Horus Heresy 3rd Edition: Pre-Order Available and Thoughts Therein

The pre-order has been available since 10am UK today today, 12/July/2025. 

And to kill the tension that might be in the room: I pre-ordered it. 

So why did I pre-order it knowing that some, many, or perhaps most of the changes are not what I really wanted to see? I have to say that the miniatures alone are a massive pull factor for me. I actually like the Saturnine terminators and want them in my collection! I haven't yet planned out what legions I will use the miniatures for, but I'm going to look to see if there's another allied detachment that I might plausibly be able to take. I will also be looking to augment my World Eaters, and am tempted to expand my Shattered Legions Salamanders into a fuller main detachment. Beyond that, I will await reading the new rules. 

I also ordered the Loyalist and Traitor books, along with the Knights / Titans book. I am leaving the others until later - perhaps Christmas? I think it will take longer than that to review the units within those books alone. I am also disappointed that there wasn't a massive re-stock of Heresy items available today. I might have bought (for example) Angron if he were available today since I was ordering. The lack of re-stock for such a major release is a real head-scratcher from an economic stand point. 

Speaking of which: yes. I DO intend to review the units again for 3rd edition. I hope this will once again be a valuable resource to the community and will highlight to the rules designers what we have lost as a community. Indeed, if the rumour and leaks are true, then I will certainly be writing to Games Workshop / Warhammer about the invalidation of army choices. I would also encourage my readers to do the same. It is one thing to moan about it to each other on the internet, but another thing if we as a community get organised a start some petitions and pressure on the game designers to revise and renew unit options. All it would take would be a short pdf file which says something like:

Power Fist = +10 points, available for Tartaros terminators, ++ (etc.). 

Combi-Meltas = +5 points, available for Raven Guard Mor Deythan, ++ (etc.).

Esoteric Weapon X = +20 points. Only available to Praetors or Psykers (etc., etc.).

i.e., it doesn't have to be long, or complicated, but would solve the immediate issue if it comes to pass. 

End of 2nd Wargames Gallery: Illegal Armies on Parade?

I was going to entitle this post something like Terminator Grudge Match. But given the rumours and leaks we have been hearing, it seems like the hashtag "IllegalArmiesOnParade" has been gaining momentum and traction. If borne out, this is not great for the game, or the fan base. I hope Games Workshop / Warhammer Horus Heresy Team are ready for the on-going backlash if it is true and come up with a quick solution. 

Anyway, here are the Alpha Legion engaging the World Eaters in a terminator grudge match! Spot the power fists, chain fists, power maul, and other conversions in my armies (and I'm sure: your armies too). 

This game was ultimately fought to a standstill and was a draw. i.e., time ran out. But what an epic terminator versus terminator match it was overall! 

End of 2nd Wargames Gallery: Garrison Breach

On a lonely colony world, the World Eaters traitors assault an unassuming Iron Warriors garrison that they've kept held for a decade, unaware of the wider conflict like many of their garrisoned legion brethren. 

With the element of surprise, and needing to capture precious resourced, the World Eaters press their surprise attack against the Iron Warriors. The Iron Warriors hold the objective (the agate slice that looks mysteriously like a warp portal behind the tactical squad here!), but suffer a charge which wipes them out to a man.

Nearby, the lac cannons of the Iron Warriors make short work of the leviathan dreadnought which explodes in spectacular fashion as the lasers slice apart its critical components. 

Sadly, it is not enough for the Iron Warriors in the end. The World Eaters over-run their positions and destroy them all. Victory to the World Eaters by tabling their opponents. The narrative rolls ever onward!

Horus Heresy 3rd Edition: Saturnine Pre-Order Next Weekend 12/July/2025

It is official. The pre-order drops next Saturday, 12/July/2025. This is not a drill folks - it is here, and ahead of when I estimated it would be, but still in July!

As announced on the Sunday preview, the Saturnine boxed set and the new rule books for the third edition of Horus Heresy arrives next Saturday, 12/July/2025. 

Citation via Warhammer email, and the Warhammer Community blog, here: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/zojna4pr/sunday-preview-the-horus-heresy-begins-with-saturnine/

This will make things challenging for me as I've already made plans for next weekend! lol! Wish me luck - I hope I can get online and in the queue for this regardless. 

My hype train has no brakes right now. 

Horus Heresy 3rd Edition Reveals: Tactica, Gambits, Advanced Reactions

This week in Heresy Land, we have been landed with the revelation that the old Rites of War are now being subdivided down into items that will be called Tactica (effecting the entire army); Advanced Reactions (effecting a unit); and Gambits (effecting single miniatures - and champions at that). 

At a legion level, it is clear that there will be some effort present to retain the old feel of the legion and their play styles. This is clear from the Space Wolves example in the Warhammer Community, and the World Eaters "Lost to the Nails" which is very cool. However, I am also very cautious as clearly we are not seeing the full picture emerge just yet. I really want to see the character of the legions come out more clearly. 

The Gambits are a bit hit and miss for me. The Raven Guard example is nice enough and perhaps a prime example of what we might expect from a legion who focuses on a quick dispatch. I also like Perturabo's gun them down for daring to challenge him. 

The Advanced Reactions are clearly going to remain in play. The Dark Angels example of repeating a fight phase is interesting and when timed well is going to swing games. And of course, the Night Lords better part of valour is very, shall we say, fitting. 

In addition to all of this, we are still seeing the focus on centurions unlocking other parts of the loose confederation of force organisation chart elements. Hopefully we will see some legions get some nice unlocks, although the differentiation for Apex ones for some legions makes me want to hold my breath. 

Overall, I now have mixed views, but largely because I have mixed sight of all of this. We know that we are missing critical parts of the puzzle here at this point in time. Without seeing all the parts together, its hard to know how everything is going to hang together. Put in a more blunt fashion: the success of this edition is really going to depend on how the legions special rules have been handled. From what I'm seeing some of this is very flavourful, but we need to wait to see what the rest looks like.

Finally, I note that there cannot be too many more reveals about third edition left to see. We have seen pretty much every phase of the game (not so much psychic abilities arguably). Hence here's my prediction: we are a matter of weeks away from pre-order now. I'm even going to suggest by the end of July. I have no sources for this claim other than my untrustworthy gut instincts based on the fact we've seen most juicy reveals already. 

End of 2nd Wargames Gallery: Alpha Legion Surprises the Salamanders

Coming out of nowhere, the Alpha Legion exploit gaps in the Salamanders formation despite taking heavy losses themselves to break up their lines and try to force them away. 

Taking surprisingly heavy losses for declaring a charge, the terminators close in on the tactical squad after Exodus (sneaking in at the background / top left) takes out their leader with some precise shooting. 

But all is not lost for the Salamanders. Their praetor in terminator armour stands firm against a champion from the Alpha Legion and the remnant of their command squad. His thunder hammer really does the job whilst the invulnerable save keeps him alive. This sub-battle is won by the Salamanders. 

Overall though, the picture is bleak for the Salamanders. After the turn pictured, there's really only the Praetor and the Contemptor left for the Salamanders, and the Alpha Legion have their terminators, Exodus, and their sniper squad (top right) still going. Victory ultimately goes to the Alpha Legion in a well executed plan despite losing their own HQ early on.