Horus Heresy 2e Review: Alpha Legion Traits and Rites

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars - Some of the rules are actually quite nice overall. Several are sub-par. 

Warlord Traits.

As with most other legions, there are three traits to consider for the Alpha Legion.

The Mobius Configuration. For the loyalists, they get to treat an allied detachment as fellow warriors. But then they use them. Enemies cannot score victory points off them, and the Alpha Legion player gets +1 VP if the allies are destroyed. More than this, the first reaction per turn is free, but you can't react with the allies. This one is entertaining and very interesting. Worth playing in my opinion.

Master of Lies. Redeploy 3 units. Make an additional movement reaction. Nice, and has potential in the right hands, but otherwise won't see too much play I suspect.

Hydran Excursor. Probably more standard than the above, the warlord and his unit get +1 to hit against a selected legion. Bonus shooting reaction to boot. This should be the default choice and used for close combat purposes. Strictly better than the Master of Lies most of the time.

Rites of War.

Coils of the Hydra. At the time of writing, this is a rite that won't be played much. It lets the player select 3 Rewards of Treachery units. But they have to be from the same legion. And rules as written: have to be the same unit. This is bad since the rest of the army won't come on to the board due to the limitations (or rather: a number of units at least equal to the number of treachery reward units). I can only see units like Iron Warriors Seige Tyrants being worth it here. The bonus +1 to hit when other units come into play is nice though. Fearless for the stolen units is also good, but they still have to survive the first turn until help arrives. Further. The wording of much of this is unclear. The FAQ didn't help too much. It is a shame really. This was the "go to" rite of war in first edition. Now it is mangled. And you get rewards of treachery units for free anyway (which is a good move by the devs). Not worth taking. 

Headhunter Leviathal. Headhunters are troops and fast attack, +2 VP for slay the warlord, and shrouded in the first turn makes for a solid rite even if vehicles start in reserve. You don't even have to play the headhunters to make this one work well. 

Difference to First Edition.

Uglier implementation of Coils of the Hydra with some uncertainty about the rules, and if the current ruling stays in place, almost not worth playing. Master of Lies is weak. The rest is fine (which is to say competitive), but not truly outstanding.