The Legions Astartes have a large range of models that is still growing. When originally published there was some pretty massive imbalance in power between the various different units and the Legion rules. There were some trap units and the enormous disparity in the Legions’ power was a bit ridiculous – looking at you Alpha Legion!
We’ve now had a substantial FAQ that fixes some of the issues with the core game. Now, the Liber Strategia has taken a pretty thorough attempt at re-balancing the Astartes army list. The individual changes aren’t huge: An extra shot to a gun here, changing the roll a weapon needs to hit there and raising or lowering several points costs. Combined, they create a more even power level across the army. You’ll now find that most units work and are good at what they’re supposed to be good at.
There are also a few new Astartes vehicles in the book. The Whirlwind and Scorpius give them their first Artillery unit, meaning they can finally fill all the slots in their Detachments. There are also three new Heavy Armour options to join the Kratos.
Towards the end of the Liber Strategia there are some Iconic Formations. These combine some Formations of Legend that have previously been published, and which are locked to specific Legions, with some generic Formations that any Legion can take.
Thank you Games Workshop for providing us with a copy of this book for review.
Table of Contents
Legions Astartes Formations
Most Formations are unchanged. The Demi-Company, Garrison Force, Aerial Assault, Sky-hunter Phalanx, Drop Pod Assault and Subterranean Assault formations are all mostly unchanged. Aerial Assault has cheaper Storm Eagles than before and Drop Pod Assault has a rule now that you have to actually set up in the pods.
The Armoured Company has a compulsory HQ slot now. The Predator, Sicaran and Kratos Commanders are all in this book, now as HQs, and you have to take one of them in this slot. HQ tanks are really useful as tanks tend to be present on the board available to have their orders changed, unlike infantry who are often inside transports.
The Legion Heavy Assault Spearhead now has to have two or more Detachments of Terminators. The other two can be Contemptors or Leviathans instead. All infantry need to take Land Raiders or Spartans as dedicated transports.
Legions Astartes Detachments
There are some changes you’ll see made to all Detachments to increase consistency. There are no 2-point upgrades any more, with everything costing multiples of 5.
HQ Detachments
The Legion Command stand has lost Accurate from its Bolters but gained Volkite chargers. This gives it another shot, with Deflagrate. It all adds up to roughly the same effect as before.
The Legion Predator Commander is a Predator with any of the usual weapon options (now including a pintle Heavy bolter), 2+ Morale and a lot of special rules: Commander, Inspire (8”), a 6++ and Master Tactician. It costs 60 points and is pretty useful I think. The bubble of extra Morale is great, as is the option of changing the orders for more units.
The Legion Sicaran Commander costs 70 points and gets all the same special rules as the Predator Commander. You can have a standard Sicaran, an Omega or a Punisher but not an Arcus.
The Legion Kratos Commander is 100 points and also gets 2+ morale, Commander, Inspire (8”), a 6++ and Master Tactician. Kratos have lost a bit of firepower from their hull weapons, which the option of pintle Heavy bolters doesn’t quite make up for.
Core Detachments
Fowler’s World EatersWe still only have the Legion Tactical Detachment, which starts at 35 points. Tactical Legionaries are unchanged, though now you can add an Apothecary to one out of every four Tactical models. This costs 10 points and grants that base the Medicae rule. You’ll quite often have a Commander attached to one of these detachments, but it might well be useful for the second Detachment in a formation like a Demi-company.
You can add up to four sets of two extra bases to the Detachment, with some changes to their previous versions. We now get stat blocks printed for all of them instead of giving Plasma guns or Missile launchers to Tactical bases. I think the only effect of this is that the Missile launcher guys now have CAF +1 instead of +2. Tactical, Plasma and Assault bases cost 12, 15 and 12 points per two bases as before. Missile launchers and Terminators now cost +20 points for every pair of bases.
Support Detachments
Legion Plasma Gun Support Detachments are still 35 points for four bases, plus 15 for two or 30 for four more bases. Plasma guns are much improved as they now have the Assault rule, giving them two shots within half range. Their range has decreased slightly, from 10 down to 8”, but that’s more than a fair exchange for units coming out of drop pods or Termites. It’s strange that they cost the same as Tactical Legionaries as their guns are far better. They’re now actually better than missile launchers up close, except against vehicles.
Legion Missile Launcher Support Detachments have gone up to 50 points for the first four bases, then 20 or 40 points for two or four more. Their frag missiles caught a nerf and now only hit on 5+, though they are still excellent with 20” range, 2 shots and Ignore Cover. Krak missiles are the same as before with a 20” 4+ shot with -1AP and Anti-tank. Missile launchers are still excellent but there are now situations where they aren’t the best option and their increased cost means you’ll want to look after them.
Legion Assault Detachments are exactly the same as before. 30 points for 4, then 12 or 24 for two or four more bases. 7” move with Jump packs, an unremarkable +3 CAF and bolt pistols that won’t do all that much. They are very cheap and ok for swarming out of a Thunderhawk or defending your deployment zone from people coming out of things like Drop Pods.
Legion Terminator Detachments have gained Armoured, making them a lot tougher against Light weapons. The first four bases are still 50 points but extras have gone up slightly, at 20 or 40 points for two or four bases. Personally I think they should be better than +4 in melee but overall it’s a solid profile. It’s quite nice that they have Deep Strike but Legions have access to things like Drop Pods and Tarantulas, so it’s very easy for them to get Infantry wherever they want to be.
Legion Rapier Detachments are our first totally unchanged unit. Phew.
Leviathan Siege Dreadnought Detachments are unchanged too.
Legion Contemptor Dreadnought Talons have had a few changes, most of which are positive. You can now only have Contemptors in the unit, for the same price as before and in the same numbers. They’ve now got 5+ Invulnerable saves though. Also the Kheres Assault Cannon got two shots, making it a much better gun than the Lascannon against everything but vehicles, albeit with a shorter range of 12 instead of 22”.
The Legion Deathstorm Drop Pod Battery is a bit more expensive at 40 points instead of 32. Extras are 35 for two or 70 for four. Their guns work the same way but instead of having D3+2 shots they have 2, but these now hit on a 5+ instead of a 6.
The Legion Palisade Drop Pod is now its own little 25 point Detachment, for one pod. It still spreads a 5++ Shield Generator bubble. This is pretty good now you can drop it anywhere you like, rather than having to send it with your Dreadnoughts – who already have Invulnerable saves and don’t need it. Dropping one of these near a firebase could provide some very useful protection for your artillery, Super-heavies and maybe even Titans. It might actually be more use for Solar Auxilia than Legions, as they tend to have more static units that would stay in range of the Palisade for longer.
Vanguard Detachments
The Legion Outrider Squadron has been buffed substantially. It’s cheaper, at 25 points for two bases and then 20 or 40 for two or four more bases. Their plasma guns have also got 8” range and Assault now, meaning bikers get four shots within 4”. Four bases of these for 45 points seem pretty good I think.
Legion Scimitar Jetbike squadrons are faster, at 12” instead of 10. They are still 35 points for 3 bases but the cost of adding extras has been reduced slightly. 30 for 3 extras or 60 for 6.
Legion Land Speeder Squadrons are still 30 points for two but now only 25 or 50 for two or four more. They now have 11” move. The best change is that now you can give any of them a Multimelta and Heavy flamer, rather than having to mix their armaments.
Legion Javelin Squadrons have gone up to 35 points for two, but then 30 or 60 points for extras. It’s now free to upgrade their sponsons to Cyclones – which still hit on a 4+ unlike the Infantry Missile Launchers. These are great for making pop up attacks to flush enemy infantry out of terrain.
Bastion Detachments
Legion Tarantula Batteries cost the same as before. However their lascannon have only one shot now, albeit with Accurate, which is a bit of a nerf. They’re still effective for their price, especially if you can Infiltrate them into position.
Legion Deredeo Dreadnought Detachments are unchanged. They remain versatile, shooty little models, providing useful anti-air and good firepower into all targets.
Light Armour Detachments
Sabres are unchanged. They remain a nice way to get a some short-ranged shots with -3AP, and the only Light Armour available to the Astartes.
Battle Tank Detachments
All the Astartes Battle Tanks are cheaper and most of them can have Pintle Mounted heavy bolters added for 5 points each now, adding two Point Defence bolter shots. This is like adding another pair of sponsons to every tank that can have them and it seriously changes the balance of Legion tanks against infantry.
Legion Sicaran Squadrons are a little cheaper than before, at 90 points for two instead of 105. It’ll cost you 40, 80 or 150 points to add one, two or four more tanks. You can add Pintle Mounted heavy bolters too, which gives each tank up to six Point Defence shots as well as its main Autocannons.
Legion Sicaran Omega Squadrons have been separated out from the Autocannon version. I’m not sure why they bothered, as they cost exactly the same amount and have all the same options, including the Pintle bolter.
Legion Sicaran Punisher Squadrons get a decent price drop from 110 points down to 90 for the first two, then 40, 80 or 150 for another one, two or four. Their stats haven’t changed but they can have pintle heavy bolters now for even more anti-personnel dakka, for up to ten shots per tank. They’re pretty scary and probably outright better than the standard Sicaran, in my opinion.
Legion Sicaran Arcus Squadrons have also dropped in price by about 10 points per model, with the first two costing 95 instead of 115 and extras now costing 45, 90 and 170 for one, two or four. No stat changes and no pintle option, but these fierce little tanks are more efficient than ever. Their Ripple Fire rule means they’ll benefit especially from having a Commander switch them to First Fire.
Legion Predator Squadrons cost the same as before. The Predator Cannon now hits on a 4+ instead of a 5 though, which is effectively a 50% boost in effectiveness. They can also take Pintle Heavy bolters, which significantly improve their firepower into Infantry. Personally I’m not all that impressed by Predators now that Sicarans are cheaper than they used to be. A Sicaran costs basically 5 points more than a Predator, for which you get another Heavy bolter in the hull and a variety of better main guns. Sicarans seem like a better deal to me.
Legion Vindicator Squadrons are the first of a few new Astartes units in the Liber Strategia. They have a fairly weak profile with 8” move, 3+ save, CAF +0 and 1W. They have bolters like a Rhino’s and, rather more importantly, a Demolisher Cannon. This has 12” range, one shot that hits on a 4+, -3AP, Demolisher and Ignores Cover. You get four Vindicators for 140 points with extras costing 65 for two, 130 for four or 180 for six. It’s certainly nice to get a dedicated Structure-killer but otherwise the combination of slow speed, short range and +0 CAF is not great, which is why these are pretty cheap I suppose.
Heavy Armour Detachments
Legion Kratos Squadrons were too good before and they’ve taken a hit. The first two are cheaper, at 140 points, but adding extra tanks costs more: 65, 130 or 250 for one, two or four of them. Additionally their hull Lascannons, Autocannons and Heavy bolters are worse. They’ve got just one of these instead of two and neither the autocannon or lascannon are Accurate any more. The Kratos battlecannon’s Anti-tank shot now has just -2AP, though that’s still pretty good with Armourbane. The Melta blastgun is the same as before and still has the problem that you waste all the Kratos’ other guns if you melt a building. One piece of good news is that Pintle Mounted heavy bolters are available, replacing some of the lost firepower. Kratos remain formidable vehicles despite all this, though not as dominant as they used to be.
The Legion Cerberus Squadron is the first Super-heavy available to the Legions Astartes. 8” move, 2+ save, +3CAF and 2W. Its Scale of 3 means it can’t be Pinned by mere Scale 2 Vehicles but can continue firing its mighty Neutron laser battery (and its other stuff). This has a 24” range, 3 shots and hits on a 4+ with -3AP and Shock Pulse, so it’s really bad news for even the biggest beasts your opponent might field. All this power doesn’t come cheap so Cerberus cost 85 points for one, then an extra 80, 150 or 210 for one, two or three more. You can have lascannon or heavy bolter sponsons and I recommend the lascannons, which can strip Void shields and which have enough range to complement the main gun. You can also add a Pintle Multi-melta or Heavy bolter, though I’m not sure I’d recommend either, given that Cerberus want to be pretty far away. Either is probably fine for 5 points each though.
The Legion Typhon Squadron is very similar to the Cerberus, with all the same stats and options but a different main gun. The Dreadhammer Siege Cannon is a monster of a gun with 16” range, hitting on a 3+, -4AP, Demolisher and Ignores Cover. This is a weapon you can fire at pretty much any target, from dug in infantry to Titans, and expect success. As ever with Demolisher weapons I recommend accessorising with Point Defence weapons so that they can split fire if your Typhons engage a structure, so give your Typhons Heavy bolter sponsons and Pintle Heavy bolters. Typhons are slightly cheaper than Cerberus at 80 points for one, then 75, 140 and 200 for one, two or three more.
The Legion Mastodon Squadron is really more of a transport than a fighting vehicle, though it’s certainly far from harmless. This flightless Thunderhawk is a Large Assault Transport with 8 slots it’s a bit like a, able to move eight Terminator bases or four Dreadnoughts across the board. It has 8” move, 2+ save, +4 CAF and 3 Wounds, with two Void Shields for added protection, so it’s very likely to deliver its cargo where you need them. It’s got some Point Defence Heavy flamers, then a choice of lascannon or heavy bolter sponsons at the back. On the roof is a Skyreaper battery, with 20” range, 3 shots hitting on 5+, -1AP, Light AT, Skyfire and Tracking. The Siege Melta Array has only 6” range but its one shot is devastating, hitting on a 3+ with -4AP, Anti-tank, Demolisher and Engine Killer (2). A single Mastodon will cost you 130 points, then 120, 240 or 350 if you want to add one, two or for some reason three more of them to the unit. Most of the time a single Mastodon will be enough to carry a whole Detachment to wherever you need it. Note that, as Heavy Armour rather than Transports, it’s a little more awkward to add Mastodons to your army.
Artillery Detachments
The Legion Scorpius Battery provides two tanks for 100 points. That’s not great for vehicles with 8” move, 3+ saves, +0CAF and 1W. Scorpius have Combi-bolters like Rhinos but their main weapon is obviously the Scorpius missile launcher. This only has 18” range but has two shots, hits on 4+ with -2AP. Unfortunately it’s Light AT, so not great against vehicles, but it most usefully it has Barrage, so doesn’t need to be able to see what it’s killing. You can add two more for 90 points, four for 180 or 6 for 270, though for those prices you may as well just run them in pairs I think.
The Legion Whirlwind Battery is the same as the Scorpius, except for costing 90 points for two and having a different gun. The Whirlwind missile launcher has 30” range, two shots, and hits on a 4+ with AP0. It has Barrage, Ignores Cover and Rapid Fire, so you can park your Whirlwinds somewhere and have them shoot enemy infantry out of buildings. You can have up to 6 more for 80, 160 or 240 points, though again you may as well run them in pairs.
Transport Detachments
Legion Rhino Detachments are kind of the same as before, with 10 points buying you a 9” move 4+ save box to move two bases of Legionaries around. Their guns are the same but Multi-meltas and Havoc launchers both now cost 5 points. This is probably fair as Havocs are excellent but it makes them much more of a choice, rather than a “must have”. You can also buy them Hunter-killer missiles for another 5 points, firing a single shot 12”, hitting on a 5+ at -2AP with Anti-tank and Limited (1). I don’t think that or the Multi-melta are worth it as Rhinos spend so much of their time Marching, Charging or Dead.
Legion Spartan Detachments have had a slight price drop, to “just” 70 points per model. The option for hull lascannon is now free and they can have Pintle Heavy bolters or Multi-meltas for 5 points. They’re still Assault Transport (5). Spartans have almost as much firepower as Kratos now that those have been nerfed, cost about the same, and can carry a Detachment of infantry.
Legion Land Raider Detachments are also a bit cheaper, at 35 points each. They can now all have Pintle Multi-meltas and also now have the option of Heavy bolters instead, for 5 points. Heavy bolters are good if your Land Raiders are Marching off, after having used Forward Deployment, to deliver a charge somewhere critical.
Legion Termite Detachments have a price drop from 18 to 14 points per model. They seem like a compelling alternative to drop pods now, as the price difference is pretty small for the huge advantage of being able to move about after arriving. It doesn’t hurt that you get eight of them in a box, instead of four.
Legion Drop Pod Detachments are now 10 points per model, matching the price of a Rhino. No other changes.
Similarly, Legion Dreadnought Drop Pod Detachments have gone up to 12 points each, or 5 points more for every Dreadnought you drop onto the table. They can’t have Palisade Drop Pods attached any more, which is fine.
Air Support Detachments
Legion Xiphon Interceptor Squadrons are unchanged. They remain very good at killing enemy aircraft and vehicles, hopefully from far enough away to be safe from anti-air fire.
Legion Storm Eagle Squadrons get a decent discount, now costing 85 points for one instead of 100. Extra Storm Eagles are cheaper still at 75 for one more and 150 for two. They compete more for your attention with Thunderhawks now.
Legion Fire Raptor Squadrons are almost unchanged. The first still costs 100 but extra ones are 90 for one or 180 for two – a 10 point saving if you’re adding more planes.
Legion Thunderhawk Gunships have had a slight nerf with their speed dropped from 25 down to 20”. Adding another one will now cost 140 but two more is still 280. There will be times now when a Storm Eagle’s greater reach or a Mastodon’s durability are preferable to a Thunderhawk, though it remains a very powerful plane.
Legions Astartes Special Rules
The rules for the 18 Legions have never been remotely balanced and, strangely, they are almost completely unchanged. All they’ve done is to prevent Alpha Legion from giving Infiltrate or Outflank to Vehicle Detachments, with their Mutable Tactics rule, so at least they won’t be infiltrating Typhons… though they can give them Forward Deployment. Everything else is the same as it was before.
The FAQ we got not long ago did more to balance the Legions, by preventing charges after Infiltrating, than this does. It’s a real missed opportunity to level the playing field here, unfortunately.
One slightly interesting thing is that Heavy bolters have been added to the list of guns that Imperial Fists get Accurate with. This rule has always been an curious one, hinting at potential future Infantry releases, though so far none have appeared. I suppose you can add the possibility that Detachments with Heavy bolters will turn up in future.
Legions Astartes Iconic Formations
In previous campaign books we’ve had a few Formations of Legend. They were formations with set units and armaments, fixed to a particular Legion, representing the forces present at a particular event. These are all reprinted here, I think without any major changes. They’ve been renamed “Iconic Formations” and some new generic ones have been added.
These Formations all have a list of Standard Detachments which you have to take and an optional set of Expanded Detachments. You pay a fixed cost for each set of Detachments and then get them all, exactly as specified.
The Legion-specific ones are the same as before, without new options like Pintle weapons added. That might be an omission but it does mean that anyone who’s already built these formations won’t need to change their models. They’re mostly quite fun.
There are three new generic options, available to all Legions, offering special rules and discounts for taking set detachments.
The first of these is the Legion Tactical Strike Force. Its Standard Detachments for 230 are an HQ in a Rhino with a melta and two Detachments of eight Tactical bases in Rhinos, with an Apothecary in both units. I think that’s worth 258 points. Expanded options for 140 are four Plasma bases, four Missile bases and four Assault bases. You get two Rhinos with Havoc launchers for the Plasma Detachment and two with bolters for the Missile bases. That lot is worth 165. Additionally, the Commander is allowed to change the orders of two Detachments when activated, though only ones in this Formation, and the Tactical bases all get Line. I think this is pretty cool as a representation of a “typical” Astartes Formation and the benefits are pretty substantial.
The Legion Speartip Assault is a Drop detachment. The Standard Detachments for 230 points are an HQ and two Tactical Detachments, both comprising four Tactical bases, two Plasma and two Missile, with an Apothecary. There are nine Drop Pods to deliver all these (which is an irritating number to have to purchase) and a Palisade pod. 260 points worth of stuff. To that you can add four Leviathans with meltas, four Contemptors with Lascannons, Dreadnought pods to carry them and a second Palisade pod, worth 266 points, for only 205. These have the excellent special rule that the pods don’t scatter, meaning you can set them up danger close and even have the Palisade pods land right where you want them, protecting your own forces.
The Legion Stonebreaker Siege Force is much more points as it contains things like Land Raiders and Whirlwinds. The Standard stuff is a Commander in a Land Raider with a melta, eight Tactical bases with an Apothecary in four more Land Raiders and four Vindicators. It costs 370 points and is worth worth 404, so not a huge discount, proportionately. You can add a Detachment of six Whirlwinds, six Terminator bases in six Land Raiders and four more Vindicators for a hefty 520 more points. That’s a substantial discount on their value of 670. The bonus for this Formation is for assaulting structures. If they’ve been damaged, say by any of the eight Vindicators in the Formation, the defenders don’t get a bonus to their CAF. It won’t be much fun trying to defend buildings against these people, though it’s probably possible to achieve the same results for less.
Overall I like the idea of these formations, setting out standard organisations for the Legions. To be honest we don’t often hear that the Legions actually did organise themselves in standard ways, but you don’t have to use them if they don’t fit your version of the fluff. In game they give you some nice little bonuses that could provide alternatives to spamming Demi-companies. It’s a shame they have no optional Detachments at all, so you’ll need other Formations if you want to bring any air support, tanks and so on.
Final Thoughts
We’ve seen significant balance changes in the Legion army list and I think we can now say that there’s pretty good internal balance here. That’s certainly a good thing. I think it’s a bit frustrating that it’s taken this long to address some of the absolutely obvious problems, like Missile squads, but at least we’ve got there now. I hope we’ll see a FAQ published so you aren’t forced to buy the book for what should arguably be a free Errata online.
For new players it’s great to have all the rules so far published in one place, though I’m sure we’ll see more content soon, meaning you need to carry extra books again. Existing players might consider buying the unit cards that are coming out instead of the book, depending on how you like to have your rules presented.
Combined with the huge FAQ we got recently, Legions Imperialis is in a far better place than when it was released. Arguably this is the state it should have been in when it came out, but apparently GW needed community feedback to get to this point.
Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.
