ISSUE 9 - 29th MARCH 2014

Editor: Jes Bickham
jes@whitedwarf.co.uk

Assistant Editor: Matt Keefe
mattk@whitedwarf.co.uk

Senior Staff Writer: Adam Troke
adam@whitedwarf.co.uk

Staff Writer: Daniel Harden
dan@whitedwarf.co.uk

Production Lead:
Rebecca Ferguson
rebecca@whitedwarf.co.uk

Digital Editor: Melissa Roberts
melissa@whitedwarf.co.uk

Lead Designer: Matthew Hutson
matt@whitedwarf.co.uk

Designer: Kristian Shield
kris@whitedwarf.co.uk

Designer: Ben Humber
ben@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photo Editor: Glenn More
glenn@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photographer: Erik Niemz
erik@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photographer: Martyn Lyon
martyn@whitedwarf.co.uk

Distribution Lead: Andy Keddie
andy@whitedwarf.co.uk

Publisher: Paul Lyons
paul@whitedwarf.co.uk

The Astra Militarum, also known as the Imperial Guard, is the largest fighting force to be found throughout the galaxy. This week sees the release of some terrific new miniatures for these guardians of mankind, including the Miliatarum Tempestus Scions, elite soldiers and ruthless killers beyond compare. The detail on these miniatures is quite something to behold. The frames even include tiny Imperial Infantryman Handbooks!

We’ve printed the rules for the Scions, their Command Squad variant and the new Taurox transport later in the issue, so you can use them alongside your existing Imperial Guard miniatures.

In other Warhammer 40,000-related news, Dan and I recently repaired to Warhammer World for a magnificent game of Apocalypse. It was so much fun we’ve written about it in this issue. You can see how my Necrons fared against Dan’s alliance of Tau and Eldar.

As the warrior elite of the Astra Militarum, Tempestus Scions have access to the best wargear and training. They are battle-hardened soldiers, who take pride in fulfilling the deadliest assignments.

The Militarum Tempestus were once orphaned children raised as wards of the Adeptus Terra in the Schola Progenium. Having survived a youth of gruelling training and psychological conditioning, they are the elite soldiers of the Astra Militarum. Deployed on covert operations, and specialising in rapid assaults and airborne insertion, the Scions are armed with hot-shot lasguns and other restricted, highly-specialised weaponry with which they can gun down even heavily-armoured foes with ease.

This multi-part plastic boxed set contains five Tempestus Scions, each clad in baroque carapace armour. Each Tempestus Scion is equipped with a hot-shot lasgun, an overcharged lasgun which requires its own power unit to operate, and the box also contains five special weapon options, such as the plasma gun, melta gun and hot-shot volley gun, as well as numerous pouches, knives and helmets. The kit also boasts pieces to assemble two members of the squad as a vox-operator and a squad leader known as the Tempestor. AT

Left: The hot-shot volley gun is an over-charged las weapon unique to the Tempestus Scions.

Right: Each Tempestus Scion carries a long dagger.

The Tempestus Scions kit contains 17 heads, including nine with berets and eight with full-face helms. No two heads are quite the same, with subtle differences like moustaches and badges.

Left: The Tempestor has a choice of melee weapons, including this power fist.

Right: The backpacks carry equipment for protracted field operations.

While Militarum Tempestus Scions often operate in individual teams, for the most gruelling missions they are formed into platoons and led into battle by a Militarum Tempestus Command squad.

Tempestus Scions are a brotherhood of cold-hearted killers who operate outside the structure of Astra Militarum regiments. The finest warriors within the ranks of the Tempestus Scions are raised into Command squads, where they can lead their brothers in battle. Composed of the steadiest veterans, the Command squad is found where the fighting is thickest. They answer to a Tempestor Prime, a battlefield officer whose confidence in his actions is supreme, and whose every act furthers the Imperial cause.

Within the Militarum Tempestus Command squad you get five multi-part plastic models, with all the weapons and wargear you need to make a Tempestor Prime and four Scions. Three of the models in the squad can be upgraded to carry a platoon standard, vox-caster and medi-pack respectively, while the final member has his choice of specialist weargear. Even the banner bearer and medic remain hardened warriors, with holstered hot-shot lasguns so that they don’t have to go into battle unarmed. AT

The Tempestus Scion Command Group can carry this platoon banner.

Left: The Tempestor Prime wears his great coat over his shoulders, his dagger held in his right hand.

Right: A servo skull carrying a flaming censer floats above the Tempestor Prime’s shoulder.

Left: The squad medic carries a medi-pack and this macabre bone saw and anaesthetic injector.

Right: One squad member can be equipped with a vox-caster to assist the platoon in issuing and receiving orders.

Used as a rapid deployment APC by the Astra Militarum, the Taurox is the perfect vehicle for swiftly plugging gaps in a battleline, driving effortlessly over difficult terrain to disgorge Astra Militarum squads where they are most needed.

The Astra Militarum fight in countless environments across the galaxy. The Taurox has proven itself a workhorse capable of traversing most types of terrain, ensuring its cargo of Imperial Guard troopers reach the fighting safe from small arms fire and the perils of a bullet-ridden battlefield. The greatest advantage of the Taurox is its ability to traverse treacherous terrain with relative ease, the quad caterpillar tracks and magnetic repellers enabling it to drive smoothly over almost any obstacle.

The Taurox has a smaller and more agile frame than other Imperial Guard vehicles, such as the Chimera or Leman Russ battle tank, which suits its role as an all-terrain infantry fighting vehicle. The interior of the model is detailed to an exceptional degree, with both a driver and gunner in the front section, and a passenger compartment complete with lights set into the armoured roof. The armament of twin-linked autocannons can either be mounted at the rear of the hull, or on a rooftop turret. AT

Left: The Taurox is armed with a twin-linked autocannon that can be mounted on the sides of the hull or on a small turret.

Right: The quad caterpillar tracks have independent suspension and drive, enabling the Taurox to navigate even difficult terrain at speed.

Left: Because of the Taurox’s height, passengers and crew embark via small retractable ladders, indicated by the small buttons beside them.

Right: The rear entry point is a heavily-armoured portal, akin to a bulkhead on an Imperial Battleship.

Militarum Tempestus Taurox Prime are heavily-armed troop transports designed to deliver the Tempestus Scions to the places where the fighting is thickest, using their fearsome amount of firepower to scour the enemy from critical objectives.

Because the Militarum Tempestus operate in the most dangerous parts of the battlefield, they require a rugged and agile support vehicle capable of delivering punishing support fire. The Militarum Tempestus Taurox Prime is the answer to that need; it boasts a turbo-charged engine to speed it across the battlefield and the flexibility to equip a variety of turret-mounted weapons. The main gun, a Taurox pattern battle cannon, fires high-explosive shells powerful enough to scatter enemy infantry, although it can also be refitted for specific missions with either a Taurox Missile Launcher or Taurox gatling cannon. Its secondary weapon system is a twin-linked hot-shot volley gun, which can be swapped out for twin-linked autocannons, should you wish.

Aside from the heavier armament, the Taurox Prime is further distinguished from the standard Taurox by the armour plates which bear the rampant lion of the Tempestus Scions, and a wreathed skull in front of the engine block. AT

Left: The lion is the traditional symbol of the Astra Militarum, though only highly-decorated units such as the Tempestus Scions get to display it.

Right: The heraldry of the Tempestus Scions features a skull held aloft by two lions rampant.

Left: The formidable Taurox pattern missile launcher is set into the roof of the Taurox Prime.

Right: The Taurox Prime is also armed with a twin-linked autocannon (which can be exchanged for a hot-shot volley gun) mounted on its hull, making it ideal for tackling both infantry and light vehicles.

The Militarum Tempestus are the elite of the Astra Militarum, the finest warriors to take up arms in the Imperial Guard. They achieve that which lesser men cannot, bringing victory for the Imperium, no matter the cost.

Codex: Militarum Tempestus is the definitive guide to the courageous Tempestus Scions and the Commissars of the Officio Prefectus. They are the fighting elite of the Imperial Guard, deployed on specialist missions when swift, overwhelming victory is demanded. Within this 72 page hardback book, you’ll find everything you need to collect and play with an army fashioned entirely from the Scions of the Schola Progenium, soldiers trained in the most brutal and unforgiving of regimes. This new Codex contains never-before seen background on the galaxy-wide Schola Progenium which turns orphaned youths into stone-cold killers, along with details on the many regiments and victories of the Militarum Tempestus. Perhaps most importantly, it enables you to field an army composed entirely of Militarum Tempestus units.

BY CHRIS WRAIGHT
UNBRIDGED AUDIO BOOK
807 minutes

Listen to the epic battles of the White Scars in this unabridged Horus Heresy Audio Book.

Scars was the first Horus Heresy novel to be released episodically through the Black Library website and was released as a hardback novel earlier this year. Now available as an audio book, it details the actions of the White Scars Legion in the opening moments of the Horus Heresy.

Read by Jonathan Keeble, a recognised voice in Black Library audio books, this version of Scars captures all the mystery and intrigue of the paper version, while emphasising the varied and conflicting emotions of the characters as they come to terms with the civil war unfolding around them. Keeble’s portrayal of Jaghatai Khan and his brother Primarchs is exceptional and brings a whole new level of depth to an excellent Horus Heresy story. DH

Warhammer: Visions is the monthly magazine from the creators of White Dwarf, a 236-page visual feast of the best Citadel miniatures in the world.

Our third issue of Warhammer: Visions opens with a staggering showcase of the Imperial Knights and Chaos Space Marine Helbrutes released in March. There’s also a gallery of Forge World’s Primarch models and the second part of our Golden Demon USA coverage – 50 pages of beautifully painted miniatures.

Other features within the magazine include Army of the Month – a mighty Goff Ork horde painted by Stu Black – another beautiful selection of miniatures presented by John Blanche and a collection of stunning Armies on Parade entries. Even then, there is more, including our Battle Report and a segment on the Imperial Knights painted by the White Dwarf Team. Check it out. AT

This week Jervis waxes lyrical on the sheer amount of options available for the type of game that you want to play, and how important it is to have a sympathetic gaming group to accommodate this.

I was talking to the White Dwarf team recently about the release of things like Escalation, Imperial Knights and Stronghold Assault, and in a strange, roundabout way, it ended up making me think about how important gaming groups our to our hobby. Now, thinking on my part has a number of side-effects (which is why I avoid doing it if possible); first of all, there is the required consumption of bacon butties and cups of tea to fuel the process, and then the general looks of worry and confusion on my colleagues’ faces as I pace around the office muttering to myself, and finally a burning desire to write about my hard thinking in this very column! So, you can’t really blame me for this month’s rambling notes on the importance of gaming groups, it’s really all the White Dwarf crew’s fault for making me think about the subject in the first place, the blighters.

Anyway, starting at the beginning, supplements are important to the hobby, because they allow you to explore the full scope of things – in a nutshell, they illuminate all of the different nooks and crannies of our hobby and allow you to include those things in your games. This wasn’t always the case; when first published, our games started out as being small-scale infantry games, and it is only over the course of a few decades’ work by our miniatures designers and rules writers that we have reached the current situation where you can field huge war machines, gigantic monsters, flying creatures and vehicles, and more armoured behemoths than I can shake a stick at! When looking for an analogy to illustrate this point, I tend to use the book and box covers for our games, and I am trusting the WD crew to include a couple of appropriate covers for you to look at with this article. Assuming they have, notice that, although the main focus will be the warriors in the foreground, the illustrations also include things like huge war machines, flyers, massive tanks and so on in the background. And this is where the analogy to the evolution of the hobby comes in: at the start of the hobby our games were all about the foreground; now they can be about the whole picture.

However, the sheer breadth of choice these supplemental rules bring means that it is rare to impossible to use all of the different elements we’ve created in every game you play. In the old ‘infantry skirmish’ days, pretty much all of the rules we’d created were used in all of the games that were played. Nowadays, you can pick and choose and, if you want, vary those elements you use, meaning that there are lots of different ways to play. To use another analogy, the rules have changed from a set meal where you must eat everything you are given, to a buffet where you get to choose what to put on the plate. (And that is quite enough analogies for one issue! – Ed)

So why did all that make me think about the importance of gaming groups? Well, all this choice means that the way we all go about organising our games has had to change a bit. Back in the day, pretty much all you could do was fight small-scale infantry skirmishes, and all games would be rather similar. Basically, if you didn’t like infantry skirmishes, well, you were right out of luck. Now, taking 40K as an example, you can do anything from a Kill Team mission through to a weekend long session of Apocalypse and lots of different things inbetween! Not only does this mean that you will need to pick and choose what sort of game you want to play before you play it, but it will also almost certainly mean that there will be some types of game that you prefer to play.

It’s this last point that makes finding a good gaming group so beneficial to your enjoyment of the hobby. Choice means that there will be some sorts of game you prefer, and finding a group of like-minded individuals to play with is therefore more important. In the old days, the game was so limited in scope that there was really only one way to play, and so wherever you played, you had to play that way. With more choice you need to find other people that are on your own wavelength; well, either that or end up playing games that are just not your cup of tea.

But gaming groups are much more than just a bunch of like-minded friends getting together to play the type of games they prefer. A proper gaming group will develop from a set of acquaintances with a common set of interests, into a tight-knit group of friends with a shared passion who are capable of achieving some quite extraordinary things. Over the years I’ve met lots of these kinds of gaming groups. Although similar to a club, they are usually much more specialised, and often quite tight-knit. There’s the group I know that really only enjoy playing highly detailed narrative campaigns, with intricately worked out backgrounds for all of the units and characters, and the other group that meets every few months and only plays massive games of Apocalypse. There are the committee members of the European Team Championships, who spend huge amounts of time and effort coming up with modifications to our army books and rules, in a grail-like quest to create the perfectly balanced tournament gaming weekend. And then, of course, there are all those other groups that meet in garages and basements once a week or once a month, and who write to me to tell about their perfect version of the hobby.

As you can tell, I am something of a fan of games groups; I am a member of several myself, each of which pushes different hobby buttons for me. Fortunately, it’s actually quite easy to start up a gaming group for yourself, though it will take time for it to blossom into the kind of thing I have talked about above. But, from tiny acorns mighty oaks do grow, as they say. Just watch out for people at your local gaming store or club who seem to be on your wavelength, and are interested in the types of games you like. Pluck up your courage, and challenge them to a game or two, and if you really are on the same wavelength, things will work out from there. Pull in more people that like the type of games you play, and then just let things go from there. You’ll quickly find yourself talking about joint projects with the other members of your group, and in general creating a gaming group that is a shining example of the hobby, and where every game you play will use the sorts of rules that are just perfect for you and your friends. Who could ask for more!

Jervis’s points about the different types of game available to play these days are encapsulated in the cover art of our games and supplements; the Apocalypse cover art by Alex Boyd is a perfect example. In the foreground are teeming masses of infantry, while further back Super-heavies and flyers dominate the battlefield action.

Jervis Johnson is a 30-year veteran of games development and has had a hand in the design of most of our classic games

Having played countless games in the White Dwarf bunker over the last year, Jes felt there was still something missing from his hobby life. Inspired by Dan’s Apocalypse article a couple of weeks ago, he challenged his cheeky colleague to a game of epic proportions.

Jes: Last July, the White Dwarf team celebrated the launch of Apocalypse with an enormous Battle Report. As the Necron part of the equation, I was all set to unleash the fury of the C’tan… and then illness struck. Laid low in bed, I was unable to take part. Fast forward to the end of 2013 and I realised I still hadn’t played an Apocalypse game – and so Dan, an Apocalypse evangelist due to his regular mega-battles, suggested kicking off 2014 with war against his Tau.

What ensued was a Christmas arms race as we both painted furiously over the Yuletide break for our January deadline. Dan polished off a new Hammerhead and a Commander in Iridium armour while I raised a mighty Obelisk and unleashed some Biel-Tan Green on a Transcendent C’tan. With about 4600 points of Necrons to hand, I was ready…

Dan: Having used Jes’s Necrons in more Apocalypse games than Jes, I know just how deadly those Super-heavy Necron units can be. Sadly, I don’t have any Super-heavy vehicles to oppose them, but I do have my Riptide Wing, which should put a dent in Jes’s army, not to mention a trio of Broadsides and two Hammerheads. I’ve also employed a contingent of Eldar to help out, including my Wraithknight, which I intend to run full-tilt into the Tesseract Vault and kick it to oblivion. It’s a tactic that’s worked well in the past, anyway.

We decided to bid for set-up time, the player who bid the lowest setting up first. I opted for an optimistic eight minutes, comfortably outbidding Jes. Because many of my Tau units have Jet Packs, they are eligible to Deep Strike, meaning I can bring them on in the first turn instead of deploying normally. Knowing that Imotekh might well seize the initiative, I kept my battlesuits in Reserve to keep them safe. Fortunately, Imotekh was preoccupied brewing a storm and the Tau went first.

My first action was to Deep Strike my Battlesuits right into the heart of Jes’s army. In Apocalypse battles you gain Strategic Victory Points by having the closest unit to an objective, and I fully intended to take as many of them as possible. Following a series of highly successful (if I do say so myself) Deep Strikes, I unleashed the full fury of the Tau Empire upon the Tesseract Vault and the Transcendent C’tan. The results were less than impressive…

Jes: Those things are tough! Dan focused a crazy amount of shooting on my mightiest war machines but they weathered the storm admirably well. Even in Apocalypse, an AV of 14 (plus nine Hull Points) provides incredible endurance. Shrugging off the combined Tau and Eldar shooting, the Tesseract Vault and Transcendent C’tan proceeded to use their Seismic Assaults to blast huge holes in the enemy battleline, the C’tan picking on the Riptide Wing that had landed near it. Elsewhere, the Obelisk – putatively an anti-air unit – caused carnage on ground units with its tesla spheres, while the rest of my army advanced and my flyers came on from Reserve. Imotekh took it on himself to personally grab a Strategic Objective and deal with the upstart Shadowsun. (See ‘Slay The Warlord’ overleaf.)

Dan: So, that didn’t go as planned. With two Riptides seriously wounded and my Warlord out of action, things were already looking ropey. This turn I concentrated most of my firepower on the Transcendent C’tan, taking it down to a single Wound but leaving it (still!) undeniably alive. The rest of my units pounded Jes’s army, Longstrike making the most of his Tank Hunter skills to annihilate the Doomsday Ark while the Riptides blasted the Necron Warriors to oblivion. Cunning use of the Pathfinders’ markerlights negated their cover saves, making them easy prey for the ion accelerators. My last action was to roll for my Jet Pack moves, which were spectacularly bad, leaving the Riptide Vax’maru face-to-face with a very angry Transcendent C’tan.

ERM, REALLY?

Dan: In my experience, it’s Apocalypse games that produce some of the funniest gaming anecdotes. In this battle, it was Jes’s Scarabs that provided the hilarity, as three bases of them not only held up a Tau Commander, three Battlesuits and four Drones in combat, but actually survived all the hits caused to them and beat the Tau in combat. But it wasn’t for one turn. Oh no. It took six rounds to stomp the annoying metal bugs to death.

Jes’s Monolith also provided much amusement, parking itself on top of an objective in my deployment zone. Several Eldar Guardians (shown in the picture to the left) were unceremoniously hoovered up by the portal of exile. The rest failed their morale test, fled towards the Monolith, and were inhaled by the portal the following turn.

GODS AND MONSTERS

Jes: My Transcendent C’tan proved to be an unholy terror for Dan, who spent several turns focusing a terrifying amount of firepower on it. The Star God used his Wave of Withering (a Destroyer weapon using the Hellstorm template) to remove a couple of Ritpides from the board, but in turn 4 the death knell was sounded. Dan’s Crimson Hunter, which had spent much of the preceding turns evading tesla destructor fire from my Night Scythe and Doom Scythe, finally pierced the fiend’s extra-dimensional hide with Bright Lance fire; the C’tan detonated spectacularly… but I used a Strategic Resource point to bring him back in the following turn to wreak havoc anew.Jes: Cue the C’tan’s Wave of Withering, a mighty Destroyer weapon that evaporated the poor Riptide in nanoseconds. (Never having used a Destroyer weapon before, I have to say it was very refreshing – much more dangerous than the devourers and deathspitters I’m used to.) Elsewhere, while all attention was focused on the Transcendent C’tan, my Monolith descended from the sky to land on one of the objectives, while my Destroyers, Annihilation Barge and the Shard of the Nightbringer advanced towards another objective on the same flank. Also on this side, I charged Commander Starstrider and his bodyguard with my Canoptek Scarabs, creating a combat that would see both sides locked down for several turns.

Dan: I think I found the Scarabs more annoying than the C’tan. What a pain. And with the arrival of the Monolith (and as a result of the two C’tan shooting again), I went from holding five objectives to one, swinging the balance of power in Jes’s favour. So much so, in fact, that my Divine Intervention kicked in. (In layman’s terms, that means things have got really bad.) Despite shooting both C’tan from every angle, I failed to do anything to them this turn. In a fit of desperation, I charged my one remaining Riptide into the Tesseract Vault in an attempt to tear it apart. Dyan’oi damaged the colossal machine, but at the end of the turn it was still floating arrogantly above the battlefield.

Jes: The Monolith arriving was a splendid moment, as I took a risk with it; if it had scattered from Deep Strike, I could have lost it. As it was, it provided an excellent distraction and I had great fun hoovering Dan’s Guardians into the portal of exile. So much so that I forgot to teleport the Necron Warriors through it that I’d held back for just that occasion. But this was all dwarfed by the ease with which I despatched the Wraithknight, which was leaping towards the objective in the centre of the board. The C’tan trapped within the Tesseract Vault unleashed hell upon it, consigning the wraithbone construct’s twin pilots to oblivion.

Dan: Dodging the Obelisk and the Tesseract Vault (with all the appropriate sound effects), the Crimson Hunter Exarch set his sights on the Transcendent C’tan and finally rid the world of the horrific creature. Taking heart from its destruction, every unit in the Tau army (above Strength 8, of course), fired upon the Tesseract Vault and blew that to pieces, too, their shots guided by a plethora of markerlights. Necrons all over the battlefield fired up their anti-C’tan protocols. Longstrike, meanwhile, blasted the Monolith in half. The tables had turned. I just needed to hold the objectives for one more turn.

Jes: Ouch! That tore the heart right out of my army. And, because Strategic Victory Points are worth more the longer the game goes on, Dan would scrape a victory unless I could prise them from his grasp. I paid a Victory Point to bring the Obelisk back in a desperate attempt to clear the Tau off one of the objectives but, alas, my aim was off, leaving me one Strategic Objective short. The final score was Necrons 55, Tau 60!

SLAY THE WARLORD

Jes: On my far right-hand flank, Imotekh and his retinue teleported down from the Night Scythe in Turn 2 to stop Shadowsun from grabbing a Strategic Objective. What followed was a perfect storm of Apocalypse fun, as I unleashed my Entropic Plague Strategic Asset, stripping Shadowsun and her friends of their armour saves. Much tesla carbine fire later – helped no end by a good number of 6s on my Immortals’ To Hit rolls – and O’Shaserra was nothing more than a smoking pair of hooves. Dan’s Warlord was dead! Imotekh and chums went on to heroically hold their objective for the rest of the game, weathering fire from Eldar Pathfinders and the Wraithknight.

VICTORY THROUGH SACRIFICE

Dan: That was a brilliant battle, and nail-bitingly tense, too – just how it should be. Starting the third turn massively behind on Strategic Victory Points forced me to make several tactical decisions that were, in my mind, wonderfully heroic. Jes would probably use the word desperate. Slamming my last Riptide into a Tesseract Vault to try and destroy it in combat may not have been the smartest plan, but it felt like the sort of desperate action a Tau Shas’vre would take for the Greater Good. In the end, it contributed to the death of the war machine, so I reckon it paid off. What really won the battle for me was manoeuvrability. My battlesuits and tanks were faster than Jes’s Necrons, allowing me to get closest to the objectives each turn and deny him valuable Strategic Victory Points towards the end of the game.

THE BIGGER THEY ARE...

Jes: That was a splendid introduction to the pleasures of Apocalypse – and it provides a terrific alternative to more ‘regular’ games of 40K. What surprised me most, perhaps, was that even in a game full of Super-heavy vehicles and Gargantuan Creatures, even the smallest unit has the potential to swing the game if it’s the closest thing to an objective. Leading on from this, I also learned that pumping your points into big, nasty units like the Tesseract Vault means your army is severely denuded when the giants fall – hence me spending valuable Strategic Victory points to bring the Vault and C’tan back into play. Alas, it was too little too late but the game was a very close one, and my final revelation was that Longstrike, even with BS5, really likes rolling ones To Hit…

LIGHT IT UP!

Dan: I realised something during this battle: I really need more markerlights. My Pathfinders performed admirably (when they weren’t running away), covering the Tesseract Vault in little red laser dots and enabling the Hammerhead to blow it apart in the fourth turn. Sadly, my other units struggled to hit anything without markerlight guidance, the Riptides in particular struggling to find their mark (namely the bright green C’tan floating ominously towards them). A couple of solutions have presented themselves – a second box of Pathfinders will give me an extra ten markerlights, and I’m seriously considering a large unit of Marker Drones joined by a Commander with a Drone Controller.

OLD ADVERSARIES

Dan: The Tau have little knowledge of the Necrons – they’re just another alien to be ‘recruited’ by the Empire. To the Eldar, however, the Necrons are an ancient enemy to be treated with utter contempt. I love playing in the character of my army, so when the Shard of the Nightbringer took an interest in one of the objectives, it was the Eldar who ran out to hold him up while the Tau guarded the objective. Watching my Farseer and one of my Warlocks go staff-to-scythe with the Nightbringer was epic. Sadly, the Eldar did not survive the engagement and it came down to Commander Starstrider – my newly painted Commander – to hold up the demi-god in the middle of my battle line. He was surprisingly good at it and kept a very frustrated Nightbringer occupied until the end of the game.

Paint Splatter provides handy tips and stage-by-stage painting guides for the week’s key releases. This week, we look at two new units for the Astra Militarum: the Militarum Tempestus Taurox Prime and the Militarum Tempestus Scions.

TAUROX PRIME

The Studio army features a large number of Taurox Prime troop transports, many of which were painted by Chris Innes. Here’s how he went about painting them:

“I assembled the model without the tracks on,” says Chris, “as it’s easier to paint the track links that way. The Citadel Spray Gun is ideal for achieving a solid basecoat, which you can then shade by applying a wash to the recesses of the model. Don’t apply the wash all over though, as you’ll just make more work for yourself tidying it up. The highlights were applied with drybrushing. Not only does this give a realistic texture to the tank, but it’s also very quick.

”Considering that it’s a vehicle, there are a lot of details on the Taurox,” continues Chris. “The chassis is covered in rivets, lenses, hatches and hydraulics, not to mention the gold trim and regimental heraldry. Before you begin, though, it’s worth considering whether you’ll paint a regimental marking on the tank, because you’ll want to do it before you paint the details. I used masking tape to mark out a line along the roof and turret before drybrushing the squad colours on. I then painted the metal, the red panels and finally, the gold trim.” DH

BECAUSE YOU’RE FILTHY

A light drybrush of Rhinox Hide and Steel Legion Drab around the tracks and lower hull of a tank will make it look as though it’s been ploughing through mud and battlefield debris. You could even slap on some Stirland Mud (or a Texture paint of your choice) to make the mud look really filthy and caked-on.

TEMPESTUS SCIONS

The Studio’s Astra Militarum army includes a full platoon of Tempestus Scions painted by the Hobby Team. Aidan Daly and Steve Bowerman explain how they painted them:

“I found the best way to paint the Tempestus Scions is to apply all the basecoats first rather than paint one colour at a time,” says Aidan. “If you paint the blue armour to completion, then paint the gold trim, you’ll find that the Reikland Fleshshade wash ends up going over the highlights on the armour, meaning you’ll have to go back and tidy it up. By painting all the basecoats first, you can then apply all the washes. When they’re dry you can then finish off by painting the highlights.”

“With that in mind, I’d suggest batch painting a whole squad in one go,” says Steve. “That way you can ensure your washes are of a consistent thickness on every model. It also means that the first one will have dried by the time you get to the last one in the batch, making painting them a pretty swift process.”

DRESS UNIFORM

When not wearing helmets, Tempestus Scions traditionally wear red berets. They can, of course, be painted any colour, but the warm red certainly stands out from their cool blue armour.

“There are lots of details on the Tempestus Scions, from gas masks and scanners to medi-packs and special weapons,” adds Steve. “To keep the colour scheme consistent across the unit, we painted all the guns and equipment in the same dark green colour scheme, while the lenses on the gas masks and the wrist-mounted dataslates were all painted a bright green to make them stand out.” All the other details, such as the gold trim and the squad markings, follow the same stage-by-stage guides as those for the Taurox Prime. DH

GET INSIDE, LADS!

’Eavy Metal painter Dave Perryman painted the interior of one of the Taurox transports. “To paint the interior of the Taurox, you’ll need to leave the top and back off during assembly,” says Dave. “There’s so much detail inside, such as radar screens, scopes and auspexes, plus the gunner and the driver. It’s a painter’s dream.”

This week, the new Militarum Tempestus Command Squad and Taurox Prime are unleashed. Dan and Adam delve into the rules for these new models on the tabletop, and discuss how they use them in your games.

TAUROX

Any Imperial Guard unit that can select a Chimera may instead take a Taurox as a Dedicated Transport choice.

50 Points

UNIT TYPE: Vehicle (Transport)

UNIT COMPOSTITION: 1 Taurox

WARGEAR: Twin-linked autocannon.

TRANSPORT CAPACITY: Ten models

FIRE POINTS: The Taurox has two Fire Points on each side of the hull.

ACCESS POINTS: The Taurox has one Access Point on each side of the hull and one at the rear.

SPECIAL RULES:
All-terrain APC: This vehicle re-rolls all failed Dangerous Terrain tests.

OPTIONS: May take items from the Astra Militarum Vehicle Equipment list.

TAUROX PRIME

Any Militarum Tempestus Scions squad or Militarum Tempestus Scions Command squad may select a Taurox Prime as a Dedicated Transport.

80 Points

UNIT TYPE: Vehicle (Fast, Transport)

UNIT COMPOSITION: 1 Taurox Prime

WARGEAR: Taurox battle cannon, Twin-linked hot-shot volley gun.

TRANSPORT CAPACITY: 10 models

FIRE POINTS: The Taurox has two Fire Points on each side of the hull.

ACCESS POINTS: The Taurox has one Access Point on each side of the hull and one at the rear.

SPECIAL RULES:

All-terrain APC: This vehicle re-rolls all failed Dangerous Terrain tests

OPTIONS: May take items from the Astra Militarum Vehicle Equipment list.

May replace Taurox battle cannon with:

Twin-linked Taurox gatling cannon - 10 pts

Taurox Missile Launcher - 20 pts

May replace twin-linked hot-shot volley gun with twin-linked autocannon - free

ASTRA MILITARUM VEHICLE EQUIPMENT LIST:

Searchlight - 1pt

Dozer blade - 5pts

Heavy stubber or storm bolter - 5pts

Smoke launchers - 5pts

Extra Armour - 10pts

Hunter-killer missile - 10pts

Camo netting - 15pts

Taurox battle cannon:

Range - 48”

Strength - 7

AP - 4

Type - Heavy 1, Blast

Taurox missile launcher:

- Krak - Range 48” - Strength 8 - AP 3 - Type Heavy 2

- Frag - Range 48” - Strength 4 - AP 6 - TYPE Heavy 2, Blast

Taurox Gatling Cannon - RANGE 24” - S 4 - AP/ - TYPE Heavy 10

Hot-shot Volley Gun - RANGE 24” - S 4 - AP 3 - TYPE Salvo 2/4

ALL TERRAIN ASSAULT

Adam: Despite their similarities, the Taurox and Taurox Prime have slightly different roles within the Astra Militarum army. The standard Taurox is cheaper to field and is available to almost any Imperial Guard infantry unit while the Taurox Prime is faster, comes with a heavier armament and is exclusive to the Miltarum Tempestus Scions.

In both cases, the primary role of these vehicles is to deploy infantry squads where you need them most, and they are well suited to the task. The All Terrain APC special rule means that you’ll only get snarled up by the worst luck as you rumble through forests and city ruins, so feel confident in delivering your warriors exactly where you want them. Use this to your advantage and choose a route into battle that spares you from incoming fire.

Ideally, never leave your fragile side or rear armour exposed and only reveal your Taurox at all if you have a really good shot lined up, or you’re about to unload your warriors (and thus your transporting duties are at an end).

I suggest nipping from cover to cover, so that you at least get a cover save, if not complete concealment. It’s worth the upgrade with Smoke Launchers, too, in my opinion. Keep the amount of incoming fire against your Tauroxes to a minimum, even if it means foregoing shooting to benefit from going flat out, which lets you move an extra 6” (or 12” for the Taurox Prime) in the Shooting phase).

Once you deliver your cargo (be it Tempestus Scions or regular Guardsmen), revert to a supporting fire role. This is where the increased firepower of the Taurox Prime really excels, since the Taurox battle cannons and hot-shot volley gun can be especially withering. In my experience, the extra firepower they give out for your squads is often enough to cripple tanks or finish off enemy units. AT

Adam’s Astra Militarum army is made of Steel Legionnaires. He’s a self-declared expert in the art of fire discipline and target acquisition, but forgets to use his Orders nine times out of ten unless his opponents remind him.

MILITARUM TEMPESTUS PLATOON

Militarum Tempestus Platoons are an Elites choice for Codex: Imperial Guard. Each Militarum Tempestus Platoon must include between one and three squads of Militarum Tempestus Scions and may include a single Militarum Tempestus Command Squad.

MILITARUM TEMPESTUS COMMAND SQUAD

85 Points

UNIT TYPE: Infantry, Infantry (Character)

UNIT COMPOSITION: 4 Tempestus Scions, 1 Tempestor Prime

WARGEAR:
Carapace armour, Hot-shot lasgun
(Tempestus Scion only), Hot-shot laspistol
(Tempestor Prime only), Close combat weapon
(Tempestor Prime only), Frag grenades, Krak grenades.

SPECIAL RULES: Deep Strike, Move Through Cover

CLARION VOX-NET: Any friendly unit from the same Militarum Tempestus Platoon within 18” of the Tempestor Prime can use his Leadership for any Fear, Morale or Pinning tests.

VOICE OF COMMAND (Tempestor Prime only): Treat the Tempestor Prime as a Junior Officer. He can issue one order per turn with a command radius of 12”. See the Platoon Command Squad in Codex: Imperial Guard.

OPTIONS: The Tempestor Prime may take items from the following:
- Power weapon - 5pts
- Power fist - 25pts

The Tempestor Prime may replace his hot-shot laspistol with one of the following:
- Bolt pistol - free
- Plasma pistol - 15 pts
One Tempestus Scion may carry a vox-caster - 5 pts
One other Tempestus Scion may carry a platoon Standard - 10 pts
One other Tempestus Scion may carry a medi-pack - 5 pts

Up to four Tempestus Scions that have not been upgraded with one of the options above may replace their hot-shot lasgun with one item from the Special Weapons list.

The squad may take a Chimera or Taurox Prime as a Dedicated Transport.

MILITARUM TEMPESTUS SCIONS

70 Points

WARGEAR:
Carapace armour, Hot-shot lasgun
(Tempestus Scion only), Hot-shot laspistol
(Tempestor only), Close combat weapon
(Tempestor only), Frag grenades, Krak grenades.

SPECIAL RULES: Deep Strike, Move Through Cover.

OPTIONS: May include up to five additional
Tempestus Scions - 12pts/model

The Tempestor may take items from the following:
- Power weapon - 15pts
- Power fist - 25pts

The Tempestor may replace his hot-shot laspistol with one of the following:
- Bolt pistol - free
- Plasma pistol - 15 pts

One Tempestus Scion may carry a vox-caster - 5 pts

Up to two Tempestus Scions that have not been upgraded with one of the options above may replace their hot-shot lasgun with one item from following list:
Flamer - 5pts
Grenade Launcher - 5pts
Hot-shot volley gun - 10pts
Meltagun - 10pts
Plasma gun - 15pts

The squad may take a Chimera or Taurox Prime as a Dedicated Transport.

THE MISSION ELITE

Adam: Use Militarum Tempestus Platoons to spearhead your main advance. Armed with hot-shot lasguns to scythe through anything shy of Terminator armour, and two special weapons per Tempestus Scions squad, they rank among Warhammer 40,000’s elite killers. For the most destructive results, mount them in Taurox Prime APCs, where their firepower is increased dramatically, then close into short range and disembark into the jaws of hell. Avoid getting bogged down, however. Once you’ve dealt with one threat, hop back into your transports and speed off to the next threat.

Use the Tempestor Command Squad as a support unit, and keep it 12” to 18” back from the rest of the platoon. This way your Tempestus Scions benefit from the Tempestor Prime’s Voice of Command special rule. Also, you can issue an order to one of those units per turn. Typically this will be for the ‘First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!’ ability – it’s simply too good to pass up with hot-shot lasguns, since it makes the squad firing 75% more effective. With Leadership 9 affecting your Tempestus Scions, they should fight on, even in the face of grim odds.

I’d recommend putting your Command Squad in a Taurox Prime with Taurox missile launcher and twin-linked autocannons, where it can fire past your frontline of Tempestus Scions and bludgeon any light or medium vehicles threatening the rest of your platoon. With your formation established, only commit your Militarum Tempestus Command Squad into the action if (or when) things start to look shaky for your frontline. To that end, choose a weapon loadout for them that helps in a counter-offensive style. I’d opt for a medi-pack to keep the Tempestor Prime alive, and a couple of hot-shot volley guns for supporting fire (bear in mind your other squads of Tempestus Scions probably won’t be using theirs, and each kit includes one). AT

VOICE FROM THE FUTURE

Adam: The astute among you will have noticed I’ve said ‘First rank fire! Second rank fire!’ enables Tempestus Scions to get an extra shot from their hot-shot lasguns. While that contradicts what’s in Codex: Imperial Guard right now, in the very near future Astra Militarum Officers will be able to do just that… so I couldn’t reasonably offer tactical advice without explaining it. If I were you, I’d start practicing with those rules now.

Similarly Codex: Militarum Tempestus, also released this week, contains six Militarum Tempestus Orders that can be used exclusively by Tempestor Primes within a Militarum Tempestus Detachment. These orders are dramatically different to those in Codex: Imperial Guard, and include some very dangerous fire doctrines indeed. Get those hot-shot lasguns ready!

With both the Militarum Tempestus Scions and Taurox Prime out this week, Adam invited Dave Thomas and Dale Stringer up to the White Dwarf bunker to talk about the ideas and influences behind the latest additions to the Astra Militarum.

Dave Thomas is the designer of the Tempestus Scions, while Dale Stringer created the Taurox.

SCIONS OF THE EMPEROR

“The heritage of the Tempestus Scions lies with the old Imperial Guard Storm Trooper models,” says Dave Thomas, when I sat down with him to talk about the new Tempestus Scions. “Michael Perry designed the first ones; old school veterans might recall them with bulky backpacks for their hot-shot lasguns, and wearing black fatigues and berets. A second iteration of Storm Troopers, sculpted by Mark Bedford, had much more armour, covert-ops face masks and revised weapon casings for the hot-shot lasguns.

“The new Tempestus Scions draw heavily on both of these, but add a gothic element through the cuirass each wears, and the banding on their armour,” Dave says. “These juxtapose with the high-tech targeting systems on their guns, and the lenses and rebreathers of the full-face helmets creating a strong visual image.

“My next task was to focus on extra details,” Dave adds. “We homed in on a lion as our preferred heraldic device for the Scions, which appears on the banner (you also see it on the Taurox Prime), I added commando knives and specialist ammo and grenades for extended operations, and an officer’s coat and gorget for the Tempestor Prime.”

“Every head in the Tempestus Scions set is individual,” says Dave, referring to the 17 heads that come on the frames. “These squads are made of hard-bitten veterans and each of them has a hundred stories to tell. One way to inject that level of character was to make sure each member of the team is slightly different from the others. The Tempestor Prime has a gorget on his cuirass, borrowed in style from the armour of the old Storm Troopers.”

ARMOURED FURY

Dale Stringer has established something of a reputation for designing tanks and vehicles for the Imperium. As a designer on the new Taurox kit, he took to the duty with gusto: “Our original goal with the Taurox was to make a new troop transport that suited the needs of the Imperial Guard in some very inhospitable environments,” says Dale. “To create something which complemented, rather than competed with, the Chimera we focussed on a compact design, the sort of vehicle you could imagine delivering Imperial Guardsmen and Tempestus Scions into battle on special operations.

“It has a couple of features in common with extreme exploration vehicles too, with four track units, angled propshafts and so on,” Dale adds. “From the earliest design conversations, we wanted something that could claw its way through city ruins, ice fields and ash wastes equally. The Taurox houses a powerful tractor-style engine set in front of a large crew area – a pillbox on tracks. I imagine the squad of men already pressed up against the doors ready to scramble out into a firefight the moment the hatches burst open.

“That leads me to the interior details,” Dale says opening up a Taurox to make his point. “Because this is a completely new vehicle for the Astra Militarum, I reasoned it was my opportunity to really go to town and ensure the inside of the vehicle was fully modelled, with as much consideration as the outside. I especially like the gunner’s chair, which is sited on a leadscrew, enabling him to operate at various heights. The driver has a pistol and go-bag modelled behind his chair. It’s probably the most detailed interior on any of our vehicles to date.

“One of the things to consider was the weapon options the Taurox would have,” Dale adds. “The standard Taurox is more utilitarian, with a twin-linked autocannon, which is fundamentally the same gun used by other Imperial Guard units. With the Taurox Prime, I was aiming for more of a spec-ops feel, which I think the reduced-sized battle cannon and gatling cannon capture. They both look like the kind of weapon you could blaze away with on the move. The missile launcher is like a compact fire-support platform. When the Taurox is in position it pops up, the missile rack expands and it lets off a salvo before moving on to the next target.” AT

“While the Taurox has a distinctly different shape from either the Chimera or the Leman Russ chassis, it still shares a number of similarities that hint at common design principles,” says Dale. “The edging of the armour plates, found on the track units are common to all three vehicles, for instance. I even took a cue from the Baneblade for the lights on the Taurox – using the same arch style on both models.

“The kit actually has a very modular design,” Dale adds, “and I am looking forward to seeing what people can do with it, from open-top conversions ploughing through jungles to dioramas with crew inside it.”

Join us for a round-up of the week as we share comment, opinion and trivia on the all latest releases, plus other fun tidbits that have cropped up in the White Dwarf bunker this week. The Astra Militarum are at the forefront of proceedings in this issue.

THE BLUFFER’S GUIDE TO THE ASTRA MILITARUM

AVOID THE IRE OF THE COMMISSARS WITH THE AMAZING FACTS

What’s the Astra Militarum?
The Astra Militarum is the biggest standing army in the entire galaxy, a belief-beggaringly enormous force formed of countless billions of human soldiers who fight in the name of the Emperor. With humanity assailed from every side by aliens, traitors and Daemons of Chaos, the Astra Militarum are a bulwark against endless horror. Often called the Imperial Guard, especially by the common soldiers within it, this is Mankind’s first and last line of defence.

So they have the best kit?
There is an Imperial catechism that says “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Imperium.” While the tanks and war machines of the Imperial Guard are indeed mighty weapons, the same isn’t true of the average Imperial Guardsman. Just ask a veteran Imperial Guard player what he thinks of a lasgun, if you want an undiluted opinion.

Are the career opportunities good?
The Departmento Munitorum estimates the average life expectancy for an Imperial Guardsman upon deployment at just 15 hours. In the face of these odds, it’s hard to argue the chances of promotion are great… but if you do survive the battle, there’s a good chance there will be a ‘vacancy’ or two open in the higher ranks.

REGIMENTS

RAISING RECRUITS

With few exceptions, every planet in the Imperium is expected to pay a tithe, which is typically levied as fresh soldiers for the Astra Militarum. When called upon to raise this tithe, the Planetary Governor must be prepared to provide 10% of the planets’ fighting strength as regiments of soldiers trained and ready to fight for Mankind.

These newly raised regiments may well receive further training; however, in short order they will be assigned by the Departmento Munitorum to a war zone and their eventual fate.

FAMOUS REGIMENTS

A number of worlds in the Imperium have gained great renown thanks to the skill and valour of the Astra Militarum regiments. Cadia, known as the Gatehouse of the Imperium, is famous for raising skilled, disciplined soldiers, while Catachan provides some of the wildest, but hardest-fighting troops in the galaxy. Worlds across the Imperium, from Mordia to Vostroya, are proud to provide regiments for the Emperor’s armies.

The Tempestus Scions are unique within the Astra Militarum in that they exist outside of the traditional regimental structure. While other guardsmen are inducted into new regiments raised from their particular world, Tempestus Scions are assigned to a Militarum Tempestus regiment once they have completed their Schola Progenium training. New recruits are added to extant regiments, where they benefit from the skill and expertise of battle-hardened comrades.

While Tempestus Scions are the best-trained and equipped warriors in the Imperial Guard, their status and belligerent attitude often fosters acrimony from their fellow guardsmen. When not in theatre, there is a permanent state of aggression between the two groups, which often becomes violent. When battle starts, however, all antagonism is replaced by mutual loyalty to the Emperor.

TAUROX CREW

When we were talking to Dale about the design of the Taurox kit, he pointed out the idea behind the crew in the kit. “There are four heads for the crewmen in the Taurox,” Dale says. “Two are intended as standard Astra Militarum tank crew – there’s a leather and fabric head for the driver and a Cadian-style helmet with protective eyewear for the poor gunner who has to poke his head out of the turret to look around.

“The other pair are Tempestus Scions to man a Taurox Prime (shown right). There’s an enclosed helm and a beret head, the wearer of which has a lovely moustache.”

Fun facts from the worlds of Warhammer. This week: Astra Militarum Regimental Advisors.

ASTROPATHS

Powerful psykers who have been through the ritual known as Soul Binding, where they kneel before the Emperor and their minds are reshaped. Though this leaves them blind and often emotionally (and physically) scarred, it strengthens them against Warp-taint and enables them to send messages through the Warp across incredible distances.

The Adeptus Munitorum will often assign Astropaths to battlefield commanders, where their telepathic ability enables them to co-ordinate their operations despite the clamour of the conflict.

OFFICER OF THE FLEET

Imperial Navy liaisons are often deployed alongside Astra Militarum officers to benefit the war effort. An officer of the fleet will communicate battlefield positions to overhead fighter squadrons, enabling them to harass enemy reserves and delay them, or ensure that Valkyries and drop ships bringing reinforcements to the battlefield arrive in a timely fashion.

MASTER OF ORDNANCE

During the largest battles, Astra Militarum artillery regiments will be corralled far from the front, to rain fire down on the massed ranks of the foe. To ensure that this artillery support is delivered in an accurate and timely fashion, a Master of Ordnance will often be assigned by theatre command to join the forward Astra Militarum officers. With only a few words and the correct coordinates, he can have hundreds of pounds of high-explosive death hammer onto the enemy.

On the underside of the Taurox are two pairs of strange-looking metal coils. These are the mag-plates that help the Taurox negotiate terrain at incredible speed, repelling the vehicle away from the ground below. While nowhere near as powerful as the anti-gravity generators utilised by the Adeptus Astartes, they are very useful to the Tempestus Scions, who often need to get into (and out of) difficult situations very quickly.

HOCHLAND LONGRIFLE

There’s something quite preposterous about a well-heeled Empire Engineer or Elector Count bringing his favourite hunting rifle to the battlefield in the hope of bagging a prime Orc hide or Loren Unicorn for the wall of his drawing room. The flip side of that self-indulgent madness is that a high calibre rifle with a powerful telescope attached to it makes a rather fine weapon, as many a musician, standard bearer or general has discovered.

Our model of the week is a Tau Fireblade painted by Tomáš Pekar. We actually featured Tomáš’s Riptide a few months ago in White Dwarf, though erroneously described the model as being from T’au sept rather than Fal’shia. The Drone responsible has been reprogrammed.

If you’ve painted a miniature you think is worthy of a place in White Dwarf then why not send a picture to:

team@whitedwarf.co.uk

If it’s something we can use, we’ll be sure to get in touch.

The White Dwarf team is a font of hobby knowledge, a metaphorical repository of useful facts. If you have a question about Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer, need a bit of painting advice or you’re after a few tactical tips, drop us a line: team@whitedwarf.co.uk

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

I’ve been reading about the Third Armageddon War in the Apocalypse book, and I wondered what happened to Ghazghkull and Commissar Yarrick once the war was over. Do you know?
- James ‘Steel Legion’ Barnes

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

What do you take me for manling? Do I look like some wispy-whiskered scribe? Ahem, sorry. Adam, answer this please…

Adam: That’s a good question – the truth is that the 3rd Armageddon War isn’t really over, but is still going on. The Orks call it ‘Da Big Scrap’ and continue to flock to the planet, and millions of greenskins remain on the surface. Even so, the greatest danger seems to have passed (for now). As for Ghazgkull, he fled the planet to hatch a new nefarious plan, hotly pursued by both Yarrick and the Black Templars. The outcome is unclear, but I’m hoping the Beast of Armageddon is hatching a new, nastier plan.
- Grombrindal (and Adam Troke)

Curious to find out more about Scars, Dan quizzed Chris Wraight on his latest novel.

Chris Wraight is relatively new to the Horus Heresy writing team, but he’s already stamped his mark on the White Scars Legion with Scars and Brotherhood of the Storm. You can find more of Chris’s work at www.blacklibrary.com, including the Space Wolves novel Blood of Asaheim and the Warhammer omnibus Swords of the Emperor.

Dan: Jaghatai Khan has hardly been mentioned in the Horus Heresy so far. What was it like writing about him?

Chris: I really enjoyed it. It isn’t often that you get a chance to flesh out a major character with so little established lore. Of course there’s the Mongol/Asiatic strand that gives the Legion its imagery and combat doctrine, but there’s plenty more to the Khan than that. In terms of his character, I wanted to make him quite inscrutable and hard to engage with.

Dan: Who’s your favourite character?

Chris: I’m fondest of the Stormseer character, Yesugei. He first emerged in
A Thousand Sons, but ended up being a key character in Brotherhood of the Storm. He’s a phenomenally powerful psyker, almost a match for a Thousand Sons sorcerer, but with a more realistic sense of the dangers of the warp. During the book, we see him begin to change and, as time goes on, we’ll see even more of that across the Legion.

Dan: What section of the audio book are you most excited about listening to?

Chris: I’m very much looking forward to the void war sections, both those involving the White Scars and also the Space Wolves. There’s a certain warrior of the Rout who I’m really keen to hear in action, particularly considering what he ends up fighting. And, of course, I’m dying to hear the Khan speak.

Dan: What’s next for the White Scars?

Chris: Oh, they’ll be back. We know, of course, where the White Scars ultimately end up, but there’s plenty still to be told about how they get there. DH

As you may have seen on page 14, Jes and his Necrons recently went to war in a massive Apocalypse game against Dan, and Jes unleashed his Necron Obelisk and Transcendent C’tan for the first time on the battlefield.

“I painted the Obelisk specifically for the game against Dan,” Jes says. “All his talk of an Apocalypse battle made me want to push myself to do something new, so I picked up the kit and painted it over the course of a weekend. Building the Obelisk from the kit also gives you a spare C’tan, so I painted him at the same time. It never hurts to have an angry star god on your side in a fight.”

Jes painted his Transcendent C’tan using Citadel Shades. “Having undercoated it with Skull White Spray, I washed the whole model with Biel-Tan Green,” he explains. “When that was dry I did two consecutive washes on the outer limbs, first of Drakenhof Nightshade and then Druchii Violet. When that was all dry, I did a couple of highlights with White Scar, and then finished off with a glaze of Waywatcher Green to bring all the colours together.”

“Painting my Obelisk was an exercise in using Citadel Dry compounds,” says Jes. “By drybrushing Necron Compound over Leadbelcher and washing the model with Nuln Oil, I was able to get a metal effect I was happy with very quickly.”

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