The secret is out. A new Warhammer 40,000 battlebox, Shadow Throne, is coming soon, and it reveals the rise of a Genestealer Cult on the sacred soil of Holy Terra itself! That’s a late-Halloween shocker right there.
The Cult is opposed by the mightiest heroes the Imperium can muster – the Talons of the Emperor. Both sides bring a new hero to the fight – the Adeptus Custodes Blade Champion, a consummate master of melee combat (more on him later), and for the Genestealers, the crafty demolitions expert known as the Reductus Saboteur.
As you might expect for a demolitions specialist, the Reductus Saboteur is equipped with explosives of every description, from blasting and demolition charges to frag grenades. What’s more, before battle is joined, a Reductus Saboteur will saturate the battlefield with remote explosives that they can detonate from afar when the enemy draws near – and they’re especially effective against larger, more cumbersome targets.
As if that wasn’t enough, they can perform a special Plant Explosives action, leaving a booby trap in place for an area denial threat. Should your opponent ignore the danger, they’ll suffer explosive consequences.
Even if your opponent attempts to hunt them down, they’ll find that these masters of concealment are all but impossible to pinpoint while in cover thanks to their combination of Cloaked and Clandestine abilities.
In the narrative of Shadow Throne, a strike team of Talons of the Emperor – a combined-arms force of Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence – are attempting not only to rid the Throneworld of the Genestealer Cult, but return with its Patriarch still alive for study. Even for the Emperor’s superhuman personal guard, this is no mean feat!
To stand any real chance of completing such a mission successfully, they need a superlative warrior – one whose martial skill is so sublime that it’s counted beyond even that of his peers. They need a Blade Champion.
This phenomenal warrior has mastered three different fighting styles with which he can cut his way through every type of enemy with contemptuous ease. With six Attacks as standard, he can hit a whopping 12 times when using the Hurricanis technique!
Yet to go toe-to-toe with an opponent as notoriously deadly as a Patriarch, a Blade Champion would surely need more than just killing power alone, right? That’s where his Consummate Swordsman ability kicks in, for his skill with a blade enables him to fend off the attentions of even the deadliest foes.
Another trick up the Blade Champion’s auramite sleeve is his Legacy of Combat ability, which extends the range from which he can make Heroic Interventions and, crucially, allows him to strike first in melee as well. After all, as the old adage goes, the best defence is a good offence, and the Blade Champion is certainly no slouch in that department!
All that and we didn’t even mention that the Blade Champion has a Leadership characteristic of 11. That’s a statement of adamantium willpower and determination if ever there were one.
Shadow Throne will be available to pre-order next month, but while you wait for its glorious arrival, prepare your Terran uprising with a Start Collecting! Genestealer Cults set, or get ready to ruthlessly purge them from the Throneworld with a Custodian Guard Squad or two.