Dreadtober 2026: Saturnine Basecoated and Metals

More progress has been made with the painting of the Saturnine Dreadnought!

The undercoat was done in black - as might be expected for many legions. The base coat here is Eshin Grey for the main parts. And therein is the biggest clue to which legion I am aiming for here. Guesses welcome and its probably obvious perhaps given my other painting. The edges are picked out in lead belcher silver, as have the joints with an irregular sponge approach. 

For the armaments, I have taken the sponging approach further. A base coat of lead belcher has been followed up by sponging irregular gold over the top of the colours to provide a worn effect overall. I quite like the outcome here. Although clearly it is metallic paint, it really does have the old and ancient vibe going on which is what I wanted. 

Next steps will be the inking and washing down with lots of dark colours and the perennially useful Nuln Oil. Stay tuned!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Myrmidon Destructor Host

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

Background. 

A sub-sect of the Myrmidons that are dedicated to heavy weapons and the rendering of vehicles and buildings to slag. They were heavily used on both sides of the war, and even by some who would seek to avoid joining either (cross ref: Anvilus). 

Strengths.

Secutors have 4's and 5's in most places on the stat line. Of note is S=5, T=5 and W=4 which makes for a potent combination combined with a 3+/5++ save. The unit's Lord also gains a pip in BS and WS which is very nice. 

The regular armaments are volkite culverins (magnificent range with 3 lots of S=6 shots and heavy on FP too) and shock chargers (close combat for S+2 which is solid enough). 

The upgrades are where the attraction to this unit gets increased though. Irradiation engines are a template with panic, poisoned, and phage on toughness. Clearly this is a close combat choice though. The dark fire cannon is very attractive with 2 lots of S=8 shots and AP=2 which causes suppressive and has heavy on damage. This can cause some very serious problems from a good range. And then there is the conversion beamer which just gets better with longer range. Very tempting. 

Weaknesses.

The Myrmidax trait is already built in. Overall the points cost is nicely balanced and this is a great unit. However, I am unconvinced about the close combat build (with irradiation engines) as I feel other units can do close combat better. I see this unit fundamentally as a long range unit. 

Builds.

3 Destructors, 3 Conversion Beamers (195 points).

I just really like the idea of a trio of conversion beamers taking out things at long range. I'm not even sorry. 

3 Destructors, 3 dark fire cannons (210 points).

The dark fire cannon is similarly good at long range but the purpose is much more (laser!) focussed. 

10 Destructors, all with Volkite Culverins (465 points).

Remember the rule of thumb about Volkite weapons: go big! 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Myrmidon Secutor Host

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

Background. 

The Myrmidon Secutors regard war as something to be computed with cold logic. They praise the Omnissiah through well executed battle plans and test themselves against new opponent in the arts of destruction. They have no master for long and during the Heresy could readily be found on both sides of the conflict. 

Strengths.

Secutors have 4's and 5's in most places on the stat line. Of note is S=5, T=5 and W=4 which makes for a potent combination combined with a 3+/5++ save. The unit's Lord also gains a pip in BS and WS which is very nice. 

They come armed as standard with power axes (nice), and twin maxima bolt guns (5 shots at S=4 and shred) which is a strong mix of ranged threat and close up potential. 

Vanguard (3) is beautiful to see here. My advice would be to go big in order to wip an opponent's unit in a single turn where possible.  The Lord gains battle meditation which provides feel no pain in a challenge, which is enhanced when their WS is out-matched. 

Beyond this, there are options to upgrade to twin phased plasma fusils which provides 3 lots of S=5 with breaching at 5+. Pretty solid and worth the upgrade. Or, take twin graviton guns for the same cost. These are only single shot, but are blast weapons at S=6 with breaching, and shock that causes pinning. The AP is only 4 here though, so I'd mildly favour the plasma upgrade for regular marine opponents, but the graviton blast template is absolutley worth it for the pinning and blasts. Tough choice. But the good news is that they can be mixed and matched. 

Weaknesses.

Note that the Myrmidax trait is already built in here. There's no downsides overall and the points cost is reasonable overall. 

Builds.

3 Secutors, 3 Twin Graviton Guns (210 points).

Lots of blast templates basically. 

10 Secutors, 2 Twin Graviton Guns, 2 Twin Phased Plasma Fusils (545 points).

The mixed threats makes sense, and the large numbers will all but ensure Vanguard (3) triggers most of the time against reasonably selected opposing units. You just need to get there. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Domitar Battle Maniple

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

Background. 

A late entry to the mechanicum's strength before the fires of the Heresy would gut everything. The Domitar was designed as a line breaker. Able to smash into enemy lines and tanks alike, their purpose was one of swift engagement and destroying key elements of the enemy.

Strengths.

With 7's in S and T, these are combat beasts that will stick around long enough to cause serious damage to many opponents. The BS and WS is the same as a space marine and with 4 wounds and a good save, they will provide a solid front line. 

They come armed with a Cyclone Missile Launcher as standard. These are handy for the choice between frag, krak, and also flak missiles - the latter being the sky fire option. Hence they provide even a strong ranged threat to all. The domitar fists in melee give AP=3 at S+1 with breaching and armour bane which is good enough to take care of light tanks and many space marine equivalents. And the graviton hammer helps all this along with a variant option. 

A feast of special rules includes fear, vanguard, firing protocols and impact on attacks which is glorious. Add on there fire storm for not having to make snap shots and this beast is a great deal overall.

Weaknesses.

It will explode! The movement rate is 7, which is good enough, but I'd like it faster ideally. Still, you get what you pay for here and it is a very good deal overall. Take them. 

Builds.

There are no build to discuss. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Echidnax Servo Maniple

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 stars, rounded down. Useful repairs, but I want to call them Echidnas. 

Background. 

Drones that follow their master around and are helpful by automating repairs. They also have some basic battle field programming that can help with in close combat or at range when required. 

Strengths.

Weaknesses.

The drones have limited autonomy. Hence if a sniper or similar removes the commander from play, they will just sit there in the same way that rocks do for the rest of the game. Hence they can be quite vulnerable. On the other hand, they are also cheap enough to not get too upset about this possibility. 

Builds.

10 Echidnax, 10 bolt guns (120 points).

Ten members here to make the best use of the battle smith special rule which gets its maximum advantage when 9 or more members of the unit are present.

Dreadtober 2026: Saturnine Built, and Base Based

Dreadtober has progressed!

The Saturnine dreadnought has now been built and assembled. I liked the choice of parts for the dreadnought which was nice to have. Some of the bits are certainly fiddly though with the shoulder pads being one of the prime examples. I would also politely contend that it doesn't need as many bits as it is supplied with, but hey, as a veteran I don't mind that either as it gives extensive possibilities. 

I have posed the dreadnought in a slight walking (baseline) pose with the left arm swivelled to the side to point at a target and the head looking in exactly the same direction. This is a dreadnought in the middle of shooting and destroying!

As for the base from last week, I have dolled it up with some cracked surfacing. My pro tip here is to use watered down PVA glue to ensure that the cracks stay where they dry rather than peel off. Works a treat. I will put the dreadnought on to the base at a later point and come back to add some flora later on. 

So after one week of Dreadtober, I can safely say that significant progress has been made, but there is much more yet to do!