Horus Heresy: Legion Astartes Codex Updates

Black Blow Fly reporting the major new changes to Legion Astartes for the Horus Heresy – CONFIRMED!

Thanks to Garro for his putting this list together and sharing. 🙂

Get ready Primarchs and Praetors – the brand new updated and Legion Astartes “Codex” has tons of major changes.  The Horus Heresy won’t be the same. Let’s dive right in: NOTE: Editor’s notes in red

LEGIONES ASTARTES: AGE OF DARKNESS ARMY LIST £32

The Horus Heresy Legiones Astartes: Age of Darkness Army List is a 144 page hard back book containing the complete profiles, special rules and wargear, compiled and updated, for all Space Marine Legion armies in Horus Heresy games using the Battles in the Age of Darkness gaming expansion for Warhammer 40,000. This book contains the unit profiles 65 units, from Command units and Troops, such as Legion Tactical Squads, to vast fortifications and devastating super-heavy units like the Stormbird, each available all Space Marine Legion armies including new units such as the Legion Jetbike Sky Slayer Support Squadron.

The New Edition Changes

Age of Darkness Rules Changes
– The ‘imperial armour units in age of darkness games’ rule has been replaced. Instead of ‘any unit’ it is now a fixed list of units.
– Clarification of having multiple characters with the ‘must be warlord’ rule. Simply put, you can’t. Only Primarchs override this.
– Tank squadrons have command tank upgrade which is +10pts over old price
tanks with pintile-mounted options have Multi-meltas added for same price as Havoc launcher.

HQ Choices
– Moritat chain fire rules updated to include the overheat rules from the jan 2016 FAQ. ~Look for plasma/vulkite pistols to be the new combo of choice.
legion command squad base cost is -25 pts
– Additional LCS members are -5 pts

Elites Choices
– Veteran tactical squads -25 pts to base cost ~Much needed, these were well overcosted previously
– Veteran Marines are -3 pts each
– VTS has additional weapons from FAQ added
– Techmarines are -10 pts each base
– Servo-automata has heavy bolter, multi-melta, and missile launcher added to their wargear options
apothecarion detachment has list of units removed, may join any unit will ‘legiones astartes’ rule that isn’t in terminator armour or have the daemon rule
– Apothecarion detachment can purhcase jump packs and SM bikes, allowing them to join like equipped units. ~This will help mobile elements quite a bit.
– Dreadnoughts all have +1 attack (to base 3) as per FAQ
– Volkite culverins in contemtpor dreads replaced with the twin-linked version
– Legion rapier squads thudd guns only have frag rounds to start with. May purchase additional rounds as in Book 6, including phosphex ~UGH thudd gun phospex is going to be UGLY…

Troops Choices
– Legion tacticals squads are -25 pts base
– Legion assault squads are -75 pts base ~Desperately needed, jump packs were seriously overcosted previously.
– Additional assault Marines are -2 pts each
– Breacher squad -25 pts base
– Additional Breacher marines are +5 pts each
– Tactical support squad can take additonal close combat weapon for 2 pts; rotor cannon and volkite charger upgrades are now free upgrades
– Reconnaissance squad is -25 pts base

Dedicated Transports
– Legion dreadnought drop pods are +35 pts

Fast Attack
– Legion Seekers are -20 pts base
_ A dditional marines are +5 pts
– Sunfury missiles on Lightning is +10 pts
– Kraken missiles are +10 pts
– Phosphex bomb cluster -10 pts
– Electromagnetic bomb charges are -10 pts
– Tarantulas are +5 pts each
– Tarantula squads lose forward deployment
– Dreadclaw drop pods +15 pts
– Dreadclaw listed as only carrying regular and contemptor dreads, not Leviathan or Dreadeo types
– Landspeeders are -10 pts each
– Hunter killer missiles are -5 pts each now
– Javelins are -20 pts each
– Javelins gain strafing run USR
– Units attacking a Javelin in close combat suffer a -2 to hit while it isn’t immobilsed

Heavy Support
– New jetbike unit
– Just regular jetbikers with multi-melta as basic, base squad is +30 pts over normal jetbike squad
– May only go to 5 men in total, additional jetbikes are +15 pts over normal jetbikes
– May upgrade to volkite or plasma for cost, all of the squad must be the same
– May take sergeant upgrade
– Deathstorm drop pod has automated weapons rule, basically old rule of automatically shooting all units within range (enemy or friend) when it arrives
– LR Phobos is -25 pts
– LR Proteus is -20 pts
– Land Raider Achilles can take thudd gun ammos same as rapiers, at same price
– Achilles-Alpha can take additonal ammo types
– Vindicators are now squadrons as in Book 6 with additional rules from FAQ
– Spartan is +10 pts
– Laser destroyers are free upgrades on Spartan
– Flare shield is +20 pts ~Let’s be honest, the flare shield was too good.
– Sicaran Venator may take second pintle-mounted weapon
– Sicaran is +30 pts and can take a pintle mounted weapon
– Kharybdis is -25 pts
– Deredeo dreadnought has third arm option, heavy lascannon option S10, AP2 heavy 2, Exoshock
– Exoshock – if a hit scores a penetrating hit, then on a 4+ a second automatic pen is caused ignoring cover
– Whirlwind Scorpius can take pintle-mounted weapons
– Malcador is now heavy support with -25 pts base cost ~Nice, that more than makes up for the Flare Shield increase!
– Battlespeed now allows it to fire its main weapon (top turret) at full BS skill before or after moving flat out
– Malcador is 1-3 in squadrons
– Malcador receives wider range of wargear selection covering basic stuff like pintle-mounted weapons

Lords of War
– Typhon is +45 pts base
– Falchion is +25 pts
– Falchion can take a neutron wave capacitor which adds the ‘feedback’ and ‘shock pulse’ special rules to its Volcano Cannon

Rites of War
– Orbital Assault – dreadnought and contemptor talons can take dreadclaws or dreadnought drop pods even in talons of 2 or 3
– Rapier batteries can take drop pods

~ I would like to note the new “codex” is £32, and will get you into Horus Heresy gaming right away.  That’s basically the cost of a normal codex. 

Author: Steve Turner

Steve turner is a competitive Warhammer 40k player and avid hobbyist. He has been actively playing for over 20 years. He began writing for BoLS in 2013.