Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Secutarii Axiarch

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The only command choice possible for a Titan Ordinal detachment. 

Background. 
Axiarchs are the leaders of the Secutarii cult within the Mechanicus. Rather than being selected on merit, they are chosen for having defended a downed titan, or having recovered one from the field -- one of the most "sacred" of tasks that the sect are called on to perform. Subject to further testing and evaluation, they are then rebuilt in armour forged from a dead titan and upgraded with protocols to replace parts of their brain. The outcome is something beyond a space marine.

Strengths.
With WS=BS=5, these former human beings have been extensively upgraded and have advanced stats to match. 

They come with an arc lance which is very reasonable, but can be swapped out for power swords (keep the lance) or arc mauls (sacrificing initiative for strength which is a rational transaction). The mag-inverter shield gives the shield trait but is also interesting for reducing the charge distance of an enemy by 1. This can sometimes make a difference. 

As a Legio Armsmen, they ignore warhorns, gain Ld+1, but suffer panic checks when their friendly titan gets toppled. 

Other upgrades are rad grenades (generally worth it) and cyber-familiars (Intelligence check bonus of 2 which might be situational, but could be worth it). 

Weaknesses. 
T=3 is a key weakness but you do have a 2+ save in this edition to make up for it which is good.

Builds.
Secutarii Axiarch, Arc Maul, Rad Grenades, Cyber Familiar (110 points).
This is the maximal upgrade version. Since you are playing with titans my logic here is that player can afford the points cost for the upgrades. 

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Legio Titanicus Rules Overview

The second half of Liber Questoris covers the Legio Titanicus - the Titan Legions of the Horus Heresy.

Without doubt, the Titans of the Forge Worlds were responsible for more of the Great Crusade victories than the Astartes themselves. They are deadly. They are big. And there's lots of special rules about them.

Detachments.
You can take a titan with an ordinary army as a Lords of War choice. Or you can use the special Titan Ordinal primary detachment. You only get 1 titan though, and a bunch of Secutarii and their transports. I really wanted Titan maniples against each other. Of course, that's still possible, you just have multiple single detachments. But its a bit odd. 

Profiles.
We have (typically) 4 profiles per titan. One for each region of their body: Head, Carapace, Arms, and Legs. They each have different armour values and hull points. 

Speaking of armour values, there's 2 versions: primary armour (which you will use all the time) and exposed armour (once you get to crippled status for a titan). And you also have void shields to get through first which are AV=13 and can be re-booted depending on the crew trait of the titan. War horns are also mounted on titans which can unleash terrible noises. This reduces advanced characteristics by (X) within 24 inches which is handy for forcing routs and similar. 

Damage.
Damage adds up as you might expect by reducing hull points through penetrating and glancing hits. Glancing hits though result in a roll on the damage table but if crippled then you get 1 hull point instead. The damage table gives some negative modifiers to your next turn. But if you get down to zero hull points, the relevant part (head, carapace, arms, and legs) suffer significant problems and their armour counts as exposed. Crippled parts that are hit again roll on the critical damage table. It is here you get mortal blows to the Princeps, the reactor exploding, weapon breakages, and for the legs - the titan literally falling over (splat!). 

Tactics of Desperation.
Small units have the option of swarming the titan as an assault action. They literally climb the structure looking for minor flaws. This involves an intelligence test with modifiers based on the units type and the titan's crew. If successful, then the attacking unit can make a choice of effects to cause the titan such as stripping the armour (future attacks are against the exposed armour value for the turn) and jamming the actuators (the controlling player can't move the titan in the next turn). The swarm attack can also be to cause damage (get bonuses on the intelligence test) or to escape harm (reduce incoming damage in exchange). Of course, the mitigation cost is steep. S=8 time d6+1 incoming hits result against the unit, but if a cool check is passed, then these are only at 1 damage and AP=4. If failed, then 2 damage and AP=2. 

Engine Kill and Missions.
The missions included in the book make clear that you should tell your opponent you will be fielding a titan, and that you can't take the titan detachment outside of these special missions. That's okay. 

Different types of titan (Scout like warhouds, or Battle like reavers) are worth different victory points. But what I found really interesting with the missions is the existence of strategic objectives that only the titans can take. There are macro emplacements (AV=15, gains 5 victory points per 5 hull points lost - with an infinite number of hull points possible curiously enough! I've not seen an infinity in a game yet - this is not a great idea gaming wise I feel); communications bunker (AV=14, 20 hull points) which is worth 10 victory points and reduces your enemy reserve rolls to 6+ for the rest of the game (I like this); and a Command Post (same as the above in terms of stats) worth 10 victory points which causes suppressed for every unit in their army if they fail a cool check outside of combat. 

Sunday, July 12, 2026

Warhammer World: Darkwater Jade Abbey

Although I have not actually played Warhammer Quest: Dark Water, when I visited Warhammer World it really stood out to me as an awesome display. This is the Jade Abbey setting, and the sheer verticality of the display is audacious. 


The first image shows the entire display in one hit, but with the others, I have divided them into three to get some close ups of several levels at once.







There are quite a number of stories buried within if you look closely. There are hints about previous adventurers who have tried their luck before - and failed. The abandoned weapons are the key hint. But a closer look shows that those previous expeditions have attempted to hack through various places in order to gain access. Will the new adventurers have more luck than those that went before them? I am unsure to be honest! 

As a relatively new display in Warhammer World it is certainly a welcome addition and adds such a great narrative beyond the large pitched battles that we are used to seeing. 





Saturday, July 11, 2026

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!). 



Friday, July 10, 2026

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. 


Thursday, July 9, 2026

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. 

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