Here are all the latest Legiones Astartes-specific Space Marines rules for Legions Imeperialis, the game of Epic-Scale battles!
If you’ve patiently waited for Epic Warhammer 40k to return, it’s being rebranded in the Horus Heresy era as Legions Imperialis. 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.
If you want to see how the game will work, you can check that out here. For now, though, let’s jump into all the new rules for the Space Marines in a tiny scale!
Legiones Astartes Legions Imperialis Rules & Details
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.
Click Here For The Latest Warhammer Previews
What do you think about the new Legiones Astartes-specific Space Marines rules for Legions Imeperialis, the game of Epic-Scale battles?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
Get ad-free access to our hobby videos, a monthly crate of miniatures, and support some of the best creators out there for as little as $6 a month on Patreon!
Click Here For All the Hobby Products & Tools We Swear By
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!
