Armor Heavy Legions

[DrMantisToboggan]

Hello all,

 

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. Like many of you, I am very much looking forward to the release of Legions Imperialis, but I've been having a hard time deciding on a legion for my Astartes. I am foremost a hobbyist with an obsession with making lore accurate forces-my 30K legion is the XIVth Legion, an infantry heavy force led by Calas Typhon and an Etsy-purchased proxy Mortaring (I'm not a good enough painter to tackle a true primarch model yet). I think the Death Guard look great in epic scale-the contrast between the green shoulder pads and off-white armor really pops. That said, obviously I would prefer to move on to another legion for Legions Imperialis, but I'm kind of stuck on the fence between several and I was hoping someone might be able to weigh in. Currently I'm on book 15 (Prospero Burns) in the Horus Heresy series and I feel like I've gotten a general idea on the tactics and strategies of each legion, but so far I haven't really felt like any of them specifically emphasize armored warfare. I would like to field a tank heavy force, so correct me if I'm wrong but I've determined:

 

-Emperor's Children are too few in number (although they might be my favorite legion, Fulgrim is my third favorite book of the series so far, behind Descent of Angels and Legion).

-Space Wolves are too focused on furious close combat.

-Night Lords seem like they're more into hit-and-run tactics over mechanized assaults (though a Night Lords force heavy on drop pods sounds fun).

-Blood Angels, like Space Wolves seem to be too focused on melee infantry.

-World Eaters, like the Blood Angels and Space Wolves, are focused on berserker tactics.

-Death Guard-Already done 'em.

-Thousand Sons-I'm a big fan, but I feel like the psyker aspect would be kind of lost on a tank heavy force.

-Word Bearers-Like the Thousand Sons their theme seems like it might get lost in epic scale, though I am a follower of the Word.

-Alpha Legion-I love these guys, but like the Night Lords, they seem to be more focused on subterfuge and guerrila action rather than shock and awe tactics.

 

That leaves the Dark Angels (I), Iron Warriors (IV), Imperial Fists (VII), Iron Hands (X), Ultramarines (XIII), Sons of Horus (XVI), and Salamanders (XVIII). I absolutely love the Dark Angels, but I am a little hesitant to pick them because of the black color scheme-I'm not sure if I have the steady hands to highlight black armor on such small miniatures. I've kind of knocked out the Iron Hands, they just have not been given enough development through the first 15 books. I love the Salamanders paint scheme, but I tend to prefer the bad guys over the good guys, and the Salamanders seem like extremely good guys. I like Perturabo (awesome name) and, at least scanning the wiki (I try to avoid spoilers) it seems like the Iron Warriors might fit the bill, but I'm not a fan of metallic paints. That leaves the Imperial Fists, Ultramarines, and the Sons of Horus. So far in the series it seems like the Ultramarines make the most sense given the size of the legion and their emphasis on combined arms, but again, they are a (small) step behind the Salamanders on the 'good guys' scale. I would be very grateful for ideas on a way to paint Iron Warriors without metallic paints, but I have yet to find a video or guide that might push me in the right direction. I'm worried about loading these models up with too much paint.

 

Any thoughts? Would a tank heavy Imperial Fist army make sense? Would Dark Angels be easier than I think? What are your plans for your legions? And what do you think about using metallic paints on such small models? And do you think GW will release tiny primarchs? (If so, I might veer toward Horus).

 

(Side note-I am considering White Scars or Raven Guard, it is nice that GW is releasing bikes in the first wave. That said, they are not included in the starter set and I won't commit to buying more models until I know I'm into the scale).

 

Sorry for the long post, if you made it all the way here, thanks for reading!

[Xanthous]

39 minutes ago, DrMantisToboggan said:

-Emperor's Children are too few in number

I'm taking this from Lexicanum, which cites the first Black Book and the novel Saturnine as its sources:

 

The IIIrd Legion came out of Isstvan III with 50,000 marines, and went into the Siege of Terra with 100,000. The IIIrd were hardly lacking in manpower going into the Heresy.

 

It's noted, I think in the second Black Book, that the ECs lost a lot of armour on Isstvan III, but they later bolstered their armoury with salvaged machines from the Urgall Depression. Due to the rarity of their Tyrian Purple dye, these tanks typically had partial or total black panelling, which I think would look interesting (but you said you disliked the idea of painting black, so you could also omit this).

 

You said you consider the Emperor's Children to be one of your favourites, so despite them being the first legion you ruled out, they would be my recommendation, as there's nothing prohibiting them from fielding large amounts of armour. If this doesn't work for you, though, then a tank heavy Imperial Fist army I think would make a lot of sense (and look great in this scale).

[Pacific81]

Ah this is always the hardest decision that any Heresy hobbyist will face, the 'which Legion' question, I find it changes from day to day!

 

If you say you enjoy the painting element most I would use that as the basis of your decision. Paint up a sample of the two or three you are most likely to want to do, and see which one clicks perhaps or that you enjoy the painting process for. And the fluff can always be skewed towards what you want to actually do, rather than the other way around.

 

 

[Karhedron]

I agree, pick something that is satisfying to paint. Even the Emperor's Children numbered close to 100K at the outbreak of the Heresy. So even though they might not be noted as a Legion that favoured armoured assault, they would still have the numbers and resources to do so effectively if the situation called for it. In fact, since they sought perfection in all things, you could argue that there would be no style of warfare they would distain. Imagine a Commander or Techmarine obsessed with perfectly co-ordinated artillery barrages followed up by a lightning armoured assault. All Legions practised all types of warfare, even if they had preferences for certain styles over others.

 

So pick the Legion you like to paint the most and let your background follow from that. The paint must flow!

[Pacific81]

As an aside, carrying on from what @Karhedronhas said above, I really wanted to do World Eaters when they were a 'combined arms' force rather than just a horde of frothing berserkers. So when they still used lots of heavy weaponry (and I loved the idea of World Eater Artillery!) So I ostensibly set my force during the Great Crusade, the Legion has discovered Angron, changed its name and the first 'nails' units are being introduced. But, you could easily say it could have been set during the Heresy and a far-flung expedition that has taken a lot of time to return once the Heresy has broken out. The legion apothecaries wouldn't have been able to click their fingers and instantly apply the nails to hundreds of thousands of marines, so there is a window of time for that sort of thing, even though you are creating a force that is slightly away from the normal perception (but without going completely counter to it). So I think there is a lot of flexibility there, and will continue to be as won't ever be possible for GW to write 'canon' about every single moment of time.

 

A couple of ideas below, I think really most combinations of unit and legion can be justified with just a little thought about it. Below is Legion missile artillery, scout/recon units (white & blue would stick out like a sore thumb!) and Legion Devestators.

[Black Cohort]

By the start of the Heresy even the smallest legions are closing in on 100k astartes, the largest over a quarter of a million.  Every legion has the capability of waging every type of war possible.  Primarchs and senior commanders may have had preferred styles of warfare but they also understood that sometimes you need other equipment and tactics.

 

So while the legions first come to mind for armoured warfare are the Iron Hands and Iron Warriors, any legion is going to be capable of fielding armoured companies at the scale of LI.  If you want Emperor's Children then have some mid-ranking officer whose focus for perfection is armoured combat.

[Noserenda]

First up, even the biggest epic army is a drop in the water of a legion, every legion could easily field that much armour.

 

Secondly, off the top of my head, Iron hands and Worldeaters had the most armour overall if that's so important.

 

But pick the legion you want to paint every time 

[LameBeard]

“ … there appears to be no particular strength or deficiency within the [Alpha] Legion’s arsenal, although they have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to gain access to even the most recently introduced classes of war machine before they have become widely used elsewhere.”

 

Liber Hereticus, p 346
 

Do what the others said: go for what you enjoy painting, they can all be justified. Isn’t there a short story where the Alpha Legion use a super-heavy company to ambush some titans? On this scale of warfare, you can still be sneaky with a super-heavy. And I think metallics will actually work great on the small models.

 

My other advice is think about your basing scheme and choose a nice contrast. I like Blood Angels but my titans are on Mars-desert bases so that would clash. If I go loyalist it looks like Imperial Fists.

 
Like you, I don’t want to paint black, but at least with Dark Angels you could add some red or chequers (via decal!) and use weathering to provide the definition instead of shade/highlights.

 

”While the Emperor’s Children strive to master all aspects of armoured combat, they have a specific inclination towards manoeuvre warfare, favouring fast transport vehicles and main battle tanks, and other elements able to directly support them.”

 

Ibid. p 170

 

Go on! Columns of rhinos, sicarans, air support, speeders, predators - mostly purple with the odd one in black and purple to show the post Istvaan salvage. Do it! <insert Palpatine meme>

Edited November 17, 2023 by LameBeard
Moar

[Cactus]

You don't need steady hands to paint tiny marines in black (or any other colour). It should be possible to highlight them very well with drybrushing.

 

I agree with everything posted above. Pick the legion you like most or will enjoy painting, they all have the resources to deploy a tank army at the scale of an LI game.

[Valkyrion]

For quick black DA base scheme; prime black, heavy overbrush corvus black, drybrush dawnstone (optional drybrush of administratum), wash black if you went too heavy on the grey.

For quick black IH style; prime black, light drybrush leadbelcher, optional very light drybrush a lighter silver (ironsomething I think), wash black.

For quick Iron Warriors; prime black, heavy overbrush leadbelcher, drybrush the ironsomething silver, wash black. The painful bit for these guys will be mini hazard markings. 

For quick yellow; prime white, contrast imperial fist, dryrbrush dorn yellow, wash reikland fleshshade optional drybrush of dorn yellow afterwards)

 

You'll go insane if you edge highlight and line wash a 3000 point army, and your eyes will likely fall out of their sockets, your wrists will seize up and your brush fingers will be locked in that pose forever. 

 

 

[DuskRaider]

Each Legion has a different aspect of warfare that specialize in or prefer, but all have the ability to field literally any form of combat doctrine that you prefer. As others have said, pick the one you want to paint the most and go from there. 

[vadersson]

Also remember that LI supports mixing Legions.  So while my favorite is Ultramarines, I will likely paint some units from other Legions to use with them.  So go wild.