Horus Heresy: Ultramarines Rules Preview
What can we learn from the Legion that wrote the textbook on “How to Space Marine” — a lot actually. Check out their rule teasers!
The Ultramarines are quite literally the posterboys for Warhammer: 40,000. They are the iconic blue Space Marines that are on the boxes and banners of this franchise. Why is that? In reality, that was probably a marketing decision. Maybe it’s because they photograph well. It doesn’t really matter at this point. Besides, we’re here to look at the rules for the Space Marine Legion in the Horus Heresy — who cares about all this “marketing” talk anyhow.
“The XIII Legion gene-seed was noted for instilling its recruits with supremely balanced military minds, vigorous one moment and cautious the next. They employed the Strength of Wisdom to fight as one cohesive whole, combining firepower with nearby comrades to destroy the enemy piece by piece.”
Ultramarines Rules Preview
This one is an interesting option for your gunline of Ultramarines. Basically, when you start shooting at one target unit, any additional Ultramarines shooting at that same target can get a +1 to their hit rolls. They do have to be within 6″ of a unit that previously fired at them however.
If you line up your shots correctly, the first unit won’t get the bonus but any subsequent units should be able to benefit. You’ll just need to plan a little bit for your target priority. This also means that the Ultramarines are going to be devastating at taking out single targets efficiently. They are also surprisingly adaptable for such a Legion with such a “rigid” reputation.
You can’t choose the same Logos Lectora Command twice in a row, but you can choose the same one multiple times per game. This is a neat system for the Ultramarines to take advantage of to help with whatever the situation calls for. Need to get to an objective quickly? Full March is the answer. Worried about getting into melee later this turn? Go with Retribution Strike. They have the Swiss Army Knife — how you use it is up to you.
Roboute Guilliman had the most successful empire before he met the Emperor. His Ultramarines should not be underestimated.
What do you think of their rules? Let us know in the comments!
