Horus Heresy Campaigns in the Age of Darkness: The Martian Civil War

[Daylight]

I’m excited to see the models for Diaz, Nex, and Crone. The blurb in black book 3 about Nex was interesting - he became a Space Marine fully as an adult after being recruited by Corax from the prisons, IIRC. 

[Marshal Rohr]

 

As far as I can tell the Forge Remnants Provenance still lets you buy the new Krios since it just replaces the datasheet instead of being a new unit. 

 

And man I was really hoping that there'd be an option to allow Cybernetica units to buy Corrupted Engine + an Aetheric Dominion (replacing their Atomantic Deflectors with Malefic Aegis so they font suffer 2D3 wounds from instant death of course ). It really feels like thats all thats missing to tie the book together.

Oh damn, great catch! That makes doing a Mech Militia force way more appealing. 

[Astartes Consul]

 

Idk, let the black shields rules people cook, or ask the fantasy guys what it's like letting their players enjoy using their models on the field.

On this, I thought it has interesting reading how detailed some of the discussion on WarCom around the Chaos release for Old World was this week. The designers seem really engaged with how the game works in practice and what balance issues might occur. 
 

I don’t for a second believe the Heresy design team aren’t equally as engaged. But as you pointed out, this doesn’t seem to make it through to the rules/game. 
 

Maybe it’s a workload issue. No idea how many people work in the Old World v Heresy. 

[Waaagh?]

 

I’m excited to see the models for Diaz, Nex, and Crone. The blurb in black book 3 about Nex was interesting - he became a Space Marine fully as an adult after being recruited by Corax from the prisons, IIRC. 

IF they get models. GW isn't exactly known for their consistency.

[Astartes Consul]

 

IF they get models. GW isn't exactly known for their consistency.

When it comes to named characters that are in print rules they’ve been pretty consistent in the last few years, though.
 

Can only see them not doing a model for Diaz if they decide that the IF praetor is basically him. 

 

 

I wouldn’t have ToW team on such a high pillar, they have managed to design a game where one of the core elements, infantry, is basically useless 

 

Fair enough, I’m not as familiar with the ToW rules as Heresy ones. Still think it’s hard to argue that they haven’t done a better job and also seem to be more in touch with the game they’re developing. 

[Taliesin]

 

Nothing says a book on the Mechanicum civil war like 4 new marine characters.  Unless there are hidden in the chapters the Mechanicum get not a single new unit in this book? Re prints of the deamon engines, re prints of the chaos knights, Krios squadrons (maybe a new gun idk) and 4 new marines? Techo heresies will be a chaos themed mech list to use the deamon stuff. 

 

I dont understand why after the years and years of delay they would even bother to put this to print? Clearly they needed more time to work on adding Mechanicum elements into the Mechanicum book.  

 

They could have just released a generic black book focusing on random campaigns, put out the marine characters and the re prints and save Mars for when they actually have CONTENT for it. 

 

I just dont think that was ever coming. I actually think we are fortunate that this is released at all. 

 

I think this is the best they could produce, or wanted to produce. I think everyone who was waiting for that big Mars black book, which they did actually confirm was to be book 10, will be disappointed to see that this 168 page volume is what is ultimately published. But that Black Book was never coming, clearly, and I am happy they at least published this and we have something of a Mars book, rather than nothing at all. And I do like the idea that they had that this book will cover a long timespan of Mars during the Heresy.

 

All of these books after Malevolence have been much shorter. Book 9 Crusade already packed in a lot less content than people imagined but as I recall there is a fair bit of  Dark Mechanicum stuff in that book that people were not expecting in it, in the lore mainly. If they still knew at that point they were going to do a big Mars Black Book, why not save that?  So to me it just feels like content has been cut up into pieces at some point, after book 8. Remember, at the Horus Heresy Weekender seminar when they released Inferno, they had a presentation up that showed Blood angels and Dark Angels was to be the next book. That turned out to be book 8 and 9.

 

I just dont think they had more material, or maybe not enough time to create more. It would also explain why this book is even shorter than the previous 2 campaign books. Still I will be really glad to have it, cause what is in there looks very interesting lore wise.

 

Edited August 31 by Taliesin

[Taliesin]

Goonhammer review:

 

https://www.goonhammer.com/goonhammer-review-the-martian-civil-war/

 

Some snippets:

 

The Martial Civil War and the Loyalist blockade around the red planet lasted from the start of the Horus Heresy all the way to the early Siege of Terra. The book has three main strands between the Death of Innocence (what the Ad Mech called the initial hours of the Civil War) and the Siege.

Early in the Heresy, the Imperial Fists led by Sigismund and Camba Diaz attempt to steal new power armour patterns for the Loyalists.
Loyalists under Corax and Kaedes Nex undergo an assassination and disruption campaign called the Perditum Incursion.
At the end of war, towards the Siege of Terra, Aster Crohne and his Blood Angels Inductii attempt to stop a Traitor scrap code infection.
There is a lot of riveting material in here, well worth a read!

 

 

This book rocks, but it’s not for everyone.

This feels less like one of the “Blackbook” campaign books of Beta-Garmon and Siege, and more similar to the Exemplary Battles book that came out last year. There is a lot of reprinted stuff from PDFs, and this book is shorter, clocking in at 168 interior pages to the 240 of siege of Cthonia and the 208 of Beta-Garmon. (Dear Editor: Can I write a Double Event bit here from Pacific Rim?)

Bottom of the line, this isn’t really a campaign book, it’s a Dark Mechanicum faction book, and I’m okay with that because they’re a selection of absolutely kickass rules and lore in here for that Faction. That said, it’s not so much of an instabuy if you play any other Faction, sadly including loyalists Mechanicum. I wish the Loyalists had been thrown a few bones.

With the new Mechanicum released earlier this month, more plastic Mechanicum hopefully coming, every one of you should buy this book and make yourself a little Mechanicum allied detachment, so they make more stuff like this. The Relic Hunt missions and the incredible lore and art are also worth checking in for.

 

P.S. quote function doesnt seem to work like it used to anymore, or I am missing an icon.

Edited August 31 by Taliesin

[sarabando]

 

Goonhammer review:

 

https://www.goonhammer.com/goonhammer-review-the-martian-civil-war/

 

Some snippets:

 

The Martial Civil War and the Loyalist blockade around the red planet lasted from the start of the Horus Heresy all the way to the early Siege of Terra. The book has three main strands between the Death of Innocence (what the Ad Mech called the initial hours of the Civil War) and the Siege.

Early in the Heresy, the Imperial Fists led by Sigismund and Camba Diaz attempt to steal new power armour patterns for the Loyalists.
Loyalists under Corax and Kaedes Nex undergo an assassination and disruption campaign called the Perditum Incursion.
At the end of war, towards the Siege of Terra, Aster Crohne and his Blood Angels Inductii attempt to stop a Traitor scrap code infection.
There is a lot of riveting material in here, well worth a read!

 

 

This book rocks, but it’s not for everyone.

This feels less like one of the “Blackbook” campaign books of Beta-Garmon and Siege, and more similar to the Exemplary Battles book that came out last year. There is a lot of reprinted stuff from PDFs, and this book is shorter, clocking in at 168 interior pages to the 240 of siege of Cthonia and the 208 of Beta-Garmon. (Dear Editor: Can I write a Double Event bit here from Pacific Rim?)

Bottom of the line, this isn’t really a campaign book, it’s a Dark Mechanicum faction book, and I’m okay with that because they’re a selection of absolutely kickass rules and lore in here for that Faction. That said, it’s not so much of an instabuy if you play any other Faction, sadly including loyalists Mechanicum. I wish the Loyalists had been thrown a few bones.

With the new Mechanicum released earlier this month, more plastic Mechanicum hopefully coming, every one of you should buy this book and make yourself a little Mechanicum allied detachment, so they make more stuff like this. The Relic Hunt missions and the incredible lore and art are also worth checking in for.

 

P.S. quote function doesnt seem to work like it used to anymore, or I am missing an icon.

 

 

 

these days the words of people getting things from GW for free are worth less than the power it takes for them to be displayed on screen.

[Petitioner's City]

Oh God, can we stop with needless attacks on reviewers (who always have a gift to review - be it free early preview of a film, a free product or whatever else for free). To take this tone - one you sadly see across fandoms - is one step away from the level of claustrophobic conspiracy theorising that dominates the internet. 

Edited September 1 by Petitioner's City

[Redcomet]

 

Oh God, can we stop with needless attacks on reviewers (who always have a gift to review - be it free early preview of a film, a free product or whatever else for free). To take this tone - one you sadly see across fandoms - is one step away from the level of claustrophobic conspiracy theorising that dominates the internet. 

Considering several reviewers recently got removed from the influencer program for not being positive enough, it is pretty hard to not see them as corporate shills

[Cleon]

So if the third part of the campaign/setting is 'Aster Crohne and his Blood Angels Inductii' any chance we might get some decent plastic melee weapons to make those despoiler Inductii? Personally one characters rules in an otherwise unconnected book does not make this a good buy, it's a shame that the Marine character rules almost certainly won't be up on Warcomm/

[Vassakov]

There is, however, a difference between reviewing what the product is and comparing it to the imagined product that some people assumed it should be.

[lansalt]

Yeah, people imagining that a book called The Martian Civil War would have new mechanicum units and minis (instead of recycled space marine characters and 40k daemon engines) are the ones clearly assuming wrong things and unreasonable.

[Vassakov]

It's unreasonable to call reviewers shills, especially when the ones in question literally say in their review that it's functionally a Dark Mech list book and that the lack of Loyalist Mechanicum units is disappointing.

 

That having been said, whilst I think a special character or two should absolutely have been included, expecting wholly new Mechanicum core units when they're clearly in the early stages of redoing the line in plastic was probably unrealistic, especially when there had been no indication of brand new Mechanicum units.

[Corswain]

I think the review is very useful. It informs me about what the product is and it aides in my purchase decision. That's pretty much what it should do.

 

For the record, I have decided not to buy the book. Maybe put it on the Christmas list.

[lansalt]

Yes, the previous Beta-Garmon book being released along 5 new space marine characters, 5 new consul/elite minis, new units, and 1 new plastic SM kit  (all besides also new Solar Auxilia units and kits), clearly means that it was very unrealistic for this Mechanicum book to also feature new Mechanicum minis besides that one Archmagos Prime.

 

 

[Astartes Consul]

 

Yes, the previous Beta-Garmon book being released along 5 new space marine characters, 5 new consul/elite minis, new units, and 1 new plastic SM kit  (all besides also new Solar Auxilia units and kits), clearly means that it was very unrealistic for this Mechanicum book to also feature new Mechanicum minis besides that one Archmagos Prime.

 

 

 

Maybe a better comparison is that Beta-Garmon dropped around the same time ag the mass plastic release for Solar Aux. But the book itself contained rules for only two new SA units, as well as some new pays to field SA as either Legiones Auxilia or with an Overseer. So you could argue this release is roughly in line, even if it hasn’t matched some general community expectations. 
 

As for Marines getting new characters / rules in every book, I feel like we should just all price that in by now? And as an aside, I can’t remember a single one of the old Black Books that didn’t include new Marine characters? 

[Vassakov]

Well, the Marine Command Squad had absolutely nothing to do with Beta-Garmon or the book, it just shared a release date. It had been previewed and trailed well beforehand, and wasn't a "new unit" in any way shape or form.

 

By that logic, the The Martian Civil War got released alongside two new plastic Mechanicum kits, not to mention all the stuff in the launch box.

[lansalt]

 

Maybe a better comparison is that Beta-Garmon dropped around the same time ag the mass plastic release for Solar Aux. But the book itself contained rules for only two new SA units

There's 4 new SA units in the book, and the Martian Civil War has also been released along a mass plastic release for Mechanicum liber units, except without new ones like in previous books.

 

the Marine Command Squad had absolutely nothing to do with Beta-Garmon or the book

The book contains Company Command squad rules for it (even if they forgot about the shields).

You know, toxic negativity in online communities/fandom by bad actors or just unpleasant people is a real problem, sure. But so is mandatory happiness and enforced positivity. When some fans and reviewers dismiss or avoid to mention very obvious flaws in products besides platitudes or minor issues, they come off as insincere or biased.

 

[Marshal Rohr]

 

Considering several reviewers recently got removed from the influencer program for not being positive enough, it is pretty hard to not see them as corporate shills

Which ones got removed specifically?

[Doghouse]

 

Which ones got removed specifically?

 

Only one I know of is Sword N Steele who thinks it was because of her video discussing the female Custodes. I think the issue is that GW don't give reasons they just get their reps to cut people off without explanation making it hard to say if it's because of negativity or just a case of the material they are putting out is not being seen as brand appropriate.

 

Personally speaking I've just ordered the book so will make up my own mind whether it's any good or not, I don't need Youtubers with far less experience than me to tell me the pro and cons of a product. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Petitioner's City]

 

Considering several reviewers recently got removed from the influencer program for not being positive enough, it is pretty hard to not see them as corporate shills

 

Any others Red Comet, or just needless exaggeration? Do you have proof anyone removed was for "not being positive enough"?

 

Honestly, I find this language  unnecessary and overly hostile, as I've never seen any evidence what you say.

 

[Lord Marshal]

 

Considering several reviewers recently got removed from the influencer program for not being positive enough, it is pretty hard to not see them as corporate shills

 

these days the words of people getting things from GW for free are worth less than the power it takes for them to be displayed on screen.

 

To be fair Goonhammer are usually pretty scathing with their Horus Heresy content, to the extent I was genuinely surprised they wrote a largely positive review about this one. Their Legions Imperialis review in particular was very negative and that seemingly hasn't been enough to get them put on the naughty list.

 

 

Edited September 1 by Lord Marshal

[Joe]

I decided against picking this book up in the end, as I'm not interested in any of the new characters and the re-printed missions. Blank spot on the bookshelf is probably going to drive me up the wall, admittedly. Colour plates and fluff are cool and all, but not enough of an incentive here.

 

This is honestly just a werd set of weekends for me in general; I was put off buying the Angmar book with the new MESBG edition right around the corner, and I still haven't popped a pre-order in for the Arcane Journal for WoC in TOW as I'm still not solid on a faction for that system. It's becoming increasingly difficult to really commit to a book given the prices they charge these days.

 

In so far as people being removed from the creator program; it largely comes down to whether people are being professional or not. You can write a scathing review of a product so long as it's done with a modicum of respect / professionality.

Edited September 1 by Joe

[Marshal Rohr]

 

 

Only one I know of is Sword N Steele who thinks it was because of her video discussing the female Custodes. I think the issue is that GW don't give reasons they just get their reps to cut people off without explanation making it hard to say if it's because of negativity or just a case of the material they are putting out is not being seen as brand appropriate.

 

Personally speaking I've just ordered the book so will make up my own mind whether it's any good or not, I don't need Youtubers with far less experience than me to tell me the pro and cons of a product. 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s how I feel too  whenever they talk about value and what you get in the book I just remember mowing lawns until I could afford the blood angels minidex only to discover there was nothing really in it.