Legions Imperialis... a teaser of upcoming HH releases?

[Darnok]

We had another GW preview today, which showed two interesting upcoming releases in the Age Of Darkness setting.

 

First there will be Cerastus Knights Acheron and Castigator coming in plastic, in addition to the already known Cerastus Knight Lancer. It remains unclear if all three will come in one box, or if they are split the way they were previewed.

 

The "big bombshell" however came in the announcement of The Horus Heresy - Legions Imperialis, an Epic scaled game set in the Heresy timeframe. It features everything from basic infantry, dreadoughts, tanks, knights and even flyers and titans. The scale is the same as for Aeronautica Imperialis and Adeptus Titanicus - it was specifically mentioned that models from that range can be fielded in the new game.

 

I wonder if the "mystery army" and other releases for "proper HH" are more or less openly previewed here. There is a variety of Solar Auxilia infantry and vehicles shown, and it would be odd to not get them in 28mm scale sooner rather than later. We already know of Assault Squads coming in plastic, and get them first in 8mm here. There are also some weapon options on tanks that are currently not available as far as I know.

 

So yeah... how far off do you think I am with this? And are you looking forward to this new game? Either way, I think there are some interesting times ahead for the Age Of Darkness.

[Dezron]

12 minutes ago, Darnok said:

And are you looking forward to this new game?

 

I am not the fan of such small scale and yet that preview made me start planning to make Siege of Terra themed force/diorama. 

 

 

Just one advice, we're getting new Plastic weapons for Titans, so I would hold off with any Forge World upgrade for them. 

 

 

I also can't wait to see how Warmaster and the exotic Titans weapons will perform. I need to know how many Marines can be melted by building sized Volkite gun. 

[Lord Marshal]

The Epic Malcador having a Vanquisher turret which it's never had a model nor rules for until the recent Liber: Imperium is perhaps a good sign the mystery release may be a plastic Malcador. It's one of FW's oldest kits and it seems to be one of the worst kits for having mould issues.

 

Solar Auxilia randomly getting a new 'Heavy Sentinel' may also not be a coincidence. The optimist in me says it might be too big to get a 32mm resin release... but then again, the Dire Wolf Scout Titan is all resin and that didn't release too long ago (although it ended up being a cheaper block of resin than I think most people expected).

 

That being said, the infantry is very finely detailed. Even if we saw vehicles in plastic, I still think we're a ways off getting plastic infantry in 32mm scale - especially the Command Section. But hey, vehicles would be better than nothing and the Leman Russes especially could easily be sold to 40k Guard players, particularly now the existing LR is showing it's age.

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Lord Marshal

[Pearson73]

For me, the most interesting thing here was the Auxilia. First that they were chosen to be the joint first army, and also the new Sentinel and Malcadors. Hopefully bodes well for the 28mm game too, perhaps a move to plastic for the faction, or at least some more attention!

[Darnok]

36 minutes ago, Lord Marshal said:

Solar Auxilia randomly getting a new 'Heavy Sentinel' may also not be a coincidence. The optimist in me says it might be too big to get a 32mm resin release...

 

Considering their look...

 

 

... I could see this being a either a resin conversion kit or even an extra plastic sprue for the existing current Sentinel:

 

 

[Noserenda]

Apparently working between scales is much harder than it seems to us layfolk, so an epic mini does not guarantee a 32mm one and visa versa. That said there has obviously been more thought put into Solar auxilla and some of the tanks we have not seen revamped yet so it seems they may be due eventually! 

But yeah, look at the new stuff added to Titanicus and how literally none of it has had a 40k version.

Solar auxilla still feels like an odd choice to get plastic conversion first in the context of all GW... But it seems both the SG and GW teams really hate that people use models in both systems so perhaps thats not the framing we should be using? 

Someone at GW is definitely keen to see more elite humans with 4+ saves in plastic though :D 

[Castlerook]

Part of me would like to see some of the Legion Imperialis box reach 32mm scale plastic but the beaten down pessimist in me is thinking "resin, resin, resin".

 

As much as I would love to have an official Solar Auxilia army, I am not selling any organs for that. Its partly one of the reasons why I got into 3d printing. 

 

The sentinel, that is more than likely going to be a conversion kit, admittedly that is the one kit most likely to be plastic, I can see it coming as a resin kit. The Malcador, maybe a resin refresh, but I can't see that tank being popular enough to warrant a plastic redo.

 

That being said, if I am ever proven wrong, then I will be more than happy to see that.

[Noserenda]

I do suspect the Assault squads and Command squads on the roadmap will obviously resemble these infantry stands, in composition and gear if not in exact details.

For example, look at the officer, super similar to the starter box guy, but different pose and marine sized instead of a custode :D 

So id expect crested Mk6 lids, a banner, apothecary and a couple of meat shields with melee weapon options.

[MichaelCarmine]

Only thing that interests me is the fact, that the epic CommandSquad have Apothecaries on the Base.

So maybe they will finally release an errata, that allows us to attach them to Command Squads, when it arrives in plastic... xD

[Pacific81]

The thing I am looking forward to most is the influx of new players into the Epic hobby. There haven't been huge numbers of us keeping the flame alive all things considered (certainly compared to Bloodbowl or Necromunda, when those games weren't officially supported) and some lovely plastic minis will definitely help with that, and get some momentum with clubs and tournaments etc.

 

My main concerns were the scaling, and the minis being too large to sit alongside existing collections - thankfully some analysis done in the Epic community is estimating around 8mm for a marine, so while the classic 6mm marine might be a little small if placed alongside, most proxy and 3d print minis out there should be fine.

My other worry is the choice of rules. Epic has (IMO) two of the finest rulesets every produced by GW, in Space Marine 2nd edition and Epic Armageddon. It would be a massive lost opportunity if the new rules are not up to scratch with those two in the back catalogue.

My instincts (partly based on the volume of minis in the starter) tell me Armageddon-based rules are more likely, but we will just have to wait and see on that score!

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Pacific81

[Astartes Consul]

Very excited and also terrified about the idea of having to paint even basic details onto anything that small 

 

I’m not putting too much credence into the choice of SA and various new / updated units in this being a sign of things to come for 30k though. Would be nice to at see but not holding my breath. 

[Pacific81]

@Astartes Consulf  Fear no more as it is super easy to paint small scale (just have to ignore whichever mentalist painted eye lenses on the official guys :D)

 

I did upload a guide here somewhere, let me find it..

 

[Brother Sutek]

While would prefer it to be proper Imperial Guard instead of Solar Auxilia as I really want to build a IG Epic level army, this is a step in the right direction.  If it had just been marines I'd be disappointed.  I just hope the price isn't too high or people will just get the rules and 3D print the models. Obviously there are some who will either way but trying to get them to make rules for Xenos factions.

[Marshal Rohr]

The price will be fine. Most people didn’t print Titanicus stuff only a few extremely online clubs. 

[Gorgoff]

I have spoken.

[Brother Tyler]

Note that I split a bunch of off-topic (okay, only tangentially related) posts off of from this discussion. They don't further this discussion, but they bring up a relevant topic that is worth discussing elsewhere.

 

If you want to discuss the actual Legions Imperialis game, this is the place. If you want to discuss 3D printing and the larger hobby, go here. If this discussion about the Legions Imperialis game sparks some other side discussion, please create a new topic in the appropriate forum to take that discussion up so that this discussion isn't dragged off topic again.

[Astartes Consul]

Can someone remind me, was Epic alternative activation or turn based a la 30/40K? 

[Brother Tyler]

Epic Armageddon:

 

 

(I no longer have the original Epic rules and my memory is fuzzy, so they may differ from the 2003 version of the game.)

[Astartes Consul]

Amazing, thank you! Hopefully this new version sticks to something similar. 

[tinpact]

If Space Marines are any indication, a plastic SA release can probably hope for a melee/ranged infantry kit, a command squad, and maybe even a tank or two. An updated Leman Russ and Malcador maps fairly well to the Predator/Land Raider. Although the Heresy release has been so strangely laid out the mystery army might be something totally out of left field like...Ullanor orks or something.

 

As far as the box goes, it looks pretty solid. I don't know that I'll end up getting the whole thing, but I'll probably pick up whatever ends up spare on Ebay. No mixed armor marks is a bummer, but it's not like they're hard to find.

[Dezron]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/07/03/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-warhammer-the-horus-heresy-legions-imperialis/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-horus-heresy&utm_content=legions030723

 

Some info about Epic like this for example:

 

Quote

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

 

[Marshal Rohr]

19 hours ago, Marshal Rohr said:

Games Workshop made over 200million in core revenue last year. There is no way GW is selling 200million worth of core products and that be the minority of customers. The position you two are taking is that people are 3D printing at least 200million worth of GW product for MOST people to be 3D printing (50%+1). That’s an insane position to take. If you position is MOST Titanicus players are 3D printing their titans that’s also insane. The Grandmaster Box sold out and the upgrade sprues sold out multiple times. Unless your position is that was just a conspiracy and none of them ever existed, someone is buying the thousands of these things they are making. 

 

 

 

https://assets.ctfassets.net/ost7hseic9hc/7cfv9PJCBejp8hwsTrRqeA/329a5d998b3b40deac3e67d41e468f00/2022-23-half-year-report-final.pdf

The specific mention of aircraft being used in an anti-Titan role was a little disconcerting. Hopefully that’s just because they can’t reveal the Titan Killer Tanks yet. I’m personally looking forward to an entire Regiment of fists taking on a Primaris Maniple. 

[Colman]

I think my response to this will be to dump the idea of trying to play the 28m Horus Heresy game and switch to Epic scale for that era. I have cute little planes, titans and scenary already, so adding tiny baby ground forces suits me nicely. What 28mm HH stuff I have will see play in 40k. 

[MegaVolt87]

On 7/2/2023 at 7:35 AM, MichaelCarmine said:

Only thing that interests me is the fact, that the epic CommandSquad have Apothecaries on the Base.

So maybe they will finally release an errata, that allows us to attach them to Command Squads, when it arrives in plastic... xD

 

Not nesacarily, could also be an easy out for a plastic apothecary, the minimum size command squad is 3 (?). The 40k command squad is a package deal these days, not an exact unit. 

[Gorgoff]

On 7/1/2023 at 11:35 PM, MichaelCarmine said:

Only thing that interests me is the fact, that the epic CommandSquad have Apothecaries on the Base.

So maybe they will finally release an errata, that allows us to attach them to Command Squads, when it arrives in plastic... xD

I wouldn't be a fan of it because it would make an already stellar cc unit even better.