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Horus Heresy Exemplary Battles – Scorch the Heads of the Hydra With Faith and Flame

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Another Exemplary Battles PDF is ready to download for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, telling the story of the Disciples of the Flame. These fanatical Salamanders follow the prophecies of their Dreadnought-entombed master, Cassian Dracos, and only the forces of the Alpha Legion stand between them and their mysterious objective beneath Nyrcon City.

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As with previous Exemplary Battles downloads, this document provides a new narrative mission and rules for two units drawn from ancient campaign records and Black Library’s extensive catalogue of novels. Andy Hoare, lead gamesmith for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, is here to tell us more about The Battle of Nyrcon City.

Andy: This is the first Exemplary Battles article for a while, as the Horus Heresy team has been super busy working away on projects far too secret to talk about here! But fear not – from all the feedback we've had, fans of the Horus Heresy setting are really enjoying these articles, so we plan to keep them going as time allows. 

This article tells the story of the conflict between forces of the Salamanders and the Alpha Legion at Nyrcon City, a clash that formed part of the all-consuming war for the Beta-Garmon star cluster. As with all of these articles, the setting and the units are drawn from the vast body of Horus Heresy canon. 

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Nyrcon City first appeared as the location of a Titan battle in the original edition of Adeptus Titanicus, and would later reappear in scenarios for the current edition of that game. Fans of the Alpha Legion who've read the Black Library novel Legion will recognise the pedigree of their unit, and Salamanders fans will be familiar with the themes explored in theirs from previous Horus Heresy campaign supplements.*

This is the penultimate Exemplary Battle for now – don't worry, the last one will also feature two new units – but we have plenty of ideas for future subjects to explore, so we hope to revisit the format with a second wave of articles in the coming months.

Thanks Andy. With our briefing over, let’s have a look at the region where the new mission takes place.

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You can download The Battle of Nyrcon City right here. Building the starring units is up to you – for the Alpha Legion, just combine a resin MKIV Recon Squad with helmets from the Alpha Legion MKIV Heads Set or the Headhunter Kill Team Upgrade Set. For the Salamanders, you’ll want a plastic MKVI Tactical Squad outfitted with MKIII Salamanders Shoulder Pads and armed with heavy flamers, as well as combi-flamers taken from various vehicles. They’re a true challenge for modellers, and a rewarding unit to deploy on the battlefield.

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You can find more Exemplary Battles featuring the Thousand Sons, Space Wolves, and more here on Warhammer Community, with plenty of new units and missions to explore. Come back soon for the final article (for now) and two more units to deploy!

* You can also find rules for Cassian Dracos himself in the free Legacies of the Age of Darkness: Legiones Astartes supplement.