We’ve seen the miniatures and heard the name of the boxed set. But what exactly is Saturnine Terminator armour, and how does it fit into the Horus Heresy?
Tactical dreadnought armour
Terminator armour is the best wargear a Space Marine can use without being interred in a dreadnought – offering protection akin to that of a walking tank.
Introduced to service in very small numbers during the later Unification Wars, it was the result of combining the early models of power armour with suits of exo-armour. These were heavily armoured, environmentally sealed suits that enabled the wearer to survive the most hazardous and extreme conditions: it was designed to shrug off orbital debris, protect against reactor leaks and all the other dangers of interstellar travel. Combined and refined by Imperial scientists – the resulting Terminator armour tested in the final bloody throes of the unification of the Sol System.
Had the Great Crusade not faltered and ended in the Horus Heresy, the Imperium might eventually have rolled out Terminator armour as the de facto wargear of the Legions. Unfortunately, the devastation of the civil war was so complete that the Imperium would never again have the resources to build such armour at scale.
From the moons of Saturn
Saturnine armour enters the Imperial record alongside other armour types developed during the Unification Wars. The other patterns have their origins on Terra or Mars, but Saturnine armour is allegedly the work of a Martian sub-sect banished to the ninth moon of Saturn during the Age of Strife. The truth may never be known, for access to that moon was forbidden to all but the most senior members of the Imperial Household – though none can deny it was the source of several other technological marvels…
While Saturnine Terminators saw extensive action in the early battles of the Great Crusade, it was so difficult to manufacture that it was quickly supplanted by other patterns. This likely would have been the end of the story for Saturnine armour, were it not for Vulkan, Primarch of the XVIII Legion.
Vulkan sought to unlock Saturnine’s secrets to enable full-scale production of this vaunted armour. Where no-one else had succeeded, the master artificer triumphed – and by his hand, the secrets of manufacturing his masterwork was provided to his brother Primarchs. Unbeknownst to him, however, Horus’s betrayal was already in motion, and it is a tragic fact that the first major deployment of Saturnine armour was on the black sands of Isstvan V, in the battle that shattered the Salamanders.
Weapon options and kit details including (clockwise from top left) twin heavy disintegrators, the Saturnine Aquila, heavy plasma bombard, disruption fist and particle shredders
Why is Saturnine armour so good?
Every aspect of Saturnine armour is carefully and thoughtfully considered: the suits are built strongly enough to mount weapons even heavier than other Terminator armour can wield. Additionally, it boasts a reactor powerful enough to operate multiple energy weapons and a thermal diffraction field that also aids in the safe dispersion of the deadly energies unleashed upon the wielder by their deadly plasma weaponry. Finally, advanced targeting systems allow Saturnine Terminators to aim and fire multiple weapons with unerring accuracy.
Not everyone, not even every Space Marine, can effectively pilot it. It takes an especially strong, disciplined mind to utilise the armour… Some even whispered that a wearer needed to possess a measure of cybertheurgic resonance, although few are willing to speak upon this. Regardless of the difficulties of finding suitable pilots, each Legion was able to field Saturnine armour in at least limited quantities – the practical advantages it offered outweighing other concerns.
With six Saturnine Terminators and a Saturnine Praetor inside the Saturnine box, you’ll have the chance to feel like one of Vulkan’s very lucky brothers yourself… the only question is whether you’ll use yours to defend the imperium, or to let the galaxy burn.
Still not made your mind up which Legion is for you? Check out our Legion selector tool – and let the quiz do the hard work for you.
