Infernal Master: Alpha Legion Style

A bit of a conversion from the weekend. This is the Thousand Sons' Infernal Master miniature from the plastic range being used as the basis, but with added Alpha Legion resin parts to convert the legion's loyalty.

The shoulder pad is a direct Mark 4 Alpha Legion resin piece from Forge World that I had lying around. The head meanwhile is one of the newer heads - Character Heads Upgrades Set 1. Obviously, I have also converted parts of the miniature in addition to this to remove some obvious Thousand Sons trappings such as the scarabs here and there, and to remove the warp flame backpack bits which really didn't communicate the Heresy vibe that I wanted them to. I've also covered the bit holding the cape on with green stuff to actively get rid of the final Thousand Sons' heraldry. I intend to use a decal to go over the top of this when it has been painted up eventually. 

The idea here is to portray a marine who has or soon will succumb to full chaos affiliation but otherwise heralds from the Alpha Legion. As the legion would later discover, no man can be master of chaos, and as the civil war within the Legion was fought, sides were chosen and lines were drawn between its twin masters despite their otherwise erstwhile unity. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Magistus Amon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3/5 stars. The rules are average overall with some parts being good and some not so great.

Background.

The one time tutor to the Thousand Sons' Primarch, Amon served as both equerry and emissary during the Great Crusade. He was really the lead in the legions intelligence gathering unit though. Post Prospero, he became an embittered individual and felt very cut off from his brothers. 

Strengths.

The warlord trait here is an army wide boost that provides shrouded to those units who have infiltrating and scouting special rules during the first two turns. Obviously this calls for specific builds when using Amon as the HQ, but it remains a fluffy choice. The bonus movement reaction is solid.

The armour is good and can give shrouded as well. His weapon relies on poison which I find is strictly worse than having force on board.

Weaknesses.

Looking at his weapon, it really needs to be better for the points cost. At least make it the same as a paragon blade for starters. Lacking any minor arcana is a weakness on the surface. But what it allows Amon to do is join any unit. This is excellent! Having telepathy and divination are sound, if not outstanding.

Overall.

He is a force multiplier who needs to have an army built around him. He is slightly over priced for the equipment that he comes with as standard though. If you're liking the idea of lots of recon squads, this will play well for you. Otherwise, probably not quite worth it. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Ahzek Ahriman

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars. The rules are great for a close combat character.

Background.

He he would eventually curse the Thousand Sons legion is the first and final chief librarian during the Heresy. He is a superlatively talented and strong psyker and the arch-magister of the Corvidae cult within the legion. Let alone Magnus' pupil. 

Strengths.

Ahriman has a number of interesting strengths and simultaneous drawbacks. I find it odd that his major strength is close combat here, but it is what it is. 

Given his points value, Ahriman is strictly superior to a praetor in almost every way. He gets lots of psychic powers, a force weapon that is much better than a paragon blade (S=9 at I+1, master crafted!) along with a warlord trait that redeploys three units. The additional reaction in a choice of phase is superlative here. 

Weaknesses.

I find it odd that his psychic dakka is weak here. He is by definition corvidae and his psychic powers are remarkably limited in many ways. Plus he really doesn't want to be corvidae given you want him in close combat. 

Overall.

Treat him as a close combat monster and don't stress about him not being such an army wide buffer, or psychic shooting master. He is more than worth the points which is why he gets 4 stars from me. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Khenetai Occult Cabal

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

Background.

One of the smaller cults within the Thousand Sons legion, the Khenetai fused their psychic powers with their blades and accomplished incredible martial feats therein. 

Strengths.

Baseline of WS=5 and 2 wounds each mark them out of veteran analogues. 

They do not get access to the minor arcana, but instead get a power to yield +1 to all of WS, A, and movement. This is terrific and for the points cost that you are paying here, this is such a strong and tempting deal! The force weapons only add to this amazing deal.

Weaknesses.

For what you are paying, there really aren't any downsides here. 

Difference to First Edition.

Improved! Okay, you can argue with me that they used to be WS=6 as baseline, but here in second edition it is entirely understandable that their baseline WS would be reduced. This matters not a jot though given their psychic powers. 

To be honest, the main problem here is that they are an elites slot. This slot is already mightily crowded!

Builds.

5 Khenetai, Blademaster with Artificer Armour (160 points).

You don't really need the artificer armour, but it is nice to have. Multiple units of this kind of build are powerful. 

Beyond this, I wouldn't advocate much. Maybe a hand flamer is nice for one of them, but I wouldn't expand the unit to 10 to take two of them. Melta bombs are cute, but possibly not needed either - you should have other melta solutions. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Castellax-Achea Automata

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️
2/5 stars. If you played first edition, you will be upset with the nerf that this unit has received. 

Background.

Secret research by the Thousand Sons legion resulted in automata that were expendable in full frontal assaults. As with a lot about the legion, these constructs were pretty much in the realm of heresy even before the Council. The Space Wolves would find out about them soon enough at the Fall of Prospero though. 

Strengths.

Psychic robots! I mean: this unit does have the rule of cool about it. 

With S=6 and T=6 plus 4 wounds, they are akin to a monstrous creature in all but name. They also have the psyker rule.

Friendly models with a psychic weapon can make shooting attacks using the automata as the origin of the attack which is very nice. Their weapons are nice, but not outstanding. 

Weaknesses.

Lack of reliable AP=2 weapons is a problem here. 

You are also probably not going to shoot psychically via them. You are probably going to want that juicy S+1 and T+1 from biomancy instead which means this nice rule is going to go to waste.

Difference to First Edition.

Nerfed in almost every department. Could still work nicely with a Praevian I guess. 

Builds.

Keep to the original build. There aether-fire cannon is honestly not really worth it, and there's no other choices available here. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Contemptor-Osiron Dreadnought Talon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3/5 stars. Really good and interesting, but gets expensive.

Background.

The result of Magnus The Red's magnificent mind to solve the problem of interring a psychic warrior inside a dreadnought to serve still. The Thousand Sons legion was the first to field them and freely gave the tech away to the other legions who appear to have spurned the gift. Maybe not the Alpha Legion though? 

Strengths.

Psykers in a dreadnought! Yes! How cool is that?!

Okay, in all seriousness though, we can upgrade these with the minor arcana. This is certainly recommended as there are a variety of options here that will be of benefit including the extra movement, the long range sniping, and the bonus invulnerable.

If its a unit of one, then it can be upgraded to a Magnus version which gets a core psychic discipline. This is much less worth it. Even if you are tempted by biomancy for the juicy S+1 and T+1 it has got to the points cost level where a leviathan is superior. So this upgrade isn't worth it in my opinion. 

The force blade as standard is nasty here, but equally regular dreadnoughts do better in the brutal department. Adamantium will is nice, but not worth the extra points compared to a base dreadnought.

Weaknesses.

This dreadnought cannot swap out its force weapon which is understandable, but a bit sad. Hence a close combat build might be good here - and a small terror to lighter tanks. But in keeping with an emergent theme with the Thousand Sons, its all just a bit over-costed for the points.

Builds.

Osiron with 2 Force Blades with built in graviton guns, Minor Arcana (235 points).

Deadly close combat monster and the bane of lighter tanks.

Osiron with Aether Fire Magna Cannon, Force Blade with built in Aether Fire Blaster, Minor Arcana (235 points).

I rather like this mid-range build! Of course, more standard long range weapons are possible here like the Kheres and the Lascannon, but I think I prefer this one for a psychic dreadnought. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Sekhmet Terminator Cabal

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️
2/5 stars. Over costed. Under-performing.

Background.

Scarab Occult Terminators to those outside the Thousand Sons legion, and standing apart from those even within the legion. These are a band of psykers who hold their minds in the highest enumerations and in battle appear to be so precise as to be automata ... perhaps foreshadowing the fate of some of their members. 

Strengths.

They're psykers and 2 wound terminators with the valuable WS=5, and they can buy a single psychic discipline for an added cost. The achea pattern force weapons are very welcome here as well.

Weaknesses.

The biggest negative here is the points cost. In plain language, they're just not worth it. By upgrading to a psychic discipline, they're over 300 points for 5 models. Honestly, a generic legion terminator squad would be better value at this level. Doubly so given that they would have access to at least the minor powers of the Arcana. By all means take Biomancy for the S+1 and T+1, but realize that you're better off with some basic terminators in all probability. 

Difference to First Edition.

Nerfed.

Builds.

5 Sekhmet, Inceptor with Biomancy, Grenade Harness (305 points).

Look. At. The. Points. Cost. Though.

5 Sekhmet, 5 combi-melta, Inceptor with 1 Discipline, (350 points).

Look. Again. At. The. Points. Cost.

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: Thousand Sons Armoury

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars. Although only a small selection, the rules are good overall!

For the Thousand Sons, there is a small collection of upgrades available to specific weapons. Two of them come with the Achean Force rule which yields S+2 on a successful psychic test which can be quite nice on the surface.

Aether-Fire Cannon. Swap out plasma weapons for the Achean Force special rule, a reduction in base strength and range. It also drops breaching and gets hot, but gains rending. So many small changes here. Fundamentally these are worth it if (a) you are prepared to get closer than others do; (b) you like taking Ld tests. In combination with Pavoni, the very short range ones probably make a lot of sense, while the heavy variants will benefit from the more shooting related options. For no points cost, these are almost a no brainer. Take a support squad of ather-fire blasters and have some fun!

Asphyx Shells. Adds shred to your bolters at the price of a shorter range and a very small points cost. Probably not quite worth it unless you have a cunning plan. You have a cunning plan, right? Just as planned.  

Achea Pattern Force Weapons. A pure upgrade for no costs for characters that grants the achean force rule to power weapons. There's literally no draw backs here. Very nice! 

Difference to First Edition.

I quite like what I'm seeing here. Sure, there's not many options, but all of them are quite viable. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Thousand Sons Traits and Rites

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Everything is viable here at a reasonable to good level! But it remains a legion that is not beginner friendly. 

Warlord Traits.

The Thousand Sons legion comes with 3 warlord traits, with only 1 of them being restricted to traitors only.

Evoker of Pain. For the traitors, this trait allows the Thousand Sons player to transfer failed perils of the warp checks on to nearby enemy units with interest. This is a great trait, but does require an aggressive play style. The bonus reaction is for assault.

Magister of Prospero. The all round fluffy option. Roll an extra dice for psychic checks and discard the highest. You will want this one most of the time. The added movement reaction is great.  

Eidolon of Suffering. This one sits oddly with me, but it does describe the less than able members of the legion very appropriately. Instead of psychic powers, the warlord has adamantium will, and in some circumstances (nearby psychics being activated) gains rage which can increase during the battle. So by all means wind him up by putting him near another psyker of your own and you have your wind up rage machine. Bonus reaction is shooting.

Rites of War.

The Achaean Configuration. New for second edition, this rite of war allows you to bring castellax-achea automata - psychic robots - as non compulsory troops. Why would you want to do this? Because you can divert your perils of the warp right over to them with this rite of war. In effect then, they are peril capacitors! There are some restrictions such as having more than one model, a techmarine, and a praevian, but this rite opens up a very interesting play style wherein you cast as many spells per turn as you can muster and put anything negative onto the robots. 

The Guard of the Crimson King. The carry over from First Edition is going to be the default choice for most players I would expect. Six units can gain deep strike and fear when they come into play for the first turn whilst giving you Sekhmet cabals as troops. But you have to go with Magnus, Ahriman, or praetor with psychic abilities. But you were going to do that anyway, which is why it is the default choice. The lack of allies is a minor issue in comparison to this. 

 

Difference to First Edition.

Plenty of change here (pun not entirely intended). Some new things, and some re-jigged old things. Overall the Thousand Sons are looking healthy in second edition and I like most of what I am seeing here. Not only are the rules fluffy, but all of them are playable. As stated previously for this legion though, it is not a beginner friendly one, and this same theme continues here. Players need to inject a lot of thought into their list building to maximize the benefits. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Thousand Sons Legion Rules

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3.5/5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars. The rules have the potential to be strong, but you need to build carefully and optimize. This is not a beginner friendly army, but in the right hands is strong so long as you spend those points carefully. 

Background.

Before the Heresy formally took place, the Thousand Sons were attacked by the Space Wolves and their homeworld of Prospero destroyed. Later analysis would prove this to be the first likely act of Horus under the subtle influence of chaos who subtly changed the wording of the Wolves' orders from that of capture and return, to wholesale slaughter. Of course, even before this, they had been censured at Nikaea for arcane practices and stood apart from their brothers. They took part on both sides of the civil war, but were ever few in number thanks to preceding events. Magnus would take his time to throw his lot in with the traitors though, and didn't particular re-surface until the Siege of Terra itself. 

Legion Rules Review.

Cult Arcana. Granting pskyer to all members of the legion doesn't give them automatic access to powers. But the characters within any given unit do. They must take one of the minor arcana (below), but can be upgraded to a formal core psychic discipline from the rule book for a small points cost. All of the minor arcana require a psychic test. 

Raptora. When you move close to an enemy, you get an extra pip of invulnerable save. Maxes out at 4+. This is going to be nice for your Tartaros terminators and units such as Breachers. 

Pyrae. Hammer of wrath 2 (flame) attacks are very nice when charging. Great for those units with loads of attacks that you want to maximize the damage output from.

Pavoni. +3 distance and ignoring terrain is highly situational. However, it does really change the dynamic of (parts of) the army. And it can certainly give the White Scars quite the scare. 

Corvidae. Allocate the first wound from a shooting attack. I guess this is nice for long range or high strength sniping. Especially if you don't have snipers. There are better choices in the more general sense though.

Athanaen. Ld-1 for pinning and morale tests due to shooting is amazing. Take this on your snipers, or pinning causing units. This is great. Take on a vigilator especially - you can thank me later. 

Proserpine Aresenal provides the unique wargear options, but there are no other special rules here.

Advanced Reaction.

Fortress of the Mind. Gaining 3+ invulnerable under shooting can be game defining for a given unit. Even if the psychic test is failed, the unit still gets a 5+ invulnerable save, but suffers the perils of the warp. So not too bad. 

Difference to First Edition.

The largest change here are the dramatic changes to how psychic powers are used. Gone is the old psychic phase (and I will not shed a single tear about that). Replacing it are abilities that you have to roll to activate. Truly a better system. But of course, this does mean that some powers are not flat out granted (looking at you, Raptora). I like these changes, but others' tastes will vary. Naturally. 

Overall, I feel that second edition Thousand Sons have been nerfed downward, but they still sit in a better place than the likes of the White Scars. With careful list building, this can be a very strong army. I mean, have you seen a scout based Thousand Sons army? They're pretty scary with Pavoni, Athanaean coupled up with close range assault Pyrae. As stated right at the top, this army is not one that is beginner friendly. I've seen many new player try to get a good build out of it and flailing to defeat other armies that have a simpler and less complex play style. Watch out for the veterans or old timers like me playing this army though. We have a cunning plan. 

Horus Heresy Review: Magnus the Red

Background.
His brothers might have subconsciously used the warp to hide in plain sight, or channeled it in to sheer unadulterated aggressive power, but Magus himself was able to play with it as if it were his own special toy. This is reflected in him being a level 5 psyker on the battlefield and arguably one of the most powerful psychic individuals in the galaxy alive at the time of the Heresy alongside his Father, His Father's right hand man, and perhaps a certain Eldar figure.

In Inferno, Magnus is portrayed as a multi-faceted figure who is interested in scholarship, learning, and well able to leave a (literal) blaze of fire behind him on the battlefield. He wanted nothing short of the future ascension of the human race in to a masterful psychic race. Naturally, these ideals were perhaps not the best ones.

Strengths. 
Magnus has a terrific number of playable strengths. As the sire of the Thousand Sons, his sons may use his Leadership value in many situations, and he grants a re-roll of reserves if the desired result does not happen. He can unlock Sekhmet and legion terminators as troops to boot as well.

He comes with psychic bonuses as one might expect. He doesn't "perils" as frequently as others do (and if he does, he doesn't suffer the worst of it). He harnesses warp charges on a 3+ to ensure that stuff happens when he wants it to. He can see through walls to target his powers (nice!) and his psionic attacks always ignore cover. Beyond this, his Mind Wrath special rule gives a huge boost to the strength of any witch fire powers, +2d6 S, with Destroyer hits indicated for 11+ in Strength. This means his psychic abilities are truly deadly on the battlefield if he is willing to risk a few more warp charges to make them a reality.

His equipment is sound too. His armour is a nice 2+/4+ coupled with reducing the effects of destroyer weapons. His force blade comes with AP1 and a strength bonus to really shake things up in close combat. And he even has a quality ranged weapon with 1d3 assault at AP2 and S=8! Who cares about soul blaze when you have that?

As if that were not enough, incoming attacks also suffer a penalty to hit him thanks to his phantasmal aura (that extends to any squad he also joins).

Weaknesses.
He really does not have that many weaknesses. His attacks are arguably lower than some of his brothers, as are some of his other statistics. Watch out for being tarpitted. But he more than makes up for this by being a psychic monster that will dominate the psychic phase of the Legion (and the entire game in all likelihood as well).

His points cost is surprisingly low -- lower than Horus -- for what he does. In this regard, he is a real steal.

Overall.
Run his as your Lords of War HQ and go forth to dominate the psychic phase. Take with you a command squad for fun, or a big blob of Sekhmet terminators as meat shields. Magnus is a single character wrecking machine on the tabletop that will take a lot to down him. Accordingly, he will also be a big target. Treat him accordingly and I have no doubt that he can win entire battles for you.  

Horus Heresy Review: Magistus Amon

Background.
Rumour has it that Amon was the first teacher that Magnus had on Prospero. His young pupil must have quickly exceeded his ability to teach him though.

Interestingly, he must have also been an adult by implication when the Emperor found Magnus. Hence, his transformation in to an Astartes must have been different to other older people such as Kor Phaeron. Arguably, Magnus made it so.

Strengths. 
Amon has a bunch of interesting equipment that goes alongside his praetor-like stat line and level 3 psyker abilities. Unlike Ahriman, he generates powers from both divination and from telepathy, making him a bit of a more flexible prospect for a warlord.

His armour is very nice for being able to share a cover save bonus to any unit he is attached to, as well as boosting his own cover save wherever he might be -- even in the open.

He also keeps around with him a dust filled trinket from when the predatory psychneuein parasites were around. This acts as a one-off weapon that is poisoned and concussive. It can really help out in a tough melee as it hits automatically (1d6 or 2d6 depending on the number of opponents faced) and can turn a battle in to a victory readily.

As if this were not enough, he is also an army buff, enabling re-rolling of seizing of the initiative and preventing outflanking in a huge bubble around himself. His reputation is therefore well founded.

Weaknesses.
I don't think Amon has too many weaknesses. His warlord trait is a bit average (outflank an ordinary unit on a particular turn without a reserves roll), but other than that, he stands out as a good option for a warlord for the Thousand Sons thanks to his flexibility, his buffing, and individual potential on the battlefield.

Overall.
I see Amon as a very respectable warlord for the Thousand Sons. He is not quite a character that entire strategies can be built around like some, but he has enough special rules at a good points cost to be a serious contender for warlord for most Thousand Sons builds.

Horus Heresy Review: Ahzek Ahriman

Background.
Much can be said about Ahriman in both his 30k and 40k incarnations. One fact that people often overlook was that he was not a native of Prospero, but was Terran born instead. He therefore fought in the great crusade for neigh on two centuries before the Heresy.

In the background, Ahriman is painted as one of the best pupils of the Thousand Sons ever. As a result, he is in charge of the Corvidae (the divination cult) and serves as the Chief Librarian to the legion -- the first and the last person to hold that role within the legion.

Strengths.
Fundamentally, he is a level 4 psyker who generates his powers from divination. As a result, he is very talented, but also very focussed (some might say limited in comparison to what he will become in 40k!). Naturally, he is also automatically part of the Corvidae Cult.

He comes with some master crafted equipment (force weapon and bolt pistol) as well as what might be expected of any praetor level character in terms of armour. And yes -- he is a master of the legion, should that ever be in doubt.

I like the fact he has precision strikes as it is very fluffy. And like other 30k characters that appear in 40k, he has the Marked by Dark Fates rules in case you are playing narratively and need to roll for character injuries, or deaths, between games.

Weaknesses.
He is not quite the go to HQ choice that he would otherwise become in 40k. To be honest, I see him in more of a classic support role for the Thousand Sons army. That is not to say that he cannot function as a warlord -- he most certainly can. But his warlord trait of giving scouts to a few units is nothing amazing overall. His ability to take a Corvidae command squad is interesting, but also nothing truly amazing -- just fluffy.

Overall.
I would actually favour Ahriman NOT being the warlord for an army. He can do terrifically well alongside someone else who is kitted out for the army, or perhaps Magnus himself. Placed inside a command squad, or a terminator squad, and given a transport option, Ahriman will do very well on the battlefield (especially with some of the divination powers under his belt) and can wipe away a lot of problems that the army might face on his own or with company. I just don't simply see him as the optimal choice for a warlord, that's all. I think there are better HQs. 

Horus Heresy Review: Ammitara Occult Intercession Cabal

Background.

In the background, the Ammitara are painted as part of the Order of the Blind. A secretive and shrouded sect within the legion that was responsible for assassination protocols in tandem with scouting duties ordinarily associated with reconnaissance squads, they were a force that was often doubted to exist, even within their host legion. 

Strengths. 

The come with sniper rifles as their base armament and gain the stealth, move through cover, infiltrate and scout special rules that sets them up very nicely at the start of the game. Shroud bombs continue this theme very nicely. 

What really sets them apart is their dedicated psychic power. As a brotherhood of level 1 psykers, they do not generate their powers as normal, but instead take a single dedicated power call Mind Killer. This is a blessing for 1 warp charge that allows re rolling of to hit and to wound, plus ignore cover. When it successfully goes off (and it should go off!) this makes the squad incredibly powerful on the board for long range sniping an assassination.

Weaknesses.

The scout armour is the most obvious weakness here, in place of regular power armour. But given they should be in hard cover sniping from range, that's more than okay. 

The main problem here I think is whether the upgrades should be taken. The melta gun and plasma gun have fundamentally different roles to the sniper rifle, let alone ranges on the battle field. I think I would favour a plasma gun at 24 inch range, but its hard to want to take a melta gun here unless one can reliably get close to an enemy through infiltrating (etc.). 

The Storm Eagle as a dedicated transport is certainly a nice option here though. One can always take it and then infiltrate the squad anyway, setting up the eagle separately. 

Builds.

A trio of builds to consider here.

5 Ammitara, Ammitara Fate with melta bombs and nuncio vox (150 points).

This is what I think would be a flexible and baseline unit to have on the battlefield.

5 Ammitara, 1 Plasma Gun (145 points).

An alternative baseline unit for infiltration purposes. The plasma gun can certainly benefit from the Mind Killer power here and be a real threat for a good points cost.

10 Ammitara, 2 Plasma Guns, Ammitara Fate with melta bombs and nuncio vox (270 points).

Take with a Storm Eagle. You have the option to set up inside the Eagle, or to go it alone with infiltration and be maximally flexible here. 

Horus Heresy Review: Khenetai Occult Blade Cabal

Background.
Guardians of the Cults and warriors who combined their psychic potential with their own sword play. These are adaptable warriors and ones who have access to the full spectrum of abilities possible within the Thousand Sons.

Strengths.
Two Force Swords used at WS=5 is a good thing for the Thousand Sons and may be a little bit surprising for some who are not used to facing Thousand Sons.

What sets them apart is that the squad gets bonuses to both the number of attacks and WS beyond their baseline depending on how many marines are left in the squad. Clearly this calls for a maximum sized squad to begin with, and preferably mounted in a land raider of some flavour or other.

Weaknesses.
I would prefer this brotherhood of sorcerers to have more psyker levels than one. Or be able to purchase them. But it is what it is. As a result, I would suggest that Pavoni is about optimal in terms of cults for this unit, with Pyrae a close second choice.

Builds.
There are not so many options here: extra members are almost a must, so it comes down to whether one prefers plasma pistols or hand flamers in place of bolt pistols.

10 Khenetai, 2 hand flamers, Blademaster with artificer armour and melta bombs (345 points).
Probably about the best build available. Place inside a land raider and go hunting. I favour Pavoni with these marines. Hope to get Iron Arm, but the primaris is nice as well. 

Horus Heresy Review: Sekhmet Terminator Cabal

Background.
The Sekhmet were a brotherhood within a brotherhood within the Thousand Sons. The fluff mentions that they were so unified that they were more like automata shaped in the likeness of men rather than the other way around. Illuminating for what they will ultimately become perhaps.

Strengths.
Most obviously these marines are terminators (in any armour flavour you like) whilst being level 2 brotherhood of psykers.

They all come with force weapons and combi-weapons with asphyx shells to boot. Plus they are stubborn.

Weaknesses.
I think my main problem is that they can only have access to telekinesis and pyromancy as their disciplines. These disciplines are not the most powerful, but they are quality secondaries.

This can readily be offset with the correct choice of Thousand Sons cult though. Generating warp charges on a 3+ is a huge boon, and that's before considering the bonus effects that they can have.

That leaves the points cost. Give that these terminators have 2 wounds each, I think I would be very happy paying the points cost to gain the psyker abilities. Plus, they're probably going to be a half decent target for Alpha Legion Coils to boot. Very good value really when it comes down to it!

Builds.
5 Sekhmet Terminators, 2 chain fists (275 points). 
A baseline mixed-thread units. Take with raptor cult for bonus to the invulnerable save and telekinetic powers.

10 Sekhmet Terminators, 3 chain fists, 3 power fists (475 points).
Getting pricey now, but still worth it. This is a blob best used with their teleporters activated. Drop in place and have some fun. Take with Pyrae and tartaros armour to keep the sweeping advance. Take combi-plasmas to taste.

5 Sekhmet Terminators, 4 with lightning claws (255 points).
Take with either Pyrae or Raptor and base out of a land raider. Assault for the win whilst being backed up with psyker powers.

Horus Heresy Review: Castellax-Achea Battle-Automata Maniple

Background.
Blasphemous creations, these Castellax are fitted with psi-controller matrices rather than the standard cortex. They fill in gaps in the Thousand Sons legion's strengths given their low numbers and unwillingness to risk their own in otherwise nasty battles.

Strengths.
They have all the positives that Castellax do: brutally large monstrous creatures with 4 wounds, T=7 and so forth. The mauler bolt cannon comes fitted with Asphyx shells for bonus effects.

As if this were not enough, psykers from the Thousand Sons can use the Castellax as the point of origin for their psychic powers within 12 inches which is very nice indeed.

Weaknesses.
There is a big drawback here. If a psyker suffers a perils of the warp within 12 inches (note -- not taking a wound, but just suffers a perils unlike the legion rules), then take an Ld test or suffer d6 unsavable wounds. And if it dies, it goes boom with the bigger radius possible.

Builds.
Whilst I like the Castellax, I don't see any need to upgrade them with aether-fire cannons. Hence I prefer to keep them "naked". In terms of numbers, a single one is fine, but several are probably worth the investment.

3 Castellax-Achea (405 points).
Expensive, but when in range will do very well indeed. Keep them accompanied by a level 1 psyker (or brotherhood) for some psychic actions. Or how about a level 3 psyker if you feel like a riskier play? It could be very rewarding if you don't perils. Buy a litany.

Horus Heresy Review: Thousand Sons Legion Rules

Background Material Evaluation.

The Thousand Sons are painted as one of the more unusual legions within the pages of Inferno. We all know of the psychic potential (and potency), but more fundamentally, Magnus arranged the legion in very different ways than his brothers. The focus was distinctly at the squad level. These were arranged into Circles and Fellowships with other aspects (Cults, Orders) cutting across these.

Then there is the whole Flesh Change issue that the book brings to the readers attention and how at various points the legion was shunned and distrusted, nearly extinct and booming. And how lots of them belong to the Dreaming Brotherhood -- placed in to stasis until a cure was found.

My personal favourite bit of their history is when they send a mere 60 marines to bring a Knight world (planet 72-9) to compliance. They just stand in place, soaking up incoming fire with kine shields and then rip the pilots apart before telekinetically tossing the Knight's head back at their base. And thus they lost three marines; two to headache issues and one to being squished by falling debris. Magnificent!

Legion Rules Review.
I regard the Thousand Sons as potentially superbly powerful and a highly tailored force that would even make the Alpha Legion cry with jealousy.

Covenant of Sorcerers means that their warlord must be a psyker, and the one with the highest Ld score. In turn, this implies (at least until FAQ'ed) that it would be hard to impossible for most forces to take Thousand Sons as allies.

Proserpine Lore gives psykers access to every discipline apart from Malefic, and the player can purchase psychic levels and Force weapons for their HQs at a price.

Cult Arcana is the rule that sets them apart though. Each unit must select one of the cults (with compulsory troops possessing the same cult as the HQ). Psychic powers associated with the cult manifest on a 3+ rather than 4+ for warp charges. The cult grants bonuses (+1 run and sweeping advance; +1 invulnerable save; re-rolls of failed to hit rolls if stationary; adamantium will and fear immunity; or an extra hammer of wrath attach). These are very powerful and can be abused (combo-ed) to a huge degree. Naturally.

The HUGE drawback is the Signs and Portents rule. And it is a BIG one. If a perils of the warp causes wounds, they think the flesh change is back. Every unit in the force takes an immediate pinning test. Your heard that -- every single unit. Death of all the independent characters causes every unit to suffer -1 Ld for the rest of the game and may no longer sweeping advance.

Overall then, the Thousand Sons are an elite, expensive, infantry based force and filled with psychic might. Heck, they might as well just have two shooting rounding every turn thanks to the mind bullets that they're going to generate. On the other hand, they can become crippled with a couple of poor rolls. The more cautious general might like to stick to power level 1 powers for most units and characters. And/or purchase the arcane litanies.

Finally, it should be noted that Praetors can (must) purchase psyker levels and the veterans and terminator squads have the option to upgrade to be a brotherhood of sorcerers.

Wargear.
Arcane Litanies is almost an automatic purchase to get around a single bad perils of the warp for an independent character. Well recommended.

Aether-Fire Cannon adds soul-blaze to plasma. Just not worth it really. I get the push for soul blaze, but not on these weapons.

Asphyx Shells yield shred to bolters (ICs and terminators and veterans; or to rotor cannons for support squads). This is very nice indeed and worth taking. It makes rotor cannon squads in particular rather viable.

Osiron Dreadnoughts can also be purchased as an upgrade to regular contemptor talons. For 50 points, they can have psychic powers, adamantium will, force blade and asphyx shells. Worth taking if you have the points realistically.

Rites of War.
The first rite of War, The Axis of Dissolution, is a bit situational to say the least. Bonuses to overwatch are nice, re-rolls against falling back enemies are okay, but the best bit is automatically passing pinning and morale checks. But only if they're on top of objectives. Having to take maximum troops is a pain though.

The second is nicer: The Guard of the Crimson King. The players gets a bonus 1d6 for warp charge generation at the start of the psychic phase and the player can count the highest roll on this or one other die for harnessing powers. It gets that first power off nicely realistically. Allocating deep strike to terminators is great (of course) and causing fear when they arrive is just icing on the cake. However, Sekhmet Cabals have to be compulsory troops and Magnus may be purchased as the HQ. Fair enough.

Overall.
I see the Thousand Sons as mainly infantry based, albeit with rhinos everywhere to get them to places. They are also points intensive thanks to all the upgrades and psychic powers knocking around. Hence they are elite. But they're going to get effectively two shooting phases that should be taken advantage of. They should do well against psychic Word Bearer builds very well. I don't know how they'd find Eldar though.

Warhammer World: The Burning of Prospero

One of the newer exhibits inside Warhammer World is the Burning of Prospero. Given that Inferno is available for pre-order this weekend, I thought I would upload my images of this display board. 

There are plenty of nice features on the board, ranging from the spilt plant pots through to the battle scenes themselves. Leman Russ is very dynamic in this regard, as is the Space Wolves leviathan ripping apart a contemptor. There's so many nice touches, I just wished the board was a little bigger! [I think I have a video of this display somewhere on disk as well -- I'll try to dig that out at a late date!].