There are still a lot of questions out there about Legions Imperialis; luckily, GW gave us more details about Xenos, Primarchs, and more!
If you’ve patiently waited for Epic Warhammer 40k to return, it’s being rebranded in the Horus Heresy era as Legions Imperialis. GW showed off the new starter box (we’ll have it below for you), and we have a ton of details about the setting, gameplay, units, and terrain!
However, it looks like Xenos are nowhere to be seen as the game is focusing on Loyalist and Renegade factions from Horus Heresy. Either way, if you want to play on the new Epic-sized scale here are a bunch of details for Legions Imperialis!
GW Reveals More Details About Legions Imperialis Xenos, Primarchs & More
The latest info for Horus Heresy Legions Imperialis and the Epic Scale comes from Warhammer Community.
We’ve already seen the scale of pretty much all the miniature types (which you can check out here), but let’s start with the most burning question on everyone’s minds.
Will We Ever See Warhammer 40k Factions, aka Xenos, in Legions Imperialis?
This is sad news for a giant portion of the player base, and we’re not exactly sure why they will never include 40k. Either way, it looks like the game will be rooted in HH “at the moment.” So there is a glimmer of hope, that one day we could see xenos factions in Legions Imperialis, but it’s rather slim.
Legions Imperialis is a new game which is set firmly in the era of the Horus Heresy, letting you recreate the biggest and bloodiest battles fought in the civil war that set the galaxy aflame. There are no plans to expand this game into Warhammer 40,000 at the moment.
Can I Use My Adeptus Titanicus & Aeronautica Imperialis Models?
We’ve seen that you can use the models for both games, but it looks like anything not included in Legions Imperialis will more or less mean they are gone for AI, and AT they confirm that below.) Considering GW just put a ton of Xenos ships on the Last Chance to Buy List, we think that is a pretty good indicator.
Yes you can. Every Titan and Knight currently available for Adeptus Titanicus is in – including the upcoming plastic Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan. A good portion of the Aeronautica Imperialis range is in too, with Space Marine and Imperial Navy flyers standing by for strafing runs.
This being a Horus Heresy-era game, xenos craft from the Aeronautica Imperialis range will be sitting this one out. Additionally, as the Astra Militarum of the 41st Millennium wasn’t an entity during the Horus Heresy, Vulture Gunships, Valkyrie Assault Carriers, and Vendetta Assault Carriers will not be part of the game. These will be leaving the range soon, so if you want a fleet of tiny Xenos and Astra Militarum aircraft to call your own, pick them up now.
Will the Adeptus Titanicus & Aeronautica Imperialis Still be Supported?
So only things in the Horus Heresy setting will continue forward, meaning all you Xenos players, it seems like you’re just out of luck.
Adeptus Titanicus and Aeronautica Imperialis are both fantastic games that dig into the intricacies of the specific forms of combat they represent. Legions Imperialis is designed to represent a massive combined arms battle on all fronts, and its rules for aircraft and Titans are more streamlined. Support for Adeptus Titanicus and Aeronautica Imperialis (in the Horus Heresy setting only) will continue, so you can continue to play these games alongside this exciting new epic scale game.
What Size Bases Will Legions Imperialis Use?
Besides coming on a new thinner base, they will also be detailed a bit with ruins, with units like the contemptors or tactical squads being on circular 25mm bases.
Units in Legions Imperialis have a new, thinner style of base. As the miniatures are much smaller, a classic Warhammer deep-dish base would create infantry squads on weird little plateaus. The new bases also have detailing on them, to represent the ruins of a 31st Millennium cityscape. They are circular with a 25mm diameter, and are designed to fit in the firing vantage points on top of our epic-scale buildings.
There will also be new bases for Titans and aircraft to match this style. Tanks, as a rule, don’t have bases in Legions Imperialis.
Do you need to rebase your existing models?
No, you don’t need to if you don’t want to, Adeptus Titanicus bases will be perfectly usable in Legions Imperialis. For Aircraft, again it’s up to you, but we believe that the Aeronautica bases might be a bit immersion-breaking, so we’d suggest that you pop them on a Legions Imperialis base for games using this system.
Well, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to, so that’s a good thing.
What Will Epic-Scale Models be Made of?
The majority of Legions Imperialis units are complete plastic kits. Just as in Age of Darkness, Adeptus Titanicus, and Aeronautica Imperialis, certain niche units and upgrades may be made in Forge World resin.
Just like with HH, a lot of the upgrades and certain kits remain in resin, so if you’re familiar with that, it will probably be the same thing.
Which Factions Will be Supported?
Right out of the gate, there will be releases and army list support for the Space Marine Legions and the Solar Auxilia. These will remain as the initial focus of the game, but as time goes on Legions Imperialis will expand into some of the more esoteric factions that participated in the Horus Heresy. But wouldn’t you know it, we can’t say which ones yet…
We’ll have to wait and see, but there are plenty of legions and factions involved in the HH, so who knows? Maybe we’ll even get some more obscure miniatures.
Are There More Models Coming?
You betcha. As alluded to in the reveal article, plenty more miniatures are in the pipeline for Legions Imperialis, with the first wave arriving within weeks of the launch box. We’ll be starting with those units common to all Space Marines Legions and Solar Auxilia forces, rather than Legion-specific specialists.
This isn’t a big surprise, as they never release just a single box.
When Can I Buy an Epic Scale Primarch?
Wouldn’t that be something?
Well, if you remember back in old Epic, they did have plenty of Primarchs available! So let’s hope they keep the trend going and make them all! Maybe we’ll actually get an Epic Fulgrim before we do in 40k…
Has the Scale Changed Since Epic 40,000?
Sort of. Your classic Epic games of yesteryear had a fairly inconsistent scale: tanks, infantry and Titans were only roughly proportionally in line with each other. Legions Imperialis, on the other hand, is far more consistent. Infantry is the same size in relation to vehicles as their larger Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness equivalent miniatures would be. Generally speaking, the new models are much more detailed, and a little bigger.
Considering the scale of Horus Heresy in general has gone up, the scale of this game will also go up slightly.
Can I Use My Old Epic Miniatures?
If you like. Over the course of Warhammer history, there have been more than a handful of games that feature small tanks and even smaller infantry battling between the legs of sky-scraping Titans. If you have these older models in your collection and want to use them, we’d suggest that you discuss it with your opponent before the game, so you’re all clear on what each model represents.
Obviously, there will be some differences, but if you’ve managed to keep a hold of your old models, you might as well throw them down on the table!
How Big is a Game?
The bigger the better. You can theoretically play a game of Legions Imperialis with a handful of troops and tanks, but that’s not really what it’s for. You’ll get the best experience with vast armies, where the actions of one squad, tank, or even a Titan, are just cogs in a vast strategic picture. In most games you’d ideally be looking for 100+ playing pieces on the table.
It’s called Epic scale for a reason! You want as many models as you can get down on the table.
Horus Heresy: Legions Imperialis Starter Set
Here is the latest on Horus Heresy: Legions Imperialis from Warhammer Community.
Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Legions Imperialis is an all-new game set at the time of the Horus Heresy. While your standard 3,000-point battle of the larger-scale Age of Darkness constitutes a slice of a larger engagement, Legions Imperialis is that battle in full, with dozens of tanks and hundreds of infantry striving for supremacy and advancing to battle between the legs of Knights and Titans. It’s battle on a new scale.
The game deploys in August, with a huge Core Set containing a massive collection of exquisite epic scale miniatures, alongside a rulebook, dice, tokens templates, and measuring sticks.
The launch box arrives in August of 2023, five years after the launch of Adepticus Titanicus, which kicked off the push to this new scale.
There are a whopping 223 miniatures in the box, split between Space Marines, Solar Auxilia, and Titans. That’s 106 Space Marine infantry and walkers, five Space Marine tanks, 104 Solar Auxilia infantry and walkers, six Solar Auxilia tanks, and two Warhound Titans with brand-new plastic weapon options.
This is undoubtedly a massive release, with tons of plastic minis to get us started gaming again at an Epic scale!
There are also two squads of Assault Marines for rapid combat manoeuvres, two units of Support Legionaries with plasma guns and two with missile launchers, all backed up by two bases of five Legion Cataphractii Terminators.
So let’s take a closer look at each of these tiny models that are all scaled with both the Adepticus Titanicus and Aeronautical Imperials line at approximately 1:4 the size of a Warhammer 40k miniature!
Click Here For The Latest Warhammer Previews
What do you think about Horus Heresy: Legions Imperialis, which brings back Warhammer 40k miniatures on a smaller scale?
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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!
