Perturabo had a grand plan back in the 31st Millennium, and it all centred around Tallarn. The new Journal Tactica: The Battle of Tallarn focuses on the brutal tank warfare that took place there, and we asked James from the Warhammer Studio to tell us all about the new supplement.
James: Journal Tactica: The Battle of Tallarn takes us back to everybody’s favourite toxic hellhole, Tallarn, and recaps the story so far – detailing the early stages of orbital bombardment, the unleashing of specially-crafted viral agents, and the invasion of Iron Warriors forces. The story doesn’t end there, though, as the survivors – the Tallarn Reborn – begin their uprising against the Traitors.
You can read about how the brave Loyalist resistance forces strike from their subterranean bunkers, armed with the vast stockpiles of Imperial military hardware housed under Tallarn’s surface. Eventually, this resistance is augmented by other forces, drawn to Tallarn by the unfolding conflict, including companies from several of the Legiones Astartes as well as even stranger forces still.
Alongside this narrative are a series of organisational diagrams depicting many of the combatants that took part in these battles, allowing players to recreate the colour schemes and markings of the units and factions involved, as well as detailed maps showing the flow of the action. In the rules section, you will find an exciting narrative mission depicting a section of this story in which Solar Auxilia tanks, disguised as wrecks, ambush an Iron Warriors convoy at close quarters.
You will also find the new Armoured Spearhead Mission pack. As you might expect in a book about Tallarn, it focuses on armoured warfare and armies consisting of tanks, providing new Detachments and Prime Advantages that can be utilised by Vehicle models while fighting an Armoured Spearhead battle.* These Missions also use a new scoring system, rewarding players for killing enemy vehicles with their own vehicles, evocatively depicting the conflict on Tallarn and hundreds of other worlds during the Horus Heresy. If you want to really lean into the Tallarn theme, there are also rules for fighting battles in toxic environments, perfect for use alongside these missions or any others.
The Journal includes a whole host of new unit options. From the Cohorts Vagus – itinerant groups of wandering automata,** shorn of their connection to their Tech-Priest masters and now drawn to war wherever it may be found – to new command tank variants of the Dracosan and Spartan Prometheus, which are ideal for leading large armies of tanks. Finally, you will also find updated Unit Profiles for Solar Auxilia Rapier Sections and Charonite Ogryns, encompassing new weapon options available to each of them as part of their newly updated models.
Thanks, James! Journal Tactica: The Battle of Tallarn – Part One is available to pre-order, along with the Charonite Ogryn Section, Rapier Fire Support Battery, and Rapier Direct Fire Battery, on Saturday. Get ready for fighting on Tallarn with the range of vehicles available for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy.
* With a different emphasis to those found in the Leviathan Mission Pack published in Journal Tactica: Mailed Fist – Legiones Astartes Super-Heavy Tanks.
** Turns out the forces of the Mechanicum can go out into the toxic wastes, unlike normal humans.
