Adeptus Titanicus - Crucible of Retribution - Legio Ignatum Review

LEGIO IGNATUM RULES FOR ADEPTUS TITANICUS:

 Hello, Princeps, and welcome to our continuing coverage of Adeptus Titanicus.  This time, we’re bringing you a Legio rules review conducted by one of our support staff.  So, without further ado, let’s take it over to him:

Greetings my fellow Princeps. Today I bring to you my review of the new rules for Legio Ignatum that appear in the latest campaign book Crucible of Retribution.

LEGIO TRAIT

 So let’s start with the Legio trait that the Fire Wasps receive. ‘We Loyal Few’ gives them the ability to reroll ones in the Combat Phase at enemy targets no further than 12 inches away. Now, as a Firewasps Princeps that likes to get into the thick of things this is really quite handy, especially when you are trying to strip an enemy titan’s shields before following up with your heavier weapons. How many times have you tried to take out a couple of shields with a Gatling blaster at a crucial part of the battle only to come up with a host of ones?

I find this quite thematic seeing as the Fire Wasps are driven by their fury at the traitors turning away from the Imperium. Just understand that you can only use this ability in the Combat Phase of the game, so that means you can’t use it with First Fire orders.

STRATAGEMS

 Next up is their first of two (2) stratagems, ‘Punish Their Folly’. Essentially, if an enemy Titan ends its move within three (3) inches of your Titan as part of a Charge Order the Ignatum Titan can fire one (1) of its weapons at normal Ballistic Skill before any attacks are resolved, but you cannot use any weapon with the Melee trait. Again I feel this is quite thematic:  showing defiance as an enemy bears down upon you, you turn your engine and shoot the attacker square in the face. This is another situational stratagem that can only be used in the orders phase, so if someone moves within 3 inches normally in the movement phase you can’t use it.

Next up is ‘Guard the Gates’. This is a situational stratagem as well. You can only utilize it in the very first strategy phase of the game, and whilst a lot of people on various forums have been giving it a hard time I see it as a very useful first-turn deterrent. As ALL Ignatum engines can benefit from it whether part of a maniple or just a support Titan, it’s pretty handy.  As most people already know of this stratagem, opponents would have to be very brave or very foolish to place one of their engines in the open on first turn in the hope of gaining an advantage to their movement or their own fields of fire. If you deploy your titans in good positions with good fields of fire, a cautious enemy player will hide their engines more often than not, which restricts their movement and fields of fire. On the other side of the coin, a reckless, bloodthirsty opponent will be running into a lot of first-fire shooting.

WARGEAR

Now to one of my favourite things:  the war gear. Gravitonic Sensor Array is, in my opinion, an absolute must. For example, Guard the Gates first-turn firing would definitely benefit from the +1 to hit targets that are at least 25 percent in cover as would any over-shooting for the rest of the game. I don’t really even have to say anything else about it; it’s a must buy for any Ignatum Princeps.

PERSONAL TRAITS

•  Death Before Dishonour is a pretty great trait but it does mean that you are possibly quite near to death as to use it you have to have a received a critical. Also, on repair rolls you have to use any successful rolls to repair any damaged weapons first before applying any of them to your Voids or Reactor. That said, rerolling failed to-hit rolls is always worth a little pain, I reckon.
• Foe Slayer: my personal favourite, as it allows the Princeps Senoris to add +1 to the armour rolls for one specified weapon.  However, if your enemy is either Legio Mortis or Legio Tempestus, you can add +1 to the armour roll for two weapons.
• Lastly there is Eternal Guardian. Basically, don’t move your Titan (voluntarily or involuntarily) and you get to reroll one armour roll per combat phase.

 For my style of play I’d be hoping for either one of the first two of the personal traits, especially Foe Slayer as I play against a lot of Mortis and Tempestus titans, but Death Before Dishonour is definitely a very handy trait in a titanic scale gun-battle.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall I find the rules fairly thematic to how I see the Legio.  The strategems can be effective, but because they are very situational in being either first-turn only or charge orders, you probably won’t take them that often; only if you fancy trying them out, really.

We Loyal Few should just cover all firing, not just Combat Phase shooting, as, for example, a Venator light maniple cannot utilise it if a Warhound strips an enemy shield for the free shot from the Reaver Titan, but I’m probably just being biased as it’s my Legio.

Overall I’m content with the rules.  They aren’t really that overpowered as a lot of them are situational, apart from the Gravitonic Sensor Array, that is, but then you have to pay the points out for that so that, in my opinion, is a far exchange.

Well, that’s it from me.  I hope that my fellow Ignatum Princeps have enjoyed this little review and that my esteemed enemies are feeling even more worried about facing the Fire Wasps in battle.