Horus Heresy 2e Review: Sevatar

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4.5/5 stars, rounded down to 4/5 stars. Jago returns to second edition in a better shape than First. 

Background.

All legions have their champions and their Legends whose names are known widely outside their own. For the Night Lords, it is Sevatar. A lethal warrior, a dirty fighter, a repressed psyker, a murderer, and able to command every element of the legion with skill and where necessary malice. 

Strengths.

The stat line alone is very good with WS=7 base and I=6 combined with 4 attacks and artificer armour. His special rules combine what you might expect of praetors and Night Lords with Fear, precision strikes at 4+ and an additional set of unique rules.

His latent psyker ability allows him to glance the future for WS and A+1, but he uses Ld=7 for this. He also gains instant death thanks to Dirty Fighter when his challenge enemy has WS>=5. 

The weapons possess AP2 which is incredibly valuable here and combines it together with further rules like duellist's edge, and murderous strike. Finally the warlord trait is handy enough granting deep strike to his terminators and preferred enemy on the turn they land. This is super powerful for an alpha strike tactic where possible - nice for the pinning interaction as well. The extra movement reaction is just icing on the proverbial cake by this stage. 

Weaknesses.

A great character with no real draw backs. He's not at Abaddon levels, but he is very powerful.

Overall.

I like the idea of using Sevatar for an alpha strike terminator assault tactic, and combine potentially with Terror Assault for an interesting game. 

Difference to First Edition.

Improved! He is strictly better in Second Edition in every department. Even if I dislike the Night Lords (I candidly never like fighting against them!), I really love Jago Sevatar. Not only is his fluff excellent, his rules are great too. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Contekar Terminator Squad

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

Background.

The nobility - such as it was - of Nostramo wound up in the elite Contekar formations and given some of the best tools and pieces of kit available. They are more concerned with status over each other and how they stand in the legion than others. This makes them something of an uneasy formation to command unless you are the Primarch or Sev. 

Strengths.

WS=5 and W=2 terminators are strong to begin with. Add in their special rules that include deep strike and stubborn as standard and you have an even better squad. The icing on the cake is the chosen warriors and fear.

In addition to this, they gain a special rule called "Lords of the Night" to reflect their standing in Nostramo society. This means they can fill a compulsory HQ slot where the Primarch and Sevatar are not around when needed, which I find to be most remarkable. This could be great for an allied detachment potentially? They can also be a retinue for Sevatar. 

Weaknesses.

No night vision. A notable lack of options.

Difference to First Edition.

Love the automatic deep strike in second edition.

Builds.

5 Contekar, Dissident with Escaton Power Claw (240 points).

The baseline unit. Take either the volite cavitor and/or the heavy flamer to taste. A combination of the two is great at short range. The usual rule of "go big" with volkite can also apply here, but with heavy 4 per weapon it is not as needed as it might be elsewhere.

10 Contekar, Dissident with Escaton Power Claw (440 points)

The only real option for the squad is more members and the power claw. Take both. Make it 15 strong for a sum of 640 points. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Night Raptor Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars. Night Raptors are a great elite choice, but feel like they should be fast attack.

Background.

A breed apart, forged together by the simple fact that they all have similar ... proclivities. Soar above the battle field. Circle around. Look for prey. Then be really unsubtle about it all. 

Strengths.

Jump pack infantry with 2 wounds, WS=5 combined with sudden strike, bloody murder, fear, and built-in night vision unlike many of the other Night Lords who have to pay for this. Fundamentally, this is a stronger version of an assault squad that causes fear and can be kitted out in a manner that suits the Night Lords very well. They also synergize well with night fighting. 

Weaknesses.

Slightly expensive in terms of the sheer points value that players are paying for them. They feel like they should also be in fast attack, but given the double wounds, I get why they are elites as well.

Difference to First Edition.

Skirmish troops with improved lightning claw capabilities!

Builds.

10 Night Raptors, all with Twin Lightning Claws (410 points).

You won't make too many friends here, especially with that sudden strike coming into play. Take up to 15 members, if you're feeling like you need larger numbers to play to Night Lords' strenghts?

10 Night Raptors, 2 power weapons, 2 chain glaives, 2 melta guns, Huntmaster with artificer armour (380 points).

Mid range option here with anti-tank and appreciable anti-infantry as well. Sometimes the humble flamer might be preferable here if you want a better anti-infantry option, although plasma guns are nice too. I'm not so taken with the plasma pistol or volkite serpenta for the huntmaster though. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Terror Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars. The Terror Squad is a way of life for the Night Lords and comes recommended.

Background.

Regardless of whether it is a criminal worthy of punishment, a planetary governor, or some other victim, the Night Lords were well able to make a gruesome example of all that stood in their way. Indeed, it is notable that these true monsters (many of whom were marked for death by their Primarch) probably caused less bloodshed through their mere threat than when they were unleashed. But when unleashed, they brought ruination and dark deeds to the battlefield. 

Strengths.

Fear (1) combines with infiltration (and a possible rhino, dreadclaw, or drop pod as transportation) with precision striking, bloody murder and preferred enemy (infantry) to make a truly nasty combination. The key here is probably pinning and this is worth thinking through in a bit of detail (allies with Iron Warriors might make a lot of sense arguably?) but the rotor cannon option will help a lot with this. 

Weaknesses.

One wound each with a 3+ save makes them just as vulnerable as regular tactical marines. Make sure they infiltrate into a good position, or take enough of them to survive one turn of incoming firepower. 

Difference to First Edition.

Lost melta bombs. Need to pay for night vision. Skirmish is good here though. Otherwise pretty similar and a mainstay for Night Lords lists. 

Builds.

5 Executioners, 3 Rotor Cannons, 3 Chain glaives, Headsman with power fist and artificer armour (185 points).

Distraction carnifex.

10 Executioners, 5 Rotor Cannons, 3 Chain Glaives, Headsman with power fist and artificer armour (285 points).

Take night vision to taste and put inside a drop pod. 

15 Executioners, 15 Rotor Cannons, Headsman with power fist and artificer armour (395 points).

Infiltrate and kill stuff. Take Night Vision for goodness sake - well worth it here. Take also in combination with other units to do the mopping up - as required. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Konrad Curze

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars. The Night Haunter returns to second edition with style. 

Background.

Cursed with psychic premonitions. Alone as a child on a gang controlled criminal world. And with a keen sense of bringing judgement to those the Emperor would see sanctioned, Konrad was almost a breed set apart from his kin. With a bit more humanity in him, he could have been very similar to Corax, but as it turned out, darkness, fear and terror were his boots, gloves and coat. 

Strengths.

As Sire of the Night Lords, he spreads Night Vision to his sons for reasons inadequately explored, and also bloody murder which is nice. In addition they also gain Fear, presumably because he inspires them. The reaction bonus to movement is solid. 

Konrad has a small slew of special rules including Hit and Run, and Fear (3). The King of Terrors is notable here for forcing a pinning test to anyone who sees him win a combat. Presumably because it is always gruesome even by the grim dark setting's standards. 

He has a very minor psychic power based on him knowing of his death against Ld=7 to activate. On success, he can gain rules like feel no pain and A+1 hence its worth considering, especially if you can ride out a perils of the warp. 

The stat line is good with WS=8 which is fantastic. His armour is solid like his brothers, and grants him a +12 to move when running instead of the usual initiative bonus while also ignoring dangerous terrain and any movement modifiers. His weapons provide shred and murderous strike at AP=2 while his side arm is excellent with rending assault=3 shooting at very short range. 

Weaknesses.

He brings a combination of army boosts and personal capability to the battlefield. Against his brothers he is middle of the rankings in terms of how good he might be against them. As a primarch, he is, naturally, crazy deadly and can take on every kind of infantry imaginable and probably win. You might want a different solution for land raiders though as he lacks melta. He will also struggle to keep up with jump infantry.

Overall.

I like what I see!

Difference to First Edition.

Improved to my mind. Now, we might argue that he has lost his jump pack and jump ability. But his movement here is swift enough to remain deadly and problematic to opponents on foot otherwise. With 8 base attacks he is incredible in close combat against most infantry. But his shooting got a bit worse here. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Night Lords Armoury

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars. There are plenty of choices contained within the Night Lords Armoury in second edition.

Nostraman Chain Weapons. A remarkable three variants here for characters, all with breaching and shred and variable S bonuses. Very nice indeed for the costs involved.

Escaton Power Claw. Shread and murderous strike combined with a power fist like improvement for a modest cost. Again: really nice.

Lords of Murder. Gain Bloody Murder for a very small points cost. Take it.

Bloody Murder. Charge +1 distance, and A+1 against pinned or falling back units. Situational, but good.

Prey Sight. Night Vision used to come as standard in first edition. In second, it is an upgrade. Worth taking though if you're using Night Fighting.

Trophies of Judement. Gain fear! Not much more to say here other than take it if you're not already using Terror Assault. 

Difference to First Edition.

Overall it is very much improved with a lot of new selections that players will be tempted by. The only negative here is the loss of Night Vision which now has to be paid for compared to First Edition. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Night Lords Traits and Rites

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars, rounded up.

Warlord Traits.

The Night Lords have 1 traitor and 2 generic warlord traits to pick between.

Warmonger. Get +1 to hit against loyalist units containing an independent character. This is nice, and the added bonus of fearless if they also have a Sons of Horus detachment allied to them is fluffy, but not necessary. 

Jadhek Clanlord. Counter attack combines here with ignoring penalties to movement and charging due to terrain. This is solid.

Flaymaster. Fear (1) that increases with every successful sweep, unit destroyed, or dead challenger is very nice indeed. 

Rites of War.

The Swift Blade. Get 5 HQs - 1 Praetor and 4 Consuls (take at least 1 herald to grant Line). Each is a Jadhek Clanlord (as above) and all must be killed for slay the warlord. They must be upgraded to combat bikes or jetbikes. This is a very fluffy rite of war, and also somewhat powerful at the price of no one who has to be the true warlord. Outriders as troops rounds it out well. 

Terror Assault. Well known to veterans, this rite of war focuses on causing fear. Get night fighting for at least 2 turns, raptor squads as troops, and fear for your characters. A great combination even with the heavy support restriction involved. 

Difference to First Edition.

The Night Lords player might need to think harder about scoring units in second edition to be honest - where applicable. Take heralds to help. Drop pods are not standard for Terror assault any longer, so some changes will be required. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Night Lords Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3.5/5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars. The rules are both fluffy and of reasonably high quality.

Background.

Of all the traitor legions, the Night Lords ever were close to censure and skirted the edge of acceptable results against monstrous behaviour. Already close to being declared renegade, it is little wonder they threw in their lot with Horus. Nearly unique among the legions, they pretty much splintered during the Heresy itself and dissolved into much smaller warbands. Temporarily reunited for the Siege of Terra, they were a spent force after Thramas and ultimately did dissolve into renegades and those who would still visit their "justice" on the Emperor. 

Legion Rules Review.

A Talent for Murder. The legion gains +1 to wound when they outnumber the enemy in both shooting and close combat or when facing pinned or falling back units. This is excellent as ever as calls for the Night Lords to be fielded in large squads whenever possible. Also worth considering how to cause pinning and falling back (fear you say?). 

Panoply of Slaughter can choose the Night Lords wargear options, while Children of the Night grants the warlord traits for the legion.

Advanced Reaction.

The Better Part of Valour. The Night Lords take a fall back move and regroup automatically when charged. This, of course, might put the chargers out of range. If they go out of sight, then the enemy can select a different unit. This is a very reasonably and fluffy trait.   

Difference to First Edition.

The rules have improved thanks to more triggering effects for the Talent for Murder. Yes, it is no longer related to the to hit roll, but the wider range of trigger makes this much better than First Edition. 

Horus Heresy Review: Night Lords Atramentar Squad

Background.

The terminator elite of the Night Lords, and all swearing fealty to Sevatar. Armed to the teeth (in some cases literally), they are noted to be shock troops, yet also very prone to the Night Lords' failings of being little more than a disunited rabble who might plausibly turn against their own. 

Strengths. 

Although one might read the stat line and not think much of it, these marines are still terminators, and in Tartaros Armour as standard. Better though, they inherit something that is almost unique in the legions and belongs to the Night Lords -- not the special rules associated with the legion -- but the use of teleporter transponders. This means that they are invariably going to be in the right area most of the time and little thought needs to be applied to how they will be transported around. I honestly wish other legions had more regular access to this technology outside of rites of war, but for the Night Lords, it is a true and powerful boon.

The equipment choices available mean that they can be kitted out in a strong variety of ways -- we will look at some sample builds below. The disordered charges against them, coupled with trophies of judgement make them all the more powerful melee opponents. Implacable advance is also very welcome here. 

Being sword to Sevatar, the Atramentar can be taken as troops, but is Sev is killed, they will no longer be scoring. This leads us naturally into the next section. 

Weaknesses.

One wound terminators won't last too long unless they get where they need to be and stuck into the fray. Even with the transponders, these marines are vulnerable to high volume, and high strength firepower, and this should be taken into consideration. 

Builds.

Remember that the Night Lords really excel when the unit size is large. Hence some of the builds below, whilst expensive in terms of points cost, try to allow for this fact. The Night Lords want to conduct an Alpha Strike and rout enemies through fear. These terminators play that role well. 

5 Atramentar; power axes (270 points).

This is actually the baseline unit. It is viable "as is". That said, it is more of a "distraction carnifex" than anything else.

20 Atramentar; 4 heavy flamers; 6 combi-flamers; 1 thunder hammer (817 points).

I actually wouldn't play this unit, but it is fun on paper at least!

10 Atramentar; 5 with Lightning Claws; 2 thunder hammers; 2 chain fists (545 points).

This is one that I would play. Why? Because Night Lords want to be conducting an Alpha Strike via close combat as soon as possible. This unit can take on most things in the game and look good doing it. Teleport in, and start the murder. Take grenade harness to taste.

10 Atramentar; 2 plasma blasters; 5 combi-plasma; 5 power fists (510 points).

An excellent mid-range unit capable of outputting serious fire power to blast away opponents or light tanks, and following it up with deadly power fists. This is a unit I would also run.  

The Defence of Sotha: Aegida's Lament

This month's Horus Heresy supplementary review is a long awaited welcome to the Night Lords' Atramentar Terminators!

The supplement is available via the Warhammer Community here, and this time we are focused on when the Night Lords invaded the outskirts of the Ultramar Empire to try to capture the Pharos -- the full events of which are told in the Horus Heresy novel by the same name. Key to the Ultramarine's defence of their realm, the artefact is clearly a grand prize for either legion to possess. 

In the supplement, we learn more of the Night Lords who undertook the invasion to attempt to capture it, along with witnessing their grizzly acts in the process. The Ultramarines who defend against this are well accounted for too, but the stars of the show are the Atramentars.

Clearly the series is going to be selecting units that have been explicitly noted in the novels but never really allowed the chance to shine on their own or given any rules of their own to play with. The Atramentar are such a welcome addition to the Horus Heresy rules set, and their absence has long since been lamented. This is now brought full circle and we witness their full g(l)ory here in this release.

I will review the unit separately in a future post (incoming later this week with a little luck) and will review the mission provided in this publication too as a third post. For this post though, I am continuing my amazement and excitement at seeing these important parts of the Horus Heresy come to light. There are certainly bits in the publication that will pique the interest of veteran Night Lords and Ultramarine fans alike. The writing is high quality, coherent, and in line with expectations of what happened for the battle of the Pharos in the novel, along with new light shone on the combatants that were immediately to hand. Excellent stuff really!

[Aside: I am personally looking forward to seeing future rules for the Effrit Stealth Squads for the Alpha Legion. Please please please Warhammer Team, if you read this blog can you grant my wish? Love from me! xx]

Night Lords Tyberos Painting

Mid-week painting is a very welcome change of pace for me at the moment, and a happy respite from what is going on in the wider world. I have finally tackled my Tyberos model that I bought from Forge World a while ago. The plan that I had all along was to paint this particular model up in the colours of the Night Lords.

The reason behind this (seemingly peculiar) choice was to see how he looked in these colours due to the fact that the Carcharodons might be descended from this traitorous chapter. For a more in-depth crawl through the possible successor chapters of traitor legions, I wrote a popular article on the topic in April. The Carcharodons are noted as having possible Night Lords elements within them, or even inside their gene seed in a chimeric fashion. Hence this was a strong motivator for the choice of colour scheme for Tyberos, coupled with a potentially new opponent for some of my smaller games. To be clear, I won't be collecting Night Lords as they simply don't appeal to me greatly beyond their paint scheme (I'm not a fan of their background, although I can readily appreciate the work gone into this legion over many decades of background fluff. Nor do I relish playing against this legion and their fear inducing ways of fighting!). 

Painting followed a home brew approach to the Night Lords colours. A black undercoat was applied to give the model depth, before using a base colour of Caledor Sky for most of the model's bluer parts. This was washed down with contrast paints plus a touch of Nightshade to give the model some depth. Edge highlights were applied to the bluer parts in Teclis Blue followed by Lothern Blue. Some of these edges could have been neater, but I've not managed to purchase new paint brushes in a while (will be getting out more soon, hopefully! And yes: I like to purchase my brushes in person rather than online, before anyone says that). I attempted a lightning effect on the model's left leg which I am pleased with overall. It is almost impressionistic in nature, but seems to work a treat on this model. 

I decided to use reds on the fists and helmet, inspired by Sevatar. This battle brother's life is therefore held in the balance by the Primarch (or potentially was, until he was assassinated). Two tones of red were used here, including a wash of contrast paints and darker tones to blend in. Eye lenses were picked out in white before getting a sampling of green to offset the red helmet, and a careful pin prick of reflection inserted at the back edge of the lens. 

Cables, recessed metal, and other metallic parts were picked out in lead belcher before receiving a cost of Guilliman Flesh (yep: really). On the upper parts and edging of the shoulder pads, I was quite liberal with this and it has created almost a semi-bronze trim which I am very happy with the blend of. More edging in whiter colours picks out the edge highlights for the uppermost parts of the pads.

Finally, like many people, I only have the older Night Lords transfers that used to come with the older chaos space marine boxed sets. They're aged and don't look terrific these days. So I decided to live a little dangerously and do a free hand icon on the right shoulder pad. The basic shape is done in Mephiston red, with a fanged skull placed in the middle, over the top of this. Black then gives the outer edge of the freehand a good outline that is more than sufficient to round of the basic shapes required here.

Overall, this has been a very interesting experiment to undertake, and one that I hope will be appreciated by readers -- changing the status of a miniature and its in-game loyalty purely by its paint scheme is an adventure, and one that I would fully encourage anyone to try out! 

Praetors Deserve Quality Bases

Every praetor deserves a good base. The one that I'm planning for my new Alpha Legion acquisition is not different in this regard. Luckily for me, I picked up this beauty recently that I will be using with the praetor miniature (as opposed to constructing one from scratch). 

Of course, this base belongs to Sevatar of the Night Lords legion. It also happens to be one of my favourite ones from Forge World. I like the way that the actual base itself slots into the side of the display base. Many Forge World bases are fully encircled by the display base (cf., various other praetor level marines, and some Primarchs). The ones that slot into the side are without doubt my favourite type due to their simplicity and low level of messing around to get the playing base out from the display base. And of this type, I really dig Sevatars. In fact, I was toying with using this one with Alpharius himself at one point, but decided against it. 

The base comes in three parts (four if you count the black circular citadel base as well). The smallest part is the arm of the marine who lies dead near the foot of the shallow staircase. This part is simple to glue in place though, but I would advise dry fitting your miniature of choice to ensure that this arm works with the rest of the miniature before gluing everything in (doubly so for a kitbash like what I'm up to here). 

Horus Heresy Review: Nakrid Thole

Background.
Thole is arguably a quintessential Night Lord preator writ in flesh. He's never fought with the Emperor, and never set foot on Terra. He was obedient to the Night Haunter, but only up until the point he left the legion, and then he was happier to get stuck into the targets he wanted to rather than be subjected to Imperial rules. 

After clawing his way up the ranks, he had a good company of killers at his side and when Curze made haste for Thramas, Thole did what he wanted: killed at will.

Strengths.

Thole comes with a standard Praetor stat line and a balanced set of equipment that I regard as flavorful for the Night Lords. 

The Valour's Shadow rule means that he cannot be targeted within a large group of marines, and sometimes he won't count toward the kill tally for victory points since he's (cowardly) slinked away (with a tactical retreat to live another day). 

He comes with two interesting weapons in the form of a flay-whip, and the Devil's Due (a sort of over-powered power hatchet). I think that unless he is facing off against a large blob, the whip probably won't see that much play. The Devil's Due is superior thanks to its AP2 and S+2 boost most of the time. With that said, the combination of the pair can be powerful in the right circumstances. The whip might well reduce an enemy to I=1, and then the Devil's Due will swing in prior to an enemy striking at I=1 to finish them off nicely. It is a characterful combination, but not hideously over-powered.

Weaknesses.

Like many Night Lords, Thole wants to be in close combat, and quick. He will also need company as the Talent For Murder special rule is too good to overlook for him. Night Fighting will also appeal for Thole as well. 

Overall.

Thole is a solid Praetor for the Night Lords legion, if not categorically outstanding.  He will likely see use in the rite of war bearing his moniker: the Cross of Bone. 

Horus Heresy Review: Contekar Terminator Elite

Background.
We switch away from the Dark Angels in our Horus Heresy Reviews this year to focus on the remaining units contained within Crusade. We begin with the Contekar Terminator Elites from the Night Lords. As a side note, I was hoping to see the Atramentar in this book, but alas, the Contekar are what we are given.

The Contekar were the noble born sons of Nostramo. Corrupt, and showing utter contempt for the Imperial Citizenship, their main concern was with their own standing and status within the legion. Indeed, only the Night Haunter or the First Captain could freely command them, everyone else had to be worthy of their butchery. More than this, they were often sent to change the commander of lesser Night Lord detachments that were deemed unworthy. No wonder Sev sent them everywhere to maintain order.

Strengths.

These terminators are close combat and close range shooting one. They will do terrifically well in boarding actions (zone mortalis) as well as teleporting directly to where they are needed, as well as objective holding. Armed with heavy flamers or a variant Volkite weapon, they need to get close and personal fast. Their chainglaives will do well with AP3 and rending, but I really like the Escaton power claw option that the Dissident can carry in to battle. Access to trophies of judgement to cause fear is the icing on the cake.

With Sevatar in play, the unit can be taken as a personal body guard, but does not have to be deployed with him, which is very nice and spicy. 

Weaknesses.

They really do poorly in a ranged game. Therefore the play style of these terminators has to be to get where they need to be and engage rapidly. This could be done via teleportation, land raider phobos, or dreadclaw drop pod. All three provide nice options for the controlling player. 

Builds.

Here are a couple of builds to consider.

5 Contekar, Dissident with Escaton power claw (245 points).  12/Jan/2021: Now costs 255 points.  

A baseline build to put inside transports. 

Add teleport transponders for a total cost of 255 points to generate a distraction unit or objective sitting unit. 

10 Contekar, Dissident with Escaton power claw, 5 volkite cavitors, all with teleport transponders (495 points). 12/Jan/2021: Now costs 470 points.

This is getting expensive in terms of points cost, but is a very nice unit to teleport in to play in enemy lines are wreck havoc. Beware of Salamanders and the like though who don't care about your fear and laugh at your flamers with their own ones. Add 5 more bodies to taste. 

Warhammer World: Night Lords of Horus Heresy

Carrying on with a visitation to the legions of the Horus Heresy, today we have the Night Lords. These images (like the others in this series) was snapped at the dedicated special exhibit at Warhammer World (no longer on though!). I'm posting these here as a painting reference, and as a bit of a nostalgia about my visits to Warhammer World itself (one the the advantages of being in the UK I guess!).

Horus Heresy Review: Kheron Ophion of the Kyroptera

Background.
Something of an aberration amongst the Night Lords, Ophion was not much given to practicality and the gruesome subtleness of his parent legion. Frankly, he sounds more like an Ultramarine, or a hero of the Emperor's Children or Dark Angels.

It was his unexpected bravery that meant that the Night Lords were not entire annihilated at the culmination of the Thramas Crusade as he entered it with his cruiser, the Shroud of Eventide.

Strengths.
Ophion has several things going for him. His Bloody Aegis grants him a truly amazing 3+ invulnerable save in close combat. Plus it reduces (potentially) his opponent's WS by a factor of 2 if they roll a natural 1 to hit. He is therefore going to be very strong in challenges and in combat in general. This calls for him to be taking the fight to the enemy as soon as possible.

The arguably not ironically titled rule The Coward means that he gains Feel no Pain as he loses wounds. (And it gets better when he's down to his last rule). I particularly like this rule!

Finally his warlord trait is nicely titled Aberrant Bravery. When possessing less VPs than the enemy, he creates a bubble of stubbornness around him that is really cool. Recall that in 30k, stubborn is at a premium and therefore this is an amazing boon overall. More than this, he can re-roll and game ending die rolls (or his opponent) if he wants the game to go on (or cease!).

Weaknesses.
As a Master of the Legion, he is not highly decked out in state of the art arms. Take his armour for instance, it is merely a 3+ save. The power axe is nice though, but the volkite serpenta could be better.

Overall. 
A very reasonably priced HQ selection for the Night Lords that is also very fluffy. I think armies could very well be designed around him: take in a bubble of terminators and wrap in a land raider and take something like pride of the legion and it has the makings of a devastating force potentially.

Night Lords 30k Army List: 1850 points Sevatar

Introduction.

In my overview of the basics and synergy concepts for building army lists in 30k and Horus Heresy era gaming, I noted that it is worth trying to take rites of war for armies as they can really enhance what the list is capable of. Today, I'm going to break that nominal rule, just to demonstrate that its the exception that makes the rule great!

Today's army list features the Night Lords and Sevatar. Hence, it could potentially have a rite of war due to Sevatar's Master of the Legion rule, but I'm going to argue it doesn't need it. Its one of the classic cases of an army doing better without it. Why should this be so? Well, in short: the Night Lords are one army that can potentially do very well (perhaps better?) without a rite at all. That is because their special rules (causing fear, and the ability to teleport terminators in - at a points cost premium) is akin to a rite of war in and of itself and can be exploited better without taking a rite of war, as I hope to demonstrate below.

Army List.

HQ

Sevatar (175 points).

Sevatar's warlord trait is master of ambush by default. This is actually really awesome and something that this army can (at will) exploit. Select carefully which units to use it on and then place Sevatar with one of the bulkier squads below.

Master of Signal, artificer armour, trophies of judgement, power fist (110 points).

To go with the heavy support squad.

Primus Medicae, terminator armour, trophies of judgement, teleport transponder (130 points).

To go with the terminator squad. Or any other squad for that matter really. 

Elites

Terminator Squad, 5 members, 5 chainfists, teleport transponders (225 points).

Teleporting terminators. Simple really.

Terror Squad, 5 members, Headsman with power fist, melta bombs, artificer armour (155 points).

A nuisance squad - plain and simple.

Troops

Tactical Squad, 18 members, all with bolt pistols and chainswords, legion vexilla, sergeant with artificer armour and power fist (265 points).

The humble, almost maxed out tactical squad. It's not maxed out as I needed to come in at 1850 points. I was 20 points over, so we have 18 rather than 20 member here. It is that simple.

Tactical Squad, 19 members, all with bolt pistols and chainswords, legion vexilla, sergeant with artificer armour and power fist (275 points).

There are 19 members here so that Sevatar can tag along with them.

Fast Attack

Night Raptor Squad, 10 members, 2 with flamers, Huntsmaster with artificer armour, melta bombs, Nostraman Chainglaive (295 points).

Strictly better than an assault squad, this squad provides a rapid reaction force to hunt down enemy infantry squads - particularly those holed up in cover. The meltabomb is defensive in case of being caught by dreadnoughts. Add in chain axes to taste is expanding. 

Heavy Support

Heavy Support Squad, 5 members all with missile launchers and flakk, sergeant with artificer armour (220 points).

An anti-aircraft and anti-tank role here. To be teamed up with the Master of Signal and hidden in some ruins until they need to go forth to take care of out-flankers.

How it Works.

Firstly. Take a deep breath and count up how many models you have in this army. Sixty Five. Let's just repeat that and let it settle in. Sixty Five models in at least 3+ armour, with 12 in 2+ armour. Some with invulnerable saves too. For any army, 65 models is a tough ask to take care of. Sixty five models in power armour or better is awesome. 

This army gives the player a lot of flexibility. There are so many components that can start the game in positions almost anywhere they like. The terminator squad and the Primus Medicae and deep strike. Naturally, they should go together. The Night Raptor squad can also deep strike if needed. The terror squad can infiltrate. And on top of that 3 other squads get to set up as per Master of Ambush thanks to Sevatar. I'd consider putting Sevatar with the 19 strong tactical squad and set them up accordingly. About the only squad in a fixed position is the heavy support squad. They're going to team up with the Master of Signals and camp out in some ruins in the deployment zone.

With this degree of flexibility, most enemies should be jealous. Even the Alpha Legion. And with this flexibility the strategy of the army can vary. But in most cases it will be aiming for an Alpha Strike (pun almost intended). 

Use the heavy support and the master of signal to lay down some significant firepower at the start of the game. Preferably take out a tank or a flier. Have the Raptors fly in to dislodge analogue support squads from their hiding places.

The terror squad can be outflanked to creep up and cause fear where needed.

Sevatar and his squad position with Master of Ambush. They're probably going to be joined by the terminators and the Primus Medicae when they're available from reserve. But they don't need to be. The terminators can use their chain fists to tackle enemy tanks close up, and instead the Primus can join Sevatar alone. Or any other squad for that matter really. Use fear, weight of numbers and everything else to throw at the enemy. 

That still leaves the 18 strong tactical squad that I've not mentioned. You probably won't even need them. Camp them out on an objective and have them laugh maniacally at the pitiful enemy? Or use Master of Ambush with them too? Your choice really.

Seriously, who needs rites of war with a list like this?

Expansions and Contractions.

Add the Night Haunter himself in here for bonus laughs. But if that is not permitted, then I would expand the squad sizes of all of these squads before even thinking about getting tanks. Then in terms of tanks, I would consider items like the Spartan, Storm Eagle and the Caetus Assault Ram. Focus on deadly things that also transport troops and are hard nuts to crack. Avoid rhinos - you don't need them. Drop pods are possible, but again, why bother. Take instead more infiltrating or outflanking troops (or even bikes) to keep with the theme of lots of marines on the ground able to be wherever they're needed.  Keep focussing on fast moving items, the ability to be where you want, and take weapons you need.

To contract, start with the terror squad -- they're a distraction unit here. Then its up to you. Perhaps remove the raptors to make it under 1500 points or the two HQs that aren't Sevatar? It'll still be a powerful list regardless, but the synergy with these HQs makes it much sweeter. So I'd even toy with the idea of cutting down the squad numbers slightly. 

Night Lords 30k Army List: Terror Assault

Introduction.
Terror Assault is the Night Lords unique rite of war. It accentuates what the Night Lords can do but other legions cannot: cause fear, use night fighting as their friend, and fundamentally: take lots of terror squads. Indeed, with this rite of war, we are forced to take 3 entire terror squads.

The other thing that the Night Lords can do that others will find hard to accomplish is have their terminators deep strike in to play in any game - and not require a rite of war to do so.

The only question in my mind here is whether to take Sevatar, or whether to opt to take a generic Praetor instead for this rite of war. Sevatar is excellent at what he does, and does grant Master of Ambush but his big drawback is the 3+ armour save and the lack of eternal warrior. Plus, terror squads have infiltrate regardless. It is for these reasons that for the Terror Assault rite of war that I'm going to select a generic praetor instead.

Army List. (1850 points limit). 
Praetor, terminator armour, teleport transponder, trophies of judgement, paragon blade, digital lasers, volkite charger (192 points).
This HQ gives us access to Master of the Legion and is kitted out for close combat. He is to be placed with the other terminators, below.

Master of Signal, artificer armour, Charnabal sabre, melta bombs, trophies of judgement, volkite charger, refractor field (135 points).
At first, selecting a legion Master of Signal over a chaplain might seem like an odd choice. But here, I'm using him for access to a Charnabal Sabre. So why a master of signal rather than taking a champion (and therefore a master crafted sabre?) - the answer is that he provides some much needed bombardment action for the army. After using this, he is a close combat monster with improved initiative to try to ensure that the lower striking members of any squad he is with can take advantage of their superior numbers inside combat. Place with any of the squads below you feel will most benefit from his BS bonus he can give to them.

Legion command squad, in terminator armour, thunder hammer for the sergeant, 2 chainfists, teleport transponders (210 points)
A fearless close combat squad designed to take out vehicles. Take a risk by deep striking them close to a valuable target. Team up with the praetor if needed. A bit of a suicide squad really. Could easily be replaced with a tactical squad instead. I include it here simply as an entertaining option (but pricey in terms of points). The choice is stark: 3 terminators to suicide strike a vehicle, or a large tactical blob. I can't quite make my mind up, so I'll leave the terminators here for now(!).

Elites.
Terminator Squad, 10 members, 5 chainfists, teleport transponders (475 points).
Another teleporting squad. Can be teamed up with the praetor as well.

Mortis Dreadnought, two twin-linked lascannons, havoc launcher (170 points).
An anti-air option for pesky fliers.

Troops.
Terror Squad, 5 members, Headsman with artificer armour, melta bombs, Nostraman Chainglaive (150 points).
A generic and small sized terror squad for causing fear in enemy troops and softening them up. To be infiltrated.

Terror Squad, 10 members, 9 with volkite chargers, 1 with a flamer, Headsman with artificer armour, melta bombs, power fist (285 points).
A kitted out terror squad, fit for infiltration.

Terror Squad, 9 members, Headsman with artificer armour, melta bombs, power fist (215 points).
Drop Pod (35 points).
A squad to team up with the Master of Signals if required, or to go it alone.


How it Works.
Arguably the big negative about Terror Assault is the lack of focus on support elements that can help with an anti-tank role. This is fundamentally why we have both the mortis dreadnought (which is arguably a HUGE target), as well as melta bombs absolutely everywhere.

The army relies on deep striking the terminators and drop pod, and infiltrating or outflanking the terror squads under the cover of darkness in the early turns to get in to position and take care of enemy tanks whilst ganging up on enemy infantry squads and trying to fear them off the table.

The sheer troops count here is an issue though. I would therefore contemplate getting rid of the command squad and having a tactical squad instead.

Expansions and Contractions.
More tactical marines for bodies on the ground is really required to make things shine here. Add in some transport options and I think we have the basis for an excellent army. Particularly if we can wrangle a land raider dedicated transport. Other ideas include having more dreadnoughts present as well. A Sicaran would be a sound choice too as would a destroyer squad. These are just ideas, clearly there are plenty of ways to expand up to 2000 points and beyond. I would also entertain heavy chain blades on some of the terror squad for fun. Gah, and I don't even have any lovely night raptors in here yet either. Heck, there's such a lot of choice for expansion.

To cut down to 1500 points, ditch the expensive command squad, and consider the necessity of the dreadnought if you know the opponent, otherwise its probably the master of signals that is going to face the chop.

The weakness this list will have is against fast moving enemies that are based on bikes (etc.). It could really benefit from some more ranged firepower, or fast elements of its own (night raptors, or storm eagle transports). Fundamentally, its a bit of an alpha-striking army list. Just pray that your opponent is not a fear immune legion (Salamanders, Death Guard) who are riding bikes everywhere (unlikely, but I'd love to see a Salamanders bike list!).

I will write at least one more Night Lords list, and in that one will try to focus a bit more on swift moving elements.

Wargames Gallery: Night Lords Land Raider

Snapped at a tournament earlier in the year (and not my model, let me emphasise). I very much like how the lightning bolts have been applied across the surface of the land raider -- a highly authentic Night Lords painting scheme that has been very well executed to say the least.

Horus Heresy Review: Sevatar

Death to the False Emperor! First uttered by Sevatar, this marine is one of the deadliest in all of the space marine legions by reputation. On par with the likes of Corswain (Dark Angel), Abaddon (Sons of Horus), Eidolon (Emperor's Children), etc., if the background fluff is to be believed.

Is this justified by his rules though?

He does gain the instant death special rule for all of his melee attacks for a start. This is nice and makes him a bit of a character killer for the Night Lords. From this perspective alone, he should be at the forefront of any attack, preferably teamed up with his Atramentar (command squad of terminators) who will not scatter on deep striking, as if Sevatar has an icon of chaos or similar, when Sevatar is part of the force. This makes him not only deadly in combat, but also a force multiplier.

He's also a repressed psyker with precognition. This will give him a slight edge where it is needed the most.

In terms of equipment, the most significant negative is his penchant for going around in 3+ power armour. Didn't he ever think to have anything artificer crafted?! But he does get an iron halo to help out a bit, as well as a master crafted chainglaive.

In terms of tactics, I think he'd make a terrific HQ choice for armies wanting to go with Pride of the Legion rite. This'll make sure he gets close to the enemies he needs to be in the face of, and with serious back up from his terminators. Take several large squads, and get them to deep strike on top of Sevatar when in position, and all sorts of nasty things will no doubt be able to happen. Overall, probably worth the points cost, but must be used and played to his strengths.