Horus Heresy 2e Review: Invictarus Suzerain Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. The rules are very good! Almost overpowered if anything. 

Background.

These are the Lords of Ultramar and destined for higher things. They are the elite and marked for command in the future. For the moment though, they are learning everything they can about warfare from multiple angles, but mostly chopping with axes, shielding, and otherwise glittering in starlight as their armour inspires all around. 

Strengths.

In some ways, it is simple to think about these marines as being pseudo-terminators. Its all there: bonus WS, 2 wounds each, as well as a 2+ save and a boarding shield to give an invulnerable save. The 3 attacks baseline is amazing though. 

Beyond this, they give out a bubble of increased Ld to other friendly units (NB: not just Ultramarines!!) and can be a retinue squad with access to a legion standard. And they also have Line! They're an amazing squad really. 

Weaknesses.

They are not quite Fire Drake Terminators, but they are very impressive and come recommended. Think about taking a transport option though as movement is always going to be required. I doubt you will see many Ultramarine builds without this squad in some form or other. 

Builds.

5 Suzerains (175 points).

Take the "naked" squad. It is well worth it! I'm a bit mixed on whether to take the plasma pistols. The thunder hammers are great though. 

10 Suzerains, all with thunder hammers and plasma pistols (525 points).

The maximum squad! The thunder hammers can prove amazing for this squad. The plasma pistols can soften up targets and light tanks readily. In fact, I'd go as far as saying there's not much in the game that such a squad couldn't handle on a good day and with a charge. Add in the Ultramarines rite of war and you will have a good time I suspect; albeit at the price of not making many friends. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Roboute Guilliman

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars, rounded down. The rules are very good.

Background.

His accomplishments before, during, and after the Heresy are a tough pack to pick between. Here Guilliman is presented as the leader of Ultramar, a statesman, a warrior, a leader, a wise man and intellectual, and master strategist. He is all of these things on the battlefield too.

Strengths. 

His stat line comes with the handy WS=7 for sibling battles. Re-rolling to hit rolls of 1's thanks to Calculating Swordsman on the second round of combat onward gives him yet another edge here. Sure, he is not Horus. He isn't even Russ or Ferrus. But he is certainly highly capable among his siblings. 

The armour is good enough, and the re-roll of the first invulnerable save is powerful. His weapons in melee are great - choosing between S+1 or S=10 with different special rules to help amazing, and the brutal x2 for the Hand of Dominion is going to be powerful in all situations coupled with AP=1. The arbiter is very handy as a side arm, but with AP=3, its in the territory of being okay without being amazing.

His warlord trait grants an army wide boost to Ld, as well as selection of a phase in which to play an additional reaction. Both are powerful boosts to the army. His preternatural strategy takes what Alpharius and his sons should have and makes it Ultramarines territory (yes, I'm bitter). Fleet, counter attack, furious charge, and stubborn are all there to choose between, just not on consecutive turns.

Weaknesses.

Tanks and tar pits like Vulkan might prove an issue. Horus (and Ferrus, and Russ) still whips him into submission quickly enough. But he is powerful among his brothers, and brings amazing boosts to the army. There's little not to like here. 

Overall.

Categorically one of the more powerful primarchs. His army boost in combination with the rite of war makes for some game defining moments. 

Difference to First Edition.

His weapons from first edition are here, but the calculating swordsman aspect is not what it was. He's different, for sure, but here in second edition, I regard him as excellent overall. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Ultramarines Armoury

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average.  

The Ultramarines are looking a bit thin on the ground in the armoury department, but what they have is reasonable enough.

Legatine Axe. For a small points cost, get rid of Unwieldy on power axes owned by independent characters. Categorically worth taking every single time! Do it. 

Argyrum Pattern Boarding Shield. 5+ and 4+ against ranged and melee is good. Pretty good, but not outstanding. Availability to any independent character is good enough. 

The Mantles of Ultramar. Artificer armour that is both battle hardened and immune to blinding is nice. The points cost is frankly a bit steep though. 

Overall.

No special consul for the Ultramarines, and not a very wide range of selections here either. I like the axe very much. The first two entries are standard for the Suzerain squads as well which illustrates their power. I've not much to say here other than its all a bit average except for the axes which are amazing for what you're getting with the price tag. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Ultramarines Traits and Rites

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded down. The rules are very reasonable and some are above average to be clear. 

Warlord Traits.

Ultramarines return to second edition with 3 warlord traits - one of each loyalty.

The Burden of Kings. For the Loyalists, the warlord gains fearless and It Will Not Die when a wound is allocated until the end of the next turn. This is solid, but not outrageous -- the opponent can and should focus fire until the warlord is downed in a single turn preferably. The single extra reaction by the warlord is similarly good.

The Aegis of Wisdom. Friendly Ultras with line of sight can use the Warlord's Ld for regrouping and ignore the usual restrictions for post regrouping. This is excellent for the all rounder trait and I can see good use being made of this. The additional shooting reaction is fine.

Pride's Dark Power. Finally something for the traitor Ultramarines! [And please do note: in 40k, most traitor chapters are likely to be successors of the Ultramarines, so even if its not that present in the fluff, I totally support them having a traitor trait!] In short: swap the warlord's Ld for T in any phase. I would anticipate this will result in T=10 against some important shooting or close combat phase. This one can be game defining if used right. The bonus assault reaction is great. In some ways this could be the most powerful trait of all three of them. Time to show what the Ultramarines can really do?

Rites of War.

The Logos Lectora. The solo rite of war for the Ultramarines - but very apt and appropriate with the feeling of Ancient Rome. At the cost of more HQs, more Troops, and zero infiltration or deep strike, the player can gain a different boon per turn (no two on consecutive turns though). Full March gives bonus movement, but lower BS and WS. Hold Fast gives better Ld and re rolling of shooting to hit rolls, but no run and move. Retribution Strike gives bonus WS and charge range at the expense of BS. And Regroup gives Ld and reserves re-rolls. This is a tremendous rite of war that puts other legions to shame (poor Alpha Legion). Worth taking in almost any battle to be honest, but I guess the solid blocks of infantry will pose a transportation problem in the early turns and the army could be vulnerable to certain counter styles of play. 

Difference to First Edition.

Yes, there are differences here to first edition. But overall, it has the feel of first edition and will readily slot well into old veterans hands and new players alike. There's little not to like, but some warlord traits are stronger than others, and the singular rite of war is nice enough, but the restrictions can be harsh. 

 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Ultramarines Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars -- rounded up to 4/5 stars. The rules are certainly above average.

Background.

The largest of the legions (assuming you miscount the Alpha Legion) were drawn in by Horus' plan and betrayed by the Word Bearers at Calth. There followed the underworld war, the Ruinstorm, and the Shadow Crusade. Alongside this they also built Imperium Secundus along with the Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and elements of the shattered legions. When all was said and done, they crusaded to destroy Davin, push the traitors to their limits, and rebuilt the Imperium proper. Although arguably not at the forefront of the Civil War, their wider forces contributed significantly and mopped up after the event in a way other forces simply were not able to do.

Legion Rules Review.

The Strength of Wisdom grants a bonus pip to hit against a unit if they have already been targeted by another unit in the shooting phase. They have to be within a small bubble of the first unit, but this rule is very strong. To use to maximum effect, I would consider employing "tracer" units to open first first. Arguably the humble rhino has an excellent role to play here, as do regular drop pods. Don't underestimate such cheap tracer units - when adjacent to a heavy support squad this is a truly significant boon to the legion

Arsenals of Ultramar grants access to the unique wargear options from the armoury whilst Lords of the 500 Worlds provides the warlord traits. There are no unique consul choices to be found here though.

Advanced Reaction.

The Unity of Purpose is an excellent advanced reaction. In essence, when shot at, the reacting player can shoot back with not just one unit but two units at the enemy. Timing this one well has the potential to destroy enemy units. 

Difference to First Edition.

There's been a lot of clean up here. The older Rigid Chain of Command rules have had their negative points entirely removed while preserving much of what came before. Sure, the re-rolls of wounding dice are gone, as is armour penetration rolls, but the bonus to hit (which I originally had as a typo in 2015 for Interlocking Tactics) is still very strong. The advanced reaction is powerful when played well. They're doing so much better than the White Scars or Alpha Legion!

Hobby: Iron Warriors Squad

Hobby update time!

One full Iron Warriors tactical squad. Replete with vexilla, and chain bayonets. Ready for battle!