Set ten thousand years before the current setting of Warhammer 40K, Warhammer: The Horus Heresy is a tabletop miniatures wargame from Games Workshop that charts the early days of the rise of Chaos, where Astartes brother fought Astartes Brother. We covered the launch of the new edition of Warhammer Horus Heresy in our review, which is worth checking out for all the glorious details of this incredible setting. This week, a slew of new options for the game are up for preorder. Games Workshop sent us some samples to review, so join us as we take a deep dive into the Sicaran Battle Tank, and look at other new releases coming out (including two new heroes for their Lord of the Rings miniature wargame)!
What Is The Warhammer Horus Heresy Sicaran Battle Tank?
As you'll see from the included photos, the Warhammer Horus Heresy Sicaran Battle Tank makes an impressive addition to any army. Whether you're playing as the Heretics or the Astartes, you can use the Sicaran Battle Tank to add some impressive firepower to your forces. Every Sicaran Battle Tank features heavy firepower coming from its Turret Mounted accelerator autocannon, which has a 48" range, and hits hard with the Heavy (8), Rending (6+), and Exoshock (6+) special rules (in other words, it shoots far and very hard). The turret also moves in 360 degrees, so you don't have to worry about your enemies sneaking up behind you to sabotage your tank.
Along with the accelerator autocannon, the Warhammer Horus Heresy Sicaran Battle Tank also has multiple options for its Sponsons (those guns on either side of the tank). I decided to build ours with two lascannons because I like the way it can just kind of cut through the enemy line, but you could also build this Sponson element with heavy bolters, heavy flamers, or volkite culverin.
On the top of the Warhammer Horus Heresy Sicaran Battle Tank is a choice to outfit the Pintle (the weapon on the top) with multiple choices, including a heavy flamer, or even an Astartes Commander poking his head out to fire at his enemies. I've gone with the havoc launcher because I love the chaos it sows on the battlefield, and, quite frankly, I think it looks extremely cool. We've also added a search light, a smoke launcher, and a front hull mounted hunter-killer missile.
How Should I Play The Warhammer Horus Heresy Sicaran Battle Tank?
You should treat the Warhammer Horus Heresy Sicaran Battle Tank like a fast-striking behemoth, making a shocking impact at the start of the game. Even with all this firepower at its disposal, what makes the Sicaran Battle Tank so impressive is its speed. With a movement of 16", it's the fastest Heavy Support unit available (aside from a gunship, but we're talking tank treads on the ground here), outclassing the other models which clock in between 10" and 12".
That makes the Sicaran Battle Tank the perfect option for players who want to build a strike force with their units. With four hull points, the goal isn't to try and keep your tank around forever (especially since this isn't the type of vehicle that can transport troops). But with a few good rolls in your opening salvo of attacks, you could punch some extremely big holes in your enemy's opening lines of defense as you rush it out to cover half the board with its movement and range of fire.
Should I Buy The Warhammer Horus Heresy Sicaran Battle Tank?
If you're looking for a big boost of firepower in your Warhammer Horus Heresy games, the Sicaran Battle Tank would make an invaluable addition to your team. It's movement speed alone makes it one of the most interesting large-format units we've seen from the game. Also, it should be noted, both the Sicaran Battle Tank and the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought (which we'll talk about in just a moment), can also be used in Warhammer 40K by either the Space Marines or Chaos Space Marines. So, if you've got two armies and can find a way to paint them to be flexible, you could get double the action out of these units.
What Is The Warhammer Horus Heresy Leviathan Siege Dreadnought?
Also up for preorder this week is the Warhammer Horus Heresy Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with ranged weapons. The version of the Dreadnought with melee weapons has already released, and now you can stomp around the battlefield blasting foes at a distance with this hulking behemoth.
Weapon options for the Dreadnought include the hard-hitting storm cannon, the cyclonic melta lance which rips through enemy armor, or the Grav-flux bombardment which creates a pulse of gravity so strong it can crush bones inside Astartes armor. With a movement of 6" and 7 wounds, this is a sturdy, stomping presence on the battlefield that may not zip over to your opponents, but thanks to its ranged capabilities can create a problem for them early in the game.
What Is The Warhammer Horus Heresy Liber Mechanicum Rulebook?
Looking to get away from all the Astartes vs. Astartes action in Horus Heresy? The new Liber Mechanicum rulebook can help with that! This book, which also goes up for preorder today, details everything you need to put together an army that follows the Omnissiah, aka tech adepts and priests of the Mechanicum who have traded some (or most!) of their physical bodies for mechanical parts. Along with a bit of lore explaining who this force is, there rest of the book includes battle profiles for 29 units, from the Magos Dominus to Mechanicum Knight Magaera. There's also a full appendix of special rules including rules on Cybertheurgy, the special weapons of the Mechanicum, and more.
Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game: Rúmil and Orophin
Shifting gears from the dire and dangerous world of Horus Heresy to Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings wargame, Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, we see a new duo packaging of Elven warriors up for preorder. Rúmil and Orophin, two warrior brothers from Lothlorien, stand side by side to take out the enemy. Rúmil is a more defensive fighter, with his sword and shield giving him a 7 defense and his special ability Swift Parry allowing him to force an opponent to re-roll one d6 in a duel. Meanwhile Orophin uses two blades to slice and dice any fell being that would dare encroach upon their lands. His special ability, Whirl of Blades, allows him to treat any 6's he rolls in a duel as two strikes when determining wounds. It should be noted, the rules for these two brothers are spread across two different rulebooks (Rúmil was released previously without Orophin), Rúmil's rules are in the 'Armies of Lord of the Rings' rulebook, while Orophin's rules are in the new 'Defence of the North' book.
We've covered a lot of ground here today, but whether you're interested in bringing heavy fire power down on your foes or you just want to add a little more woodland blade mastery to your Lothlorien army, there's a lot of exciting new additions up for preorder this week.
The products used in the creation of this review were provided by Games Workshop.
Review Summary
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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
