It turns out, GW wasn’t trolling all of us with the tiny picture of the Imperial Guard Codex cover, as Lord Solar Leontus is a real thing…
If you look closely, and we mean very closely, you can see what looks like a man riding a horse on the cover of the new Imperial Guard codex, but it really feels like a quick little troll from GW than something actually hidden in plain sight.
Obviously, they know we all want Rough Riders, well, at least we do. So, it feels like they knew we would all be inspecting the picture with a magnifying glass, or maybe we aren’t believing enough…
New Imperial Guard Lord Solar Leontus Miniature: October 31, 2022
The Imperial Guard has a new mini to lead them into battle, and he is actually on the cover art for the army box! This is the last of the promised reveals, but who knows what else we’ll get before the new Cadia Stands army box set actually drops.
The new model was unveiled by Warhammer Community along with a new rule and the codex art for the book coming in the Cadia Stands army box!
As the Lord Commander Solar, Arcadian Leontus sits among the highest echelons of the Imperium, boasting an unimaginable roll of titles, peerages, ranks, and probably a whole gaggle of attendants tasked solely with ensuring that his horse has enough cyber-hay.
The model itself is interesting, and the base is definitely cool. It also looks like they left plenty of room on the cape to really go crazy with some painting effects.
With an army of logistical advisers, priests, tacticians, tarot readers, prophets, seers, confidants, and sub-commanders at his beck and call, Lord Solar Leontus is personally responsible for hundreds of stunning Imperial victories. Though his remit is technically confined to the defence of the Segmentum Solar, Leontus has led campaigns far beyond its boundaries. How else, he argues, can he protect Holy Terra from distant foes?
There are plenty of details all over the model, and if you want someone striding into battle at the spearhead of your forces, why not bring him along?
His steed Konstantin is decades old, now largely cybernetic and clad in gleaming armour. From this lofty perch, Arcadian Leontus commands the men and women of the Astra Militarum as they endure horrifying battles in their mission to protect the Imperium from the heretic, the mutant, and the alien.
Obviously, it was Lord Solar Leonatus on the cover of the Imperial Guard codex. While some thought GW might be trolling us with that one, it turned out true!
Unorthodox use of the tarot readers of The Collegiate Astrolex gives Leontus the ability to change one of his army’s secondary objectives or Agendas on the cusp of battle, reacting to his foe’s plans. Or if he’s feeling secure in his tactical choices, he can proceed with steely confidence and gain an additional Command point in the first Command phase.
Being able to change your secondaries based on your opponent is pretty sweet actually, and if you already like your choices, you just get a command point for free!
New Cadian Stands Army Box Imperial Guard Codex Cover
Lord Solar Leontus (and Konstantin) feature on the cover of the forthcoming Codex Astra Militarum, which will be available first in the Cadia Stands: Astra Militarum Army Set.
The artwork for this book is really cool and just shows off the strength of the Guard as they stand against all forms of invaders!
Games Workshop Trolls Everyone With New Imperial Guard Codex Cover
Thanks to this investigative research from Sepulchre of Heroes, we have some great shots of the “new” Imperial Guard Codex cover…
If you ask us, this looks a lot like a man on a horse, but it also looks oddly familiar. It’s hard to think of anything other than a horse rising up, but we’ll get an even more enhanced image!
Then when you get really close, it looks pretty obvious, but, the reason it feels like a troll, as Sepulchre of Heroes also pointed out. is that this image could easily be from any of the following existing art.
Or perhaps it IS the new Imperial Guard codex cover, just digitally distorted to allow for yet another big GW reveal.
It honestly looks like they flipped this photo of Napoleon, and changed the background up a bit. But, who knows, maybe it will be a glorious Death Korps of Krieg rider leading his forces to victory. Maybe we will get a named character on a horse, and this is actual codex art.
However… we wouldn’t get hopes too high for that, as it feels a little bit too much like a cheeky troll from GW.
Would you like to see a named character on a horse on the cover of the new Imperial Guard Codex?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
