Legions Imperialis: Aircraft On The Tabletop Rules Preview
Games Workshop is previewing how the Aircraft rules will work in Legions Imperialis. Get ready to call in the air support!
Legions Imperialis is going to allow players to build combined arms forces with infantry, tanks, artillery, aircraft, and of course Titans! We’ve been wondering how the aircraft of the Grimdark will fit in this game and today we’re getting our first real look at the rules for these vehicles. They are going to be some of the fastest moving things on the battlefield and will provide some unique support options.
“There are many planes on offer to the generals of the Horus Heresy – courtesy of Aeronautica Imperialis, from which you can use nearly all of your Imperial aircraft. These flying machines work slightly differently to the rest of the game, starting the game in Reserve and roaring across the field to strafe, bomb, intercept, and deliver troops to vital areas. Here’s how it works.”
Call In The Air Support
The first important thing to note is the keyword of Flyer. All models with this special rule work the same way in that they all start the game off the battlefield. Yep, you’re reading that right! They are going to come screaming in after deployment! Additionally, all flyers can only be issued an Advance or March Order.
“When activated in the Movement phase, they begin touching the battlefield edge – anywhere within 8” of your battlefield edge – and then move in a straight line, making at most a single 90-degree turn.”
Honestly, this is already a more realistic implementation of flyers than in games of 40k. Is it better? We’ll have to see how it plays out on the tabletop. I think with the epic scale and the board sizes these aircraft will have enough airspace to actually move around and interact closer to how actual aircraft in combat airspace. It won’t ever be a 1:1 replication of that. However, this will be closer and I think it’s worth exploring!
In the Combat phase they will be able to draw line of sight to basically everything on the battlefield on account of them, ya know, flying. They might not have the range to hit everyone but they will have plenty of options when it comes to targeting things.
Additionally, at the end of the round, flyers are then removed from the battlefield and placed back in Reserve. You’ll track their wounds they have taken but they are now going to be swinging around for another pass. Now you might be wondering how this movement will impact close combat, holding objectives, and enemy movement — the flyers won’t really be interacting with any of that. They can’t engage in close combat, they can’t hold objectives, and they won’t prevent enemies from moving either.
Shooting at flyers is also different. They can only be hit on a natural roll of a 6 and they ignore templates. The only exception to these rules is the Skyfire trait that allows both regular shooting and templates to hit normally. And yes, most flyers do have weapons with the Skyfire trait.
Time to rebase some Aeronautica Imperialis minis…
There different types of aircraft in the game as well. One example is Interceptors. These are lighter aircraft that are really geared for going after the enemy’s aircraft and have bonuses for taking on other flyers.
The -2 to hit penalty might seem harsh but remember that that’s on top of their attacks coming in the regular shooting phase. So these bonus attacks should help tip the scales if you’re having to dominate in a dogfight. If you’re wondering what aircraft fit in this category, GW spells it out with the four initial Interceptor flyers:
- Xiphon Interceptor
- Thunderbolt
- Lightning
- Avenger
Here’s our first look at the Avenger flyer’s rules. This is also gives us some basic stats for flyers, too. Note there are firing arcs to their weapons…that will be important when trying to line up a shot!
Another type of aircraft are the Bombers of the skies. These are larger aircraft designed to drop the heavy payloads on targets. They even have special weapon traits like Bombing Run:
Once the bombing run is over the flyer can continue as normal — that includes its movement and shooting.
A third type of aircraft is the Transport. As you can tell from the name these flyers are there to help shuttle units into the fight exactly where you need them and have a few rules to help do that.
There are also various types of transports with variations of the special rule like Transport, Assault Transport, and Large Assault Transport.
“Units carried in a transport can only be issued with Advance or March Orders, so they can only move and shoot when they get out. Assault transports allow troops to charge right out of the cargo bay into close combat, and large transports can carry walkers and units with the Bulky trait (Terminators, for instance).”
Here’s a look at the iconic Thunderhawk. And as you can tell, it’s a chonky aircraft that has multiple threats it brings. From deadly shooting to the ability to drop off a BUNCH of infantry it’s iconic for a reason! Also, it’s got a few other special rules that GW hasn’t covered yet. But I think we can guess at what Jink and Hover do…
That’s all for Flyers in Legions Imperialis for now. Get ready to fly the unfriendly skies!
