Horus Heresy 2e Review: Solar Auxilia Stormhammer

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5/5 stars. Rounded down - only just. A great deal for your Lords of War slot.

Background.

The super heavy tank of choice for the Solar Auxilia and packed with a plethora of shots. They are the vanguard of the fleets, and able to operate independently in the most hard and harsh of environments without concerns. 

Strengths.

I have to be honest here, the sheer amount of firepower that this beast is able to pump out is prodigious. The storm cannon on the front, and the twin linked battle cannon are the highlights, but it doesn't end there with other multi lasers and cannons ready to bring to bear on the targets. 

A grand total of 12 HP is similarly impressive and an improved rear armour of AV=12 is solid enough.  Don't forget the smoke launchers and that its classed as super heavy.

Weaknesses.

For the points cost you are paying, it is near perfect. Even the non-upgraded version is totally viable. 

Builds.

Stormhammer, hull mounted las cannons, pintle multi-laser (585 points).

I've upgraded the naked version here with more lasers. There's no real need to do this, but I do like my lasers and they do come in useful when you want something else that is big and heavy to no longer exist along your line of sight. 

Horus Heresy Review: Legion Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport

Background.
Employed only sparingly during the Great Crusade to breach enemy positions, the Mastodon saw increased use in the days of the Heresy as a fully armed and armoured transport capable of protecting its transported marines even against titans to a reasonable degree.

Strengths.
This is both a Lords of War entry in the force organisation chart, and possesses an incredible 40 spaces for transport up for grabs. Importantly, it can also take up to 2 dreadnoughts (taking 10 spaces each) in this capacity, making it very formidable for enemy armies.

It carries out its transport role very well with not just crazy Land Raider style armour, armoured ceramite, a whole slew of hull points, but dual void shields to boot. (Recall: even a war hound titan has only 2 void shields itself!).

Even without carrying anything, its presence in a game is very significant and entire armies and strategies could well be built around its use. Its weapons are formidable enough to be a headache for almost anything (granted, they're not destroyer strength though). Flamers, lascannons, meltas, they're all here!

As if that's not enough, if a unit occupies it, there are houses to snap shots when being charged at, catastrophic damage table rolls get a whopping -2 modifier, and if it survives it becomes a proper ruins with 2 entry points! This is very cool in my opinion and represents such a big structure turning in to a battlefield obstacle that can then be used tactically in subsequent firefights.

In terms of upgrades, the vox relay is a cool way to manipulate reserves for the army and punish the enemy for deep strike mishaps. Take if you want fliers on the board on turn 2. Otherwise, probably don't bother.

Weaknesses.
Destroyer weapons.

Builds.
Mastodon, super heavy command tank (720 points).
Look, you don't have to take any upgrades at all. But hey, you've invested a lot of points already, so why not a few more? I like both the relay vox and the sky reaper battery, but hesitate to sacrifice the sky reaper battery for the relay on accounts of the sky fire rule there (without knowing if the rest of the army includes fliers or not).

This could be just downright dirty with the right army. Consider the Iron Hands with Head of the Gorgon rite of war for instance. Or how about Ferrus Manus himself in an unbound list? Ferrus Manus *inside* the Mastodon? With air support? Good luck.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Gorgon Heavy Transporter

Background.
The Gorgon is a super heavy tank that is designed to be a massive armoured transporter. Its use in the annals of the Great Crusade are noted to be primarily to secure breach heads and generally overrun enemy positions where the survival of troops would otherwise be nil.

Strengths.
Its a super heavy tank! With excellent AV on the front and sides, coupled with a huge amount of hull points, this is a serious vehicle for serious armies!

As if to demonstrate just how serious it is, there is space for a whopping 40 troops to be transported on board. Indeed, so huge is the capacity, that even the rules note that the model itself can only fit something like 15 on the tabletop -- just leave the others to one side for when they're ready to be disembarked! Also, its worth noting that only two squads can disembark per turn from the vehicle.

The Heavily Armoured Prow makes the vehicle very impressive with an inbuilt invulnerable save. The mortar battery, although one use only, is not too bad an armament either.

Weaknesses. 
The rear armour is a bit of a concern at AV=10. Outflanking can cause problematic holes in the rear of this tank. Its also open topped, hence the rear armour is of top concern to defend against opportunist attacks.

Builds.
There are actually a number of options here, depending on how one wants to run it. I primarily see two things to do: make the weapons strong and long ranged, or shorter and focussed (e.g., in an anti-infantry sense).

Gorgon, Armoured Ceramite, Mortar Battery (300 points).
This is probably the baseline build. The auto cannons and mortar combine well to give a good anti infantry role, although I could be tempted by some heavy flamers or multi lasers to replace the mortar.

Gorgon, Armoured Ceramite, 2 Twin-Linked lascannons, replace the battery with Lascannons as well (340 points).
Plenty of lascannons here to play around with! This is one that can blow up tanks and then disembark its own contents to take care of any troops that were riding on board. Add hunter-killer missiles to taste.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Stormhammer Super-Heavy Assault Tank

Background
At the forefront of the Auxilia's part in the Great Crusade, it is easy to see why this particular tank was the "go to" tank of choice for invading hostile territory. In essence, it is a gun tank. With lots and lots of guns.

Strengths
Stormhammer cannon, dual battlecannon, coaxial multi-laser, six multi-laser sponsons (yes: SIX!) and just for fun a lascannon to the front as well. This tank can shoot most others off the board for breakfast and still have enough firepower left over to challenge a terminator squad to survive.

Weaknesses
As with other tanks on the same chassis, the AV=12 rear armour is a worry and positioning needs attention to remedy or mitigate this issue. Its also pricey in terms of the points cost, but that is justified given the sheer firepower the tank has.

Builds
Stormhammer, armoured ceramite (580 points) 
Lots of firepower, with extra durability against melta guns!

Stormhammer, armoured ceramite, targeters (600 points)
The targeters really improve the odds of all of those multi-lasers hitting their targets and is well worth it on this type of tank

Stormhammer, armoured ceramite, six lascannon sponsons, targeters (660 points)
Add hunter killer missiles, or a command tank upgrade to taste, and its good to rock and roll with the best of them. The points cost here is getting rather steep though.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Stormblade Super-Heavy Tank

Background
Ryza is a forge world that even back in the Horus Heresy days was known for its predilections with plasma technology. To secure the allegiance of lesser forge worlds, and lacking the ability to build a shadowsword themselves, Ryza exported the Stormblade technology to seal pacts and better its own influential position.

Strengths
The stormblade's plasma blast gun is a dual firing mode weapon. In its usual configuration, it has an impressive range, S8, low AP and a massive blast. In overload, the range and strength is increased as is the blast size (to an overwhelming apocalyptic blast size). Although not as strong as a shadowsword's D-class weapon, it does a fine job at posing a threat to almost everything in the game.

Weaknesses
There's not too many weaknesses, but I'll make the same point as I made with some of the other super heavy tank options: the rear armour is vulnerable with only AV=12. Beware of positioning correctly and watch out for out flankers as well as deep strikers.

Builds
Two builds to toy with here.

Stormblade, armoured ceramite (490 points)
This is the baseline build. Don't skimp on the armoured ceramite, otherwise players like me will exploit you!

Stormblade, armoured ceramite, two las cannon sponsons (590 points)
Probably not quite worth other pintle upgrades due to the extreme range of the primary weapon here.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Stormsword Super-Heavy Tank

Background
The storm sword is essentially a modification of any number of super heavy tanks. Rather than try to fully repair a broken superheavy like a Shadowsword, some forces opt to repair it by simply fitting a siege cannon on to the patched up shell. Thus the stormsword is born.

Strengths
The strength of this beast is in its primary weapon. Although it is not a D class weapon, it certainly packs a punch and is (in my opinion) well worth the points cost associated with the vehicle. Firstly, its a short range weapon. But with S=10 and very low AP, its going to be dangerous to anything in the game. What makes it truly shine though, is the absolutely humongous template associated with it - a full apocalyptic blast no less. Better yet, it ignores cover!

Weaknesses
The tank is a close range tank, and therefore must be carefully treated to ensure it gets in to the optimum firing position before being hit by enemy class D weapons, or knights in close combat and the like. Additionally, the rear armour is going to be a prime target on this tank, like its cousins, but perhaps even more vulnerable due to the need to manoeuvre in to position more acutely.

Builds
Two builds for this super heavy -- a baseline build and something a little bit more upgraded.

Stormsword, armoured ceramite (510 points)
Armoured ceramite is almost a given in the 30k environment. I deliberately take melta guns to face down enemies who don't pay the points for this upgrade, because that's how I roll.

Stormsword, armoured ceramite, two pairs of lascannon sponsons, pintle mounted multi-laser (625 points)
Very pricey here, but also very versatile and effective, so long as the range is kept to 48" and under (preferably 36" and under!). Upgrade to a command tank to taste.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Shadowsword Super-Heavy Tank

Background
Of all the Baneblade style chassis, my personal favourite to fields is the Shadowsword. Largely, this is because of its reputation and ability as a tank killer.

Although at the turn of the Heresy, this tank was rarely used, it became a staple of the Auxilia and the like as they were pressed in to service to counter enemy titans.

Strengths
The Volcano Cannon is a D-class weapon with an absolutely huge range, low AP, and large blast radius. For a superheavy, and for a Lords of War slot, this beast really does the job very well.

But to be sure, I would certainly advocate taking more lascannons on the sponsons to get some shield generators down and inflict additional hull point damage on enemy targets.

Weaknesses
Arguably the low BS of the tank is an issue. But this could be mitigated a little by sacrificing some lascannons for targeters to boost the BS. For additional lascannons this could be important. Equally, if one is taking additional lascannons, then its likely that some will hit regardless. The rear armour is just as much a concern here as it is for other tanks of its ilk.

Builds
Just two builds from me for this one. A baseline style build and a more upgraded one.

Shadowsword, armoured ceramite (480 points)
This is probably the baseline. That said, I'd be sorely tempted to add on extra lascannons from my experience of fielding these tanks in Apocalypse games.

Shadowsword, armoured ceramite, two pairs of lascannon / heavy bolter sponsons, multi-melta on the pintle (600 points)
A very upgraded version of the tank that I would favour. I'm a fan of taking more las cannons over improving the BS (because dice gods favour the bold!), but clearly that's still an option. The multi melta is just to add extra low AP weapons to the arsenal; and hoping people didn't have the points for armoured ceramite. 

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Stormlord Super-Heavy Assault Tank

Background
Continuing on from the Baneblade, the Stormlord superheavy is one rolling fortress designed for transporting a surprisingly large number of troops.

Strengths
Forty personal can be carried, and fully half of them can shoot from its troop platform. This is incredible and should not be underestimated. A heap of plasma fire from this is enough of a tactic to be treated seriously.

As if that were not enough, there's also a Vulan Megabolter to contend with. That's a heavy 15 bolter at S6 and AP3. And if the tank stays still, it can fire it twice. Twice! That's a lot of dead space marines.

Weaknesses
Like the Baneblade, the Stormlord does not carry a D-class weapon. Given that Lords of War are in play, one has to be concerned if your opponent is wielding one.

Builds
Two builds here, one a baseline one, and the other a more upgraded and costly one.

Stormlord, armoured ceramite (515 points)
This is a baseline build with the armoured ceramite that is ubiquitous in 30k.

Stormlord, armoured ceramite, two sponson pairs, pintle heavy flamer (630 points)
A heavy flamer pintle weapon here as a charging deterrent, and two sponsons for their lascannon punching power. Add the command tank upgrade to taste.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Baneblade Super-Heavy Battle Tank

Background
And now we turn to the super heavies for the Lords of War entries in the Solar Auxilia Army List. These entries are based around the bane blade and shadow sword chassis and are exactly what you might have come to expect from Apocalypse for the main part.

Strengths
A baneblade, fundamentally, is a rolling tank fitted out with a whole heap of nasty guns. The bane blade cannon is an excellent S=9 apocalyptic blast that few other things in the game can match. Added on to this are the demolisher cannon, heavy bolters and possibly additional armaments. This tank is a real contender on the battlefield!

Weaknesses
I'm always torn on whether to go for this one, or one of its sister tanks - such as a shadowsword. Fundamentally, this probably depends on one's play style. The one thing I will mention here though is that lack of D-class weapons. If you're allowed Lords of War, then presumably one has to think your opponent has opted for a D-class weapon somewhere.

Builds
I'll do just two builds here - a baseline one first, and then a bit of an upgraded one.

Baneblade, armoured ceramite (560 points)
The baseline with additional armoured ceramite to negate all those melta toting squads.

Baneblade, armoured ceramite, 2 additional sponsons, pintle multi-melta (680 points)
Take a command tank upgrade to taste. And / or hunter killer missiles. Team up with a tank commander just for additional fun.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Valdor Tank Hunter

Background
The Valdor is a tank hunter, just as its name suggests! But the nominative determinism may not quite place it in the same league as the shadowsword perhaps, but the neutron destroyer is still going to do significant damage.

Strengths
As with the other super heavies from the Auxilia, this one is still in the now very over-burdened heavy support category and hence is a real strength and asset to the Auxilia.

The primary weapon is the neutron destroyer. But it is not a destroyer class weapon -- it falls short by being a S=10 weapon. That said, the shock pulse special rule from the neutron destroyer means that this tank can very effectively "lock down" other very heavy tanks on the next turn. This is absolutely invaluable and should be exploited readily.

Weaknesses
Not too many weaknesses here other than chewing up the points available. In exchange we get a true superheavy with a significant primary weapon that can hurt and lock down enemy firepower like no other tank.

Builds
Auxilia Valdor Tank Hunter, lascannon, armoured ceramite (330 points)
The is probably the basic build that I'd be thinking about using.

Auxilia Valdor Tank, Auxilliary drive, lascannon, armoured ceramite, pintle mounted heavy flamer (350 points)
The fully upgraded version. The heavy flamer is purely to counter close range opponents, and the auxiliary drive keeps it going, just in case (but is probably not strictly needed).  

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Malcador Infernus Special Weapons Tank

Background
The Infernus Malcador is little more than a humongous flamer on treads, with heaps of fuel on board to do some righteous burning with. Accordingly, there is a +1 roll made on any catastrophic damage.

Strengths
As with the Auxilia Malcador, this super heavy appears naturally in the Heavy Support slot rather than the Lords of War. With 6HP and front armour of 13, this is awesome, although the price tag shows this too.

The main aim of this tank seems to be flaming enemy units (particularly armour save 3+ enemy units) in to nothingness. Therefore, when building this tank, its important to think about how best to complement it. Arguably more heavy flamers would be good as then there's no reason to worry about the BS=3 issue here. That said, some lascannon sponsons are good too.

Weaknesses
Not to many to be fair. Its a big, flaming, tormenting tank. No more. Therefore, so long as its not treated as if its something else, it is fine. Use the torrent 18" and go forth and singe things. No more, no less!

Builds
Malcador Infernus, Heavy Flamer Sponsons, Armoured Ceramite (285 points)
This is probably the baseline entry, providing the 18" torrent with some additional flamers to back it up.

Malcador Infernus, Heavy Flamer Sponsons, Armoured Ceramite, Pintle-Mounted Heavy Flamer, Auxilary Drive (305 points)
The fully upgraded version of the above. Purchase the chem-munitions to taste.

Malcador Infernus, Lascannon Sponsons, Armoured Ceramite, Pintle-Mounted Multi-Laser, Chemical Munitions (340 points)
This is more of a multi-purpose tank with the ability to take out enemy tanks, as well as frighten infantry with the chemical munitions and inflict armour bane hits through the same munitions. The ranges between the flaming torrent and the lascannons are a slight issue here, but nothing that a bit of driving around won't fix. Take an auxiliary drive to taste.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Malcador Heavy Tank

Background
A flexibly built tank that seems to have been a second class vehicle in the Horus Heresy compared to the more populous Leman Russ tanks. The Malcador here is certainly worth of attention.

Strengths
From the outset, it is important to note that this tank is in the heavy support section and not the Lords of War like the Space Marine version. For most of the other points, I will simply refer the reader back to that article.

Weaknesses
One of the obvious weaknesses here is the BS=3 and the inability to take a space marine crew to improve upon that in comparison to the Legion variant.

Builds
The following are suggestions, based on the Legion variant. I'd encourage readers to refer back to that article for more details.

Malcador with battle cannon, hull mounted auto cannon, auto cannon sponsons, armoured ceramite, two hunter-killer missiles (275 points)
Plenty of dakka here as well as the ubiquitous armoured ceramite and the hunter killer missiles. Take a flare shield to taste.

Malcador with twin linked lascannon, demolisher cannon, lascannon sponsons, armoured ceramite (305 points)
An anti-tank variant here. Take a flare shield to taste.

Horus Heresy Review: Legion Stormblade Super-heavy Tank

The primary weapon of this super heavy tank is the plasma blast gun. Its worth just going over what this primary weapon can do since there are two firing modes. The first is a rapid mode what provides 2 massive (7 inch) blasts at S8. The second is an overloaded mode that gives but a single 10 inch blast at S10. Let's do a little maths at this point. How much of an area can each of these blasts cover? Well, the area of a circle is pi r-squared. For the 7 inch blast, this is two lots of 154 sq inches (rounded), for a total of 308 sq inches. For the 10 inch blast, we're looking at 314 sq inches. Hence they're about the same in terms of the sheer area covered. But the strength of the blasts is clearly rather different! Ultimately how this weapon is fired will come down to how the enemy is arrayed in front of the Stormblade, but I thought it was useful to point out that the areas of both (summed) is very comparable. Yet, there is no way around a cover save, despite the high strength and low AP of the weapon.

Other than that, it has AV14 on the front, decreasing around the side and back, and 9 whole hull points. It is broadly survivable and will certainly cause a headache for anything that is footslogging or otherwise out in the open. It can be upgraded with a number of weapons which would provide alternatives for weapon destroyed results if needed. To some extent the choice of whether to go for sponsons or other tools is down to personal taste.

Here are a pair of builds to consider.

Stormblade with armoured ceramite and space marine legion crew (495 points)
Probably the base line that players of this unit will take. The marine crew improve the BS (if needed in the first place with blast templates) and the armoured ceramite is almost a given against melta opponents.

Stormblade with lascannon/heavy bolter sponsons, armoured ceramite, space marine legion crew, havoc launcher pintle, command tank (585 points)
A truly upgraded tank that provides the core of a legion's tactics with the command tank status and the range of weaponry available. Although other options like hunter killer missiles could be added, they are really overkill at this stage. As would be a second pair of sponsons, but I could see that being played as well. Just consider how many points the total army is at this point and figure out what fraction we are spending on the tank is. How many points are you willing to sink in to a super heavy?

Horus Heresy Review: Legion Falchion Super-Heavy Tank Destroyer

Coming under the Lords of War slot, the Falchion is a real monster with 12 Hull Points and AV14 on the front. Let down only by a BS of 3, this is a tank to be reckoned with at first glance.

Its worth taking a moment to talk about the primary weapon of this beast: a volcano cannon. This is a Destroyer class weapon with a 5 inch blast radius and AP2. To be clear, this is a true tank killer that is going to clear the board turn by turn if permitted to do its job. It is a tank that truly has to be countered as soon as possible by an enemy, and ultimately, I think it will come down to who has the best position coupled with who gets the first turn for this purpose.

In addition to this, it sports a pair of quad-las cannons for its sponsons. These weapons, coupled with the primary volcano cannon is going to quickly add up to a multitude of immobile, wrecked or exploded tanks every turn, (or dead terminators, primarchs, monstrous creatures or gargantuans) with a bit of luck. It does not come cheap though, at over 500 points for its base cost.

Here are a couple of builds to mull over.

Falchion with armoured ceramite and space marine legion crew (545 points).
This is probably the base line build. The armoured ceramite is almost a must in 30k (or 40k even!) and the space marine crew improve the BS to acceptable levels.

Falchion with hunter-killer missile, armoured ceramite, pintle-mounted havoc launcher and space marine legion crew (570 points).
A few more upgrades here - the havoc launcher provides suppression of mobs at a distance (but maybe a multi-melta could be superior if hunting tanks 100%, or even a heavy flamer for close range suppression), whilst the hunter-killer missile is there to shoot off on Turn 1

Horus Heresy Review: Legion Glaive Super-heavy Special Weapons Tank

The final entry in Massacre for the normal legion army lists is a super heavy. The Glaive is interesting for fielding the volkite carronade. This is a beam weapon with a 1" width that not only ignores cover saves, but also deflagrates as per regular volkite weapons as well as haywires enemy tanks. With a high S and low AP, this can cause damage to anything in the game.

The options are somewhat limited though. I'm not sure one wants to get rid of the default las cannon sponsons. Perhaps heavy flamers might be cute instead of heavy bolters to cure any charging units of their suicidal tendencies. But otherwise, I think I would run the following build:

Glaive, with armoured ceramite (650 points).
The armoured ceramite is almost a given in Heresy era gaming, but could be left out if desired as the HP of the tank is large enough to ensure it'll last a while even without it. Although do note that the tank does have a lower AP to the rear which could be a vulnerability.

Game wise, I think the tank will keep a half decent range from the enemy and pump out shots at heavy tanks, heavy infantry (i.e. terminators) as required. The critical thing is to keep the vulnerable rear facing away from heavy weapons and D class tank killers. To be clear: this tank does not have a D class weapon of its own, so if you do take this tank as a Lord of War, you can almost be assured your enemy will have a D class weapon. Therefore you need to play this tank to its strength. It is not a titan killer. But it will take care of lighter tanks and infantry with ease. 

Horus Heresy Review: Reaver Battle Titan

Many of the points I made about the Warhound Scout Titan are applicable here. Let me summarise the pertinent points:

(i) If you are taking titans, then your opponents might well be. You need to prepare for this through D class weapons.

(ii) Titans are not immobile weapons platforms. Move them to gain better lines of sight and to ensure any terminal explosion takes out enemy models and not your own.

(iii) Don't forget stomp attacks and tank shocks.

The principle difference here, however, is the option of a few different weapon systems and titan close combat weapons. These  latter items are 3 attacks as AP1 and D strength. Having one of these will certainly encourage you to move your titan and get inside the range of other titans weapons -- which can certainly be beneficial if they have minimum ranges.

Here are a few builds to consider.

Reaver Battle Titan with Apocalypse Launcher, Laser Blaster, Titan Close Combat Weapon
This is probably a base line Reaver. It contains a mix of D weapons, large blasts, and the close combat weapon to make sure you move the thing to take advantage of it.

Reaver Battle Titan with carapace-mounted vortex missile, 2 laser blasters
Very nasty turn 1 launch with the vortex missile to take out any close clumps of things you dislike, followed up by 6 D class shots.  And 6 more D class blast shots every turn thereafter. Nasty. Just nasty. Replace the vortex missile with a carapace mounted double-barrelled turbo laser destructor if you like, for sustained D shots every turn.

Reaver Battle Titan with carapace-mounted double-barrelled turbo laser destructor, 1 melta cannon, 1 volcano cannon.
Sit back. Blast away. Replace the volcano cannon with a laser baster to taste. But beware: this is one titan that you will forget to move around.

Horus Heresy Review: Warhound Scout Titan

Yes -- I really am reviewing titans. They're in Betrayal and the Horus Heresy, and therefore available as part of an army (with Lords of War) and therefore are a valid unit.

Let's be honest about something. If we're taking a titan, we're probably going to be opposed with titans. Therefore, I strongly would recommend that any titan is equipped with at least one strength D weapon to try to counter any enemy titans or super heavies. Admittedly, S10 is a close second, but its not quite the same.

The other thing to remember is that titans can move. Yep. Seriously. They have legs. They walk, jog and run. Remember to think about this: it is a mobile weapons platform after all.

But more than this: titans are also treated as gargantuan creatures in assault and can therefore make stomp attacks. These are at S10. And of course, they can tank shock anything less than a superheavy. Plus, it will generally take out anything in its vicinity when it goes down, so make sure that happens when your titan is deep in enemy territory for goodness sake. Move your titan!

Here are a few builds.  You'll notice that I'm not a fan of the inferno cannon -- there are superior options.

Warhound Scout Titan, 2 Vulcan Megabolters
Don't bother unless you know for certain there are no other super heavies or land raiders on the enemy side. Pumping out 30 AP3 shots every turn will rapidly decimate any space marine army otherwise. No fun for the opponent in this regard (but then, you're taking a titan!). One other serious note here is that the Vulcan Megabolter is the only titan weapon that can be targeted at fliers since in the current edition blast weapons cannot hit them. This build is therefore viable for taking down enemy planes!

Warhound Scout Titan, 2 double-barrelled turbo laser destructors
Four lots of D weapons with a 5" blast every turn is serious business. This is the kind of titan that is ready for anything. Nothing in the game cannot be handled by it. Take it.

Warhound Scout Titan, 1 plasma blast gun, 1 double-barrelled turbo laser destructor
A more balanced titan (if such a thing exists! lol!), the massive blasts from the plasma gun is amazing at range and fun to play. Its also high strength and is flexible (depending on if you're facing hordes for instance). And the laser destructors are for the enemy titans to contend with.

Warhound Scout Titan, 1 plasma blast gun, 1 vulcan mega-bolter
A more "standard" configuration, but one this is frankly, not as effective as the two previous examples. Remember the maxim: if you're taking a titan, your opponents may well be as well. Go for a D class weapon.

I cannot say I'm a fan of the inferno cannon, but can see some of its merit in flushing out power armour opponents for a swift moving war hound.

Horus Heresy Review: Legion Malcador Assault Tank

The final entry in the main Heresy-era army list (don't worry: I haven't forgotten about the legion specific units or Mechanicum -- they're going to be written in the coming weeks and months) is the Malcador.

The thing that sets the Malcador apart from other super-heavy Lords of War entries in the army list is that it is a fast vehicle. This has obvious application for armies that deploy rapidly, or from reserve. The key here is to figure out what role you want for the Malcador to play. Is it a dakka style tank focussed on anti-infantry duty or is it a bit more anti-tank? Clearly this will depend upon how the rest of the army is constructed. But I will point out that as a super-heavy, the tank can fire its weapons independently and at different targets every turn, so a combination of weapons and purposes can be achieved here as well.  With that in mind, here are 3 builds: one anti-tank, one anti-infantry, and one somewhere in-between.

Legion Malcador Assault Tank with standard battle cannon, hull-mounted auto cannon, Autocannons on sponsons, armoured ceramite, pintle-mounted heavy flamer and a space marine legion crew (370 points)
A large range of weaponry, mostly focusing on dakka and rate of fire. This is the anti-infantry tank. The pintle-mounted heavy flamer is for anti-charging duty in the main part, but I guess a Salamanders tank could use heavy flamer sponsons as well.

Legion Malcador Assault Tank, with twin-linked lascannons, demolisher cannon, lascannon sponsons, armoured ceramite, hunter-killer missile, pintle-mounted combi-melta, space marine legion crew (410 points)
This one is distinctly more anti-tank, sporting more high strength weapons and a lower rate of fire power than the one above.

Legion Malcador Assault Tank, Battle Cannon, Demolisher Cannon, Heavy Bolter sponsons, armoured ceramite, hunter-killer missile, pintle-mounted heavy stubber, command tank, space marine legion crew (410 points)
Well, this one is a mixed bag, leaving only the flamers at home. Not sure what role this has, but is an illustration of how one can build a menagerie of weaponry on a tank.

Legion Malcador Assault Tank, Battle Cannon, Demolisher Cannon, Heavy Flamer Sponsons, pintle-mounted heavy flamer (350 points)
A lesser tank and cheaper one in the same vein as the one above. But this time, packing in the heavy flamers to make it more suitable for Salamander type legions out there. 

Horus Heresy Review: Legion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer

The neutron laser battery on the Cerberus is immensely powerful -- perhaps one of the most powerful weapons in the game outside of a "D"-class weapon. But it does have the drawback of the "feedback" rule. This means that if we're not successful with a penetration roll, there's a 1 in 6 chance that the Cerberus will suffer a penetrating hit. To be honest though, this is a minor drawback and not very likely to happen -- especially given that super-heavy tanks will roll two die for armour penetration. And then on top of that, it gets d3 shots. Which makes it kinda random compared to tanks like the Typhon.

The Cerberus is also a durable tank with AV14 on the front and 2 Structure Points (think of structure points as being triple Hull Points if it helps). Hence whilst it is not invulnerable, it can certainly pump out damage and stay put in the game as long as needed.

There are a wide variety of options available to the tank. But to be honest, this beast is designed to take out enemy armour. As such, I think that any build should complement this purpose. Therefore I would advocate taking las cannon sponsons over heavy bolter sponsons and perhaps even a hunter-killer missile.

Here's my (singular) proposed build for the Cerberus:

Legion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer, Lascannon sponsons, Hunter-killer missile, Armoured ceramite (465 points)
This is my anti-tank build. You'll notice that I've avoided taking any pintle-mounted weapon. I think many of them have a short range compared to the primary weapon (or indeed: the lascannons), or are distinctly anti-infantry rather than anti-tank. I could imagine taking a multi-melta if I thought I could position the tank within the appropriate range (certainly the built in flare shield can help here!), or perhaps a havoc launcher to supply pressure on to the contents of transport tanks I've popped open. But I'll leave that to the taste of the controlling player to decide. 

Horus Heresy Review: Legion Thunderhawk Transporter

Imagine the Legion Thunderhawk Gunship, but without all of the guns and ammunition. Now replace the transport capacity with either two rhino chassis, or one land raider chassis. And you have the Thunderhawk Transporter.

I like the concept of the Transporter -- it is what the background fluff describes it as pretty accurately and the ability to place down your tanks on the battlefield where you want them to be is terrific (as is picking them up again later).

But beyond that, I start to question what it is this superheavy Lord of War can do. Without the armaments of the Thunderhawk Gunship, it doesn't actually do too much. So unless the battlefield that you are playing on is particularly vast, I think I would pass on this flyer to be perfectly honest. Your tanks will trundle up to their desired position within a couple of turns in all likelihood unless you have a super sized Apocalypse pitch to play on. But more than that: there just aren't enough turns in the game for it to be truly useful (considering it won't come on on the first turn, and dropping off and picking up probably won't both occur inside one game - emphasis on probably). And on the turn that the transporter is behaving as a stationary skimmer, its probably going to be blasted apart. Unless you have multiple transporters, of course. But being a Lord of War, that simply isn't going to happen. Hence I disfavour this unit almost in entirety.

That said, here is my suggestion for its build:

Legion Thunderhawk Transporter, Chaff Launcher, Armoured Cockpit (480 points)
Take up to six Hellstrike missiles if you would like to beef up the armaments beyond the heavy bolters. The logic behind this build is similar to the Thunderhawk Gunship.