Codex Traitor Legions: The Alpha Legion
BoLS continues Codex Traitor Legions coverage all week. Today we look at the cancer within, the nefarious Alpha Legion’s rules!
The Traitor Legions are upon us! Fourteen years after 2002’s release of the beloved CSM 3.5 codex full rules for all nine traitor legions are here! These are each a unique army that will open up the game to dedicated CSM players who find the default codex a little plain. Every one of the nine gets some serious love.
GW has pulled off giving each Legion a distinct feel via 9 sets of Legion restrictions and special rules, warlord traits, relics (some very very distinctive and fluffy), and of course a detachment. While I personally think some are more fluffy and cool than others, everyone got some of the GW design studio love. There are however some standouts that will be altering the meta. More on those this week.
Now, onto what you came for, let’s crack open the covers and see what makes the Alpha Legion tick:
Behold the basic Alpha Legion Legion restrictions and special abilities.
Meet the Alpha Legion Legion Detachment – the Insurgency Force.
Finally here’s one sample relic, the subversive Icon of Insurrection
I am Alpharius!
The Alpha Legion have had a rules and overall tone alteration with Codex Traitor Legions. It is fluffy and reflects their background generally, but isn’t exactly what it was. What was once the legion of spymasters who trained sabateurs and operatives to undernime and subvert the Imperium has been altered to raise and throw forward throngs of fanatics into the streets. What used to be the Word Bearer’s territory is now being encroached upon by the sons of Alpharius.
The Legion special rules are about what we would expect. We have no chaos marks and mandatory and free Veterans of the Long War. any Daemons (princes mainly) must take powers from their specific god’s discipline. In exchange for this, you get Chosen moved to TROOPS choices and all your core infantry gain Infiltrate – SOLID! This army will be in your face fast. Next is my absolute favorite – Many Heads of the Hydra means you can replace a slain Warlord with any surviving Character in your force – until you run out of characters. Remember that squad leaders are Characters. Your army only gives up the Slay the Warlord objective if they are ALL killed. Wish your opponent luck with that…
Moving onto the Detachment is where we hit a speed bump.The turn one shrouding for non-vehicles is nice, especially when combined with the mass infiltration. Cult Uprising is the problem – this rule seems very cool until you note that the only way to take Cultists in the Insurgency Detachment is via the Lost and the Damned formation which…ALREADY HAS THE IDENTICAL SPECIAL RULE.
UPDATE: The Detachment’s “Cult Uprising” rules is identical in text to the Lost and the Damned formation’s “A Tide of Traitors”, but they are both different special rules. Based on a strict RAW interpretation, this is not a useless duplication, but instead will result in any destoyed unit of Cultists receiving TWO rolls activated by both rules, each of which on a 4+ would result in a new unit of Cultist arriving in reserves. My apologies for the error.
Moving onto our sample Relic, the Icon of Insurrection is a nice boon if you decide to go the Cultist route with your army, expanding the default power of a Dark Apostle from a 6″ radius to 12″. I’m torn from a fluff point of view. I love the Alpha Legion and this list is mostly respectful to it’s heritage and flavor. Back in the 3.5 codex your Cultists represented trained saboteurs and had access to special weapons and special rules like tank hunters. Here they are religious rabble led by Alpha Legion Dark Apostles. It’s a subtle difference and probably very minor on the tabletop – but it is there.
Grade: B+
Codex Supplement: Traitor Legions $35
The Traitor Legions of the Chaos Space Marines have waged terrible wars of hate and vengeance upon the Imperium of Mankind for ten thousand years. From the Daemon worlds of the Eye of Terror, they plot the destruction of the empire they once helped to build. They have neither forgotten nor forgiven the loyalists, nor the False Emperor whom they serve. These warriors will not rest until the galaxy is burning, and the Emperor’s putrid carcass is cast down from the Golden Throne into the filth where it belongs.
Codex Supplement: Traitor Legions is a 136-page, full-colour softback supplement to Codex: Chaos Space Marines. It contains a wealth of additional content and rules that any Chaos Space Marines army can use, with a huge array of rules for all nine of the Traitor Legions.
AdvertisementIn The Book
– Datasheets for the following models:
– Kharn the Betrayer
– Ahriman
– Exalted Sorcerer
– Tzaangors
– Rubric Marines
– Scarab Occult Terminators
– Khorne Lord of Skulls
– Magnus the Red– 26 Formations for Chaos Space Marines
– Chaos Warband
– Maelstrom of Gore
– The Lost and the Damned
– Helforged Warpack
– Heldrake Terror Pack
– Cult of Destruction
– Fist of the Gods
– Raptor Talon
– Terminator Annihilation Force
– Favoured of Chaos
– Trinity of Blood
– The Chosen of Abaddon
– The Bringers of Despair
– The Hounds of Abaddon
– Daemon Engine Pack
– Cyclopia Cabal
– The Tormented
– Black Legion Warband
– War Cabal
– War Coven
– Tzaangor Warherd
– Sekhmet Conclave
– Ahriman’s Exiles
– Rehati War Sect
– Plague Colony
– Kakophoni;– Chaos Artefacts, Warlord Traits, Tactical Objectives and an exclusive Detachment for each of the 9 Traitor Legions;
– Updated Disciplines of Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh, as well as the Sinistrum, Heretech, Ectomancy and Geomortis Psychic Disciplines;
– Armoury of the Chaos Space Marines.
~Have fun folks, and check back tomorrow for more Traitor Legions reviews and more.
