Horus Heresy Review - Cybertheurgy - Manipulating the Machine

Good afternoon Folks,

With packing and moving house in full swing I have had to stash the paints and bubble wrap all the many (many many many) projects and go into hobby stasis till sunday! Fortunately there is so much to write about that I have plenty of thoughts to splash at you. Additionally I may still pull the Thallax out for a quick look at adding OSL to their guns, I packed them and the paints separately in case I need my fix!

Today I am going to talk about a Mechanicum specific ability called Cybertheurgy. This acts very much like orders do for the Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum) and allow you to modify a Battle Automata for one game turn. To do this, any model with a cortex controller can forgo a shooting attack in the shooting phase and instead attempt a Cybertheurgy power. These do not need line of sight, but the Battle Automata does need to be in cortex controller range which is 12" as standard, or 24" if part of a Legio Cybernetica Cohort. 

The caster of the Cybertheurgy power cannot be locked in combat or be falling back. However the Battle Automata that is being augmented CAN already be locked in combat, this is a crucial point in terms of some of the powers. It is important to state, that Cybertheurgy is only cast ON A SINGLE Battle Automata, not the entire unit. However if you scroll down to the Cybertheurgy relics you will see this is not always so.

After picking a Battle Automata, you must then select a rite of Cybertheurgy to cast and then pass a leadership test, should the test be passed then the Battle Automata is augmented with that rite for the next game turn. However each rite, as you will see below, comes with leadership modifiers depending on the power of the rite. These range from 0 modifier for the easiest powers, to -2 for the hardest. The power are as follows below:

Cybertheurgy Rites

Rite of Celerity: Model Gains +2 initiative

Modifier: 0 Excellent for making sure your monstrous creature hits first in combat. Coupled with the +1 initiative battle automata receive for being in a legio cybernetica cohort this can make Castellax I6!

Rite of Eternity: Model regains 1 lost wound

Modifier: 0 Perfect for keeping your expensive beasts alive. This couples with Battlesmith which allows cortex controller equipped models to restore wounds on a 5+ (or a 3+ with a machinator array) adds a lot to already durable units.

Rite of Fury: Model Gains +2 attacks

Modifier: -1 somewhat limited if you are facing AP3/AP2 weapons that will strike before you as you may be cut down before getting to strike. I would generally go for the Rite of Celerity first over this.

Rite of Destruction: Model may fire twice with its shooting weapons in this shooting phase. But cannot fire next turn.

Modifier: -1 WOW! You can fire 2 large blast Hellex plasma mortars down in one turn. This can be devastating in terms of reducing return fire, and next turn you can just make sure you are ready in position. Used well, this is brutal.

Rite of Dread Castigation: Targets enemy Battle Automata. If passed, the cybertheurgist rolls a D6 and adds his leadership. The target models player rolls a D6 and adds the models leadership. The target model loses a wound for every point the cybertheurgist roll exceeds the models. 

Modifier: -2 Sort of like a cybertheurgy Psychic Shriek, pretty cool, but you probably won't face battle automata all that often really!

Rite of Immolation: Shits gone south, hit self-destruct. Replace the model with a large blast marker that has a strength equal to the models toughness and an AP equal to the models save. So a T8 2+ Save Thanatar will leave a S8 AP2 large blast. All models underneath suffer an automatic hit. 

Modifier: -3 A hefty modifier and rightly so. If your thanatar is lock with terminators and is on 1 wound. This is the way to go, it will ignore their armour save, double them out, and leave them relying entirely on their invulnerable. Can be an excellent goodbye fuck-you. 

Cybertheurgy Mishap

In the event of rolling a double 6 on the leadership test, then you have to roll on the mishap table!

1-3 Signal Corruption: The model may only fire snap shots and fight at WS1 until the next turn.

4-5 Corrosive Paradox: The model suffers 1 wound with no saves of any kind allowed. In the case of casting Rite of Dread Castigation, the caster suffers this wound compared to the Automata normally. 

6 Malefica: The Automata breaks free and now attacks whatever is closest (with shooting and charging) including your own units. Both players can now target the automata and it counts as destroyed for VP purposes. Malefica is always applied if a mishap occurs when casting Rite of Immolation.

Cybertheurgy Relics

One of the Mechanicum specific relics of the 31st Millennium is called the: Cortica Primus. This is a cortex controller that lets you cast cybertheurgy on the ENTIRE unit! However... if a mishap is rolled on a 12 then the D6 roll on the mishap table is modified by +1 for each additional automata over the first. So this is extremely powerful, allowing you too double fire multiple weapons in a deadly barrage, but on a squad of 3, you have a 50:50 chance of getting malefica with only results of 1-3 avoiding it! So perhaps best used sparingly!

So there have it! Cybertheurgy is a very important aspect of any army which makes significant use of Battle Automata and can really make or break you in different games. I hope this has helped with understanding or tactics :)

Peace out,

Rob

Legio Cybernetica Army Update - Painting Progress

Hi Guys and Gals,

With a house move coming next weekend obliging me to put all of my stuff in to boxes at some point, I have been steaming ahead with my Mechanicum army trying to get as much done as I can so that I have plenty of time to finish them off for the tournament they will be going to at the beginning of April. The list is due in a week today so I wanted to be confident that I would have them all done to a pre-weathered and based stage for the tournament. I feel pretty confident they will be done in time now after a good spurt of work today.

The list has 3 Castellax and here are the finished castellax and 2 that just need hazard stripes to be at the same level:

And here is the other converted Darkfire cannon Castellax which has had all the yellow brought up to snuff but the metal and black etc still needs doing - compared to the one nearly done:

The Thallax are as done as last time you saw them for the main torso, still just deciding if they will get hazard stripes or not. But I have been working on their weapons and they are coming along nicely:

And finally I now have 2 Thanatars! The back left one is the brand new one from Forgeworld hence why its all smooth. The front right one was an Ebay rescue and has rough patches from the underlying paint job. But it should look fine once all yellow!

More of the same tomorrow as I hope to have all the Castellax and Thallax completed (sans bases) and also hope to have a WIP picture of the Archmagos Dominus up for you to see!

Peace out,

Rob

Thanatar Size Comparison with Leviathan Dreadnought and Tech Priest

Hi everyone,

A bad day today with another piercing and blinding migraine, so no work and no hobby either. Just thought I'd put up the above photo as it really shows of the size of the Thanatar compared to the also huge Leviathan and then next to a piddly little human sized miniature. 

Hopefully should have a sizeable update on my entire Mechanicum army so far tomorrow.

Peace out,

Rob

Horus Heresy Review - Thanatar Siege Engine

Good Afternoon,

Following on from my recent posts I don't suppose that it will come as a surprise that I am reviewing the Thanatar Siege Engine today! I now have two of these bad boys and I have already play tested with some proxies (ridiculously small proxies it must be said as these things are biiiiiig) and they can wreck absolute face dropping dirty plasma pie plates all over the shop. So, on with the review:

Unit Stats

The Thanatar is a monstrous creature that can be taken in units of 1-3 and with a stat line to match as you an see below!

WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  LD  Sv

  3     4    8  8   4   2  2   8     2+

Like the Castellax, the Thanatar, with a BS of 4 relative to a WS of 3 is not a front line monster designed for melee. A 2+ save marks this as bigger class of Battle Automata than the Castellax and makes it a much more resilient threat especially when coupled with T8 making it immune to small arms fire. Additionally it again comes with Atomantic Shielding granting a 5++ versus ranged attacks and a 6++ against attacks in close combat.

Additionally his S8 is fantastic if you ever do get him into close combat, though with his measly WS and attacks I don't recommend that, but you will be doubling out any T4 models like foot Praetors and most tanks you will be at worst glancing them on a 4 (assuming AV12 rear) or penning on a 5/6. Not worth throwing against a landraider at all.

Poisoned fire and fleshbane will be ignoring its high toughness, BUT it has the Cybernetica Resilience special rule which forces successful poisoned or fleshbane wounds to be re-rolled. This is nice against fleshbane but HUGE against poisoned weapons with 4+ being the most common form of poison, so reducing those wound by half again on average!

The Thanatar also has the special rules Reactor Blast and Lumbering Advance. The former rule causes the Thanatar to explode on a D6 roll of a 6 after it loses its final wound, which can be handy if in combat all alone. The latter rule means that the Thanatar cannot make run or sweeping advance moves. 'Cos he's a bit chunky.

Overall - Very tough and hard to take down, low on attacks and so should be kept out of combat but he will be instakilling T4 models as well.

Equipment

This monstrous bastard comes with few options but awesome standard gear that makes you not care at all!

Shoulder mounted weapon

Hellex Plasma Mortar - S8, AP2, Ordnance 1, Large Blast, Barrage, Plasma Wave


The monster of a gun has a minimum range of 12 inches and a maximum range of 48 inches if you remained stationary, or a 24 inch range if you moved. Plasma Wave means that any successful cover saves have to be re-rolled, coupled with barrage should shred anything without an invulnerable. Also not a slouch against light tanks.

Wrist mounted weapon

Twin-linked Mauler Pattern Bolt Cannon - S6 AP3 Heavy 3 pinning 24 inch range bastard

This will ruin your regular tactical marines day quite handily... a great back up weapon when you are in too close a range or an area crowded with friendly models to drop your big plasma pie.

An Infravisor that grant night vision but you test for blind on initiative 1 comes as standard with the Thanatar instead of as an upgrade and given your I2 anyway who cares about blind?

Other Upgrades

Enhanced Targeting System. Like with the Castellax this is an absolute must take, it adds +1 to your BS and -1 to the cover save of the unit you are shooting at! For the price (15) it is an absolute must take. This coupled with plasma wave and barrage will makes any covers saves against the Hellex Plasma Mortar, null and void.

Paragon of Metal. This can be selected for a unit of only one Thanatar and means the battle automata is free from Programmed behaviour and so can act without the need of a cortex controller. It also grants this monstrous creature IWND making it even beefier and Rampage to make it more useful in combat. However the Thanatar can never count as a scoring or denial unit even in special missions where he might normally be able to. And finally if you roll a cybertheurgy mishap then a Malefica result always applies which means 1 pissed of beast turning on you as you lose control and it becomes hostile to the closest units.

Utilisation

Above all things it is important to not get these things tar-pitted in combat. They have low attacks and will struggle to get out off their own back. One option is to pair them with a cheap 10 man unit of fearless tech-thralls (about 50 points) and use them as bubble wrap to prevent them from being locked. Equally positioning them at your maximum range of 48" and staying stationary to fire at that range will help.

Using cybertheurgy on these guys to allow you to fire twice in a single turn (sacrificing the ability to fire the next turn) can be incredibly powerful especially if you are targeting a clumped unit such as terminators that have just used deep strike to get into a strategic position.

Buying a Djinn-skein for your Archmagos and a few cyber occularis will allow you to draw line of sight from both your Archmagos and the cyber occularis for your barrage weapons. With enhanced targeting array granting you BS5 you will on average be scattering 3" or less and that is a big deal.

In summary these guys really only require enhanced targeting as an upgrade and potentially paragon of metal if you have the points and a unit of one. BUT to use them efficiently you need to consider how the rest of your force will work with them as well. 

Peace out,

Rob

The Thanatar Siege Engine!!!

Hey everyone,

After my dire warnings of nothing but Thallax all week you will be pleased to know that today is the day of the Thanatar!! Yesterday I came home to my Thanatar from forgeworld and so I set to getting it cleaned up and built in double quick time as I may have a game with it on Friday!

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the bit I thought I'd struggle with which was the ammo feed for the left arm, but I found the pictures and diagrams for assembling the leg servos completely undecipherable! They have turned out fine but it took me the best part of 45 minutes just to configure those!!

I tried to pose her such that it looks like a big hulking stride forward with arm outstretched, I'm quite pleased with it really! The magnetisation at the waist allows me to pivot it a bit and also will make priming and painting a lot easier. The Helex plasma mortar is also magnetised at one point so it can pivot up and down an is easier to paint too, though I have yet to decide if the top part of the mortar should be left closed or be carefully cut to be glued as open. Its not yet glued in place, just snap fit as its very snug.

A really nice kit from FW, the only problem being they sent me a knight base instead of a Thanatar base! But they have already been contacted and said they will post the right base size out to me. So I now have a knight base that I may make a diorama on with some other odds and sods that I have coming in... You will have to wait and see!

Peace out,

Rob