Horus Heresy: Dark Mechanicum Preview

Das Dunkle Mechanicum bildet den von den Mächten des Chaos korrumpierten Teil des Mechanicum, bereit den Mars und das restliche Imperium brennen zu lassen.

Heresy Thursday – Raise your oily manipulators to the sky in praise of the Dark Mechanicum

The Dark Mechanicum is a corrupted reflection of Martian sanctity, though they see themselves as the true inheritors of the Omnissiah’s mantle. In their pursuit of knowledge untempered, they joined forces with the Warmaster Horus, made pacts with the ruinous powers, delved into the occult, and developed terrifying, spike-encrusted new weapons of war.

Rise of the Dark Mechanicum is the latest campaign book for The Horus Heresy – Legions Imperialis, covering the first-ever plastic miniatures for the titular mad inventors.

Unlike the Taghmata, the Dark Mechanicum prefers to build unique constructs referred to in official records as Silica Mutus. Unlike battle-automata, the Silica Mutus have individual intelligence, rudimentary and animalistic when operating solo, but they adapt with frightening speed when several patterns are grouped together, creating a dynamic gestalt that can assimilate knowledge outside its initial parameters.

We’ve already seen the Serperos ‘Overlord’ Heavy Stalker, but this is the tip of a very nasty mechanical iceberg: there’s a host of similar constructs skittering into play.

Take the long-ranged Tennebrax ‘Archer’ Battle Stalker Cohort and the close-combat-inclined Errax ‘Butcher’ Assault Stalker Cohort.

Both are built from the same basic construct, the Archers quickly calculating prime targets for their storm laser flensers and softening battle lines before the Butchers swarm forward to the slaughter. When operating on their own, each pattern displays ruthless efficiency, but together they can confound even experienced generals.

Ranging ahead of the Stalkers are the the Harpax ‘Swarmer’ Scout Hosts – mobile cyber-drones deployed as frontline chaff, they are armed with exo-planar repeaters for shredding infantry, or slicing harpax lascutters, overwhelming their enemies through sheer weight of numbers.

These constructs are deadly enough, but under the command of the Scintillax ‘Cyclops’, these insectile machines become even more organised and efficient. With their blasphemously sophisticated tri-cortex, they disseminate orders through the gestalt with dizzying speed.

Formations of Stalkers benefit from unique Commands when within 8” of a Noosphere Controller. The Terror Protocol Cohort operates under Command: Urgency, adapting their speed to outmanoeuvre enemy forces, while the Purge Protocol Cohort follows Command: Exterminate to, well, exterminate.

A box of Stalker Constructs contains 30 models, eight Harpax ‘Swarmer’ Scout Hosts, and two each of the Errax, Tenebrax, and Scintillax. The Serperos ‘Overlord’ Heavy Stalkers box contains four, and what’s more both boxes contain the relevant terminals for using the  Errax, Tenebrax, Scintillax, and Serperos in games of Adeptus Titanicus!

The Dark Mechanicum can also field regular Mechanicum Taghmata units, as well as Titans and Knights. Rise of the Dark Mechanicum also contains a wealth of background information about the Dark Mechanicum, the battle for control of Mars, and the infamous Doom of Magma City, as well as lots of details on how they operate. It’ll all be available for pre-order in due course.

Quelle: Warhammer Community

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