The iconic void-sealed armour of the Solar Auxilia protects these elite infantry from the rigours of hazardous and alien battlefields in the Age of Darkness, while their finely-tuned lasrifles unleash volleys of blistering death. While their personal equipment may lack the raw power of Legiones Astartes wargear, these cohorts make up the difference with discipline, numbers, and a style all their own.
Each Lasrifle Section box builds 20 Auxiliaries, who can be deployed as two 10-model units or a single large Section. This includes plenty of command equipment, so you can build an Auxilia Sergeant, a vox operator, and a vexilla standard bearer – with two different icons – for each squad.
All 20 miniatures can attach bayonets to their lasrifles, giving them an extra punch in close combat, and the kit includes a wealth of grenades and pouches to adorn their belts. You can freely mix-and-match different leg poses, head poses, and lasrifle arms for extra variety, and you’ll even find cosmetic blast-charger cells that fit right onto a lasrifle’s cylinder.
The Sergeant gets a fancy chestplate and a choice of heads, and can augment their arsenal with an absolute array of weapons. They can tote a laspistol, blast pistol, needle pistol, plasma pistol, or hand flamer in one hand, while swinging a power sword, power fist, or charnabal sabre in the other.
Solar Auxilia armies are directed in battle by Tactical Command Sections, comprising an Auxilia Captain* and four Companion support staff, who augment the basic Lasrifle Section with a packed upgrade sprue. The Solar Auxilia Battle Group army box previewed at the Las Vegas Open includes a full Tactical Command Section in addition to its Lasrifle Sections – you can also use it as a Line Command Section in charge of a larger Infantry Tercio formation.
The Auxilia Captain is covered head to toe in Imperial iconography and fine trim, with a choice of bare or helmeted heads, and has access to the same extensive armoury as the Auxilia Sergeant. His Companions augment the standard Solar Auxilia infantry models with a variety of extra parts, including ornamented chestplates and helmets to set them apart from mere line troops. The kit also includes a cohorts vexilla banner, a command vox, and an augury scanner to equip your Companions for command roles.
Alternatively, the Auxilia Captain can be built as a Legate Marshal* – a celebrated (or feared) commander who throws off the shackles of an attendant unit to better inspire the troops under their command. This further increases their arsenal, adding a volkite serpenta, an inferno pistol, an archaeotech pistol, a thunder hammer, a paragon blade, and a melta bomb – all of which are also included in the kit. Plus another, even more impressively plumed helmet – this is the Imperium, after all.
Of course, this means your support staff will have no-one to support. While you could always use these models to reinforce your other Tactical Command and Line Command Sections,** you can also promote them to a personal Lifeward Section, entrusted with the Legate Marshal’s safety (and their spare weapons). You’ll soon find rules for these personal protectors in The Battle for Beta-Garmon.
Both units are available first in the Solar Auxilia Battle Group set, alongside a new Leman Russ Strike Tank, an Aethon Heavy Sentinel, and a Dracosan Armoured Transport. This will be available for pre-order imminently, and the individual kits will receive standalone releases shortly after.
* The officers of the Solar Auxilia actually go by a dizzying variety of titles, but much like “Praetor” and “Centurion” for the Legiones Astartes, “Legate Marshal” and “Captain” are decent catch-all terms.
** In fact, the Tactical Command Section kit includes enough parts to build an extra Companion model – so if you have a spare base lying around, you could make a whole Line Command Section even without the Legate Marshal.