Thoughts at the End of 2022

Editorial. 

As I write this, the end of 2022 is rapidly drawing close and the start of 2023 hurtles towards us with characteristic celerity. Reflecting on the past several year, it is plain to see from my postings here alone that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on my hobby mojo for the years concerned. This year has been one in which I feel that my interest has returned to a semblance of normality at last. In large part, this has been spurred on by the release of the Second Edition of the Horus Heresy game. Not only did I pre-order the new boxed set along with other releases, but I also set about building a modest force of Iron Warriors alongside adding to my pre-existing Alpha Legion forces and finally finishing painting the Shattered Legion mini-force. Due to family, I'm not really on the tournament scene like I used to be a long time ago, but maybe once the children are a bit older I might return and venture out once again to the scene (or at least try harder to get to one of the Titan Walks). 

Part of the reason that I favour Horus Heresy is the community - participants tend to be older and more mature, and even though I do disagree with some comments and messages I might receive from time to time they are all written with sincerity and respect. Without such a good and strong community here online at Warpstone Flux, I might have retired the blog during the pandemic. I'm glad that I didn't. It is clear from the stats and the feedback that the Heresy community keeps coming back here for opinions, insight, and friendly banter. I cannot thank my readers enough for helping me to keep going here!

See you in 2023! Cheers!

[Image generated by using Stable Diffusion]

Hobby: Siege Tyrants

New options for both the Iron Warriors and Alpha Legion in my collection is a small squad of Siege Tyrants. These were absolutely easy to put together and very clear how they all worked. No problems whatsoever. Kudos to Forge World for a great product here; really beautiful. 

Given that I want to use them in the Iron Warriors force that I'm assembling, they will be painted up in the same colour scheme. The Alpha Legion will just have to go into deep cover to use them I guess!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Dark Fury Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are above average and cheap enough for the damage that they can cause.

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 combined together with the Raven Guard's Raven Talons makes for an excellent melee unit overall whose movement is helped by the jump packs and backed up by being classed as a Falcon by the special rules of the legion. You will want to pull off the charge here and get them into close combat as rapidly as possible. Just beware of obvious reactions against them. 

Weaknesses.

They are not very customizable. 

Difference to First Edition.

Two wounds is great, combined together with precision striking and sudden striking and this make for a formidable assault squad. Just watch the positioning. 

Builds.

9 Dark Furies, 3 Choosers of the Slain (295 points).

Worth the extra cost for the bonus attacks and WS for the Choosers. Not much else to add here other than the melta bombs might be good depending on the situation. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Mor Deythan Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules 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.

As well as access to a lot of weaponry, their unique rule is "Fatal Strike". This gives rending to their weapons once per game. My view on this is to NOT save this: expend it as soon as you are able, even on the first turn if able. Just watch out for reactions. 

Other than that, they come with 2 wounds each in second edition which is fantastic. 

Weaknesses.

Can't score. But you shouldn't really care about this facet. 
Fatal Strike doesn't stack with templates or blasts. This sucks and means you won't be using flamers here any longer. 

Difference to First Edition.

Improved. While they have lost their twin linking ability for Fatal Strike, the 2 wounds each is such a massive improvement overall. They retain shroud bombs and come with relentless which is amazing here. 

Builds.

10 Mor Deythan with Nemesis Bolt Guns, Shade with Melta Bombs (335 points).

Points have increased compared to first edition, but that extra wound being added accounts for this. The nemesis bolters are amazing in second edition and great for pinning. 

6 Mor Deythan, 4 with combi-meltas, 2 with melta guns (245 points).

My favoured build - and one to steal for the Alpha Legion as well. 

9 Mor Deythan, 3 Volkite Chargers, Shade with Melta Bombs (265 points).

Volkite plus Fatal Strike is scary. 

6 Mor Deythan, 4 combi-plasmas, 2 missile launchers (245 points).

For when things have to die. This is an amazing mid-range build overall, but won't make you any friends. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Corvus Corax

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average for a Primarch. Don't get me wrong: he's crazy deadly. He's just not in the same league as some of his erstwhile brothers. 

Background.

His legion shattered at Isstvan, he survived nearly 100 days there with the remnants of his sons before rescue came - a triumph snatched from tragedy. In no small part this is likely due to his special ability to slip unseen, even in plain sight, which he passed on to some of his sons. 

Strengths. 

The stat line is somewhat "average" at least as far as Primarchs go with I=7, WS=7, and A=7 being notable. His warlord trait serves as an army wide boost to give both crusader and scouts, while also supplying a bonus movement reaction. Deep strike and hit and run supply the special rules apart from the Shadowed Lord rule which gives shrouded re-rolls of 1's after using hit and run to his unit and rolling an extra die and discarding lowest for using hit and run. This is solid.

Armour is standard, but gives shrouded at 4+. His weapons with AP=2 at the user's strength, but he gets to add a bonus rule from murderous strike, rage, or sudden strike at his whim. This is nice and provides great tactical flexibility. His pistols are solid thanks to the rending rule, and deflagrate will help whittle down larger squads here too. His pinions meanwhile grant movement=14 with bonuses against terrain. 

Weaknesses.

He is in the lower third of the power levels for his brothers. Sure, he will beat Magnus, and Alpharius in a fair fight most of the time. But he's going to struggle against most. So use that hit and run rule to best effect. 

Overall.

I like the army boosts and the fluidity of movement that he has combined with the defensive shrouded rules. His pistols are also worthy of note too. 

Difference to First Edition.

I don't like the fact that he's lost the ability to be "downgraded" and replace the pinions with a heavy bolter to represent his time on Isstvan. Please can we FAQ this? 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Raven Guard Armoury

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average.  

The Raven Guard don't have too many entries in their unique armoury. 

Raven's Talons. Lightning Claws with better rending and an extra A+1 when paired is an obvious choice to take. This is a winner, and an absolute steal for the points cost.

Infravisor. Great for night fighting (and directly combats Night Lords advantages) while giving bonus BS. They suck against blind though, so beware those Iron Hands terminators.

Cameleoline. Give an extra notch of shrouded for a praetor or centurion, but is quite pricey to be honest.

Corvid Pattern Jump Pack. Move 14, hammer of wrath, and deep strike. Also helps with dangerous terrain. There's no real down side here and the points cost is fine, so take it if you want it and have the points.  

Overall.

No special consul for the Raven Guard. Plus there's not many options present. The Raven's Talons are the only no brainer here and they should be taken. Cameleoline is just over priced. Overall its average, but with the stand out of the talons!