also has the rule of cool in addition to everything else going for it!

Background. 

The most famous configuration of the Cerastus Knights has to be the Lancer. They bring with them a legacy of war. Not for them are defensive positions, but rather their reputations are ones of destruction and conquering. They race ahead of their forces to engage enemy champions in single combat and are regarded as impetuous, yet simultaneously held in high regard.  

Strengths.

The shock lance and gauntlet shield are an iconic pairing. The shock lance at range provides 18 inch cover with 6 shots, at S=7. This also yields stun which is nice, and has AP=3 which enables you to almost single handed arc (lance?) down enemy space marine formations. 

In close combat the lance is agile and gives precision along with a much needed increase in initiative and an extra pip in strength. This enables it to take on most foes and stand a chance against them. The movement rate on the knight also means you should be able to get into position nicely. 

Meanwhile the ion gauntlet shield gives a 5+ invulnerable save in melee against penetrating hits. You also get the invulnerable save against glancing hits before any rolls are performed on the vehicle damage chart.  

Weaknesses. 

Explodes!

I genuinely like this knight. I just need to build one of my own!

Builds.

There are no build here to speak of or analyse. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Cerastus Knight Acheron

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

Background. 

Deployed as a sign to the enemy that they intend extermination, these knights are sinister and and spell utter death and cleansing flame. Their pilots tend to be either those of iron wills, or those damaged souls that relish the massacre, such is the machine spirit of that contained within. Few elect to pilot them.

Strengths.

The reaper chain fist is impressive. It combines armour bane with S+3 (for a total of S=12) and AP=2 with a truly maddening damage characteristic of SIX! This is an up close and personal weapon that is designed to destroy tanks and building alike. 

The inferno cannon is a hell storm template which combines shred and panic (as you might imagine) with a strength of 7. Really useful against massed foes, or just the contents of a tank transport that you just exploded. 

Weaknesses. 

Explodes!

I actually like this knight a lot more than others. But you do have to get up close and personal to get the most out of it. So you will need to think about positioning and movement more than you would with other knights since you are quite likely to expose your comparatively weaker rear armour a lot of the time. 

Builds.

There are no build here to speak of or analyse.