In the fallen age of the 41st Millennium, the battles of the Horus Heresy are the stuff of distant legend. The forces that once fought over the destiny of the Imperium are shattered beyond repair, and much of the technology of those times has been lost in the mists of millennia and the pyre of countless burning forge worlds. While there are still odd Chapters that may have archaic and revered warmachines from the Age of Darkness in their stasis vaults, such examples are vanishingly rare, and certainly never the backbone of a force in the Era Indomitus.
In years past, many war machines of the Horus Heresy have received rules for Warhammer 40,000. In the new edition, these units will return as Legends of the Horus Heresy – still very much usable in your games, but leaving competitive tournament battlefields to the core Warhammer 40,000 miniatures range.
Using Horus Heresy models in the #New40k
The Warhammer Design Studio are creating free datasheets for the Legends of the Horus Heresy – even including the elusive Chaos Kratos. You’re free to use these rules in your games wherever or however you play them – at home, in stores, or gaming clubs, both for narrative campaigns and matched play games.
The following datasheet works for Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines alike – the latter receive an army rule card in addition, which shows you which keywords to switch out.
The only place you won’t be able to use these datasheets is in a competitive environment – particularly at official Warhammer 40,000 tournaments. It’s important to also note that they won’t receive changes or balance updates as the edition develops and the meta shifts.
This highlights another practical reason for these changes, besides the divergence in setting.
Balance is really important for many players, and us too - especially for competitive events. You’ve probably noticed that the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy range has been expanding recently, and will continue to do so. This means that Space Marines armies in Warhammer 40,000 (who are already, let’s be honest, spoiled for choice) have been receiving even MORE options to pick from, and balancing this ever increasing range of miniatures for competitive games has become unwieldy.
The Legends of the Horus Heresy rules ensure that collectors who have these models can still have rules, and those players who want a balanced, living game can have that too. At the same time, this also makes it much easier for newer players wanting to attend their first event, to work out what they can actually put in an army, and where those rules are.
All in all, we think this is the best compromise. It’s worth saying that there are several armies with Horus Heresy-era models that are older marks of contemporary Warhammer 40,000 units, like, for example, the Land Raider. There won’t be specific rules for these, but you should absolutely feel free to use the appropriate Warhammer 40,000 datasheet to represent these units in your game.
Exceptions to the Test of Time
There are always exceptions. The war machines of the Knight Households and Titan Legions have endured for 10,000 years,* and these models will continue to receive supported rules for Warhammer 40,000 in a downloadable Imperial Armour Index. These will continue to receive balance updates going forwards, and will therefore be usable in competitive settings.
The forthcoming plastic Cerastus Knight Lancer is a case in point – loyal Imperial Knights and wretched Chaos Knights alike will soon be able to field these leggy lords of war.
The Adeptus Custodes are another exception. The Emperor’s guardians have used the same advanced machinery for thousands of years, maintaining Caladius Grav-tanks and Aquilon Terminator armour in pristine condition. Auramite doesn’t degrade – and let’s face it, they’ve been sitting on their hands for the last few millennia, unlike the never-ending attrition endured by the Space Marines.
Here’s a guide for what the upcoming Legends of the Horus Heresy will cover:
Legends of the Horus Heresy units:
(for use in matched and narrative play, but not competitive events)Leviathan, Contemptor, and Deredeo Dreadnoughts
Kratos, Sicaran, Spartan, Cerberus, and Typhon Tanks
Certain variants of the Land Raider, the Vindicator, and the Whirlwind
Xiphon Interceptors, Fire Raptors, Storm Eagles, and Storm Birds
Legion Support Weapons
Fellblades, Falcions, Mastodons
Javelins, Dreadnoughts and Deathstorm Drop Pods
Secutarii Hoplites and Peltasts, and Terrax-pattern Termites
Decimators, Greater Blight Drones, Blood Slaughterers, Greater Brass Scorpions, Kytan Ravagers, the Kharybdis Assault Claw, and the Dreadclaw Drop Pod
Imperial Armour Units, That are also in the Horus Heresy
(for use in matched and narrative play, including competitive events)
Adeptus Custodes units
Imperial Knights
Going forward, new units added to Warhammer: The Horus Heresy will only receive Warhammer 40,000 rules where it would be appropriate – in other words, where a unit might be considered at least somewhat common in the 41st Millennium.
The Legends of the Horus Heresy datasheets will be available for download in June, as will Imperial Armour datasheets, ready to use in #New40k.
* Or stagnated, depending on your perspective.