When the death of a key enemy commander, rogue psyker, or vile demagogue would avert potential disaster for the Imperium, the High Lords of Terra authorise the use of their most deadly weapons: Imperial Assassins. Drawn from several diverse temples and possessed of skills far beyond the capabilities of ordinary humans, the assassins are trained to succeed against even the deadliest of foes. They will complete their mission, no matter the cost.
Agents of the Officio Assassinorum have cut down countless important figures since the organisation’s creation. With Warhammer+ giving you the chance to get your hands on an exclusive Vindicare Assassin model*, we picked out a few of our favourite missions to show how deadly the agents of the most widely known Temples – the Culexus, Vindicare, Callidus, and Eversor – truly are.
1. The Second Agrellan Campaign
During the T’au Empire’s Third Sphere Expansion, a retaliatory Imperial blockade of the recently conquered Agrellan system trapped Ethereal Supreme Aun’Va within a secure bunker.
While members of the other Assassin Temples began attacks on Commander Farsight and Commander Shadowsun, a lone Culexus Assassin located the hidden command centre and made straight for the wizened Ethereal.
By making use of their pariah gene, a rare mutation that eliminates a person’s signature in the warp (effectively rendering them soulless), and the ancient technology of their animus speculum, the Assassin shrouded themselves from notice until they were deep within the enemy’s sanctum.
Bursting through a bulkhead door with unleashed fury, the Culexus Assassin slaughtered their way through Aun’Va’s guards and, after a brief chase through the streets outside, cut down the Ethereal Supreme.
It was a heavy blow to the T’au Empire. They were so concerned with the fallout of their spiritual leader’s death that he was swiftly and secretly replaced by holographic AI facsimiles, encoded with Aun’Va’s thought patterns to hide the truth from T’au society.
2. Execution Force Regnum Tribunal
Shortly following the opening of the Great Rift, the Space Marines of the Brazen Drakes were wracked by civil war. Their Chapter Master Argento Corian turned renegade and sought to eliminate all who remained loyal to the Imperium. Although Corian escaped the conflict, word made its way back to Terra and an Execution Force of four assassins was dispatched to end his life.
The assassins found a twisted abomination corrupted by Fabius Bile – the Clonefather had formed an alliance with the remaining Brazen Drakes in what came to be known as the War of the Spider. In their combined assault upon the former Chapter Master, two of the Execution Force were killed, with the Eversor Assassin’s self-destructive bio-meltdown finally putting an end to Argento Corian.
3. The Assassination of Urgak ‘the Unstoppable’
In the early years of the 41st Millennium, it was discovered that the Orks of the Roxanzand sector were rallying behind a powerful Warboss called Urgak the Unstoppable, who had set about gathering together Boyz and war machines from a vast area. Worse still, their Meks had begun construction of a colossal Gargant, which the Imperium couldn’t afford to ignore.
After it was determined that a full-scale military response wouldn’t arrive before the Gargant was complete, an operative from the Vindicare Temple was dispatched to the planet on a high-speed vessel.
The assassin successfully infiltrated the Ork camp, dissolving the bodies of slain sentries with a vicious quick-burning compound, and planted high-explosive charges at key points around the giant war machine’s armoured bulk.
After sneaking back out of the encampment and waiting patiently for several hours on a nearby overlook, the Vindicare Assassin caught sight of the Warboss inspecting his beloved Gargant and ended Urgak’s life with a single bullet through the head.
The bullet then continued onwards, striking the explosives and detonating the walker in a catastrophic chain reaction that killed hundreds of surrounding Orks.
Does your opponent have a hero you’d love to eliminate in a clinical fashion? Subscribers to Warhammer+ can do just that, should you choose the exclusive Vindicare Assassin as your free model for the year.** Once you've been subscribed for 12 consecutive months, you'll get an email explaining how to claim your free miniature, so you can celebrate one year of Warhammer+ by popping some enemy heads at long-range.
Equipped with a deadly Exitus rifle and with the ability to target Characters hiding behind their own front lines, they’re peerless sharpshooters who are especially good at removing supporting units like Haemonculi, Cadre Fireblades, and even renegade Apothecaries.
Don’t forget to keep up to date with the upcoming release of Warhammer+, which is launching on the 25th of August, by signing up for the email newsletter. You’ll be among the first to find out all of the latest information about the animated series, Warhammer TV shows, and more features coming to Warhammer+ every Wednesday following the launch.
* Once you’ve been a Warhammer+ subscriber for 12 consecutive months, you'll get an email explaining how to claim your miniature.
** If you choose the Orruk Megaboss as your free model, you can always opt to buy the Vindicare Assassin too.