Horus Heresy 3e Review: Domitar Battle Maniple

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The rules are really good. 

Background. 

A late entry to the mechanicum's strength before the fires of the Heresy would gut everything. The Domitar was designed as a line breaker. Able to smash into enemy lines and tanks alike, their purpose was one of swift engagement and destroying key elements of the enemy.

Strengths.

With 7's in S and T, these are combat beasts that will stick around long enough to cause serious damage to many opponents. The BS and WS is the same as a space marine and with 4 wounds and a good save, they will provide a solid front line. 

They come armed with a Cyclone Missile Launcher as standard. These are handy for the choice between frag, krak, and also flak missiles - the latter being the sky fire option. Hence they provide even a strong ranged threat to all. The domitar fists in melee give AP=3 at S+1 with breaching and armour bane which is good enough to take care of light tanks and many space marine equivalents. And the graviton hammer helps all this along with a variant option. 

A feast of special rules includes fear, vanguard, firing protocols and impact on attacks which is glorious. Add on there fire storm for not having to make snap shots and this beast is a great deal overall.

Weaknesses.

It will explode! The movement rate is 7, which is good enough, but I'd like it faster ideally. Still, you get what you pay for here and it is a very good deal overall. Take them. 

Builds.

There are no build to discuss. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Echidnax Servo Maniple

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 stars, rounded down. Useful repairs, but I want to call them Echidnas. 

Background. 

Drones that follow their master around and are helpful by automating repairs. They also have some basic battle field programming that can help with in close combat or at range when required. 

Strengths.

Weaknesses.

The drones have limited autonomy. Hence if a sniper or similar removes the commander from play, they will just sit there in the same way that rocks do for the rest of the game. Hence they can be quite vulnerable. On the other hand, they are also cheap enough to not get too upset about this possibility. 

Builds.

10 Echidnax, 10 bolt guns (120 points).

Ten members here to make the best use of the battle smith special rule which gets its maximum advantage when 9 or more members of the unit are present.

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Scyllax Guardian Maniple

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The rules are good. 

Background. 

If you drew a Venn diagram of cyborgs, robots, and servitors, then the Scyllax might sit at the intersection and be a bit mistrusted by large parts of the mechanicum for their icky origins. There are claims that over time they gain something of self-awareness despite their minimal organic components. Their purpose is as a Magi's bodyguards and a melee unit. 

Strengths.

With 5's on the stat line in most places, the Scyllax are are strong proposition for the poins cost and like enhanced marines otherwise. 

The come equipped with a combat array for AP=3 with breaching. This is made worse for opponents due to the inherent rad furnace to reduce their toughness. The phased reactor shields are interesting as well for improving the invulnerable save against attacks to 5+. 

Beyond this, there is the option to upgrade with a bolt gun. This is so cheap it is in the category of "why not". 

Weaknesses.

The poinst cost is cheap enough to not be that bothered if they grind to a halt, and they can be effective even with 2 wounds and a 3+ save in many battlefield locations and situations. Obviously stronger in close combat than in ranged shooting - they just need to get there. The "Compact" rule will help if you need to transport them. But even as abalative wounds considering their retinue status, they are useful if not outstanding. 

Builds.

5 Scyllax, 5 bolt guns (135 points).

I selected 5 members only because it gives a final number divisible by 5 when upgrading to bolt guns. Otherwise this is a pretty standard unit. 

 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Arcuitor Magisterium

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars. Lords of the Malagra give excellent bang for the points cost. 

Background. 

In effect, these are the judges of tech-heresy and lords of the Malagra. Over many years they have become as close to the machine god as possible and are known as the grandfathers of the Malagra. Magi in their own rights, they are (socially) powerful and respected. On the battlefield, they are advisors by nature and rarely in command.

Strengths.

It is worth pointing out the WS=6 in the stat line here. This is the epitome of the Malagra - ready for close combat. The rest of the stat line is similar to a Magos, but with I=4 and A=5.

A well placed Arcuitor can cause serious WS and BS issues to nearby enemy units, and this combined with their own stat line makes them a clear threat. Combined with infiltrate, and you have the makings of something quite spectacularly deadly. 

The customisation is strong here, but for full effect the character will need to be kitted out for close combat. 

Weaknesses.

For the points cost, this character is as good as it gets! Hence 5/5 stars from me. 

Builds.

Arcuitor Magisterium, Thunder Hammer, Overcharged Reactors (135 points). 

A baseline build for close combat and buffing.

Arcuitor Magisterium, Thunder Hammer, Overcharged Reactors, Melta Bombs, Rad Grenades, Rad Furnace, Flamer (190 points). 

A more maximal version. The flamer is purely for the tactical status. The rest is mainly achieved through radiation poisoning and the thunder hammer. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Magos

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. Solid choice with or without an Abeyant. 

Background. 

The Magos Dominus fill a gap between the Archmagos Prime and the rest of the army / feuding states / technocracy. They are masters of the cybernetica and build the cortex automata for the Mechanicum. Some are at the very edge of heresy themselves thanks to all the body modifications that they put themselves through, and most are eccentrics and obsessive about their technologies.  

Strengths.

As with the Archmagos, there is a glorious amount of customisation available for the Magos. I will refer readers back to the Archmagos for some general thoughts. 

The stat line here is less than an Archmagos as might be expected: 5's are everywhere, with 4 wounds and WS=4 and I=3. Intelligence is still 9 which is important for commanding Mechanicum and their cyber rites. 

Weaknesses.

WS=4 is an issue for combat, as is I=3. I therefore regard the Magos as more of a support character choice than a full-on commander. 

Builds.

Magos, Conversion Beamer (130 points). 

Very much a ranged character, but I do like it a lot. Add some rites to taste. 

Magos, Abeyant, Rad Furnace, Thunder Hammer, Melta Bombs, Rad Grenades, Overcharged Reactors (200 points). 

A close combat version. The danger here is spending too many points on a single character who is not the archmagos to be honest. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Archmagos

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars. You will be taking one, basically. With or without an Abeyant.

Background. 

These unique individual are the high adepts of the machine cult of the Omnissiah. They have likely upgraded themselves for the purpose of war and might have gone as far as placing their remaining organic components inside the equivalent of a dreadnought. Armed and armoured with the best Forge World available kit, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Strengths.

With sixes in most places on the stat line, the archmagos is already rather powerful and maybe more powerful than a Praetor in some regards. Adding to this are special rules like feel no pain at 5+, battlesmith at 4, and firing protocols. And don't forget the ability to score victory points as well - this implies arming for at least a bit of close range action. 

The Archmagos is also highly customisable. They can take anything from the mechanicum gear and the magos gear. There's a lot to be had there:a cortex controller is almost always going to be useful, augury scanners are optional, cognis-signum is solid, cyber familiars are good, servo-arms are nice, melta bombs to taste, rad grenades are good at close range, nuncio vox is nice if no-one else has them. The rad furnace is attractive, and the machinator array similar. 

Choose from the rites as well (see here). I think players should be thinking about a couple of these regardless of anything else. Other armaments are to taste really. 

Weaknesses.

WS=5 is slightly lower than what is useful for a commander who might like to engage in challenges. 

Beware of spending too many points on the character with attractive upgrades galore!

Builds.

I'll try to provide one build per trait to give some ideas. There are obviously many more besides. And far too many permutations to list. Hence I hope it at least gives some ideas. Abeyants are the obvious upgrade here and also worth taking in any build below. They give T+1 and Command Throne to help with reactions at the price of being bulky and exploding. Worth it. 

Archmagos [Archimandrite], Overcharged Reactors, Chastise the Machine Spirit, Paragon Blade (165 points).

Trying not to spend too many points, but here we are focussed on using Cyber skills mainly. Other things like a cyber familiar are of course usable. 

Archmagos [Cybernetica], Overcharged Reactors, Cogitator Purge, Paragon Blade, Rad Furnace, Rad Grenades (190 points).

Take and hold objectives. Take the melta bombs, nuncio vox and augury scanner to taste.

Archmagos [Lacrymaerta], Fleshknit Protocols, Omega Protocols, Paragon Blade, Rad Furnace (175 points).

To take alongside your flesh and metal creations. 

Archmagos [Myrmidax], Overcharged Reactors, Paragon Blade, Rad Furnace (160 points).

Although you should go close combat, there's a case here for ranged as well - like the following.

Archmagos [Myrmidax], Conversion Beamer (150 points).

An interesting ranged option. A bit of a waste of close combat potential though.

Archmagos [Malagra], Overcharged Reactors, Paragon Blade, Cortex Controller (150 points).

This archmagos is all about positioning to be honest. 

Archmagos [Macrotek], Servo Arm, Machinator Array, Thunder Hammer, Overcharged Reactors (175 points).

Run alongside your tanks. Also a candidate for a conversion beam.

Archmagos [Reductor], Thunder Hammer, Deactivate the Limiters, Unseal the Portal, Melta Gun (175 points).

Reducing things to smaller things. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Cybertheurgy

Cybertheurgy, or cyber spells, are used by models with the Cybertheurgist trait, or cyber sorcerers. In short then, these are the members of the Mechanicum who understand how to manipulate robots, electrical flows, transitors, something approaching AI, and magnetic fields (or similar). They are not warp based magic in the slightest, even though some of the outcomes might seem like they border on those results.

To activate these abilities, an Intelligence test is conducted, with a modifier for the difficulty level (as a negative). Handily, other cybertheurgists can help out if they are in the same unit to give +1 bonueses. Failure leads to feedback which is essentially perils of the warp under a new name. 

There are three common statuses to be aware of that arise from these powers. Quicken gives movement+1 and I+1 (or movement+3 if it lacks intelligence). Fortify gives S+1 and T+1 (or a chosen armour value +1). Guide gives WS+1 and BS+1.  

Standard Rites:

Programming Interrupt gives ones of the three above statuses and can make a free reaction at the cost of removing the status. This is good, and sound, and should be used. 

Cogitator Pulse removes those statuses and inflicts a feedback outcome. Also basic and very reasonable, if situational given the opponent. 

Overcharged Reactors also applies statuses, is easier to cast, and gets removed at the end of the turn. Very basic, and you probably should aim for programming interrupt given an option and some good die rolls. 

Lacrymaerta Rites:

Omega Protocols removes statuses, suffers feedback, and if any models are removed then two more S=6 hits get applied. Essentially and upgrade for Cogitator Pulse. 

Flesh-Knit Protocols gives fortify or quicken. It is a touch easier to cast than Overcharged Reactors. 

Reductor Rites:

Unseal The Portal forces an emergency disembark and inflicts a feedback. Nice, albeit short ranged.

Deactivate Limiters is essentially a long ranged version of Overcharged Reactors. 

Esoteric Rites:

Fury Of Ages is for Myrmidax and gives fortify or guide at short range and low difficulty. 

Chastise The Machine Spirit is for everyone and gives Stunned or Suppressed as well as a feedback. This is good. 

We will cover Machina Malefica distinctly. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Mechanicum Traits

Beginning the reviews of Liber Mechanicum, we first turn to the high tech arcana of the various traits - or factions - within the Mechanicum itself. Players can choose which traits they like, but there are penalties for mixing a commander of one trait with a unit from another. Further, all automata can't control objectives (unless via the Cybernetica trait), make reactions (except if someone has a cortex controller), suffer tactical statuses, or be routed. 

Archimandrite (Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars). 

This is the governing and political faction, broadly speaking. Their core benefit is Cl+1 and Ld+1 which is very nice to have. Significantly, they don't suffer any penalties for joining other factions. For a small points cost, the player can also use 2 Cybertheurgic Rites per turn as well which can be powerful. Their apex detactment has troops with veterans prime advantage selected for them as well as retinues since they can summon the corse of the Forge Worlds power to the front. 

Cybernetica (Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 stars, narrowly rounded up!).

The robot controllers and creators. Any automata unit accompanied by a magos or similar can hold objectives. This one cannot be under-estimated on the battlefield. One model can also be given Paragon of Metal as a prime advantage (Ld+4, Int+4, WP+4, I+1, WS+1) and is counted as a tech priest - this is amazing really. Their apex detachment gives you yet more robots or different force organisation chart slots. 

Lacrymaerta (Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 stars, but rounded down). 

The flesh and metal masters. Your battlesmiths can repair wounds to infantry, walkers, automata, as well as vehicles as normal. Or just add more tech thralls to your unit that you are already in proportionate to your battlesmith value. Interesting! The prime advantage here is for infantry: S+2 and W+1. This turns one unit into a super unit effectively. And the apex detachment is three heavy assault slots to use as Ursarax cohorts. 

Myrmidax (Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars). 

This is the trait of warfare! Models get W+1 and a bunch of special rules such as battle meditation. They become champions too and therefore eligible for challenges. As a gambit, the get an additional die in the focus phase and discard the highest in exchange for a shooting attack. The apex formation are elites with only a single prime advantage. 

Malagra (Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars). 

Effectively the secret police of the Mechanicum! Cause BS-1 and WS-1 in a reasonable range to Mechanicum enemies as you radiate fear into them. Pretty amazing really when placed well. They also come with a gambit which is an Intelligence test to add a battlesmith value to one of WS, S, A, or I which will help. For the Apex detachment, there are three Arcuitor Magisterium units to gain. 

Macrotek (Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars). 

Building things from cities to titans - they have the grandest of plans and visions. They can grant a 6++ to a regular vehicle just by being close to it. The Prime Advantage also gives vehicles AV+1 on the front and sides, Hull Points +2, and an increase of transport capacity by 2. This is solid without being outrageous. Of course, their Apex detachment offers 6 vehicles and you have to select the prime advantage discussed for all of them. 

Reductor (Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars). 

Dissembling things - like enemy fortifications - into ash. The give S+1 to things shooting at buildings or stationary vehicles, or eliminates the use of ShieldWall advanced reaction choice when targeting a unit that otherwise could declare it. The Prime advantage is 5++ and Ld+1 which is solid. They get 3 Thallax cohorts in their Apex detachment. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Castellax Infernus Maniple

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The rules are hot!

Background. 

Built especially for the close quarters of Zone Mortalis, the Infernus configuration of the Castellax replaces the usual melta weaponry with purging incinerators and flamers that are well suited to vaporize entire tight corridors of enemies. 

Strengths. 

The purge incinerator is a template weapon with S=6, breaching and panic. Strictly better than a heavy flamer, but still not with the valuable AP=3 for dealing with space marines. It does, however, have AP=4 which makes it very effective against mortal squads. 

The power blades are good as is the phased refractor shields which augment the already good T=6 and W=4 with a space marine like saving throw. Vanguard and firing protocols round this out. 

Weaknesses. 

No real long range threat. This is a pure flame build with excellent close combat potential. Although I like the incinerator, I did wonder if the multi-melta might still have been preferable? I'm on the fence. 

Builds.
There are no options here to discuss other than the number of Castellax to use in the unit. These extra bodies don't come with a discount, so I'd suggest taking whatever your points cost or build aesthetic wants or needs. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Krios Squadron

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars, rounded down. The rules are reasonably good overall.

Background.

This is probably the final Second Edition review!!! Wow. I'm really surprised that second edition has only lived for three years. Let's see what Third Edition might bring. 

The Krios is a re-print of the Mechanicum entry, but with a new gun option which is the Irradiation Blaster. 

A battle tank that is swift and deceptively skeletal in appearance. Its armour is essentially provided by overlapping power fields and its true origin is unknown. What is known is that it falls outside of the STC constructs and therefore doesn't appear outside of mechanicum forces. 

Strengths.

The main strength of the tank comes from its primary weapon. There are THREE variants now. The first is the lightning cannon which I see as being well able to handle marines and other lighter tanks. The second is the pulsar fusil which is more of a terminator killer overall. The Irradiator Blaster if it gets a penetrating hit on a vehicle will also get a flame hit on the transported content. This is very interesting and unique. But the strength isn't great here. 

Other worthy notes here are the movement rate of 16 which makes it incredibly fast and easy to position.

Weaknesses.

Watch out for the rear armour of 10!

Builds. 

3x Krios, Lightning Cannons (375 points).

In all honesty, the "naked" version is great. I actually don't think the pulsar fusil is quite worth it. Add some hunter killer missiles to taste. The triple tank version is very nice and can take out many targets that you set your sights on short of those all round armour=14 tanks. 

Hours Heresy 2e Review: Decimator

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Good for close combat, but not for ranged.

Background.

Designed as the antidote to the leviathan, the Heresy would see them infused with malevolent warp powers and used for the traitor side. They are much like a dreadnought otherwise!

Strengths.

The stat line reads like a dreadnought and it comes with a suite of special rules such as hammer of wrath (2) and furious charge (2) which help with its core mission. It re-rolls saves against low strength firepower thanks to Malevolent Artifce which means that bolt guns probably will not be taking it down. 

Where it really shines are the decimator claws that it comes with. These are AP=2 with Brutal (3) hitting at S=8 which is impressive and very intimidating.  

Weaknesses.

I do not hold a high regard for the ranged weapons to be very honest. The butcher cannon doesn't pump out enough shots for my tastes but it is sufficient for low value AP tanks arguably, whereas the soul burner is actually okay for softening up a target. Keep to the claws and get in combat as quickly as you can!

Builds.

Decimator, 2 Claws (265 points).

This is the non-upgraded version that is purely focused on close combat and it really shines for this battlefield role. You just have to get there with movement rate=7. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blood Slaughterer

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Reasonable, but not outstanding.

Background.

Line breakers. Carnage. Who else but the World Eaters would have thought to supplement their dreadnoughts with a mechanicum forged bunch of blades that runs quickly to get up close and personal. They are ultimately beasts as judged by their howls as they get close to their targets. Or friends. Its hard to tell.

Strengths.

With a movement rate of 9 inches, the blood slaughterers are relatively quick on the board. The rest of their stat line is good enough and very similar to a boxy dreadnought overall. 

They have some blades, but can replace these with a harpoon. The harpoon is worthwhile just to make your opponent I=1 to be honest. The re-roll on the charge is icing on the cake. The blades on the other hand are passable. 

Special rules like hit and run and furious charge help the model do what it does best. 

Weaknesses.

There's a problem with 2+ armour saves that this model can't do much about beyond rely on its rending rules with the blades. This is unfortunate. And it doesn't have the weight of attacks or brutal to be a massive priority target for your enemy. 

Overall.

A reasonable unit, but not an outstanding unit for what it does. There are probably better choices, but it is fluffy!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Greater Brass Scorpion

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. A very dangerous Lord of War for the traitor mechanicum.   

Background.

Who decided that a mechanized scorpion armed with lots of ranged weapons was a great design? Probably the fevered dreams of traitor Mechanicus is who. Despite the strength of its ranged weapons, those close combat claws are very much favoured and its blood lust is just as legendary.  

Strengths.

Treated as a knight, the scorpion comes with a dangerous array of ranged weapons. These include the scorpion cannon - a shredding, pinning, 9 shot heavy bolter. A pair of hell maw cannons which are flamers with torrent at S=7. Plus a demolisher cannon that also rends. 

If that's not enough those two mechanized claws are amazing. Brutal (2) on its own is great. But the scorpion also has some special rules that make this even worse like rampage and hammer of wrath (four!!). 

The whole thing isn't slow either with a movement rate of 10 which is great for this kind of creature. 

Weaknesses.

Rear armour = 12. That's all I've got under weaknesses. 

Overall.

Your opponents will not like you. Especially those that run dreadnought lists. Or Knight lists. Or frankly most things short of a titan.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Kytan Daemon Engine

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. An excellent Lords of War for those who want an alternative to Khorne dedicated knights.  

Background.

Somewhere between a Ceratus Knight chassis combined with a blood thirster, the Kytan is everything that the demented Taghmata of Sarum could have ever have dreamed of - or had nightmares about. A big choppy axe for chopping things and a quality dakka gun would make even the most jaded Ork weep. 

Strengths.

The gatling cannon is very reasonable here and is similar to the standard castigator armament for comparison. Heavy 18 at S=6 is nothing to be ashamed of even at BS=3. 

The stat line is very reasonable overall, but the stand out is that the weapon skill equals six. This reinforces the primary role of the Kytan: to lunge into combat as quickly as possible. Heedless slaughter will help with this, but the Brutal = 3 axe is where the real shine happens. Combine with special rules like hammer of wrath and rampage, and this is a chaos knight equivalent who is capable of tearing up other armies that don't have an answer to either running out of the way, or an equal counter threat. 

Weaknesses.

You could say BS=3, or the side and rear armour being 12 are a weakness. You may be correct. But you'd also expect the controlling player to get into melee as soon as possible to mitigate all of these facts on the ground! 

Overall.

Really excellent, and capable of near unmatched board control in melee. It is one to watch out for if you are playing against it since it will really (really) hurt. This is also the reason why I'm giving it a rare 5/5 star rating. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Aetheric Dominion

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. I wish that this rule was much more extensive. 

Aetheric Dominion.

The special rule "Aetheric Dominion" is given to dark mechanicum forces and represents the influence of one of the Warp's powers that be. 

Clearly within a single unit, there can only be one such dominion selected. And that unit cannot join another that has a different one. This is all well and good. 

What bothers me here is that in The Martian Civil War, there are only two - yes TWO - dominions to select between. This is more than disappointing. At least give us the core four chaos powers please? But no. 

Heedless Slaughter. 

Registering as the Khorne influence, the Heedless Slaughter dominion is to do as the title suggests. This rule forces you to charge within 8 inches of an enemy, but you can game play over ride this by shooting at a further away target and thus making the charge invalid. In addition, you get +1 charge distance, combat resolution, and sweeps which are all very appropriate. Its just the shooting that perhaps should be controlled a bit more arguably?

Malevolent Artifice. 

I see this as the Tzeentch one, but it seems to not quite be wholly appropriate either. The idea here is that the warp twists human invention to use it against them. If S<T from an incoming attack then you get to re-roll your armour save. I quite like this for engines with a good toughness value (at least better than a plasma shot?). Otherwise if you primarily have engines with a lower profile, then it might be a bit meh. Sure, sometimes you get lots of bolt gun fire incoming. But most of the time it'll be things like las cannons targeting your engines, so I suspect this dominion is a bit useless. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Scions of the Dark Forges

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. New warlord traits for your dark mechanicum traitor forces. Some are sound, others are very limited. 

Scion of Cyclothrathe.
This forge world has plentiful electromagnetic storms which the mechanicum regularly shielded against. This gives your corrupted engines an improved resistance against haywire attacks (there's a table with 50% of the results being no effect which is nice). Admittedly, this is very limited, but also very fluffy. 

Scion of Xana II. 

This provides an advanced reaction once per battle. This improves an invulnerable save by one pip before making any rolls for that corrupted engine. This is very good and much more powerful, as well as being fluffy for the esoteric modifications that were regularly made by this forge world. 

Scion of Retlaxi. 

I could not point to Retlaxi on a map of the Imperium, but it is a secondary world that resupplies Legio Mortis. Basically when you take the last wound or hull point, it gives out a blast of S=5+1d3 in a random radius which also causes pinning. To me this is a bit of a Pyrrhic maneuver, but its okay so long as you keep in mind it also hits friendly units. 

Scion of Sarum. 

Take blood slaughterers as troops (they handily get line) and also as fast attack. Welcome to the World Eaters resupply world basically. This is nice, but clearly needs you to assemble a dedicated army. 

Overall. 

The default choice is likely to be Xana II for most players unless you have a particular Khorne orientation in which case you're looking at Sarum. Retlaxi is dangerous to yourself, and Cyclothrathe is situational but could be good. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Automata Malefica Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Average overall, but good in parts! The automata malefica are the corrupted engines of traitor forge worlds and were created in great numbers during the Heresy. 

Praevians.
Arguably access to corrupted engines impacts the legiones astartes more than the mechanicum, but the chief way in which to gain access to them is via a traitor praevian. This is very simple: you take 1 or more praevian, and you get a maximum of 1 (and only 1) corrupted engine choice to include. This engine has to occupy its own force organisation slot (i.e., not the HQ like the praevian). This is very reasonable.

Corrupted. 

The corrupted rule as applied to engines does several things. Firstly there is Fear at a (1) level, but this can be incremented if it already has fear. Reflectively, they are also immune to fear themselves and instead of failing morale checks just takes d3 wounds instead.

Force weapons against them gain instant death, but its not really instant death, it is just 1d3 wounds instead. They could have just said that, so I'm not sure why there's this circular argument in the rules about it being called instant death to be honest. Oh well. 

Malefic Aegis. 

This one is much more straight forward: its just the invulnerable save. Again, not sure why they can't just call it that, but probably to do with the stacking of other invulnerable saves. Only cyber familiars and the like can modify these. 

Overall. Not too bad, just a bit clunky on the rule names to be honest!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Questoris Household Dark Blessings

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The Dark Blessings are a replacement for the Household ranks and can only be taken by traitors. Some are really good, others a bit less so. Suggested knights are provided for each entry.  

Conqueror of Worlds. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The dark blessing version of the Seneschal. An auto-include for the big boss whose warlord trait provides access to reactions. Suggested Knight: Lancer. 

Heedless Slaughter. ⭐️

A free upgrade (probably from Khorne) that comes at the cost of WS-1 and BS-1, but gain Rage (2) if you have an armiger unit somewhere. I am torn on this upgrade. Rage is nice. But those negatives are bad. Very bad. I probably won't take it on balance.  

Malevolent Artifice. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gain IWND +1 for each wound or hull point you inflict in close combat until the end of the battle. This is very, very nice, and worth the points cost. Suggested Knights: Lancer, Acheron, Questoris.

Encroaching Ruin. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BS+1 and a bonus speed to armigers that start a turn next to it. Very nice overall. Suggested Knight: Questoris, and probably Asterius.

Putrid Corruption. ⭐️⭐️

Ablative organic mass that speaks of Nurgle. Loses movement speed, but gains unrelenting which lowers 1d3 wounds from a penetrating shot to just 1. This is okay overall, but not amazing. Suggested Knight: Unclear. 

Infernal Tempest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tzeentch (we think?) gives you psychic or sorceress powers. Warding grants an invulnerable pip, tempest is nice for its AP=2 but is short range. Suggested Knight: Questoris. 

Ravenous Dissolution.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WS+1 and marked for death. This is quite strong and calls for a melee unit. Suggested Knights: Lancer, Questoris. 

Rapturous Sensation. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Slaanesh (given the title of the blessing) demands your attentions. No reactions unless you take a Ld test in a large bubble. This is strong, but situational. Suggested Knight: Unclear. 

Formless Distortion. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WS+1, become a character, and get an ionic lash which is at AP=2 and S=10 with exoshock. Very nice indeed. Suggested Knight: Questoris. 

The Martian Civil War: Overall Impressions

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. An essential read for mechanicum fans, especially those of you wanting to have access to the Dark Mechanicum side of things. Moderately skippable for other factions, but the lore expansion is impressive. 

The book itself covers the conflict to recover new mark power armour from the forges in the early stages of the Heresy. It goes into detail then about the assassination attempts, and then in the latter phases the fight against the scrap code. I would have liked a bit more on the civil war itself, but you know what, its so good that it doesn't matter. 

The new campaigns are good, but the apex missions are a bit hit and miss along the way. Not sure you'd expect otherwise. The terrain and scrap code are stand outs here for me. The relic hunt standard missions are cool enough to carry the rest. 

Whilst the chaos knights are good to have, the star of the show is certainly the daemon engines that are now available. Welcome to the dark mechanicum! On top of this we also get techno-heresies which are great. 

This is all rounded out by some new space marine characters. Overall then, its basically a dark mechanicum and chaos knights book with more lore than you can shake a stick at. Seriously: I've read and re-read the lore here and am impressed. The main negative is that the book is shorter than the other predecessors, but at least it was printed correctly (cf., Beta-Garmon). I like what I have purchased and I think it makes sense for mechanicum fans to also have a look at it, but beyond that, its certainly mainly one for the lore lovers out there. 

And Then There Were Two

Double trouble. A pair of Warglaives have now been assembled!

The machines have opposite arms or handedness, which is something that I like about this build. The poseability is fantastic, and the only real question that I have left is what should I do with the bases. I've not made my mind up with that yet, but very excited to see these pair finally built. Hopefully they will go nicely with what is on order...