It seems like only last week that we were contemplating the ragtag band of poorly armed cannon fodder from the Imperialis Militia and their official army list for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness.
The free downloads for the new edition don’t stop with them, however. This week, it’s the turn of the Daemons of the Ruinstorm. Here’s a diabolical coalescence of accursed immaterial sensation – true name is ‘Ben’ – to explain more:
Ben: The third edition of the Daemons of the Ruinstorm Army List is intended to retain the sandbox feel that its predecessors had, giving collectors and players plenty of opportunity to create the Warp-spawned manifestations of their darkest dreams.
This list gives players the option to take an Allied Detachment of daemons alongside their Traitor-aligned army, (including the necessary Daemon Brutes to fill a Daemonic Manifestation Auxiliary Detachment), or it can be used to build a purely daemonic force. A variety of units are included, from diminutive Swarms, positioned to swamp the enemy and slow their advance, to the lumbering Behemoth, a veritable bullet-sponge akin to a living siege tower. Command options include Sovereigns and Hierarchs, with rampaging combat prowess, to the Harbinger, whose Totem of Dominion can underpin the incursion’s foothold in reality.
The Aetheric Dominions once again form a fundamental part of the list, representing the uncoalesced, ascendant forms of the Chaos Gods before they truly rise to their full power – something Horus would be instrumental in facilitating. You’ll no doubt notice that some of the Dominions included are loosely aligned with the Dark Gods that will ascend, hinting at the character of daemon incursions that will manifest in their respective images, but the lines are a little blurred. This is wholly intentional and is a reflection of the unformed, unfocused nature of the Ruinstorm daemons of the early Heresy. More specific, patron-centric additions to this list are lined up for the future.
Currently, each of the Aetheric Dominions afford units the Desecrators special rule, which affects how they interact with objectives in a slightly unpredictable manner, befitting their unknowable objectives in the realms of reality. This is to give daemons the ability to interact with objectives, which are present in the currently available Mission Packs, but in a less linear fashion than other factions – again to reinforce the fact that daemons do not necessarily value the same goals as mortal armies. This interaction is something we plan to look into in greater depth with the aforementioned, patron-specific additions to this list. In the future, expect to see how the bloodthirsty ambitions of Khorne differ significantly from the manipulative desires of Tzeentch, for example.
Finally, on a more technical note, by popular demand, base size recommendations have made a return. While these are intended as a recommendation only, players whose miniature collections utilise unconventionally sized bases should discuss this with their opponents and event organisers (where appropriate) and make it clear which miniatures represent which units in the list, prior to commencing a battle.
Thanks, Ben. The rules are available to download right now!
