Wargames Gallery: Is There Such A Thing As Too Many Lernaeans?

Is there such a thing as too many Lernaeans?

Possibly. Or Not?

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Constantin Valdor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars, rounded down. Valdor returns in second edition as strong as ever and is now classed as a Primarch.

Background.

Valdor is the Captain-General of the Legio Custodes. He has been the Emperor's Right Hand Man for a very long time and is exceptionally deadly and unrelenting once unleashed. He wields artifacts from the big man himself, given to him as relics of the Unification. 

Strengths.
The main change from First Edition is that Valdor is now classed as a Primarch Unit. To be clear: he isn't in the background fluff, but I totally get why the rules got switched up to this unit type for Second Edition.

His stat line is solid with 5's everywhere and WS=7, I=6. He gets counter attack and lightning blows (but only 6+) which will help. 

The main buffs come from his equipment. The Apollonian Spear gives a nice AP2 18 inch bolt gun which also causes concussive. Ouch. In melee, it grants S+2 and AP2 along with murderous strike. The armour is amazing at 2+/3++ and grants Ld=10 to anyone on the Loyalist side who can see his glorious form. Those in the same combat get the same. 

To be clear, he is super deadly in combat. 

Weaknesses.

Loyalist only. Of course!

For all his strengths, he will not be taking down enemy Primarchs himself. Even Alpharius and Lorgar are going to be a stretch for him. He will need friends. But given the style of army that the Custodes is capable of fielding, this won't be an issue! Indeed, taking LOADS of Custodes is probably almost an auto-win button in many cases, so don't be that jerk and build a nice varied army instead.

Overall.

A melee monster and legend writ large. Capable of taking on anything short of other primarchs alone, and with his friends will be able to deal even with the Emperor's sons. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Lion El'Jonson

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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

Background.

The Lion was ever the ruthless pragmatist. Brought up on the death world of Caliban, he hunted fearsome monsters to their graves and learned that once he committed he had to follow through or perish himself. This attitude bled into his Dark Angels legion and made them a relentless force that destroyed the enemies of mankind without remorse. 

Strengths. 

The Lion does a little bit of everything. He applies some force wide buffs, while also being a significant personal danger. As Sire of the Dark Angels, he grants crusader (nice!) as well as a leadership buff to anyone who sees him - what a guy. The shooting reaction bonus is solid. He also gets to pick which hexagrammaton type he is every turn which is sublime. Keep him alive in turn 1 with dreadwing, and then move him to deathwing to get that +1 to hit when you need it most. You probably don't need the others?

His state line is beautiful and the envy of some other primarchs - WS=8 is triumphant for instance. He has a choice of weapons - the Lion Sword (which is a threat to everything) and the Wolf Blade (great for chewing up power armour blobs, but really its not as good a general choice as the Lion Sword - so take that instead). The armour allows a re-roll of the first failed invulnerable save per player turn which is cool. His side arm - the Fusil Actinaeus - grants blind with rending at 3+ making it one of the better weapons carried by the brothers. 

The point of the blade allows him to always charge 8 inches regardless, which will get him into combat plenty of the time. Hi choler also results in increased numbers of attacks when his wounds are reduced (up to A+2 at W=2). The stasis grenades meanwhile are cute and impose I-1 some of the time (but only usable once per battle). 

Finally, he also has adamantium will at a 3+ level which is remarkable.

Weaknesses.

He is not the best of his brothers in combat. Horus, Ferrus, and others are strictly better than him. I would place him in the upper half, maybe even in the top third (NB: math hammer still to be fully worked through). He is not a massive army buffing primarch either - but that crusader buff sure can be potent. He does a bit of both and well enough to get away with a lot of things. He is worth the points cost - although they are a bit steep at first glance, do pay them gladly! - and will serve you well. 

Overall.

Take him.

Difference to First Edition.

As with first edition, The Lion is something of an all-rounder who is able to be a bit of everything ranging from buffing his army through to being a close combat monster. In this regard, little has changed, and perhaps this is not surprising given that The Lion was published in First Edition comparatively recently (he was the final primarch to be released with a miniature and rules, after all). Sure, some things have changed here, but overall he feels about the same to me in the context of second edition. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Magnus the Red

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3 just about. The Thousand Sons' Crimson King is very expensive and you will struggle to optimize which psychic powers to attempt every single turn. Candidly: he is not quite worth the points cost. 

Background.

Unique among his brothers for his unrivaled psychic potency and potential, it has long been held as truth that Magnus met his Father long before their physical encounter. Driven by a desire to not merely liberate humans from oppressors, but to literally bring light of reason to his conquests, it is this flaw and thirst for knowledge that would ultimately be his downfall. Of all his brothers, I feel that Magnus got the second most raw deal (behind Angron) and unlike almost all the traitors, his fall could well have been averted but he left the Emperor with little choice to make an example in an analogous way to the Word Bearers. Did he do wrong? Yeah. He did. But with the best of intentions. And thus the path was laid.

Strengths.

The warlord trait here grants adamantium will to the army which is a healthy boost. He also reduces wounds from perils of the warp by 1 (minimum of 1). The additional reaction in the assault phase is okay. 

As the Arch Sorcerer, Magnus knows all the disciplines in the core book and can also use the minor arcana in the same turn too and automatically passes tests for these. His baleful eyes also grants line of sight for psychic powers for anything in range which is solid.

His stat line is very reasonable and he comes with deep strike as standard and his armour reduces destroyer hits by 1 wound to a minimum of 1 which is a nice surprise. His blade is a force weapon, of course, but so is the psyfire serpenta which is an amazing assault 3 AP=2 weapon through which he channels his raw power. 

Weaknesses.

He is a psychic superstar. Play him as such and have fun. Just beware of match-ups against his brothers. He is likely to lose to most, if not all of them. Even Alpharius will have a sporting chance against Magnus. Sorry guys. Knowing which psychic powers to activate every turn is also a nightmare writ large. Get ready with lots of die though, and don't forget the pistol. 

His biggest negative is the points cost. Its simply too much for what he can do. 

Overall.

An army booster, a psychic terror, and a deep striking terror. Choose your targets and psychically blast them apart and force weapon them otherwise. But with candor, he is not worth the points cost. 

Difference to First Edition.

Not as good. Like most of the Thousand Sons army, he feels a bit nerfed.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Leman Russ

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars, rounded up. The rules are very strong.

Background.

Leman Russ returns to second edition a the fore of the Space Wolves legion. Bred on Fenris, and one of the three trifoil legions, his own legion serves as the nominal "executioner" for the Emperor. Presumably he carried out some of this task with the II or XI legions in the past which prepared him to undertake Horus' altered orders to destroy the Thousand Sons in the true first volley of the Heresy (although it was not recognised as such at the time). Feared as much as Angron or Konrad, the darkness never touched him, and instead of a blood soaked savage as some would portray him, he was canny and had a great sense of self-awareness of himself and possessed utter loyalty to the Throne. 

Strengths. 

Let's start with the stat line and the impressive WS=8 alongside S=7, I=7, and A=7. Alone these mark him out as a bit better than some of his brothers. As Sire of the Space Wolves he gives his sons S+1 in a successful charge (including himself which is rather insane for a yield of S=8). Once per battle has also grants movement+1 for the turn which is cute and traitor space wolves take a pinning test (should there be any on the table). Nice and fluffy!

His armour provides an increased invulnerable to flame, melta, and plasma which is highly useful. It also imposes -1 to hit in the turn that he charges which turns Russ from good to very good in combat. His Balenight weapon grants a further S+1 for a total of 9 if he charges and imposes an extra die for moreal tests while the Helwinter axe grants S+2 for a total of 10 if you're still keeping up with the mathhammer at this point. His side arm isn't so great by strength comparisons, but does have AP3, so you won't care. 

Weaknesses.

Honestly, he doesn't have that many weaknesses. His points cost is fab for what you're getting. 

Overall.

Short version: Well worth it.

Difference to First Edition.

Feels taken down a fraction here compared to First Edition to be honest. You probably won't notice, but he's not quite number 2 on the power list any longer (that's firmly Ferrus Manus in my opinion). I would give him number 3 spot though. This is a direct result of Balenight being nerfed and his armour also brought into a much more sensible configuration. He is not guaranteed victory over Horus, but unlike many of his brothers, he does have a shot at defeating Horus much like Ferrus Manus does.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Mortarion

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars - just. The Primarch of the Death Guard casts his sinister shadow over the Second Edition of Horus Heresy with malice and strong rules. 

Background.

Of all of the Emperor's sons, Mortarion had the toughest upbringing of the lot. Cast on Barbarus, he lurched from being adopted by a necromantic giant, through to escaping and forging an army to take on the darkness out of the brave souls that were preyed upon by the dark overlords of that world. He failed. The Emperor had to save him and slay his would be adoptive parent. The darkness never really left him, and Horus persuaded him that the Emperor was really just another tyrant to bring to justice. Mortarion and his own sons paid an exceptionally high price for their heresy. 

Strengths.

The warlord trait (Sire of the Death Guard) is an army boost that ensure his sons don't worry about Fear or Shell Shock. This is excellent and harks back to first edition very nicely indeed. The added assault phase reaction is fine. 

Mortarion comes with the usual armour (which surprisingly provides no other boons). Poison, rending, and flesh bane have a much reduced effect thanks to another rule though. His weapons are fine without being outstanding. That scythe does have reaping blow (2) though - so ensure his targets are nice and tightly packed.

His stat line is mostly good, with the exception of initiative which will see him swing last most of the time - this is a significant negative. This is made up for by the 4+ It Will Not Die rule, along with a small list of other special rules like adamantium will at 3+ (beautiful and fluffy!) as well as hatred of psykers. 

He signature move (sic) is the Shadow of the Reaper. This allows him to redeploy up to 10 inches - intervening terrain be damned - during a shooting phase AND he can make a disordered assault right after it. I cannot underscore this ability enough. Mortarion has some of the best movement among his brothers. This will allow him to easily choose his targets, and herein is his purpose: he is fundamentally a killer that gets to choose his targets. Select a big blob of back line enemies perhaps? Grind that contemptor to spare parts? Take your pick. Literally. With this ability, you can afford to choose your targets every time. Take him with a unit of terminators or Death Shroud and you're good to start turn 1 with them, but then you will want to depart and get him doing his own deadly thing. 

Weaknesses.

Like some of his other brothers, he is not quite the dueling super star. In fact, he is wasted in this role as much as Alpharius might be and is probably not in the top half of his brothers overall either. Hence he has to be played to his strengths. To be blunt: he has to select his targets and chew through them quickly and in succession. Use an escort to begin with, and go from there. Don't get into Primarch duels with him. He is utterly wasted doing that, although given his toughness and It Will Not Die, he might be able to tar pit them for several turns in the hour of need.

Overall.

Mortarion is strong against large mobs, and backline targets. In fact, he's great against everything that isn't a Lord of War or his brothers. Plus he has army wide boosts and 7 juicy phosphex bombs to let rip (try not to forget about those bombs!). 

Difference to First Edition.

He no longer re-rolls It Will Not Die, nor is he totally immune to poisons, nor spreading stubborn to his sons. Arguably he is therefore a tiny bit weaker in second edition overall.  But it doesn't matter. He will still smash through a unit per turn when played right. 

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: 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: Roboute Guilliman

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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

Background.

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

Strengths. 

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

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

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

Weaknesses.

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

Overall.

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

Difference to First Edition.

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

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Lorgar

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3/5 stars approximately. Both the original and transfigured versions of Lorgar are fine, but at the lower end of the power spectrum of primarchs. He shines with his psychic abilities and army buffs though. 

Background.

Lorgar Aurelian and his Word Bearers had cause to turn traitor, but no one could have particularly seen just how far he would fall, how fast, and how many he would also be taking with him along the way. Once creating compliant worlds out of faith to the Emperor, our orator of the word was rebuked and spat out with devastating results for him, his legion, and half the other legions to boot. His is the original guilt for the entire civil war. 

Strengths.

To be clear from the outset, Lorgar's strengths do not lie in his stats. They instead reside in his psychic abilities and the buffs he can bring to the army. His personal retinue gains fearless and feel no pain, and he can grant this to a nearby unit once per game on top of this. Played right, this is terrific. 

His armour provides an increase save against psychic attacks should you need it (probably when facing Thousand Sons or rival daemon armies most likely?). His side arm is tasty with haywire and graviton rules attached to it, while his maul has the Brutal (2) rule attached to it which makes up for his otherwise lackluster statline (more on that in one moment). 

He can also be upgraded to his Transfigured state for a modest points cost increase. This gains him access to being tainted, other psychic powers (hello daemon summoning!) as well as the ability to take daemon allies (finally!). 

Finally his warlord trait is a strong one with adding +1 distance and using his Ld for all units that draw a line of sight to him (the bonus assault reaction is great as well). His sons truly listen to his words!

Weaknesses.

His stat line is the worst in the game out of all the primarchs that I've seen. Even good old Alpharius who has been nerfed into the ground in second edition has a better A, WS, and BS than Lorgar. Equally, Lorgar does have Brutal (2) which Alpharius lacks, and this makes up for a lot realistically. 

Overall.

There's a lot to like about Lorgar in second edition. Continuing with the Alpharius comparison, Lorgar is actually worth his points cost in either his regular or transfigured forms. Sure, he's not going to beat his brothers in a duel (maybe except Alpharius), but the point is that he is a buff, and to be played aggressively against selected targets. 

Difference to First Edition.

A lot of things have been shuffled around here. The Lorgar Transfigured in particular provides access to daemon allies consistently for this legion which is very different to first edition. There are other shuffles and changes, but the outcome is about the same give or take. Lorgar remains worth his points and works well played aggressively against targets other than his brothers. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Vulkan

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. The rules are very strong indeed.

Background.

Vulkan is the good guy. The humanitarian. The perpetual. And amazingly a match for many of his brothers, whilst also being a consummate craftsman. Whilst his brothers played war leaders and planetary unifiers, he was more than happy to be a teacher and protector. He carried this over to his legion and sought to minimize the casualties he caused. This, of course, way not the way of some of his brothers. He was well liked by most of them all the same. 

Strengths. 

All Salamanders gain stubborn under his warlord trait which is excellent. The extra reaction in the shooting phase is solid as well. 

The stat line is great with a WS=S=T=7 at the expense on one lower initiative than his brothers. You won't mind this given his armaments though. Dawnbringer, his hammer, strikes with S=10 and AP1 just to make some of his brothers jealous. His side arm is a S=7 lance with d6 burst which is one of the better ones compared to his brothers.  Rounding this out is his 2+/3++ armour which is excellent. He re-rolls against flame and volkite where applicable, but I suspect that hardly will ever be used.

More than anything else, Vulkan is the tank among his brothers. His It Will Not Die is at 4+ and he will out last many of his brothers and tar pit others. 

Weaknesses.

Beware of getting stuck in combat yourself all game long. No doubt a lot of Salamanders players have this experience already. He's much the same in this edition. 

Overall.

As a tank, he will tank all game long. Choose your targets though. He can take on most things in the game and win, and for his brothers stands a good chance against half of them at least (forget taking on Horus or The Lion though). 

Difference to First Edition.

He's lost some of his special rules and army boosts (no more re-rolling deny the witch for instance). Beyond this, its pretty similar. And its always hammer time. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Alpharius

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️
2/5 stars. Alpharius is simply not worth the points cost. The rules are poor for what you pay and I honestly could have given 1.5 stars out of 5 instead.

Background.

Much has been written about the Primarch of the Twentieth legion. It is mostly lies. But buried beneath the double speak, duplicity, and mystery is a nugget of truth somewhere. He is an insidious master mind capable of bringing down many enemies through misdirection and application of critical force at the weakest points. Regardless of his (or Omegon's?) loyalty, he tended to put his own forces first and built up his legion from the smartest recruits whilst operating a flat structure that was self sufficient. 

Strengths.

His warlord trait allows for 3 units to redeploy in either the deployment zone or into reserves. This is cute, but not a great trait and it might as well be the Master of Lies trait instead considering the similarity. The ability to choose a phase and gain an extra reaction in the chosen phase is better though. 

Everywhere and nowhere allows him, and 3 other units, to gain either infiltrate (yay!), scout (nah), or deep strike (might be good depending on build and unit selected and certainly is a nice way to avoid paying for drop pods). 

Insidious Mastermind allows him to choose fleet (situational), preferred enemy of everything (yay!), or sudden strike (can be good) for one turn. This is solid enough. 

His equipment is sufficient for most purposes short of confronting other primarchs. His armour has special rules against fleshbane and poisoned. His Pale Spear weapon is going to be great against many targets thanks to the AP=1. Very few other characters can boast of this. His side arm is also great with assault 2 at S=8 and AP=3 with rending as well. His BS=7 can readily take advantage of this. 

Weaknesses.

Lacking Brutal, with S=6 and WS=7, he's not going to win battles against other Primarchs. Pretty much ever. Don't even think about attacking Horus with him. Not worth it. Don't get me wrong: as a primarch, Alpharius is crazy deadly as you might expect. But against his brothers he is flat out the weakest (barring unlucky dice rolls by Lorgar perhaps). This should not be new to Alpha Legion players though. So that's okay at first blush. Use him instead against other targets. 

His special rules are not that great and his warlord trait in particular is very poor versus his brothers (cross reference Guilliman for instance). He has lost a lot compared to First Edition if I am honest. Take for example he used to be able to seize the initiative and grant preferred enemy to everything all the time. That's just gone. No cognis signum either. I am crying.

Overall.

To be absolutely candid: Alpharius is not worth the points cost. His points cost needs to come down by a minimum of 50 points for him to be on par with what he is capable of. Preferably slightly more (but not as much as 100 points). What I'm saying is that he is between 50-100 points over costed. And that is a lot of points. Players will also need to build their armies around him. By that, I mean consider which units you will be infiltrating or deep striking if you are choosing to use those rules. Frankly this needs a FAQ it is that bad and that noticeable. Or just give him back some of the better rules, or maybe double strength on the pale spear and you have a deal. 

Difference to First Edition.

Alpharius has been nerfed and his points cost is not justified. 

I'm just as sad as you are and maybe more so. Sorry folks. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Sanguinius

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. The rules are excellent.

Background.

Sanguinius makes a splendid return in second edition looking and feeling everything like the Angel that he is. Even if those wings of his are not the greatest thing on the table top (they are), then the rules are fab. Of course, the background has an ill fate in store for him later on in the civil war, but during all stages of it, he was an inspiration to all who witnessed him and remained untainted by the challenges of chaos thrown around him. Why would the Emperor not appoint him as Warmaster?

Strengths. 

Bonus WS on the charge for his sons and movement reactions bonus, coupled with those amazing wings make him not only a good beat stick, but also as swift a (unmounted) primarch as we will find. Although his armour is standard, and the bonus to combat resolution is solid, his main strength lies in his armaments. 

Infernus is terrific for a side arm with assault 2 and melta (albeit one shot) can ruin an opponent's day with ease. The blade encarmine is sufficiently powerful to tackle most foes, including his brothers, while the replacement for this of the Spear of Telesto and the Moonsilver Blade provide access to AP1 and S=10 coupled with bonus effects against psykers and daemons. 

Weaknesses.

The stat line features a lot of 6's. Not in WS, mind you. Just everywhere else. It is important to note this as often you will need higher S (Spear of Telesto), or to rely on your 2+/4+ armour save when taking incoming wounds. Brutal weapons will especially hurt him. But you shouldn't care too much about this: Sanguinius is simply great.

Overall.

He's Sanguinius. He is awesome. He should have been the Warmaster. [I may also be biased.]

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral to slightly worse overall I think?? He seems to have lost a few buffs. I preferred the bonus S and I on the charge from first edition. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Fulgrim

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

Background.

Loyal to a fault - at least to begin with - and favoured by the Emperor himself to carry the Palatine Aquila. Fulgram was the saviour of his legion and held his troops in a rigid chain of command where his thoughts would filter down effectively as they strove to emulate his excellence in all things. Within that striving lay the trap that chaos would ultimately exploit. Driven onward to ever greater heights and impossible standards, they fell hard, and Fulgrim himself fell hardest as he was seduced by the Laer Blade. 

Strengths.

Looking at the stat line first, Fulgrim has an impressive WS=8 along with I=8 which makes him an exceptional duellist among his brothers. 

His warlord trait - sire of the Emperor's Children - is as strong as it is fluffy. Those of his sons that can see him use his Ld for pinning and morale checks, and every one of his sons has +1 wound resolution in combat. The bonus reaction in any chosen game phase is simply brilliant though (explicitly, he gets the first reaction in the game turn for free - so choose wisely). 

His armaments are strong. He has a choice between the Blade of the Laer (curiously stated in the book as being given to him by the Warmaster? Nope - wrong - please check the fluff my dear writers.), or the Fireblade - Ferrus Manus' gift to him. The choice here is between having duellist's edge and fleshbane, versus S+1 and murderous strike. Could go either way on that to be honest. His ranged side arm is a deflagrating S=6 pistol with two shots which isn't bad at all. Once per game, he also forces enemy units to pass a Ld check in order to use reactions against him - neat, but choose wisely again. 

His armour is strong and provides a 3++ against close combat attacks (4+ invulnerable outside of combat). The final rule is the Sublime Swordsman rule which gives him bonus attacks in challenges based on how much his initiative is greater than others. He will invariably gain a couple of bonuses here. Sudden strike (1) is not bad either. 

Weaknesses.

He is a great swordsman, but he needs to get into combat to reap the maximum rewards. Take a transport when possible. Equally, his movement is swift enough to chase things down if required. 

Overall.

Play as a melee character and get stuck in early and often. Take a retinue of phoenix terminators where required and it will be gold. Probably literally.

Difference to First Edition.

It has been 8 years since the last rules. He has lost the deep striking bonuses here, but his points cost remains very acceptable and is at the lower end of what you can expect to pay for Primarchs. Hence probably neutral, but arguable worse if you used to run deep strike Emperor's Children armies. Fundamentally, Fulgrim is a melee character and he remains so in second edition.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Jaghatai Khan

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are strong and support a quick moving play style.

Background.

The Warhawk returns in second edition with the same enigmatic background: spirited away to a life of Chogoris, he learns about rapid and devastating ways of warfare which he brings to his sons in bulk. Regarded as a recluse, but really just never felt the need to show off to anyone, the Khan is a leader that paved the pathway forward for the Great Crusade and made the victories of other legions seem all the greater for it. 

Strengths. 

If the rules for the White Scars are poor, then the Khan will make up for it. Granting furious charge in turns they move is excellent (just try not to get pinned down, okay!) and a bonus reaction in the movement phase is strong.

He has a 2+/4+ save in the shooting phase but gets the invulnerable save beefed up in movement and assault phases which is very pleasing. He can also come into play from reserves whenever the controlling player wants. 

His armaments are good (AP=2 in combat) and whilst he is not be best fighter among his brothers, with the addition of his Sojutsu jetbike he is looking speedy, deadly, and going at I=8 is strong. The jet bike that he comes with is worth the small points cost addition to my mind.

Weaknesses.

At the time of writing, there is no model for the Khan mounted on his jetbike. I can't over emphasize how much this sucks as many players want this. As above, he is not the best primarch out there, but when played to his strengths of fast movement (etc.), he is a force to be reckoned with, make no mistake. 

Overall.

Great army wide buff combined with being one of the fastest primarchs available mark out Khan as unique. Take the jet bike and enjoy.

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral overall I think. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Angron

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3/5 stars. The rules are nicely fluffy. Maybe 3.5 stars on a good day.

Background.

The master of the World Eaters is a character that has been systematically used through his life and abused. I have a lot of sympathy for him due to circumstances that he could never control or be in charge of. And for the glimmer of a moment when he was in control and commanded his gladiator's rebellion, he was denied a worthy death by his would be father. Ever resentful and filled with unbroken rage, it is simplicity itself to see why he through in his lot with Horus. Yet he had no particular love of the rest of his brothers who turned traitor either. His is a tragedy that could have been averted many times over. It didn't have to be this way. But by the end of the Heresy, he became a Daemon Primarch and would be forever walking the eight fold crimson path with nothing but his own rage and blood lust for company. We weep for the possibilities lost.

Strengths.

Simply put, Angron is a beat stick (but also comes with army buffing abilities which is nice). By this I mean that his strengths are in close combat (did anyone expect anything less?) and that is where the controlling player needs to get him to with all due celerity. 

The Sire of the World Eaters rule gives the army a welcome boon in the form of feel no pain and adamantium will. This will make Thousand Sons players cry. The bonus to movement reactions will also really help to get the army in an optimum position.

The Butcher's Nails grant a bonus cumulative attack increase every game turn, but at the expense of everyone treating Angron at WS=3 for attacks targeting him, much like the Ravening Madmen rule. Meanwhile the Red Sands allow him to enter plentiful challenges and split attacks according to his whim. 

His equipment is good with 2+/4++ and a stat line that is reasonable for a Primarch. The weapons are great. 

Weaknesses.

The WS=3 for strikes against him is a weakness. But does Angron care? Nope.

Overall.

A strong primarch, but not the strongest. Points wise he is about right give or take a few as he has a lot of special rules in addition to an army wide buff. Hence worth taking if the army cost allows. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Rogal Dorn

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are strong.

Background.

Summoned back to Terra and installed as Warmaster in all but name, Dorn prosecuted a variety of aspects of the war for the loyalist faction whilst his father was doing goodness knows what deep in the bowels of Terra. He is portrayed as having a body of stone and being the essence of the uncompromising and determined aspect of the Emperor's soul. And one whose loyalty and duty were as breathing to other lesser mortals. 

Strengths.

The Sire of the Imperial Fists warlord trait ensures his entire army uses his leadership, and they also gain +1 to combat resolution. This is strong and will suit close combat builds nicely. Additionally the ability to choose which phase to gain a reaction within is great.

The Auric armour provides an excellent defence and grants Dorn the means to only be wounded on a 4+ regardless of anything. The fact that any charge made against him is always disordered is a nice addition here.

Weapon wise, Dorn is also doing well with his chainsword, and a S=5 assault 3 bolter. 

Weaknesses.

About the only thing that can be said here is the comparatively low(!) S=8 hits he is giving in close combat which resolve at AP=2 (other Primarchs tend to have access to either AP=1 or higher S, or both). But regardless, he is a primarch and will still slaughter enemy squads.

Overall. 

Strong without being outstanding like Horus. Dorn is also a great boon for the Imperial Fists and will certainly bring an emphatic resonance and close combat boon to the army.

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral. He's lost the ability to unlock templars as troops, but gained a different nifty defensive ability that more than makes up for it. Honestly, about the same overall. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Perturabo

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 stars. (The rules are excellent). 

Background.

The Lord of Iron makes his entry into second edition with style. Of his brothers, his tale is almost as tragic as Kurze or Angron. Such a keen intellect, but no use for it on Olympia which was already an advanced civilization. Such a drive to build and make things, turned to destroying and pulling down fortifications. And a rebel home planet that he went back to and sorted out but felt that his father would never forgive him and therefore fell to the traitor cause. He is one that probably should not have fallen if he had better relations with those around him, better council, less brutal twisting of his fine mind, and just a touch of TLC; but that's the price that was paid. 

Strengths.

The old Wrack and Ruin legion rules from First Edition have been almost cleanly transferred to Perturabo as his Warlord Trait. This causes an extra die to be rolled for pinning and morale tests (discard highest). The added shooting reaction is similarly strong. 

His armour - the Logos is the usual 2+/3++ fare with in built ignore night fighting and a free interceptor reaction. The Logos Array is a powerful shrapnel bolt system at long range with AP3 which will make him easily kill off a good fraction of a squad of ten (statistically, he will hit 5.3 times, and kill 4.4 marines per shooting phase). Close combat with the same is at AP2 as we might expect.

Perturabo can also take the Forgebreaker that once belonged to Ferrus Manus as a paid-for upgrade. This is worth while since it grants impressive S=12 attacks at AP1 with Brutal (2) which makes Perturabo a force to be reckoned with.

He also comes with a small set of "minor" rules that include firing protocols, battle smith, and master of automata (plus a cortex controller). Build your army accordingly. 

Weaknesses.

There are no real weaknesses here - he is a primarch after all. He is a shooty primarch in the main part though, but can be upgraded with forge breaker to make him excellent in close combat too. This upgrade is worth the points in my unbiased opinion.

I know my readers do like thinking about primarch fights as well. To be clear, Perturabo is not Horus. But he is more than sufficient to take on a sub-set of his brothers (note especially the Brutal (2) rule with forge breaker). I will run the stats at a future point. 

Difference to First Edition.

Slightly worse. The rules are comparable, although a number of things have changed around a bit and lost. Stubborn, furious charge, and orbital bombardment is lost, as is deep strike and his unique transport option. He gains in terms of warlord trait. 

Overall.

Well worth the points. Well worth the forgebreaker upgrade. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Ferrus Manus

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. An excellent Primarch and similarly excellent choice for the Iron Hands player.

Background. 

The Gorgon. The Great Iron Father. And also the first Primarch to be betrayed and perish at his brother's hands during the opening phases of the Horus Heresy. In some ways Ferrus is a tragic figure, but in others, he is a stern and uncompromising leader of the Great Crusade. To me, it is a surprise that the Iron Hands stayed loyal to the Emperor. They were so close to Horus that many in the legion displayed the Eye of Horus on their armour. They also had a surprisingly close relationship with the Emperor's Children. The man himself is noted as a craftsman whose equal might only be found in Vulkan. And of course, he had a highly unusual physiology himself with those silvery hands and eyes. He prized physical strength above all things and despised weakness. The kind of excess that caused a fall from glory for his brothers. 

Strengths.

Of course, he is a primarch. And everything that comes with that is here. He grants an army wide buff of feel no pain (for infantry) and it will not die (for vehicles). This alone makes Ferrus worth taking if the points cost allows. The added reaction whilst he is on the battlefield to assaults is similarly strong.

Forgebreaker, his personal weapon, is truly amazing at S=12 (yes, you read that correctly) with great exo shock and brutal rules that befits its station. The usual 2+/3++ save is similarly amazing. This is therefore a primach that wants to be in close combat and smashing stuff up close and personal if at all possible.

At modest range he is arguably the best primarch of them all since he carries a small armoury of weapons on his person. The plasma blaster and graviton shredder (new for this edition!) is a great touch and will keep enemies on their toes regardless of if they're wearing terminator armour or not. As if that weren't enough there's a heavy flamer, a grenade harness, a servo arm, firing protocols and battle smith to boot. In short, Ferrus Manus can be played in a variety of roles but I suspect the main one will be as the tip of a spear and carried by something like a land raider into battle, or maybe a drop pod. But he'd be equally good on foot if needs must (probably using some tanks as his personal screen). He is a versatile primarch that comes with many boons and items of equipment and could be used in several difference ways, but the best one is as a front line smasher - make no mistake about that.

Weaknesses.

None. He is a primarch. At T=7 he's also incredibly tough in comparison to some of his brothers. And a good one at that, all things considered. He's tremendous in close combat and short range exchanges and provides a huge boost to the army.

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral. The rules are just about the same. Great that the graviton shredder has been added - this is a nice, positive touch.

Overall.

Take him if you're allowed to play Lords of War and have the points cost. He can probably win against many of his brothers (I haven't run the numbers - NB), but is categorically out-matched by Horus. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Horus Lupercal

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. He is the character for which the game is named, after all.

Background.

There is little to say about the big guy himself that cannot be found elsewhere. He is the Primarch responsible for the entire series, the Heresy, the Civil War, and more. The most favoured son, the Warmaster, and the Breaker of Tyrants. Call it how you will: Horus is the crux of the entire setting moreso than any other character. 

Strengths.

Undoubtedly the best stat line in the game combined with some really rather outrageously good rules makes Horus a force to be reckoned with. But in the Second Edition, it could be even better since there is an upgrade cost that can be paid to obtain "Horus Ascended" - an even better stat line combined with further rules for the man.

Lupercal's warlord trait grants all infantry +1 Ld which for this game can be immense. The addition of the Stubborn rule is excellent too. 

The ability to deep strike is not one of overlook either and might be played by the more tactical Sons of Horus players. Better though is his ability to increase the reaction allotment by +1 in every phase in which he is the reactive player. This has the potential to be near game breaking and for this alone the increase in points cost versus the first edition is almost worth it (don't forget the Advanced Reaction for the Sons of Horus here too). 

Splitting his attacks in close combat is excellent, and his weapons are solid. The Worldbreaker maul is the go-to weapon of choice here since it has benefitted from having Sunder and Brutal (2) added to the profile compared to first edition. Meanwhile the Talon has got slightly worse since it no longer affects an opponent's WS. Not to worry though - the Warmaster will be hard to beat in combat regardless. 

Weaknesses.
None.

Regarding the Ascended version - I would contend that this is not quite worth the points investment. Yes, the stat line improvement is excellent. His personal buffs are good as well - feel no pain and rage are excellent, A Dark Fate enables him to come back (and the opponent reap Slay the Warlord twice!), obtaining T=S=10 once per game is near broken, and the ability to grant the Corrupted sub-type is okay I guess. Just not sure its worth the points. But I can see fluffy players going for it. 

Overall.

Excellent! The rules here are superb, and are a significant departure to the First Edition.

Difference to First Edition.

Neutral to Improved. Can't quite make my mind up if the changes in the rules mean that things have improved here, since alongside this, the points cost has gone up a few notches as well. We will therefore be seeing slightly less of Horus in games since he will not appear in games below 2500 points -- and Horus Ascended won't appear below 4000 points (which is truly Apocalyptic scales!).