Legions Imperialis - New Knights and Tanks

Today, our Legions Imperialis review from last week's pre-orders comes courtesy of Princeps Lex.  Big thank you to Games Workshop for providing us with free preview copies so we can talk about the new hotness.  Huge photo dump at the bottom to make things easier (Mechanicus support is en route to fuss at Blogger for formatting issues that necessitated this presentation method - our apologies)

Greetings fellow Princeps! Princeps Lex here. I had a new addition to my family in the last few

dweeks so this review is getting to you a bit late, but still very excited for these releases!

Here is what is on the docket, all for Legion Imperialis with the Knights cross-compatible with

Adeptus Titanicus:

    ● Questoris Knights Magaera and Styrix

    ● Cerastus Knights Atrapos

    ● Acastus Knights Asterius

    ● Krios Squadron

    ● Karacnos Assault Tank Squadron

Knights

Getting started with the Knights - All three of these kits are plastic ports of previously existing

resin kits, so none are totally new units for either game. They all come with terminal cards for

Adeptus Titanicus. I have seen some confusion about that online, so I want to be very clear that AT support for knight releases is still a very real thing. In fact, the cards for all of them have been very slightly visually updated and contain a new copyright date of 2025.

The Questoris Knights Magaera and Styrix are the first of this lot. The box comes with two

sprues of these guys and each one contains one Magaera and one Styrix. So if you are trying to make a big lance of just one type that will make the proposition more expensive. I think they

both fill their roles fine, though, so this is probably less of an irritant than it was for something

like the Acheron/Castigator box. These models are really nicely detailed, and now much

cheaper than their resin predecessors.

This kit is the only one with different rules printed on its terminal from the older Forgeworld

terminal, and frankly the differences are superficial. The old cards had a base cost for knights

and a separate, but not truly optional, weapons cost. The new cards just roll everything in. The

one change is that the phased plasma fusil upgrade was optional before, and now it is rolled

into the base cost so you cannot go without them and make the knights 10 points cheaper. The upgrade itself is nothing to write home about - two strength four hits on enemies per knight when the banner is activated in 3” - but knights want to be close so maybe that is something you would have taken anyway.

In Titanicus I find these knights fine but not really exceptional as adjuncts to a Legio force. They are much more interesting and flavorful as components in a knight household - which is not my favorite way to play but I know lots of people enjoy running household armies.

In LI I think these knights suffer from the lost middle problem that plagues all knights. They

cannot be fielded in volume like tanks, but are not individually as overwhelming as Titans (and

in my opinion even smaller titans struggle to justify themselves versus tanks in LI).

Next up - the Cerastus Knights Atrapos. These are some of my favorite knights in both AT and

LI. And this kit is honestly a bit more than just a port of the resin variants. They have multiple

shoulder armor options and different head choices based on the old resin Mechanicum

Cerastus Knight heads that Forge World sold in the late 2010’s. They also now have the upper

leg armor plates that were present on the Heresy/40k scale Knights Atrapos but missing on the Epic Scale versions. This box comes with four knights, two on each sprue. Two variants of leg poses on each sprue as well. You cannot build the Graviton Singularity Cannon “open” like you can on the Heresy/40k version, but that was true of the resin kit as well.

The rules for AT remain unchanged for these, but as fast knights with a fusion melee weapon

that hits on 2+ with the accuracy bonus they can seriously threaten even titans. I have always

liked these as an addition to a Legio or Household force. If you have the points for them they

can do work.

In LI these might be among the few knights that have a real place in an army. They are pretty

ferocious and like in AT they can threaten units larger than them. I have not experimented with

them in that game, though - unable to break free from filling my Mechanicum Knight/Titan slots

(and points) with a chonking Warmaster.

Do not let my middling LI report on them stop you from picking them up, though, the recent LI

FAQ shows that game is still very much developing and this is a great kit that has tended to be

at least capable in every game the Atrapos appears in. My guess is that it is only likely to

improve in LI.

T

he Acastus Knights Asterius box has the big boys in the bunch. Only two knights here, but they are huge, gorgeous knights. Their low-slung Conversion Beam Cannons give them an even larger and more sinister silhouette than their already chonky Porphyrion brothers. The cannons actually picked up a little detail in the transition to plastic - being more of a solid piece in the resin. These have no weapon or armor modeling options - but can be built with their Karacnos battery open or closed.

Rules wise this is really a tale of two Knight-Titans. In AT they are famously overpowered, even moreso than the Porphyrion variant which has been more common up until now. They can throw out an immense amount of fairly high-strength firepower without having to deal with some of the complications (arc and reactor heat) that Titans do. The downside is that, aside from your friends hating you for using them, in many of the events I play in they are outright prohibited in the event organizer pack for Legios and generally very narrowly prescribed (often one banner per force) in Household armies. So if you actually want to play them you might find your opportunities slim.

In LI, conversely, they are powerful on paper but in reality very expensive for what they bring to the table. They cost almost as much as a full Warhound Titan and miss some of the base rule benefits (like split fire) that Titans get.

For all of the Mechanicum knights plastic is a significantly more cost-effective material than

resin, and you get more knights for your money in each case. Perhaps the only thing

disappointing here is that Armigers did not make it into this release, but hope springs eternal.

Because they really need to see a cheaper option to be interesting as a game piece.

Tanks 

The tanks are the truly new modeling experience in this release, having never been represented in modern Epic Scale before. We have known about their rules for a while, and covered them in our Rise of the Dark Mechanicum review, so I will keep that discussion short here. The changes to LI from the April FAQ do have some impact there, mostly because of what has happened to other units and what it means for these in comparison.

The Krios Squadron is the basic Mechanicum battle tank and the box comes with six of them -

three on each sprue. You get three weapon options - three of the Lightning Cannon, two of the

Irad-Scourer, and two of the Pulsar Fusil that lets you build Krios Venators instead. Which

means that you can only build a full complement of lightning cannon Krioses. As models these

are solid despite having the exposed aesthetic of a Mechanicum tracked vehicle.

Both flavors of Krios are alright, but maybe a touch weak. The one thing I will say for them is

that since Mechanicum got smacked by the April 2025 FAQ that removed Large Transport from their Triaros transports options like the Krios look more attractive compared to cybernetica walkers that are now going to have to hoof it across the battlefield.

The Karacnos Assault Tank Squadron is just great. All around A+ effort here. Very cool model

with missile artillery racks and side guns, and the already great heavy armored look of its

Triaros transport cousin. A little more fiddly than the Krios or Triaros, but worth it.

The rules for these are also just great. Two shot barrage weapons plus point defense sponsons.

They are arguably stronger than Solar Auxilia Basilisks but with much reduced range. That has

a silver lining, though, because big basilisk units that can hit across the field are the kind of unit that can ruin the game experience for someone playing against them. The Karacnos feels more “fair” because it has to interact with the board more - closing to within its range before pelting targets with missiles.

I think the changes to Triaros leading to the loss of transports for walkers will make these

essential to any Mechanicum force. Especially loyalist Mechanicum that cannot feed from the

stalker trough.

I recommend any of these kits, with the Karacnos as my number one. I mean, if you have never experienced an Acastus knight before, go for the experience - but my guess is that a lot of Titan Owners who play at this scale will have at least a Porphyrion and possibly the resin Asterius.

At any rate, good to see this all in plastic, and every kit is well executed.

Legions Imperialis - Mechanicum Battlegroup and Rise of the Dark Mechanicum

Today, our review of the new Mechanicum Battlegroup for Legions Imperialis is covered by Princeps Lex:

Wow. The Legion Imperialis release for the Mechanicum really has me feeling a lot of different things, mostly good things. The Topline takeaway for you is this: Yes. Good. I recommend it.

As someone who likes stompy warmachines (which is why we are all here at Titan Owners Club, yes?) the Mechanicum always had a special draw to me that the Space Marine Legions and Solar Auxilia never did. Having just built some 30k scale Mechanicum, I was excited to dig into their smaller counterparts.

There are two components here, and both of them deserve a full review, although it is impossible to do either justice without having those reviews overlap somewhat. I am going to try and cover The Rise of the Dark Mechanicum book and the Mechanicum Battle Group box set in one flowing piece, we will see how well that works out in practice.

Overall Theme

Let’s start with the overarching themes of the book, and then move into the box set and how its units stack up. 

The Rise of the Dark Mechanicum is, in my opinion, the most exciting rules release for Legion Imperialis to date. It adds new factions, creates a ton of new flexibility for the Knights and Titans we love, and introduces some really wicked Dark Mechanicum units that have never been seen before on the tabletop.

As a Titan Owner and just general lover of all things Titan, the new flexibility for Titans and Knights is a god-send. There two new ways to get more big stompies on the table:

First, Titans and Knights can now serve as primary army lists. The book makes a note for each that doing so is mainly intended as a thematic choice, because either force will struggle to play an objective based game, but the option is really nice. If I have a criticism here, it is that I feel like this could have been done back in the core rules, or in Great Slaughter. It seems like Games Workshop spent a lot of time tiptoeing around just making Titans a legitimate army in mainline Legions Imperialis. Maybe they needed time to assess that Titans were not overpowering the game or something, but it is nice to see they finally came around on that.

A Collegia Titanica army is a fairly simple thing. These lists come in maniple formations that roughly mirror some popular maniples from Adeptus Titanicus, with some new ones thrown in, particularly ones that incorporate Warmasters. Unlike in AT, or in formations for the other factions in LI, none of these get special rules. They just come as a force org chart for what Titans you can take. This is fine, but seems to be more evidence of what I said above about Games Workshop’s level of comfort fully integrating titans. At any rate, even if it is not that competitive, being able to just drop an AT maniple down as an LI army and not have to paint a bunch of new things makes the game a lot more accessible to me, and probably to many other readers of this blog. 

Knight Households get brought in as primary armies too, and Games Workshop seems a bit less afraid of them. First of all, Armigers are removed as an upgrade and turned into their own detachment. This time with a tactical strength of 3, which makes Knight Households more of a real army than Titan Maniples. That change stands my initial review of Epic Scale Armigers for Adeptus Titanicus on its side - at the time I said they were fantastic models at small scale, but their rules rendered them marginally useful in games and their staggering cost made it hard to recommend them. Now I think they have real utility in LI, but their dollar (or pound, etc..) cost is still really high for something that you likely want to run multiples of. Really hoping this heralds an upcoming release of plastic armigers. 

Household lance formations also get real special rules. Honestly I think this is an even bigger deal for Knights than for Titans. As strategic assets I think Knights struggled to demonstrate value compared with Titans - you really had to make exacting choices under the 30% quota. Now I can see people running a household army as a fluffy thing to do at the very least. Will it stand up to massed Space Marine infantry and Dreadnoughts or a withering barrage from Leman Russ Vanquishers and Basilisks? Probably not. But you might just have some fun in the struggle. 

Second, and probably more meaningfully in terms of actual gameplay, Knights and Titans fill some of the optional detachment slots in Mechanicum and Dark Mechanicum formations. Which means now you can bring them without burning down your 30% allied quota in an army that otherwise has real options for taking objectives.

Anyway, I promise this is the only blog post any site does on this book that is going to lead with that stuff instead of geeking out over Mechanicum itself. None of the Titans or Knights get any new detachment rules or options. The changes to Armigers in a household list and the formation bonuses for Knights are the whole ballgame there.

The Mechanicum

Now to the real meat of the book - the Mechanicum. First off, the campaign here looks really nice and compelling, but I have never been much of a campaign player and this review is already going to be long, so I am not going to get into that here.

The Mechanicum as a faction is an interesting addition to the game. Special rules-wise it kind of falls between Space Marines and Solar Auxilia, with its Cybernetica Cortex rule giving detachments two orders to choose from unless another unit nearby has the Cortex Controller rule. This lets battle automata (most of the units that have the Cortex rule) operate with a bit more flexibility than the tercios and tanks of the Auxilia, but less than Marines. 

In terms of what is available, broadly speaking, Mechanicum is a bit strange. They get some interesting options, but by dint of having a smaller range than Marines and Auxilia, they have a lot of holes that will need to be plugged by allies (although practically they never have to weigh allies against strategic assets, which is nice). Their strongest units are probably their infantry and transports, and they have an absolute wealth of walkers on hand to cram into the support slot. I think their biggest weaknesses lie in the fact that some of the walkers do not have a clear role in light of what others can do, and they are not as sharply optimized as, say, Charonite Ogryns or Leviathan Dreadnoughts. Also they just have nothing at all by way of aircraft (I mean, Vulturax, but those are skimmers rather than flyers) and no anti-air except for what some Titans can bring in (and allies of course). I hear that massed units with Tracking and/or Accurate can usually stand in for dedicated anti-air, but there is precious little of that here too. They do actually get tanks, which seem pretty reasonable, if less optimized than some Solar Auxilia tanks. These are not in the Battle Group, though, so while we have rules now it will be an undisclosed amount of time before we get models. 

Models

Alright, the models themselves! The Mechanicum Battle Group box comes with two of each sprue and makes what Games Workshop claims are “146 models,” a number that counts individual figures rather than bases for Legion Imperialis. Two of the sprues are a grab bag of different infantry and walker units, one sprue is all Thanatars all the time, and the last is two Triaros Armored Conveyors per frame.

When the first sprue is inevitably released separately, it will probably be called something like Mechanicum Infantry. It contains the following (numbers by base, rather than model):

• 1x Archmagos Prime on Abeyant

• Could be built as just an Archmagos Prime by leaving it off of the Abeyant.

• 1x Tech-Priest Auxilia 

• Includes 1 tech priest and 4 servitor style machines per-pase.

• 1x Myrmidon Secutor Host

• 2x Myrmidon Destructor Host

• 2 x Ursarax Cohort

• In two pieces for each model - torso and legs.

• Legs are shared with Thallax.

• 4 x Thallax Cohort

• In two pieces for each model - torso and legs.

• Legs are shared with Ursarax.

• 5 x Adsecularis Tech-Thrall Covenant

This is a nice mix of useful models. The Archmagos is your HQ and is visually the most impressive of any HQ in my opinion when on Abeyant. That also makes it the most expensive HQ by just under double the points of Legion Command. You can match those points without the abeyant, but lose a little toughness and weaponry. All versions have Cortex Controller and Battlesmith. Tech-Priest Auxilia detachments fill the support slot and can bring along three tech priests that can each be attached to different detachments. Their greatest utility is in providing Battlesmith to give your walkers more toughness and Cortex Controller.

The Myrmidons offer some specialized close combat and ranged support with secutors and destructors respectively. They do not have the Cybernetica Cortex rule, so can be issued any orders. They each come in detachments of 2 (which can be upgraded) and are a bit expensive for their points I think. Secutors are really missing Rend. Destructors have nice ranged weaponry for an infantry base, but their small detachment size makes them less points efficient than something like Legion Missile Launchers. Their models look good, and have fewer unsightly undercuts than comparable Auxilia and Marine infantry models. The only downside is that each kind of Myrmidon only has two models, so bases of them will look same-y very fast. Also, Destructos have two options for ranged weaponry, but only one model variant for each gun, and the instructions have you mixing them on the base so WYSIWYG is kind of out the window for them, if you care about that on LI infantry models.

Your core units are Adecularis Tech-Thralls and Thallax. The former are even less killy than Auxilia Tercios (CAF of -1), but they are equally cheap and they have - morale, which means they never have to take morale tests. Honestly, I think that kind of makes for great backfield objective holders. They will get beat by almost anything else in the game in a straight fight, but for cheap infantry they can hang around longer than their nearest competitors and score some solid points. Oh, and they lack Line, but for backfield things that probably does not matter too much. 

Thallax are on the other end of things as perhaps the most lethal core units of any faction. They are faster than similar infantry, have jump packs, and get three shots per base between their two weapon types. They come in base detachments of 2, so end up being a little more expensive per base than specialized marines. I still think their speed and sheer volume of shots make them viable. Neither core unit is subject to Cybernetica Cortex, so they can be issued any order you like. 

Both are nice models, the Thallax in particular look very crisp, though being two-piece helps. In some ways the Adsecularis are more impressive for being one piece and not looking undercut at all. Oh, interestingly they are modeled after the old resin Adsecularis moreso than the recent plastic Tech-Thralls for Horus Heresy. I kind of prefer the less zombie-looking old versions, so these are appealing to me. If you like the new flavor, though, you might be disappointed. 

Finally, you get Ursarax, which sit in the vanguard spot. These are nice, reasonably cheap, quick, and killy infantry. But the vanguard spot has two other, perhaps more interesting options and Mechanicum gets pretty sparse access to vanguard except in a Legio Cybernetica Cohort - where it competes with extra support slots. The models are nice, but you only get three torso variants replicated twice across the sprue. More variety would have been appreciated.

The second sprue will probably be called Battle Automata, because you get a lot of them on it.

• 1 x Arlatax Battle-Automata

• 1 x Domitar Battle-Automata

• 1 x Vultarax Stratos-Automata

• 1 x Vorax Battle-Automata

• 2 x Castellax Battle-Automata

Each of these is a multi-part model, and some of these are a real doozy to build. But they are possibly the most detailed epic scale models smaller than a tank that now exist. All of these friends get Cybernetica Cortex and very much benefit from hanging out with Tech-Priests and Archmagi. 

The Arlatax is a brand new model in any scale. Built with a similar body to the Domitar (one day they will probably share a body sprue for Horus Heresy), but featuring a massive jet pack and claws in place of a missile launcher and graviton hammers. These quick walkers get Cybernetica Cortex with Advance and Charge, three shots across two ranged weapon types, a fairly high CAF, Armoured, Jump Pack, and an Invulnerable Save of 6+. With two wounds they are even tougher to kill than dreadnoughts. 

The Domitar is the chassis sibling of the Arlatax and it is possibly the most difficult model to build in the entire set. It is one automata to a base, but its arms and cables are just so fiddly. Fortunately, once you do get it together it seems sturdier than you might expect. Coming one to a sprue, these only get one pose. Gameplay wise they seem strange to me. They have the same missile launcher as a space marine missile launcher base, but at a significantly higher cost per base they are going to get less shots. They also get graviton hammers, which make their close combat actions -2 AP and give them Wrecker. They have a decent CAF of +4, but at their cost I feel like they will ultimately offer only middling close combat performance - lacking rend and being easily outnumbered. So, I feel like in the end these do not know whether they want to be mid range missile support units or building destroyers and I feel like they pay a lot of points to sort of be both.

Vultarax are some of my favorite automata because they just look so much different than anything else in the Mechanicum arsenal, while still clearly fitting in. I really thought these models were going to be embarrassingly fragile with super long mech-tentacle arms, and so I was stunned that they are actually quite durable for what they are. They look nice, and being sort of gun-blimps they suffer less for being monopose without variants. Gameplay wise these fill the vanguard slot and are one of the things that I think outcompetes Ursarax by dint of being your only source of Outflank in a Mechanicum army. Their guns are competent and one brings Neutron-Flux to the table, which is kind of an anti-mechanicum rule that gives it Armourbane and Shred when firing at models with Cybernetica Cortex. Oh, and they are skimmers. 

Vorax are the last vanguard detachment and they bring the Rend. Also the Forward Deployment. Those seem like pretty nice things to pack into one package. They also get 5 shots a base between their lightning guns and rotor cannon. The downside is that this detachment is expensive, with the equivalent cost of a basic detachment of Veletaris for only one base. This is the only detachment not to have “advance” as one of its Cortex orders, instead featuring charge and march. These are pretty fiddly models to build too, but after my first sprue of them I kind of figured out how to get the arms and legs on more comfortably and they were less of a pain. I have never loved the “bug” look of Vorax, but they have a really distinct silhouette even at this scale, and I appreciate that.

Castellax are a Walker support detachment that seems set up to behave like very tough infantry. At least per-base. For their cost I am not sure how much more longevity you might get out of them, though. As far as the models, these go together easy once you figure out how to get the ammo belt on the mauler bolt cannon to align. They look nice and chunky too. 

Alright, phew, now we are onto the single unit sprues. First up Thanatars! The Thanatar sprues contain four Thanatars a piece. Two Cavas and Two Calix. They share legs, but have different torsos and weapons. Much like their 28mm counterparts. Take care not to clip the hydraulics off of the leg pieces because from some angles they kind of look like sprue excess. Oops. These are your bastion units and slots for them are pretty sparse except for in Ordo Reductor formations, where they are the centerpieces. Both types are listed in the same detachment sheet and operate as weapons variants. The Cavas gets a plasma mortar that hits at 3+ and -3 AP with Demolisher and Ignores Cover. They are slightly shorter ranged, but honestly that is a tasty weapon and might be the better variant. The Calix trades the mortar for a Solex Lascannon that gains 4” of range and otherwise operates like a Leman Russ lascannon that trades Anti-Tank for Armourbane (so, benefitting all around) as well as a Graviton Ram that provides Wrecker (2). Like the Domitar, this is an automata that does not quite know whether it wants to be up close, or at some distance. And you have to pay some points to upgrade to Calix too. Both variants get a Mauler Bolt Cannon. Oh, and I think you can cram these in transports. More on that below.

Final sprue is the Triaros Armored Carrier which is a solid little vehicle model. I usually feel like Legion Imperialis renders vehicles better than the assorted infantry and walkers. That is not true for this set, but not because the Triaros is a slouch in any way, just because the walkers are so good. This is still a solid, well rendered model. As for the rules, fellow Princeps, I think this thing is really good. I think this might be the model that makes Mechanicum work. For just one and a half times the cost of a Rhino you get a Large Transport (4). Now, it only has movement 8”, which puts it on par with the likes of the Spartan and Dracosan rather than nimble Rhino, but it has twice a Rhino’s capacity and it can cart Walkers around (they count as 2 models). The rules were pretty obviously set up to allow the Triaros to shuttle Castellax around, but it can also move Domitars, Vorax, and even Thanatars. It is decently tough with a 3+ save and packs some respectable close range weapons with Volkite Calivers and a Mauler Bolt Cannon. They cannot be easily ignored once they dispense their cargo. And of course, while they can cart Walkers around, they can also just sling four bases of Thallax or Ursarax just fine too. Seriously, to get all of that for so few points is really incredible. Mechanicum mechanized infantry could really be a thing. 

As far as the Triaros models go, they are pretty nice. Much easier to build than a big Triaros. And minimal very tiny, fiddly parts. The hunter killer missiles are pretty fiddly, but you do not actually need them for anything other than flavor in LI. There are no stats for them. I liked building these a lot more than Rhinos or Dracosan. Do not even get me started on drop pods. 

So, that is what we get in the box set, and therefore everything mech you are likely to see on the table in the nearish future. There are still a few things I have not covered, but they will not be available with this release, so I will cover them quickly.

Tanks: Mechanicum does get tanks and they are in the book. They have far fewer options than Solar Auxilia and Marines, pretty much the things that are available already in Horus Heresy, but not Ordinatus engines or any of the really big guns. Krios, Krios Venator, Karacnos. The Krios is a solid battle tank, if not really top tier. The Krios Venator is an armor killer, but quite short ranged. The Karacnos is a fun artillery option, but less optimized than something like a Basilisk. Honestly, it probably just means it will get some work done without being an objectionable headache to everyone you ever play. So that is probably nice.

The Dark Mechanicum has kind of been the big news with this book’s release, but the walkers are already very much out of the bag. The models look nice in pictures, but I do not have them. Gameplay wise, I have a really hard time assessing them. They have some interesting options, but a lot of Light and Light AT weapons. Most of their heavy hitting weapons are exceptionally close ranged. They might end up being good, though, I just have not seen them on the table and they are different enough from what exists now that I find it hard to predict. 

Dark Mechanicum can also use many of the Mechanicum units in its formations. Everything but the Battle-Automata. But the book also says you can use ordinary Mechanicum formations with the traitor allegiance to represent more traditional Dark Mech contingents alongside dedicated corrupted formations with walkers. So… in the end you do not really lose out on anything. Which does make Dark Mechanicum a faction that just gets stuff its loyalist counterparts do not without missing out on anything else. If that bothers you, well, that is what is goin on here.

Final Verdict

Ultimately I think this is a really exciting release, and I cannot wait to get these on the table at the Mid-Atlantic Legion Imperialis Campaign Event (MALICE) next month!

Tallarnian Mayhem - Next Wave of Tanks

Today we take a look at the next wave of tanks to release alongside the Devastation of Tallarn Legions Imperialis supplement.  

Termites

Wait a second!  These aren't tanks!!  Termite assault drills were used to bury deep underground and then pop up in the middle of enemy fortifications and strongholds.  When you just can't get through the void shields, sometimes you need to go under the foe.

Two sprues get you eight Termites and we'll admit this one looks like it'll be a touch daunting, given the relatively small pieces and contact points.  Care and caution.  And - they're Termites, you should probably call an Exterminator.

Leman Russ Chassis

Did someone say Exterminator?  The next set of Leman Russ tanks come out charging hard, proving a release for even more options on the venerable chassis.

These won't be much of a threat to your Titans, but woe betide any infantry or light amror that ignores them.

Sabre Chassis

The one-Astartes Sabre tanks make their debut in tiny form, ready to wreak havoc across the battlefield.  You don't want to sleep on what neutron weapons can do to your electronics.

Legions Imperialis - Tanks, Tanks, and More Tanks!

For fans of Titans, no battle was more grand or pivotal than the Beta-Garmon campaign, also known as the Titandeath.  However, no battle saw as much armor take to the field as the battles for Tallarn, which is where the new Devastation of Tallarn Legions Imperialis supplement takes us.  We'll be taking a look at the supplement in a later article, but today we're taking a look at the new tanks releasing alongside it in Epic Scale.

Shadowsword Chassis

This box lets you build the Shadowsword and two of its classic variants.  Undeniably the premier Titan-killer of the Imperial Army and later Astra Militarum, the Shadowsword throws a heavy laser down designed to absolutely destroy the heaviest foes an opponent can throw at you.  By contrast, Stormblades and Stormswords give up punch but gain versatility in what they can take down and still deal heavy damage to all but the toughest of foes.

Each tank comes on a single sprue, with all options available.  Two sprues come in the kit.

Of the venerable tanks, Princeps Lex offered:

"Oh Omnissiah be praised, these tanks are Awesome! The Shadowswords, Stormblades, and Stormswords box is a great addition to the Solar Auxilia. These dedicated superheavy hunters were always my favorite of the big Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum/Solar Auxilia tanks for their sheer audacity to toss the flexibility of the Baneblades and Stormhammers right out the window and mount one honking enormous Titan killing gun. 

Let’s get the similarities out of the way. Other than the main gun, these are all the same. And despite sharing side panels with the “Bane” tanks, these do not have sponson weapon options. They come locked in with side-mounted lascannon turrets, sponson heavy bolters, and a front mounted heavy bolter. I originally went to magnetize my sponsons like I did for the Baneblade, then pulled the magnet out when I realized there was no point (and I still had easy access to the magnet). Maybe some future rule set will permit variation there so you could magnetize to “future proof,” but that would all be pure speculation. The second forward mounted weapon that you get on the Baneblade, Banehammer, and Stormhammer is absent here, no demolisher cannon or lascannon in sight. These weapons are fine, but none are anything to write home about and they are not why you take these tanks.

The Stormsword is the first of these tanks I was aware of back in the early days of Forgeworld when I would gawk at them in the display case at the Glen Burnie Battle Bunker (RIP). This siege based superheavy kind of conflicts with my general feeling that demolisher show up enough as hull mounted SA weapons (the Banes, Malcadors) that you do not really need to take dedicated Demolisher special ability platforms in SA armies. But wow is this ever a dedicated Demolisher platform. The Stormhammer siege cannon hits at 30” with a 3+ to hit and, as usual, pairs Demolisher with Ignores Cover. When most Demolisher weapons are close range platforms, sitting around 12”, this has the range to reach a good way across the board to collapse buildings. Do you need it? Probably not. But I think it at least distinguishes itself.

The Stormblade strikes me as the easiest of these tanks to skip. A hull mounted plasma blastgun sure looks cool (maybe the coolest?), but in LI plasma blastguns were already middling choices on Titans and they have the same stats here. I think 20” range on a front arc only gun is too short when it is your principle weapon on a low-speed platform that is kind of pricey. The Stormblade suffers from being a bit of a generalist in a game that rewards specialization. 

The Shadowsword is the clear winner to me. This tank is obviously a true, dedicated titan-hunter. Its volcano cannon is on par with a Dire Wolf’s (hits a bit less hard than a Reaver’s, but with 10” more range). And the tank is well under half the price of that titan. Honestly, as a titan owner and someone who likes titans a lot in LI, this thing is terrifying. Two of them in a squadron is a major threat to titans,knights, and any kind of vehicle due to Engine Killer. And a fairly cheap threat too. Against infantry this leaves something to be desired, but really only because of cost and number of shots (it is not anti-tank, so they lose saves against it), and you have other things to kill them. I guess this is also not your top pick for aircraft. But so much in LI is a ground pounding vehicle of some sort, and this just devours them. Is it better than a squadron of Leman Russ Vanquishers? No, not really, but it is cheaper and it shoots farther. Is it better than Basilisks? Also point for point no, but they are so overtuned that I would guess either your club is already placing house limits on them or they will get some kind of FAQ someday anyway. 

Oh, magnetizing to swap between these variants is fairly easy - you can drill a spot for a magnet in the bracket for the gun, then place some kind of large magnet right behind the vertical weapon traverse as you assemble it. All the variants look good too. Actually, the Stormsword kind of looks dinky compared to the ridiculousness of its brothers, but it is not strictly a bad look. 

If you play Solar Auxilia, I would pick up these tanks."

Leman Russ Chassis

The venerable Leman Russ tank, named for the Primarch of the Vylka Fenryka himself.  Eight of these mighty stalwarts can be built from the kit, providing you with punishing plasma blasts or hard-hitting cannons.  Typically these will only be a threat to the likes of Warhound Titans but don't let that fool you, these will still cause grief.

Our own Princeps Lex also weighed in on these thundering treads:

"The Leman Russ base model for Legion Imperialis is a great little kit and has been since the first release. They are pleasingly chonky and not too difficult to build. The only criticism I have of the original kit is that you cannot build all turret variants at once - you have to pick four per sprue when you get eight guns (four of each). But the sprue is only so big, and on balance it is better to have four tanks instead of three and more turrets. And for the original Leman Russ kit it hardly matters, because the Leman Russ Vanquisher is so much more effective as a game piece that the only reason to build the vanilla Russ with battle cannon is because you like the aesthetic. 

The best and worst bits of that all basically transfer to the new variants, both the Exterminator and Annihilator Squadron and the Executioner and Demolisher Squadron. These remain great little tanks. The bodies are the same as far as I can tell (if there are little tweaks to details, they were not obvious to me). The turrets are pretty much the same too, with the notable and important exception of the weapon barrels that define each variant. And these look good! Not better than the originals, but not worse. They just add flavor and I am here for it. Again, four turrets and eight weapons, so you have to pick and choose. I actually have always loved the twin-barreled Leman Russ Annihilator and consistently have a soft spot for any plasma variants of anything.

The real question, unfortunately, is why should you use these over a Leman Russ Vanquisher? And sadly, I think the case for that is not especially strong in most cases. The first use case is obvious and you need no justification if it is your plan - these have a role in narrative play when representing force orgs that would rely on the Russ chassis for dedicated purposes. So if that is your aim, have at it! 

Some of these are marginally better at fighting off groups of infantry and light vehicles, but usually only at shorter ranges than the vanquisher which means that even when they are better, they are fighting for fewer turns. And generally speaking you are only getting really modest bonuses against other kinds of targets for that decrease in threat radius and time-to-fight. The Leman Russ Annihilator, as cool as it looks, is another anti-tank tank like the vanquisher that trades Armourbane and 13” of range for… Accurate. And that is it. And none of these are cheaper than the original Russ variants. They all clock in at the same point value. Oh, and each of the new ones is its own detachment. Which feels like a way to pad the Devastation of Tallarn to me. None of these detachments has any native unique rules or different stats (beyond primary weapon) or even variety in hull mounted weaponry. I guess I should mention that Demolishers bring building-targeting to the Leman Russ chassis for the first time, but I feel like Solar Auxilia has a lot of options for damaging buildings so I am not sure you really need a Russ dedicated to that. 

The best case for taking them is part of the new Formations of Legend, in the Tallarn Reborn Carmine Ambush Tercio, which mandates three Leman Russ Squadrons at four tanks a piece - Strike (mercifully with Vanquishers), Annihilator, and Executioner - and for taking those you get Forward Deployment and Scout on all of them (and can add two Aethon Sentinels Patrols with four sentinels a piece to that, if you choose). Those pre-game positioning advantages seem to be pretty powerful in LI, so that might be good enough to justify taking some sub-optimal Russ variants. Assuming you are playing Tallarn, though I doubt anyone would really hold you to a particular paint scheme or anything if you claimed you had a Tallarn force (advantage of Solar Aux). 

As miniatures these tanks are great, and in a display or diorama of Legion Imperialis minis they will absolutely add character and interest to your SA tanks. "

Sicaran Chassis

Whoops!  It seems we had some corrupted data here.  Our deepest apologies; however, these are build off of the same chasis as the existing Sicaran tanks within Legions Imperialis but instead give you the options for the infantry-killing gatling cannon or the missile spewing Arcus.  These will occasionally give your Knights pause for concern and on a fast-moving chassis, you have reason to fear flanking maneuvers.