The upcoming Combat Force boxes for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy are the perfect place to start when mustering forces for the Age of Darkness. Each one contains a curated mix of miniatures that provide a solid grounding of basic troops and big hitters – but with so many units to pick from across the Horus Heresy range, it can be daunting knowing where to go next.
That’s why we’ve assembled a few of our favourite miniatures to give you some ideas. So if you’re just getting into the Solar Auxilia and don’t know which tank you want to build next, or are wondering which Space Marines you want leading your force, have a look below.
Expanding the Legiones Astartes Combat Force
The Legiones Astartes Combat Force box gives you 20 Space Marines in MkVI power armour – with 10 missile launchers and 10 heavy bolters letting you turn them into Heavy Support Squads if you want – plus a Rhino and a powerful Leviathan Dreadnought. This flexible set of infantry and armour can expand in almost any direction, and we recommend these three options.
1. Centurions
You’re going to need some Command slot units to unlock extra Detachments, and Centurions are the best in the business – granting two Auxiliary Detachments instead of one thanks to their Officer of the Line (2) ability. They’re extremely adaptable characters that can equip a wide range of weapons, including the new MkII Centurion packing a power maul, and impart improved mental characteristics on the unit they join so they’re less likely to be hit by Tactical Statuses.
2. Predator Battle Tank
A tank or two can soak up a blistering amount of small arms fire, and the venerable Predator can be equipped with a wide variety of turret weapons to adapt to any scenario. If you want to tackle enemy vehicles up close, a magna-melta cannon will turn them into burning slag, while the classic spread of four lascannons will hit hard from afar. A flamestorm cannon and volkite macro-saker will meanwhile scour infantry from the field. No matter what you need them for, Predators can handle the job.
3. Assault Squad
The Rhino included in the Combat Force is a great tool for getting a unit around the board, but Assault Squads don’t need the help, thanks, as their jump packs give them a seriously impressive Movement of 12. Their Vanguard (2) special rule also means they score points for knocking units off objectives, so they’re an excellent ambush unit to support your otherwise long-ranged force.
Expanding the Mechanicum Combat Force
The Mechanicum Combat Force gives you a strong and durable core of heavy infantry, including six Thallax Cohort, a pair of larger Castellax Battle-automata, and a towering Thanatar Cavas Siege-automata. With such a sturdy core to build around, we recommend the following.
1. Krios Battle Tank
The Mechanicum do a lot of their best work at long range, and the Krios Battle Tank is the perfect blend of form and function – a lighter tank that focuses on speed, mounting an enormous lightning cannon or irradiation blaster for wiping swathes of infantry off the planet. You can also build this kit as a Krios Venator if tanks are your target of choice, using its natural speed to flank enemy vehicles and punch right through their side armour with an enormous pulsar-fusil.
2. Tech-thralls Covenant
A lot of the Mechanicum’s units are fairly small in size, relying on high Toughness and Saves to soak up lots of damage, but sometimes nothing is quite as good as a mass of cheap bodies to hold ground in the face of an enemy barrage. For this, the priests of Mars refit legions of worker drones into Tech-thralls, which can confidently hold objectives for a good chunk of the game while not giving away too many points once they’re killed thanks to the Expendable (2) rule.
3. Ursarax Cohort
Much like the Thallax Cohort you get in the Combat Force box, Ursarax are cyborg warriors contained in an armoured shell and strapped to a jet pack for rapid movement. These specialists are very close combat-oriented compared to the long-ranged Thallax, and are a great way to tie up infantry units with high-strength guns who might otherwise threaten the rest of your quality-over-quantity army.
Expanding the Solar Auxilia Combat Force
The Solar Auxilia Combat Force houses a great spread of the Solar Auxilia’s key units, from a 20-strong Lasrifle Section and Line Command Section – which can alternatively be built as two other Command units – to a pair of Hermes Sentinels and a sturdy Leman Russ Strike Tank. There’s a bit of everything you need in this box already, and we think these three units are a great place to go next.
1. Veletaris Storm Section
While most Solar Auxilia infantry aim to bury their opponents under sustained volleys of lasrifle fire, the elite Veletaris Storm Sections get the pick of the armoury and drive the tip of the spear home with blasts from significantly more powerful volkite chargers. A unit or two can anchor a battle line and put up a respectable fight against Space Marines, and if you’re feeling really saucy, you can do away with their guns to give them all storm axes instead – though you might want to pop them in a Dracosan Armoured Transport so they survive the trip to the front.
2. Leman Russ Assault Tank
Yes, you have one already, but two make for double the fun. This cornerstone of the Solar Auxilia has so many different turret options that they’re split into two different kits, and the Leman Russ Assault Tank has all the options you don’t get in the Combat Force box. That means you have a choice between the devastating demolisher cannon, a capable but risky executioner plasma cannon, and a searing volkite macro-saker – all of which are supremely deadly to their ideal targets and great specialised backup for your catch-all battle cannons.
3. Malcador Infernus
Flame tanks are cool, there’s no debate, and the Solar Auxilia clearly know it because they took one of their older, outdated tank designs and mounted a colossal inferno cannon to the front. The result is the Malcador Infernus, a purpose-built infantry-killer that can melt right through Space Marine armour and panics even their hardened hearts, which is doubly important when your regular guns struggle to put a dent in their superhuman fortitude. Also, flame tanks are cool!
All three Combat Force boxes are available to pre-order tomorrow, alongside the spectacular new Fellblade super-heavy tank and the next Journal Tactica expansion book.
