Games Workshop has revealed the contents of Warhammer the Horus Heresy: Saturnine, an enormous new box set packed with 50 new models, which will launch the game’s third edition. New rulebooks for five factions will release on the same day, and the firm also revealed some exciting new kits to come – including a plastic version of the massive Fellblade superheavy tank.
For any newcomers, we’ll give a very brief overview of the game. Warhammer: The Horus Heresy is a spin-off game set in the same universe as Warhammer 40,000, but 10,000 years earlier, during the catastrophic galactic civil war described in the massive Horus Heresy book series. Warhammer 30k, as it’s often called, focuses on the traitor and loyalist Space Marine Legions, with none of 40k’s various alien factions; a distinct model range; and a set of rules that’s substantially different from the current version of 40k. Here’s what’s coming in third edition, and its chonky Saturnine launch box:
Horus Heresy third edition release date
Games Workshop did not reveal the Horus Heresy third edition release date during its announcement on Friday. However, a spokesman for the firm said they wouldn’t have announced the kits unless they were coming soon.
Games Workshop had originally planned to announce the new edition on May 30, and likely moved the announcement forwards as a result of leakers revealing the contents early.
Horus Heresy Saturnine starter set contents
The massive starter set Horus Heresy third edition is called ‘Saturnine’. It will be the first place you can get a copy of the updated core rulebook for the new edition, and contains 50 brand new miniatures. The full contents of the box set are:
- Hardback rulebook
- Booklet with quickstart rules to use the models in the game
- Saturnine Terminators x 6
- Saturnine Praetor
- Centurion in Mk II Power Armor
- Saturnine Siege Dreadnought
- Arachne Quad Accelerator Platform
- Space Marine Legionaries in Mk II Power Armor x 40
- Disintegrator weapon sets x 2
- Templates
- Tokens
- Dice
- Range rulers
- Transfer sheet
Saturnine Terminators
The kits in the Saturnine box set can be built with disruption fists, heavy disintegrators, or plasma bombards – an “indirect fire plasma cannon”. They have inbuilt teleporters, and their massive shoulder mantles contain thermal diffraction fields.
The new Saturnine Terminator models are based on a very old figure by Jes Goodwin, which was one of three prototypes for 40k Space Marine Terminators released in 1987. Though the original Goodwin mini didn’t have a name, fans nicknamed it ‘Saturnine’.
The second edition Horus Heresy rulebook then stirred the pot, stating that Saturnine Armor was developed midway through the Horus Heresy – but the new trailer shows them present at the very beginning of the war, on the black sands of Isstvan V.
This new lore video, ‘Vulkan’s Gift’, squares the circle – Saturnine is apparently the oldest make of Terminator armor, originating in the tech conclaves of Jupiter. Examples were actually deployed during the Unification Wars on Terra, and the armor was the foundation of the other terminator marks. It was prohibitively difficult to produce – until Vulkan worked out the secrets behind it, and shared the secrets with all the Legions.
Saturnine Praetor
The new Saturnine Praetor is a force commander wearing the colossal new Saturnine terminator armor. The model can be equipped with either a Saturnine Disruption Hammer or a Saturnine War Axe, and a wrist-mounted plasma weapon of some sort. This armor is as powerful as Space Marines get.
Saturnine Siege Dreadnought
The Saturnine Dreadnought is completely new – there hasn’t been anything like it in the novels, old White Dwarf articles for Rogue Trader, or the classic Horus Heresy cardgame by Sabertooth Games. It is the largest Dreadnought in the game – it’s mounted on a 100mm base. It has additional shoulder armor, similar to that on the Adeptus Custodes Telemon Dreadnought – this apparently hides a ‘thermal diffraction field’.
It’s equipped with a colossal heavy plasma bombard, a heavy disintegrator cannon, as well as a pair of twin concussion resonators or photonic incinerators – basically fancy flamers – on either side of its torso. We expect that there will be an additional weapon sprue for this beast at some point down the line, as that’s been the pattern for all the Heresy era dreadnoughts so far.
Centurion in Mk II Power Armor
The Centurion in Artificer Armor is equipped with a power maul and combi-melta, and accompanied by a cyber-familiar. In second edition, these little skull companions granted a +1 bonus to invulnerable saves, but were mostly reserved to units with a close connection to the Mechanicum, such as the Lord of the Forge and Iron Hands characters.
Araknae Quad Accelerator Platform
This is a fixed gun platform that looks a lot like the old hydra flak battery Forge World made about twenty years ago, but with a turret porting two sets of the main guns from a Sicaran battle tank. It’s equipped with an Atomantic Pavaise that projects an invulnerable save aura for friendly troops, and can apparently be “dropped into the battle”. As an Iron Warriors player, I approve.
Space Marine Legionaries in Mk II Power Armor
It wouldn’t be a new edition of Heresy without models for a new kind of Space Marine armor. Mark II, aka ‘Crusade’ armor, was the main version of power armor used throughout the two centuries of the Great Crusade, made up of multiple overlapping bands that afforded great flexibility.
The kits contain command options to give models a vexilla, vox set, sergeant power sword, plasma pistol, and chain bayonets.
As with / unlike the MK III Space Marines, the Mk II kit does / doesn’t contain components you can add to the arms from the Mk VI Heavy Weapon kit so that they match Mk II Power Armor.
Disintegrator weapon sets
Disintegrator Weapons are a new special weapon upgrade pack: they should be compatible with the Mk VI and Mk III power armor kits as well as Mk II. Visually, they’re based on the strange gun wielded by the very first Space Marine model, ‘Imperial Space Marine LE2’.
In second edition Horus Heresy, disintegrators were hilariously lethal. With the same range and shots as a boltgun, they had Strength 5, AP 2, and the two special rules Instant Death and Gets Hot, meaning they could easily vaporise Terminators, but killing the models who wielded them at almost the same rate.
They were also rare – even Mortalis Destroyer squads (the Marines who get to play with all the war crimes weapons) could only field one disintegrator for every five models.
Legionary veterans can be equipped with these disintegrator weapons – disintegrator rifles, combi disintegrator weapons, and new heavy disintegrators. There are enough in the box to make two full squads of ten, with leftovers that might be useful for characters or units with the option to take a single Disintegrator.
Warhammer: the Horus Heresy third edition rules
The third edition of Horus Heresy will come with a substantial overhaul to the core rules, but Games Workshop has hinted at a few of the changes.
First up are new Tactical Statuses, negative effects which can apply to units (and which will be tracked with the tokens that come in the new box set).
- Pinned – “reflects a Unit that has been forced to take cover in the face of overwheming firepower or the sudden crack of a sniper’s rifle” – the unit can’t move.
- Suppressed – “reflects a Unit that is distracted and confused by heavy enemy fire, environmental effects or psychological warfare” – can’t return fire.
- Stunned – “reflects a Unit rendered insensible or stopped in its tracks by the sheer force of an impact, explosion or other battlefield effect” – less able to react.
- Routed – “reflects a unit that has suffered such a catastrophic reversal that it must fall back from the front line in order to regroup or recover” – forced to fall back.
Generally, units will suffer one of these when they’ve failed an advanced characteristic test. Three new advanced characteristics have been added to the basic stat block for units, which join the familiar Leadership stat: just like Leadership, your aiming to roll equal to or under the stat on 2D6.
- Cool is used for resisting sniper fire and similar sudden shocks.
- Willpower is for psychic tests and resisting psychic powers.
- Intelligence is the ability to perform technical actions under duress, such as using comms equipment or repairing vehicles.
This should allow the rules to better reflect the differences between different unit types: so a Tech-thrall has a Cool of 12 since it’s too brainless to rattle, but their other stats are 4s.
Weapon stats have been overhauled. Most of these are just new names that make them clearer, but there are two substantive changes. All weapons now have a Damage stat, hopefully getting rid of the Brutal(x) special rule; and melee weapons have an Initiative Modifier, which should do away with Unwieldy and all the other weapon special rules that tinker with initiative a little bit.
Ranged weapon stats:
- R – Range
- FP – shots
- RS – Ranged strength
- AP – Armor Penetration
- D – Damage
Melee weapon stats
- IM – Initiative modifier
- AM – Attack modifier
- SM – Strength Modifier
- AP – Armor Penetration
- D – Damage
The firm also announced that there will be new options for characters to take perform special actions in challenges; and that there will be “fewer limitations on your army composition, allowing you to build whatever thematic force is in your mind”.
Extra model reveals
Games Workshop also revealed a few other upcoming releases that will come out alongside Saturnine, or after it:
Liber army books
Five Liber books, with the full army rules for their respective factions, including named characters, will be released on the same day as Saturnine:
- Liber Hereticus – traitor Space Marines
- Liber Astartes – loyalist Space Marines
- Liber Auxilia – Solar Auxilia
- Liber Mechanicum – Mechanicum forces
- Liber Questoris – Imperial and Mechanicum Knights
The Talons of the Emperor won’t have a Liber book on day one, but will get a downloadable PDF, and apparently a Liber book is coming. We’ve got high hopes that this means a plastic version of their miniature range is on the way.
Journal Tactica: The Isstvan V Dropsite Massacre
This is apparently the first in a new series of books containing lore, scenario rules, and more, focused on the titular Dropsite Massacre. It looks like a real call-back to the classic ‘Black Books’ from first edition Horus Heresy – though a whole lot more slender and hopefully about one eighth of the price.
Plastic Legion Fellblade
The Legion Fellblade is an iconic Space Marine super heavy tank, an utterly massive behemoth of a warmachine. It’s equipped with a pair of colossal accelerator cannons, and the new plastic kit comes with alternate weapon options for its hull-mounted anti-tank weapons. This will release after Saturnine.
The cinematic trailer for the new edition also included a Legion Glaive, a tank built on the same chassis as the Fellblade but armed with a truly ridiculous Volkite beam weapon.
Legion Tarantula Turret
The Tarantula is an automated heavy weapon platform that is orbitally dropped to support Space Marine military engagements. A new plastic kit is apparently coming somewhere down the line, and can be armed with heavy bolters, some kind of meltagun, lascannons, or heavy volkite rayguns.
Rapier Batteries
Rapier Batteries are self-propelled gun platforms, accompanied by Legionary crew. One kit comes with a quad launcher or a laser destroyer; another comes with a graviton cannon or quad heavy bolter.
Mark II Legion Assault Marine
GW previewed a new Assault Marine in Mk II armor, equipped with a chainaxe the size of a man.
Mark III Legion Breacher
It has finally happened: new plastic breachers are coming. During the stream, a GW spokesperson opined that they were probably an upgrade kit that would be compatible with all the Legionary kits.
Mystery models
- A plastic Space Marine with a volkite pistol
- A plastic Mechanicum Skitarii of some kind.
- The guardian spear from a new Legio Custodes model
Whew! That’s a whole lot of Heresy! The Warhammer 40k fanatics in the Wargamer Discord community watched the preview stream live together – we’d love for you to join us for the next one!
Source: Wargamer
