Horus Heresy 3e Review: Garviel Loken

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Solid and fluffy for the Loyalist Sons of Horus or Luna Wolves amongst you.  

Background.

The loyalist's loyalist and survivor without peer. Loken was betrayed at the events in the Isstvan system by Horus but subsequently rose to exact revenge. And rose again. Almost the star of the early books in the black library series, Loken was a Captain in the Sons, but renounced them to reclaim the ideals of the Luna Wolves of old.

Strengths. 

A praetor level stat line and a loyalist to boot. 

Loken comes with a Paragon Blade which will certainly assist with close combat. His special rule is of some note though. Born Survivor means that when he dies for the first time in a game, he has a 50/50 chance of immediately coming back on with 1 wound remaining. You just can't keep the guy down until he's through with all the traitors! 

Weaknesses. 

Loyalist only of course. Not necessarily a weakness of course. He is also a sort of mirror image of Little Horus Aximand in the game. Certainly a fluffy choice. Hatred against Traitors is worth noting here as well for the bonus to wound. 

Overall.

From a points value point of view, Loken costs only fractionally more than Aximand for which you get the Born survivor rule. But his paragon blade is strictly worse than Mourn-It-All, and therefore Aximand has the edge statistically, but that's before you factor in Hatred - its a delicate balance but I think that the damage = 2 on Aximand still takes the day overall? (Let me know if you've ran the stats? I'm going on gut instinct here!). Loken isn't looking too crash hot against Abaddon either due to the WS difference. But so what. If you are playing Luna Wolves or loyalist Sons of Horus, he is as ideal as they come!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: "Little" Horus Aximand

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. A fluffy choice for a high command entry in the Sons of Horus. 

Background.

Little Horus looked exactly like his gene sire in appearance. He chose to follow the same into Heresy and became a traitor, but was never too sure about his choices. He became wracked with guilt about it, and sought to justify his choice to himself repeatedly, ultimately fighting on Beta-Garmon.

Strengths. 

The stat line here looks and feels like a Praetor level character - which is exactly what Aximand is at a fundamental level. He comes with Mourn-It-All as his close combat weapon which is a power blade with S+1 and critical hitting which is very nice to have. The bane strike on his bolt gun is also similarly nice. He carries a shield, but I'm not too sure you would make use of it unless you are running him with a Breacher squad. 

His special rule is exceptionally circumstantial: Haunted. You gain extra victory points for taking out Loken. 

Impact on (I) is very nice overall though - and makes him worth it. 

Weaknesses. 

Activation of the special rule will be a very unusual event in any given game or tournament. This is a character that is basically wanting to be used and chosen in a fluffy style game. And I for one don't mind that!

Overall.

From a points value point of view, Aximand is worth the points cost. As noted above, the special rules are a little circumstantial to say the least and the shield trait is probably not going to get used that much. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Ezekyle Abaddon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars but rounded up. Master of the Justaerin and First Captain of the Sons of Horus. He followed his gene sire into damnation and went on to have a legacy like no other.  

Background.

The legendary First Captain of the Sons of Horus is rumoured to be a gene-clone of the great man himself. Yet is isn't just in appearance that he resembled Horus. His fighting style, and ultimately loyalty to Horus saw him tread the pathway toward infamy in lockstep with his Legion's sire. 

Strengths. 

With WS=7, 5 wounds and cataphractii terminator armour, the basic gear and set up of Abaddon is impressive and intimidating. 

He comes as standard with a Cthonian Power Claw which gives S+4 with shred and AP2 which is just plain nasty even with the initiative modifier. Add on to this the grenade harness and banestrike bolt rounds and he is a beast on the table. 

On top of this, he has native deep strike that he can share with his Justaerin, as well as the ability to share feel no pain for the turn when they've all come on to the table via deep strike. This is absolutely excellent. 

Beyond this, eternal warrior is nice. 

Weaknesses. 

Not many realistically. He is a force to be reckoned with. The points cost is steep, but he fundamentally is a fantastic character. 

Overall.

Pricey? Undoubtedly. 

Fluffy and usable? Totally. 

There's little not to like other than the sheer points value, but if you invest in the deep strike strategy I feel good about it paying off hence the large number of stars from me!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Horus Ascended

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Swollen on Warp Power, this version of Horus is exceptionally deadly and likely the most powerful (close combat) character in the game now. 

Background.

Drunk on the power of the warp, Horus became a swollen and towering version of his former self second only to the Emperor himself. It was not only his physique that changed though. His very personality altered. Gone was the consummate commander and honourable comrade who could get others to spin on a pin head through his words alone. Instead, he started punishing even minor infractions with serious consequences. His mental aspects became a dark reflection of the power that surged through him. 

Strengths. 

Let's start with the stat line. Horus gains bonuses almost everywhere. WS=9 is crazy, but when combined with 8s in many other places and 7s in A and I, he is truly exceptional. Even Vulkan would be put to shame now. His leadership (not so counter intuitively for the rebels) grows to 14 too. 

For the special rules, he retains deep strike, and gains feel not pain, fear, improves his eternal warrior stat, and retains his reaction bonus (+1 per turn). In addition to this, he gains The Spreading Corruption which means he is malefic and can join similar squads if he wishes. 

The Warmaster's Talon provides remains the same as before with 24 inch shots at S=5 with breaching, and also the lightning claws at AP=2 with reaping blow and shred. This is reasonable (better when you think about volleys at full ballistic skill), but once again, I suspect you will want the Worldbreaker as the favoured close combat weapon due to S+4, AP=2 and 3 damage (plus critical hitting). You take a bit of an initiative penalty, but you won't care too much I think. Those S=12 hits are going to wreck everything in the game pretty much. 

Weaknesses. 

He loses access to Sire of the Sons of Horus here as you might expect. So no bonus prime slots or similar I'm sorry to say. And no first turn movement bonuses any longer. 

Overall.

For the points cost, he is pretty much worth what you are paying. The native deep strike is expensive, yes, so you might want to think how to make the most of that, or give Horus a transport solution and run him with some malefic allies for maximum effect. And with the Ascended upgrade, Vulkan is no longer a match for him. I haven't ran his stats against Angron or Fulgrim as Daemon Primarchs, so not yet formed a view on the ascended rankings, but he seems to my initial reaction he is top of the pile there as well. Hence I'm giving Horus Ascended top ranking in all of the Horus Heresy! 5/5 stars from me. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Horus Lupercal

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Great, but no longer the top placed deadly primarch in my new controversial opinion!

Background.

There is little to say about the big guy himself that cannot be found elsewhere. He is the Primarch responsible for the entire series, the Heresy, the Civil War, and more. The most favoured son, the Warmaster, and the Breaker of Tyrants. Call it how you will: Horus is the crux of the entire setting more so than any other character. 

Strengths. 

To the stat line first. WS=8 is excellent indeed, and W=7 is strong with the advanced characteristics peaking in leadership and cool. 

He comes natively with deep strike, which explains the points cost. What really matters in terms of special rules though is the Master of War rule. This grants an almighty +1 reaction in each turn. This is not only fluffy and appropriate, but very strong when played well. 

The Warmaster's Talon provides 24 inch shots at S=5 with breaching, and also the lightning claws at AP=2 with reaping blow and shred. This is reasonable (better when you think about volleys at full ballistic skill), but I suspect you will want the Worldbreaker as the favoured close combat weapon due to S+4, AP=2 and 3 damage (plus critical hitting). You take a bit of an initiative penalty, but you won't care too much I think. 

As Sire of the Sons of Horus, you gain extra prime slots for 4 or more tacticals or despoilers which is easy to fulfil. And you also get movement+1 in the first turn thanks to your men really wanting to prove themselves in front of you. This is very helpful and calls even more strongly for a melee orientated force. 

Weaknesses. 

In all honesty, Horus is no longer quite as powerful as he was in other editions wherein I would give him a 5/5 star rating without hesitation. Some of his brothers are strictly better and will beat him up in a challenge. Most obviously Vulkan (equally, Vulkan always was noted to be the physically strongest primarch, so perhaps that's no surprise any longer). 

Overall.

Worth the points cost thanks to the army wide boons and the reaction bonuses. But he is no longer the number 1 primarch on the block - sorry folks! Vulkan takes the prize (ignoring chaos ascended daemon prince versions of primarch). 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Sons of Horus Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded up. The rules are relatively good. 

Background.

The Sons of Horus have a reputation for alpha-strikes: cutting out the heart or weak point of an enemy in a decapitation assault from which they will never recover. Such is the Cthonia legacy. Within the Heresy, their name is synonymous with the treachery itself. There were instrumental in the rebellion and the alliance with Chaos, right from the Betrayal of their own legion through to the Siege of Terra. They were at the forefront of everything. Whether Horus was deluded, seduced by chaos, or whispered to a little bit too much by certain Word Bearers is another matter entirely. 

Armoury. 

Banestrike. A gift from the Alpha Legion as evidence of their loyalty, the Sons of Horus are able to make good use of Banestrike ammunition. Breaching is good and generally worth it for a sub-set of squads. 

Carsoran Power Axes are a modest points cost upgrades to regular power axes. They are generally worth considering, but so are Thunder Hammers.

Martial Supremacy grants a prime advantage slot for both Duelist's Edge and Champion special rules. This is okay overall without being overpowered. 

Decurion Lanius. This is weaponeer upgrade for various tanks that gives you a banestrike bolt cannon on a pintle which is a nice weapon to have thanks to the relative strength and breaching. Thanks to Brutal Enforcement, you can also target your own men to stop them routing. Nasty. And also: Ouch. 

Tactica. 

Death Dealers is the third incarnation of a special rule for the entire legion in as many editions. The writers just can't seem to decide where the balance lies it seems. In Third Edition, it means making volley attacks at full ballistic skill. This is very useful for your close combat orientated squads - perhaps even tactical squads, and certainly banestrike squads. Of course, it comes with the provision that you need to be making volley attacks which in turn means getting up close and personal - as you have come to expect with Sons of Horus. 

Gambit.  

Merciless Strike is actually excellent. Phage on Toughness can swing an entire challenge and it is well worth using. Honestly, this is the stand out rule in the Sons of Horus for me!

Additional Detachements. 

Supremacy Cadre brings you extra heavy assault and troops to quell any foe. Quite nice, and very appropriate to the background. 

Advanced Reaction. 

Warrior Pride is unusual and lets you avoid a challenge if you have a WS that is greater than the challenger, and all other members of the reacting unit also have a better WS. Your enemy simply does not deserve death by your haughty superior hand apparently. Used judiciously, it can win entire combats. 

The Sons of Horus mutate again in Third Edition which sees yet another new core rule. And it isn't called tip of the spear either. It plays a little different as well, but those full BS volley shots are valuable, even if they only activate once in a while (you will want to activate them as much as possible, particularly on powerful weapons, or banestrike).