Introduction

My Sons of Horus army collection gained significant forces shortly after I started playing Horus Heresy 1.0. It grew from Abaddon vs Loken and the Warmaster into a wide ranging collection within months as a result. I enjoyed the flexibility of army composition that characters offered, the Rites of War and the colour scheme.

In 2.0 the colour scheme and one of the Rites of War still engages me, but the Sons of Horus lost so much. None of the characters offer any army composition flexibility, The Long March Rite of War is mostly a non-starter for me and the army is hemmed into “one-way builds” due to the way what little rules are left synergise and the comparatively high costs of the Legions special units.

That said, I do still enjoy playing the Sons of Horus, even if I feel that most of the Loyalist special units are comparatively over-ruled and undercosted when you put Justaerin and Reaver analogues side-by-side. It’s meant that I’ve had to out-play my opponents tactically to win games instead of just rely on having more resilient units, better performing units or more units because of how much they cost – no #EasyModeHeresy here. No yellow either.

I have a large number of Justaerin, and an equally large number of Veteran marines that linger from Heresy 1.0 and so it felt right to try to bring about a more Elite style army for both normal games and those extra special events where you push to 5,000 points and beyond.

Ezekyle Abaddon – With a face like he’s logged into work at 0800 and found 110 emails waiting for him.

Army Composition – Narrative

To start, I looked at the army narrative – using the Black Books I own from Heresy 1.0 and the Black Library (mainly pre-Siege of Terra such as the initial four books and Vengeful Spirit) as a handrail. I outlined a few outcome themes from this that I’d like to build for namely Saturnine and 1st Company.

Why not a Siege of Terra styled army? Mostly due to how comparatively poor those books are – they’re mostly Loyalist-character wankathons, where Loyalist named characters recieve greivous wounds in one paragraph, only to have them totally forget that they are wounded and absolutely ruin the moronic Traitor forces in the next. Indeed, the only book that even remotely interests me is Saturnine, mainly because of how off piste that books method of assault is – and I rather like that idea – even if I already know how poorly perform that army will be on the table.

So with the underpinning narrative in my mind, it was time to look at the requirements for a Sons of Horus army to function on the table and blend those two aspects together.

Army Composition – Legion Rules and Rites of War

The Legion rules, as mentioned previously used to enable a lot more flexibility, without being overpowered – such as having Maloghurst in an army enabling Veterans and Reavers to be taken as Troops. Then there’s the fact that Legion advanced reaction is mostly useless in a Sons of Horus army – because of the way players naturally build to take advantage of what little synergies occur, +1 BS Return Fire is mostly pathetic. This leaves me with a decent core trait, recently FAQ‘d to still go off when disordered charges are made and some viable options in terms of Warlord traits and armoury choices.

My default go to for Warlord Traits has been Chosen by the Dark Gods, a Traitor only trait that basically asks you to roll (you don’t have to) at the start of your player turn a dice to see if you’ll get +1 Strength and Toughness (2-5), or also gain +1 wound back on the roll of a 6+. On the roll of a 1, you lose a wound. I think I’ve lost more wounds than other outcomes, but when it does work in my favour it’s been quite nice and fun. I don’t play Loyalist Sons, so Wolf of Luna isn’t an option – as much as I like that one, so that leaves the Armour of Pride. This trait is a “get up on D3 wounds when first killed” trait and definitely adds some tastiness to the army. So frankly, it’s 50/50 between those, with the Armour of Pride being taken when I know someone wants to have a more competitive game – or is an outright cheddar-miner.

Rites of War-wise, The Black Reaving is clearly on display here – as it’s the best and most thematic Sons of Horus Rite, binding nicely with the narrative framework without making it difficult to define why a unit should be in that Rite. It enables deepstriking Justaerin, which works with the lore and the requirement for a Master of Signals, Reavers become troops so I can run Catulan Reaver Squad alongside Justaerin in a 1st Company list and the bonuses vs detractions are nicely balanced in conjunction with the relative costings of each unit.

Due to the Saturnine arc, I wanted to use Termites – so Underworld Assault was considered. but it’s so ridiculously constrained that it limits flexibility. You can’t Deepstrike Assault, because other deployment methods are not allowed and all Infantry without Bulky (X) are to start in Termites, with everything else starting on the table. So, where in Saturnine, Reavers come in with Termites and Justaerin Deepstrike from a Drilldo – that can’t be faithfully replicated on the table. Good job GW. This led me to Pride of the Legion. Veterans can take Termites, and they can take a variety of weapons that make them a comparable analogue to a Reaver Squad. Termites aren’t Assault Vehicles, and whilst the Veterans wouldn’t get Stubborn in Pride of the Legion as they would with Underworld Assault, narratively it just feels more on point. Pride also lends itself very nicely to a 1st Company general-narrative army.

Grav might be worse than throwing haddocks at Astartes on the Leviathan, but its pretty – so I use the model for the Melta Lance too.

The Armoury of the Sons of Horus is tasty without being Imperial-Fist-like. There’s very little reason for a choice of Carsoran Axes over Carsoran Tabars in melee units with only one melee weapon as standard such as Justaerin. For units like Chieftans and Reavers, I quite like the Carsoran Axes, although it does make them even more pricey than they already are. Chainaxes on those squads aren’t terrible either. I’ll obviously need some for of high Strength, high AP melee options, as being Sons of Horus, melee is where you want to be performing, so those Justaerin and Reavers will be rocking Power Fists and Thunderhammers where possible too. I’ll never forget though, that a twin-Carsoran Axe equipped Praetor of mine was monstrously good when paired with Chosen by the Dark Gods – so there’s definitely flexibility in-build there.

Now the narrative, Legion rules and Rites are starting to dictate unit choices in my mind too, with flexibility to provide a non-Character related Deepstrike Assault function – though how you get that to work with your Praetor is shonky. Personally, I quite like the idea of paying for a “bells and whistles” Jump Pack Praetor and then modelling him in Cataphractii Plate. It makes no major difference to the game – just that he can now Deepstrike Assault with the Justaerin natively and makes it seem more on brand for the Sons of Horus. You’ll need to chat with your opponent about that, and for those apex predator grognards that don’t want that to occur – bring a Jump Pack Praetor model too. Take note GW, the Imperial Fists aren’t the only army in the game that narratively has heavy units that Deepstrike routinely – Sons of Horus and Nightlords actually do it more often than the Fists in the lore – so strike down those fanboys within your rules teams, get a grip and allow Sons of Horus and Night Lords to purchase Teleportation Transponders too!

I don’t want Lascannon Heavy Support Squads with Intercept because they’re overpowered meta tripe. I want to use that Master of Signals to help me Deepstrike and make reserves more difficult for my opponent – he’s well worth that 95 points cost for that alone. So, for Heavy Support in an Elite army build, I probably want some survivable stuff that can pop out some relatively strong firepower or bring the pain in melee – so Leviathans and Deredeos. I’ll largely be ignoring Contemptors (2+) for the same reasoning behind the Lascannon Heavy Support Squads.

I also probably need to consider how I’m going to irritate or annoy my opponent, in concert with delivering decapitation strikes or that turn 1 “where’s your tank gone – start footslogging” approach. So Seekers with Combi-meltas, Javelins with Lascannons and Multi-meltas and maybe a sole Recon Squad with Nemesis bolters to bolster objective scoring and cause decision paralysis for the enemy when it comes to their shooting phase.

So, what do we have from that?

• Warlord Trait.
  • Chosen by Dark Gods/The Armour of Pride.
  • Defined by Character.
• Rites of War.
  • The Black Reaving.
  • Pride of the Legion.
• Armoury.
  • BANESTRIKE!!!
  • Carsoran Axes/Tabars.
  • Chainswords.
  • Power Fists.
  • Thunderhammers.
• Units.
  • Master of Signals.
  • Justaerin.
  • Reaver Assault/Aggressors.
  • Abaddon/Little Horus?
  • Chieftans.
  • Veterans.
  • Tacticals for Line where needed.
  • Leviathans.
  • Deredeos.
  • Javelins.
  • Seekers.
  • Nemesis Recons/Vigilator.

That’s quite a selection and we will never get all of that into a single Sons of Horus army. This is good news because it gives us flexibility. There’s also a small representation from the “meta” unit community, especially in configuration, so that works for my happiness too. I’d rather be beaten playing a non-bullshit, narrative list than play #EasyModeHeresy or #IdentikitHeresy.

However, it is starting to look like that Saturnine-Narrative theme needs to be stretched a little. Mainly due to how shite Termites and Underworld Assault are. This will probably take the form of Horus Rising styled 1st Company instead – i.e. still have Catulan Reavers and Justaerin, but no drills.

Army Composition – Lists

To start, Little Horus has recently been announced, which meant I immediately kitbashed him from Horus Lupercal (Old model) head and a Vheren Ashurhaddon (who I’ve simply not used enough to warrant keeping around). Tie Aximand in to a Chieftan Squad and bomb them around in a Land Raider to get up the table and get Mourn-it-all into the mix with the enemy. The Carsoran axes make a nice at-initative weapon for the Boarding Shield equipped squad and makes them very similar to Justaerin in terms of resilience. The Justaerin gain Deep Strike because this is The Black Reaving, so get that Master of Signals hidden out of sight on the table, bring them down somewhere inconvienient, preferrably near an armoured transport that you pop with the Deredeos and Javelins. The Reaver squad packs enough firepower to be a menace whilst retaining all of their fearsome melee capability with the added functionality of being able to move very quickly up the table. Meanwhile the Tacs bomb about hopefully unmolested to get onto objectives. This is somewhat a compound of Horus Rising and Vengeful Spirit in theme, but you get a nice mix of specialist units in the game to cause carnage, and just enough resilient firepower (either through speed or atomantic shielding) to make target prioritisation a pain.

Fancy your Black Reaving with more…. Black? Abaddon and his scoring Justaerin are there to help you out. Meanwhile the ante gets upped by bombing two Leviathans up the table – a terrifying threat indeed when you remember the Legion melee trait applies to them too. Seekers here are the early game threat, allowing you to do one of two things – go for that early debus or destruction of transports, or fish for melta sniping on enemy characters using Precision Shot. Don’t forget those units also wearing the black, the Reaver Aggressor Squad (Catulan) who at the same time are making their presence felt by moving quite fast up the table to threaten enemy units and objectives – as they have Line. The Tactical Squads are barebones as you really want them to sit back and get out at the last minute to secure Objectives. There’s a whopping five scoring units in this army, which means with some shepherding, the weight of Line is in your favour.

This list is about the closest I can get to my narrative, whilst retaining a functioning rather-elite army. Abaddon, Ekaddon, Catulan Reavers plus Justaerin, along with a smattering of ranged anti-Elite firepower and two rumbling Leviathans rolling up the table. Now you could look to put at least one of those Leviathans into Drop Pods, but The Black Reaving limits your Heavy Support by Fast Attack choices, so really you’ll be wanting two Dreadclaws – or to lose the Deredeo. However, that plasma is quite effective at slagging Dreadnoughts and Terminators. You probably don’t want Ekaddon and the Reavers in Deepstrike Assault, as it puts too much off the table. You could look to pop an Apothecary in there for 65 points, but you’re limited on options as to where to make the savings without impacting negatively. Plus it helps that he can be the mini-deathstar on the table, distracting until Abaddon comes in. Don’t forget that Abaddon has a juicy Feel No Pain when Deepstrike Assault occurs and that you’re also well off using the Javelins to proc Rage (2) with the Black Reaving, as they don’t need to actually charge, just to target a unit with a charge – preferably at the 12″ mark.

Finally, this one is a little closer to the bone of bullshit – but steers clear enough by not plumping for three Contemptors and leaving the Leviathans at home, and doesn’t take Recons, using Veterans with Banestrikes instead. Banestrike isn’t to be sniffed at, as it’s multi-purpose, working well against Troops and Dreadnoughts. Just note that Pride of the Legion states you must not have more non-infantry units than infantry ones, not models.

For added bonus insanity, this is what I came up for Saturnine theme…. though I warn you, it’s absolutely an army that needs tight tactical grasp and a to quote MC Neat, a little bit of luck, to do remotely well with. It’s also right on the cusp on legality in terms of infantry to non-infantry units – though you could drop a Javelin for a Vigilator to add a bit more flexibility in controlling the table whilst you wait for those Termites to finally turn up.

I think I’ve hit the right balance with these lists – mixing a high percentage of narrative theme with rules and a light spinkling of meta as a final touch. Frankly speaking I’m majorly a fan of the 1st Company army list of all of them, though each has their own merits.

A Mammoth Lord of War

The Sons of Horus army isn’t poorly equipped in my collection, already having a Falchion (which is objectively the best Lord of War in the game right now – just don’t bother with the Neutron) and a Thunderhawk Gunship. But what about when you really just need a massive target to slowly move towards the enemy position soaking up firepower left and right before dropping off its contents to rip and tear?

Mastodon – For when you absolutely must say “Fuck you and your firepower, I’m going over there”.

The Mastodon. At 710 points in the post-FAQ configuration seen in the picture above it’s not cheap. But look at it – it’s +2 VP for looks and pure menace. It’s also not worth it’s points. It survived a game against the Raven Guard, delivering Horus Ascended and some Justaerin across the table a total distance of 18″ in four turns. However it should be noted the Raven Guard didn’t have a huge amount of Anti-Tank and what they did have, my Veterans shot Banestrike at. It’s got two Void Shields, which goes some way to survivability, but still suffers D3 to Explodes! results and as a result those twelve AV14 wounds go down quickly. Two pairs of Lascannons gives it some teeth, and the Melta array is joyously fun to shoot at infantry, but it’s realistically in the same place as the Glaive – you know the other amazing looking but ultimately still a tank, tank. The one that has a main armament succeptible to being stopped by literally a fart in the wind. Anyway, back to “Manny” (Ice Age) the Mastodon – it has a whopping 42 spaces in it’s transport capacity as well as transport bay – meaning you can indeed fill it with Leviathans and other goodness should you see fit. There’s plenty of options for filling it, but you need to remind youself of the 25% rule for Lords of War & Primarchs combined and that includes any retinues too. Effectively, to put Horus the Warmaster and his retinue in a Mastodon, you’re playing around 8,000 points. For Horus Ascended, you’re playing nearly 10,000 points. Retinues are ridiculously ruled since the FAQ, as it stops some really narrative builds that wouldn’t be oppressive.

So… how do I play it? Well, 750 is 1/4 of 3,000 points and 710 points is lower, so it is possible to get it in at 23.7% of the list value. However you really need to get first turn to neuter incoming fire before it really starts and it’s a hyper aggressive list to run as a consequence.

Fun, yes. Competitive – absolutely not!

You’ve got a lot of Anti-tank lurking within that army, and a fair amount of resilience where it matters. You will note I’ve chosen Abaddon, but you can make savings on a normal Praetor as you won’t really use his Warlord Trait in this list. However, just like that Scene in Vengeful Spirit where he bombs into action in a Spartan full of Justaerin (but supersized), it’s definitely a narrative army. Only with added Reavers.

The Mastodon will either be the enemies sole target, or they’ll lack enough anti-tank to deal with it before it gets to them. There is a secondary effect to this too; the enemy will either be drawn to it or kite it. If they’re drawn to it, bomb out early and wreak havoc. If they kite it, you’re in control of their movement by placing the Mastodon in the most disruptive places each turn you can think of.

Play it hyper-aggressive, use those elite Squads special rules to max out damage – using Reavers Precision Shot to bomb out enemy Sergeants, or Furious Charge (1) on Justaerin to deliver blistering melee. Consider either providing mutual support against one target (likely overkill) or use supporting assets such as the Javelins to trigger Rage (2) against individual targets for the Justaerin and Reavers. Remembering that The Black Reaving doesn’t need successful charges to trigger that bonus, just that the unit was the target of another units charge.

What’s Next?

Next is an interesting moment of calamity. I’m off to Bad Moon Cafe to run out a more chonky version of the 1st Company Mastodon list. Both myself and the other player, Andrew, wrote our lists simultanously whilst on Discord, chatting about what we wanted to see on the table.

• Decision 1: Mastodons.
• Decision 2: Primarchs.
  • Amendment to core rules – Ignore 25% rule.
• Decision 3: Terminator heavy!
• Decision 4: 3 hours play time.
• Decision 5: 5,000 points.

What we have are two remarkably well balanced lists as a result. It’s Iron Warriors vs Sons of Horus, and both of us have twenty Terminators of differing flavours, and being deployed in different manners. We both have two Leviathans each and are using them entirely differently. The Iron Warriors are armour heavy, and the Sons of Horus are more Mechanised in nature. I’m looking forwards to the game, as it should be quite a spectacle as a result!

I’m hoping that excitement won’t get the better of me and that I remember to chronicle it for a text-based battle report to go on here. But we shall see. The lists are below for those interested – happy hobbying and Death to the False Emperor!