GW: Horus Heresy – Liber Mechanicum Preview

Während des Großen Bruderkriegs in der fernen Zukunft stehen sich nicht nur die Legionen der Space Marines gegenüber, auch der Mars entsendet seine Truppen, in der nicht allzu fernen Zukunft.

Heresy Thursday – Unleash the Machines With the Upcoming Liber Mechanicum

Whether you’re a true devotee of the Omnissiah or just need some powerful robotic allies for your Space Marine Legions, we’ve got some exciting news for you today. We recently revealed a road map for upcoming Warhammer: The Horus Heresy rules, and fans of mechanised mayhem will have spotted that the first non-Astartes release is none other than the Liber Mechanicum: Forces of the Omnissiah Army Book.

This book is similar to the Liber Astartes and Liber Hereticus, but laser-focused on the massive range of units available to the Mechanicum – the Priesthood of Mars that’s responsible for producing the massive shipments of weapons, tanks, and other war materiel needed to keep the Great Crusade running. Naturually, they’ve kept some of the best bits for themselves – you’ll want to stay on their good side…

Take a quick look at this long roster of units – quite unlike the Space Marines in nature.

When the Mechanicum go to war, they do so with all manner of units at their disposal, from rank upon rank of heavily-modified cyborg thralls and carefully-programmed robots, all the way up to the full might of Knight Households or Titan Legios, and the superheavy Ordinatus-class engines of war. This book covers it all, allowing you to collect an army that is perfectly engineered for any kind of battle.

Want to crush your opponent with lumbering, nigh-invincible war machines? The Taghmata have a host of formidable battle-automata for you to try. Prefer fast, hard-hitting elite infantry, armed with incredibly potent weapons? The cybernetic Thallaxii have it covered, perhaps even better than the Legiones Astartes. There’s an impressive variety of playstyles on offer, all packed into one army.

The Mechanicum is a great way to mix up your games of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, either as allies or an army in their own right. They have their own unique rules that emphasize their distinctive approach to warfare – the Mechanicum lead by The Logic of Victory, with a Warlord Trait that encourages you to hold your leader back to assess the battlefield situation.

Liber Mechanicum includes all sorts of fun and characterful rules, including many that focus on what the children of Mars do best – shooting the nastiest guns in the Imperium. When your foes level their boltguns at your machine lords, you can remind them who forged those weapons with a volley of Scornful Fire.

Beyond just the army lists, you’ll find plenty of lore, illustrations, and photographs of the amazing miniatures in the Mechanicum range. Their unusual markings and colour schemes are also explored in detail, including a markedly different take on heraldry compared to the Space Marines. You’ll find plenty of inspiration to paint your own forces inside these pages.

The Mechanicum fought on both sides of the Horus Heresy – which makes them extremely easy to field in your games, no matter what army you collect. While they certainly have more than enough units to form their own fighting forces, the Tech-Priests are also either Sworn Brothers or Fellow Warriors with every single one of the Legiones Astartes.*

This means you can seamlessly add just a handful of your favourite units to any Astartes force – either as allies, or by taking a Praevian Consul to guide your Legion’s own automata on the battlefield. It’s a great way to try a mix of factions – and support your Space Marines with towering Knights and other heavy support units – while you build up your Mechanicum collection.

If you collect Mechanicum, plan to start, or just want to ally them in, keep an eye out for more information. We’ll let you know when you can expect the book as soon as we can.

* The technically-inclined Iron Hands and Iron Warriors are particularly well-known for their ties to the Mechanicum… must be all that iron in their diet.

Quelle: Games Workshop