Horus Heresy 2e Review: White Scars Traits and Rites

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average. 

Warlord Traits.

There are three different warlord traits to choose between and fittingly one is loyalist only, one is traitor only, and one can be taken by both.

Heroes Never Die. What an interesting trait this one is. While alive, there is a bonus assault reaction and the warlord's unit gets stubborn which is very nice. But if and when he dies, all White Scars who witnessed it gain Fearless. This is truly a strong trait.

Born to the Saddle. Ignoring difficult terrain is solid, and an invulnerable against dangerous terrain wounds are great. The bonus reaction here is for movement. Overall this is a solid trait without being game breaking but will resonate very nicely with the rest of the army for builds that focus on rapid movements.

The Forgotten Sons. For the traitors, they gain bonuses when there is an ally detachment of Sons of Horus around such that they pass morale and pinning checks. This is very strong, but requires the Sons of Horus in there. They also gain access to the Death Dealers reaction from the Sons. Flavorful and reasonably good, but at the price of needing that extra detachment. 

Rites of War.

Chogorian Brotherhood. Unlock those sky hunters and outrider squadrons as troops (or non-line elites) and give your infantry outflank for free. This is very nice and will pay dividends for the Saim Hain play style that can be pulled off with the White Scars. The price here is that there are no heavy supports available unless they fly, and infantry must be mobile or held in reserves. Very fluffy overall.

The Sagyar Mazan. Those who have transgressed are exiled and these penitents are the Sagyar Mazan. In brief, they seek but an honourable death. This unlocks Ebon Keshig as troops and all infantry must have the Kharash rule which is nice in the sense of not giving away points to the enemy. Gaining fearless on the charge is also powerful. On the flip side, having nothing in reserves can be a problem as is the lack of heavy support (and primarch or fortification to a much lesser extent). 

Difference to First Edition.

There are lots of differences here, both subtle and less subtle. I think overall, these rules make up for the worse legion rules overall, but they are comparable to first edition in many ways. Unfortunately for fans of this legion, overall they are not looking anywhere near as good as they once were in my opinion.