# A Look Into Forge World's The Horus Heresy Book One: Betrayal



## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Since I haven't run across anything actually talking about this book yet I thought I'd take my copy and share a few things with people who want to know more about it.

First off we need to talk about the cost of the book. For £70 (about $112.00 USD at the time of writing this) before taxes or shipping expenses, this book is not what a person would refer to as "cheap". Now the cost isn't just for the name, this thing is a fairly heft tome in it's own right. I'd guess (since I'm writing this without a tape measure handy, sorry) that it's pretty close to 15 inches tall, and about an inch thick (though the cover puts that at about an inch and a half, to two inchs). It's covered in a nice dark (possibly synthetic) leather, and has silver letters and accents on the cover and spine. The cover itself has one of Forge World's great showcase scenes with Marines, a Contemptor, a Reaver Titan and Rapier Laser Destroyer in the midst of a massive battle with something that is out of shot.

The spine of the book seems fairly solid and thus far has held together well, but as with any hardcover book the pages becoming unbound remains a concern of mine. As for the pages themselves they are a nice, high quality gloss paper and are edged with silver leaf, which sadly is flaking off in small spots on mine. Lastly, the corners of the book sport metal Aquilas that frankly just look cool. They don't do anything as far as I can tell (except maybe protect the corners from getting bent), but I don't mind. They add some nice feel to the book. Lastly there book comes with the standard place marking ribbon that all the thick GW books seem to be coming with these days. Overall the whole book makes me think of those old, high-end Encyclopedia sets that Britannica used to put out, with the nice covers and the nice looking spines. The overall quality of the book itself looks very good and on that alone I'd say it makes a nice addition to any collection as it'll look good even if you just have it on the shelf.

Now before I go into the contents of the book I do want to mention a slight problem my copy of the book has developed. The covers seem to have warped very slightly, causing the book to not sit perfectly flat anymore. I don't know what caused this, and it hasn't resulted in any damage to the insides of the book itself, but it is worth noting as a possible issue.

Breaking away from the book itself and delving into the contents we find a rather robustly filled book. In the first half of the book, which details a number of things regarding history, the four legions that are featured, and the events of Isstvan III, there are numerous images showing how the events unfolded, the looks of the Marines, the layout of the Imperium during the Crusade...almost all of which are full or double page illustrations and images. It's all very inspiring for someone who is looking to start a Heresy Era Legion and wants some ideas on how everything looked and felt at the time. Starting on page 9 and running through page 35 we have a brief history on how the Marines came to be, how the Crusade started and even a look into the way a Legion is organized.

Past that on page 38 we break into the events of Isstvan III, from the betrayal of the loyalist forces, through the Exterminatus and into the forces that where committed to the mop-up operation on the surface afterwards. Scattered through it all are images of the campaign itself, some of the vehicles employed and lots of little side notes, an in-universe testimony giving this portion the feel of an actual History book that has been thrust out of time to use. This carries us through to page to 61 where we break from the events of Isstvan III and into the Legions themselves.

Each Legion is fully covered, detailing their history, their name changes (or in the case of the 3rd Legion, their only naming), the discovery of their primarch and how he changed, shaped and influenced the legion. In each legion's section there are four pages devoted to the different looks of the Legion, from before the Heresy and even through it. There is also a section in each Legion's section on Exemplary Battles and a picture of a Contemptor Dreadnought, usually someone who is important to the Legion itself. Some legions (like the Death Guard) have additional images, but this forms the crux of what is in this section. It really gives you the feeling of the different Legions, and gives you ideas on where you can take them.

After the Legions we go into the Legio Mortis, a Titan Legion. This section is very short with only about an actual page about the Titan Legion and two pages devoted images of the Titans (one of which is just a Reaver Titan filling whole page). Don't get me wrong, there are some neat bits of stuff, but you really get the feeling that the Mechanicus bits of the book are just a side act instead of a part of the main attraction.

Moving on to page 143 we break into the actual "How to Play" section of the book. All the rules for playing the actual campaign itself are laid out rather nicely, but they do note that no one should feel shoehorned into playing just the campaign they laid out in the book. As noted by the designer's there were thousands of fights ranging from massive combats to small skirmishes all over the planet.

In addition to the campaign rules there are Battle Mission rules as well. These are intended to be used with the campaign rules in games of 1,500-2,500 points. Additionally if playing in the campaign the Primarchs in this book are only available to the traitor side, and only if you're playing 2,000 point games and above (as they occupy a special FOC slot called "Lords of War" that has it's own rules I'll discuss in a moment).

In addition to the missions themselves there are also 6 deployment types:
1. Clash of the Line. 48"x72" table, with players taking the short ends. Both players have a equatorial triangle shaped deployment zone, with the base being the short board edge and the peak being 12" from the center of the table (creating a 24" No Mans Land).
2. Dawn of War. Both players use the long board edge and have a 12" deep deploymeny zone, leaving the middle 24" open. 
3. Search and Destroy. Table Quarters with an 18" diameter circle centered on the table than no one can deploy inside (so 9" into each players Table Quarter). Your table Edges are any that touch your deployment zone.
4. Hammer and Anvil. Short Board Edge again, this time with a 12" deployment zone, leaving the middle 24" open. 
5. Ambush! The defending player takes a 36" diameter sphere in the middle of the table, and the attacker has 12" in from the short board edges (yes both of them). Roll off for who is the attacker and defender. Long board edges counts as the Defender's for purposes of reserves, and retreating off the board.
6. Vanguard Strike. The board is divided diagonally from one corner to the other. The players can then deploy in the corners up to 12" from this center line. The long board edge touching your deployment zone is your board edge for all reserves, ect.

So all varied and interesting. So what kinds of missions can we play with these deployment types?
1. Blood Feud. Essentially Kill Points with 2 Victory Points (VP) for Infantry or Jump Infantry units killed and 1 VP for anything else killed. Secondary objectives are standard (Slay the Warlord, First Blood) save for Last Man Standing (the side with the most remaining units gains a bonus VP). Game lasts 6 turns.
2. Fire Tide. D3+2Objective Markers, which can't be within 12" of each other or the board edge. Each marker is worth 3 VP. Slay the Warlord and First Blood for the secondary objectives. Mysterious Objectives is optional, and only Deep Striking units can be held in reserves. Additionally there are rules for Inferno Markers (a 40mm marker with a suitable representation of fire on them is placed by the current player at the start of their shooting phase anywhere they want. They then scatter the marker 3d6". Any models within 6" suffer a S5, AP- hit (vehicles get hit on their rear armour). The Markers then stay in play and continue to deal additional hits to any unit that stays within 6" of the marker at the start of the Shooting phase). Additionally they markers light terrain on fire if they scatter onto or into it. This makes the terrain Dangerous, causes it to block line of sight completely for anything behind it (units that are within it have Stealth instead), and the Inferno Marker still hits things that are within 6" of it and remains in play inside the burning terrain.
3. Shatter Strike. 2 Victory Points for each scoring unit in the opponent's deployment zone at the end of the game (which is random). Most points win. Scoring units for this game are any model with the infantry subtype except independent characters (save for Jump Infantry). After deploying each player gets to reposition a single unit as they wish, and night fight is in effect for the first turn. Slay the Warlord, First Blood and Attrition (killing the highest number of enemy units) gain additional VPs.
4. Onslaught. Each player takes turn deploying a unit at a time in order of what it is (Lords of War, Heavy Support, Troops, Elite, HQ and finally Fast Attack in that order). If someone runs out of things to deploy the other player finishes deploying as normal. A single objective marker is then placed in each player's deployment zone, at least 6" from the table edge. Victory is VP based with specific criteria: An enemy unit that is killed turn 1 is worth 1 VP. Controlling the enemy's objective is worth 5 VP. Slay the Warlord, and Attrition net an additional 1 VP each.
5. Dominon. D3+2 objectives following the same rules for deploying them as Fire Tide. Each objective is worth 3 VP, and Slay the Warlord, First Blood and Attrition each net 1 additional VP each. All units (except Flyers, Independent Characters and Dedicated Transports) count as scoring units in this mission.
6. Extermination. Six turns of enemy killing with specific units being worth different VP. (Lords of War are worth 5, HQs 3, Heavy Support 2, Elite 2, Troops 1, Fast Attack 1, Fortifications 2 (if destroyed _or_ captured)). Slay the Warlord, First Blood and Linebreaker all net an additional 1 VP each. Additionally each unit making its first charge into assault of the game gains Furious Charge for the turn (unless they already have it). This only works once however, so once the unit has used it, it's gone.

Additionally to those mission types there are 4 legendary battle scenarios that allow you to play very specific missions from the campaign itself. They have a lot of specific rules to the but look very cool.

And of course the Mysterious Terrain pops up on Isstvan III as well with rules for forests, rivers, mysterious structures (which roll on a 2D6 table) and rules for Battlefield Debris (there are even rules for using the remaining weapons on wrecked vehicles(1-4 doesn't work, 5-6 it does. If the firer has the Battlesmith rule it fires on a 3+)!). All of it looks interesting and a good addition for folks who like playing with these sorts of rules and should help spice up games that are getting stale.

Beyond the basic campaign rules (and their missions, ect) we also get Zone Mortalis rules for using with the campaign. There are a few additional rules (such as the altered FOC slots) as well:
-Units may not select Dedicated Transports
-No unit may have a starting size of more than 15 models (prior to an IC joining them)
-No vehicle wider than 4" may be chosen (walkers are fine). No flyers of any kind can be used at all.*
-Monstrous Creatures needing a base larger than 60mm may not be chosen.*
*Terrain may restrict larger models, so choose wisely.

These rules are then use for the Zone Mortalis Assault Mission and Zone Mortalis Encounter Missions. There are additional optional rules for stratagems as well.

This takes us into the new FOC section and building a Heresy Era army. I'm not going to go too deep here, I'm just going to outline some key things I've noticed and felt were worth sharing about these armies. Now at 1,500 point games or less the designers recommend just using the standard FOC chart (something that can be done above that if you're looking to use your Heresy era Marines in a standard game too), but above that you can use the Age of Darkness FOC. This FOC is the same as the standard one found in the main 40K rulebook with two small caveats:
-There are 4 Elite Slots. Yes 4.
-The Lords of War Slot.

Now I've mentioned it a couple times before, and I'm sure some people are wondering what the Lords of War slot is. It's a special slot (not unlike the Fortification slot) that exists outside of the standard FOC slots and is only available at the 2K and above points total, and can't make up more than 25% of the total army points limit. The options available in this book include: the Primarchs, Super Heavy Tanks or Detachment (1-3 Super Heavy Tanks or Super-heavy Walkers of up to 3 Structure Points), a Single Titan, a Single Super-heavy flyer, a squadron of 1-3 Imperial Navy Flyers (from Imperial Armour Aeronautica), 1-3 Ordo Reductor War Engines.

Now in addition to all of this there is a Legion specific allies chart that tells you which Legions (and the Mechanicus) can ally with which other Legion (or the Mechanicus).

Now an interesting note for the Heresy Era Marines are some of the rules changes they have. First off they do not have "And They Shall Know No Fear". Instead they have Legion Astartes (which can be further refined into Legion Astartes (Legion Name) which specifies the rules of that Legion along with any bonuses and drawbacks they are subject to as part of that Legion. Currently we only have the rules for 4 Legions, but the others are coming (slowly but surely) and will add more flavor to the different armies as we go). Secondly the Marines with this rule can always regroup regardless of casualties. 

Primarch is our other big new rule, which actually rolls up several rules together (Independent Character, Eternal Warrior, Fear, Adamantium Will, Fleet, Fearless, It Will Not Die, and Master of the Legion (if he's your Warlord he rolls twice on the Space Marine Legion Warlord Traits table (rerolling any doubled result) and you pick trait you want)). Needless to say it makes the Primarchs feel like real walking badasses. I can only imagine that the Emperor will get a list like that, plus some if he ever gets put in as an option.

Since I brought them up I should go ahead and talk about the Warlord Traits. They're standard roll a D6, get a bonus rule thing. Here they are:
1. Bloody-handed. Warlord and any unit that the Warlord joins with the Legion Astartes special rule cause Fear.
2. Master Tactician. May redeploy any one unit (within the limitations of the mission being played), this includes putting them into or taking them out of reserve.
3. World Burner. D3 units with template or blast weapons gain the Shred special rule (reroll wounds).
4. Paladin of Glory. Warlord is fearless, and the Warlord and any Legion Astartes unit with models within 6" of the Warlord add +1 to the results of the combat phase to see if they won.
5. Void Walker. The Warlord gains the Adamantine Will special rule, and one nominated infantry unit gains the Deep Strike special rule.
6. Children of Terra. The Warlord and any unit they join with the Legion Astartes special rule reroll failed rolls of 1 to wound in close combat.

From there we get into the units themselves. I'm going to talk about each -very- briefly since there are a lot of them to go through.

*HQ*
Legion Praetor - The Chapter Master of the Past. Unlocks Rites of War (special build options for the army that have bonuses and restrictions). They are:
-Orbital Assault: Everyone who has a Rhino can have a Drop Pod instead, Dreadnoughts can have Drop Pods and Contemptors can have Dreadclaws (no more than 1 of each per Drop Pod). Models/Units in Terminator Armour gain the Deep Strike rule. However units that can't enter by Deep Strike, or a vehicle that Deep Strikes can't be a part of the army, and you can't take a fortification.
-Armoured Spearhead: All units that can take Rhinos can have Land Raider Phobos or Proteus instead as long as they have 10 models or less in the unit. Thank shocks by tanks in the force inflict an additional -1 Ld penalty. However no unit with the Infantry type can start the game on the board. They all have to be inside a vehicle (either a Dedicated Transport or another vehicle). Additionally if all the tanks in the army are destroyed the opponent counts as having scored an additional secondary objective.
-Angel's Wrath: Models with Jump Packs gain Hit and Run, units who can take Rhinos can instead take Storm Eagle Gunships. However, only Jump Infantry, Skimmer and Jetbikes (as well as Infantry inside of Skimmers and Flyers) can be chosen in the force. No tanks may be chosen (unless also a skimmer/flyer) and no fortifications can be taken.
-Pride of the Legion: Veteran and Terminator Squads are troop choices in the force, and either may be selected as compulsory Troops selections. Command Squads may take Land Raider Proteus or Phobos as Dedicated Transports. However if all Veteran/Terminator squads in the force are destroyed the opponent counts as having scored an additional secondary objective. Also you can't take an allied detachment.

Legion Centurion: Essentially the Captian of the army. Maybe upgraded t be a Consul which adds additional rules, wargear and occasionally restrictions on upgrades for a points cost. This is how you get Chaplains, Librarians and other options.

Legion Command Squad: May only be taken if your force has a Legion Praetor. The entire unit is made of characters as well (all 3-5 of them).

*Elites*
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad: Basically your Tactical Squad we have in the Vanilla Marine 'dex with 2 attacks each. Get a free Veteran Tactics rule as well (Fearless, Sniper, Furious Charge, Outflank, Tank Hunters).

Legion Destroyer Squad: Booked as a unit modeled after the forces who fought against the Emperor during the Unification Wars. Able to take Missile Launchers with Suspensor Webs and Rad Missiles, and Phosphex Bombs these guys are capable of being geared up to reduce the effectiveness of your opponent's Marines. Otherwise just an Elite Assault Squad option.

Legion Terminator Squad: No Storm Shields here, but some nice options Reaper Autocannons anyone?). Legions may alter what kinds of wargear the Terminators have access to as well. The entire squad may take Cataphractii armour which gives them a 4++ Invunerable Save, but makes them Slow and Purposeful instead of Relentless (no Overwatch!).

Techmarine Covenant: Your standard Techmarine option, except 1-3 Techmarines can be bought in a slot. They all function as seperate units as well and can have Servitors.

Apothecarion Detachment: 1-3 Apothecaries per slot, up to the number of units you have available to attach them to (no more than 1 Apothercary per unit). The specific units who can have him are listed in the book as well.

Legion Dreadnought Talon: 1-3 Dreadnoughts. Deployed within 6" of each other (or when they arrive from reserves they need to be within 6" of each other) they are independent and don't count as a Squadron. Yes this means you can have 9 Dreadnoughts if points allow it (12 if you use the Age of Darkness FOC).

Contemptor Dreadnought Talon: 1-3 Contemptors as per the same rules as the Dreadnoughts. Again, this means you can feasibly have up to 9 in a single list (12 if you use the Age of Darkness FOC).

Legion Rapier Weapon Battery: 1-3 Rapiers in a unit. Follows the rules for Artillery. Each Rapier as 2 Marines for crew. Each Rapier comes standard with Quad Heavy Bolters but can get they Laser Destroyer Array, Quad Mortar ("Thud Gun") or Graviton Cannon.

*Troops*
Legion Tactical Squad: Imagine 10 Marines with no access to special or heavy weapons outside of their Sergeant. Now imagine you could take up to 20 of them and they had a rule that let them effectively Bladestorm like Dire Avengers do. That's right, as long as this unit has sat still for a turn, and there are at least 5 models with Bolters/Bolt Pistols they've managed to remember where the "Full Auto" option on the weapons are and will completely empty their magazines. And then spend the Overwatch and next turn reloading. And this can't be done to snap shot either (so no using it to Overwatch).

Legion Assault Squad: Standard Assault Marines with Bolt Pistols and Chainswords. Unit size starts at 10 and goes up to 20. 1 in 5 models can take a power weapon, as well as trading out their bolt pistols for a hand flamer or plasma pistol. The whole squad has access to Combat Shields as well, but has to take them all together or not at all (30 points buys you 10). Combat Shields in the Heresy era grant a 6++ vs. Shooting, a 5++ in close combat.

Legion Breacher Siege Squad: Honestly one of my favorite units in the book. The easiest way to describe them is to take your standard 10 man Marine Squad, give them access to 2 Specials for every 5 models (and let them go up to 20 models in a unit), give them armour that rerolls failed saves vs. templates and blasts (it reduces run, charge and sweeping advances by 1" though), and the Boarding Shield. The Boarding Shield is basically a bigger combat shield with an added bonus: it counts as being armed with defensive grenades. The trade off is that the unit can't claim bonuses for being armed with two close combat weapons.

Legion Tactical Support Squad: 4 Marines armed with Flamers that can go up to 9 Marines. The Sergeant gets a chainsword or combat blade instead. The flamers can trade out their flamers for Rotor Cannons (30" S3, AP6, Salvo 3/4), Volkite Caliver (30", S6, AP5, Heavy 2, Deflagrate (for every unsaved wound roll to wound again. Second batch of wounds saves as normal and doesn't inflict anymore wounds), Plasma Guns or Melta Guns. The unit can't be taken as a compulsory Troop choice either, so you'll need at least 2 before you can take them.

Legion Reconnaissance Squad: Starts at 5 models, goes to 10. You ever wanted BS4 scouts? Here they are. They come standard in Power Armour but can swap it out for Recon Armour (4+, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover). The Sergeant can still upgrade to Artificer even after that and be sitting in the bushes with a 2+ and if your really want. The squad can also take Sniper Rifles, shotguns or close combat weapons depending on what you want to use them for. They also have access to Cameleoline, which gives the unit Stealth. They also can't be taken as a compulsory Troop Choice.

*Dedicated Transports*
Legion Rhino Armoured Carrier: It's a Rhino. A rhino that can take some fun pintle mounted weapons (TL Bolter, Combi-Weapon, Heavy Bolter, Heavy Flamer or Havoc Launcher). Otherwise nothing too different here.

Legion Drop Pod: Can carry 10 models, 1 Legion Dreadnought or 1 Rapier carrier and crew. Otherwise no upgrades, just a straightforward Drop Pod.

*Fast Attack*
Legion Seeker Squad: A specialized unit that is issued special ammunition and sent out to identify and destroy key leaders in an enemy army. On the table they come with Kraken (30", S4, AP4, Rapid Fire), Scorpius (24", S4, AP5, Heavy, Rending, Shred) and Tempus Bolts (18", S3, AP6, Rapid Fire, Blast(3")). They also get to choose a unit or independent character an label them "Marked for Death" (the unit gets the Preferred Enemy rule versus that character or unit).

Legion Outrider Squad: Your standard Bike Marines. Though these can swap out the twin-linked Bolters for some other weapons (TL Flamer, TL Melta Gun, TL Plasma Gun) at a premium. Runs 3-10 models in a squad and one can be upgraded to a Sergeant with his own list of upgrades.

Legion Attack Bike Squadron: 1-5 Attack Bikes equipped with Heavy Bolters. Any of them may exchange the Heavy Bolter for a Heavy Flamer, Auto-cannon or Multi-Melta.

Legion Jetbike Sky Hunter Squadron: Really long name to say "Jetbikes". 3-10 models, one may be upgraded to a Sergeant. For every 3 models on may replace the Heavy Bolter with a Multi-Melta, Volkite Culvarin (45", S6, AP5, Heavy 4, Deflagrate), or Plasma Cannon. Personally I dig the jetbikes but I understand that not everyone likes their design.

Legion Land Speeder Squadron: 1-5 land Speeders with Heavy Bolters. In addition to the usual pintle options they may take Havoc Launchers, an additional Heavy Bolter, a Plasma Cannon or a Graviton Gun (18" range, S*, AP4, Heavy 1, Blast (3"), concussive, Graviton Pulse*, Haywire. Instead of rolling to wound, models hit with it must take a strength test or suffer a wound (I assume regular saves are allowed or else it wouldn't have an AP value). After that the blast marker is left in place and counts as difficult and dangerous terrain.)

Legion Storm Eagle Assault Gunship: You ever thought the Storm Raven wasn't big enough, that you needed something that more represented a flying Land Raider? Well this is the flyer for you. Costing nearly as muc as a Land Raider in points this flying brick has some nice weapons options, but the points cost may result in it staying home more often.

*Heavy Support*
Legion Heavy Support Squad: Devastators of the past. 5-10 models all with Heavy Bolters. Yes, *all* of them (yes even the Sergeant). They can exchange those for Heavy Flamers, Autocannons, Missile Launchers, Multi-Meltas, Plasma Cannons, Volkite Vulverin, or Lascannons. One small detail though: all of them have to have the same weapon. Don't expect this to be cheap though as they start off steep and get steeper the more models in the squad there are as well as the kinds of options you give them.

Legion Predator Strike Armour Squad: 1-3 Predator Squadron. Sponsons can be Heavy Bolters, Heavy Flamers or Lascannons. Turrent options start with a Predator Cannon (a heavy 4 Autocannon), to Flamestorm Cannons, Executioner Plasma Destroyers and Magna-Melta Cannons.

Legion Land Raider Battle Squadron: Land Raiders Phobos (standard Landraider, 10 model capacity), Proteus (standard Landraider minus the Heavy Bolter on top, but can instead take a Heavy Bolter or a Heavy Flamer if so desired. Also 10 model capacity), Achilles (6 model capacity, has a hull mounted Quad Mortar, and TL Multi-Melta Sponsons. Additionally ignores the Lance and Melta rules, and reduces pen rolls by -1 (except by Destroyer type weaponry)). 

0-1 Legion Artillery Tank Squadron: Basilisk, Medusa and Whirlwind options, all with BS4. No open topped vehicles here.

Legion Vindicator: Sadly no Squadrons here. Can trade out the Demolisher cannon for a Laser Destroyer Array, otherwise standard options for tanks.

Legion Spartan Assault Tank: BIG ol' Tank. Holds 25 models, has 2 quad Lascannon sponsons, and a TL Heavy Bolter. Can trade sponsons to be Laser Destroyers. At nearly 300 points this will be saved for the REALLY big games.

Legion Caestus Assault Ram: The same one that's in the Aereonautica book. It's the only Flyer that can Ram, and the size of the models being carried (normal, bulky, extra bulky) doesn't matter.

*Lords of War*
Legion Fellblade Super-Heavy Tank: A super-heavy Predator with some interesting toys. Comes BS3 standard but can upgrade to have a Space Marine crew that gives them BS4.

Legion Typhon Heavy Siege Tank: An Iron Warrior invention for breaking things. S10, AP1, 7" Massive Blast gun with no Cover Saves Allowed. This thing can and will break things.

Legion Thunderhawk Gunship: Even bigger and meaner than a Storm Eagle this thing carries up to 30 models (or 3 Dreadnoughts which all count as 10 models each and can only walk in/out the front hatch). Comes with lots of guns.

Legion Thunderhawk Transport: Lost all the big guns and transport space to carry tanks. The tanks instead can carry passengers if they are transports.

Legion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer: A super-heavy tank busting tank. 

Legion Macador Assault Tank: AV 13/13/12 Fast Super-heavy Tank. Comes standard with a Battlecannon, a hull mounted Autocannon, and 2 sponson mounted heavy stubbers. The Battle cannon can be swapped for a twin-linked Lascannon.

After all of this the book goes into the wargear, weapons, vehicle options and Mechanicum only options available through out the book.

And then we get Appendix I: the 4 Legions in the book.

I'm not going to dwelve deeply here. The legion specific rules, the rules for special characters from those legions and the rules for the Primarchs are all here. If you want to play a Legion in the book this is where to look. Otherwise just pick the best approximation you can with the rest of the book and build off of that until the book with the Legion you want comes out.

I do want to say that the Primarchs are expensive. All of them costing more than your average Super Heavy, they'll be restricted more to the big games, or the times when you feel like throwing down a large chunk of your army in a single model. They read well on paper, but without using them I have no idea how good or bad they actually are to use.

The last part of the book is the Mechanicum. It covers the rules for the titan legions and the Ordo Reductor of the Mechanicum as involved in Isstvan III.

Because we're restricted to Isstvan III we don't have a lot of options here. But what we DO get is some impressive stuff. Obviously the Mechanicus will likely be the ally option for most people, but I can imagine some folks building their army around these guys instead.

*Troops*
Mechanicum Thallanx Cohort: Expensive for 3 models, these Jet Pack Infantry (yes, Jet Pack) come standard with an impressive statline (seriously, 3 wounds on T5 troops). They all come standard with a 4+ armour save with a 6+ Feel No Pain, Lighting Guns (18", S7, AP5, Heavy 1, Shred, Rending), can take heavy Chainswords to up their killing power in close combat, and can be given a number of rules (Tank hunters, Skyfire if they're stationary, Rage and Rending, and Deep Strike) for a points cost. Lastly they have a number of weapon options they can take to replace 1 out of every 3 model's Lighting Guns in the unit. And if they number 5 models or less they can have a Land Raider.

*Dedicated Transports*
Mechanicum Land Raider: Cheaper than normal, this Land Raider comes with the standard stuff the Phobos does as well as a number of upgrade options it doesn't.

*Lords of War*
Imperial Avenger Strike Fighter: Available to everyone this Flyer is best described as the Imperium's answer to anything that moves. With Lascannons and an Avenger Bolt Cannon (36", S6, AP3, Heavy 7) standard and the ability to add an additional set of weapons on top of that this flyer will show up, murder something and then likely die as it's AV(12/10/10) and HP(2) lead to it getting blown out of the sky. 

Warhound Scout Titan: Cheaper than a Reaver this titan will be the one that is more likely to show up in most games, and even then it won't be able to show up in any game below 3,000 points.

Reaver Battle Titan: Do you like big, stompy titans made by Forge World? Well this is the Titan for you! Just expect to play a 5,800 point game to field it outside of Apocalypse.

*HQ*
Magos Reductor Calleb Decima: A unique HQ character (no, not an independent character, just a character) who can be joined by up to 5 Servitors or roll it alone. Capable of taking a Mechanicum Landraider for a Dedicated Transport. He unlocks the Ordo Reductor Allied Detachment, and if you're playing the Isstvan III campaign only the Loyalist side can take him. 

If using the Detatchment the options are as follows:
HQ: Magos Reductor Calleb Decima
Elites: Legion Techmarine Covenant (replace the Legion Astartes rule with Stubborn)
Troops: Mechanicum Thallax Cohorts
Fast Attack: Avenger Strike Fighter
Heavy Support: Legion Artillery Tank Squadron

After this section the book closes out with a reference section for the new rules and things added in this book.

*My Final Thoughts:* I think the quality of the book is very high, the rules are incredibly well balanced by using points cost to prevent us from taking insane options to just run rampant over the opponent with, and it all works out to be a well balanced expansion. I'd honestly see this as a fair option to play in normal games (with the normal FOC) and wouldn't mind facing it on the table.

That said, the cost of the book is a real setback for people looking to pick it up for their collection or as a reference. And honestly a few more options for the Mechanicum would have been nice but I get why they did what they did.

In closing I personally recommend this book for anyone who has a passion for the Heresy Era, finds anything I've mentioned to be interesting, or really loves Power Armour. I look forward to the future books and wouldn't be too surprised if I end up starting my own Legion army someday.


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks for the review, very helpful!


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Sethis said:


> Thanks for the review, very helpful!


Thanks! I was hoping it would be. I hadn't seen any kind of write up so far (beyond some basic tactica stuff) that covered the book and what was in it. It's not a cheap purchase and I didn't want people to miss out on it because they thought it was only the rules and campaign stuff, and inversely I didn't want anyone to spend money on something they wouldn't like.


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

Nice writeup. Convinced me this is worth buying. Many thanks


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