Horus Heresy 3e Review: Contemptor-Osiron Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The result of putting psykers in dreadnoughts!

Background.

The result of Magnus The Red's magnificent mind to solve the problem of interring a psychic warrior inside a dreadnought to serve still. The Thousand Sons legion was the first to field them and freely gave the tech away to the other legions who appear to have spurned the gift. Maybe not the Alpha Legion though?

Strengths. 

Rule of cool applies: psychic dreadnoughts for the win!

Alongside all the usual dreadnought upgrades, you also get to buy 1 psychic discipline and have a force sword that has reaping blow.

Weaknesses. 

Costs lots of points already and you're only getting WP+1 and a force sword (which to be fair is very very good) compared to the baseline dreadnought which is why it gets 3/5 stars from me. It is over-costed. But it is still very cool! 

Builds.

Osiron, Kheres Assault Cannon, Divination (235 points).
Dakka combined with preternatural foresight. 

Osiron, Melta Cannon, Melta Gun, Telekinesis (250 points).

Why not? Because of the points cost is the likely answer here to be fair. 

Osiron, Conversion Beam Cannon, Havoc Launcher, Pyromancy (235 points).

Lots of bits to play with. Not necessarily all overlapping though - NB.

Hours Heresy 3e Review: Contemptor-Incaendius Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good.

Background.

Contemptor dreadnoughts with jump packs specially manufactured by the Mechanicum on Baal's first moon under the treaty of Anvillus. Being blunt: some dreadnoughts have jump packs - get over it. 

Strengths. 

Let's just revisit the core premise here. It is a dreadnought. WITH A JUMP PACK. 

In third edition, this amounts to a few things. It has a base move of 8. It can deep strike. It also has a special rule of a boost pack which enables it to gain the anti-grav type during a Rush. Hence not quite what an infantry man with a jump pack would be. But that is okay!

The paired talons of perdition weapons are solid and come with aflame 2 as well as AP=2 and are hitting at S=9. This is excellent. The melta and assault cannon upgrades are worth considering too.

Weaknesses. 

You are getting what you pay for, and it is expensive to be clear. But consider the cost of a regular dreadnought - let's say invariably 170 and above - combined with a dreadnought drop pod which would be 100 points, and you can see that the price here isn't actually bad at all!

Builds.

Contemptor-Incaendius Dreadnought, two melta guns (220 points).

I like the melta gun replacements for the heavy flamers as they provide excellent threats. 

Contemptor-Incaendius Dreadnought, two Iliastus assault cannons (230 points).

Slightly longer range threat as you close the gap for close combat. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Mhara Gal Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. 

Background.

What do you get if you put a smashed up Gal Vorbak inside a contemptor dreadnought? The Word Bearers have conclusively answered this with the Mhara Gal. "...that which was blessed, but now stands beyond the sight of the gods" to use the official description. The dreadnought is a cursed creation with black flames flickering around it and reality itself upset by its presence. In many ways, this is punishment with life after death for the Gal Vorbak inside.

Strengths. 

A dreadnought profile mixed with dark blessings to create something a bit more deadly. 

Explodes and Fear are nice to have, but the real question comes down to which upgrades to take. 

I like the Warp Fire Cannon. The blasts coupled with 2 damages, breaching and shred is excellent. 

The baseline burning warp fire template is nice for causing panic and probably something you should keep. The tainted claw is similarly great hitting at S=10 with AP=2 and 3 damage. I don't feel any need to upgrade to gravis bolt cannons. Melta cannon might be interesting, lascannons are okay, but you want to be close range for combat, and the same issue raises its head for the autocannon. Hence it is between the warp fire cannon and the melta cannon for me. Given that the model is sold in resin with the warp fire cannon, I really recommend that. 

Weaknesses. 

Not many. It is malefic as you might expect. Just a pity that it cannot take 2 tainted talons or 2 warp fire cannons in third edition. 

Builds.

Mhara Gal with Warp Fire Cannon and Tainted Claw (210 points). 

I genuinely think that this is the build that you should be running. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Saturnine Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The new dreadnought on the block costs a lot of points, but packs a good punch!

Background.

Refined by Vulkan from the design of the Saturnine terminators, this dreadnought towers over everything. The Saturnine has massive generators which are needed to power the incredible weaponry and keep alive the interred marine within.

Strengths. 

An amazing stat line with T=8, S=8, and 8 wounds plus a 4+ invulnerable save makes this dreadnought a threat in itself. 

There are 4 options for the main weapons. 

The Heavy Plasma Bombard gives you a big pie plate at S=7 and AP=2, with the possibility to overload to enhance the strength. Barrage is great here and the range is very nice. 

The Disintegrator Cannon gives a couple of S=9 shots at AP=2 and 3 damage each. The overload here is risky indeed. But with 8 wounds, you won't die on a turn one misfire from overload at least. Very powerful and useful for deleting enemy lesser dreadnoughts. 

The Inversion Beamer is a nice pie plate that is more effective under 15 inches in terms of strength, damage and AP and with a big pie plate. I actually don't like this one as much as the other options as the range just doesn't gel as well. 

The Graviton Pulverizer is similarly short range with a smaller blast but yields pinning, shock and breaching. Again, not my favourite, but the range gels okay with the inversion beamer. I like it with the disintegrator best I think. 

For the other weapons, the photonic incinerators are nice flamers for panic, concussive resonators as also a template but give you stun with two shots at the risk of overload, and particle shredders are similar with breaching. I like the flamers best myself as a defensive measure due to panic and no overload (you already have that risk if you run disintegrators). 

Weaknesses. 

Intelligence is 5 once again, and we have the liability to explode in common with other dreadnoughts. 

Builds.

Saturnine with Disintegrator Cannon and Heavy Plasma Bombard (340 points). 

Straight out of the box, and actually my favourite build. Effective against many targets.

Saturnine with two Disintegrator Cannons (350 points). 

In the realm of risking deleting yourself, but at least not on turn one, this is actually viable but don't expect it to last too long. 

Saturnine with two Heavy Plasma Bombards (340 points). 

Sit back and barrage! Its a reasonable option. 

Saturnine with Inversion Beamer and Graviton Pulverizer (350 points). 

Fundamentally shorter range. I am tempted by the concussive resonators and particle shredders here actually. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Leviathan Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Spherically excellent! Also has the rule of cool for collecting, assembling, and painting. 

Background.

When you have the resources to create an Imperial Knight, but want to keep a dying space marine alive instead and combine him with astonishing firepower or close combat potential, the Leviathan is the outcome. Their incumbents paid the price for this tough, glowing brightly but burning out fast. All the while, the Mechanicum looked on uneasy at their creation as the Leviathan was a purely Terran creation.

Strengths. 

An excellent stat line with T=8, S=8, and 7 wounds. 

The customization is excellent as well. 

Choose the Siege Claw for close combat nastiness - the AP=2 is excellent and damage=3 amazing, particularly at S=10. Paired just gives you an extra attack, so you might want to have a ranged weapon as the second armament potentially. 

Choose the Siege Drill for armour bane. You take an initiative penalty, but gain damage=3 and S=12 this way. The paired siege drills enhances the damage, but if you are going all-in on melee, I would advocate one drill and one claw overall to face off against almost anything.

The Grav Flux Bombard gives you different conditions (pinning, shock) with a big pie plate, but intermediate range. I probably wouldn't run two of them paired though. 

The Storm Cannon gives you four shots at bolt gun range which is nice over all for the strength. Paired is great. 

The Cyclonic Melta Lance is fairly short range but really powerful. Possible candidate for being paired, but I'd prefer a drill for going after other targets to be candid. 

Volkites probably are not worth the upgrade cost, but the phosphex is a good idea for those legions that don't really subscribe to the Geneva Convention. 

Weaknesses. 

Leviathans drop to 5 in Intelligence, but presumably you don't care.

It also explodes like other dreadnoughts. 

Builds.

Leviathan with Siege Claw and Siege Drill (225 points). 

Classic close combat set up. Take phosphex to taste. You will need to think about a drop pod due to the slow movement though. 

Leviathan with 2 Storm Cannons (250 points).

The classic dakka option with a reasonable range. 

Leviathan with Siege Drill and Cyclonic Melta Lance (245 points).

The anti-tank option. Don't forget the melta gun buried in the drill. 

Leviathan with Grav Flux Bombard and Siege Claw (230 points).

Mid-range. And long range weapon works with the claw realistically. 

Leviathan with Storm Cannon and Grav Flux Bombard (245 points).

Mixed ranged threats. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Deredeo Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. A weapons platform that performs well enough, but looks a bit goofy to my eyes. 

Background.

The Deredeo is a heavy weapons platform that has its history in the Contemptor class and the earlier styles of Terran and Martian designs. It remained in high demand by both sides of the conflict in the Heresy, although there were few forges that could produce them.

Strengths. 

The customization here provides the player with some strong threats. 

The Anvilus autocannons have rapid tracking and sky fire (nice). They provide a good level of threat whilst keeping the points cost down. 

They can be replaced by the hellfire plasma cannonade which is attractive for the breaching and large blasts on overload, but otherwise I think the autocannons might have and edge for sky fire purposes. 

The las cannon battery is worth it for the improved strength and sky fire (but reduced rate of fire compared to the autocannons. I haven't run the numbers, but I think both are viable, but the las cannons are simply deadlier for the higher S). 

Volkite Falconet has a high S and pinning which makes it very interesting anti-infantry and worth a look if you are headed in that direction. 

The Aiolos missile launcher is the baseline entry which is nice for barrage and ranged threat. 

The missiles can be upgraded to four lots of Boreas air defence missiles instead which have sky fire and rapid tracking, but obviously they are limited use. 

Replacing the heavy bolt guns with flamers is a player taste choice. The former gives slightly enhanced ranged fire power, the latter is more defensive to my mind. 

Weaknesses. 

Not as good a stat line as the contemptor, with losses in S and A. But so what. It is a weapons platform not a close combat array. 

It also explodes. 

Builds.

Deredeo with Autocannons, Missile Launcher (190 points). 

Effective and baseline. I like it. Occasionally I'd be tempted by the plasma or volkite, but not often. 

Deredeo with Las Cannons, Boreas Air Defence Missiles (215 points).

Pure air defence. I'd pair it with the heavy flamers. 

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Contemptor Dreadnought

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Iconic and totemic for the Horus Heresy game. 

Background.

A relatively recent design by the beginning of the Heresy, the contemptor features a massively efficient power plant that enabled increased power flow and hence the ability to be very agile and carry massive weapons. They do, however, have a tendency to go boom when they die due to all that power build up. They remain, however, a complete talisman and icon of the game. 

Strengths. 

S=7, T=7, 6 wounds and only really lacking in the Intelligence department curiously (I guess that is what happens due to being inside one for a long time?). 

There is a strong array of set ups available here. The only real question is what battlefield role the player wants out of the dreadnought? 

Close combat (and probably via a drop pod) = take double fists or chain fists.

Ranged only = take the same weapon twice if you wish, but at least take 2 weapons with similar ranges. 

Mixed = one fist and one ranged weapon and sally forth happily.  

Weaknesses. 

The explosions can hurt if you are too close, but they remain 5/5 stars from me and the points cost is good for what you are getting. [Aside: I remain surprised that 3rd edition kept the stat line rather than revert to first edition armour values, but I guess we cannot have everything].

Builds.

Contemptor with dual power fists, 2 heavy flamers (170 points).

Close combat variant baseline. Take a havoc launcher if you absolutely have to retain some minor ranged threat. 

Contemptor with 1 power fist, 1 chain fist with melta gun (175 points).

Close combat with anti-tank built in. Graviton guns work here as well.

Contemptor with 2 Kheres Assault Cannons (180 points). 

Lots of dakka. The auto cannons aren't too bad an option either. The volkites are more anti-infantry in pairs though (and yes: I like them in pairs because the rule for volkite is always to go big). 

Contemptor with 2 Melta Cannons (180 points).

The anti-tank solution. 

Contemptor with power fist, Twin Las Cannon (170 points). 

Long range threat combined with close combat potential. The plasma cannon option is also appealing here. Take a bolt cannon if you are sporting and short on points. 

Contemptor with power fist, Conversion Beam Cannon, Havoc Launcher (180 points).

Overlapping threats from all sorts of weapons.  

Horus Heresy 3e Review: Rylanor the Unyielding

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. The rules are below par. 

Background.

Rylanor fought alongside the Emperor himself and bore the legion standard besides Fulgrim during the Great Crusade. Critically injured by the Eldar, Rylanor was interred in a contemptor suit with the battle honours of Thule and Roma still etched on its casing. Therein he served loyally as the Ancient of Rites and oversaw new recruits enter service. His loyalty was rewarded by betrayal at Isstvan III where he became a living icon for loyal Emperor's Children - and also a priority target for the traitors. News of his death was frequently over-rated. 

Strengths. 

Rylanor has the same stat line as a regular contemptor, except that he has a maximal value for Cool. He comes standard with a Kheres assault cannon and power fist with heavy flamer. 

Beyond this, his only other distinction is that he can make and receive challenges in combat so long as his opponent is Fulgrim (daemon prince version or mortal version). 

Weaknesses. 

For the loyalists only. Obviously.

If we add up his points value cost versus a standard contemptor with the same load out, it clocks in at 10 points more expensive. In other words you pay 10 extra points for the ability to challenge and the Cool boost. I honestly don't see this as worth while. 

Overall.

My overall star rating reflects the issue with the points value. I felt he was similarly over-costed in First Edition as well to be candid. There's just not enough special rules or variances in there. Hence he's only going to see play in fluffy loyalist lists, or Isstvan III related narrative battles.