Horus Heresy 2e Review: Termite Assault Drill

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Its amazing that the termite comes as a standard fast attack slot in the Sisters army list. 

Background.

Tunnel through the ground and then burst upward with righteous fury! Great for assaulting any fortified positions that the enemy might have going! Great that is can also scatter enemy forces upon emergence without waiting for their cargo to deploy. 

Strengths.

Most of this review is identical to the Legion list, but of course here the Termite comes with the Chamber of Vigilance rules. 

Termites provide an underground alternative to deep striking units in to play. One of the chief advantages here is that the player can cause them to erupt near enemy units and score hits on those units at a significant strength (but AP=4). 

Unlike drop pods, the termite can continue to move after launching its deep strike (subterranean assault move) and fire its weapons and so forth. 

I genuinely like this manner of assaulting and it works well if you have just one of them, and perhaps use it in conjunction with more traditional deep strike units to create an underground and overground pincer movement. Maybe that's just me though (I've had good success with this using my Alpha Legion). 

Weaknesses.

Rear armour is 10, and do carefully read the subterranean assault rules if you have more than one of these units as you will see that the enemy can take control of your deployment on an unlucky roll.

Builds.

There are only 2 upgrades to consider - the replacement of the two sets of twin-linked bolters with either twin-linked volkite chargers, or heavy flamers. Candidly both of them work nicely against nearby enemies - and why wouldn't you have nearby enemies if you've emerged on top of, or close to them! I kind of like the flamers ever so slightly better as I think in some situations you can score more hits, but also they act as a nice defensive arrangement as well. Equally, the volkites have the superior range for after that first turn after emerging I guess. A tough choice really. Points cost effective overall in the main part for me.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Subjugator Cadre

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. Sisters on jetbikes are all kinds of good.

Background.

Disabling targets at key weak points ... well, I was going to say something of import here. But. Let's be honest. Sisters of Silence on Jetbikes is all the background that is really needed!

Strengths.

Lightning fast - they move at 18 inches per turn. This is mind blowing and can really help the player get into the right position for the chosen battlefield role. The points cost is also very attractive even with the T=3, and W=2. 

I see two main roles for the bikes: snaring targets and keeping them pinned (this will grate on opponents eventually, so beware if you're wanting to make friends) and plausibly tank killing. 

Having shrouded on the bike is all good as well, but it might not save you. 

Weaknesses.

T=3. Other than that, this is actually a nice unit!

Builds.

Subjugator x3, Mistress with power weapon (115 points).

The annoying unit that uses snares to ping units of your choice all game long. Just beware of return fire.

Subjugator x5, all with Adrathic destructor (205 points).

Thanks to armourbane, this is your tank killing unit.

Subjugator x5, all with Needle cannons (180 points).

I like the poisoned with pinning combination quite a lot here. If it doesn't kill or rout the unit, then they will be staying put for you. You could double the number of jetbikes here if you like, the points cost is entirely reasonable to do so. 

Emperor's Children Apothecary Painted

An Emperor's Children Apothecary with jump pack, fully painted up!

As usual, white is a tricky colour to get right when painting. Here I have gone for an off-white colour with shading to help bring out the muted white nature of the apothecary. The purple is not so much of a problem to get looking right, and the other colours are generally fine. I did use a bit of blood technical paint for some of the vials, and this has also turned out very nicely. 

This miniature will accompany the assault squad and the praetor / consul for the detachment that I'm building. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Firebrand Cadre

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2.5/5 stars, but rounded down. Needs something extra to be a solid pick, or lower points cost.

Background.

Deny the enemy and escape route. Purge the abhumans who possess the taint of chaos. And generally use flame based weapons. Lots. 

Strengths.

They come with flamers as base and can take the nice compression tanks or snare guns to taste (as well as grenade launchers).

Ideally, you're putting them in a transport and going from there.

Weaknesses.

The reason why this unit won't see much play is multifold.

(a) the points cost is a bit too high for what they're doing;

(b) they really need infiltrate or similar to work well;

(c) even scouting would work;

(d) a different Chamber to Judgement would be better.

For these reasons, combined with the off builds, I just can't see them being played that much even in fluffier lists. 

Builds.

Firebrands x5, all with flamers and compression tanks, Mistress with power weapon (130 points).

They'll need a transport. I remain a fan of snare guns and they provide an interesting play tactic (get in your transport, snare a target, and let another unit finish it off). The grenade launchers are sound enough in premise as well. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Pursuer Cadre

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. Doesn't quite hit the mark for me.

Background.

These are the ladies that you call when you want someone sniffed out and hunted down. With beasts. And orders to kill on sight. Without remorse. 

Strengths.

If you want to play a fluffy unit, or are playing a very small points level game with a strong narrative, or similar campaign, then this is a really nice unit to have. Otherwise, I feel its too "out there" to use. 

There's nothing particularly wrong with the sisters here. They are rather standard and come with the Chamber of Oblivion. The rules as stated mean they can take one animal per pursuer and mistress, and you get the choice of mastiffs, felidae, caiman, or raptors. The feel no pain on the caiman is nice enough I suppose and along with the T=5 and S=5 with 2 wounds, it is likely the best pick of the menagerie. The mastiff is a distant second pick for me thanks to furious charge. Although rage on the felidae feels good, the 6+ save isn't. And the raptor can just stay at home to be candid. 

Weaknesses.

Truthfully not so playable in large points games which is a pity given how flavorful the unit is.

Builds.

Pursuer x6, Caiman x6, all with execution blades (215 points).
Probably the optimal unit? Take a transport. 

Pursuer x3, Mastiff x3, Augury Scanner, Nuncio Vox, Mistress with power sword (110 points).

I don't have any point to make with this unit. It is simply an illustration of an alternative build that I would simply not play in games above (say) 1000 points. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Kharon Pattern Acquisitor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. A rare full 5/5 stars from me - I genuinely love this dedicated transport.

Background.

The background states that this transport is not truthfully a battlefield vehicle. It is more of a paramilitary design. It is easy to see why. With sleek sides, and a bunch of special rules, they can easily sneak up on targets unawares!

Strengths.

AV=13 on the front, coupled with an impressive movement rate of 16 and a similar transport capacity. This transport is very special, but not for the stat line alone.

It is an assault vehicle with deep strike and outflank for starters. Add on some night vision and the same Chamber as the unit it is carrying and it is already fairly good. 

I will single out the spectra distort shield here. This makes it 8 inches further away for the purposes of shooting. In effect, this nullifies melta guns. Hence you are going to have to expend las cannon shots and similar to get the better of it from long range - they really should be shooting at other things. Of course, it is not immune to close combat, but with a movement of 16, can your army do much about it?

The weaponry it carries is very reasonable as well: a pair of missile launchers coupled with a heavy cannon array will certainly do some damage. But the real strength is delivery of its cargo with solid confidence. I think this is almost the best dedicated transport in the game for the above reasons and is also why I'm giving it my very rare 5/5 stars. The rule of cool also applies here, and I simply like the way the vehicle looks and appears! [This may or may not have influenced the award of 5/5 as well!]

Weaknesses.

Rear armour of 11. But honestly, if you are positioning well, this should not be a problem. 

Builds.

The only option here is to swap the cannon for a twin linked multi melta. This is down to your personal taste and I can certainly see both options being useful in game!