Horus Heresy 2e Review: Hvarl Red-Blade

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good.

Background.

Many legions have members who feel like they don't quite belong. Or maybe got the wrong geneseed implant. Hvarl is one of those numbers to my mind - he's a secret World Eater. But only in my head. Really, he just likes chopping heads off. And, erm, collecting them. And then singing and boasting about it to his company mates. And encouraging his company mates to do the same. And only finding joy in the din of combat. But yeah. Still totally belonging to the Space Wolves.

Strengths. 

Hvarl is a praetor who grants preferred enemy of everything via his warlord trait to his unit along with a bonus assault reaction. He also dishes out 3 scout special rules which is handy and comes with Hearth-Spitter, an armourbane axe which is nice. 

The stat line is praetor level in tartaros armour coupled with a small slew of other special rules like fear, counter attack, and inexorable. 

The real icing on the cake is that he hauls around a heavy bolter for fun. 

Weaknesses.

Not much. He is basically a pre-built praetor with hand extra rules. 

Overall.

Very happy with him and he is a great character when you want a praetor who is not Russ. The counter attack helps him slot in very nicely with grey slayer packs which is where I feel he belongs. He's such a strong choice when Russ isn't around.

Difference to First Edition.

Very similar. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Geigor Fell-Hand

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars, rounded up. The rules are good enough and will shine at lower points value games.

Background.

It might be second edition, but I still have trouble not calling him "Gregor". Sorry! Geigor is a Thegn of the Space Wolves who has a bit of a history with the Thousand Sons. When fighting alongside them, he lost his war pack and thought to himself that he had been betrayed by his allies. At Prospero, he therefore went a bit zealous with the orders from the Warmaster to execute them all.  

Strengths. 

Geigor has a praetor like stat line combines with reasonable upgrades (e.g. refractor field) as the Fell Hand - an upgraded frost claw. 

Beyond this, he has the Crown Breaker warlord trait which grants preferred enemy to independent characters as well as feel no pain when locked in combat. The movement reaction bonus is great. 

The addition of counter attack makes him a great addition to any Grey Slayer or Grey Stalker pack. 

Weaknesses.

A regular praetor is arguably better due to customization ability. He's otherwise a bit bland as per first edition. That said, I don't mind at all. 

Overall.

Worthwhile for lower points value games. 

Difference to First Edition.

Gone is the 3+ save and he comes with a 2+ artificer armour save now. This is a massive improvement. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Grey Stalker Pack

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Solid adaptability. 

Background.

The Terran Legion of the old Space Wolves fills the Grey Stalker packs and is somewhat looked down upon by the more Fenrisian elements of the legion. They're not as well integrated as Russ might like, but nonetheless have evolved into something unique other than pure tactical squads under his rule. 

Strengths.

Skirmish and much the same as the Grey Slayer Packs, the come with bolt pistol and chainsword as standard, along with counter attack, relentless and heart of the legion. What sets them apart is their varied load outs which is more reminiscent of 40k than 30k -- I find this aspect particularly interesting!

Weaknesses.

Tactical squads are cheaper. As with the Slayer packs: you need to make the most of the close combat nature of this squad such as counter attack and the weaponry load out. Take those rhinos and land raiders. 

Difference to First Edition.

New!

Builds.

10 Grey Stalkers, 1 Melta Gun, 1 Plasma Gun, Huscarl with Power Fist and Artificer Armour (200 points).

I really genuinely like this build. It is very familiar to the sorts of chaos space marine builds I used to play in 6th and 7th edition (not sorry!). Take melta bombs to taste.

10 Grey Stalkers, 5 Power Weapons, Huscarl with artificer armour and thunder hammer (205 points).

Close combat duty for charging out of transports. Take 2 extra power fists for laughs or tackling dreadnoughts. 

10 Grey Slayers, 2 Flamers, 2 Hand-Flamers, Huscarl with Hand Flamer, Artificer Armour, and Power Fist (200 points)

Burn time. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Grey Slayer Pack

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average for the points cost, although I can certainly see a case for a higher number of stars here depending on your tastes and builds. They're not as fundamental as in First Edition though which is why they're getting a slightly lower rating from me. 

Background.

The background to this Space Wolves unit sees some tweaking for Second Edition. It is now presented as an unusual evolution of the combination of Terran doctrines of battle pre-primarch, and the sheer fury of the Fenrisian approach to war which created autonomous troop units tasked with overcoming whatever target they were directed at. Tacticals still exist within the Space Wolves in second edition and we're no longer forced to take slayer packs as compulsory troops. 

Strengths.

They're nothing particularly special in the stat line, but they do come with a couple of key advantages. Number one is Relentless, Counter Attack, and Heart of the Legion. Number two is the baseline Fenrisian Axes and Combat Shields. 

Weaknesses.

Tactical squads are cheaper. Hence you need to make the most of the close combat nature of this squad such as counter attack and the weaponry load out. Take those rhinos and land raiders. 

Difference to First Edition.

Compulsory troops has gone. Warriors mettle has gone. Not going to ground has gone. This squad has had a massive overhaul in general. 

Builds.

10 Grey Slayers, 2 plasma pistols, legion vexilla, Huscarl with artificer armour, thunder hammer, melta bombs (220 points).

Very much kitted out for close combat duty here with a sting in the shooting from the plasma before charging. Put another plasma pistol on the Huscarl for laughs. 

10 Grey Slayers, Bolters with Chain Bayonets, 2 Power Fists, Huscarl with artificer armour and power fist (235 points).

Triple power fist threat combined with chain bayonets.

10 Grey Slayers, 2 Hand Flamers, Huscarl with Hand Flamer, Artificer Armour, and Power Fist (190 points)

Burn them. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Varagyr Wolf Guard Terminator Squad

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. The rules are good.  

Background.

The personal guard of Russ, hand picked, and to a man each a legend in his own right. They forego the right to lead their own squads and no longer seek glory for themselves but lay down their lives for the primarch of the Space Wolves and act where he direct his personal pack.

Strengths.

Double wound cataphractii terminators with WS=5 makes for a strong squad to begin with. They get a selection of a frost weapon, and have a small slew of special rules including fear hammer of wrath and the unique Lordsbane. This grants them the ability to undertake challenges of their own as you would expect from the fluff, and a bonus to combat resolution if they win a challenge. 

Weaknesses.

I am mildly surprised at the Ld=8 characteristic given their background fluff. Other than that, this is a reasonable customizable squad with few weaknesses other than the usual instant death issues for T=4 marines. 

Difference to First Edition.

Approximately the same give or take. 

Builds.

5 Varagyr, 2 Thunder Hammers, Thegn with grenade harness (290 points).

A baseline squad ready to charge out of a land raider. Take a legion vexilla to taste?

5 Varagyr, 4 Chain Fists, 2 Combi-Meltas, Thegn with grenade harness (340 points).

Dreadnought killing duty.

5 Varagyr, 4 Power Fists, 2 Reaper Autocannons, Legion Vexilla, Thegn with Great Frost Blade and grenade harness (350 points).

Getting expensive here, but I like the feel of this generalist squad leading the charge. Add 5 more models to make them last longer!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Deathsworn Pack

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. The rules are good.  

Background.

The Space Wolves dirty little secret. In the background, it is noted that many legions have such dirty little secrets: those marines who have killed too many and grown hollow inside. Some legions love it and will promote them. Others hide them in shame or corral them into certain units to expire as quickly as possible. Yet further destroy them. These marines are the ones that will become Wolfen in 40k, but here in the Heresy that hasn't had enough time to happen yet.

Strengths.

Two wounds combined with the Ymira class stasis bombs makes for a reasonable close combat squad. Those grenades provide flesh bane at the cost of gets hot. Melta and Rad bombs are a good addition. 

Even if they die, they will always still get to hit in close combat thanks to the Dreams of the Death Wolf rule which will help them in melee very nicely. 

Weaknesses.

Ld=8 is an issue. T=4 is similar and they lack invulnerable saves. In effect, they're a modified destroyer squad and probably should be played as such. 

Difference to First Edition.

The stasis grenades have been weakened here and lack pinning. 

Builds.

Note here that the "naked" version of the squad is entirely viable. Its a solid distraction that can regularly go under the proverbial radar. 

10 Deathsworn, Rad Grenades, 2 Thunder Hammers (385 points).

Not much not to like here. Take melta bombs to taste. Add on a speaker of the dead to round it out.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: The Wolf-Kin of Russ

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average.

Background.

There are no Wolves on Fenris. 

Except the humans who might or might not have mutated into new forms. Freki and Geri are two of the largest versions of them, whatever the Fenrisian Wolves origin. 

Leman Russ takes these beasts to battle along with his Space Wolves to act as his body guard pets.

Strengths. 

Great movement, good stat line overall, and breaching 6 combingin with fear and fearless plus other juicy rules makes them a decent threat.

Weaknesses.

The 5+ save is an issue. They will get shot to death rapidly without significant thought about placement. Perhaps its better to think of them as adding 8 wounds to Russ when you take them in some ways. Their bulk is also an issue. 

Overall.

A reasonable unit for the price to accompany Russ. You will need to consider what you're doing with them and how they're getting there. Otherwise you are going to be very vulnerable to small arms fire. 

Difference to First Edition.

Roughly the same. A lot of rules have been changed (cf., look out sir), but overall they come out as about equal to before. 

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: Caster of Runes

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good.  

Background.

They may protest that they are channeling the heart of Fenris all they like. The truth is that they are just as much a psyker as the Thousand Sons are. Except they lie about it. Does this make them worse?

Strengths.

The special Space Wolves psykers are called Casters of Runes. They come with 2 special powers under the Winds of Fenris powers which consist of a template weapon attack that has deflagrate (psychic test to boost to a whopping S=10!), and a second one to grant shrouded at 5+ (psychic test to boost to 3+). Both are excellent. Adamantium will is the icing on the proverbial cake. 

Weaknesses.

The upgrade costs the same as a regular librarian, hence there are zero weaknesses in comparison to other legions here. 

Builds.

Caster of Runes in Cataphractii Armour, Force Axe, Psychic Hood (145 points).

Exactly the same build as the regular librarian. 

Caster of Runes in Aether-Rune Armour, Psychic Hood, Jump Pack (150 points).

I really love the aether-rune armour for Space Wolves characters. Its just rude without compare - always take it where you can. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Speaker of the Dead

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. The rules are good.  

Background.

The Cult of Morkai is the cult of the Wolf aspect of Death. These dark characters are priests of Fenris and inspire their comrades in arms by making chants before the battle which enhance their abilities. 

Strengths.

Hatred (everything!) and Stubborn combine to be passed along to any unit they join. In addition, there's also Ld=10, a narthecium, and a master crafted power maul. All of these are really nice and clearly make up for the lack of ability to select chaplains and primus medicae within the legion.

Weaknesses.

The points cost is steep. It is probably just about justifiable, but equally: how else do you get the equivalent of a primus medicae into the Space Wolves? You will be paying this tax in all likelihood. 

Builds.

Speaker of the Dead, Cataphractii Armour (150 points)

To go with your terminator squads charging out of a land raider. Really this should be the default configuration. 

Speaker of the Dead, Aether-Rune Armour, Jump Pack (170 points)

I actually like this build more than the above. It is for a strong, airbourne, close combat assault squad. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Pack Thegn

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. Cheap enough to be useful, but hardly a great HQ pick outside of small points value games. You might slot one in alongside other characters if you have space in your roster?

Background.

Potentially being the only survivor of their original squad, or maybe even disgraced, the pack thegn is a veteran of many campaigns. They will tie themselves to an accepting Jarl and lead troops to further victories for them. 

Strengths.

For a very small points cost, this centurion consul gets counter attack, alongside an option on skirmish. Both might or might not be useful depending on the battle in hand. 

Weaknesses.

It is what it is. A very modest and small upgrade to a consul. 

Builds.

Pack Thegn in Cataphractii Armour, Chain Fist (110 points). 

Standard configuration really. Nothing special.

Pack Thegn, Aether-Rune Armour, Thunder Hammer (125 points).

More expensive than the above, but you do get that amazing extra wound!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Space Wolves Armoury

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3/5 stars. The rules are average.  

Although not quite as thin as some other legions, the Space Wolves armoury is hardly crowded either. 

Fenrisian Axe. Feels a bit like the chain bayonet upgrade, but this one gives S+1 and reaping blow. Take it for assault squads I guess if you're not taking chain bayonets? Honestly, I prefer the chain bayonets.

Frost Blades. Another reaping blow add-on, buy for your power weapons this time. The great frost blade feels nice for a power weapon upgrade, but might not be so great depending on the enemy. The rest are meh, except for one frost claw (can't fathom why you'd take 2). Very situational.

Aether-Rune Armour. This is good. Its artificer armour with a bonus wound and adamantium will rolled into one. Well worth the points cost investment for your independent characters. A no-brainer include.

Jarl. Gain counter attack and an option to take skirmish. Its cheap enough so probably worth it most of the time. 

Overall.

Loving the aether rune armour. Liking the Jarl. The rest I don't really care much for. Your mileage may vary, obviously. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Space Wolves Rites

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average.

Rites of War.

The Rites of War for the Space Wolves feature no fewer than three distinct entries, which is more than what is found in other legions.  

The Black Watch. For the Loyalists in the post Prospero era, these Space Wolves are a detachment sent to carefully look after allies and make sure that their assumed loyalty is not wavering. Of course, those assigned to the legions who turned traitor were never heard from again. This rite grants traitor hatred, and primarch preferred enemy (good luck with that). Helping them is fearless in close combat against traitors and +2 charge distance to enemy primarchs (do you have a plan yet?). Hampering them is a lack of vehicles and no Russ. Its very, very fluffy. But ultimately, you really need a plan for this detachment. 

The Pale Hunters. Grey Slayers and Stalkers gain hit and run and can run up to the distance rolled rather than the full amount. This is strong, but also calls for the army to use these units extensively to make maximum benefit. Flankers gain fleet and rage when they come into play as well which is great, and up to three units gain outflank automatically. They have to use flanking for one unit, and only gain one heavy support. Overall, this is a very reasonable rite, without being over powered. 

The Bloodied Claw. Declare a bloodied claw once per game to gain +1 combat resolution, fleet, furious charge, stubborn (or fearless if they already had it). This is a one turn boon that can be very strong if played at the right moment, but is otherwise fairly standard. The drawback is that the turn in question forces charges where possible, which might not be so great - so build accordingly. 

Overall.

The final two are standard rites which can be good, but require thinking about army builds. The Black Watch is fabulous, but there is a concern it won't see too much play! Perhaps it might be good with loyal Alpha Legion allies (Mobius rite)?

 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Space Wolves Traits

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5/5 stars. Rounded up. The rules are good overall.

Warlord Traits.

We are going to deal with the Warlord Traits distinctly from the Rites of War for the Space Wolves due to the increased number of Rites compared to other legions in a break from tradition. 

The Space Wolves have three warlord traits to decided between. 

Howl of Morkai. I find this one very interesting, albeit situational. The army gains S+1 for a successful charge. This is amazingly strong, but needs to be played at the right moment (probably turn 3 ish, but maybe turn 2). The bonus movement reaction strongly aids with getting at least some units into position early. 

Hunger of the Void. Gain a wound back when you inflict a wound, or alternative S+1 and A+1 for one turn if you are at full wounds. Not very inspiring, and might be more suited to Blood Angels in my own biased opinion since this one feels very vampiric!

Crown Breaker. If players don't quite fancy the situational Howl of Morkai, then Crown Breaker will no doubt be the default choice (I favour the Howl myself, but that's just me). The warlord and his unit gain preferred enemy and can also gain feel no pain if their enemy has an independent character. This is good, and the movement reaction icing on the cake. At least this one is not situational and happens all the time.

Overall.

I don't like Hunger of the Void much either from a fluff or a rules points of view. The other two are solid, and in the right hands I can't help but feel that Howl of Morkai can be game changing. 

 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Space Wolves Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are average.

Background.

The Space Wolves arguable had the first act in the Heresy. With twisted orders from Horus, they set about not merely bringing the Thousand Sons to task about their sorcery, but were tasked with significantly more. This saw their numbers significantly reduced by the start of the Heresy, and they became harried by the traitors on a regular basis, and were unable to reach Terra in time for the grand show down. In the background, they are portrayed as a legion apart and and the call of the Emperor should the need arise. 

Legion Rules Review.

B.Savagery grants the ability to run and then snap shot and charge where applicable. If they can't run, they gain WS+1 (i.e., cataphractii terminators). Vehicles gain S+1 for ramming purposes. 

Vaults of Morkai grants access to the wargear options, Lords of Winter gives (compulsory) alternatives to Chaplains, Librarians, and Primus Medicae consuls, and Wolves of Fenris grants the usual trait access.

Advanced Reaction.

No Prey Escapes the Wolf allows a unit within a large bubble of an enemy to move toward them according to their maximum initiative, and then charge. This is great overall!

Difference to First Edition.

Despite the relatively small amount of time since First Edition, there are significant changes here. Gone is the antidote to night fighting and the Savagery and Hunters Gait have been rolled into the reaction and the new Savagery. Together they are very reasonable, but I do feel that the Wolves have been fractionally nerfed in comparison to where they once stood. 

[The Blogger Community flagged this post as in breach of their guidelines. I'm struggling to see where. Hence I've altered wordings where I think an automated spider might flag. Apologies if some sentences are less meaningful?] 

Horus Heresy Review: The Wolf-kin of Russ

Background.
Huge. Wolves. Big huge wolves. Wolves the size you've not seen before loping around after Russ or sleeping at his feet and loyal to his commands. They also have names: Freki and Geri -- in line with the very old fluff thankfully.

Strengths.
These two wolves have a good stat line that enables them to regularly win in close combat against space marines.

Further, they can "Look Out Sir" for Leman Russ, which provides him with effectively a large pool of ablative wounds. For this reason alone, the wolf-kin come highly recommended.

Both come with rending, but only Geri gets precision strikes, and only Freki is a Crusader.

Weaknesses.
Their saving throw is only 5+. This is offset by the fact that they have 4 wounds each and also have feel no pain. Hence for the price tag, this is an 8 wound unit and therefore is priced reasonably. They need to beware of being shot before they reach close combat realistically. Secondly, some thought is needed in how they and Russ will reach close combat since they are very bulky.

Overall.
Take them if you have the points cost available and are running Russ. Then think about how to get in combat. And then don't cry too much if they sacrifice themselves for Russ.

Horus Heresy Review: Leman Russ

Background.
With tanks named after him and a veritable legend of achievements, few could doubt the martial prowess of Russ. However, he was also a bit misunderstood. His brothers might have regarded him as a mere barbarian more akin to Angron or the Night Haunter. But the truth is much more than that. His legion and Russ himself were more nuanced and cultured than most imagined. More than this, Russ was the ultimate loyalist unto the end of days. A fact the Horus exploited by changing his orders when Russ was released to sanction the Thousand Sons.

Strengths.
The best way to view Russ is as a loyal analogue to Angron. He is simply splendid in close combat and can be relied upon to take on (and win against) almost anything else in the game. This includes other primarchs statistically. Even Horus would be rather likely to fall to Russ in a one on one arena. On average.

He has a number of special rules that help set this up. Like Horus, he can split his attacks between his two weapons. Balenight is a sword with "sever life" -- take a toughness test if you've taken wounds or suffer more. Helwinter is a sunder weapon which is always nice. His side arm is a Vulkan forged affair that has lots of short ranged shots and rending at AP3. Also very nice.

What really sets his melee component above everyone else though is his armour. At a base level is it 2+/4+, but he gets a 3+ save against flames, plasma and so on. The main effect though is to reduce the opponent's effectiveness with a -1 to hit in round 1 and -2 in every round after. This is really what sets him above and beyond other primarchs realistically.

Other than that he provides a Leadership bonus to his sons and howl of the death wolf which is very nice when pulled off well. He himself has a bunch of other special rules like night vision that help him along and he unlocks Varagyr Terminators as troops.

Weaknesses.
He price tag is fabulous for what he is capable of doing. But the main problem is that his is not a force multiplier in the same way Alpharius or Guilliman is. He is a close combat expert that gives a cute Ld bonus, and that is it for his team. He has to be treated accordingly -- get him to the fore of the combat and let him loose and the rewards will be reaped. In isolation, he will not be effective. He needs to be leading from the front. World Eater players will no doubt recognize this play style. But he needs to look out for hit and run units with big bonuses on the turn they charge.

Overall.
He's a loyalist analogue of Angron. Treat him accordingly and he is absolutely amazing. Just watch you don't have rings run around you and take some accompanying units.

Horus Heresy Review: Priest of Fenris

Background.
To those outside of the Space Wolves legion, these "Priests" are barbarians at best, and shamans and superstitious men who should know better at worst. Within the legion, they are highly respected and sources of great support for not only the technological, but also for the spiritual side of the legion.

Strengths.
In a nut shell, they are the medics, librarians and chaplains rolled in to one. Well, not quite. Rolled in to two really. Well, three really really. The Priests are divided Speakers of the Dead (medics and chaplains) and the Caster of Runes (librarians). On top of this, the "Priests of Iron" also exist but don't have a distinct entry here, and are instead represented by Forge Lords, Master of Signals, and Praevians.

For the Speakers of the Dead, there is the usual feel no pain advantage, combined with fearless and preferred enemy. They also get a vial they can toss at enemies to cause pain.

For Casters of Runes, they are a low level psyker with slight bonuses for denying the witch. I find the Casters of Runes odd in the sense that the Space Wolves don't really recognise them as librarians at all (and Leman Russ himself was all for sanctioning Magnus and the Edict in general). In other news, Sanguinius was a mutant, but we can overlook some things, right?

Weaknesses.
They cost slightly more than what they might in other legions, but they get a few bonus boons for it (refractor fields), but its not too much.

Forge Lords get cyberwolves instead of servo-automata … I haven't worked out whether I like this better or not … its just different and a better (fluffier) fit for the Space Wolves.

Finally, the Priests do not get any option to travel fast (e.g., jump packs). Hence this needs thought (and probably use of land raider transports arguably!).

Builds.
A couple of builds to touch on here. I won't bother with Priests of Iron though, might as well see the Consul article instead.

Speaker of the Dead, hand flamer, melta bombs, artificer armour (125 points).
Add to a blob of infantry and go forth charge. Add in a specialist weapon like a power fist to taste. Equip with terminator armour to sally forth with other terminators (probably Tartaros to take advantage of sweeping I think).

Caster of Runes, second psyker master level, combat shield, aether-rune armour, melta bombs (165 points).
The aether-rune armour is an interesting choice and possibly a reasonable alternative to terminator armour in certain circumstances. But to be honest, I can also see the case for terminator armour as well. I like the combat shield option here as the psyker powers might as well be the shooting weapon here instead. 

Horus Heresy Review: Hvarl Red-Blade

Background.
Hvarl is a new HQ selection for the Space Wolves legion. In a nut shell, he would seem on a surface scan to be more of a World Eater than a Space Wolves marine. He likes head hunting and then singing and discussing the tales of the heads that have been chopped off with his brothers in his company. Oh, and his company are expected to do the same. Because if you don't have the head then it never happened and you can't boast to your mates about it afterwards and spin a yarn worthy of a campfire tale. The background suggests that he was not of a good humour and pretty much only liked being in combat. I think that's about sufficient to get the picture.

Strengths.
Hvarl has a number of factors in his favour. Firstly he has a bonus wound compared to a standard praetor. This is very strong. But backing this up is his terminator armour  with grenade harness plus iron halo coupled with his AP2 Hearth-Splitter melee weapon with armour bane. This is very nice indeed (and has a good S bonus as well. Plus he totes a heavy bolter. For fun.

His battle cunning rule is where he truly comes in to his own though. Granting scouts to several units is a powerful boon to almost any army. And it is this rule that sets him apart from other HQ selections to my mind. Having preferred enemy (infantry) in a small bubble is mere icing on the cake for this warlord.

Weaknesses.
Not much. He is actually reasonably priced for his rules if one can take advantage of them. However, if you're not going to play to his strengths then he is an over costed praetor and you should instead build a generic terminator praetor frankly.

Overall.
One needs to build an army (or a core of an army) around Hvarl to take advantage of his rules. He could readily wreck things on an enemy back line through outflanking along with a nice blob of infantry. Recommended overall!

Horus Heresy Review: Geigor Fell-Hand

Background.
For some reason, I have this strong desire and tendency to want to call this character Gregor, or something similar. With another "r" in it. That might be just me. It rolls off my tongue easier than pronouncing Geigor.

Anyway, Geigor felt that the loss of his pack during the Great Crusade was caused by the Thousand Sons with whom he was crusading at the time. He held it against them and was accordingly unleashed upon Prospero for a spot of revenge.

Strengths.
Geigor is a straight forward Thegn with an almost praetor like statistic line.

He has "Warrior's Mettle" and therefore can safely be plugged in to a Grey Slayer Pack unlike almost any other HQ selection. This is neat.

The Crown Breaker warlord trait is okay -- feel no pain in challenges is certainly advantageous.

Finally, he has a master crafted frost claw that shreds things very well. And this is where he gains his famous name from.

Weaknesses.
He's a bit bland otherwise and only has a 3+ power armour saving throw.

Overall.
Geigor is a fluffy choice for the battle of Prospero. He also slots in very nicely with Grey Slayer packs and should be used in that manner. I would only think of using him in low points games as the HQ otherwise (say 1500 points or under). I think even a generic praetor would be better due to customisability unless you are desperate for an HQ to have Warrior's Mettle.