Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: Pride is our Armour

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are solid. 

Background.

These blackshields are likely to be original Great Crusade warriors. They are the elite veterans of the legions and likely long since forgotten by their parent legions. If it were not for the civil war, they probably would still be meandering around the outer reaches of the Galaxy. But now, they're bringing their convictions back to the centre. 

Rules Evaluation. 

No troops. They don't exist here. Instead, you get one compulsory elite, and 2 extra elites slots. This, of course, calls for an all terminator army to my mind! 

But its better than that: you can pay 50 points to upgrade legion veteran squads to have Line, Heart, and Fury of the Legion. 

So take your veterans, terminators, and some auxiliary units and you now have your elite of the elite of the great crusade coming back to haunt the galaxy. I could easily imagine something like pre-primarch legionaries for this oath. 

The main issue I see here is which other oath (if any) to select. Many have narrative challenges to my mind. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Appropriate and fluffy. But rules-wise is lacking in applicability.  

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. For those of you who really want to go down the road of pre-primarch legions, this combination stands out. War Hounds instead of World Eaters is an obvious one to my mind!

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. The narrative is strong here, and I could genuinely give it 5/5 stars on a good day.  

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. I really do not like the narrative here at all. It might work with some of the more, shall we say, evil legions elites (Night Lords?). I just can't quite picture it really as it is in direct contest with the ethos of this oath. 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Elite veterans who have turned mad. Yet are prideful of their armour. Maybe they still think the Great Crusade is in full swing? Its sadly another combination that works with the rules, but for the narrative isn't great. 

The Flesh Is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. Gorgon terminators from the Iron Hands who went a bit too far? Sure, that can work. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. This is what happens when you have your Thousand Sons (or others) going around the outer reaches for too long and discovering what happened back home whilst they were away. They've gone a bit mad. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. I freely admit to being lost with this narrative. They are veterans, but also either clones or aberrant? Are they maybe early Emperor's Children clones? There are some combinations that work here, but the narrative puzzles me. I'm sure others will have different takes.

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Yes, this one works nicely. Think of Dark Angels and I think the vibe here is obvious. The rules mesh nicely enough as well. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Those of you who care about narrative like I do will find this combination hard to stomach. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. I want to like this more, but it strikes me that veterans should also have great arms. Perhaps they were in the cells of enemy starships and escaped? Who knows. Its an average combination at best for me. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: In Disgrace All Are Equal

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. A sort of middle-of-the-road oath that is neither intrinsically amazing, nor totally poor.

Background.

This oath is all about warbands who have simply fallen from grace. They might hail from either side of the civil war, but they are now little more than roving petty warlords. They have banded together through common purpose, but I would assume that such an arrangement is only going to be temporary. 

Rules Evaluation. 

No Warlord! What? 

Seriously: you are not taking any warlord here. There's no one in overall command! Very fluffy and appropriate to this oath if you ask me! Dig a little deeper and you'll see that its not just warlords: its HQ selections full stop. 

Instead, character types gain a bonus to their stat line (Ld, W, and one of WS, BS, or I). This is truly excellent and makes for very interesting play. I would advise deploying minimum sized units to make the most of this oath overall. But there's a price: all other models have their Ld docked by 1 pip. This is expensive if you are facing an Alpha Legion or Raven Guard force full of snipers who can take down your squad characters readily. But hey, there has to be a penalty for the boon. Apothecaries and tech marines are noted as being slightly different: they don't gain anything, and don't lose anything. 

From a modelling point of view, there might not even be a need to paint your models different. You just declare that they've fallen from grace! I'm thinking Alpha Legion and Dark Angels for a start. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Situational. Could work with some thought, but can't say I recommend it. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This one works very nicely and is consistent with the narrative of falling from grace. Would love to see some Space Wolves like this. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Okay this works, but is also distinctly average. 

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Works very well in combination with both rules and your narrative. Who wouldn't like some petty space pirates ravaging the galaxy. Fallen Dark Angels might just be this. 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I don't mind this combination at all. I know I gave it 3/5 the other way around, but I just thought of this: raging Blood Angels who succumbed to the madness! Come on, that's worth one additional star. 

The Flesh Is Weak: ⭐️⭐️ 2/5 stars. Not one that I can get behind as a combination. Unless you're thinking necron dynasties for extra strange Iron Hands conversions?

The Legacy of Nikaea: 0/5 stars. I would love this combination to function. But it does not due to the requirement of a HQ choice. Drat. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. I will refer readers back to the previous blog entry for this combination. There's some strength (literally) to be had, but also strong negatives. I do like this idea though - mutants and clones cobbling together with each other because they've nowhere else to turn. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Veterans who have fallen from grace? Sure, why not. This sings to me of Dark Angels to be honest. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. You're disgraced, so you presumably don't care about touching and using filthy xenos weaponry, right? Works for me. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Another strong narrative build can be had here I think.  

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Broken Helix

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Reasonable and balanced rules combined with a very attractive narrative.

Background.

What do you do when you've turned your back on everything, but you need new recruits? Space marines are carefully selected and implanted with novel organs in very select and expensive labs, let alone conditioned through expensive techniques. 

Why, you either use cloning technology (which results in drones that are mere echoes of the originals) or you use forced progenoid replication (which results in hideous mutations). 

The former is very nice for many legions, but I often think of them as being associated with the Emperor's Children. The latter is one that I associate primarily with the Raven Guard. Neither are exclusive to either legion, obviously. 

Rules Evaluation. 

You are sacrificing a lot by taking this option, including Heart, Fury, Spite, and Inexorable. 

The clones get hit for Ld and I on top of this, as well as reactions being impossible, but gain in return an immunity to pinning, and a 5+ mitigation roll. The clones are not great to be honest. But as a shambling wall of death they will get where you want them to be I suppose. 

The mutants (or aberrants as they're called) are better. They get hit for Ld and BS, but gain S+1 in return. They get another S+1 for a turn when they successfully charge which is wickedly good. You have to charge anything in range, but hey, you wanted to do that anyway. Hitting at S=6 for the standard marine is a unit killer when they get in combat. You just need to get them there. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Very situational. I could understand Raven Guard and Emperor's Children being chosen here, obviously. Beyond that, I'm not so sure. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Very appropriate. Take some chain axes from the World Eaters for a start? Or anything that helps you out in close combat really! 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Feels like a steep price to pay, but I can see this working very well with Aberrants. 

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. I actually like this option, but stacked against this thought is why not just go for the sweeping advance. Its a tough choice. 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like this for your mutant crazy World Eaters and similar. 

The Flesh Is Weak: ⭐️⭐️ 2/5 stars. Works with Aberrants to an extent (but why are you ripping off your limbs to replace them with bionics?). But for clones I don't see the need at all sorry. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This actually works despite the improbability of it. Clones with psychic powers are an interesting twist on (e.g.) Thousand Sons heritage. Psychic monsters could come from any legion, but I'd be excited to see some Night Lords heritage here. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. I don't mind this combination. And with the clones the bonuses to Ld can make up for the loss. But consider this: the S bonus for Aberrants would take you up to S=7 on the charge. Wow. Or WS=5 and S=6 perhaps? Choices choices. It works well. But the overall Ld-1 hurts you even more, but perhaps Clones are the way to go here?

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Gain back some of your rules here like Heart and Fury? I think that's how the rules would interact anyway given you are paying 50 points for them. I'm a little lost with the narrative here though!

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Works well in combination and narrative I think. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Yet another compelling choice and narrative! 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Legacy of Nikaea

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded down. Gain additional psychic powers thanks to not caring.  

Background.

Okay. So the Emperor said some stuff at the Council of Nikaea. Magnus, the Khan, and Sanguinius said other stuff. Mortarion chimed in. And then you're no longer allowed to channel warp powers. But you don't care any more because you went rogue and don't agree with either the loyalists or the traitors and you will use the warp powers as you see fit even if they're dangerous. Think that about covers it.  

Rules Evaluation. 

The Warp Torrent ability is gained by both characters and independent characters. This is a nice additional shooting attack to be very candid. Some S=5 bolts that also deflagrate are cool. The range is small, but it gels well with a close combat orientated force that have transports. By taking a Perils test, you can also get AP=3 which is especially tasty, but at a price I suppose. 

Finally those independent characters can pay a premium to gain access to a proper discipline. This is very handy! But you don't get lightning at all. Your HQ must be a psyker and two other characters. This is a reasonable balance that encourages you to go big. Overall then, this is a reasonable choice for your Thousand Sons wannabes, but don't choose Thousand Sons - their rules are already cool. Go for something unexpected like, erm, Imperial Fists or something? 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Too situational. But perhaps fluffy with Death Guard, White Scars, Blood Angels or Thousand Sons? 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Useful depending on your choices. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. A little bit average to be honest. You're already risking wounds to get AP=3, you don't need more casualties. 

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Pirate psychics could actually be really cool. Maybe they got trained by some eldar? Not sure what the narrative might be here, but there's tasty stuff to be had. 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. This is okay. They're mad psykers that want to be in combat. There might be better choices for your psykers though. 

The Flesh Is Weak: 0/5 stars. You cannot have psykers. This combination is useless to you. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Psychic mutants and clones? Oh yes. This is a solid combination that I can see working really well!

In Disgrace All Are Equal:  0/5 stars. Psychic warbands not giving a hoot? Yeah, that can work! Unfortunately, you have to select a HQ, and those disgraced cannot select a HQ, so you can't have this combination sorry. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Veteran psychics? Yes! This works splendidly well in my opinion. The only drawback is that the points cost is stacking up here fast with this combination. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Psykers who have been trained by Xenos is one way of interpreting this very useful and interesting combination. I'd be tempted by this one. Especially in an Eldar direction. Some entertaining conversion opportunities are present here, along with another potential connection to the Dornian Heresy if you are tilting in that direction. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. This combination works very well as well in a narrative sense. You could imagine marines escaping from their parent legion cells or something like that?

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Flesh Is Weak

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Replace your flesh with metal. Because either the war demands it, or you've discovered forbidden (necron?) technology. Bonus marks for the rule of cool. 

Background.

In the very long war, you're going to find that your flesh is (sic) weak. You will therefore need to replace it with bionics. Or maybe forbidden technology from those Forge Worlds you conquered. Or those necrons that you totally didn't wake up. Seriously, this has so many interpretations its wonderful. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of DORNIAN HERESY Iron Hands arise because of this. You know you want to do those delicious conversions. I certainly am tempted!

Rules Evaluation. 

Infantry and cavalry becoming automata might not seem to be so great, but you get a delightful 5+ feel no pain roll to make matters better. However, you also have to shoot and charge the nearest opponent if you can. This is actually fine, and you don't have to take on opponents that you cannot hurt which makes things much better. But no psychic powers either, oh well. 

Augmetic transport bays in your rhinos and so forth also have their capacity increased. This is very beneficial for larger blobs to get where they are needed. I see this as a mobile infantry force which you point at things and go click, backed up with dreadnoughts as well potentially. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Average combination that is weighed down by being very situational. There's probably better ones, but I suspect you will want Iron Hands here potentially?

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. More Iron Hands stuff here? I'm just guessing. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. You are already robots. You might as well make it even better by being programmed for eternal war duties! Glory to the Tenth! Wait, what?

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Pirate robots! Those survivors from Isstvan went wild...

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Not a combination I can get along with. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: 0/5 stars. You cannot have psykers. This combination is useless to you. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Aberrants and clones that maybe ripped off their mutations and replaced them with bionics? The perfect merger of Emperor's Children and Iron Hands? I don't know where I'm going with this argument, but rules wise you don't need another damage mitigation roll via clones, but bionic monsters could work. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Automatons shouldn't really care that much about petty warlords. Unless they're full of scrap code! Hello bizarre Word Bearers combinations!

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Maybe you love being automatons and are proud of this fact. Obviously gorgon terminators who went too far. This Oath really is Iron Hands heavy isn't it. I really should try to think of other things. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Necron automatons! Dornian Heresy Iron Hands! 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Desperate robots? Alright, I can dig that. Things got out of hand on that Forge World. 

Dreadtober 2024: Completed World Eaters Leviathan

The World Eaters Leviathan is done!

I genuinely love the final stages of painting World Eaters. To some it might seem like I've ruined a particularly crisp and nice paint job. I disagree. I set out wanting to have a battle worn and bloodied leviathan. The only way to achieve this is with weathering. And blood. For the blood god. The weathering features two toned grey and black speckles using a sponge applicator. I've made chips using silver inside of significant wear and tear to emphasize this aspect. The blood has been both painted and sponged on in a consistent manner to hopefully show some up close and personal work. This features most prominently on the chest (close range fire I suspect), and on the shins (he kicked his foes, clearly). There's a lot less blood on the rear of the miniature for obvious reasons (don't turn your back on your foes!), but the weathering features both wear and tear as well as explosive impacts on the rear. 

And for reasons I am unable to explain adequately, gravitons are green. Too bad. I've decided. 

Hope you've enjoyed following along with my Dreadtober leviathan project! I'm really pleased with the outcome here and I hope you've enjoyed seeing the progress week after week! Very glad I did this, and even happier with the end result. 

My original plan was to sell this miniature on eBay, but now I'm not sure! 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: An Eternity Of War

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Madmen who want to be in combat, but suffer when they are not. I'm not convinced the benefits quite outweigh the drawbacks, but extra marks for fluffiness?

Background.

These are marines who have totally lost it. They might as well be chanting blood for the bloody god. But they've not trod that path - arguably. They're just battle mad. Ideal for any blackshields that might have fell to Khorne outside of the World Eaters, proto-chaos space marines, or just crazies. 

Rules Evaluation. 

The benefits of this are really interesting. If your unit fails a morale check due to incoming fire, then you get to make a consolidation move. Great! You also count any wounds from (successful) charging reactions in the player's favour for combat determination. Also great: you get cut down but actually that's a big bonus. However, the penalty here is severe. After turn 1 unless you're in combat that round or locked, then you're taking wounds. Invulnerable saves can help, but there are several questions to be addressed here.

The main question is how you are going to get into combat in the first place. And stay there. You've got to think about those speedy opponents as well who will run circles around you all day. And those that are spread out a lot. The consolidation moves will only get you so far. Otherwise, how are you going to survive? Maybe lots of cataphractii? I don't know honestly. I'd give this oath less stars out of 5, but I do like its fluffiness factor!

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. This one gels really well, albeit at the cost of limited applicability which is why it only gets 3 stars from me. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Go on, take those chain axes from the World Eaters armory. Khorne insists. Or how about some power daggers from the Alpha Legion for those extra attacks in close combat. Great value to be had here across many legions. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. If you're going to lose wounds, you might as well lose lots of them. Good luck! But compelling!

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like this a whole lot. Plenty of oath breaking all around and stealing from the dead. You are a crazy pirate with this combination. 

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Crazed automatons that just want battle. Not sure how I feel about this overall. Khorne necron conversion opportunities perhaps. Someone must have a better interpretation of this combination than me. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Crazy psykers is a reasonable combination. Not so sure about the warp torrent psychic power being too useful though. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Crazed clones and monsters works splendidly to my mind. Corax really stuffed up didn't he. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. An average combination that might well work. Petty warbands all collecting together as mad men to bring about their own end? Sure, why not. Not top of my list, but its actually okay. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Renowned veterans who go crazy is not unreasonable. Its just the word "pride" here - why are you proud of your armour, and then you're also crazy. Not working well for me. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Crazy marines who like xenos weaponry is very reasonable! Lots of xenos halo blades in a veteran squad would be very nice I suspect. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Crazy desperadoes? Yes. Lots of yes. Just not much overlap with the ranged weapons and the close combat upgrades you'd ideally want though. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Spoils of Victory

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars, rounded down. I like these rules and there's some terrific combinations to be had!

Background.

Having abandoned their oaths of allegiance, these warbands exist for the sheer plunder! They're in it only for themselves and have become little better than pirates that prey on those who have what they want. I actually really like this premise and it suits potentially a lot of different styles. 

Rules Evaluation. 

By sacrificing sweeping advances throughout the army completely, roll 1d6 when you would otherwise would have made such a sweep. On a 4+, you gain 1 victory point. i.e., you are not chasing them down, so much as plundering what they left behind! Very fluffy. And, in all probability, something that can change the course of an entire battle potentially. Assuming that you can play it right. It might not happen all the time - to be clear - but doing such sweeps often enough can pay massive dividends. Let alone think of the cool conversion opportunities there might be for true space pirates! I'm anxious to see a skull and crossbones on the battlefield myself. Don't let me down, chat!

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work for me in a narrative sense since you've eliminated your previous oaths already in favour of being pirates. Sure, you might have a particularly despised enemy, but I'd steer clear of this. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Obviously they started their thefts by stealing from another legion's barracks. Perhaps their own?

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Another combination that is oath-bound, versus having abandoned oaths. Doesn't work for me from a narrative perspective. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well! Lots of breaking of oaths and not caring! Equally, you want to be in combat all the time so there's a need to think about how to accomplish that. 

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. An average combination, but has some really cool conversion possibilities. Pirate automatons are just cool.  

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. If you like pirate automatons, then why not pirate psychics? Sounds good to me. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Pirate clones and monsters. I really like this!

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Disgraced pirates? Yes. Absolutely yes. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work with the narrative really. Pirates are unlikely to be the most renowned veterans of their legions adhering to the old ideals. But who knows. Maybe this could work in extremis?

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Pirates that use Xenos kit? Yes! This really works as well! Give me those awesome conversions! 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 5/5 stars. Another excellent combination of pirates using desperate weapons! Loving this. No wonder they are scavenging from other forces when they sweep. They just want weapon upgrades! A brilliant narrative combination. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: Only in Death Does Duty End

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. The rules are good, but come at a steep price. Some great narrative combinations are possible though. 

Background.

They have sinned. And they must atone. The only way of doing that is through battle. All are sworn to go out this way. 

Rules Evaluation. 

These rules mean that units in this detachment will always pass morale tests regardless of what caused them to take it (NB: this is not pinning or psychic checks - just morale checks). The price for it is steep though: take 1d3 automatic wounds to the unit, but you can save with invulnerables. This is a good rule overall, but those 1d3 unsavable wounds are going to obliterate most units short of a terminator unit, and even then you're going to struggle. At least you won't get shot off the board and routed. Very fluffy overall, but the 1d3 wounds (instead of 1 wound) is a steep price to pay overall to my mind. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This is such a great combination thematically for me and strongly recommended! You have to think carefully about which legion to take though. And the limited applicability is the only reason it doesn't get 5/5. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Another great combination and one that opens up some nice conversions and bits borrowing. I like it!

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. This combination just doesn't work well in a narrative manner for me. You are oath-sworn to die, but you also loot the bodies of your enemies having abandoned your oaths? That's a nope from me. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well!

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I really like this one. You've replaced too many organic bits to go back, and you are ready to die. Iron Hands, Iron Warriors, and perhaps some mechanicum aligned units would work nicely here (e.g., those World Eaters aligned with Sarum forge world for example?). 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. You're sworn to die. But you're also psychic. Why not? Sounds good for Thousand Sons, White Scars, and Blood Angels blackshield origins alike. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like this for some Raven Guard builds. Or maybe you're just cloned warriors and don't feel the good vibes that the Emperor's children once gave you? The combination works for me all the same. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. A set of disparate warbands all cobbled together with a common wish to die. Yeah, it could work narratively and I'm not opposed to this combination!

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Prideful. Ready to die. Yes - this ticks all the narrative boxes for me, and is a good combination with the right builds I think! Almost 5/5 stars territory here. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Maybe those sins that you are oath-bound to were caused by some Xenos? Its a stretch of the imagination, but can work. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Your gang of desperados who are oath bound to atone, but not exactly equipped well! A great combination with a strong narrative for me!

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan with Decals

Progress report on my Dreadtober project: a World Eaters Leviathan. Here, I have got to the stage of applying all of the decals to the miniature. I can now get a really good sense of what the finished miniature is actually going to look like. 

The miniature looks very "clean" at this stage though. I am intending to make it a lot more mucky and stained with explosive barrages. Let alone liberal application of Blood for the Blood God to match up with the other miniatures in this particular allied detachment! It's certainly looking a lot better and even though I've been away, I am well on course to finishing this miniature on schedule - possibly even by the end of next week. Who knows. 

World Eaters Terminator with Power Maul

The conversion from yesterday is now fully painted! This is a World Eaters terminator decked out in the pre-heresy colour scheme for the legion, but also replete with a lot of dirt and blood to give it a grime filled, mid-action look. 

The decals are direct from the World Eaters range, and the blood is, of course, Blood for the Blood God which is simply amazing for this kind of work. I've applied it in both clumps of large gore, as well as splattering it across key areas in a lighter handed manner. I am very pleased with the vibe here and the theme. Even for pre-heresy, this is a nasty terminator who can readily be imagined bringing compliance in the only way that this legion knows how to do. Up close and personal without remorse or quarter. 

Tartaros Terminator with Power Maul / Mace

I've borrowed a little bit of inspiration - and bits - from the Dark Angels range for this terminator conversion. The basis is a normal Tartaros Terminator in plastic, but with a right hand swap for a Dark Angels power weapon. 

The difficult part of the conversion is the ranged weapon. Here, I have taken the combi-bolter and attached it to the left hand of the sergeant's power sword hand in order to create a left handed ranged weapon. This involved some careful slicing of the hand away from the power sword, and disguising it through an appropriate pose where the focus is on the melee power weapon.

This marine will be part of my World Eaters force (allied detachment) that I am constructing. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: Panoply of Old

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are sound. 

Background.

These blackshields have carried across some specialist equipment from their old legion. Perhaps it gives them meaning. Perhaps they're just tools. 

Rules Evaluation. 

Choose your legion and gain access to their unique wargear options. I like this option, but it really depends on which legion you choose. Get those chain axes from the World Eaters perhaps? Or the power daggers from the Alpha Legion might be a good character option for you for that extra close combat attack. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Works well thematically for me. But the Vendetta rule is weak on its own and you might go for something else. But perhaps you're using the weapons of your old legion against them. Very fluffy if you ask me. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Take more than one legion to borrow from for your blackshields! I'm not sure how characterful this can be, but it is a reasonable option. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well thematically to my mind.

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. This works to some extent and in combination is a good option. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well!

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Full stars if you have chosen Iron Hands for both. 2/5 stars for almost any other legion combination to be honest. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Full stars if you choose something fluffy like Dark Angels, White Scars, Blood Angels, or Thousand Sons. Less so for other legions. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I do like this, but for me it only works well if you're thinking Raven Guard, or similar. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. A reasonable choice. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Middle of the road combination for me once again.

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Tough to decide how I feel about this combination. You've already got a legion, and you're topping it up with weapons from xenos. I don't like this. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Doesn't work for me - you've got weapons, but you're also desperate. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Eternal Vendetta

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. They're actually good rules, but their applicability is limited. 

Background.

These blackshields despise a particular legion and seek nothing more than their elimination from history. And the future. The present too. 

Rules Evaluation. 

Choose a legion and then gain +1 to hit with close combat weapons against them. You have to declare a charge against this target if you can, and can't be in any allied detachment as them. This is a nice advantage and can be quite critical against your selected legion. But you simply don't know if you're going to be facing them or not, and therefore selection of this oath will likely have very limited applicability to the more competitive players. Therefore this is one for the narrative players mainly (but not exclusively). 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. If you hate one legion, why not double your chances by taking a second hated legion? Or perhaps there's a combination here that makes sense like not like the sneaky ones (Night Lords and Raven Guard), or the psychic ones (Thousand Sons and Blood Angels), or similarly themed?

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Take the same legion for laughs? You're using their weapons against them, despite being one of them. You must really despise them. Or perhaps you're from a legion that simply won't ally with them ordinarily anyway (Alpha Legion and World Eaters combination?). 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well thematically and on the battlefield, as well as makes up for the limited applicability. 

The Spoils of Victory:⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work thematically for me very well, but I can see some narrative here.
 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well!

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like the notion of some Iron Hands or Iron Warriors who have gone too far done the bionic replacement path also hating their parent legions. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I also like the idea of Thousand Sons haters wielding psychic powers against them. Just deserts and all. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Going along with the narrative a bit further, I like the idea of abandoned Raven Guard mutants hating their parent legion so much that they have a vendetta against them. Perhaps mutated Word Bearers as well. Cloned Emperors Children too?

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. I like this combination - a group of rogues seeking vendetta against a legion bound together by common cause. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Middle of the road combination for me.

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Not sure what the theme would be here. You're taking up arms against your hated legion ... from Eldar? From a necron tomb? Perhaps would be good for Iron Hands in a necron tomb? Not really sure. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well for me!

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan based coated in World Eaters colours

Dreadtober continues! Progress has now included applying the base coat to the Leviathan dreadnought to bring out the legion identity! As can be seen, I've settled on World Eaters here. 

In addition to the base coat of blues, whites, and iron, I have also started to pick out the recesses using Guilliman flesh. This is deliberately sloppy in application. As well as going into the recesses of the armour, there's also a stain around these recesses which will accentuate the dirty / "in action" vibe that I'm aiming for with this miniature. 

The next step will be to get some World Eaters decals in place before progressing to some edge highlights and other fun stuff.