Spikey Bits » Warhammer 40k Rumors » Legions Imperialis: Rumors, Epic-Scale Rules & Models LATEST

Here is your guide to Legions Imperialis and everything you need to know about epic scale games, new models, rules & more!

GW showed off the Horus Heresy: Legions Imperialis stater box (we’ll have it below for you), and we have a ton of details about the setting, gameplay, units, and terrain!

If you’ve patiently waited for Epic Warhammer 40k to return, this is it!

Best of all, Adeptus Titanicus is not going away! You can use all your AT units as they are the identical Epic Scale as Horus Heresy: Legions Imperialis.

Obviously, the Epic Scale of Legions Imperialis is much smaller than the usual 40k miniatures. Now we have a ton of size comparisons for both and can see just how big the details will be for painting.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest for Legions Imperialis:

How to Play Legions Imperialis: Phases & Gameplay Demo

Here’s how to play Legions Imperialis, how the turns will work, and what phases will be involved with the game- check it out!

While we’ve seen plenty of the miniatures in the starter box, it’s always nice to get more details of how the game will play out on the tabletop, especially with the game finally coming out amid many delays.

We know the games will be 3,000 points, but having some actual mechanics is better! Let’s get into all the new rules and phases.

Games Workshop Confirms How to Play Legions Imperialis

The new rules for how to play Legions Imperialis come from Warhammer Community.

Before you do anything, you’ll need to summon some troops to march under your banner. This starts with picking an Allegiance – either Loyalist or Traitor – then choosing which faction you’ll use as your Primary Army List. At present, you may either pick Legiones Astartes or Solar Auxilia, but you can take allies.

Individual armies are made up of Detachments, which function like units in other games – squadrons of tanks, entire platoons of infantry, or singular massive war machines. These are organised into Formations, which provide your army list with a strong thematic core when you’re picking Detachments. Each army must have at least one Formation for every 1,500 points in its total cost.

This means you’ll be forced to have at least two different formations in a full-size game, but from the sample army lists we saw, they had many more than that.

How to Play Legions Imperialis Orders Phase

Unlike other Warhammer games you may have played, Legions Imperialis has players constantly swapping control during a turn, rather than taking them one after another. This keeps the action dynamic, despite time spent on strategic planning, and forces players to adapt quickly to unexpected moves from their opponent.

Every Detachment must be given an Order, which is issued in secret during the Orders phase. Each player places tokens face-down next to their Detachments, which are then flipped over simultaneously once everyone’s done.

Orders allow Detachments to do anything from standing in place and shooting – which gives them an advantage over anything choosing to move and shoot – to marching and charging into close combat. Not only will players have to try and predict what their opponent might do, but they must also ensure their plans will work regardless of who claims the Initiative.

This is an interesting mechanic used in other games and can be really fun! You basically have to decide how important going first is and doing less. Plus, with the tokens face down, it adds a fun little mind game aspect to it.

The Initiative Phase

Legions Imperialis is a game of alternating activations, where players take turns to move or fight with individual Detachments in each phase. So even though you won’t need to watch your army weather an entire turn’s worth of firepower before responding in kind, it’s still important which of your Detachments you activate first, as battles can hinge on a key unit being utilised at the right time.

Seizing the Initiative is no more trying than winning a roll-off with your opponent, but whoever wins can choose who goes first. If you’d rather wait for the enemy to come to you, or just want to play some crazy mind games, try letting them make the first move.

The initiative is still hinged on a dice roll, but if you win, you can choose to either go first or second, which is obviously a big deal. It looks like you will roll each turn from the sound of it, which could be really interesting.

The Movement Phase

Starting with the one who holds the Initiative, players activate one of their Detachments and move it according to the Order they were given. Advancing units are able to move and fire while Charging units trade the ability to shoot for extra speed and the opportunity to get into close combat with their foe.

Detachments may also March, doubling their movement (or tripling it if they’re dismounted Infantry). Charging units can also lock opponents in close combat before they enact their own Orders, making Initiative vital in close engagements where fights are often quick and bloody.

It looks like if you are charging, you cannot shoot, and once you lock an enemy into combat, they can’t make their own activations that turn, so lock down those big shooting units in combat!

The Combat Phase

Ranged and melee combat both take place in the Combat phase, where action alternates between each player. Crucially, Detachments which took the Fire First Order give up their chance to move in return for shooting before any other units fight – which is as powerful an advantage as it sounds.

If you’re already in range to shoot, you gain a massive advantage by not moving and can possibly whittle down or destroy your enemy before they have a chance to fire back.

These Detachments resolve their attacks one by one – once again via alternating actions – followed by all Combats – melee encounters in which opposing Detachments have come into base-to-base contact. Finally, any Detachments given an Advance Order can unload their guns at the enemy. 

Morale checks are taken during the Combat phase once an attack has finished resolving. Failure will change that unit’s Order to Fall Back, forcing them to back away from combat. Should a Formation take casualties equal to or exceeding half its original strength, it will also become Broken, and any remaining Detachments will find it much harder to fight effectively.

Even in the same detachment, you alternate actions, which should make each turn much more interesting instead of one person just getting to blast the other off the board. Melee comes after shooting, and if you lose the combat, you have to actively fall back and can even break.

The End Phase

During the End phase, any units with a Fall Back Order will attempt to flee via their own battlefield edge. Fleeing units may take further damage if they’re forced to move through enemy Detachments during their escape, and failing subsequent Morale checks will keep them running headlong for safety/making a disciplined and tactical withdrawal.** Importantly, fleeing units cannot be issued Orders in the next round.

Finally, Victory Points are scored in missions that use them, according to a range of parameters. Once everything is resolved, a new round begins.

Well, much like fantasy, your fleeing units run directly for the edge of the board! You’ll have to rally them before they can get in the fight. Lastly, you add up victory points and move on to the next round!

What Kind of Value Will the Legions Imperialis Starter Box Have? (November 10th, 2023)

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. 

There are a ton of models in the starter box, but before we break down the value, let’s look at the other Legion Imperialis kits to see how many models come in them and what we think they will cost.

What Will Individual Legions Imperialis Kits Cost?

Games Workshop has been value careful with not mentioning anything about how the contents of the Start Box would be packaged as individual kits. That being said, there are plenty of clues out there as to what the contents and pricing may be.

First up, there is a “large vehicle box” that Games Workshop said will contain four spartan tanks.

The same is true for the fantastic new Kratos tank as well!

When you look at the “smaller” tanks like the Russ chassis, they say those boxes will contain eight tanks.

Meanwhile, the Rhino looks to be coming in packs of 10.

A pack of 10 plastic Rhinos gives you a massive tactical advantage over a foot-slogging foe, and they’ll get to their destination safe and sound when flanked by four powerful Kratos tanks – so detailed, they could be mistaken for their full-size counterparts.

For Drop Pods, you also get 4 to a box, which means they will probably have about the same number of sprues as the Spartans. Then, when you start moving into things like the Land Speeders, you go back to eight models to that box.

The Solar Auxilia Support Box features a bunch of smaller weapon batteries, so you get 12 of them in one box. At this point, it just feels like GW may be potentially making every box cost the same by adjusting the number of models in each kit.

For your basic Infantry that comes on 25mm bases, you have the Legions Astartes and the Solar Auxillera Infantry sets. These sets will come with a whopping 22 and 26 bases, respectively.

Build the core of a flexible Space Marine army with the Legiones Astartes Infantry set, collecting eight squads of Tactical Legionaries, four Contemptor Dreadnoughts, and an assortment of supporting troops into one convenient package.

This box might be an outlier, as you get eight Dreadnoughts and eight weapon batteries, but the batteries might be small enough they still fall in the same price point.

Another outlier may be the new plastic Dire Wolf Titans box!

So, what does all this mean? Well, it looks like GW is trying to make a one-price fits for their Legions Imperialis offerings, and we thought the most likely price per box would be $60. However, so far, it has turned out to be $50, like some of the new Tyranids troop boxes.

Things like the Dire Wolf Titans could be at least $75, as that was the most recent price for the Warhound two-pack when it was last available from the Warhammer Webstore.

Now let’s look at what Aeronautica Imperialis releases went for when they came out as a possible price point for Legions Imperialis.

Aeronautica Imperialis Pricing

The Xiphon Interceptor squad went for $42, but these came out before the latest price increases, and with LI being a new game, we don’t see GW going back in time to match the price. Also noteworthy is that the Thunderhawk was sold as one kit, also for $42 back in 2021.

While this is much lower than the $60 mark, it might give some credence for each box only being priced at $50.

So, with this in mind, we can actually make a reasonable estimate of the potential value of the Legions Imperialis Starter Box Set!

Legions Imperialis Starter Box value

Besides the tanks, the rest of these prices are now confirmed.

• Warhound Titans $75
• Space Marine Infantry $50 (a box of 18 infantry and 4 Contemptor bases)
• Solar Auxilia Infantry $50 (a box of 18 infantry, 4 Sentinel, and 4 Charonite Ogryns bases)
• Space Marine Tanks $50 estimated (it looks like you get two “half boxes” from the above evidence)
• Solar Auxilia Tanks $50 estimated (it looks like you get two “half boxes” from the above evidence)
• Rulebook & Templates $60

Total Estimated MSRP: $335

Total Savings Versus $200 Box Price: $135

Final Thoughts

Well, let’s hope we are wrong on prices, as this could make the game a tad on the expensive side.  While some of these boxes look to be $50 instead of $60, when was the last time you saw 8-10 models with bases this size go for much cheaper?

We’ll have to see, but either way, the Starter box does have good value if you are starting the game!

Legions Imperialis Rulebooks Spotted & Delay Rumors: (September 12th 2023)

The new Legions Imperialis rulebook images come from Reddit (and have since been deleted.)

The books look pretty decent, but the OP mentions they might grab a few pictures of the book, but we haven’t seen anything quite yet. The rumor mill is flying as to why GW held back on the game, and many people say it’s because the books were so filled with errors that they had to reprint all the codexes.

Rumors About the Delayed Legions Imperialis Release

It goes without saying that these are all rumors from the comment section of the post, so take them with as much salt as you need. This could make sense if you believe the book was very poorly printed, as they could still paint the models and get them ready to show off when the box actually released.

I’m pretty sure that the only copies out there are the ones that were sent out to YouTube painters in advance copies of the box set. They were all supposed to be retracted because of the appalling number of errors, and a reprint is being done now. This is why the game has been delayed by several months.

Yes, I’ve heard it from several different sources now, including commission painters who post in my FB Group were sent advance copies of the game. They were allowed to keep the models etc to build & paint, but were told they had to return the rulebooks. It was kind of implied (but not outright said) that if they didn’t return them, they would not be sent any other advance stuff in the future.

However, if the book was really that bad, GW wouldn’t want any pictures taken to show the differences or have any of those books floating around in the wild. That may already be why the images were removed already.

Just that the first rumour that came out about the book was that it contained real political group/words that would create a shits storm if it came out. That was why we’re reprinting it.

It’s just rumour mill spinning madly without any real evidence.

It’s not confirmed but if it’s a print issue then it’s more likely an issue with the actual quality of the print. GW has had issues with printing for some years now, which is done in China unlike the rest of the manufacturing hence why a reprint takes so long.

This might be a much more likely idea, as the book was just not printed well, not just so many errors that they had to retract it. Games Workshop does source books from China, so for reprints, perhaps they would have to receive the correctly printed books again from China. So, if that is the case, it could take some serious time to release this set now.

Judging from the comments, Games Workshop may need to come clean with what is going on if this highly awaited expansion doesn’t drop soon.

Legions Imperialis Starter Box & Game Delayed: Official Statement

The latest Legions Imperialis Starter Box and game update comes from Warhammer Community.

While we had initially hoped to release Legions Imperialis in August, the release date will now be a little later in the year. Don’t worry – you’ll be commanding a tiny legion of troops to victory very soon.

While this is a little annoying, it might also push back Old World, as we don’t expect them to drop two games in the same month. As they have said, they want to drop Old World this year.

Master Your Battlefield With These Terrain Rules for Legions Imperialis: (September 12th, 2023)

The new terrain rules for Legions Imperialis come from Warhammer Community.

The most obvious benefit of parking your Legions in areas of terrain is to protect them from enemy attack, as concrete walls and manufactorum pipes resist boltgun rounds a good deal better than your average Solar Auxilia trooper. Even scattered debris and craters offer some measure of protection in the form of a Cover Save – a special kind of save that isn’t modified by a weapon’s Armour Penetration value, so even Titan-killing super lasers might fail to vaporise their target.

Well, like all their games, terrain will play a big role on the tabletop.  There are several different types for cover, but some can even hurt your units for going through it.

Of course, not all terrain is created equal. Difficult terrain, for example, imparts a 6+ cover save and -1 to hit modifier to those inside, but it also obliges all detachments besides Infantry and Walkers to move at half speed. Obstructing terrain – often composed of larger ruins and forests – instead grants a 5+ cover save and the same hit modifier, and even affects Titans, but it hampers visibility even more. If you’re hoping to shoot through it at something on the other side, think again.

Difficult Terrain will help your units stay alive. Plus, walkers and infantry don’t get any movement penalties, so it’s perfect to protect them. Obstructing terrain gives you a 5+ save and blocks line of sight, so be sure to use plenty of this to actually cut out some firing lanes.

Dangerous terrain is a tricky prospect, as detachments can take damage just by attempting to move through it. Each 1” of movement through these xenos-infested hives, burning promethium pools, and treacherous minefield deals an automatic hit to troopers and Titans alike. That damage can quickly rack up.

Enemy units still get a -1 to hit modifier when shooting at you, so it’s not all doom and gloom, but the terrain itself might end up doing more damage to you anyway. Just watch your step, and consider bypassing it entirely with your aerial assets.

You don’t want to go through Dangerous Terrain unless you have to, as it doesn’t do much for cover and gives you a bunch of potential damage.

Structure Rules

Outside of area terrain, structures also play a big part in the epic-scale battles of Legions Imperialis. These are particularly large and durable buildings that can be garrisoned by Infantry to protect them from incoming fire, with excellent Cover Saves sometimes reaching 3+. They also grant even stronger penalties to hit when shooting at detachments inside, and help their occupants fight off enemies in close assaults.

Unlike regular terrain, however, these structures can themselves be attacked and brought tumbling down, and being inside a collapsing building is perilous indeed. The entire area becomes difficult terrain and everyone inside takes an automatic AP -1 hit, with any model that fails their save destroyed instantly. Hard luck.

The structures grant incredible saves and debuffs for shooting at units inside; however, they can be destroyed and damage the units inside.

GW also released more information about terrain a while ago, which you can check out below.

Legions Imperialis Rulebooks Spotted in the Wild: (September, 11th 2023)

The new Legions Imperialis rulebook images come from Reddit (and have since been removed.)

The books look pretty decent, but the OP mentions they might grab a few pictures of the book, but we haven’t seen anything quite yet. The rumor mill is flying as to why GW held back on the game, and many people say it’s because the books were so filled with errors that they had to reprint all the codexes.

Rumors About the Delayed Legions Imperialis Release

It goes without saying that these are all rumors from the comment section of the post, so take them with as much salt as you need. This could make sense if you believe the book was very poorly printed, as they could still paint the models and get them ready to show off when the box actually released.

I’m pretty sure that the only copies out there are the ones that were sent out to YouTube painters in advance copies of the box set. They were all supposed to be retracted because of the appalling number of errors, and a reprint is being done now. This is why the game has been delayed by several months.

 

Yes, I’ve heard it from several different sources now, including commission painters who post in my FB Group were sent advance copies of the game. They were allowed to keep the models etc to build & paint, but were told they had to return the rulebooks. It was kind of implied (but not outright said) that if they didn’t return them, they would not be sent any other advance stuff in the future.

 

However, if the book was really that bad, GW wouldn’t want any pictures taken to show the differences or have any of those books floating around in the wild. That may already be why the images were removed already.

Just that the first rumour that came out about the book was that it contained real political group/words that would create a shits storm if it came out. That was why we’re reprinting it.

 

It’s just rumour mill spinning madly without any real evidence.

 

It’s not confirmed but if it’s a print issue then it’s more likely an issue with the actual quality of the print. GW has had issues with printing for some years now, which is done in China unlike the rest of the manufacturing hence why a reprint takes so long.

This might be a much more likely idea, as the book was just not printed well, not just so many errors that they had to retract it. Games Workshop does source books from China, so for reprints, perhaps they would have to receive the correctly printed books again from China. So, if that is the case, it could take some serious time to release this set now.

Judging from the comments Games Workshop may need to come clean with what is going on if this highly awaited expansion doesn’t drop soon.

A New Era of Aerial Combat: Legions Imperialis Aircraft Rules: (September 4th, 2023)

The new rules for aircraft in Legions Imperialis come from Warhammer Community.

There are many planes on offer to the generals of the Horus Heresy – courtesy of Aeronautica Imperialis, from which you can use nearly all of your Imperial aircraft. These flying machines work slightly differently to the rest of the game, starting the game in Reserve and roaring across the field to strafe, bomb, intercept, and deliver troops to vital areas. Here’s how it works.

Well, to start, considering there won’t be any Xenos races in the game, you can’t use those models in LI, yet unfortunetly.

Models with the Flyer special rule all work the same way. They begin off the battlefield, and may only be issued an Advance Order or a March Order. When activated in the Movement phase, they begin touching the battlefield edge – anywhere within 8” of your battlefield edge – and then move in a straight line, making at most a single 90-degree turn.

They fire as normal in the Combat phase, and can draw line of sight (if not necessarily range) to every model on the battlefield. At the end of the round, they’re removed and placed back into Reserve, ready to go again – just keep a note of the Wounds they’ve suffered.

Flyers can’t engage in close combat, can’t hold an objective, and can’t block enemy movement. Unless they’re targeted by units with the Skyfire trait (which most flyers have), they can only be hit on a natural roll of 6, and they ignore template weapons (unless they have Skyfire).

They are pretty crazy in the fact that they start every turn off the board, can draw line of sight to every model, and then get removed after every single turn, to just come back the next.  It makes sense they can’t block movement, hold objectives, or engage in combat.

However, they are going to be super hard to hit and should be pretty annoying for your opponent to deal with. Fast movers indeed…

Interceptors Rules

Interceptors are the lightest class of fighter in the game – their job is to shoot down heavier aircraft, so they get bonus attacks against another Flyer after they complete their movement, courtesy of the Interceptor special rule. 

They are allowed some free shots at other aircraft and could be an excellent way to take down your opponent’s aircraft.

This attack comes on top of their regular shooting, giving them an edge in any dogfight. There are four Interceptors available initially – the Xiphon Interceptor for the Legiones Astartes, and the Thunderbolt, Lightning, and Avenger for the Solar Auxilia. The Avenger is a bit of an all-rounder, with armaments designed both to shoot planes out of the sky, and to cause havoc among tanks and infantry. It even has the capacity for a little bombing…

They have a decent amount of weapon options and plenty of dice, meaning plenty of extra options to destroy your opponent’s ships!

Bombers Rules

These are your heavier hitters. They tend to be larger, tougher, and more heavily armed, and they love to seek out and destroy hard targets. The Solar Auxilia Marauder Bomber is the main bombing threat at present, via the Bombing Run weapon trait.

A weapon with this trait can even damage Structures, and troops garrisoned within. Once a run has been completed, the Flyer continues its movement and may fire the rest of its weapons as normal.

This lets you fly around the board and bomb any enemies within range and even have the potential to destroy structures.

Transports Rules

But what of iconic aircraft, such as the Thunderhawk Gunship, the Storm Eagle, and the humble Arvus Lighter? Their job is to ferry troops to where they’re needed most on the battlefield, via a series of special rules: Transport, Assault Transport, and Large Assault Transport. 

Units carried in a transport can only be issued with Advance or March Orders, so they can only move and shoot when they get out. Assault transports allow troops to charge right out of the cargo bay into close combat, and large transports can carry walkers and units with the Bulky trait (Terminators, for instance). That makes the Thunderhawk Gunship a threat on multiple counts.

If you want to deploy your troops rapidly and put them into the heart of the fighting, take a Thunderhawk!

The Thunderhawk is serious business in Legions Imperialis – a squadron of up to three gunships can deposit several chunky Detachments of Dreadnoughts and Terminators right into the thick of things, while laying down heavy fire from their dorsal turbo-laser destructors and hellstrike missiles.

As you would expect, the Thunderhawk is quite tough, has a ton of weapons, and can transport a bunch of Space Marines!

Prepare to take flight and dominate the heavens! With the introduction of these aircraft rules, Legions Imperialis is setting the stage for epic skyward clashes!

2 New Legions Imperialis Titan Battle Group Boxes Announced: (August 31, 2023)

The latest on the new Legions Imperialis Titan Battle Group Boxes is from Warhammer Community.

Entire maniples of Knights and Titans strode the myriad battlegrounds of the Age of Darkness, and soon you’ll be able to build up your own Legio or Household with two new box sets of titanic war machines for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Legions Imperialis. 

It’s been a long time since we’ve really seen big boxes even available for Adeptus Titanicus, so these are definitely a breath of fresh air!

Knight House Battle Group Box

Despite dwarfing most things in games of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, Knights need to be far more numerous to have the same impact in Legions Imperialis. Thus does the Knight House Battle Group contain no fewer than 12 walkers – six Questoris Knights, four Cerastus Knight Lancers, and two Acastus Knight Porphyrions.

With 12 models inside, we imagine plenty of people will pick this up! Try to grab it early when it comes out, as the current AT boxes are going for crazy amounts on eBay.

Titan Battle Group Box

By contrast, the Titan Battle Group trades quantity for a quartet of sheer earth-shaking quality. Two Warhound Scout Titans range ahead of a Reaver Battle Titan and a Warlord Titan, presenting a fearsome armoured spearhead.

Even in the epic-scale battles of Legions Imperialis, Titans still dominate the battlefield with their imposing presence. Just one of these thunderous god-engines can swing the battle dramatically in your favour – unless your opponent has brought two. Better bring four to be on the safe side…

If you’re going to be playing epic scale, you want all the giant walkers you can get! This one will give you some giant Titans, which looks like a solid box so far.

GW Reveals New Artillery Box For Legions Imperialis: (August 24, 2o23)

The latest Legions Imperialis Artillery box details come from Warhammer Community.

With armies numbering in the hundreds in Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Legions Imperialis, it’s more important than ever to maintain a powerful reserve of artillery, and these new miniatures will make sure your big guns stay safe and mobile.

The Medusa packs a high calibre, relatively short gun designed for crushing vehicles and fortifications under shells the size of a dustbin. This often necessitates getting a little closer than you might like, but unlike their counterparts from the 41st Millennium, they’re amply protected in a Leman Russ-class chassis instead of the Chimera-based vehicle of the further future.

There is a lot of infantry to work through and plenty of bigger enemies, so it only makes sense the Solar Auxilia would bring tons of artillery! One of the best parts about Epic is fielding a ton of minis, and this box will let you throw down eight tanks in one buy.

In contrast, the Basilisk still uses the classic Earthshaker cannon you know and love, hurling high explosives over ludicrous distances to smash apart infantry, walkers, and vehicles alike. It’s the final word in long-range fire support, with enough firepower to force your enemy out of position as they divert valuable troops to suppressing your artillery.

Each box provides eight vehicles that can be assembled as the support platform of your choice, so you can fill your need for fire support at whatever range suits you best. 

With eight tanks per box and two build options, this should be a pretty good pickup for anyone who loves tanks on a small scale. We still haven’t heard more about the release date, but let’s hope we see the models drop soon!

New Rules For Playing Titans in Legions Imperialis: (August 21, 2023)

The new Legions Imperialis titan rules come from Warhammer Community, starting with how the Warlord will play in the game!

Each Titan is a walking fortress, though the Warlord is one of the most fearsome and flexible, and offers an abundance of weapon loadout choices for the discerning Princeps. Their Detachment card is appropriately bonkers, letting you tailor your Titan with a choice of delicious weapons. Whether you fancy the Belicosa volcano cannon, graviton ruinator, or conversion beam extirpator, you can load up and turn them on a mass of tiny troops.

As you would expect, this just has all the gun options, a combat factor of +14, six Void Shields, and a 2+ save. Considering we haven’t seen too many complete profiles, we don’t know just how good 6 Wounds will be, but with that many Void Shields, it should be tough. We do know the game will be played generally around 3,000 points, so this will take up a 1/5 of your army.

New Void Shield & Light AT Weapons Rules

On top of their size and terrifying armament, it’s the Void Shields that set Titans apart from Knights and other super-heavy assets. These powerful energy barriers create a crackling wall that renders Titans immune to small-arms fire, nullifying incoming attacks with an AP of less than -1. 

Over the course of battle, sustained impacts to these shields will whittle them down – reducing their integrity by one level for each successful hit. In each End Phase, a Titan’s commander can attempt to reignite their shields, rolling a D6 for each level lost and gaining it back on a 4+. You’ll need concentrated fire to keep a Titan’s shields stripped, and ultimately destroy the god-engine. 

This stops all small arms fire, and will get rid of bigger weapon hits right away. Then, you can reignite your Void Shields, and if you get fortunate, you can just get them all back, and your opponent will have to knock them down again.

But there were ways to drop shields in Adeptus Titanicus, so we imagine there will be a few strategies for that in Legions Imperialis as well.

Certain weapons have been specifically designed to overpower void shields – many of them wielded by Titans, appropriately enough. The carapace-mounted Vulcan mega-bolter arrays have the Shieldbane trait, allowing them to sunder these energy shields.

If you’re fighting against many, be sure to bring plenty of Shieldbane weapons to take them down and allow your big guns to fire afterward!

Weapons with Light AT cannot normally put a dent in a Titan’s shields. Shieldbane changes that, making them perfect for pulverising shields ahead of a killing shot with a truly big gun.

Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan Rules

Towering Reavers, Warlords, and Warmaster Titans may be army-crushing behemoths, but nimbler variants such as the Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan are expert pickets that range ahead of their allies. They can spray down enemy engines with their Ardex mega-bolters, then unleash a powerful centreline weapon that’s tailor-made for tearing through a Titan’s superstructure.

While they don’t have as many weapon options, they have Infiltrate and Agile, meaning they will be far more maneuverable. The Dire Wolf still has plenty of power, though, for both shooting and combat and is almost half the points of the Warlord.

GW Reveals New Rules For Knights in Legions Imperialis: ( August: 14th 2023)

The new rules for Knights in Legions Imperialis come from Warhammer Community.

While your Primary Army List of Legiones Astartes or Solar Auxilia must account for 70% of your total points, the remaining 30% can comprise allies, including Knight Household Lance Formations. Questing knights, leggy knights, knights that look like walking eggs, even miniature Armigers – you can have them all. 

They said the majority of the games are meant to be played at 3,000 points, which means you could have 900 points in Knights!

This Formation is made up of a single Knight Banner, which consists of one pattern type – Questoris, Cerastus, or Acastus – with the option to customise them. You can add extra Knights of the same chassis, upgrade a Cerastus into an Atrapos, or have a swarm of Armigers to tag along.

You can take a few of the main Knights, upgrade them, and add on a ton of smaller Knights to fill out the formation. Since we don’t have points yet, we really don’t know just how many Knights will fit into 900 points. While they don’t say, we hope there will also be other formations to choose from.

These towering mechanical warriors are tough combatants – even the Armigers have a sturdy 3+ save, while Knights Acastus get 2+, effectively as budget Titans. On top of this, every Knight is also equipped with an Ion Shield, which neuters the AP of enemy weapons firing at their front arc. 

It makes sense all of them are going to have great saves, and Ion Shields are even better because they basically cut the AP in more than half. Just make sure you face your model toward the most incoming shots!

Arcs

But if you’re facing off against these towering terrors, how do you take them out? Make careful use of battlefield positioning to bait your opponent into revealing their vulnerable rear arcs, then unload everything you’ve got. There’s no need to worry about side arcs in Legions Imperialis, everything just splits down right across the middle of the base or model. 

It looks like the side arcs are gone completely, and now there are only front and back. Meaning you need to get to the back to get rid of the ion shields or have bonuses for attacking.

Naturally, Knights are for more than just tanking damage, they’re equally able to dish out destruction on their own with a vast array of weapons, and a Close Assault Factor of +8 at minimum.

Obviously, they will be super strong in both shooting in combat, not only tanking damage! A minimum of +8 CAF is insane, as this will let them crush nearly everything.

Engine Killer Weapons

Weapons like the Thermal Spear, the Thermal Cannon, and the Atrapos Lascutter all come with the Engine Killer (X) trait, which makes them ideal for hunting super-heavy armour, dealing an additional number of wounds equal to the value in the brackets, in these cases enough to crater a Kratos in a single shot.

If you know you’re going to be up against a bunch of Knights, you’ll want plenty of these weapons in your army!

Solar Auxilia Legions Imperialis Rules & Details: (August 7th, 2023)

The new rules for Solar Auxilia in Legions Imperialis come from Warhammer Community.

Unlike their tall, ceramite-armoured allies (and enemies), the troops of the Solar Auxilia are not entirely self-sufficient during battle. Their vast armies rely on commanders to orchestrate them, and units with the Chain of Command keyword cannot receive orders other than Advance unless within the sphere of influence of models with the Solar Auxilia HQ special rule.

Legate Commanders have the widest aura of command, but you are limited to one per 1,500 points. They are backed up with Auxilia Tactical Command Detachments and Tank Commanders, who project smaller auras. 

It makes sense that the Space Marines will have a better command structure in place. You’ll need commands scattered throughout your army to keep things running smoothly.

Numbers will tell against even the mightiest power-armoured troops, and the press of bodies presented by even the elite Solar Auxila’s Close Formation Fighting grants them extra CAF when fighting shoulder-to-shoulder or garrisoned with comrades.

With the Solar Auxilia if you have enough infantry together, you can even bring down some big armored guys in combat!

The Forces of the Solar Auxilia Cohorts

The traditional Solar Auxilia army is built around a core of elite yet alarmingly expendable Lasrifle Tercios, whose Line keyword grants them an extra 2 Tactical Strength when deciding who controls Objectives, which are the key to winning games. 

You can fatten these Detachments up with flamer-toting Auxiliaries, and add power weapons with Veletarii and Charonite Ogryns, which benefit from the Rend rule – letting you add D6 to your Fight rolls, to a maximum of 6D6.

Along those same lines, if you take a lot of infantry and be good at holding objectives. If you need some objective power and some extra rend, they are going to be fun to play.

While massed infantry is helpful for securing objectives, tanks are good at shooting things off them. Solar Auxilia Armoured Company Formations ensure that you can field big scooped handfuls of the things, with a Tank Commander to boot.

Even though infantry is excellent, if you’re playing this army, you’ll want a ton of tanks, and this lets you do that!

Solar Auxilia Legions Imperialis Rules Datasheets

You’ll fill your Battle Tank Detachment slots with either Malcador or Leman Russ Squadrons, the latter of which can contain up to 10 vehicles. Take the Vanquisher variant of the Leman Russ and you’ll get the Armourbane trait on its shooting attacks, which forces rerolls for successful saving throws made by Vehicles, Super heavies, Knights, and Titans. 

While it might look like a straight upgrade over the trusty Leman Russ Battlecannon, its Anti-tank trait reduces its AP value to zero against Infantry and Cavalry models. By contrast, the heavy bolter is Light, so it simply bounces off Vehicles and bigger targets. As Detachments generally have to fire at the same target, matching your loadout to the target is vital.

The Leman Russ is so iconic, and taking 10 of them in one detachment would be awesome. The Leman Russ is more versatile, but if you need to take out tanks and Titans, this is the way to go!

These rolling fortresses are spoiled for choice with weapon options, and every bit as tough as a Legion Kratos. They bristle with Point Defence weapons, smaller guns which grant some flexibility to these lumbering beasts. 

These may be fired on a Secondary Target, and may also fire in the Movement phase if the Detachment has been given an Advance or March Order –  a helpful infantry deterrent.

For those looking for one giant tank squadron, Legions Imperialis has you covered with plenty of options, and you can take up to six in one squadron.

Legions Imperialis Starter Box & Game Delayed: (August 4th, 2023)

The latest Legions Imperialis Starter Box and game update comes from Warhammer Community.

While we had initially hoped to release Legions Imperialis in August, the release date will now be a little later in the year. Don’t worry – you’ll be commanding a tiny legion of troops to victory very soon.

As we said, they don’t give an exact date for release, but it’s still the beginning of August, so at this point, we have at least a month, but we’ll have to see if it actually drops in September or if this will get pushed back to the Fall.

While this is a little annoying, it might also push back Old World, as we don’t expect them to drop two games in the same month. As they have said, they want to drop Old World this year.

So let’s hope this comes out in September so it doesn’t push back other releases like the new 10th Edition Space Marines and Tyranids codex books…

Solar Auxilia Support Box Brings Epic Firepower: (August 3rd, 2023)

The latest on the Solar Auxilia Support Box comes from Warhammer Community.

The new box comes with 28 miniatures, which are all basically heavy support fire! It’s interesting to see the style of boxes GW will release after the big starter, and we expect a troop-focused box after this one. Let’s take a closer look. 

Though an Auxiliary may lack the sheer superhuman punch of a Space Marine, their strict training regimen and fine armaments make them a threat on any battlefield – and what’s more, they number in the hundreds of thousands. They also bring lots and lots (and lots) of big guns and tanks, worthy of representation in the mass battles of Legions Imperialis. 

When you’re facing down such giant vehicles of war, you need all the fire support you can get! This box brings it in spades with 28 minis.

Just like the Legiones Astartes Support box last week, this kit is packed with firepower. While the elite Astartes get just four Rapier batteries in their Support box, the Solar Auxilia bring a whopping 12 to the field.

Four are outfitted with quad launchers, another four with laser destroyers, and four more with mole mortars – ingenious inventions whose explosive munitions burrow under the ground. Each also comes with the option to add a tiny additional Solar Auxiliary on foot on their base, as support crew.

All three of these weapons look pretty cool and have a wide range of options; however, it looks like they will suffer from the same thing as 40k. You can’t just arm everything with one weapon; they will only give you enough options for four of each.

There are a judicious 12 Tarantulas, split equally between lascannon batteries and hyperios air-defence missile launchers. These emplacements keep fragile infantry lines safe from vehicle columns and aerial bombardment.

If you’re playing against someone with a bunch of AI models, you’ll definitely need the air defense!

Also hiding up the extremely well-embroidered sleeves of the Solar Auxilia is the Cyclops demolition vehicle. These expendable, unmanned tanks are filled with a variety of extremely powerful explosive charges, and controlled remotely by Solar Auxilia operators who detonate them from the safety of the trenches. Now that’s just good honest Imperial warfare.

Last but not least, you have some r/c tanks to run up and destroy the enemy with all the explosives!

Legiones Astartes Legions Imperialis Rules & Details: (August 2nd, 2023)

The latest Legiones Astartes-specific Space Marines rules for Legions Imeperialis come from Warhammer Community.

Space Marines bring mobile heavy infantry and hard-hitting tanks to the fray. Like everyone, their models are deployed in Detachments, groups of models whose stats are represented by datasheets. As well as the Legions Imperialis Rulebook, these can be found in helpful decks of Detachment Cards –  which list the Detachment’s points cost, standard size, and any upgrades you can add on one side, and their stats, weapon profiles, and special rules on the other. You use the first side when building the army, and the other while playing.

For example, a Legion Terminator Detachment contains between four and eight Terminators. They’re tough as nails, and their Close Assault Factor of +4 hits hard in melee. Special rules like Implacable – meaning you only Withdraw from combat if you want to – and Invulnerable Save (6+) make them even harder to shift.

This is our first look at a datasheet, and it looks like ranges of weapons will not be too much further than movement, and even a super tough unit like Terminators will only have a 6+ invulnerable.

However, they will have plenty of special rules and look to be hard to shift off the battlefield.

The Kratos is one of heaviest tanks the Legiones Astartes can currently bring to bear, and at 150 points for a squadron of two, they’re a pretty hefty prospect. They come with a range of weapons, including two big-ticket turret options: the mid-range Kratos battlecannon and the close-up melta blastgun. They do similar damage at close quarters, but the latter’s Bunker Buster Trait can even bring Structures tumbling down.

The game will have some insanely strong tanks and titans, which only makes sense as they are giant compared to the infantry! It has all the guns, a great save, and you can take a ton of them in one squadron.

Thunderhawk Gunship Rules

The Thunderhawk has been pulling taxi duty for the Space Marines for more than 10,000 years, and it has a hefty profile befitting its status. You can cram up to three gunships into a Detachment, and with a 25” move and special rules including Flyer, Hover, and Large Assault Transport (8), it’s more of an aerial party bus than a taxi.

Respectively, these rules mean it can cross huge distances while ignoring terrain, it can stay on the battlefield between turns, and it can deliver up to eight Bulky troops (such as Terminators) into the heart of combat, and it allows them a Charge Order (which many Tranports do not).

This has huge movement, some pretty powerful weapons, and even a Jink save! If you’re playing Space Marines in this scale, why would you not take some Thunderhawks?

Legion-Specific Rules

The Space Marine Legions are known for their favoured tactics and specialisms, and all 18 have their own special rule. Importantly, each Formation you select can be from a different Legion – after all, the biggest engagements saw multiple Legions fighting shoulder to shoulder – giving you extra tactical depth.

The White Scars, for instance, are Born in the Saddle, increasing the Jink save of any units with that special rule. This is a type of Save that certain speedy models can use to dodge incoming fire, such as aircraft and jetbikes.

It only makes sense each legion gets its own rules, and the White Scars will all have Jink saves and be harder to take down!

The World Eaters, would you believe it, have a rule called Incarnate Violence. It’s quite simple, but brutally effective – they can reroll one of the D6s in every Fight roll they make. No one’s getting the better of these savages once chainblades are drawn.

World Eaters get a ton of re-rolls for combat, which again is perfect for the legion!

 

The Salamanders have Strength of Will, which gives them an extra chance at every Morale check and grants them Implacable for good measure – they aren’t going anywhere unless you want them to.

If you want a stalwart army to not fail morale or run away, the Salamanders will be for you.

How to Play Horus Heresy Legions Imperialis: (July 31st, 2023)

The new details for how to play Horus Heresy Legions Imperialis comes from Warhammer Community.

Now, let’s start with how to muster an army.

From the looks of it, average games will be 3,000 points and played on a 5’x4′ table, so there are plenty of tiny Titans and tanks everywhere!

We begin by choosing an Army. The recommended size is 3,000 points per side, played on a 5’ x 4’ battlefield.

The first step is to declare your Allegiance – whether you’re a Loyalist or a Traitor, which will constrain some of your choices for obvious reasons. Then, pick your Primary Army List – the force from which you’ll pick a minimum of 70% of your units. At present, this means either the Legiones Astartes or the Solar Auxilia, but other factions may join the fray in future… 

So, this means whether you play traitor or loyalist, you’ll have to choose if you want to focus on the Space Marines or the Auxilia. Nothing too crazy here, but they do mention more factions, so let’s hope they bring more to the game.

You’re now ready to pick your units, using two distinct components: Formations and Detachments. Detachments are the main building blocks of an army, similar to individual units in larger-scale games – platoons of infantry, squadrons of tanks, batteries of artillery, banners of Knights, and so forth.

Formations are larger strategic groupings of Detachments, selected according to the Formation Organisation Chart. You must select at least one Formation from your Primary Army List for every 1,500 points of the agreed limit – so that’s (at least) two Formations at 3,000 points. 

The Legion Demi-Company is the most flexible Formation available to the Legiones Astartes, though there are many Formations to choose from, including the specialised Legion Armoured Company and Legion Aerial Assault. 

Considering you want as many models on the table, this seems a decent way to do it and brings back plenty of compulsory choices. However, this is just one of the formations, so we’ll have to see the benefits and restrictions with each detachment.

Legions Imperialis Turn Structure

Each round is divided into five phases. The most important thing to know here is that both players act within each of these phases, taking it in turns to activate their Detachments in Initiative order, according to hidden Orders that have been pre-assigned.

Using tokens placed face down next to their Detachments, players assign Orders simultaneously and in secret. Both players reveal their Orders once they’ve all been placed. There are four main Orders: First Fire, Advance, March, and Charge, plus Fall Back, which a unit can be assigned when they take heavy losses. 

You then determine Initiative by rolling off. This governs who gets to activate their Detachments first.

It’s interesting to see this being a full back-and-forth game, where you use orders for each unit and then roll for the initiative of each unit. We’ll have to see if this will keep players more engaged with the game or if the constant rolling of initiative and going back and forth could bog things down a little.

Movement & Combat

These two phases work in the same way: players take it in turns to resolve the relevant Order tokens by activating Detachments one by one. 

Orders affect how your Detachments can behave during both phases. Advance is the most flexible, allowing both regular movement and shooting, while March lets a Detachment move double its Movement characteristic – treble if it’s an entirely infantry Detachment – but not shoot. Charge allows either for a single movement, or a double movement if it gets a Detachment into base contact with an enemy Detachment. Detachments with First Fire cannot move, but they do get to shoot first. Finally, a Fall Back Order prevents a Detachment from moving – instead, they’ll have to retreat during the End phase.

This is set up quite familiar to players of GW games; if you march, you can’t shoot, then you can charge, just move and shoot, but if you stand still, you get to shoot before even combat is resolved.

Shooting & Combat

Combat is divided into three subphases: First Fire, Engagement, and Advancing Fire – which is to say, Detachments with a First Fire Order get to shoot, then you resolve close combat, then everyone else gets to shoot.

Shooting works pretty much the same as it does in most Warhammer games. Weapons have a range, an amount of dice to roll, a target number for the Hit roll, an Armour Penetration value, and Traits. Select a target in range, roll the right number of dice, and apply any modifiers to the roll. For each one that hits, the model gets a Save that can be modified. Traits are where extra variety happens – guns with the Light trait cannot hurt heavy tanks, for instance, while Assault weapons are more powerful up close – ensuring everything has a niche.

The interesting thing here is the order of combat. You fire first with units who did not move, then you do combat, and finally, you shoot with models who moved. Meaning the “combat”phase is entirely out of place with other games.

Combat, however, is a little different. The system harks back to the epic scale games of yore, in which individual models are paired off against each other. Then they make Fight rolls, rolling off with 2D6 and adding their Close Assault Factor (CAF) to the roll. Models get a bonus if they charged, and the loser takes a Wound, no Saves allowed – melee is seriously deadly, and even tanks can be overrun.

When faced with uneven numbers, you’ll have to “pair off” your models with more than one enemy each. Your outnumbered models will still fight each of their foes individually, but your opponent gets to roll an extra D6 for every time you’ve already fought. This means that the most elite fighters can still be worn down if you’re not careful to support them… 

Combat is much different from current games, as you have to pair off with enemy models, and you roll with 2D6 and add your Assualt Factor to the roll. With the extra d6, this allows mobs of units to possibly beat more elite forces.

Legions Imperialis Epic Scale Size Comparison: (July 28th, 2023)

The latest on Legions Imperialis Epic Scale Size Comparisons comes from Warhammer Community.

Obviously, with everything getting hit by scale creep a little, Epic is no exception, and the game is gaining some height!

We start with the smallest soldiers in this new game – the Solar Auxilia. Three generations of infantry are pictured here. The figures on the rectangular bases are Astra Militarum from the late 90s – Valhallan Ice Warriors and Catachan Jungle Fighters. On the square bases are the original Imperial Guard – as you can see, they used to be able to shoulder their heavy weapons, but as Imperial health and safety regulations were tightened, the big guns were placed on wheeled carriages

As you can see, the figures have gotten slightly bigger, which is probably a good thing regarding actually painting the models. However, if you want the tinies soldiers possible, you are a little out of luck.

Ogryns have practically doubled in size in the intervening years. The old Ogryns to the left were substantial lads back in the 90s, but they’re dwarfed by the new Charonites on the right, who also pack a much heftier punch with their cybernetic claws.

It looks like they started recruiting Ogryns from worlds with even heavier gravity as they gained some serious size!

The models painted as Imperial Fists here date back to 1997 and Epic 40,000, making them the second generation of plastic Space Marine infantry. As you can see, the newer Legiones Astartes tower over their older brethren.

The Space Marines also have some giant size gains, but still come five to a base (they’re just round bases instead.)

Epic Tank Sizes

 

On the left is an adorable family photo, depicting three generations of the Leman Russ. At the front in green is an old metal version from the Space Marine-era in the mid 90s, joined by a plastic model (we think) from Epic Armageddon. 

The tanks are also on a much bigger scale and pack in more detail.

The venerable Deimos-Pattern Rhino chassis has had a small-scale glow-up in a number of ways – first as the Predator you see on the left next to its early-90s forebear in metal. 

The Predator might have the most significant increase of all the tanks (besides the Baneblade), while the Rhino is bigger, just not as noticeable.

Once we approach the super-heavy tanks of the 31st Millennium, the gap in scale really begins to make itself known. Here we see a new Baneblade stacked up against several patterns of the original models from the early 90s – which were in fact the first super-heavies in Warhammer history. In grey is a Stormhammer, in green a Baneblade, and in black and yellow is a Shadowsword.

The new Baneblade is gigantic compared to the old minis!

Titan Epic Scale

As we arrive at Titans, the change in scale becomes almost remarkable. Yes, these two models are both Warhound Scout Titans, the one on the left hailing from the era of Epic Armageddon, and the one on the right from Adeptus Titanicus. The older Warhounds – which weren’t available to photograph – are of similar size to the smaller god-engine.

Honestly, you want Titans to be giant and tower over the battlefield, so the current scale makes sense.

The current Reaver Titan is almost literally twice the size of the older versions (the one on the left is from 1989, and the one on the right is circa 2003). However, you can’t fault a purity seal as absolutely massive as the one pasted to the leg of the original Reaver. Surely, there is none purer!

The Reaver is a long beloved model, and it has really grown over the years.

 

 

The comparison between Warlord Titans is immense: the one on the left is the original Lucius-pattern Warlord Titan released in 1997 – though it wouldn’t earn that specific designation until much later. On the right is the current, towering Warlord, which could probably just kick its puny ancestor to death at this point…

Last but not least, the Warlord Titan towers over the ’97 model.

All of these models are an exact 1/4 scale version of their Warhammer 40k counterparts or 8mm scale.  Plus the Titans and Aeronautica Imperialis models are also compatible with the new game regardless if you rebase them or not.

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GW Reveals New Tiny Terrain For Legions Imperialis: (July, 26th 2023)

The latest on Epic-scale terrain for Legions Imperialis details comes from Warhammer Community.

Some of the terrain will be recycled from Adeptus Titanicus; some will be entirely new. Plus, there will also be new road tiles to play on and fill with even more terrain as well!

Let’s start with the new. The Civitas Imperialis City Road Tiles are fully sculpted, finely detailed plastic tiles that will transform a bare table into an immersive urban environment. These 12×12″ squares fit together neatly to build Legions Imperialis battlefields for any game size. 

Each pack contains two straight roads, two T-junctions, and two crossroads, giving you plenty of different ways to arrange diverse road layouts. Combined with your other urban terrain, you can set up whole cities packed with deadly intersections, exposed highways, and very literal dead-end turns.

Plastic tiles can be cool to play on, as they can help build an immersive table. If you want to play on a mat, you still could, but this looks to add some real depth to your games.

Naturally, you’ll need some buildings to populate these boards, starting with the new plastic Civitas Imperialis Ruins. These impressively modular pieces can be combined in loads of different ways, allowing you to adorn your city with piles of scattered rubble, the broken husks of entire wrecked buildings, or lonely crumbling walls now used as barricades. What’s more, they make for some great basing detail for your Titans.

Ruins are a staple in every Warhammer game, so why would LI be different? All Games Workshop’s ruin sets are generally modular, and it looks like these ones will be too!

Of course, to get ruins you first need buildings – and the ultra-modular Civitas Imperialis terrain is perfect for the job of creating a battlefield that has yet to be smashed by Titan-scale munitions. These beautiful gothic domiciles (rereleased from Adeptus Titanicus) can be assembled however you wish, with thousands of different configurations, building anything from modest urban sprawl to cloud-breaking towers.

These come in two kits – structures and spires – so you can tailor the architecture to your exact tastes.

It’s not all just ruins, though; you can build some pretty immaculate cities to fight over as well!

When battles rage around more industrial locales, a box or two of the rereleased Manufactorum Imperialis terrain will add a wide assortment of pipes, storage tanks, machinery, and all sorts of hazardous extras to your table. The legendary Munitorum Armoured Container even makes an appearance, and loses none of its pizzazz in the miniaturisation process. 

The industrial terrain pieces within are just as modular as their civilian counterparts, allowing you to stack, divide, arrange, and combine structures in so many different ways you’d need a Tech-Priest to keep track. 

With such wide-ranging battles, you can also fight over some great look industrial areas ported over from AT.

Legions Imperialis Flying Base & Sprues: (July 24th, 2023)

The latest Legions Imperialis Flying Base & Sprues info comes from Warhammer Community.

This is the only pic we’ve seen of the sprues so far, but as you can see, they seem to be designing them so the kits in the actual starter could be released on their own later on.

This means everything in the starter could have its own kit early in the game. We’ve already seen a second box set, with all the heavy weaponry and dreads, which also come in the starter box. The sprues look to be set up with only single units on each, making it super easy to rebox them into their own offerings.

As you can also see, each infantry model is going to be one part, but the tanks look to still have a bunch of bits, so get ready to build up some tiny tank kits with a lot of parts!

 I’ve still got the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship on my desk at work because it was such a breakthrough moment in the amount of detail we could convey on a miniature at that size, and it has an impact that’s very different from the full-sized one. Plus it’s a lot easier to keep next to my computer, unlike the colossal Forge World flyer.

They don’t mention much about the different flying stands, but as you can see above, the new one is quite different.

Games Workshop also did the same thing with AT bases, so if you already play AI, there’s a chance you might have to rebase to play Legions Imperialis, or just find out where you should measure from (considering it’s a different shape).

Legiones Astartes Support Box Brings Epic Firepower to Legions Imperialis: (July 20th, 2023)

The latest on the Legiones Astartes Support Box comes from Warhammer Community. The new box comes with eight Dreadnoughts and eight heavy weapon platforms.

It’s interesting to see the style of boxes GW will release after the big starter, and we expect a troop-focused box after this one. Let’s take a closer look. 

This box is packed with heavy firepower. Leviathan Dreadnoughts are some of the toughest units to crack below Knight-scale, and are more than capable of messing up heavy tanks with their mix of weaponry. They’re joined by Deredeo Dreadnoughts, which are absolutely stacked with devastating long-range armaments.

If you need all the firepower, this is going to be a fun pickup. It’s also worth noting they said everything inside the box will be plastic. Which is good for this box but could mean lots of offerings will be resin.

The Legiones Astartes Support box also adds Rapier Batteries to this selection of Dreadnought death-dealers. These semi-automated carriages are used when Legions need to rapidly deploy ordnance that is too heavy for even Legionaries to carry unaided, trundling into terrain unfriendly to tanks. 

One fun thing about Epic Scale is you get to deploy all kinds of dreadnoughts in a single army, and this box alone gets you 8!

Every model in this article is available in the Legiones Astartes Support box, which contains four Leviathan Dreadnoughts, four Deredeo Dreadnoughts, four Rapier batteries – and their miniscule crew – alongside four Tarantula Batteries, all in plastic.

The box has plenty of weapon platforms to blast through the endless legions of tanks and titans.

Aethon Heavy Sentinels: (July 17th, 2023)

The latest on the Aethon Heavy Sentinels is from Warhammer Community.

Deploying first in the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Legions Imperialis launch box, we’re digging into the historical records to find out more about this rare and powerful combat walker.

A combination of speed, mobility, and firepower makes the Aethon a popular vehicle for reconnaissance and flanking manoeuvres, allowing squadrons to race through dense terrain and hit slower tanks in their vulnerable sides. 

They are cool-looking minis, and you can field tons of them in an epic scale!

Where a regular Sentinel might pack a single flamer, autocannon, or even a plasma cannon, the Aethon carries an entire arsenal into battle without compromising its signature mobility. The one-two punch of a powerful multi-laser and an impressive missile battery let the Sentinel’s pilot duke it out with infantry and lightly armoured targets – though the thick armour of a battle tank would still give them pause for thought.

They are pretty heavily armed, but not to the level of a Titan quite yet. Still, if you want a lot of firepower in a small package, you can’t go wrong with these new Aethon Heavy Sentinels.

So great is the prestige of these formidable machines that only veterans of dedicated pioneer companies are selected to pilot them, ensuring that each pilot in a patrol is experienced at tracking enemy forces, assessing local terrain, and thwarting dastardly ambushes. 

Unfortunately, the commendable performance and heavy weaponry leaves a powerful thirst for fuel and ammunition – issues that kept the Heavy Sentinel reserved for flanking actions and tactical interdiction.

You can’t entrust so much firepower to an inexperienced pilot, so it makes sense they have dedicated companies to run them. However, since they have so much going on, they can’t be on the battlefield for too long, so keep them in a good flanking position!

GW Reveals More Details About Legions Imperialis Xenos, Primarchs & More: (July 7th, 2023)

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 are unlikely to include 40k or Xenos factions. 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 anything not included in Legions Imperialis will more or less mean they are gone for AI, and AT. 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.

The Epic Scale of Legions Imperialis Miniatures vs. Warhammer 40k: (July 4th, 2023)

The latest news for the Epic Scale of Legions Imperialis miniatures compared to Warhammer 40k comes from Warhammer Community.

Legions Imperialis miniatures are roughly a quarter of the size of the original models, and this is universal across the range. That means all dimensions have been reduced, and things have been engineered slightly differently to make sure that the right details stand out on the tabletop. To get an idea of the change, here’s a comparison between a base of MKVI Tactical Marines, and the full-sized version.

Having five Marines on one base is just awesome, so the scale of that looks good to us!

 

There’s no tech-heresy interfering with these images, they truly are correctly scaled. If it helps, try to imagine four smaller Astartes standing on each other’s heads to match the regular sized Space Marine. It’s not only funny, it’s a smart way of visualising the scale difference.*

They aren’t kidding about the 1/4 size, as they even stack up four of those little marines to make the height of one. Shockingly you can do the same thing with Warlord Titans compared to the Forge World models if you have both!

Even more exciting than pint-sized superhuman soldiers are tanks and Dreadnoughts in pocket-friendly dimensions. Gaze in wonder upon the imposing Contemptor Dreadnought – you could almost claim it was adorable, if not for the guns and deep sense of duty in death.

That’s quite a small Contemptor, but this means you can get a ton of them in your army!

Tank Sizes For Legions Imperialis

This scale is perfect for realising the armoured columns of your dreams, as you usually take most tanks in detachments rather than on their own. The Sicaran has the same details as its larger counterpart, right down to your choice of heavy bolter or lascannon sponsons. Thanks to the scale of Legions Imperialis, you can feasibly have dozens of these rapid battle tanks racing forward to flank your foes.

This is the thing that makes Epic size awesome; you can field gigantic armies with all the tanks!

 

The core box contains a healthy contingent of Solar Auxilia. These are well known for their exceptional (but also fairly expendable) foot soldiers and endless ranks of tanks. The mighty Leman Russ is rendered no less fearsome after being shrunk down by a considerable amount, and it’s still dotted with rivets all over. 

If you’re playing the Auxilia, you will need a ton of tanks to smash through those traitor lines as well!

Equally impressive are the Malcador heavy tanks, whose design stretches back to the Age of Strife. These cantankerous goliaths are less flexible than the Leman Russ, but bristle with heavy armaments making them exceptionally valuable. Legions Imperialis is the perfect way of fielding multiple of these lumbering tanks, with their fuel stowage tail construction to ease trench crossing lovingly represented even at this scale.

This is the last tank size we have, but this gives you a great read on the size of all the models for the game, and of course, you can still use your Adeptus Titanicus and Aeronautical Imperialis minis.

While they will fit in perfectly with the game’s scale, don’t forget it looks like the bases for Legions Imperialis will be a bit thinner, so you may want to rebase your minis for both games!

More Horus Heresy Legions Imperialis: Epic-Scale Details: (July 3rd, 2023)

The new info comes from Warhammer Community.

Let’s start with the most important stuff, setting and scale!

Legions Imperialis is set during the Horus Heresy, and grand warfare is its bread and butter. Those vast battles you’ve read about? Now you can recreate them in spectacular glory, fielding entire companies of your favourite Space Marine Legion at once as you battle for the future of Humanity.

While we’re sure a lot of people wished for 40k Epic, however, all the rumors pointed towards it being Horus Heresy, so not a big surprise. Either way, this is where the game is taking place.

What is The Scale of Horus Heresy Legions Imperialis?

Legions Imperialis is ‘epic scale’, the same as Adeptus Titanicus and Aeronautica Imperialis. Combine your models into a grand host, supplementing your Legiones Astartes or Solar Auxilia with the god-engines of the Mechanicum and more – all the better to lay waste to your foes.

The scale of Horus Heresy: Legions Imperialis is undoubtedly good news for both Adeptus Titanicus and Aeronautica Imperialis players, as, those games don’t get a ton of support anymore.

Gameplay & Mechanics For Horus Heresy Legions Imperialis

On the battlefield, Detachments – equivalent to the individual ‘units’ in other Warhammer games – operate according to the Orders assigned to them each round. Orders are initially hidden when issued, meaning you’ll have to predict what your opponent’s plan is and devise your own strategy to counter.

This makes sense as instead of moving around individual minis, units are set up on single bases. Then, you will have hidden orders and entire detachments to move one at a time.

The activation of Detachments alternates, meaning you move or fire a Detachment, then your opponent does, and so on. You’re always in the thick of battle, adjusting plans as you go to seize advantages that present themselves.

This is pretty big, as instead of entire army turns, you have detachment turns. This should keep the gameplay pretty fast and more immersive.

Units, Army Building & Terrain

Strategic decisions begin before the battle – the army you field is just as important. Infantry are the best for capturing Objectives while vehicles and super-heavies are hardier and deadlier. Each Detachment has its role and it’s up to you to utilise them in the best possible way.

This makes sense because if you didn’t need infantry to capture objectives, we might see more games of Adeptus Titanicus.

Armies in Legions Imperialis revolve around ‘Formations’. Each Formation is essentially an entire Horus Heresy – The Age of Darkness army, giving you lots of freedom in how you build your force. Want a Legiones Astartes army mounted entirely in gunships for an aerial assault? You can do that! Solar Auxilia super-heavy tank company? Yep! There’s a myriad of options and more to come in the future, allowing you to build the grand army of your hobby dreams.

The game is supposed to be on a giant scale, so it only makes sense each formation is an entire army. Then, it looks like there will be decent versatility throughout to game.

Use the battlefield terrain to your advantage – garrison buildings with infantry, conceal flanking elements behind ruined city sectors, or push your tank squadrons down roads for added speed. A plethora of terrain types have rules, taking you from crumbling hive cities to thick jungles, lava fields and beyond. Oh, and you can blow up buildings with the right weapons… or a Titan fist!

Well, what would a battle with giant Titans be without destroying terrain? Either way, we’ll have to see what kind of rules they get, but it’s nice to see terrain playing a big part of the game. Now that the details are over let’s check out the starter set itself!

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!

 

 

 

It’s honestly insane how good these look while being so tiny, massive credit to the Warhammer team that did the paint job on these display models.

For heavy support, the Legiones Astartes have four pleasingly chunky Contemptor Dreadnoughts with a power fist and either twin-linked lascannons or Kheres assault cannons. You also get two Sicaran battle tanks and three Predators to round out the armoured offering, each with a choice of turret and sponson weapons. 

Both tanks come with a choice of cupola options – they can be either closed down or feature a Space Marine driver or gunner, just like the full-sized miniatures!

 

 

As the lifeblood of epic, heavy support is a super huge factor when building and playing Epic, so these kits are fantastic additions and will be seen a ton!

The Solar Auxilia are the well-trained and well-equipped defenders of the Emperor’s interests, who overwhelm their foes with superior numbers and an abundance of armour – though notably, many turned traitor along with Horus. They get two bases that can build either a Solar Axuilia Legate Commander or an Auxilia Tactical Command Section, eight bases worth of lasrifle-toting Auxiliaries, four units of Auxiliaries with flamers, four units of Veletarii shock troops, and four bases of ferocious Charonite Ogryns. 

 

 

 

While they may not get focused on much, ordinary humans are still in Horus Heresy and 40k, making their inclusion here a welcome sight.

This box introduces a never-before-seen unit for the Solar Auxilia, the Aethon Heavy Sentinel, these walkers patrol ahead of the main body of a force to scout enemies and engage them with multi-lasers and missile launchers. 

Four of these accompany four Leman Russ battle tanks and two lumbering Malcador heavy tanks, each with a choice of main battlecannons and hull-mounted weapons. These also come with various cupola options, just like their Space Marine counterparts.

 

 

Again, armor is a centerpiece to the hype of playing at an epic scale, so seeing the iconic Lemun Russ or the new Aethon Heavy Sentinels is a huge positive for the game!

As if that weren’t enough, the box also features two Warhound Titans with a new plastic weapons frame, including ursus claws, a natrix shock lance, a volkite eradicator, a missile pod with a choice of swarmer or shudder missiles, and an incisor pattern melta lance. The box also contains two new lower-profile bases that fit with the urban battlefield aesthetic of the rest of the bases in the box. 

Personally, the larger titans like Warhounds are the reasons most hobbyists seem to want to play the Epic scale.  We had already seen some of this new smaller-scaled base in March when Games Workshop accidentally published a picture of a Warhound on it.

Regardless, it’s insane seeing the behemoths stride across the field, and it’s easier (and hopefully more affordable) to do so in epic rather than in normal 40k or Horus Heresy!

These miniatures are just the beginning – plenty of additional releases are planned for Legions Imperialis, and eventually most of the armoury for both the Space Marine Legions and the Solar Auxilia will be available. Soon you will be able to create vast armies and conduct war on the scale you’re read about in the Horus Heresy books.

Don’t forget that in the preview stream, GW also mentioned that Aeronautica and Titanicus models are all in the correct scale and will be usable in Legions Imperialis! So if you play those games, getting started in full Epic scale games may be even easier!

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!

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