Horus Heresy: The Care and Feeding of Deredeo Dreadnought
Space Marine players, the formidable Deredeo Dreadnought is hitting tables along with the rest of the Horus Heresy Battle Group box. Here’s how to best use yours.
Dreadnoughts, ever the versatile space marine option, currently have plastic versions of the burly Contemptor, the hulking Leviathan and finally the shy Deredeo. While Contemptors and Leviathans are best suited mixing it up in the shifting tides of frontline combat, the Deredeo is a different beast entirely. You’ll find these elusive shooting platforms are best positioned at the rear of your deployments where they can outrange and outgun their opposition. Due to the fact that they don’t have a specialized close combat weapon such as the Contemptor’s gravis power fist or Leviathan’s siege drill, their close combat ability is dubious at best. What they do bring to the table is a durable firing platform that can reach out from range with heavy weapons. Beyond that they have the Boreas Air Defense Battery as an option, which is great for intercepting and shooting down your opponent’s fliers. The downside, in the words of Eminem, is, “you only get one shot.”
With GW/FW running out of Horus Heresy tanks to produce I can only imagine the next thing on the list is going to be Storm Eagles, Fire Raptors, Xiphons and other fliers which I suspect will become more popular as they are released in plastic. Be ready for these beauties with a dreadnought bristling with firepower and effective anti-air capabilities.
The Deredeo Kit
On the hobby side of things, the Deredeo is parts heavy but accurate to its FW resin origins. The pose-ability is somewhat stiff and magnetizing it for multiple weapons requires the exclusion of cable attachments or ammo belts running from the gun arms to the torso…but it is possible to make all the variants with this minor change. I’m a fairly experienced builder, and this took about an hour, maybe a little more with sanding, fitment and basing. Its a wonderful kit to work on. If you’ve built a Leviathan or Contemptor the assembly will feel familiar.
Deredeo Dreadnought Loadouts
I think you need to have a very specific set of targets in mind for this unit. The shooting it puts out is threatening, but its effectiveness is entirely dependent upon what it is set up to kill.
For Shooting at Tanks – Arachnus Heavy Lascannon Battery, Boreas Air Defense, Twin Linked Heavy Bolter. With this loadout you get formidable shooting that should have a good chance of popping a tank. Take into account 2 shots, twin linked at Str10 AP2 w/ Sunder and Exoshock (5+). The only thing I don’t love about this loadout is the AP2, it makes the armor pen roll crucial. This loadout is really trying to knock a tank out in a round, not necessarily glance it to death. Don’t forget about Sunder, make sure you’re fishing for Armor Penetration if the situation is right. If you are trying to build an all-comers list you should consider the Boreas Air Defense battery, but it is easily swapped for the Aiolos Missile Launcher for an additional 5pts.
For Shooting at Terminators/ Massed Infantry – Hellfire Plasma Cannonade, Aiolos Missile Launcher, Twin Linked Heavy Bolter. This loadout is going to scare the crap out of elite Terminator blobs. Not only will it double anything at T4 out with a failed save regardless of number of wounds, but you’re going to cover some significant area with a 5″ Large Blast. As with all plasma weaponry, the 4+ rending is a nice touch. Don’t forget to roll the D6 to see if you Get Hot when you fire the Maximal version of this yeet cannon.
How the Deredeo Plays
Real talk, you’re taking this thing for 3 reasons:
1. You want a durable range combatant that will likely be more survivable than a light tank with a similar firing capability. Are you packing the same heat as a tank, no, but you’ll certainly take more hits and not be losing weapons as you do.
2. You have “friends” that are consistently bringing things like Xiphon’s or Fire Raptor’s that can create a lot of havoc on the battlefield due to the fact that standard weaponry can only hit them on 6’s. The Boreas air Defense missile is there to tackle those tough fliers, though it is only 1 shot.
3. These are not inexpensive points wise. Weighing int at base 205pts with no discount on a second one, they fight over an already bloated Heavy Slot that has other standouts like the Kratos, Leviathan, Predator Squadrons, Scorpius Squadrons, and Heavy Support Squads. Cool as these are they are not often seen because there are better contenders in the slot.
What Legions are a Good Fit?
Iron Hands
This is the go-to for any dreadnought heavy list. The -1 to strength of your opponent’s weapons against your army makes everything harder to kill…including dreadnoughts. The Iron Hands legion trait makes already tough units tougher. With your Deredeo sitting in the rear of your lines, the quantity of weapons that an opponent has to reach out and touch you should be limited. Iron Hands have a distinct advantage when it comes to running dreadnoughts, might as well abuse it.
Iron Warriors
You ever put hazard stripes on a speed boat? You should consider it. All joking aside, the Iron Warriors Legion Trait (Wrack & Ruin) is amazing for the Deredeo. While its entirely possibly that you’ll be shooting infantry, I suspect you’ll have your eye on more sporting targets such as Automata, Dreadnoughts, Vehicles and dare I say buildings? Just the thing that the Iron Warriors Legion Trait is great for. That increase to the strength of shooting is no joke and will be something your opponents will come to loathe.
Bargain Build for Iron Warriors – Anvillus Autocannon Battery, Twin Linked Heavy Bolter, Aiolos Missile Launcher. Abuse that +1 Str to weapons against your opponents Vehicles, Automata, Dreads and Buildings. Don’t forget that the Anvillus Autocannon Battery has rending (5+) which allows you to add D3 Str to your attack against vehicles and buildings and you have sunder that allows for re-rolls of Armor Penetration and Glancing hits. The twin-linked Anvillus Autocannon Battery is also surprisingly adept at knocking down aircraft. 4 shots, twin-linked is nothing to sneeze at.
Final Deredeo Dreadnought Thoughts
I’m incredibly happy to see that GW has moved past the plethora of tanks that started the Horus Heresy release train and moved on to a wider variety of units. With a summer jam-packed full of 30k goodness we saw the preview of Empowered Fulgrim in all his Demonic glory as well as MK3 plastic marines. I’m elated to see that GW has not forgotten about Horus Heresy and is actively listening to the community in regard to releases. Also on the horizon is 30k Epic which I have high hopes for and look forward to integrating into campaigns locally here in Texas. Keep roll’in them bones!
