Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness: Top 5 Busted Units
Let’s dig into the most busted units you can bring to Horus Heresy. If you’re taking these – don’t be surprised if you need to find some new friends.
In a game where over the top is the norm and the most “competitive” units can be taken by just about any army, there are units that make even Ascended Horus blush. Lets dig into the most busted stuff you can bring. If you’re taking these you might consider warning your opponent or loading up some friend finder apps after the game.
Acastus Knight Porphyrion
I’m a sucker for big dumb units that have no right being in normal point games…enter the Knight Porphyrion. I had the pleasure of beating up on Dan recently with this big smashy and it certainly didn’t disappoint. While the base points cost of 625 will keep it out of games under 2500pts any match above that is fair game. This behemoth comes stock with 2 twin-linked magma lascannons. These devastating weapons answer the age old question of how do I make a Spartan and its payload DISAPPEAR! 4x Str 10 AP1 Large Blast weapons usually do the trick. Anything this blast template lingers over might as well not be there after the ordinance goes off. Whole squads just get obliterated. If you like there is the option of taking 2x Lascannons that are great at mopping up stragglers, popping light tanks or the unlucky Proteus or Flareshield-less Spartan or shaving a wound off of a dreadnought.
The thing to me that pushes the Porphyrion into god tier is that it also comes with an Ion Shield which grants a 4++ on incoming shots to the front armor and 5++ to anything targeting the side armor. With 9 HPs and 14 front AV this walking death machine has the luxury of staying far back out of most common legion weapons. Lasty it does have access to some interesting rocket options. Given how rare it is to find skyfire on any unit, the Whirlwind Launcher w/ Hyperios Warheads is my pick. Nothing will ruin your day like Xiphon’s running sortees and striking your Porphyion’s rear armor. The Porphyrion is over the top, its big, its dumb, its stompy, it wipes out models by the squad. If money is no object pick one up and bath in your opponents tears.
Contemptor Dreadnought
What’s not to love? It comes in the Age of Darkness box and can easily picked up on ebay for less than $50. This legion staple is easily one of the best units living rent free in players heads since its release. Not only is the Contemptor dreadnought cheap coming in at 175pts base, but it comes in Talons up to 3. They can be equipped for just about any combat scenario but the real magic is in the Gravis Power Fist. This Str 9, AP2 Brutal 3 weapon combined with the WS5 and Initiative 4 of the base Contemptor Chassis creates an unparalleled fixer on the battlefield. With 2+ 5++ saves and T7, Contemptors are a tsunami of hurt that gives most opponents pause.
Every list out there needs some way to deal with these walking cataclysms as the plastic version makes these highly accessible to all players and common as a Prius during commute hours. These crutch… I mean clutch units live in the nightmares of many players, taking more than 1 per 1000 points might land you with a moniker of “that guy.” But this article is all about “that guy” units. Take 17 in a Fury list…DO IT!
Honorable mention: Contemptor-Achillus Deadnought
Much like the aforementioned Contemptor above this little hellion has a a good number of similarities with its legion counterpart. Where it does diverge is in cost and some critical stats. It weighs in at a thealthy 250pts but comes with the added benefit of 1 additional attack and importantly WS6. If you’re looking to crush other dreadnoughts or your opponents close combat focused Terminators and HQs this is a worthwhile option. In the FAQ released shortly after the Liber Imperium release it gained the same Brual (3) Gravis Power Fist found on the legion version. The other important thing to note is that these cannot be taken in talons, with limited Elite slots you’ll be taking far fewer than your legion adversary’s.
Phallanx Warders in the Stone Gauntlet ROW
For all the Imperial Fist fan boys running around this seems to be the competitive go to. Running bricks of 20 under the Stone Gauntlet ROW is seen as the rock that armies crash upon. While not overly punchy they do have enough staying power to frustrate opponents and throw wrenches into most armies game plans. Combined with the Stone Gauntlet they have a 4++ re-rollable save. To top it off you can attach an apothecary to the unit and they become downright impossible to remove. There are few armies out there with enough killing power to take down 2×20 or 3×20 Warder Squads. Now they are fairly expensive in this formation and 40-60 bodies will constitute a majority of an opponents army. The easiest way I’ve found to take out the units is high strength blast weapons that can bypass the Apothecary’s FNP by doubling out models.
Honorable mention: Myrmidon Secutors
Its no surprise to see the Myrmidon Secutors on this list. Though they are not often seen due to the Mechanicum army not making its way to plastic these feisty cyborgs are not to be trifled with. Their statline is the stuff of nightmares for most legions and their plethora of wounds gives them staying power. In my own games I’ve witnessed them go up against scary elite terminators blobs and triumph. Weighing in at a base cost of 150pts they come standard with a myrmidon axe, two maxima bolters, refractor field and frag grenades. They have a burly T5 and a excessive Wound score of W4. You can field them in groups up to 6 meaning that these punchy robo blobs have no trouble getting into double digit wound counts. They are also one of the few units that can take Graviton weapons. Wielding 2 Graviton guns they will absolutely bully Contemptors, Automota and Vehicles and take their lunch money.
I do wish that these guys had a better weapon skill. They come in at WS 4 which isn’t awful but it does make for a lot of failed hits against dedicated WS5 elite terminator units. *They do have hatred everything so they are getting some nice rerolls and that does offset the low WS for a turn. A small note, you definitely want to keep these things away from anything with murderous strike, instant death or the like. Its not often you will find anything that will double them out given their T5 status.
Custodian Guards
I’m sure if you follow this series you’ve probably heard me talk up the Custodian Guard; their incredible stat-line, their relatively inexpensive cost and the fact that they punch well above their own weight (even in an army that punches to frequently and too hard). As someone who probably owns 2% of the vaunted 10,000 along with at least 3 of every vehicle and accessory I’m the epitome of fan boy when it comes to the Emperors own. Custodian Guards make up the vanguard of my army, I generally run around with 20-30 in 3000pt games. With a statline that reads like a HQ unit, WS5, BS5, T5, W2, base 4 attacks, 1 on charge, 1 for a possible Nemesis unit and 1 for potential Reaping Blow and wielding a Str6 AP2 weapon you will generally overkill even large squads of 20 Tactical Marines with a 5 man unit. Best of all they hit at Initiative 5, meaning they will be hitting before nearly everyone.
But what about tank lists and dreadnoughts? Well thats where the stock equipped meltabombs come into play. Guardian Axes are also amazingly efficient at knocking down Contemptors and even Leviathan dreds. They also come with intersting rules like Skirmish, which lets them spread out to 3″ coherency, this makes them hard to bombard with blast weapons. What about challenges you ask? Well any member of the squad is capable of accepting a challenge and in many cases will decimate SGTs, Apothecaries and most HQ units that aren’t kitted for close combat work. The WS5, Initiative 5 and huge number of attacks at Str 6 AP 2 create a monumental task for marine players to overcome, if I had compassion I’d almost care.
Honorable mention: Inner Circle Knights Cenobium
These spicy Dark Angel melee oriented terminators “ain’t nothing to f!@# with” they are exceedingly awesome at removing elite terminators from your opponents forces. Often hailed as the vanguards vanguard, drop a host of these guys into a Spartan or Proteus and race it across the battlefield and watch the tears flow. While pricey they can easily earn their points back given their excellent wargear options in Plasma Casters and Terranic Great Swords. To top it all off they have Order Exemplars which you choose at the beginning of the game to give them added bonuses against particular units types. You can custom tailor this option and send them out with a specific target in mind. They come base with an epic WS5 on the base Cenobium and a staggering WS6 on their sergeant. Even Custodes will take pause here and consider the consequences of a charge.
Golden Keshig
White Scars are the pound for pound kings of shockingly good but rarely seen. Maybe its the white color scheme, maybe its the fact you need a ton of jet bikes…maybe its Maybeline? Either way no Bike Scars list is complete without the elite riders of the Golden Keshig. With absurd movement of 15″, a Str 10, Initiative 8 (on charge), Brutal 3, Lance weapon that fits there ABC (Always Be Charging) playstyle they are exceedingly hard to resist when they line up a charge and skewer whatever is in front of them. Though somewhat delicate they will almost always be found in the company of their mounted primarch or warlord to soak wounds and fend off any challenges that they may encounter. I can’t recommend these guys enough though you ALWAYS want to be landing a charge with them. A skilled players will utilize the fallback reaction to keep these out of charge ranges and counter charge to utilize their amazing lance and insane initiative. You don’t want to leave these out in the open and have them get caught flat footed in a charge.
Well there it all you mad lads. My list of the most busted stuff floating around the Age of Darkness. What scary stuff have you run into? Let us know down in the comments. War stories are welcome!
