Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Legacy of Nikaea

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded down. Gain additional psychic powers thanks to not caring.  

Background.

Okay. So the Emperor said some stuff at the Council of Nikaea. Magnus, the Khan, and Sanguinius said other stuff. Mortarion chimed in. And then you're no longer allowed to channel warp powers. But you don't care any more because you went rogue and don't agree with either the loyalists or the traitors and you will use the warp powers as you see fit even if they're dangerous. Think that about covers it.  

Rules Evaluation. 

The Warp Torrent ability is gained by both characters and independent characters. This is a nice additional shooting attack to be very candid. Some S=5 bolts that also deflagrate are cool. The range is small, but it gels well with a close combat orientated force that have transports. By taking a Perils test, you can also get AP=3 which is especially tasty, but at a price I suppose. 

Finally those independent characters can pay a premium to gain access to a proper discipline. This is very handy! But you don't get lightning at all. Your HQ must be a psyker and two other characters. This is a reasonable balance that encourages you to go big. Overall then, this is a reasonable choice for your Thousand Sons wannabes, but don't choose Thousand Sons - their rules are already cool. Go for something unexpected like, erm, Imperial Fists or something? 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Too situational. But perhaps fluffy with Death Guard, White Scars, Blood Angels or Thousand Sons? 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Useful depending on your choices. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. A little bit average to be honest. You're already risking wounds to get AP=3, you don't need more casualties. 

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Pirate psychics could actually be really cool. Maybe they got trained by some eldar? Not sure what the narrative might be here, but there's tasty stuff to be had. 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. This is okay. They're mad psykers that want to be in combat. There might be better choices for your psykers though. 

The Flesh Is Weak: 0/5 stars. You cannot have psykers. This combination is useless to you. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Psychic mutants and clones? Oh yes. This is a solid combination that I can see working really well!

In Disgrace All Are Equal:  0/5 stars. Psychic warbands not giving a hoot? Yeah, that can work! Unfortunately, you have to select a HQ, and those disgraced cannot select a HQ, so you can't have this combination sorry. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Veteran psychics? Yes! This works splendidly well in my opinion. The only drawback is that the points cost is stacking up here fast with this combination. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Psykers who have been trained by Xenos is one way of interpreting this very useful and interesting combination. I'd be tempted by this one. Especially in an Eldar direction. Some entertaining conversion opportunities are present here, along with another potential connection to the Dornian Heresy if you are tilting in that direction. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. This combination works very well as well in a narrative sense. You could imagine marines escaping from their parent legion cells or something like that?

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Flesh Is Weak

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Replace your flesh with metal. Because either the war demands it, or you've discovered forbidden (necron?) technology. Bonus marks for the rule of cool. 

Background.

In the very long war, you're going to find that your flesh is (sic) weak. You will therefore need to replace it with bionics. Or maybe forbidden technology from those Forge Worlds you conquered. Or those necrons that you totally didn't wake up. Seriously, this has so many interpretations its wonderful. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of DORNIAN HERESY Iron Hands arise because of this. You know you want to do those delicious conversions. I certainly am tempted!

Rules Evaluation. 

Infantry and cavalry becoming automata might not seem to be so great, but you get a delightful 5+ feel no pain roll to make matters better. However, you also have to shoot and charge the nearest opponent if you can. This is actually fine, and you don't have to take on opponents that you cannot hurt which makes things much better. But no psychic powers either, oh well. 

Augmetic transport bays in your rhinos and so forth also have their capacity increased. This is very beneficial for larger blobs to get where they are needed. I see this as a mobile infantry force which you point at things and go click, backed up with dreadnoughts as well potentially. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Average combination that is weighed down by being very situational. There's probably better ones, but I suspect you will want Iron Hands here potentially?

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. More Iron Hands stuff here? I'm just guessing. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. You are already robots. You might as well make it even better by being programmed for eternal war duties! Glory to the Tenth! Wait, what?

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Pirate robots! Those survivors from Isstvan went wild...

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Not a combination I can get along with. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: 0/5 stars. You cannot have psykers. This combination is useless to you. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Aberrants and clones that maybe ripped off their mutations and replaced them with bionics? The perfect merger of Emperor's Children and Iron Hands? I don't know where I'm going with this argument, but rules wise you don't need another damage mitigation roll via clones, but bionic monsters could work. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Automatons shouldn't really care that much about petty warlords. Unless they're full of scrap code! Hello bizarre Word Bearers combinations!

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Maybe you love being automatons and are proud of this fact. Obviously gorgon terminators who went too far. This Oath really is Iron Hands heavy isn't it. I really should try to think of other things. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Necron automatons! Dornian Heresy Iron Hands! 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Desperate robots? Alright, I can dig that. Things got out of hand on that Forge World. 

Dreadtober 2024: Completed World Eaters Leviathan

The World Eaters Leviathan is done!

I genuinely love the final stages of painting World Eaters. To some it might seem like I've ruined a particularly crisp and nice paint job. I disagree. I set out wanting to have a battle worn and bloodied leviathan. The only way to achieve this is with weathering. And blood. For the blood god. The weathering features two toned grey and black speckles using a sponge applicator. I've made chips using silver inside of significant wear and tear to emphasize this aspect. The blood has been both painted and sponged on in a consistent manner to hopefully show some up close and personal work. This features most prominently on the chest (close range fire I suspect), and on the shins (he kicked his foes, clearly). There's a lot less blood on the rear of the miniature for obvious reasons (don't turn your back on your foes!), but the weathering features both wear and tear as well as explosive impacts on the rear. 

And for reasons I am unable to explain adequately, gravitons are green. Too bad. I've decided. 

Hope you've enjoyed following along with my Dreadtober leviathan project! I'm really pleased with the outcome here and I hope you've enjoyed seeing the progress week after week! Very glad I did this, and even happier with the end result. 

My original plan was to sell this miniature on eBay, but now I'm not sure! 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: An Eternity Of War

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Madmen who want to be in combat, but suffer when they are not. I'm not convinced the benefits quite outweigh the drawbacks, but extra marks for fluffiness?

Background.

These are marines who have totally lost it. They might as well be chanting blood for the bloody god. But they've not trod that path - arguably. They're just battle mad. Ideal for any blackshields that might have fell to Khorne outside of the World Eaters, proto-chaos space marines, or just crazies. 

Rules Evaluation. 

The benefits of this are really interesting. If your unit fails a morale check due to incoming fire, then you get to make a consolidation move. Great! You also count any wounds from (successful) charging reactions in the player's favour for combat determination. Also great: you get cut down but actually that's a big bonus. However, the penalty here is severe. After turn 1 unless you're in combat that round or locked, then you're taking wounds. Invulnerable saves can help, but there are several questions to be addressed here.

The main question is how you are going to get into combat in the first place. And stay there. You've got to think about those speedy opponents as well who will run circles around you all day. And those that are spread out a lot. The consolidation moves will only get you so far. Otherwise, how are you going to survive? Maybe lots of cataphractii? I don't know honestly. I'd give this oath less stars out of 5, but I do like its fluffiness factor!

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. This one gels really well, albeit at the cost of limited applicability which is why it only gets 3 stars from me. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Go on, take those chain axes from the World Eaters armory. Khorne insists. Or how about some power daggers from the Alpha Legion for those extra attacks in close combat. Great value to be had here across many legions. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. If you're going to lose wounds, you might as well lose lots of them. Good luck! But compelling!

 

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like this a whole lot. Plenty of oath breaking all around and stealing from the dead. You are a crazy pirate with this combination. 

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Crazed automatons that just want battle. Not sure how I feel about this overall. Khorne necron conversion opportunities perhaps. Someone must have a better interpretation of this combination than me. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Crazy psykers is a reasonable combination. Not so sure about the warp torrent psychic power being too useful though. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Crazed clones and monsters works splendidly to my mind. Corax really stuffed up didn't he. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. An average combination that might well work. Petty warbands all collecting together as mad men to bring about their own end? Sure, why not. Not top of my list, but its actually okay. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Renowned veterans who go crazy is not unreasonable. Its just the word "pride" here - why are you proud of your armour, and then you're also crazy. Not working well for me. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Crazy marines who like xenos weaponry is very reasonable! Lots of xenos halo blades in a veteran squad would be very nice I suspect. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Crazy desperadoes? Yes. Lots of yes. Just not much overlap with the ranged weapons and the close combat upgrades you'd ideally want though. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Spoils of Victory

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars, rounded down. I like these rules and there's some terrific combinations to be had!

Background.

Having abandoned their oaths of allegiance, these warbands exist for the sheer plunder! They're in it only for themselves and have become little better than pirates that prey on those who have what they want. I actually really like this premise and it suits potentially a lot of different styles. 

Rules Evaluation. 

By sacrificing sweeping advances throughout the army completely, roll 1d6 when you would otherwise would have made such a sweep. On a 4+, you gain 1 victory point. i.e., you are not chasing them down, so much as plundering what they left behind! Very fluffy. And, in all probability, something that can change the course of an entire battle potentially. Assuming that you can play it right. It might not happen all the time - to be clear - but doing such sweeps often enough can pay massive dividends. Let alone think of the cool conversion opportunities there might be for true space pirates! I'm anxious to see a skull and crossbones on the battlefield myself. Don't let me down, chat!

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work for me in a narrative sense since you've eliminated your previous oaths already in favour of being pirates. Sure, you might have a particularly despised enemy, but I'd steer clear of this. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Obviously they started their thefts by stealing from another legion's barracks. Perhaps their own?

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Another combination that is oath-bound, versus having abandoned oaths. Doesn't work for me from a narrative perspective. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well! Lots of breaking of oaths and not caring! Equally, you want to be in combat all the time so there's a need to think about how to accomplish that. 

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. An average combination, but has some really cool conversion possibilities. Pirate automatons are just cool.  

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. If you like pirate automatons, then why not pirate psychics? Sounds good to me. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Pirate clones and monsters. I really like this!

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Disgraced pirates? Yes. Absolutely yes. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work with the narrative really. Pirates are unlikely to be the most renowned veterans of their legions adhering to the old ideals. But who knows. Maybe this could work in extremis?

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Pirates that use Xenos kit? Yes! This really works as well! Give me those awesome conversions! 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 5/5 stars. Another excellent combination of pirates using desperate weapons! Loving this. No wonder they are scavenging from other forces when they sweep. They just want weapon upgrades! A brilliant narrative combination. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: Only in Death Does Duty End

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. The rules are good, but come at a steep price. Some great narrative combinations are possible though. 

Background.

They have sinned. And they must atone. The only way of doing that is through battle. All are sworn to go out this way. 

Rules Evaluation. 

These rules mean that units in this detachment will always pass morale tests regardless of what caused them to take it (NB: this is not pinning or psychic checks - just morale checks). The price for it is steep though: take 1d3 automatic wounds to the unit, but you can save with invulnerables. This is a good rule overall, but those 1d3 unsavable wounds are going to obliterate most units short of a terminator unit, and even then you're going to struggle. At least you won't get shot off the board and routed. Very fluffy overall, but the 1d3 wounds (instead of 1 wound) is a steep price to pay overall to my mind. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This is such a great combination thematically for me and strongly recommended! You have to think carefully about which legion to take though. And the limited applicability is the only reason it doesn't get 5/5. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Another great combination and one that opens up some nice conversions and bits borrowing. I like it!

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️. 1/5 stars. This combination just doesn't work well in a narrative manner for me. You are oath-sworn to die, but you also loot the bodies of your enemies having abandoned your oaths? That's a nope from me. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well!

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I really like this one. You've replaced too many organic bits to go back, and you are ready to die. Iron Hands, Iron Warriors, and perhaps some mechanicum aligned units would work nicely here (e.g., those World Eaters aligned with Sarum forge world for example?). 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. You're sworn to die. But you're also psychic. Why not? Sounds good for Thousand Sons, White Scars, and Blood Angels blackshield origins alike. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like this for some Raven Guard builds. Or maybe you're just cloned warriors and don't feel the good vibes that the Emperor's children once gave you? The combination works for me all the same. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. A set of disparate warbands all cobbled together with a common wish to die. Yeah, it could work narratively and I'm not opposed to this combination!

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Prideful. Ready to die. Yes - this ticks all the narrative boxes for me, and is a good combination with the right builds I think! Almost 5/5 stars territory here. 

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Maybe those sins that you are oath-bound to were caused by some Xenos? Its a stretch of the imagination, but can work. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Your gang of desperados who are oath bound to atone, but not exactly equipped well! A great combination with a strong narrative for me!

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan with Decals

Progress report on my Dreadtober project: a World Eaters Leviathan. Here, I have got to the stage of applying all of the decals to the miniature. I can now get a really good sense of what the finished miniature is actually going to look like. 

The miniature looks very "clean" at this stage though. I am intending to make it a lot more mucky and stained with explosive barrages. Let alone liberal application of Blood for the Blood God to match up with the other miniatures in this particular allied detachment! It's certainly looking a lot better and even though I've been away, I am well on course to finishing this miniature on schedule - possibly even by the end of next week. Who knows. 

World Eaters Terminator with Power Maul

The conversion from yesterday is now fully painted! This is a World Eaters terminator decked out in the pre-heresy colour scheme for the legion, but also replete with a lot of dirt and blood to give it a grime filled, mid-action look. 

The decals are direct from the World Eaters range, and the blood is, of course, Blood for the Blood God which is simply amazing for this kind of work. I've applied it in both clumps of large gore, as well as splattering it across key areas in a lighter handed manner. I am very pleased with the vibe here and the theme. Even for pre-heresy, this is a nasty terminator who can readily be imagined bringing compliance in the only way that this legion knows how to do. Up close and personal without remorse or quarter. 

Tartaros Terminator with Power Maul / Mace

I've borrowed a little bit of inspiration - and bits - from the Dark Angels range for this terminator conversion. The basis is a normal Tartaros Terminator in plastic, but with a right hand swap for a Dark Angels power weapon. 

The difficult part of the conversion is the ranged weapon. Here, I have taken the combi-bolter and attached it to the left hand of the sergeant's power sword hand in order to create a left handed ranged weapon. This involved some careful slicing of the hand away from the power sword, and disguising it through an appropriate pose where the focus is on the melee power weapon.

This marine will be part of my World Eaters force (allied detachment) that I am constructing. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: Panoply of Old

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are sound. 

Background.

These blackshields have carried across some specialist equipment from their old legion. Perhaps it gives them meaning. Perhaps they're just tools. 

Rules Evaluation. 

Choose your legion and gain access to their unique wargear options. I like this option, but it really depends on which legion you choose. Get those chain axes from the World Eaters perhaps? Or the power daggers from the Alpha Legion might be a good character option for you for that extra close combat attack. 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Works well thematically for me. But the Vendetta rule is weak on its own and you might go for something else. But perhaps you're using the weapons of your old legion against them. Very fluffy if you ask me. 

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Take more than one legion to borrow from for your blackshields! I'm not sure how characterful this can be, but it is a reasonable option. 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well thematically to my mind.

The Spoils of Victory: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. This works to some extent and in combination is a good option. 

 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well!

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Full stars if you have chosen Iron Hands for both. 2/5 stars for almost any other legion combination to be honest. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Full stars if you choose something fluffy like Dark Angels, White Scars, Blood Angels, or Thousand Sons. Less so for other legions. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I do like this, but for me it only works well if you're thinking Raven Guard, or similar. 

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. A reasonable choice. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Middle of the road combination for me once again.

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Tough to decide how I feel about this combination. You've already got a legion, and you're topping it up with weapons from xenos. I don't like this. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Doesn't work for me - you've got weapons, but you're also desperate. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Oath: The Eternal Vendetta

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. They're actually good rules, but their applicability is limited. 

Background.

These blackshields despise a particular legion and seek nothing more than their elimination from history. And the future. The present too. 

Rules Evaluation. 

Choose a legion and then gain +1 to hit with close combat weapons against them. You have to declare a charge against this target if you can, and can't be in any allied detachment as them. This is a nice advantage and can be quite critical against your selected legion. But you simply don't know if you're going to be facing them or not, and therefore selection of this oath will likely have very limited applicability to the more competitive players. Therefore this is one for the narrative players mainly (but not exclusively). 

Combinatoric Analysis. 

The Eternal Vendetta: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. If you hate one legion, why not double your chances by taking a second hated legion? Or perhaps there's a combination here that makes sense like not like the sneaky ones (Night Lords and Raven Guard), or the psychic ones (Thousand Sons and Blood Angels), or similarly themed?

Panoply of Old: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Take the same legion for laughs? You're using their weapons against them, despite being one of them. You must really despise them. Or perhaps you're from a legion that simply won't ally with them ordinarily anyway (Alpha Legion and World Eaters combination?). 

Only in Death Does Duty End: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well thematically and on the battlefield, as well as makes up for the limited applicability. 

The Spoils of Victory:⭐️. 1/5 stars. Doesn't work thematically for me very well, but I can see some narrative here.
 

An Eternity of War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well!

The Flesh is Weak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I like the notion of some Iron Hands or Iron Warriors who have gone too far done the bionic replacement path also hating their parent legions. 

The Legacy of Nikaea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. I also like the idea of Thousand Sons haters wielding psychic powers against them. Just deserts and all. 

The Broken Helix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. Going along with the narrative a bit further, I like the idea of abandoned Raven Guard mutants hating their parent legion so much that they have a vendetta against them. Perhaps mutated Word Bearers as well. Cloned Emperors Children too?

In Disgrace All Are Equal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. I like this combination - a group of rogues seeking vendetta against a legion bound together by common cause. 

Pride is our Armour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 3/5 stars. Middle of the road combination for me.

The Taint of the Xenos: ⭐️⭐️. 2/5 stars. Not sure what the theme would be here. You're taking up arms against your hated legion ... from Eldar? From a necron tomb? Perhaps would be good for Iron Hands in a necron tomb? Not really sure. 

The Weapons of Desperation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 4/5 stars. This goes really well for me!

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan based coated in World Eaters colours

Dreadtober continues! Progress has now included applying the base coat to the Leviathan dreadnought to bring out the legion identity! As can be seen, I've settled on World Eaters here. 

In addition to the base coat of blues, whites, and iron, I have also started to pick out the recesses using Guilliman flesh. This is deliberately sloppy in application. As well as going into the recesses of the armour, there's also a stain around these recesses which will accentuate the dirty / "in action" vibe that I'm aiming for with this miniature. 

The next step will be to get some World Eaters decals in place before progressing to some edge highlights and other fun stuff. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Warlord Traits

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Average rules.

Bloody Tyrant.

The first of the three special warlord traits available to the Blackshields. This one is for those marines who decided to try to grab at their own kingdoms for themselves and rule through fear. 

The warlord gains fear (1) which affects everyone - even models on his own side. If they fall back or are pinned, then the Tyrant just (presumably) shoots one of them, and no further effects are felt as that miniature is removed from the board. This one is flavourful, but also self-defeating I think! The additional assault reaction is okay but not enough to offset my thoughts about not really wanting to use it.

Forgotten Hero. 

This is for the idealists who could not stomach what their parent legions were doing during the Heresy - on either side. 

If the warlord is allocated a wound (regardless of it being saved) from shooting, then the unit gains WS+1 and S+1 until they charge for the next close combat. I think this is very good, but it risks the warlord's entire unit being targeted in order to remove them rather than activate this bonus I think. The shooting reaction is good enough. 

Twisted Strategist. 

For those who operate from the shadows, or otherwise have twisted motives / trying to fulfil a prophecy / chase a plot maguffin. 

The warlord grants one special rule per turn to one of his units. This could be shrouded, rampage, counter attack, or precision shots. Each is nice in its own way, but not overly powerful, and is further restricted in that each rule can only be used once at the right moment. The movement reaction bonus is excellent. I really like this warlord trait a whole lot. But I also like the Alpha Legion, so what would I know.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Blackshields Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded down. We begin our reviews of the Battle for Beta-Garmon with the best faction: the blackshields and their rules!

Background.

The Blackshields are marines that have undergone a schism with their parent legions. There is no singular cause for this, but rather it represents a major crisis of faith within the established legions. 

The book describes four major types of Blackshield forces. 

Many are simply Renegades. They have forsaken their legions and their Primarchs, but are not simply loyalist World Eaters or traitor Dark Angels. They're something else entirely having got rid of their previous alignments. 

Marauders are those marines who are simply self interested. Unlike renegades who fight for either side, the marauders are in it for themselves and act as pirates and raiders. 

Atavists are strange marines who have reverted to the Great Crusade and have blank grey armour to pursue compliance in the outer reaches of the Galaxy. They're rare and strange, and still fighting to create a unified Imperium like the original plan was supposed to be.

Finally there's the Damned. These marines have taken up previously forbidden weapons, machinery, psychic practices, artificial intelligence, or deliberate mutation (perhaps by cloning). Its all going to end in tears for these marines, but in the mean time, they're going to leave very little left for either side of the conflict!

Special Rules. 

All marines have the special rule of Legiones Astartes (Blackshields) which means that they are their own faction. 

Beholden to None means that Blackshields count as both Loyalist and Traitor - at the same time - when they are the primary detachment. As an ally, they have the same allegiance as the primary detachment. But they count as distrusted allies (and count everyone else as the same). And you can't play them alongside agents of the Emperor or Warmaster either. So forget using Sisters alongside them (drat). This is very flavorful and flexible in my view. 

A Terrible Purpose gives access to the Oaths of Vengeance and Wrath which replace rites of war entirely. Courage of Conviction sees them have access to special warlord traits that they may choose if desired. Although I don't like losing rites of war, the Oaths are superlative! More on them in the near future I hope.

No Lords, No Masters.
This is the Blackshields advanced reaction. When you get charged by an enemy that consists of a Primarch, a Unique unit sub-type (i.e., named character!), someone with Master of the Legion, or the enemy Warlord, you can activate this reaction to gain fearless, A+1 against characters, or A+2 if you are facing a unique unit. This is reasonable without being outrageous and might plausibly keep you alive a little longer than you would do so otherwise. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Clade Vanus Infocyte Assassin

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️

1.5/5 stars. Rounded down. Doesn't work for me. 

Background.

Combine the Alpha Legion with the Raven Guard and throw in a bit Mechanicum and you have an Infocyte. These assassins are the masters of manipulating things from behind the scenes whether it be direct control, or coercion based on secrets they've found out about the target and urge them onward. After all, the best assassin is the one that gets others to do the dirty work for them. 

Strengths.

There's a whole lot of special rules here. The first one - the Auspectre - protects you from infiltrators at a 18 inch radius. This is very nice. They can also get an interceptor attack as an advanced reaction, but they're firing las pistols. 

The Noospheric Interloper means you can take a leadership test to inflict wounds on robots. And then inflict some more potentially if you eliminate that first robot. Great, if a bit situational.

The Sympatic Dataspikes are a melee weapon that is actually really nice - well worth it. But you're probably not going to get close enough before getting squashed. 

The Autotomic Servo Limbs grant hit and run once per battle should you need it. I can't think it would be needed unless you're charged and somehow survive.

Weaknesses.

Who cares if an interceptor fires las pistols? I can't name many off the top of my head, but I'm sure there must be some that would fear two las pistols. The range is not good either. 

I love the idea of this assassin being toxic to tanks, but in all honestly, he or she or they are never going to pull this off against an alert opponent. 

I'm sorry to say this is another assassin that is not going to see much use on the tabletop outside of very fluffy narrative games. This is fine, of course, but I wish the character was more similar to what the books portray. 

Builds.

There are no builds available to discuss here. I don't regard this assassin as playable in the game. 

Dreadtober 2024: Undercoated!

Dreadtober 2024 progress. It is Week 1. An undercoat has happened. 

That's this week's entire progress on the Leviathan Dreadnought!

And what progress it was. The spray out of the can started going a bit dribble dribble. As you can see from the image, the front armour plates have long streaks of white all over them! Oh no! It's not a complete disaster, but I've not had such a poor start in a while. Hopefully the base coat can correct this and I can get going properly soon enough!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Clade Venenum Assassin

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️

1.5/5 stars. Rounded down. Almost might and could be useful. But missing the mark very widely. 

Background.

Masters of toxic alchemy and recruited by the Clades to become assassins by means of poisoning their enemies. They are supposedly the most successful clade of them all. Narratively speaking that makes a lot of sense. On the battlefield, this is a gross miscalculation. 

Strengths.

At first glance, 3 wounds and a tonne of special rules seems great. But once you start picking some of them apart, it becomes apparent that this is yet another assassin that won't last terrifically long, but might take down a couple of standard marines if you're lucky. 

The template toxic ejector is actually useful. With poison and rending, it might well cause wounds! But its just far too close range for comfort and even a little return fire will probably do for this assassin. 

Being immune to rad phage and similar is great. 

The hook fang that they use will kill standard marines thanks to the AP3. Hence this is an assassin that is potentially useful in melee. They also cause additional wounds if there's an unsaved one on successive turns which is very helpful for a narrative.

Weaknesses.

If you are so close range that your toxic ejector fires, then the return fire - even by bolt guns - will see you off. 

In melee, even with the high initiative, you are not going to survive against space marines for long. At least you will take out a couple on a good day before they get you. The Venem special rule for repeating rules will hardly apply. But who knows. If you manage to scratch Abaddon (good luck), then it might plausibly be a good use of your assassin. 

In addition to this, the rad phage immunity from the unnatural conditioning is hardly going to matter much, and the poison globes will also not matter. A smart opponent will destroy this character at range, or via a shooting reaction. Even with a standard tactical squad (which costs less than this character).  

Builds.

There are no builds available to discuss here. I don't regard this assassin as playable in the game. 

Dreadtober 2024: A Leviathan Year

I have decided to bite the proverbial bullet! I'm hopping in to Dreadtober 2024 this year in order to try to get a dreadnought fully painted up! 

The dreadnought has got its legs together and is assembled. But will I be able to make sufficient progress on it over the coming weeks? I have my doubts. I will be going away which will severely limit progress and time available, so this will indeed be a real challenge. A really big challenge!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Clade Adamus Assassin

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️

1.5/5 stars. Rounded down. I am unconvinced this one works, but I like the concept. 

Background.

These assassins are the tradition blade masters of the clades. They are sword masters supreme and have a bit of martial regality about them if I'm reading the background correctly. 

Strengths.

The ranged weapon is great! The needlespine blaster can pump out a deadly array of shots which will certainly destroy things. 

The blade itself is okay overall - a bit like a power sword with rending. 

Weaknesses.

I think I have a fundamental problem with the special rules. On the one hand, the Death's Artisan special rule must always issue a challenge - this is okay in principle. They can then stat match WS and I to their opponent. This is also fine, but honestly, they're going to die quickly with a save of 4+. They're too squishy for this kind of thing. Much better that they are not issuing challenges at all and just killing things.

Then there's the odd interaction with decapitation strike. You can forgo your usual attacks for a single AP 1 attack with murderous strike at 2+. This is great. But if you're matching the WS, it only has a 50/50 chance of even hitting. It is a massive gamble. But its also one you're going to probably have to take given you have AP3 with your sword otherwise and you're squishy. But the strike is also unwieldy, so you're probably dead anyway if anything else is striking at initiative with (e.g.) lightning claws, or Emperor's Children in general. 

Hence overall, despite being a swordsman, you're actually better off being a very close range pistol wielder. And if you try to be a swordsman, you're probably going to be wiped away quickly, unless you face a softer target or one that goes as slowly as you do? But then the enemy will have more attacks in all probability. Wiped out either way. Grim. 

Builds.

There are no builds available to discuss here. I don't regard this assassin as playable overall. Apologies.