List building with Liber Auxilia

I finally got my hands on Liber Auxilia, and now I shall proceed to list build with the models I have, and the ones I'll be getting in the very near future (already ordered a few of them, just a matter of waiting for them to be delivered). As always, we'll begin with a bit of the lore, though...quite frankly, there's no change. Saturnyne Ordo and Jovian Void Clans formed the basis for these elite unaugmented troops of humanity, and Solar Auxilia are the elite pinnacle, forming 25% of the Imperial Army, etc. Not much to see here.

Anyway, we'll first begin with my Legatine Command Section, which I already assembled after getting the Solar Auxilia Battlegroup last year (March 2024, to be exact). Or actually, this version was assembled in August last year, with me kitbashing Veletaris models to be command squad veterans - hence, you'll notice they're all in Veletaris void armor, rather than the standard void armor of lasrifle tercios. The Legate Marshal has a paragon blade and archaeotech pistol, and I have 4 Lifewards, one has a Cohorts vexilla, one has a command vox, and two have plasma pistols and power swords. The Lifeward with the vexilla is also equipped with a plasma pistol and a power sword, just because. This brings their cost up to 200 points. I'll be choosing the Mechanized Patterned Cohort Doctrine because I love tanks, and my guys are quite literally a mechanized force, anyway, with all my infantry riding in Dracosan Armored transports.

I will be kitbashing a Veletaris Command Section soon, giving them a single command vox. The lieutenant has a volkite serpenta and a power sword to signify his status as an officer. I'll give the remaining three Veletarii storm axes, which will bring them up to 104 points. Rounding up the command staff would be an armored command section, a Leman Russ tank with a volkite macro-saker (or twin lascannon, which I'll magnetize if possible), a hull lascannon and a flare shield for 180 points.

The infantry consists of two Veleteris Storm Sections at 95 points each, all armed with volkite chargers and a single vox interlock. They are supported by 4 Hermes Veletaris Sentinels in a single squadron, all armed with volkite calivers and costing 80 points. The Logistical Benefit will be used for a Dracosan Armored Transport with twin lascannons and flare shield for 160 points. They'll be riding in 2 Dracosan Armored Transports with demolisher cannons and flare shields at 195 points each. This fills my Veletaris Tercio detachment, and the total cost of that is 820 points.

Speaking of Aethon Heavy Sentinel, there's this awesome artwork where we take down a Contemptor Dreadnought with a melta lance. Humanity, f yeah! We mortals can beat Astartes!

I'll have to unlock a heavy support detachment with my primary Crusade detachment, the Legatine Command Section, for an Aethon Heavy Sentinel squadron of 3, armed with melta lances and Aethon missile battery for 240 points.

4 Leman Russ assault tanks make up 2 Armor Tercio detachments, which I have access to thanks to taking the Mechanized Patterned Cohort. 2 are equipped with executioner plasma destroyers and lascannons for 175 points each, while the other two retain their volkite marco-sakers, but unlike the Tank Commander, they swap their hull weapon for multi-lasers and have pintle multi-lasers too. They only cost 150 points each. The total tercio cost will be 650 points. Nice.

The Logistical Benefit in the primary crusade detachment will unlock the Valdor Tank Destroyer,who has a sponson lascannon and a flare shield, so he costs 255 points. Rounding out my armored cohort is a Stormblade super-heavy tank with 2 sponson lascannons and two twin heavy bolters for 540 points.

That brings me to 2,989 points. I have 11 points left over for a 6th Veletaris with storm axe for the Veletaris command setction, which will add nicely to a total of 3,000 points. Nice. There's also the option of taking away the power sword from the vexilla bearer (since he's technically only holding a plasma pistol) and swapping the melta lances on my Aethon Heavy Sentinels for volkite culverins, which will give me another 44 points, to round up my Veletaris command section to 10 men for 3,000 points.

Alternatively, I can downgrade my Legatine Command Section to a Tactical Command Section, though the captain has a power fist and plasma pistol as opposed to a paragon blade and archaeotech pistol. Everyone else is the same, so they cost 170 points, giving me another 30 points to play with. I'll just take out 2 Hermes Veletaris Sentinels to free up another 40 points. Adding that to the 11 points (since I will not be taking a 6th storm axe Veletaris in this scenario), the consequent 81 points mean I can bring a Carnodon strike tank for 80 points with his volkite culverin and two sponson volkite calivers. Now you see why I took out 2 Hermes Veletaris Sentinels? I already have 2 volkite calivers on my Carnodon strike tank, so they're kind of redundant! However, if I really want to go all in on volkite, I could swap the melta lances for volkite culverins and keep the Hermes Veletaris Sentinels to free up the 39 points I need to get the 80 for my Carnodon strike tank.

I have a lot of volkite in my list, especially if I decide to arm my Aethon Heavy Sentinels with volkite culverins instead of melta lances. But I have way too much volkite. I mean, 43 volkite shots from my Veletaris Command Section and Storm Sections alone, 8 from my Hermes Veletaris Sentinel squadron, and 24 Damage 2 volkite shots from my Leman Russ tanks (16 if I go for twin lascannons on the Tank Commander). If I swap my 2 Hermes Veletaris Sentinel for my Carnodon strike tank, I have another 7-8 volkite shots, minus 4, which is an additional 3-4 overall. That's a total of 75 or 78-79 Strength 5/6 shots in a single army. That's a lot of dakka. Of course, it drops to 67 or 70-71 if I use twin lascannons for my Tank Commander. Do I really need another 9-12 volkite shots from my Aethon Heavy Setinels? If I want to go all in on volkites, I can arm my Aethon Heavy Sentinels with volkite culverins. That will bring me up to 84-87 (extra Hermes Veletarii Sentinels) or 87-91 (Carnodon strike tank). Or 91-95 volkite shots if I went all in on volkite as previously mentioned, at the cost of antitank. Of course, if I'm taking volkite culverins over melta lances, I might as well swap the volkite on the Carnodon strike tank for lascannons at the expense of 2 Hermes Veletaris Sentinels, which will bring it down to 80-83 volkite shots.

Comparatively, my antitank weaponry is lacking. My Valdor tank hunter, 3 hull lascannons on my Leman Russ Assault tanks (plus twin lascannons if I take that over the volkite macro-saker), the twin lascannons on my Dracosan Armored Transport, 2 Demolisher cannons also from Dracosans, along with the Stormblade are all that stand between me and armored foes. That's like, what, 8-10 lascannon shots, 2 neutron beam lasers, 2 Demolisher blasts and 1 gigantic Damage 5/7 plasma blast? Doesn't sound too bad, actually. Anyway, having an extra 3 melta shots might be helpful if I face a tank-heavy opponent, but I can chop and equip however I see fit. As said above, swapping volkite for lascannons on my Carnodon strike tank will give me 4 additional lascannon shots, bringing it up to 12-14 along with the others.

Also, I can just play an armor cohort with just tanks - an Armored Command Section, 4 Leman Russ Assault tanks, my Stormblade and Valdor Tank Hunter cost 1,625 points, which means they can serve as allies to my Thousand Sons or Dark Angels or Mechanicum. For example, a Legio Cybernetica list with my Archmagos Prime, a Magos, 2 Tech-priests, 2 Castellax battle-automata, 4 Castellax Destructor battle-automata, 1 Domitar battle-automata, a Thantar-Cavas siege-automata and a Thanatar-Calix siege-automata will cost me 1,665 points. That puts me in excess of 290 points, so I'll need to drop something. Maybe the Thanatar-Cavas siege automata and one Tech-priest, which frees 25 points.

The Veletaris and their Dracosan Armored Transports can serve as Yeomanry Mesnie for my Knights - 570 points. Alternatively, if I want to play them as allies, the command section, storm sections and their transports will cost 1,219 points. Either way, if I were to ally them to the Legio Cybernetica Mechanicum force above, that brings me to 2,884 points! I have 116 left over, but I can swap the Aetheon Heavy Sentinel squadron for 2 Krios Venator tanks with 6 points remaining. Nice.

Anyway, it's been a fun exercise! I'll add this as a note when I start fleshing out my lists for my Thousand Sons and Dark Angels! My Solar Auxilia will be the perfect Legiones Auxilia for them!