Horus Heresy 3e Review: Arquitor Bombard

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average. 

Background.

An infantry support platform designed to keep up with the foot slogging members of your army and provide powerful fire power. Enough to down blobs of enemy infantry and crack hard sieges, this engine in the fluff has it all at the expense of it not being a well armoured vehicle. 

Strengths. 

The Morbus Bombard gives you HE shells with S=9 and a slew is special rules including large blasts, ordnance on D, Barrage, breaching (at 6) and pinning. The Phosphex is S=5 with blast poisoned at 3+ and breaching (5+) with panic (3). Both are solid, but the phospex is shorter range with the valuable AP=3.

The graviton charge cannon is also S=9 with AP=3 which is valuable. Double damage shock and pinning are similarly great with heavy on D. It is reasonably good, but short range.

The spicula is much more interesting with a range of 72 inches combining with S=7 and a super large blast radius with barrage and suppressive. 

Weaknesses. 

The bombard is surprisingly sturdy with AV=13 on the front and 6 hull points which makes other rhino chassis based armour cry a little bit. You need to watch your positioning though in order to protect your rear. A marked improvement from second edition too, but I still prefer the Vindicator just about. 

Builds.

Arquitor with Morbus Bombard (150 points)

I am tempted by the autocannon sponsons here to be very honest.

Arquitor with Graviton-Charge Cannon (165 points). 

Not my favourite, but could be good. 

Arquitor with Spicula Rocket System, Autocannon Sponsons (175 points).

Add search lights to taste. This is one you sit at the back field and fire all game long. Recommended more than others for sheer suppressive capability. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Scorpius Missile Tank

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. 

Background.

The Scorpius is a different type of Whirlwind tank that was created at the behest of the Space Wolves who apparently wanted some indirect fire support to fight against xenos. It is built on the ubiquitous rhino chassis and fires some rather lethal missiles to do exactly what the Space Wolves wanted. 

Strengths. 

The main strength here is the Scorpius missile launcher. This fires S=8 small blasts that have barrage 2, and breaching at 5+. With AP=4 they're very good at clearing out non-marine enemies and will likely take care of at least some standard marines if they are tightly packed! 

Heavy on FP means you're likely sat at the backfield and staying still most of the game and shooting at your leisure. 

The pintle bolt guns don't really add much, and there's smokecreen as well. I would not bother with a dozer blade, but search lights might be good here. Take a pintle weapon to taste, but possibly a waste of points too ... unless you take the havoc launcher to give you stun (recommended! and has superb overlapping range!). 

Weaknesses. 

The rhino chassis with AV=10 at the rear makes it vulnerable. The 5 hull points offsets this. 

The lack of inflicting statuses is a milder issue for the tank. 

Builds.

Scorpius, Searchlights (125 points)

The core build. 

Scorpius, Searchlights, Havoc Launcher (130 points). 

An extra shot that comes with stun is actually really rather good and excellent points efficiency overall. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Kratos Assault Tank

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are rather good. 

Background.

Despite the popular opinion that the Kratos was only introduced in second edition, the reality is that it has been mentioned in the lore for a lot longer. It is a line breaker tank of ancient Terran origin. Slow moving, but highly effective, the legions swerved away from it as they favoured faster deployments, but it never lost its edge and was rapidly pressed back into large scale service thanks to the Heresy. 

Strengths. 

With AV=14 all around and 10 hull points, this is already a tank to be reckoned with alongside the more classic land raiders. There's a choice of 3 main weapon variants. 

The Kratos battlecannon can fire HE shells to give S=8 and a large pie plate with stun, or AP shells with AP=2 and armourbane. One shot either way, but one is a mechanicum killer, the other takes out tanks. Flashburn shells is an upgrade for a small cost to give armour bane at S=9 and AP2 with 3 damage (all types of shots have D on ordnance making them quite strong). Nothing quite like 4 damage at S=9, so this is strongly rated, even with overload. 

The Volkite Cardanelle is interesting for its vast range 12 shots at S=7 and 2 damage even if the AP is poor. Deflagrate and suppressive only add to this. A real infantry stopper (including terminators). 

The Melta Blast Gun supplies 2 shots at S=9 with melta at a reasonable range of 24. AP is 2 and damage is a straight up 4 with heavy on the RS. This is a real impressive tank killer. 

Sponsons come recommended with lascannons and volkite culverins. The front mounted heavy bolt guns can also be swapped out, but the points costs stack up fast in doing so. Dozer blade if you need to move closer and hunter killer missile to taste. 

Weaknesses. 

Slow moving.

Builds.

Kratos with Battle Cannon, Flash Burn Shells, Mounted Autocannons (300 points). 

Plenty of dakka! Dozer Blade to taste. 

Kratos with Volkite Cardanelle, Volkite Culverin Sponsons, Mounted Volkite Calivers (295 points).

You should know the rule about volkite by now: go big!!

Dozer blade to taste. 

Kratos with Melta Blast Gun, Las Cannon Sponsons, Mounted Las Cannons (355 points).    

When you really, really need to kill some armour and you don't have other choices, and don't mind all your eggs in one giant proverbial basket that acts as an incoming firepower magnet. Very expensive, and possibly should have been a Lords of War (source: me). 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Sicaran Venator

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. 

Background.

Lessons learned during the Great Crusade accelerated the idea of needing BIG GUNS at FAST SPEEDS against some xenos breeds. Thus was born the Venator. For your needs when predators and vindicators no longer cut it. 

Strengths. 

The Venator retains the key headline from the core Sicaran. These include 6 hull points, an impressive movement rate of 14, coupled with AP=13 on the front and 12 elsewhere. 

The neutron beam laser is the main attraction of this tank though. Two shots at S=10 with AP=2 and 2 damage, plus ordnance on D. It also has armour bane and shock which add up to a tank killer unit. 

I would be seriously tempted with the las cannon sponsons to drive home the case for a tank killing tank. The pintle isn't worth it, and I don't think the searchlights are either. The hunter killer missile might be okay, so I will decide to leave that to taste. 

Weaknesses. 

As with the base Sicaran, the Venator variant is also not quite as good as previous editions. You will need to think about positioning here. 

Builds.

Sicaran Venator with Neutron Beam Laser and Las Cannon Sponsons (190 points).

Lots of lasers to kill tanks with. The classic tank sniping tank.

 

Warhammer World: Choose Your Colours [For Heresy]

A little addition that I spotted on my recent rounds of Warhammer World: all of the legions in one display with a variety of miniatures, specialist legion terminators, upgrade parts, and nice paint jobs. 

I rather liked this cabinet as a reference material. Sure: there were other displays focussed on every single legion which I might also post at a future point, but this one just stood out as a singular piece and a reference set. Hope you like it as much as I stared at it for a long while!

Another Update to the Horus Heresy Summary Page

Working hard today on giving an update to the Horus Heresy 3e Review Summary Page!

This update includes the Blood Angels, Thousand Sons, Support, Fast Attack, Heavy Transports, and where we are currently up to with Armour. 

Yet to write about: the rest of the Armour section, Lords of War, and the Dark Angels legion! Hence we should be finished with the main Liber Astartes / Hereticus books in the next little while (month or two). Then onward to the other Libers in due course.