Legio Cybernetica

While the Skitarii, Collegia Titanicua (Titan Legions) and the Taghmata Omnissiah form the great trinity (the "Triad Magna") of the Mechanicum's military - all three having their own individual and separate military traditions and cultures of their own - the Knight Houses, the Ordo Reductor, the Explorators and the Lgio Cybernetica made up the "lesser" independent allied divisions under the Mechanicum. Of these, the Legio Cybernetica is considered one of the strongest and most terrifying Legiones Militant of the Mechanicum.

Handed the responsibility of using, maintaining, constructing and developing Battle-automata, they were bound by the Crimson Accords of Mars that forbade the creation of artificial intelligences that were termed Silica Animus. Fortunately, they didn't ban robots...er..."lesser and righteous works" of synthetic life. Well, basically robots that can be controlled.

Fires of Cyraxus, where art thou?

Unfortunately, the Mechancium was afraid of these awesome robots. Having been bitten in the ass by the artificial intelligences, I mean Silica Animus that their predecessors created, they broke the Legio Cyberbetica down into smaller Cohorts. This was to prevent any one Archmagos from having too much power, and also to ensure all the supreme killing machines wouldn't just band together under one banner and proceed on a killing spree of their masters when they gained self-awareness a la Skynet. The Tech-priests have obviously watched and learned from the Terminator movies (except the horrible 3rd one and the awful Genesys, which we'll pretend never existed, I hope - Dark Fate was okay, if a little disappointing).

Commanded by an Archmagos or Magos Doinus, who would govern the war machines during battle, these senior Tech-priests were often accompanied by Myrmidons, enginseers, servitors, thralls and other personnel who would see to the Cohort's needs both on and off the field. The Cohorts also commanded their own support networks, mobile workshops, transports, battlefield vehicles, orbital landers and even star vessels - so you could field a Legio Cybernetica army with a Triaros Armored Conveyor, Krios Battle Tanks/Venators, Thallax shock troopers and Adsecularis Tech-thralls and still claim that it corresponds faithfully to the fluff. Unfortunately, the high costs of your giant robots mean you probably wouldn't have much space for mass Krios Venators or Triaros Armored Conveyor spam unless you're playing 3,000 points or more. Oh well.

Anyway, the Cohorts were forbidden to have their own forges, so they must rely on other Forge Worlds for supplies and repairs. This means a web of fealty and patronage, so the Forge Worlds they are dependant on could exploit them and command them to help out in their own wars and personal battles. They were valued greatly by these Forge Worlds and a myriad of Mechanicum masters and overlords, each wanting these formidable forces at their disposals.

This also meant a lot of support, so despite being difficult to construct and maintain, the Legio Cybernetica were able to build as many giant robots...ahem...Battle-automata as they want! Talk about owning your own toy factory...except that they aren't allowed their own forges so I guess they get to play with other Magi's toy factories.

So when Horus threw a tantrum and brought about his Horus Heresy, the Legio Cybernetica also split into Loyalist and Traitor forces, with the latter super-happy about abandoning the Crimson Accords and eager to pursue forbidden technologies. I would be too, except that I'm not very fond of research that sees spikes growing out of my giant robots, or my flesh melting away from Warp-energies and a Daemon hungry for my soul. Yeah, I think I would rather stick with the Emperor and His aspect as the Omnissiah.

After the Horus Heresy, the Legio Cybernetica continued and endured, and for some reason the Castellax Battle-automata and Thanatar Siege-automata all disappeared, only to be replaced by boring Kastelan Robots......sigh.

Other Links:

Taghmata Omnissiah Fluff and Organization

Legio Cybernetica

The Ordo Reductor

The Titan Legions

- Legio Draconis, "The Dark Dragons"

Questoris Knights

Mechanicum 30K Tactics

Questoris Knight Crusade Tactics

Knight Household Army

Forge Worlds

- Draconis IV

Imperial Knights Fluff

- House Yato

Skitarii Fluff

Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard Fluff

The Draconis Coalition and the History of Draconis III

Taghmata Omnissiah Fluff and Organization

This section is for the fluff of the Taghmata Omnissiah. I will not be typing out the whole book - if you want to read the whole thing, please buy the book from Forge World. The Horus Heresy series, Mechanicum: Taghmata Army List can be found on the Forge World website (just click on the link). Rather, I will be writing a series of pages that includes a summary of the fluff, analysis of the units similar to 1d4chan. I might accidentally rip them off, so I apologize in advance, but I will try to stay as original as possible.

The Taghmata Omnissiah

The Taghmata Omnissiah is the principal type of operational military force of the trans-Martian Mechanicum, and its largest. Divided into a feudal structure, where each individual Forge World operates automomously as its own domain, but submtis to the overall power of Mars, even the Forge World themselves were further broken down into forge cities, colleges, legions and hives. Each organization would then weave a complex web of alliance and interdependence. Each Forge World was an empire in itself, harboring Magos and Archmagos that rule these individual segments and command terrifying armies of machines and battle-automata.

A Taghmata is basically formed by combining the troops of each Magos under a single Archmagos, the latter assuming overall command and authority over the Magos and other tech-priests who had sworn their loyalty or forged alliances with him. Each Magos has their own resources, secrets and armies, these smaller cohorts jnown as Taghma becoming the building blocks of Taghmata. The Magos usually specialize in different tactics or armies - some focus on tanks, some command the war machines and battle-automata of the Legio Cybernetica, others found purpose in mustering the combat doctrines of the Myrmidons, and many eccentric Magos found themselves breaking away in Explorator fleets.

It was this fragmented structure that saw countless Magos steadfastly staying true to the Loyalists' cause, or turning upon Terra as they sided with the Traitors during the Horus Heresy, having been promised by the Warmaster freedom to engage in whatever dark research they wished to pursue.

***

The Mechanicum is divided into the following:

The Ordo Reductor

A nomadic organization that specializes in siege warfare, demolition and mass destruction. Hell, yeah. I love weapons of mass destruction.

The Legio Titanicus

Titan Legions who unleash the wrath of the God-Machines upon the foes of the Emperor. They form a parallel military society to the Mechanicum, with both relying on each other - the Titan Legions for repair, maintenance and construction of their war machines, and the Mechanicum the firepower, protection and strength. Giant robots! Epic Titans! Wrath of the God-Emperor unleashed!

The Prefecture Magisterium

Similar to the Adeptus Arbites on Terra, this Machine Cult persecutes errant priests who indulge in techno-heresy. HEREEEEEESSSSY!

The Skitarius

Our beloved Tech-Guard! The Skitarii are not members of the priesthood and exist as its own sub-cult under the Mechanicum, maintaining entirely separate structures of organization and tactical deployment outside of the Taghmata. I told you they were a completely different organization from the Mechanicus, didn't I?

The Basilikon Astra

The construction of void craft and interstellar vessels fall under their jurisdiction. It's also the Mechanicum fleet (and continues to exist as the Mechanicus fleet in the 41st Millennium under the same name, Basilikon Astra, because Games Workshop and Latin). We're flying through Space!

The Questoris Knight Houses

Questoris Knights, piloted by nobles of Knight Worlds who possess their own culture and traditions, but rely on the Mechanicum for support. Mechanicum's own Gundam models.

Archmagos Intendant

Why not just say Fabricator-General?! The Mechanicum version of the Planetary Governor.

The Holy Synod of the Lords Magos

A title to sound impressive, but basically the bunch of dudes who are high-ranked and rule over everyone else in their own Machine Cult and Forge World domains. The highest is the Archmandriture, or Chamber Cardinal (something like the Ecclesiarchy's Cardinal, but with more machine parts than fat - though they both have the same shiny bald heads and long robes, except one is red and the other is white), followed by the Archmagos, the Magos Majoris and the Magos Ordinary. Time to climb up the ladder of Martian priesthood, aspiring adepts!

The Taghmata Omnissiah

A military protocol enacted in times of war to create detached military formations, which are then commanded by Magos or Archmagos Prime. Awesome if you're the Archmagos Prime, not awesome if you're the Magos under him.

The Legio Cybernetica

A legion devoted into constructing and fielding Battle-automata in war, often allied and mutually supporting major Forge Worlds. Basically, awesome robots!

The Magos Militant/Secutarius

Militant sub-cults of the Mechanicum who usually serve in a command position. And die horribly in the field as you charge a horde of screaming Orks.

The Autokrator

Vehicles such as ground armor, pioneer forces, mobile artillery and Tech Guard regiments. I think.

Bonded Cybernetica

Why is this separated from the Legio Cybernetica? No idea.

Macrotechnia

This is where your Macrotek Magos comes into play. They are in charge of Enginseer Covenants, Tech-thrall Combat Units, Macro-Machina, Ordinatus Locum and Technographica Determinus (basically intelligence, for those who don't understand Latin). The repairmen. Yay.

Munitoria Logis

The Mechanicum's counterpart of the imperial Munitorum, providing munition, wargear, servitors, drones and stuff to the Taghmata service. Let's hope they don't screw up as much as their imperial counterparts. They're also the human resource - we're now accepting applications for servitor roles!

Lacyraemara

Bio-modified troops such as the Adsecularis Modified Troops (The Rite of Pure Thought, Induction Chargers and Revenant Alchemistry), labor units, Bio-alchem Cadres, Tech-Priests in charge of them, and Cyber-hybrid Carnivora. Sounds cool, especially now that we have models for them in the form of Serberys Sulphurhounds and Serberys Raiders! Basically cyborg horses that breathe fire. They...also serve as human resource - this time we're accepting applications for indentured laborers and Tech-thralls!

Associated Orders and Sub-Cults Militant

Basically, the Myrmidon Cult, Corpuscarii Cult (NOO! I hate Electro-priests!), Explorator Forces, etc.

Centurio Ordinatus

...wait, what? There's no such thing in the Mechanicum? They show up only in the Adeptus Mechanicus? You mean they didn't exist in the 31st millennium?

***

Along with these myriad organizations, Tech-priests and Magos can specialize in their own fields and studies, known as Techno-Arcana. Basically, your diploma if you're an adept, your degree if you're a Tech-priest, or a PhD if you want to be a Magos.

Techno-Arcana

The amount of techno-arcana is just staggering. Here's a list for you aspiring adepts.

Hesphestari - I have no freaking idea, I can only guess that it's based off Hephaestus, the Greek God of blacksmiths, sculptors and craftsmen, so if you think about it, it makes sense that these guys build weapons and stuff.

Provender - food, biostuff, I guess they recycle waste matter into food, or manufacture food and necessary nutrients. Sorry, been reading too much Mars trilogy.

Explorator - this is what I want to be if I'm a Magos. Sorry, I got influenced by Omnid Torquora from Tech-Priest. Basically, we go out exploring the universe in search of treasure...uh, knowledge in the form of STCs, relics, xenotech and archeotech. You can see why this is my first choice...

Genetor - Genetic engineering, they're where the Magos Biologis work and create all those fancy experimental creatures and chimeras. Mad scientist galore.

Logis - Logistics. 'Nuff said.

Vulpaxis - no idea, but I do know Vulpa means fox. I don't the Mechanicum bothers with foxes though, unless they're trying to bioengineer a 30K Vulpix. YAY! Warhammer 30K x Pokemon! But that should be under Genetor, right?

Metallurgicus - Metallurgy, so chemical engineering, metal stuff. And plastic surgery?

Lictanex - Linguistics and communication experts. Sing those litanies and get into the groove, adepts! Xenos scum don't speak no Gothic and the holy Binharic, after all.

Dominus - Lord. Well, lord of the Legio Cybernetica, if the Taghmata Army List is of any indication. Operator of our favorite battle robots.

Cordantor -  er...what? In charge of bonds and stuff? Bonds from everyone being gears and cogs in a great machine? I suspect they are in charge of Martian philosophy or something, the dudes who sit  (if Tech-priests can sit) and meditate until they find new insights in the beliefs of their Machine Cult. Who knows?

Mhalagra - the Arbites...I mean the Prefecture Magisterium Magos, I think. Charged with enforcing the doctrine of the Omnissiah and executing the heretics. Or heretek because it sounds cooler and we need the heretech in there.

Alchemys - Aspiring alchemists. You all know what alchemy is, right? If you don't, allow me to introduce you to a fabulous manga titled Full Metal Alchemist...

Myrmidex - Myrmidons! Combat, battle doctrines and a million ways to die gloriously. Pair them with Myr tokens from Magic: The Gathering to spawn infinite Myrs. Speaking of which, Mirrodin counts as a Forge World, right? Someone ought to write a crossover...

Lachrimallus - The dudes in charge of Tech-thralls and other Mechanicum laborers, aka Mechanicum slavermasters and overseers. Ever wonder why your Adsecularis Tech-thralls are so awesome? Yup, it's because of these guys. Repeat after me! Rite of Pure Thought...

***

Please feel free to correct me or contribute suggestions, criticize me, point out mistakes, etc. in the comments below. Let's make this a useful page for Mechanicum fans!

Other Links:

Taghmata Omnissiah Fluff and Organization

Legio Cybernetica

The Ordo Reductor

The Titan Legions

- Legio Draconis, "The Dark Dragons"

Questoris Knights

Mechanicum 30K Tactics

Questoris Knight Crusade Tactics

Knight Household Army

Forge Worlds

- Draconis IV

Imperial Knights Fluff

- House Yato

Skitarii Fluff

Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard Fluff

The Draconis Coalition and the History of Draconis III

Baneblade book review

Before I start the book review, let me first state that I own a Baneblade variant. Not the standard Baneblade, not even its sister tank Hellhammer, but a mere Stormsword. I could swap it for a Doomhammer, and I most likely wouldn't go for a Shadowsword because I'm not that desperate for a Strength D weapon, but I suspect the Stormsword is the variant I'll use the most, mostly because I want an apocalyptic blast-sized S10 AP1 attack that Ignores Cover. And now that I have 2 Chimera APCs for my Veteran troops, the Doomhammer's transport capacity is frankly, pointless.

So yes, I'm a fan of super-heavy tanks. I'll have to take a picture of my Chimera APCs, Leman Russ tanks and Stormsword and post them up one day. For now, let's move on to the book review.

Baneblade, by Guy Haley, is a fantastic book. Guy Haley has written an excellent novel focusing on the exploits of the super-heavy Baneblade, Mars Triumphant, but as with all Imperial Guard novels, what makes the book amazing isn't the tank but the men who operate and drive the tank. Guy Haley has developed an outstanding tank crew, featuring an uptight but otherwise likeable protagonist who received the chance to join the crew of Mars Triumphant after he pulled off an epic stunt that saved his tank company. Any guy who can fire off a concerted bombardment from a few Leman Russ tanks that sent a Stompa toppling over to trip a psychic Gargant deserves utmost respect. Colaron Artem Lo Bannick is the man, and the human heart inside the super-heavy tank.

Guy Haley has developed Colaron's character in detail - his characterization and growth are excellent. born on Paragon as a noble, he joins the Imperial Guard to seek redemption after accidentally killing his cousin in a duel (I don't understand how that's dishonorable, the dude was trying to kill him!), and a good choice too. He pulls off some awesome stuff that gets him promoted into an Honored Lieutenant in charge of his own Baneblade in the end.

That's not to say the story is all about him. His commanding officer, Cortein, is a beast, and the gunner Ganlick grows on you, as does the humorous Radden and the rest of the crew. Each has their own part to play in running a formidable tank just bristling with firepower like the Mars Triumphant, and it shows in their engagement in combat. No crew member is forgotten or left out of the narrative, each serving their role with distinction. And this actually adds on to Colaron's characterization - he develops a strong bond with these people, and when the inevitable casualties mount, he is left to mourn and wonder if the grief he is trying to escape from is basically present right here in the battlefield. A sombering moment.

The Orks also turn out to be very interesting enemies here, far from being the usual stupid brutes that recklessly charge forward and die to Imperial Guard's coordinated and disciplined firepower. I'll admit, I kind of got spoiled by Ciaphas Cain's exploits against dumb Orks, but Greeneye here turns out to be a formidable enemy that thwarts the Imperial Guard's efforts at every turn, outwitting them and laying waste to their armored companies. The Black Templars are unneeded, I want to see an Imperial Guard army defeat a foe without requiring the assistance from Space Marines, but the victory was won by Guardsmen, not the Space Marines. The Black Templars only came to mop up the Orks after they were beaten, so I'm not going to count them in. Yay.

The combat is fast, furious and in great detail, making for a highly entertaining read that I enjoyed tremendously. It's like watching a kaiju movie, where Godzilla faces off against Gigan - the Gargant certainly has that cybernetic feel to it. One day I'll try writing an Imperial Knight story where Super-heavy walkers duel with Gargantuan Creatures, but that won't be until the far future. Or at least until I get this semester done and over with. Sigh. Anyway, the action scenes are top-notch, as you would expect from a Warhammer 40K novel that doesn't involve Space Marines hacking their way until their enemies corpses pile as high to the ceiling or something...this is why I stick to Imperial Guard novels.

I highly recommend this book - in a word, I say it's awesome. I like it better than the Yarrick: Pyres of Armaggedon novel that I recently read, despite Yarrick also battling against all odds against an extremely cunning and devious foe (some parallels here). I guess it's the tanks, and for some reason Colaron feels a lot more relatable and a lot more human to me. Yarrick...well, he's a hero, but there's something in his narrative that doesn't click for me like Colaron does. Maybe it's his youth, naivety and inexperience that struck a chord in me, as opposed to the overly serious Yarrick who's all about honor, duty, sacrifice and yada yada.

So...for the Emperor!

Forge World Price Increases for Mechanicum models

While trying to build a Mechanicum list based off the Mechanicum: Taghmata Army List I recently received by post, I noticed that most of the models on Forge World had a price increase. The Cybernetica Battlegroup, which formerly costed 269 pounds, is now 280 British pounds, and the Thanatar's cost has been bumped from 70 to 72.

They are not alone.

Apparently the price hike is throughout all the resin models on Forge World. Meaning I'm pretty much screwed. Oh well. In any case I am unable to purchase anything from Forge World this month because my funds are all channeled into graduate school applications. Which will further hurt when I receive rejection letters after paying about a hundred US Dollars for EACH institution I applied for. I'll try, it'll be stupid to give up before I even try.

Another thing that's causing me to hesitate to buy Forge World models is their lack of customizable options. Yes, they are expensive, but if I buy one model a month, I can probably afford it and build a 2,000-point Mechanicum army in about 7 or 8 months. I'm a patient guy, I can wait that long, and besides I already have an Adeptus Mechanicus War Convocation and a standard Imperial Guard armored army to play with. I'm in no rush to get the Mechanicum models. However, the price raise still hurts, especially when I have to convert British pounds into Signapore dollars.

The thing, though, is the lack of customization. If I want a Magos Dominus with a Photon Thruster, I need to buy three Thallax with Photon Thrusters and sacrifice one of them to give my Dominus the photon thruster. Well, a swap is possible, just give the guy a rad cleanser. But what am I going to do with the Thallax? I won't be using them, not when I'm planning to build a Legio Cybernetica army. And I can't build Castellax with siege wreckers unless I convert. And if I want the battle-automata power blades, I need to buy the Castellax with multi-meltas, another with Darkfire cannon, and swap it out, leaving an extra Castellax I won't be using. Sigh.

Worse, there are rumors of plastic models coming out for the whole Horus Heresy series - I read somewhere that the whole resin line will be replaced with plastic by 2017. Now it's just a rumor and I will take it with a pinch of salt, but can you imagine buying resin and converting them, only to have the cheaper and more customizable plastic models be released a few months later? I'll feel like killing somebody if that happens.

Anyway, here's a rundown of the price increase for Mechanicum models:

Magos Dominus with rad-cleanser - 20.50 pounds to 21 pounds

Titan Tech Priest - 12.50 pounds to 13 pounds

Thallax (all variants) - 29 pounds to 30 pounds

Castellax (all variants) - 37 pounds to 38 pounds

Vorax - 48 pounds to 49 pounds

Mechanicum Krios Battle Tank/Venator - 70 pounds to 72 pounds

Thanatar (both variants) - 70 pounds to 72 pounds

Mechanicum Triaros Armored Conveyor - 86 pounds (I think) - 88 pounds

Questoris Knights (both variants) - 110 pounds to 115 pounds

Cerastus Knights (all variants) - 170 pounds to 175 pounds

Cybernetica Battlegroup - 269 pounds to 280 pounds

The Myrmidions and Tech-Thralls do not seem to be affected by the price increase, remaining at 38 pounds and 35 pounds respectively, and I forgot what's the original price of the Archmagos with Abeyant so I don't know if it had a price hike. The Urusax, Domitar and other models don't have Forge World releases yet so I don't know. The Magos Macrotek Enginseer with Servo-automata also remained at 45 poiunds, so no change there.

Anyway, this list is for Mechanicum fans, or players thinking of starting a Mechanicum army. There are price increases abound! I hope this helps.

Yarrick: The Pyres of Armagaddeon

I'll be busy over the next week grading papers and so, so I won't be writing much. I did receive both Cybernetica and Mechanicum: Taghmata Army List, so once my busy weeks are over, I'll get down to writing an article for them both. Particularly the latter, I'm planning a 1d4chan style article with tactics, analysis and everything.

For today, I'll talk about Yarrick: The Pyres of Armageddon. This book is about Commissar Yarrick's rise to a legend during the war he fought in Armageddon against Ghazghkull to save the planet. And it even features the scene where he fought a warboss, Ugulhard, killed him and took his power claw while losing his arm (ouch!).

Yeah, Yarrick is a badass. That's all I can say. Dude is not cold, but not warm either. He's a completely diffeernt commissar from Ciaphas Cain. And admittedly I still like Ciaphas Cain better, Yarrick takes himself way too seriously. Ha ha.

As for the writing style, it takes a little getting used to. David Annandale writes in short, jerky sentences that don't seem out of place from a high school student's essay...but considering he's writing from a first-person perspective through Yarrick's point of view, that might well be the point. Yarrick is a soldier after all, not a writer. Of course he'll write in short, simple and clear sentences, even if they don't flow lyrically. And it would be hard on the reader if David Annadndale switches writing styles in between the moments he switched character viewpoints. And he does that a lot, but it's made easy for us by very clear divisions of the chapters by each section that has the character as its title. So don't be afraid of being confused - even someone like me who strongly dislikes jumping from viewpoint to viewpoint somehow managed to enjoy the book without getting thrown off my usual rhythm. Yay. David Annandale knows what he's doing.

Maybe I should apply for the graduate school in the Canadian university he teaches at. Which is the University of Manitoba, by the way.

Anyway, the book is packed full of action and deep characterization. Ever wonder why the title is The Pyres of Armageddon? It's because Yarrick is forced to watch as hive cities burn under the Ork's onslaught (or in one case, by his own hand), their blackened husks turned into gigantic pyres that echo the sorrow of Armageddon as it is ravaged by the Greenskins. The title has a very poetic reference to it, which I think fits the somber tone of the book very nicely (hence I prefer Ciaphas Cain's flippant and humorous one). But it is tragic, it is deep and it just sucks you in.

Yarrick's transformation is pretty sound and evident in here as he is forced to make brutal and merciless decisions that see countless of the Emperor's faithful incinerated or sent to death by his own hand rather than by the Orks. The ruthless choices forced upon him sucks a void out of his heart and leaves him hollow, and yet at the same time his determination to save Armageddon is what preserves him. The book is packed full with characterization, and by the end of it you'll understand why Yarrick is who he is today. He is a man, but at the same time he is a symbol, a legend, a hero who inspires millions...no, billions to victory through his sheer name alone. He is badass.

But he's not Ciaphas Cain.

Okay, jokes aside, the action in this book is top-notched. Yarrick is thrown into some of the most intense battles in here as he struggles against all odds, from being blasted out of an air transport in the sky to survive being circled by Ork bikers and nobs, to fighting a siege in at least 3 different hive cities while running on foot after disembarking from a Chimera. There's even an awesome Titan battle scene in there featuring the Legio Metalica where their numerous Titans bombard and wreck hundreds of Stompas and Gargants before finally being annihilated in the most spectacular fashion imaginable. Sorry for the spoiler, but they had to die - nobody can steal Yarrick's spotlight, after all. The armored battles aboard Leman Russ tanks, the artillery bombardment of the Basilisks' Earthshaker cannons, they all felt so vivid, so viscereal. If you're in only for the action, this is still a great book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of Yarrick, or anyone who's looking for popcorn action and entertainment. The book contains loads of characterization and nerve-wrecking battles that ups the tension page by page, only to blow up in your face with the force of an Earthshaker shell. It is good, it is a little short, but it's worth the read.

And now, I'm moving on to Baneblade by Guy Haley, and already I'm loving that book. I dunno why, but it seems I'm running around awesome action-packed Warhammer 40K novels these days. And there's still Cybernetica after that, but it's by Rob Sanders who wrote Skitarius and Tech-priest, the latter being one of my favorite books of all time, so I'm not worried. Yay.

The Omnissiah protects! I mean enlightens.

Horus Heresy good news!

I have great news for all fans of the Horus Heresy line of games from Forge World! There has been a lot of fears that Games Workshop will screw up their release of plastic Horus Heresy like they did with Age of Sigmar (funnily enough, in Singapore, I see quite a lot of people playing and enjoying Age of Sigmar so I don't know if it's a failure here), and a good amount of dismay that they are turning it into a board game. I have seen vitriol and hate directed at Games Workshop - undeservedly so in my personal opinion - and if the Internet is of any indication, many people have already resigned to boycotting Games Workshop's latest release because they firmly believe that the model (not games!) company will contrive some method of ruining their beloved hobby.

There were plenty of cries that Games Workshop will Age-of-Sigmar-fy (is that even a verb?!) the extremely popular Horus Heresy game also known as Battles in the Age of Darkness that was conceived by Forge World, destroying and overwriting all the supposedly well-balanced and more fun rules (than 40K anyway), that the higher-ups and management have absolutely no idea what they are doing, and are nefariously laying waste to yet another beloved franchise.

Well, worry no more. Somehow I found a way to get my filthy paws on a future copy of White Dwarf that's meant to be released on November 7th - and no, I will not give away my source because I don't want them to get into trouble. Anyway, yeah, this is what I saw.

Sorry for the small print

So yup, there you have it. Sorry for the horrible resolution, but I hope you can read what's in the screen. Nope? Fine, I'll type it out for you.

Ancient Armor in Warhammer 40,000

The Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth is an amazing board game, but it's also a sensational addition to your miniatures collection, loaded with 30 Tactical Marines, five Terminators, a Space Marine Captain, Chaplain and a Contemptor Dreadnought.

The Space Marine Chapters fighting in the 41st Millennium cling to the relics of the past out of a mixture of reverence and necessity, faithfully maintaining older marks of armor and weapons, so if you want to bolster your Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine army with the models in this boxed game, you can.

The models in the set are also fully compatible with Forge World's range of Horus Heresy miniatures (as they are with all the plastic Space Marine kits in the Citadel range), which means you can upgrade them with Legion-specific shoulder pads and weapons. So, if you're looking to add more squads to your Adeptus Astartes Legions for Horus Heresy battles, you'll find these new plastic miniatures equally useful.

So there you have it, folks! Basically, this Betrayal at Calth release is similar to the Assassinorum: Execution Force board game - you have a special board game and tiles where you can play a standalone board game that replicates the situation at Betrayal at Calth, but at the same time you can ditch the board game and use the models in your normal Warhammer 40K games or Horus Heresy Age of Darkness Battles! There is no rewriting of rules, no Age-of-Sigmar-fying of a Horus Heresy that has already been meticulously play-tested by Forge World, just a simple board game in the tradition of Assassinorum: Exeuction Force where you have the freedom to plunge your new models into already-existing Warhammer 40k/30K games or try out the special board game.

By the way, this is the same issue where I found the news regarding the release of Adeptus Mechanicus bundles that I mentioned in my previous post - the Elimination Maniple and the Skitarii Battle Maniple. Damn it, I'm pretty mad that I had to go and painstakingly buy each Skitarii unit box by box, one by one, and so soon after I've finished assembling my Skitarii Battle Maniple (or Adeptus Mechanicus War Convocation), they go and pull this stunt on me. Ouch. Just ouch.

Anyway, this is good news for all Horus Heresy fans...except me, who is still waiting for a Mechanicum release. This puts me in limbo, sort of. I don't know whether to start building a Mechanicum army by buying the Forge World models, or if I should wait for Games Workshop to release plastic sprues for Mechanicum in Horus Heresy - particularly because the plastic sprues are easier to assemble and work with, and offer a lot more customization than Forge World's line of models. If I want a Photon Thruster for my Magos Dominus, for example, the only way is to spend another 29 British pounds on 3 pointless Thallax and grab the Photon Thruster from one of them, thus rendering a single one useless. Sigh. The flexibility and customization the Citadel line offers will greatly help me out. Furthermore, plastic is cheaper and much more affordable.

If Games Workshop is smart, they would probably release a Schism of Mars expansion. Graham McNeill's Mechanicum is one of the most popular book in the Horus Heresy novel series so recreating a campaign out of that book would be awesome. A Mechanicum army versus Dark Mechanicum army...what more can I ask for?

And again, I won't reveal where I saw that copy of White Dwarf. This is to protect my source. I hope you understand.

Anyway, ave deus Omnissiah! May Games Workshop release Mechanicum models in plastic sprues!

++Knowledge is power++

2nd Chimera

I finally got my hands on a 2nd Chimera, and my mechanized infantry is finally complete! I also went ahead and sprayed my unpainted vehicles black.

Unpainted Chimera APCs and Leman Russ Punisher

Chimera APCs and Leman Russ Punisher painted black

Huh, black may be the new cool but somehow they don't look very different. Maybe it's the lighting. Anyway, with these guys done, I can get down to painting my Adeptus Mechanicus army, I guess. A paintjob's long overdue, and I should throw some gold or whatever on them or something. I hope. I'm going to cry because the latest White Dwarf meant for the future has announced the release of not one but TWO bundle releases for the Adeptus Mechanicus! NOOO!

So we have the Elimination Maniple, which combines a single Kastelan Robot Maniple, including Cybernetica Datasmith, with two squads of Kataphron Destroyers! That means two Kastelan robots, 1 Cybernetica Datasmith, 6 Kataphron Destroyers in one box!

And then we have the Skitarii Battle Maniple, which bundles all the Skitarii units together! NOOO! I already bought a Skitarii Battle Maniple! Releasing the box only in the next few weeks is way too late! My Skitarii Battle Maniple is already done! Damn you! Why are you doing this to me, Games Workshop?!

Ahem...never mind, back to my Imperial Guard army. So right now I basically can field a 2,000 armored Imperial Guard regiment (my Draconian Armored Defense Force!) with the models I have.

Company Command Squad with 4 plasma guns

Veteran squad with heavy flamers and 2 flamers
Chimera APC with heavy flamer and multi-laser

Veteran squad with 3 plasma guns
Chimera APC with heavy bolter and multi-later

Tank Commander in Leman Russ Punisher with heavy bolters
Leman Russ Executioner with lascannon and plasma cannons
Leman Russ Executioner with heavy bolter and plasma cannons

Vendetta gunship
2nd Vendetta gunship

Stormsword with twin-linked heavy bolters and lascannons

So there you have it, a full-fledged Imperial Guard army at about 2,000 points! A pity I can't get my Wyvern suppression tanks despite ordering them months ago...but I'll make do with what I have. Besides, I think I'll save the money for the Wyverns to buy either Mechanicum models from Forge World or the new Horus Heresy set. Speaking of which, I have some news which I'll release in the next post...muahahaha! Wait for it!