The Spartan is not your average Land Raider. Come see what makes the kind of the Land Raiders so different from all the other marks out there.
Looking for a massive armored transport to successfully carry a large number of troops behind enemy lines? Feast your eyes, then, on the Spartan!
White Metal Games has painted a fantastic Iron Warriors Spartan Assault Tank from Forge World. Take a look at this fantastic paint job as well as some of the rules available for the Spartan Assault Tank. Be sure to watch the entire showcase by pressing play on the video below!
Not Your Average Land Raider: Spartan 40k Showcase
As a commission studio, White Metal Games is great at communicating with their clients and listening to their needs. When asked to match a paint scheme from a previously painted piece (Rob’s own Rhino on the right), they do a fantastic job color matching and getting each new piece to fit in with the old army look. They pay attention to detail, including brass etching, weathering on the treads, and heat fading along the guns. Overall, it looks amazing and will look even better on the tabletop.
The Forge World Spartan is a great model and used to have optional door pieces available, though those might be available now through Horus Heresy.
Rules-wise, there are two different versions, not counting the rules for Horus Heresy: the loyalist Relic Spartan Assault Tank and the heretic Hellforged Spartan Assault Tank.
The Relic Spartan is 497 points while the Hellforged Spartan is 477 points. The Hellforged Spartan’s Weapon Skill is based on wounds, going from 5+ to 3+ as it loses wounds (angry tank is full of angry). The Relic Spartan has a set weapon skill of 5+. They both have other different combat rules. They can transport 25 Infantry, though Terminator and Jump Pack models take up two spaces rather than one.
Centurions take up three spaces. It cannot transport Primaris models!
As it is a Relic Lord of War, you cannot take this with another relic vehicle without having the same amount of non-relic Lords of War. Being Relic, it unlocks a unique stratagem for 2CP: Relic of Ancient Glory.
This allows all Adeptus Astartes models within 6″ to re-roll failed hit rolls for the fight phase the stratagem was used in. As well, it has Power of the Machine Spirit, ignoring the penalty to hit rolls for moving and firing heavy weapons. It also has Steel Behemoth, allowing the model to fall back in the movement phase and still shoot or charge as well as fire its weapons if enemy units are within 1″.
The Hellforged Spartan is, again, lower cost so does not have the same abilities as the Relic one. It does have an equivalent to the Machine Spirit ability, however, thanks to the FAQ so can move and fire heavy weapons without penalty. It can transport Infantry, Terminators, Jump Pack, and Cult of Destruction models. When models disembark from this vehicle, a D6 must be rolled per model.
On each 1, that model is eaten and slain by the Spartan, thanks to the In the Belly of the Beast ability. It is counted as slain and counts towards the Machina Malifica ability. Machina Malifica allows the tank to roll a D6 equal to the number of models slain per fight phase (except overwatch). On 5+, the tank is healed one wound.
Overall, this model is pretty neat and can be fun to play on the table with both options. The tank is easy to assemble, it looks fantastic when painted, and has some unique rules.
For more information on how to get a commission and to see some other awesome miniatures, check out White Metal Games. Be sure to check out the entire showcase below for more details on the Spartan itself!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures. Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. He advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1908s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
