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

[Corswain]

 

I’m a little surprised the Thanatar is more than the Triaros

Maybe just down to more people are going to want to buy a Thanatar than a Triaros?

[Lord Marshal]

The book being the same price as Beta-Garmon is disappointing, considering the lower page count. I'll probably hold off on buying this one since I'm not a Mech player.

[Lord Marshal]

Article which talks about the 'three main narratives' in the book.

 

"Some of the contents of that book were in fact used elsewhere – while other parts will still have to wait for new models – but with the release of the core of the Mechanicum range in plastic the idea was revisited, and so here we finally are!"

 

Interestingly it's mentioned that this was originally going to be the last Black Book for first edition before the pandemic happened.

Edited August 26 by Lord Marshal

[Nagashsnee]

 

Interestingly it's mentioned that this was originally going to be the last Black Book for first edition before the pandemic happened.

The mars black book was talked about for years and years.  It was very much expected to be the first post marine (all legion out) book. 

 

What worries me is that the tone of the article making it sound like every step of the book resolves around power armor. And while I always expected the Imperial fist intervention to take up more pages then i would like, the additions of Raven Guard, Blood Angels and custodes makes the Martian Civil war book seem less and less like a book focused on the Martian Civil war. 

 

Really hoping they bring it back to mechanicum with some previews of new Mechanicum stuff, but mayhaps we will instead get to see the long awaited Raven guard characters? 

[darkhorse0607]

"But we learn that the Loyalists weren’t entirely alone, for the Sigilite plotted to aid their cause and so during his brief return to the Sol System, the Primarch Corax and a Decapitation Force of his XIXth Legion are despatched to wreak bloody vengeance upon the Traitors during the so-called ‘Perditum Incursion’. "

 

I really wish they would stop trying to put Primarchs in every battle, especially when they don't make sense

[Mr Farson]

 

The mars black book was talked about for years and years.  It was very much expected to be the first post marine (all legion out) book. 

 

What worries me is that the tone of the article making it sound like every step of the book resolves around power armor. And while I always expected the Imperial fist intervention to take up more pages then i would like, the additions of Raven Guard, Blood Angels and custodes makes the Martian Civil war book seem less and less like a book focused on the Martian Civil war. 

 

Really hoping they bring it back to mechanicum with some previews of new Mechanicum stuff, but mayhaps we will instead get to see the long awaited Raven guard characters? 

 

 

I'd bet the three legions listed will get a special character a piece, crohne and dias are both fan favourites.

 

 

[Matrindur]

 

Article which talks about the 'three main narratives' in the book.

 

"Some of the contents of that book were in fact used elsewhere – while other parts will still have to wait for new models – but with the release of the core of the Mechanicum range in plastic the idea was revisited, and so here we finally are!"

 

Interestingly it's mentioned that this was originally going to be the last Black Book for first edition before the pandemic happened.

 

This part doesn't sound like existing models just going plastic, why wait then if they already exist in resin?, it sounds more like completely new stuff like the Sentinels for SA to me

[01RTB01]

€62.50 is stormspeeder cost (Castellax, tech thralls, thallax)

€72.50 is land Raider cost (triaros)

€82.50 is AoS extremis edition -  realmscape expansion set (thanatar)

 

So Canadian pricing:

$94.5/ $112 /$125

 

UK pricing will be half these numbers.

[Zoatibix]

The original plastic Mechanicum reveal article said “That’s still not everything you can expect to see in the coming months, and we’ll have more announcements soon.”

 

Which sounds as if we are getting more kits. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that at least some of those will be the ‘new entries’ in this book. 
 

So we might see something this week.

[lansalt]

The article mentions Aster Crohne, a BA character introduced in Malevolence IIRC. It sounds like a possible new BA mini.

[Cryptix]

There's an incredibly reasonable assumption that we're getting Ursarax (Melee Thallax) and Karacnos (Artillery mbt version of triaros) kits based on the way the sprues in the originals are setup. Other than that, I'd be expecting a domitar kit (Contemptor equivalent tank hunter) and a thanatar-calix kit (big lascannon instead of big plasma), which would put us at 10 kits like solar auxilia after their wave 2, with myrmidons, vorax, vultarax, scyllax, and the krios tanks still in resin for a wave 3. Unfortunately with neither thallax, triaros, or thanatar ending up as multi build kits, it throws off my math which I was depending on for a hope of getting plastic myrmidons or krios .

 

[Fire Golem]

I’d love to see a Crohne model. 

[Redcomet]

Mmmmmm Thanatar

[Burni]

I’ve completely lost interest in 40K, have never been interested in AoS and the only GW releases I’ve been excited about in the last year are the Legions Imperialis ones UNTIL the plastic Mechanicum arrived. 
 

Oh man these Cybernetica robots are amazing. I’ve always loved them but the price and faff of FW resin kept me safely away. I think I’m going to have to at least get a Thanatar just to build and paint, it is just that amazing. Might wait for the Calix version though. 

[Marshal Rohr]

 

"But we learn that the Loyalists weren’t entirely alone, for the Sigilite plotted to aid their cause and so during his brief return to the Sol System, the Primarch Corax and a Decapitation Force of his XIXth Legion are despatched to wreak bloody vengeance upon the Traitors during the so-called ‘Perditum Incursion’. "

 

I really wish they would stop trying to put Primarchs in every battle, especially when they don't make sense

Players ruined that a long time ago. Look at the big heresy events in the UK. Unless forbidden there’s always a Primarch somewhere 

[Taliesin]

Very exciting that description.

I do get what Nagashnee is saying, that seems like Astartes play a very prominent role in each story strand, but I suspect that with this finally being the Mars book, a big part of at least the start and middle of the book will be Mechanicum vs Traitors. They are announcing quite a few Mechanicum models here, surely they will be represented in the text?

[Razorblade]

 

"But we learn that the Loyalists weren’t entirely alone, for the Sigilite plotted to aid their cause and so during his brief return to the Sol System, the Primarch Corax and a Decapitation Force of his XIXth Legion are despatched to wreak bloody vengeance upon the Traitors during the so-called ‘Perditum Incursion’. "

 

I really wish they would stop trying to put Primarchs in every battle, especially when they don't make sense

I suppose Coraxs presence in the Sol System could be explained with him getting Bog Es approval for his new recruitment program.

[No Foes Remain]

I agree with Darkhorse, that kind of narrative caused me to give up on the Horus Heresy books when they moved from Marines and humans being the focus to the Primarchs and marines second. Personally the Heresy was far more interesting when the Primarchs were written from another character's persective which allowed conflicting views, but then they started to write them from the Primarch's 3rd person too often and it lost the charm to me.

 

I had the same issue with the Beta Gamon book, the rules part was nice but the fluff was 'The Adventures of the Khan and the White Scars' and... boring. With the focus being on Mars I had hoped for a more non-Astartes focus but I guess GW has to force a Primarch in somewhere....

[darkhorse0607]

 

I suppose Coraxs presence in the Sol System could be explained with him getting Bog Es approval for his new recruitment program.

 

Yeah I guess my issue is that in Deliverance Lost he tells Malcador (or Dorn I forget specifically which) that he won't stay and help at Terra because he has to go back to Deliverance immediately to rebuild the legion and then to fight the traitors

 

So now, the story is he tells them no, takes the super secret gene project stuff with him to fight on Mars? Thereby risking what little was left of his legion and then finally going back to Deliverance

 

I dunno. I wish it had been that he sends legionaries that don't accompany him to get the gene tech to Mars to resupply and sabotage things while he is busy. For me, that would have made more sense and accomplished the goal of getting the Raven Guard more screen time. I get that the black books deviate a bit from the novels and vice versa, but this just seems like a weird choice

 

I wonder what that Alpha Legion infiltrator that's with Corax thinks about all of this

[Noserenda]

Im not sure why people are surprised they are marketing the expensive centrepiece minis, as soon as the Primarchs get models they are immediately going to be promoted more, but especially now most of them have been out a while they going to try and give them and their legions another push from time to time in books like these.

I guess thats why ive been so surprised by their excessive focus on the SoH and Fists and a multitude of extra resin heroes. 

But yeah they arent the boutique curiosity studio with a lot of free reign like in 1st ed, they are a lot more driven by commercial goals.

[Arendious]

 

I wonder what that Alpha Legion infiltrator that's with Corax thinks about all of this

It might make some sense if the idea is actually coming from the Alpha Legion element. 

 

"Hey, sir, while we're waiting for the Selenar to back up their hard drives, why don't we try to soften Mars up a little?"

 

Works a couple ways too - it hurts the Mechanicum, bleeds the RG, etc. If Corax dies on Mars, it's a win for the AL. If he succeeds, it's still a win. And either way they get access to the gene-tech.

[darkhorse0607]

If it turns out to be an Alpha Legion plot I will take back everything I've ranted about and paint another Alpharius

[Petitioner's City]

 

I agree with Darkhorse, that kind of narrative caused me to give up on the Horus Heresy books when they moved from Marines and humans being the focus to the Primarchs and marines second. Personally the Heresy was far more interesting when the Primarchs were written from another character's persective which allowed conflicting views, but then they started to write them from the Primarch's 3rd person too often and it lost the charm to me.

 

I had the same issue with the Beta Gamon book, the rules part was nice but the fluff was 'The Adventures of the Khan and the White Scars' and... boring. With the focus being on Mars I had hoped for a more non-Astartes focus but I guess GW has to force a Primarch in somewhere....

 

But that starts with book 2, given the amount of time we spend with Horus?

[lansalt]

 

So now, the story is he tells them no, takes the super secret gene project stuff with him to fight on Mars?

FW books have been increasingly deviating from the BL source material as the time goes on. It began with off camera Isstvan III survivors, and now the Khan apparently has a split personality and behaves like Russ, up to having his own version of Wolfsbane and being beaten in personal duel by Horus during Beta-Garmon. Ironically, for all the complains about excessive focus on primarchs, FW has been the most guilty of it by far.

In the original story, Corax leaves Terra almost inmediately during the Raptors project plot, and the RG doesn't get fresh normal inductii reinforcements in MkVI until just before the battle of Yarant.

[Astartes Consul]

Not that it changes anything, but it's nice to see a mention that the Mechanicum book was indeed supposed to be the last of the 'old' Black Books pre-pandemic and 2.0. I really do miss getting a bit more insight into how things are created from the design team.