Horus Heresy 3e Review: Moritat, and Mortalis Moritat

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Move, shoot, destroy, repeat.

Background.

Moritats are lone killers within the legions. Some are regarded as outcasts without honour. Others are welcomed for their death dealing but casually shunned. All have some amazing skills with short ranged weapons which reminds me of so-called "gun kata" (look up the movies with this in if you've not seen them - you're welcome).

Strengths. 

BS=6 is very strong to begin with. The Firestorm special rule means that your volley attacks are never snap shots either. Hence this guy is deadly at short range. 

You get to have a pair of overcharged volkite serpentas which can be upgraded to a pair of overcharged plasma pistols. Either works very well. 

Their jump packs get you to where you need to be quickly and you basically follow the plan and shoot at short range. 

The Mortalis Moritat follows the same pattern, but is on foot and therefore slightly cheaper. 

Weaknesses. 

The overload rule is the most obvious weakness here. Beware! I also missed the old "chain" rule, but hey, it was in need of changing I think! 

The Mortalis Moritat is also cheap, but honestly the lack of jump pack should have reduced the points cost further in the Legacy Units. 

Builds. 

Moritat, 2 Overcharged Volkite Serpentas (95 points).

Good enough to work very well.

Moritat, 2 Overcharged Plasma Pistols, Melta Bombs (110 points).

With plasma, you might be tempted to take on units which can also be affected by melta bombs, hence why I've selected them here. 

Mortalis Moritat, 2 Overcharged Plasma Pistols, Melta Bombs (100 points). 

Honestly, for the points cost, just take the jump pack regardless. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Praevian

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded up.

Background.

Every legion has a complement of robots in its vast stores, whether they are planet side or ship bound. The robots were either taken on the battlefield, donated by Forge Worlds, or are otherwise relics. Regardless of origin, they are looked after by the Praevian who then unleash them when the time is right. 

Strengths. 

Arguably the main reason to take a Praevian is that you want to bring along a batch of robots that you would not otherwise be permitted to do so. This is accomplished by the Master of Automata special rule that lets you bring a unit of Castellex - battle maniple or destructor maniple. You ditch the Cybernetica trait and replace it with Bonded Automata. You can also join a unit of Automata and nothing bad happens to their advanced characteristics because of this. Personally, I think this is very fluffy and I can see this as a gateway to building a Mechanicum force. 

The other accessories are just icing on the cake such as a cyber familiar and the vital cortex controller. They also gain feel no pain which will keep them alive longer and battle smith which is similarly nice to have. 

Weaknesses. 

In all honesty, this unit is good for its points cost and will allow you to field some robots if you wanted them. There's no drawbacks beyond taking up a slot on the force organisation chart and I can see strong benefits for doing this if you are tilting (e.g.) towards Iron Hands or even Iron Warriors. But who cares - every legion has robots, so why not see if you can't bring some World Eaters or Space Wolves robots to battle to forge a truly unique narrative?

Builds. 

There are very few upgrades available. Pistol upgrades are fine, but there's probably not much incentive if you are surrounded by your pet robots. Perhaps a hand flamer is nice for defensive purposes if your legion armoury doesn't have anything better. The melta bombs could also come in useful. Hence:

Praevian, Hand Flamer, Melta Bombs (105 points).

Again though, the non-upgraded version is very good and shouldn't be overlooked.  

Painted Lorgar Conversion

The full conversion of Lorgar, now painted!

The full conversion has the spirit hosts scattered around the base of Lorgar and seemingly being summoned from the pure willpower. These ghostly apparitions have been painted in a gradient from hex wraith green through to more blue and green contrast paints down to a blue and black mixture. This gives them a very striking and peculiar appearance which hints at a daemonic origin, rather than merely something from the graveyard. 

The greens are reflected in the candle light as well as the runes engraved on the stonework for Lorgar. This has been achieved by inking white into the grooves followed by the hex wraith green to give it the appearance of glowing out of the stonework as the spirits orbit around Lorgar.

As for the Primarch himself, I have chosen to go with a slightly alternate paint scheme. The usual paint scheme is in the grey slate colours. But here I have gone for red contrast paint suggestive of way later in the Heresy. It is accented by the original slate grey as well as selected gold-yellow panels on the knees and elsewhere to provide a visual contrast.

Naturally, his head is painted in gold! This has been followed up by careful application of Colchisian runes onto his shaved skull as is fitting for his lore. On the rear of his cape, I have applied some more runes that I had spare from a decal sheet. 

Very pleased with this! I think my long term goal is to now try to collect most of the Primarchs and get them painted. But this will be a very long term goal indeed due to costs (unless any of you want to Buy Me A Coffee -- see link to the right / below!).

 

 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Raven Guard Deliverers Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars, rounded down. They do, indeed, deliver. But for the points, you would be better off with a Warmonger character combined with regular terminators. I really want to like them more than I do.

Background.

The Deliverers are the remains of the Terrans within the legion and trained with the Luna Wolves under Horus himself prior to Corax being found. Finding reward with the Justaerin they were subsequently shunned by Corax since terminators did not truly fit in with the Raven Guard's new modus operandi. Not honoured like they used to be, some declared for Horus in the wars that followed whereas others stayed with Corax, if only to die a worthy death and prove their worth to the Raven Lord.

Strengths. 

Fundamentally, these men are two wound WS=T=5 terminators with 2+/4++ saves. They have a high degree of customization available to them as well.

What really stands out here though is the in-built deep strike special rule. This is very rare and cannot be overlooked. Place them right, at the right time, and they can deliver (sic) the game to you potentially. Vanguard (3) is also amazing. 

Weaknesses. 

Don't deploy them with Corax. End of. You get -1 to reserve rolls when he is also in reserves, and Corax can't join them anyway. 

I honestly see two primary routes to builds for them: ranged later game teleportation, and transported on land raiders / Spartans into position. 

I want to be clear about the former case though: a Warmonger character with regular terminators is much more points cost efficient. 

Builds.

15 Deliverers, 3 Reaper Autocannons, 4 Chain Fists (700 points).

Later game teleportation squad for your shooting pleasure. No need to take 15, even 10 or 5 will suffice quite nicely to be very honest and will be much cheaper in terms of the points cost (the points cost here is exceptionally steep!). 

5 Deliverers, 1 Reaper Autocannon, 2 Chain Fists (250 points).

A watered down version of the above. 

5 Deliverers, 1 Multi-Melta, 4 Combi-Meltas (270 points).

Almost unique in the game: teleport in and wreck some armour. Take chain fists for extra damage to taste. This is the build that is likely most viable for you. 

5 Deliverers, All with Raven Talons (265 points).

For filling up your land raider. Or teleporting very close to the enemy held objective. Again here, the points cost doesn't add up since regular terminators do it more efficiently, and if you're using a transport you have wasted your teleport. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Dark Fury Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Excellent melee unit. 

Background.

A decapitation strike unit to mirror the darker Raptors fielded by the Night Lords, except they are much more disciplined and largely on the loyalist side of the conflict per se.

Strengths. 

Two wounds, movement of 14, and the Corvid pattern jump packs makes for a swift and deadly unit that can be set up and then rapidly deployed into position for at minimum a turn 2 charge I would anticipate.

The Corvid raven talons help to slice and dice very effectively, and they also get precision on a 6+ to boot. Deep strike and them being anti-grav is just the icing on the cake really. 

Weaknesses. 

They don't really have many customization options. At first glance the points cost might seem a bit steep, but when you get into combat they can and do shine. 

Builds.

10 Dark Furies, including 2 Choosers of the Slain, both with Melta Bombs (350 points). 

The maximum squad is my recommendation here. The ability to take 2 characters in a squad is actually subtle, but really strong. Giving them melta bombs each provides options against tank(ier) units. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Mor Deythan Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The shining light of the Raven Guard rules - they are good!

Background.

These are the shadow masters of the Raven Guard. They have inherited something of their Lord's ability to slip unnoticed even in plain sight. They are also the ancient remnants of the Lycaean uprising, and rarely admit new members into their ranks, thus at the outset of the heresy they are rare sight.

Strengths. 

With 2 wounds, these are grizzled veterans of the legion. Their native BS is 5, but this can be increased once per game via the Fatal Strike special rule to give them BS+2 so long as they have not moved in the previous movement phase. 

Combine this with Infiltrate of 8, and you have a recipe for making quite the mess of your enemy. 

They come with nemesis bolt guns as standard, but as per the update in the Legacies release, they have the full range of options available to them, including melta guns for an alpha strike where needed. The cameleoline will certain help them stay alive as well. 

Weaknesses. 

The 3+ save isn't amazing for such a unit. Hence my view on them remains as it has been: use Fatal Strike early and get the most use of it you possibly can. 

Builds.

6 Mor Deythan, 4 Combi-Melta, 2 Melta guns (235 points).

My favourite set up! I steal them as well with the Alpha Legion on occasion. 

10 Mor Deythan, all with nemesis bolt guns (325 points).

Take melta bombs on the Shade as a deterrent if you feel the need. A back line and long range shooting option. 

9 Mor Deythan, 3 Volkite Chargers, 6 Combi-Volkite (355 points).

Volkite: go big or go home. You won't have many enemies left at BS=7 thanks to Fatal Strike. And probably not many friends either - just to be clear. This is deadly.  

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Kaedes Nex

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars - rounded up. Expensive, but effective. 

Background.

If there was ever a space marine that should have been part of the Night Lords instead of the Raven Guard, it is Nex. He was a condemned criminal on Kiavahr but found his pardon with Corax who offered him a new life so long as he only targeted prey that Corax selected. And so it began. Nex is obsessed with the hunt and the kill. He is a murderer and a very skilled one at that. Despite being a Moritat, he is shunned actively by everyone in the Raven Guard as an ill omen. Good job he likes it like that.

Strengths. 

Nex's BS is 6. And nothing can change that. Snap shots? Nope. His BS=6. He is the Blood Crow and doesn't do changes to his BS. In addition, any shrouded test is at a maximum of 6+. This combines to make him a potentially deadly shot.

So let's look at his weapons: a pair of Kiavahr looted fulcrum hand cannons. They are S=6 with an impressive firing rate, but only at 12 inches (good job he has infiltrate=8). He can and will cause damage with these thanks to breaching, but also don't overlook the Stun ability of these weapons - excellent! In close combat, he also gets to wield these at an impressive AP=2 with Shred as well. 

He has other equipment like Cameleoline and melta bombs, but really, his talent is to set up close and explode with those fulcrum hand cannons. 

Weaknesses. 

With a 3+ save and 3 wounds, he might go down fast. But. In this edition, he can at least join other squads which I recommend if you are infiltrating.

He is also a specialist, rather than a true command figure. Hence zero challenges for him. But this is actually a distinct advantage. Let others take on challenges whilst his AP=2 close combat skills whittle down the enemy. This is rather good!

Overall.

Although the points cost is rather high for Nex, his utility is strong. Take with another infiltrating squad and set up to open fire. Then charge in as soon as possible. Let another character take on any challenges, whilst Nex destroys the rest of the squad. A good deal, but still a bit overpriced and vulnerable to sniping. Yet, he also has precision shots, so perhaps not such a worry. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Corvus Corax

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. A weak primarch when contextualized against his brothers. But still a primarch. 

Background.

Brought up on Lycaeus, a decaying natural satellite of Kiavahr, he instilled a revolution in the slave-like mine workers of this Forge world. It worked. And from there he became synonymous with granting freedom to the oppressed. And more than this, he carried with him the warp-born ability to slip unnoticed even in plain sight. He also has very pale skin and deep black eyes which give his a striking ghostly appearance. 

Strengths. 

Although his WS=7, the rest of the stat line is filled with 6's which makes him one of the weakest primarchs in the game physically. At least his pinions make up for this with a movement rate of 16 which could enable very early close combat for him, and at a position of his choosing which should be considered a major asset. His cameleoline gives him shrouded which will help with not taking ranged damage in the short time you try to get into combat. 

His side arms (wrath and justice) are arcane and gives an impressive fire rate of 6 coupled with breaching and S=5. Don't forget to use them. The whip he carries is only S=3, but goes at I=10 which is impressive. But you don't really want to be using it even if the damage is 2 and it has breaching. Instead you will be relying on the Corvidine Talons lightning claws which provide 2 more attacks at I=7 and AP=2. These are only 1 damage though, but they do have critical hits at 6+. So on balance, they will likely slice and dice their way through lesser opponents, but will still struggle against other primarchs who have better access to damage=2 sources. 

Of course, he does come with eternal warrior like his brothers, as well as deep strike, but his special rule of The Shadowed Lord enables him to exit combats he is otherwise losing. The downside is that you are forced to use that bullwhip to do so and got some hits in. 

As sire of the Raven Guard, he grants primes if 4 troops slots are filled with tactical squads or assault squads. In addition, in turn 1, all Raven Guard gets move through cover which is nice, but can be situational based on the terrain in play and where you want to get to. 

Weaknesses. 

He is a weak primarch when stacking him up against his brothers. This doesn't mean you shouldn't engage, but Alpharius should kill you statistically. Good job you have an escape route.  

Overall.

The points cost is very reasonable. And despite what I've written above, remember that Corax is still a primarch, and still crazy deadly. He just needs to look out for fights against his brothers that he risks everything in. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Raven Guard Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Solid and average.  

Background.

Smashed and betrayed on the sands of Istvaan 5, the Raven Guard fought a battle for their very survival before they were picked up by their brothers over 90 days later. Their latter actions in the heresy became muted, but not for lack of trying. Corax even gained knowledge from the Emperor about gene crafting, but only created monster for his legion instead of the fresh troops that he desperately needed. Splintered segments of the legion became part of the shattered legions, and they inflicted serious losses against the traitors as best as they could, including the Perfect Fortress, as well as saving the Space Wolves at Yarant. 

Armoury. 

Third edition brings back the bulk of their armoury. 

Ravens Talons is a free replacement for lightning claws that bags the Impact special rule for I+1 which makes it a no-brainer upgrade. 

Corvid Pattern Jump Pack gives not only M=14, but also a free pass for dangerous terrain and a maximum Bulky rule of 3. Might as well take them. 

Wraiths is the special rule for prime advantage which shows how their gene father passed along his gift for moving unseen. This one is tricky to wrap your head around. If they rush, they can then make a willpower check which if successful means that enemy charges against them are disordered. But if failed, then the unit becomes stunned. This is wildly risky and from a rules point of view just not justified. Only do it with a WP=10 commander present, and then even then you'll probably think twice. It is too situational really. I doubt it will see much play sadly. Swing and a miss from the rules creators. 

Tactica. 

Shadow Walkers means that your units are only suffering snap shots at them from >18 inch range. This is a massive change to previous editions. Yes, it is super powerful. But. On the other hand. If you are facing off against the World Eaters who want to close the gap immediately (or similar), it is really no advantage at all. Bizarrely for the Raven Guard, it is now probably better to have massive gun lines and bulky dreadnoughts than up close sneaky infantry conducting an alpha strike (but again: your fluffy World Eaters opponents don't care about your special rule, so it won't be an advantage at all. Strange days. 

Gambit.  
Decapitation Strike causes you to have 1 attack which if successful is followed up by the rest of your attacked without bothering about focus rolls. Combined with a big nasty close combat weapon, this is actually a really powerful gambit and one that you should be using at the outset. Very strong and reliable, unlike most of the above. 

Additional Detachments. 
Decapitation Cadre gives 4 slots that have to be filled with recon marines (2), or veteran assault squads and dark fury squads (2). It's passable, but not excellent.  

Advanced Reaction. 
Shadow Veil lets you move a distance equal to your initiative when being shot at and grants shrouded at 5+. This is good and potentially makes an opponent waste their shots (in extremis), but likely gives you that 5+ shrouded save (more reliably). 

The Raven Guard are a figurative shadow of themselves in Third Edition. Against some opponents (gun lines), they will actually be really powerful. Against others (close assault), much less so. Fundamentally, this is why they get 3/5 stars from me. Solid enough against mid-tier armies but nothing stands out beyond the gambit. 

Primarch Conversions - Lorgar

When Morathi was released for Age of Sigmar, there was a notable up-tick in the community of hobbyists using the lower half of the snake and combining it with the resin Fulgrim to make the ascended Primarch. I've seen a small number of other conversions over the years such as Corax wielding a heavy bolt gun and lacking his pinions (cf., First Edition and the sands of Istvaan). But I've not seen too many people have a kit bash of Lorgar. 

So here's my interpretation.

Lorgar's left hand can be rotated and re-positioned in a reasonably lossless manner to have him look like he is either gesturing, or holding something. This is exactly what I've done with the resin here and I have positioned the palm face up (frankly the cape is much more hassle than going this if I'm honest - I had to pin the cape). 

In his open left hand, I have added some Age of Sigmar night haunt spirit hosts. There's some green stuff added to give the spirit a smooth tail end, but otherwise the conversion is actually rather straight forward. 

The idea here is that Lorgar is not merely his early crusade self, but more mid to late Heresy era. Perhaps even a more ascended form where he has let rip with his psychic powers (cf., First Edition, and his ascended form). Here we see him either summoning some daemonic forms, or being surrounded by a daemonic tutelary. He has long been in alignment and allied with the darker powers and is regularly summoning and binding them to his will.

In Third Edition, he gets to directly summon Daemons which is a nice touch (more Word Bearer reviews eventually - promise). Hence I think this sort of interpretation still works very nicely! This represents my first Primarch conversion and I actually quite like it. 

Wargames Gallery: Primarch Duel

Corax and Alpharius (maybe Omegon) face off against each other on a bridge that somehow holds both of their weight.

For those wanting spoilers: Alpharius wins. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Master of Signals

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. A reliable way to bring a command vox relay. 

Background.

Gifted in ranged communications, and most importantly having the equipment with them, the Master of Signals is reliably able to identify the weak spot of the enemy and press home advantages. They can also reinforce against enemy assaults. 

Strengths. 

The entire reason to take a Master of Signals in third edition is to get hold of the Command Vox Relay. 

This device gives you a +1 to reserve rolls which is excellent - but only if you are using reserves. 

Further, it can give Line (1) or Vanguard (1) on a successful Intelligence check. Which you are likely to pass since it is set to 10. 

Otherwise, they are WS=5=BS, along with 3 wounds. 

Weaknesses. 

They are a bit pricey, and if you are not running reserves, they won't feature in your army roster. It is as simple as that. They used to be a lot more attractive in previous editions thanks to Orbital Bombardment and I long and wish for that to return. 

Builds. 

Only pistol upgrades can be taken here, and if I'm honest the naked version is going to do just fine. Its only the Command Vox Relay that will make you want to take this model. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Vigilator

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Excellent and relatively cheap ranged character. 

Background.

Sourced directly from the best of the recon squads, the Vigilators are the true marksmen of the legions. More than this, they are also the ears on the ground and the scouts who get the lay of the land before the main attack. 

Strengths. 

BS=7 is very attractive indeed.

They carry a Nemesis rifle which gives them an impressive 48 inch range along with S=6 shots that come with breaching, pinning, as well as precision. This combination is terrific. Not only can you snipe half the time, but getting to apply pinning from turn 1 is a very good move as well!

They come with a native infiltrate of 9 which means you can set up almost at will. But you really probably don't want to be too close. Set up in the middle perhaps where you have height and range to last a few turns before someone targets you. The 2+/5++ save is reasonable here as well to help keep you alive. Also don't forget your Smoke Screen where applicable. 

Weaknesses. 

For the points cost, I can't really fault a vigilator. Hence if ranged sniping is your favourite play, then this is almost a "must" character, and he is also much cheaper than the likes of Exodus. 

Builds. 

No builds are available: there are no upgrades to take unless your legion specific rules allow it. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Legion Champion

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. Rounded down. Savage close combat character. 

Background.

Some of the best that any given legion has to offer. These are the swordsmen of the space marine legions and they carry with them not only deadly weaponry, but also a significant quantum of pride and honour for the legion as they march forth. They deliberately seek out enemy commanders to take down - close and personal - to bring the Imperial Truth closer to home. 

Strengths. 

With WS=6 as base, the champion of the legion will want to get into close combat as quickly as possible (so remember a transport solution or take one of the Legacy versions with a jump pack or mounted). 

The must always take part in challenges due to the Never Back Down special rule. Other than that, they come with a Paragon Blade to help them out which is very nice indeed. 

Weaknesses. 

Upgrades are very limited - only a combi-melta or melta bombs. Neither of which is especially appealing overall. Secondly, you might want to consider if a named legion character does the job better (some named characters seriously outshine even a legion champion). 

Builds. 

Champion with Jump Pack (135 points).

My personal favourite, but of course even a naked Champion is a threat if you have a transport and a retinue. Take a jetback alternatively for 155 points. 

Champion in Cataphractii Terminator Armour (135 points).

A nice addition to a land raider!

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Lernaean Terminator Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Had a glow up compared to second edition and now a very serious option to take.

Background.

The Alpha Legion elites are hardly known outside their legion. The Lernaean terminators make it so because there are usually no survivors! Their job is to be the crushing and grinding jaws of the many headed hydra that the Alpha Legion is and are fearsome in assault. 

Strengths. 

Terminators in Cataphractii armour with WS=5, and T=5 make this unit survivable and strong. 

Significantly in this edition, they have hatred of all Legiones Astartes. They. Hate. Them. All. No favours here! They also have line (1) which makes them very valuable in principle for the Elites slot. 

Their load outs come with volkite chargers and power axes as standard. But they get a wide range of possible upgrades including combi bolters, a wide range of power weapons, lightning claws, and a choice of heavy flamer, conversion beam cannon, reaper autocannon, and plasma blaster for every 5 models you have in the squad.

Weaknesses. 

The load out has changed since Second Edition. Gone is the sergeant's venom sphere. And the larger Volkite weaponry. Boo. They also cost a lot of points. 

Builds.

5 Lernaeans, 1 Conversion Beamer (265 points). 

Sit on the objective whilst blasting things at the opposite side of the board. 

5 Lernaeans, 1 power fist, 1 plasma blaster, Harrower with chain fist (280 points). 

Sadly it is no longer an option to take an EXTRA power dagger instead of upgrading your power weapon. You only get the upgrade. However, this squad is still powerful and multi-purpose. 

10 Lernaeans, 2 Autocannons, 4 power fists, Harrower with thunder hammer (555 points). 

Getting expensive here, but this is an all round squad which can be remarkably deadly from both a shooting and a close combat point of view. Goodbye Volkite Culverins. I had already modelled you, but perhaps I can change them to autocannons?

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Exodus

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Solid and does the job, just a bit over costed.

Background.

The Alpha Legion has an amazing marksman who seem to go by the code of Exodus. Whether there is actually just one of them that appears in multiple places, or many, is anyone's guess, but the latter probably applies! 

Strengths. 

BS=8 is amazingly high for the game and outside of Primarchs is almost unheard of. He gets infiltrate (9) to get to be deployed where you need him, and is shrouded (5+) as well as carries important utilities like venom spheres (easy to overlook) and a power dagger. 

The key item here though is The Instrument - a long range sniper rifle. This can give you 3 S=6 shots with precision at 4+ for rapid firing, or a single S=8 shot at AP=2 for when you feel confident of picking out your target - or just wanting to cause pinning to be honest. 

Weaknesses. 

Not being able to join other units is a negative. The 3+ save is weak, but you do have an invulnerable, shrouded, and smokescreen to aid survival if needed. 

The main weakness for me though is the points cost. It is very steep here and only barely offset by ability level. Yes, he can probably hold his own in a fight, it has to be said. But you really want him sniping everything. And he is not unique either, nor has an allegiance which although nice, you probably won't want two of them. I just feel other units can do this job better overall. 

Overall.

Expensive. Effective. Yet there remains other choices. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Headhunter Kill Team

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Good and playable.

Background.

The Alpha Legion might have created seeker squads in public, but behind closed doors, they developed the headhunter kill teams and took the idea to its absurd extreme. As you do. They get behind enemy lines with prized war gear and cause havoc. Take your pick of attack vectors. 

Strengths. 

Infiltrate at 9 inches is clearly the most strong asset of this squad. They want to get up front and personal as quickly as possible. On top of this, they gain hatred of commanders which means that they need to be hunting them down actively to make best use of this rule. And let's not neglect Precision at 4+. This is deadly. 

Banestrike combi-bolters at BS=5 is really rather nice - just factor in that you have a fire rate of 4 on these beasts of bolt guns and the sheer rate of fire will do the rest thanks to breaching. The power daggers are the icing on the cake. 

Worth also mentioning here (because I always forget) that Headhunters also get the Smokescreen trait. Use it. 

Weaknesses. 

With 1 wound each and regular power armour, this unit is an expensive glass cannon. You need to think clearly about positioning, screening, approach, and then overwhelming fire power and whether you even want to get in to close combat. Which to be clear: you might well want to, particularly against other 3+ armour save units. 

Builds.

10 Headhunters, Prime with Power Fist (240 points). 

The large version of the squad for ranged shooting, and close combat (remember: I am Alpharius). 

5 Headhunters, 1 Multi-Melta, Prime with Power Fist (160 points).

General purpose squad. Precision shots can melt your chosen enemy with a bit of luck here. Swap out the multi melta for a heavy bolter to taste. 

5 Headhunters, 4 combi-melta guns, 1 multi-melta, all with melta bombs (210 points).

A risky melta-cide squad. 

5 Headhunters, all with melta bombs (150 points).

A much cheaper variant of the above. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Saboteur

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounding down. A glass cannon.

Background.

The Alpha Legion has a large cadre of specialists whose job it is to disrupt the enemy. This might be via infiltration, or assassination, or generally causing a nuisance. Little is beneath contempt for the legion if it works. 

Strengths. 

With BS=WS=5 and 3 wounds, the character is somewhat above average but nothing really to note given that his special characteristics are a little low. 

What stands out here is the equipment list and the False Colours special rule. Under this special rule, the Saboteur cannot be the target of a shooting attack or a charge. At least until the Saboteur attacks, or an enemy unit gets within six inches and passes an intelligence test. This is interesting, but it makes him a glass cannon and rather vulnerable if you do not manage to have the first turn, or get wiped out with a reaction. 

The equipment list comes with a banestrike shot gun which is a bit average, venom spheres (yay), melta bombs (useful), a power dagger (useful), as well as infiltrate within 6 inches (amazing). 

What I would suggest here is maybe buying a plasma pistol and shooting it on maximal to take something out. Mind you, the shot gun does have stun which can be nice. I think here you just need to pick out your target carefully. Something for the melta bombs to target? Something to shoot at? Something to charge at?

Weaknesses. 

Will Power = 7 feels low to me. This is supposed to be a character, not a line trooper. 

They won't last long though. They are alone and out there to disrupt or occupy the opponent's first turn. 

Overall.

Treat them as the troll unit that they are. Do not expect them to survive long. Your only job is to cause some initial damage until the rest of the army arrives - perhaps this is a squad of Headhunters just behind them (they have infiltrate 9). Equally, if you have more than one Saboteur advancing on the same target, that makes for a very interesting (if expensive) scenario. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Armillus Dynat

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded Up. Dynat is not quite the same as he was in previous editions. 

Background.

A relatively anonymous character who, in other legions, might actually be rather well known and celebrated in my opinion. Dynat is a harrow master for the Alpha Legion. He has been at a number of important engagements before and during the Heresy and likes to lead from the front. Literally. 

Strengths. 

The stat line here is similar to a Praetor. What makes Dynat stand out a little bit is the combination of equipment and special rules. 

For the special rules, his harrow master rule allows him and his (non bulky) unit to gain Infiltrate (12). This is reasonable, but a downgrade from second edition. He is literally going to be out there at the front on his own with another squad. Better make it a good squad. And probably close combat orientated?

The equipment is nice. I'm going to point out both venom spheres and phosphex bombs to begin with - these are easily overlooked but very nice. The Prince and The Prophet have had a work over in this edition as well. The Prince gets Breaching (5+) and if you get three+ hits with it, you get to thunderstrike with the Prophet. Hence there's a bit of a gamble here. You could get lucky, but The Prophet does have a better stat line except for the I-2 and A-1 penalty associated with it. S=7 and AP2 plus Damage=2 is tempting enough to just swing with it. And, to be honest, if I am Alpharius is played, then you will probably go with the Prophet in the first round regardless. 

Weaknesses. 

Oddly, Dynat's Willpower and Intelligence are a bit lower than a regular Praetor. This is a very peculiar design choice in my opinion. 

The lack of infiltrating more units is a downgrade from Second edition as well. To be clear, he is still a very reasonable threat in close combat, but I feel he is now more of a distraction carnifex, and not a very big one either. Strong enough to damage stuff, but not actually over the top deadly like characters from other legions. 

Overall.

Not bad. Not entirely amazing either. A leader who goes ahead of the main troops and causes damage in close combat or gets a squad into place to fire on turn one. I might be tempted to take some disintegrator rifles here perhaps? Thinking out loud only in the context of the new weapons in Third Edition. Or perhaps a Rewards of Treachery squad of some sort? Lots of choices and tactics to consider with this one. 

Final note, as with Alpharius, Dynat similarly does not have a pre-defined allegiance. This is great touch once more and very welcome. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Alpharius

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. Rounded Up. Alpharius is once again very strong, but not in ways many people might initially guess. 

Background.

Alpharius. Omegon. Someone Else. No One. The Hydra. The Threefold Serpent. The Final Configuration. All Lies. 

Beneath the lies, the double speak, the duplicity, and the mystery is something much more. A master mind more cunning and insidious than his brothers, and one that works outside any regular framework to bring victory. Applying critical force at the weakest points whilst misdirecting everyone else, Alpharius' loyalties were never entirely certain and he operated a very flat structure to take advantage of the natural intellect of his recruits to the Alpha Legion, or perhaps the effects of his gene seed. Oh, and if you drank his blood, then you realized the full history of his plotting and ambition and will to power and survival. 

Strengths. 

Let's start with the stat line which is similar to previous editions. He has a solid WS=BS=I=7 which stands him in reasonable stead. Most are 6's otherwise which at first glance is an issue (especially S and T). He does get an extra pip in Intelligence though which I thought was very pleasing to see - if rather situational - compared to most of his other brothers. 

But let's progress quickly to the Pale Spear. This necron device (I assume it is necron and I've never heard anything to the contrary, so I'm sticking to my head canon) has been enhanced in this edition. It is AP=2 which is strong, yes. But. Here, we also get S+1 (taking his attacks up to a valuable S=7), I+1 (taking his initiative up to a very competitive I=8 against many of his brothers - you will still use I am Alpharius as your opening gambit though). Most importantly, he also has damage=2 now. This gives him more than a fighting shot. But its better. Armourbane and phage against strength combine with critical hit (5+) to truly take his close combat prowess up further notches. In short: he is no longer the outright weakest primarch any longer. He will outclass probably at least Lorgar now! Probably. Horrah! And you know what, I had a challenge recently against Angron which he won. He's still going to lose against Horus and others though. I digress - let's get back on track. 

His ranged side arm, The Hydra's Spite, remains strong with S=7 and breaching on 4+. Try not to forget that he also has venom spheres as standard too. 

Everywhere and Nowhere provides Alpharius with the means to redeploy at the start of the battle. This can potentially be game changing. But you can't go outside your own deployment zone (boo). I think having a choice on each flank is good here, but also riding up the centre is an option. Depends on your terrain configuration. 

Sire of the Alpha Legion gives prime slots to troops if you fill troop slots with tactical squads or assault squads which is appropriate. The ability to gain outflank from reserve rolls is okay, but not very powerful reserve manipulation ability, nor an army multiplier that I might have naively wanted. 

I want to briefly mention two of his traits as well. He has the smoke screen trait, which gives shrouded that can be very nice and useful. 

But. 

Get this. 

He DOES NOT HAVE AN ALLEGIANCE. You can play Alpharius as a Loyalist, or as a Traitor. Rejoice brothers! 

Weaknesses. 

Alpharius and/or Omegon are strictly better than second edition at the price of losing AP=1 on the pale spear (which is offset by other gains like 5+ critical hits) and some other special rules. The only mildly arguable negative here is that Alpharius is only minimally over-costed now. Perhaps by 10 points or so. You know what. There's not much in it. I'll say he is probably on par with his ability levels in Third Edition and not 50-100 points over costed like in Second. Yet he is certainly not the force multiplier he was in First. I miss him being a force multiplier which he honestly should be. 

Overall.

Alpharius is better than his recent incarnation in Second Edition. You can actually win against other Primarchs using Alpharius now (eternal warrior at 2 certainly helps this). I would know - I am Alpharius. Are you Alpharius too?

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Alpha Legion Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. Rounded up. My boys had a glow up and they're back in business in Third Edition. 

Background.

I am Alpharius. 

You are Alpharius. 

I am occasionally Omegon too. 

No one is Sigmar. 

This is all lies. 

One of three legions raised in isolation from the others, the Alpha Legion was ever about ghost operations and uncertain allegiances. In the Heresy they proved their worth to the Warmaster at many different battles and campaigns as he saw in them a rather unique weapon. Appearing almost out of nowhere during the Great Crusade, they were one of the largest legions on record at the start of the Heresy (unknown to either side) and as the Heresy went on, they grew more powerful - even in the face of defeats. More than this, their loyalties are left as an open question and even within the legion there was a pseudo civil war taking place.

Armoury. 

The Armoury retains the critical elements that the Alpha Legion is known for. 

Venom Spheres give you access to poisoned blasts at shortish range for a very cheap points cost to commanders and champions. Worth taking. 

Power Daggers extend this to even sergeants to replace regular power weapons for free. This gives you breaching at 5+ at the expense of lower S, but I+2. Overall I think this is well worth taking. 

Banestrike bolt guns and combi-bolt guns are also on offer from the Legacies update. They breach on a 6+ at the expense of a slightly reduced range. They are a permanent addition to the combi-weapons list which makes a lot of units able to take them. Handy, but the points cost can add up quickly. 

Tactica. 

Lies and Obfuscation carries forward the core trait from second edition of the legion members being 2 inches further away. When I saw this in second edition, I was dismayed at how they'd replaced the mutable tactics. I still am. But this works well in third edition and is potentially even stronger thanks to the changes in the charge range distances. 

Gambit.  
I am Alpharius could well be a contender for the strongest legion gambit in the game. Seriously. There is no downside and you should be using it every time on your first combat round. Setting your opponent's initiative to 1 until the end of the strike step is simply amazing. I cannot underscore enough how awesome this one is. Plus - you get to say out loud "I am Alpharius". I mean, what more could you actually want?! 

Additional Detachments. 
Headhunter Leviathal brings in four slots - 2 elites and 2 recon, but the elites must be either Seekers or Headhunters, but both are primes. This is nice. Fluffy too. And flexible. Makes me want to buy more Seekers and Headhunters - can't lie. 

Advanced Reaction. 
Smoke and Mirrors is different in third edition and forces enemies shooting at a unit to take precision shots on a 6+. You don't know which one is Alpharius after all - the command structure is hidden. Interesting, fluffy, but also a little situational. 

Rewards of Treachery. 

What would the Alpha Legion be without being able to take other units from other legions? This has been a core ability since First Edition. And here, the terrible implementation in Second Edition is done away with and replaced with something much more worthy. For the price of a Command Prime slot, you get to have an additional slot of any battlefield role from any legion except high command, command, warlord, unique, or Lord of War. Simple, and very, very effective. Gone is the nonsense of only having 1 type of unit that you are able to take. Gone is the restriction of a maximum of 3 of that same type of unit. All you need is the command prime slots. Just replace their trait with Alpha Legion and you are ready to go. 

The only real issue here is which unit to select. There are MANY good choices. Examples include but are not limited to Iron Warriors Siege Tyrant Terminators, Salamanders Firedrake Terminators, Iron Hands Morlock Terminators, Raven Guard Mor Deythan, and perhaps Word Bearers Gal Vorbak. Honestly, there's lots of other choices as well - these are just the ones that popped into my head when writing this. Welcome back to the coils of the hydra everyone. Would love to hear about your favourite unit to snare and why. 

Overall, the Alpha Legion enters third edition in a much better way than Second, even if mutable tactics didn't return from First edition. I am re-invigorated by what I am seeing here, but just wait until I review the rest of the units... the Primarch is going to be the next post.