Hi guys it's Tom here.
Today I will discuss how lord of war choices are made in a
heresy game and a rundown of the lord of war choices in the crusade army list and their strength and weaknesses.
A few disclaimers first. I will not be talking about
primarchs in this article, as that will need a whole article in itself to
properly analyse. Also, I will be talking about units that are specifically in
the crusade army list book, and not superheavy vehicles that have been
introduced after the book's release (such as the stormbird and
knights).
To begin, I will outline how lord of war choices work in the
Forge World Horus Heresy format.
If you play a battle in the age of darkness you need to
follow a 25% rule for lord of war choices. That is that a lord of war choice
cannot be more than 25% of your total points. Additionally, you cannot take a
lord of war choice in games less than 2000 points. For example in a 2000 points
game, you can have a lord of war choice up to 500 points.
There is an optional Leviathan force organisational chart
that allows you to take additional lord of war choices, and can represent any
percentage of your force, although this organisational chart has different
drawbacks and restrictions to take into account.
Another way to add more
superheavy awesomeness to your force is to agree with your opponent that you
are playing an unbound army as per the 40k 7th edition rulebook. This allows
you to take whatever you want, but is a rather contentious issue with some
players as some may think heresy is not balanced for unbound. Therefore seeking
approval from an opponent is key.
Now I will discuss the various lord of war choices that are
listed in the crusade army list.
·
Legion Stormblade:
Ø
Pro's- 2 different firing modes which adds
versatility. Large blast area
Ø
Con's- Needs armoured ceramite or will be susceptible
to meltas in drop pods
Ø
Summary- Overall good tank which in my opinion
is worth its points. Plus who doesn't like a titan scale plasma cannon on a
tank?
·
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer:
Ø
Pro's- Multiple shots at str 10 if you roll well
for the amount of shots it has. Shock pulse is great against other superheavies
to stop their blast weapons for a turn if you penetrate it.
Ø
Con's- Feedback can be annoying as you could lose
a hull point for not penetrating or wounding an enemy unit
Ø
Summary- Compared to the sicaran venator and the
new laser destroyer vindicator this tank is not up to standard for its points.
Its saving grave is that it's a superheavy and so can keep firing until all its
hull points are gone.
·
Typhon Heavy Siege Tank:
Ø
Pro's- Ignores cover strength 10 is awesome! Cheap for the fire output it has
Ø
Con's- short range if you need to reposition and
move the tank
Ø
Summary- One of the best lord of wars in the
list. Having ignores cover with such high strength and low AP means that you
will eradicate most things under the massive blast you place. Great for messing
with a gun-line sat in cover
·
Legion Falchion:
Ø
Pro's- Strength D can be useful for targeting an
important enemy unit, especially other superheavies
Ø
Con's- Only 1 shot
Ø
Summary- With only 1 shot the tank will struggle
to get its points back unless you roll well on the D table and manage to hit
with some shots
·
Malcador Assault Tank:
Ø
Pro's- Cheap and is a fast vehicle
Ø
Con's- Relatively low armour and hull points
Ø
Summary- Doesn't really fill an integral function
in a heresy list. You can get more firepower for less points
·
Legion Fellblade:
Ø
Pro's- All rounder and can take on multiple
enemy units. Lots of hull points. Good range on guns
Ø
Con's- Anti-armour round is only 3 inch blast
Ø
Summary- A versatile and resilient tank that can
take on a range of targets. A solid choice.
·
Legion Glaive:
Ø
Pro's- Beam weapon that ignores cover and has
haywire
Ø
Con's- Effectiveness dependant on enemy
deployment and targets in range. Has to be on the frontline so you don't hit
your own units with the beam which can lead to dangerous positions
Ø
Summary- A versatile main weapon that has the
potential to destroy a lot of models, but a cleaver opponent will deploy so
that you will not get the most out of the beam range. On the plus side, you can
use it to alter the opponent's plans, and to potentially deploy in areas they
don't want to.
·
Thunderhawk Gunship:
Ø
Pro's- Big transport capacity, including units
that otherwise cannot be transported such as bikes
Ø
Con's- Has to come in on reserves, so might not
have enough time on the board to be effective. Susceptible to interceptor fire,
which is common in heresy armies. Expensive
Ø
Summary- You will have a lot of points of your
army in reserves, so you reliant on it coming in turn 2/3 so that occupant can
charge out of it and get their points back
·
Thunderhawk Transporter:
Ø
Pro's- Transports units that otherwise wouldn't
be able to be transported such as land raiders
Ø
Con's- Needs to come on from reserves. Susceptible
to interceptor fire, which is common in heresy armies
Ø
Summary- You will have a lot of points of your
army in reserves, so you reliant on it coming in turn 2/3 for it to be
effective points back.
Please let me know if you would like me to go into more
detail about any of the units I have discussed in this article, or if you want
me to cover a superheavy that's missing from this list.
Thank you very much for reading!
Tom
