While the Space Marine Legions of the Great Crusade showed a fair amount of devotion for their wargear – if not quite to the fanatical degree of their 41st Millennium counterparts – they were still quite willing to make use of expendable assets, and the sheer violence of the Horus Heresy made the deployment of automated weapons platforms an important way to preserve troop numbers.
By far the most common was the Tarantula. This versatile platform could be equipped with many useful weapon systems, and this new kit brings two missile options to the battlefield.
The Tarantula Missile Battery box contains two platforms that can be assembled with Hyperios missile launchers or Orias frag missiles. The Hyperios is an anti-air missile, giving light forces without their own air support* an effective weapon for bringing down enemy attack craft.
By contrast, Orias frag missiles blanket a wide area in lethal shrapnel that’s especially deadly against lightly armoured infantry, often firing from behind a concealed position to ambush marching troops before they even know they’re under attack.
Rather than being fired like normal, Tarantula batteries are entirely reactive and wait completely still and silent before unloading on their pre-programmed targets. Their small size and ease of construction mean that reconnaissance forces can often set them up in forward positions before a battle, or else have them dropped onto the battlefield by fast servo-haulers before combat begins.
The Tarantula Missile Battery is made of plastic and will be released later this year, with rules available as a free download here on Warhammer Community.
* Or the watchful eyes of a Deredeo Dreadnought.
