Though well-renowned for their superior firepower throughout the galaxy, even Space Marines need a bit of extra muscle every once in a while. Whether punching through hordes of rampaging Xenos, or fighting off the malevolent forces of Chaos Space Marines, there's a time and a place for subtlety - and this ain't it! Now making planetfall with a thunderous thud is the Strike Force Agastus, a new box set for any chapter of the Space Marines army (though most artwork sees them painted in Ultramarine blue and gold, they'll slot into any Chapter). Games Workshop gave us a chance to check out the box ahead of its prerelease, so read on for our review of Strike Force Agastus!
What's Included In Strike Force Agastus?
Included in Strike Force Agastus are 17 models to add to your army, as well as all the rules you need to bring them to the battlefield. Along with five models from the Heavy Intercessor Squad - which has previously been released - you'll find a newly upgraded and customizable Primaris Lieutenant, the hulking, brand new Brutalis Dreadnought, and ten units from the new Desolation Squad.
Also included in this box set are the rules and datasheets for fielding these units (though you'll need the full Codex: Space Marines book to really get them on the battlefield), transfer sheets, and a bit of lore behind the specific Strike Force Agastus (which, in the game's fiction, is a specific strike force of the Ultramarines). Let's take a closer look at each of these new models.
Strike Force Agastus - Primaris Lieutenant
The Primaris Lieutenant included in Strike Force Agastus is all about customization. His straight-up datasheet equips him with a bolt pistol, a master-crafted bolt rifle, frag grenades, and krak grenades, but you can get way more creative than that with the sprues included. You can swap out his master-crafted bolt rifle for a master-crafted auto bolt rifle, a master-crafted stalker bolt rifle, a plasma pistol, a master-crafted power sword, or a power fist. You can also equip him with a neo-volkite pistol and a storm shield (which gives him a 4+ invulnerable save, and adds 1 to armor saving throws made by the bearer).
With a Weapon and Ballistics Skill of 2+, he's an absolute beast on the battlefield, and his ability Tactical Precision (Aura) lets friendly [Chapter] Core units within 6" of him re-roll a wound roll of 1. Though we've seen a version of this model before, being able to equip him with gear he previously didn't have access to only raises the threat he poses on the battlefield.
Strike Force Agastus - Brutalis Dreadnought
The big bruiser of Strike Force Agastus, the Brutalis Dreadnought brings heavy, hearty firepower to the battlefield. At his highest wound profile (he starts with 13 Wounds), he has a movement of 10", a Weapon and Ballistics Skill of 3+, a 3+ Save, and a 7 for his Strength and Toughness. Kitted out with twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber, 2 heavy bolters, 2 twin bolt rifles, and 2 Brutalis fists, he's a walking, stomping, smashing, and shooting monstrosity. You can swap out his fists and bolt rifles for talons, which can either be targeted in a strike for maximum damage, or in a sweep to double the attacks made. Remember, each arm gets its own weapon profile, so with 5 Attacks with each of his melee weapons you'll be rolling tons of dice!
Well armored and stocky, with decent movement for its size, you can easily hold objectives with him, blasting away opponents before they can reach you, or smashing them to dust when they get in your face.
Strike Force Agastus - Desolation Squad
Finally (because we just want to focus on new models here, sorry Heavy Intercessor Squad!) let's take a look at the Desolation Squad included with Strike Force Agastus. If you love Space Marines but wish their guns were comically huge and did even more damage, this is the unit for you.
With 2 Wounds each, a 6" move, and a WS, BS, and Save of 3+, this unit may seem like your standard Space Marines unit, but good lord, do they sling around some seriously heavy weaponry! Each is equipped with a Castellan Launcher and a Superfrag Rocket launcher (which you can swap out for a superkrak rocket launcher), as well as frag grenades and krak grenades. This Superfrag launcher is no joke, with a range of 48" (!!!), this Heavy D3+3 launcher has the Blast trait. Just to run some numbers here, if your unit of ten fires off their launchers and you rolled a 1 on that D3 every time, you'd still be rolling 40 dice (with 4 Strength and a -1 AP, to boot). Send them up against an enemy unit with 11 or more models in it, and that Blast trait kicks off, allowing you to roll 60 dice!
What Are Our Final Thoughts On Strike Force Agastus?
It's hard for me to imagine the Space Marines army that wouldn't welcome at least the Desolation Squad among their ranks, which is to say that, all in all, this box could serve as a huge boon to your favorite Chapter. I don't currently have a Space Marines army (I'm an Astra Militarum guy myself), but now I'm seriously considering building around this box. The call to reign down pure destruction and go rocket-launcher wild is just too alluring.
The copy of Strike Force Agastus used in this review was provided by Games Workshop
Review Summary
Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net
Giaco Furino joined the TechRaptor team as a Staff Writer in 2019 after searching for a dedicated place to write and talk about Tabletop Games. In 2020, he… More about Giaco
