Journal Tactica: Zone Mortalis will be available to pre-order this weekend. Today, we’re taking a look inside the book at new ways to play Warhammer: The Horus Heresy.
Enter the Zone Mortalis
For every great battle of the Horus Heresy that was dominated by columns of tanks and vast armies clashing in the open field, there was another fought within the confines of a fortress or in the cramped corridors of a bunker outpost. There, in the so-called Zone Mortalis, victory was decided by the press of bodies and the short thrust of blades as enemies engaged toe-to-toe.
These deadly, close-quarters environments have been part of the Horus Heresy since its earliest edition and have long been a favourite with players. Characterised by densely packed terrain that often resembles a labyrinth of corridors and chambers, the Zone Mortalis battlefield is truly an iconic sight, where infantry-heavy armies have their chance to shine.
Journal Tactica: Zone Mortalis, as the name suggests, brings new, updated rules to Warhammer: The Horus Heresy. This Journal expands on the Core Zone Mortalis Rules previously made available as a PDF download, including new Missions and specialist Units for the Legiones Astartes, Solar Auxilia and Mechanicum Army Lists.
Zone Mortalis Core Rules
The first part of the new Journal covers the Zone Mortalis Core Rules, starting with perhaps the most iconic and important part of the Zone Mortalis experience – the battlefield. The Imperium designates certain battlefields “Zone Mortalis”, quite literally “death zones”, where the claustrophobic terrain can be as dangerous as the enemy forces.
Chiefly among these areas are dense interior spaces, where blind corners and limited lines of sight force warriors to engage at close quarters. Barrage weapons and flyers are out, due to the omnipresent ceiling, but firestorms and shrapnel are in, thanks to the confined spaces.
The Journal focuses on these environments, with rules for the terrain of interior spaces – including tight corridors, opening and closing doorways, and stairways to switch between levels.
These rules have been created to serve as a sandbox environment for enthusiastic gaming groups or event organisers, where, for example, the Confined Space (X) Special Rule could be applied to only specific areas, to allow vehicles access to other areas of the Battlefield, such as hangars and repair bays.
Reserves in Zone Mortalis
Reserves in Zone Mortalis Battles work differently from other battles, as players are able to select from a number of Reserves Stratagems to influence where Units can Deploy and what they can do where they arrive, including delivery into the fray via a Mass Elevator!*
Other Stratagems include:
Reinforcements
Forced March
Encirclement
Flanking Force
Teleport Strike**
Generally, the more aggressive the deployment position that is allowed by a Reserves Stratagem, the higher the Target Number is to achieve, but some Units will innately get a bonus for using a certain one – for example, a Unit with the Outflank Special Rule will get a bonus when they use Flanking Force, but models with the Heavy Sub-Type will suffer a penalty.
Zone Mortalis Advanced Reactions
Two new Advanced Reactions are available to all Armies in Zone Mortalis, including Take Cover, which can be made in response to a Shooting Attack. Anyone who has been around for long enough to remember the Go To Ground rules from yesteryear might appreciate this one.
Bypass Cogitator is the second Advanced Reaction, allowing a Player's most tech-savvy Models to wrestle control of the sector’s sub-systems and wreak havoc, provided there isn’t a superior Battlesmith in the locale!
Zone Mortalis Clearance Protocol Mission Pack
This new Mission Pack features six separate Missions, which each last for up to six turns, using armies of up to 1,500 Points. They can also be played through as part of a campaign, representing one force assaulting an enemy stronghold and pushing deep into it to take control.
These Missions all use the Blood for Blood Primary Objective, which rewards Players with Victory Points for destroying enemy Units (with a bonus if the unit doing the destroying has the Vanguard (X) Special rule!).
This is balanced by a Secondary Objective, Sector Domination, that requires players to control Sectors of the Battlefield with their Tactical Strength throughout the course of the Battle.
To facilitate this, the Missions detail Deployment Zones, which are also overlaid with Sectors, used to determine the areas that need to be controlled.
New Units
Much like previous Journals, this one includes new Units, intended to be represented by kitbashes and conversions, that are an opportunity to add a little individual flair to any Army. There’s a new Army List profile for the Zone Mortalis-adapted, heavy flamer-wielding Mechanicum Castellax Infernus Maniple. The Solar Auxilia Army List is supplemented by breaching shotgun and boarding shield equipped Veletaris Raider Sections, with tech support provided by the Auxilia Combat Technician Section. The Legiones Astartes aren't left out, and gain profiles for both Veteran Despoiler Squads and Veteran Breacher Squads.
Additional Content
In addition to all of the above, there are new Zone Mortalis Special Rules, including Abyssal Darkness, Breach Actions and interfacing with Cogitator Terminals using a table that must be rolled on.
Optional Advanced Battle rules allow Players to represent the gradually deteriorating structure of a Zone Mortalis Battlefield and also Unknown Enemies, where Units are represented by auspex signals only revealed to the opponent in full when they are close. Finally, three new Zone Mortalis Primary Detachments make effective Zone Mortalis army building easy.
Journal Tactica: Zone Mortalis will be available to pre-order from Saturday. Prepare to enter the zone of death with a MkIII Breacher Squad.
* That’s known as a lift, in Low-Gothic.
** There’s an all-new Zone Mortalis Prime Advantage that allows you to give your Units Teleport Transponders to allow them to make use of this Stratagem.
