Horus Heresy Tactica: Liber Solar Auxilia Units in Third Edition

The new edition of the Horus Heresy is here, and there’s no better time to dive into playing the terrible battles of this dark age. 

 

Welcome, Legate Marshals! Let’s take a more in-depth look at the Solar Auxilia army list as shown in Liber: Auxilia. The elite human troops of the Imperium during the Great Crusade, the Solar Auxilia fought as chosen auxiliaries of the Legiones Astartes or even acting as the primary force of their own expeditionary fleets. When Horus announced his secession from the Imperium, the Solar Auxilia were also torn apart. The rules in Liber Solar Auxilia allow players to build an army of Solar Auxilia as a primary force, and also includes options to add a Solar Auxilia force as allies to your Legiones Astartes armies, representing the Legiones Auxilia. 

How the Army Has Changed

First off, let’s take a look at what is completely new to the Solar Auxilia army in the third edition. The most noticeable update is the Tercio Detachment system. In the prior iteration of the army, Tercios were organizational units represented by a single FOC slot – each slot could consist of all the units for that Tercio type. This is now represented by the various Tercio auxiliary detachments – each detachment, when unlocked, allows the player to take all the constituent units of that Tercio type. These detachments are in turn unlocked by taking the Command Section corresponding to them – at launch, you can take Line, Veletaris, Hermes, Artillery, and Armoured Command Sections, each of which unlocks a detachment of the corresponding type. In addition, the Command Sections provide some great benefits to their tercio units, like Line Command Sections buffing the Line stat of Infantry Tercio units, or Artillery Command Sections reducing the scatter of nearby Artillery Tercio units. Veteran players, be aware that Tercio reactions are no longer a thing – gone are the days of reactions with over 100 lasrifles!

While command sections existed in the second edition rules, they did not have much impact on the squads they commanded – this has changed drastically in third. Command sections now unlock special auxiliary detachments representing the tercios they would command, and also provide buffs to their tercio sections. As long as you’re within range and line of sight of the right Command section, your commanded squads will receive pretty powerful and potentially game winning buffs. However, should the command squads die, those buffs are gone (unless you brought multiple!). Command slots can be quite rare unless you’re deliberately building your list for them (you probably should), and the tercio command sections are still T3 4+ 1-to-2 wound models with a maximum of ten in the unit. A good blast template will wipe one of these squads out, and god forbid anyone fires even a single heavy bolter at them. Winning games is going to be about protecting your command squads while still keeping them in range and LOS of your troops, and that is going to be a difficult balance to strike once your opponents are aware of their vulnerability. If you can’t protect your command squads, you’ll find that your basic humans are just that – humans playing with demigods.

Army List Changes

As we mentioned in our Liber Solar Auxilia First Look, there have been quite a few formerly Core units that are no longer included in the Liber.

• Independent Legate Marshals, Command Tercios, and Companion/Lifeward Sections (all functionally replaced by the Legatine Command Section and the various types of Tercio Command Sections).
• Veletaris Vanguard Sections with Rotor Cannons.
• Medicae Sections.
• Surgeon-Primus Aevos Jovan.
• Aurox Transports.
• Tarantula Batteries.
• Cyclops Demolition Sections.

At the time of writing, it looks like almost all of these will be returning in the Legacies of the Age of Darkness PDF, according to this recent post on Warhammer Community.

What We Like in Auxilia

While more a reflection of the new approach to army list creation, using cohort doctrines in army list creation is rather brilliant – being able to include multiple tercios for each command section that matches the cohort type makes bulking out your force much easier, and the special rules that the Tercio detachments bring with them also differentiate them from the base auxiliary detachments included in the main rulebook. The bonus that Cohort Doctrines give to tercios that match the Cohort type also give additional options and tools on how the army can play.

Another thing that really impresses me is how well the army is internally balanced against itself. Looking at each unit entry that has multiple weapon options (in particular the tanks and walkers), one can make an entirely valid argument for using any weapon, and units that share FOC slots each have a niche that they fill – it’s very difficult to find one unit or weapon option that is an auto-take over the others. Each has a use and a role, and a canny Solar Auxilia player can use this army list to really represent whatever style of mortal space troopers they wish to put on the table. The army overall feels very complete and well thought out, very impressive for an army that originally started as a Forge World sculptor’s personal side project back in the early days of the first edition of Heresy.

Cohort Doctrines

There are six cohort doctrines that can be used to differentiate your Solar Auxilia army in the Liber. They each provide a great way to lean into a certain playstyle with your Auxilia army.

Ultima Pattern Cohort: The cohort for the aspiring Napoleonics historical player. For when you want to drown your opponents in lasfire! This Cohort Doctrine allows one lasrifle section per phase to perform a reaction for one reaction point less (to a minimum of 0), and also allows you to take two infantry tercio auxiliary detachments for every command slot that unlocks them. Very cool and useful rule if you take lots of infantry, or if you want to have a bit more reaction economy in your list.

Solar Pattern Cohort: The old schoolers. These are the cohorts that are still organized like the Jovian Void Hoplites that were the basis for the first Solar Auxilia regiments. This Cohort Doctrine allows Solar Auxilia Vanguard units to not have to make disordered charges when disembarking from a Dracosan, and also allows you to take two Veletaris Tercio auxiliary detachments for every command slot that unlocks them. Congratulations, your Dracosans are now basically assault transports!

NotThatHenryC: It’s interesting how they’ve made this into the assault doctrine for the Auxilia. Veletarii with axes hit extremely hard now so giving them an assault transport is bold.

Reconnaissance Pattern Cohort: This is for the Sentinel lovers out there. This Cohort Doctrine allows Solar Auxilia Cavalry units to hold, control, and contest objectives, and move 5 inches when performing Evade reactions. It also allows you to take two Scout tercio auxiliary detachments for every command slot that unlocks them. So now your Sentinels can pull objectives from your opponents, and be a bit more agile while doing it!

Mechanized Pattern Cohorts: The treadhead cohort. For when you just need more tanks. This Cohort Doctrine allows Solar Auxilia non-flyer vehicles that do not move more than 4 inches, and do not Rush, to count as Stationary for any Heavy(x) weapons they may have. It also allows you to take two Armoured Tercio auxiliary detachments for every command slot that unlocks them. If the Ultima pattern Cohort is your infantry horde doctrine, this is the Armored Cavalry equivalent!

Siege Pattern Cohorts: For when you just can’t have enough Boom. This Cohort Doctrine improves the value of Pinning(X) on any Barrage weapons Solar Auxilia units with this doctrine carry by 1. It also allows you to take two Artillery Tercio auxiliary detachments for every command slot that unlocks them. A bit situational, but drastically improves the lethality of Basilisks and Medusas, if you like taking them.

 

Iron Pattern Cohorts: This is the cohort for those of you who also are interested in Mechanicum, but don’t want to commit to an entire army. This Cohort Doctrine allows you to take a special Auxiliary Detachment, the Iron Tercio, which consists of Castellax, Thallax, and Tech Priests, as part of your army, but your Lasrifle Sections now have Expendable(1), as the high command of the cohort values the automata over the lives of their basic troopers. Very flavorful, and could work well to represent a more traditional Skitarii force! 

Army-Specific Auxiliary Detachments

Liber Solar Auxilia includes six auxiliary detachments unique to the army, each of which provides a mix of units representing a specific type of formation. Each can be thought of similarly to a platoon in a real world army or in earlier iterations of 40k’s Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard, where the command unit provides leadership and buffs to its affiliated units.

The buffs provided by Command Sections can only be applied to units within their specific tercio type – if you take the units using standard auxiliary detachments, they do not get the benefit of command section buffs, unfortunately. The only exception to this is Lasrifle Sections; they come with the Infantry Tercio trait as part of their unit entry, so all Lasrifle Sections in an army can receive benefits from nearby Line Command Sections regardless of if they were taken in an Infantry Tercio or not. In addition, the Veletaris and Infantry Tercios include a Prime slot; this can be used to buff a unit with one of the Core Prime Traits, or if the Logistical Benefit Prime Trait is taken, a non-standard unit type can be taken and given that Tercio trait. This could possibly cause some interesting combinations of units and command section buffs.

Veletaris Tercio: Unlocked by a Veletaris Command Section. Consists of two Vanguard slots (one of which is Prime) that can only be filled by Veletaris Storm or Vanguard Sections, a Support Slot that can only be filled by Hermes Veletaris Squadrons, and two Heavy Transport slots.

Infantry Tercio: Unlocked by a Line Command Section. Consists of two Troops slots (one of which is Prime) that can only be filled by Lasrifle Sections, one Recon slot that can only be filled by Hermes Light Sentinel Squadrons, and two Heavy Transport Sections.

Artillery Tercio: Unlocked by Artillery Command Sections. Consists of three Support slots that can only be filled by Medusas, Basilisks, or Rapier Sections.

Scout Tercio: Unlocked by Hermes Command Sections. Consists of two Recon slots that can only be filled by Hermes Light Sentinel Squadrons, and one War Engine slot that can only be filled by Aethon Heavy Sentinel Squadrons.

Armour Tercio: Unlocked by Armoured Command Sections. Consists of three Armour slots, which can only be filled by Leman Russ Strike or Assault Tanks, or Malcador Heavy Tanks.

Iron Tercio: The only auxiliary detachment not unlocked by a Command Section; instead it can only be taken by Solar Auxilia armies that have taken the Iron Pattern Cohort Doctrine. This detachment allows you to take units from Liber Mechanicum, but instead of being taken as Allies, they are considered native parts of your army. This detachment consists of a Heavy Assault slot that can only be filled by Castellax Destructor Maniples, a Troops slot that can only be filled by a Tech Priest, and a Support slot that can only be filed by either a Castellax Battle Maniple or a Thallax Cohort. For more information on these units, take a look at our review of Liber Mechanicum here.

NotThatHenryC: The trouble with this is that the same robots, taken as Mechanicum allies instead, would be quite a bit better thanks to all the buffs the priests hand out. Expendable infantry are great, however. 

Solar Auxilia Advanced Reactions

The Solar Auxilia has four army-specific Advanced Reactions. Representing officer orders, they give a player some fun tactical tools to use against their opponents.

Form Ranks!: A callback to the Close Order rule of earlier editions, this move reaction allows an Auxilia unit to move up to their Initiative characteristic in order to end up in base to base contact with each other, and then granting the unit a 5+ Invulnerable save until the end of the turn. Can be very handy when you have a unit that you think is threatened by enemy movement, and will likely need to survive an oncoming shooting attack or charge, making your squishy mortals a good bit more resilient.

Fire Support!: One of the funner reactions in the book, this shooting reaction allows a unit being shot at to move up their Initiative characteristic away from enemy fire, and then a Barrage unit nearby can then immediately fire on the shooting enemy unit with its Barrage weapon. This works well with any of the Barrage units (Rapiers, Medusas, Basilisks) but can be terrifyingly good with one of the artillery tanks. Since reaction fire is counted as being from a stationary unit, when they fire at an enemy unit using this reaction they will be dropping Strength 10 pie plates on the foolish Tactical Squad that deigned to fire on your Lasrifle Section.

Fix Bayonets!: Turn your Lasrifle Sections into pike blocks! This assault reaction can only be used by units with a weapon with the bayonet trait, and allows all bayonet-equipped models to make an attack against a charging enemy unit before the primary combat is resolved. There is something hilarious and amazing about the thought of a bunch of humans presenting a wall of steel against a charging squad of World Eaters, even if it will likely not do much to stop them.

NotThatHenryC: This is cool but unfortunately those World Eaters probably won’t be deterred by a few S3 hits as they charge in. It’s tough to see when this would be better than Overwatch, except if the enemy makes contact with their set up move.

Smokescreen: Pop smoke and hide from the enemy. This shooting reaction is very straightforward, allowing a unit being shot to declare a smokescreen and gain a 5+ shrouded save against that shooting attack. Have a squad or vehicle that just needs to survive against enemy fire? Use this! 

Solar Auxilia Unique Gambit – Contemptuous Volley

If you have ever watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, there is a famous scene where a swordsman challenges Indy to a fight. The swordsman elaborately flourishes his blade, swinging it around in an attempt to intimidate Indy with his skill. Indy, unfazed, nonchalantly pulls out his revolver and shoots the swordsman instead. If you want to recreate this scene in your games of Horus Heresy, this is the gambit for you.

The gambit allows the controlling player to make a shooting attack with one of your model’s Pistol type weapons, immediately upon choosing the gambit. Being able to potentially wound an opponent before they can take a swing at your squishy mortal, or finish them off before they can finish you off, is both absolutely hilarious and also a great reflection of the practical nature of the Auxilia; fancy swordfights have no place in the Imperial Army’s elite!

Legiones Auxilia

First introduced last edition, the Legiones Auxilia represent the formations of auxiliaries directly bonded to the service of the Legiones Astartes; whether raised from the Legion’s homeworld, inducted as recognition of valuable service, or coerced, these cohorts often began to reflect the disposition and tactical thought of their affiliated Legions. In this edition, the Legiones Auxilia rules are used to represent these specific bonded Auxiliary cohorts, and can also be used to represent other notable cohorts of the Solar Auxilia that either bonded with certain Astartes legions or made a name for themselves during the Great Crusade and Heresy eras. These are represented by special reactions, each of which replaces one of the standard four listed above. These rules may only be used by Auxilia forces that are Primary Detachment forces, or if allies, can only be taken if the Primary Detachment they are allied to is the Legion in the specific rule’s description.

Calibanite Jaegers (Dark Angels)

Special Reaction: Bring It Down!

This reaction replaces the Fix Bayonets! Reaction. It allows a unit to react to charges made by Walker, Automata, Malefic, or Bulky units, by attacking with Detonation weapons prior to the charge being resolved. This is a straight upgrade to the Fix Bayonets rule, but can only be used against units that will likely kill the heck out of whatever poor Auxilia unit is using the reaction. It does mean you might get a couple of wounds in though with krak grenades against whatever big beastie is charging you, and if your squad happens to have melta bombs, you could possibly take down dreadnoughts on the charge before they can even take a swing at you!

Archite Palatines (Emperors Children)

Special Reaction: Redouble

This reaction replaces the Fire Support! Reaction. It allows units that successfully passed a Cool check to see if they were inflicted with a status to then make a move at their full movement characteristic. Very situational, but can come in handy to allow units to reposition or take as objective despite your opponent’s best efforts.

Seleucid Thorakites (Iron Warriors)

Special Reaction: Weather the Storm

This reaction replaces the Evade Reaction. If declared during the Morale phase, it allows units to ignore the effect of a failed Pinning, Suppressive, or Stun Check. Can be very lucrative considering the prevalence of statuses in the new edition!

Chogorian Limitanei (White Scars)

Special Reaction: Chosen Ground

This reaction replaces the Fire Support! Reaction. If declared during the Resolution sub-phase of the Assault phase (what a mouthful), it allows a unit to ignore a failed Panic check, and instead continue to hold an objective within 3 inches of a unit. This is very situational, but can be very useful if it denies an enemy Vanguard unit from scoring victory points on your behalf.

Fenrisian Kaerls (Space Wolves)

Special Reaction: Hunter’s Strike

This reaction replaces the Fire Support! Reaction. If declared during the Reserves phase, it allows a non-Bulky unit to charge an enemy unit that just entered the table from Reserves and is in line of sight of the unit. This one is very flavorful, but won’t do much – unless you string Veletaris storm sections along the table edges, you won’t be able to pull this one off too often.

Inwit Phalangites (Imperial Fists)

Special Reaction: Steadfast Bulwark

This reaction replaces the Reposition Reaction. If declared during the Shooting phase, it allows a non-Bulky unit that is in cover to increase their Toughness characteristic by 1 against enemy fire. A bit too situational to be used all the time, but considering that putting your troops in cover is a smart move in general, it may come in handy more often than originally thought.

Nostraman Damnatii (Night Lords)

Special Reaction: Combat Haze

This reaction replaces the Fix Bayonets! Reaction. Declared when a non-Bulky unit fails a Panic check due to shooting, the unit then can ignore the routed status from that check, and then gain Impact(A) and Heedless for the rest of the battle. This one is very cool, and is one of the few reactions that results in permanent rules changes for a unit, but is also very situational. An additional attack on the charge and the inability to take objectives sounds not too bad, until you remember that this was all triggered by a Panic check that meant some of your squishy mortals already were killed by enemy shooting, and you won’t be able to capitalize on it until your turn, after the enemy may have charged you. But in the few situations it can be pulled off (a large Veletaris squad with axes near an enemy squad comes to mind) it could have a cool result!

Saiphan Elevatii (Blood Angels)

Special Reaction: Counter-Assault

This reaction replaces the Reposition Reaction. If declared during the movement phase, it allows a non-Bulky unit to immediately charge an enemy unit that has moved within six inches of them. This one is straightforward and can potentially be very good, depending on the matchup of the enemy unit and Auxilia unit. Shutting down an enemy squad due to locking them in combat before they can shoot or charge is a valuable trick to have.

Medusan Chainshroud (Iron Hands)

Special Reaction: Cerebral Augments

This reaction replaces the Evade Reaction. If declared during the Morale sub-phase of the Shooting phase, or the Panic check sub-phase of the Assault phase (another mouthful),a non-Bulky unit can immediately ignore the result of failed Panic check, at the cost of D3 automatic wounds suffered. These wounds can only be saved by Invulnerable or Damage Mitigation saves. Callous, but it fits the nature of the Iron Hands, and can come in handy when you absolutely need to hold an objective despite enemy fire, or when it’s more beneficial to keep an enemy assault unit locked in combat than potentially leave it open to charge again next turn.

Nagrakal Thraexii (World Eaters)

Special Reaction: Butcher’s Due

This reaction replaces the Fire Support! Reaction. If declared during the Resolution check sub-phase of the Assault phase, a unit may make an immediate shooting attack against an enemy unit within line of sight that is falling back or disengaging from melee. This one is both fluffy and also extremely situational, requiring your Auxilia units to work alongside, and keep up with, dedicated assault units, in order to proc this reaction. The thought of a strung out volkite charger Veletaris Storm Section struggling to keep up with a squad of rampaging World Eaters or Ogryns, in order to shoot enemies as they break from the Astartes’ assault, is pretty amusing if nothing else! It is also very interesting to see one of the few synergy-based reactions in this list being used by the World Eaters bonded cohorts of all of them.

Ultramar High Guard (Ultramarines)

Special Reaction: Combined Arms

This reaction replaces the Reposition Reaction. If declared during the charge phase, a unit may make an immediate shooting attack against an enemy unit that is charging a friendly unit, and is in line of sight and within twelve inches of the reacting unit. In addition, if any wounds are inflicted on the target, the charge immediately becomes Disordered. This is great, and is very much like the Tercio reactions of last edition. Allowing units to effectively cover others with what is a buffed Overwatch reaction can be very useful, and really incentivizes pairing ranged and melee units to make the best use of this reaction. Two Veletaris squads, one with axes and the other with volkite, immediately come to mind as a grouping that could make use of this. It is also handy for paired units holding objectives against enemy Vanguard units.

Barbaran Ambaxtoi (Death Guard)

Special Reaction: Outlast

This reaction replaces the Reposition Reaction. If declared during the shooting phase, a non-Bulky unit that was forced to make a Panic check due to shooting can ignore that Panic check, and make a shooting attack with snap shots against a unit within line of sight of the reacting unit. This is also very good, combining an immediate status negation with a lighter version of Return Fire. The status negation alone would make this reaction useful, combining it with some sort of shooting attack makes it even better.

Prosperine Spireguard (Thousand Sons)

Special Reaction: Psy-Shock

This reaction replaces the Form Ranks! Reaction. If declared during the shooting phase, a non-Bulky unit that was forced to make a Panic check due to shooting can instead force a Warp Rupture from the Perils of the Warp table on both itself and the unit that shot it. At first, this sounds like a bad option, but it honestly could be extremely lucrative. Since the wounds are allocated as 13-WP, you would inflict on both the enemy unit and your own a whopping 7 wounds. This may likely wipe the squad you are reacting with, but you play mortals, and are likely playing against Astartes or Mech – seven wounds on them, even with saves, will likely kill off more points of models than you will lose.

Cthonian Headhunters (Sons of Horus)

Special Reaction: Warmaster’s Spite

This reaction replaces the Form Ranks! Reaction. When an enemy unit makes a Fall Back move, this reaction can be declared with it as the target. The reacting unit, and any other friendly Solar Auxilia units within twelve inches of the target unit, can then make a full movement in the direction of the target unit. This can be a low-key huge advantage; since Fall Back moves occur at the end of a turn, you can possibly get double moves out of your Auxilia units by moving them with this and then moving again in your own turn. Synergizing Vanguard and Line units together, you could also possibly pull off double tap moves where a Vanguard unit breaks an enemy unit off an objective, and then using this reaction, a nearby Line unit takes it, granting you Victory Points for both Vanguard and Line. This is a great reaction, one which is both very cool and very fluffy.

Colchisian Torquatii (Word Bearers)

Special Reaction: Undying Fanaticism

This reaction replaces the Evade Reaction. When the last model in a unit is removed as a casualty in the combat phase, this reaction can be declared. When declared, that model can make one additional attack with a weapon of the player’s choice before being removed. This can be nifty if being used on a last stand with a Legate or Captain with a Thunder Hammer, but otherwise might not find much use.

Proximan Sacramentii (Salamanders)

Special Reaction: Dutiful Endurance

This reaction replaces the Evade Reaction. If declared during the shooting phase, a unit being shot can declare this reaction and receive a 5+ Feel No Pain save, but at the expense of the unit being Pinned at the resolution of the shooting attack. This can have its uses in certain situations, but with statuses affecting units so much, there has to be a strong incentive to make the unit more survivable at the expense of being pinned.

Therion Velites (Raven Guard)

Special Reaction: Displacement

This reaction replaces the Form Ranks! Reaction. If declared during the charge phase, a unit being charged can declare this reaction then move up to its initiative characteristic in inches away from the charging unit, and can then make a volley attack with all of its weapons acting as if they have the Assault trait. This is very good – it lets you essentially try to move out of charge range of an enemy unit while also overwatching them at full Ballistic skill. If you can time this to be used with a charge bait unit, it can be very lucrative if you set up your charge/fire lanes right.

Sparatoi Vindicta (Alpha Legion)

Special Reaction: Diversion

This reaction replaces the Form Ranks! Reaction. If declared during the Shooting phase, and a Cool check is passed, a non-Bulky unit being shot can declare this reaction and have the shooting attacks declared against it instead be resolved against another friendly unit within twelve inches, as long as the other unit is within range and line of sight of the attacking unit. These attacks are resolved as snap shots; if the Cool check is failed, then the shooting attack is resolved against the reacting unit as normal. This reaction is great – even if there isn’t much of a use case for it in your games, it is so Alpha Legion it hurts. 10/10 for originality.

Units of Liber Solar Auxilia

High Command Units

The High Command and Command units (with the exception of the Armored Tercio Commander in a Leman Russ) of the Solar Auxilia are squishy, expensive and the linchpin of your armies. You will need to position them well, defend them and keep them on the board as long as possible. Losing their buffs isn’t catastrophic, but it will affect your scoring and positioning. In addition, a savvy opponent will do what they can to take them out quickly.

Legatine Command Section: The replacement unit for Legate Marshals and Lifeward Sections from second edition, this is your big boss high commander. Like in earlier editions of this army, the Legate Marshal that is now part of the unit can work as an Advanced Characteristics buff, if paired with a Command Vox. But with their statistics, and with being the only unit in the army that can take a paragon blade, they can hold their own in a melee if needed!

In addition, the Lifewards that make up the rest of the section are rock hard for mortal troops, sporting 3+ armor saves and an invulnerable save on top. This defensive profile means that the Lifewards make excellent ablative wounds for your Legate Marshal in all situations outside of challenges. They also have access to all weapons in the pistol and melee weapon wargear lists, allowing you to make a rather effective melee unit for bullying Astartes troop choices or smaller Mechanicum constructs, if that is your preference.

If this unit is taken in a Primary Detachment, the Legate Marshal’s Cohort Supreme Command rule grants the army an additional reaction point per turn. With the new reaction economy in this edition of the game, this makes the Legatine Command Section a strong contender for always-take in purely Solar Auxilia armies.

Command Units

Tactical Command Section: The Centurion equivalent to the Legatine Command Section, this pairs an Auxilia Captain with a squad of Companions. Like the Centurion in the Astartes lists, this unit has the Officer of the Line (2) rule, so you can unlock two auxiliary detachments every time you take one. However, this section only unlocks standard Auxiliary detachments, NOT the specialist ones (those can only be unlocked by the below specialist command sections).

NotThatHenryC: The specialist command units are generally better but this unit is a good way to unlock units that aren’t in the Tercios, like the Malcador Infernus or Charonite Ogryns.

The rest of the Command choices in the Liber are your specialist command units – think of them as Lieutenant equivalents, each of which can unlock a specific detachment that matches the command section type. They each also provide a buff to units within those detachments, creating a platoon system similar to older versions of the Imperial Guard army in 40k. If you prefer, you can also use them to unlock one standard auxiliary detachment from the main rulebook instead of their specific one.

Line Command Section: Your Infantry Tercio HQ. Unlocks an Infantry Tercio Auxiliary detachment if taken, two if taken in an Ultima Pattern Cohort army. Its Close Order rule boosts the Line(x) value of nearby Infantry Tercio units, making them that much better at taking, holding, and contesting objectives. One thing to point out is that Lasrifle Sections come with the Infantry Tercio rule as part of their profile, meaning that all Lasrifle Sections in an army can benefit from buffs or special rules for those formations even if not taken as part of those detachments.

Veletaris Command Section: The Veletaris Commander unit. Unlocks a Veletaris Tercio Auxiliary detachment if taken, two if taken in a Solar Pattern Cohort army. Its Hold the Line special rule grants a Feel no Pain save to nearby Veletaris Tercio units against Volley and Reaction attacks, giving them extra durability until they get stuck in with the enemy.

Hermes Command Section: Your recon officer unit, mounted on Hermes Sentinels. Unlocks a Scout Tercio Auxiliary detachment if taken, two if taken in a Reconnaissance Pattern Cohort army. Confers the Firestorm rule to any Scout Tercio unit within 18 inches, making your Scout Tercio units much more lethal when Volley Firing.

Artillery Command Section: Your Forward Observer. Unlocks an Artillery Tercio Auxiliary detachment if taken, two if taken in a Siege Pattern Cohort army. Its special rule further decreases the scatter of nearby Artillery Tercio units, bringing back the BS modifier to scatter to represent the more accurate firing of units near it.

Armoured Command Section: Want to take a Leman Russ as a Command unit? Now you Can! Unlocks an Armour Tercio Auxiliary detachment if taken, two if taken in a Mechanized Pattern Cohort army. Its special rule improves the self repair rolls of nearby Armour Tercio units. In a welcome change from the previous edition, the Armoured Command tank can now be equipped with any turret weapon available to Leman Russes; it is no longer stuck using just the battlecannon. The commander has an improved Ballistic Skill compared to the regular tanks, making all the turret weapon options for the Leman Russ even better. Higher BS can especially improve the output of non-Blast weapons, in particular the Vanquisher Cannon, Volkite Macro-Saker, Gravis Autocannon, and twin Lascannon.

Vanguard Units

Veletaris Storm Section: Largely unchanged from the previous edition, still the bedrock of the elite infantry formations of the Solar Auxilia. With Dracosans being able to transport 22 models regardless of armament, a squad of 20 with axes (or a mix of axes and volkite chargers) would be a viable linebreaker unit.

Veletaris Vanguard Section: With the increased utility of flame weapons this edition, this squad will be great as linebreakers or objective clearers. It is a bit of a heartbreak to see the option for rotor cannons (which was the standard option in the previous two editions) missing from the unit entry, but I would not be surprised to see that option return in the upcoming Legacies PDF or a Journal Tactica in the future.

Shock Assault Units

Charonite Ogryns: Bioshock Big Daddies in space! Largely unchanged from the previous edition, with the exception of a massive boost to leadership and the loss of the Death Frenzy rule. The big change, however, is to their weapons. With Charonite Claws dealing two damage, I can see Charonites becoming power armor hunters par excellence, and with Breaching(5+) they can mix it up with Terminator units as well. These big boys will go from “I’d love to take these if they weren’t resin” to “do you mind if I proxy these fifty 40k Ogryn”, so let’s hope a plastic kit is on the way.

Troops Units

Lasrifle Section: Your basic grunts. One difference from the previous edition is the return of blast chargers as a paid upgrade – the squad overall is cheaper at base than before, however. The Lasrifle, your key bit of kit, shoots twice at 30” when stationary, though only at S3. Upgrading them all to Blast-Chargers is pricey, but does up the strength and add rending and shred at close range. Veterans will notice that blast chargers lost the Strength 6 they had in previous editions, but the Rending and Shred does seem to math out to similar lethality against power armored opponents, and somewhat more lethality against 2+ saves. They are pretty basic, especially when compared against Astartes, but the army provides them with major buffs, and with their Line rule and the buffs available to that, they make excellent line holders and objective takers! Note that Lasrifle Sections come with the Infantry Tercio trait included in the base profile, meaning that all Lasrifle sections benefit from any special rules that affect Infantry Tercios, regardless of where they are taken in the army list.

Support Units

Basilisk Artillery Tank/Medusa Artillery Tank: The big guns of the Solar Auxilia, and the Imperial Guard that followed it. The Earthshaker cannon and Medusa Cannon have been improved from last edition – at first read you see the Strength 5 and not think much of it, but then you realize with the Ordnance rule that these guns are Strength 10 if the vehicle does not move. That is powerful – combined with a large ordnance template means that fire from these tanks will be absolutely terrifying.

The main difference between the two is range and status effects; the Earthshaker has much longer range, but weaker statuses (Breaching 6+ and Pinning 1). Meanwhile, the Medusa has a much shorter range (36 inches) but Breaches on a 5+ and has Pinning(2). This makes me think the Medusa is better in the assault gun role, following the infantry and just daring the enemy to trigger Fire Support reactions, while the Basilisk is better sitting back and lobbing shells across the table. And across the table next to it, be honest – that 240 inch range is NUTS.

Rapier Section: Everyone’ s favorite self-propelled heavy weapons platforms, the Rapiers still are rock-solid support units to your infantry. The Rapier Section rule also helps to get rid of the annoying targeting confusion one had to deal with in previous editions – now, shooting attacks must always target the gun first if possible, and melee attacks must always target the gunners first if possible. Makes tangling with these a lot less of a headache, for both the Auxilia player and their opponent! If taken with their stock Gravis Multi-Laser arrays, these are cheap suppression machines, pumping out a ton of firepower while pushing statuses on enemy units. Laser Destroyers are still top-tier anti-tank guns with their two Strength 10 D2 shots, and Frag Launchers are surprisingly reliable with the changes to Blast and Barrage weapons this edition.

Hermes Veletaris Squadron: The more elite flavor of tiny chicken walkers, the Hermes Veletaris are just as reliable little murder bots as they were in second edition. With the Veletaris Tercio special rules, they will work as great charge bait, or even as a good tarpit if you take enough of them – their saves and toughness make them much tougher than your average Auxiliary, and with Hold the Line from Veletaris Command Sections they can be even tougher! Being able to take up to six in a slot means you can pack a ton of firepower (literally, if you take them with heavy flamers) into your Veletaris Tercios.

War Engine Units

Aethon Heavy Sentinel Squadron: The big bruiser walkers that were also a new addition to the army in the last edition. Stats wise they are largely the same as before, but that is not a bad thing! These will provide some great mobile firepower to your army, and the different loadouts they can take will give you some solid versatility. Unlike most other units in the War Engines slot, Aethons can still be taken in Squadrons of up to three, allowing you to pack a lot of firepower into a single army list choice.

NotThatHenryC: A squad of these can unleash an awful lot of HK missiles, which are much more dangerous than before. They’re a real threat to enemy tanks.

Transport Units

Arvus Lighter: Ah yes, the flying brick we all know and love. The Arvus has made the move to 3.0 with few changes, outside of the major news of finally being able to be armed with a multi-laser! The little guy can finally shoot back at people! And with the new combat mission rules for Flyers, and its Flare Launchers special equipment, it will be perfect to hot drop in command sections or Veletaris sections wherever you want on the table. Just don’t expect it to shoot anything with it.

NotThatHenryC: The multi-laser is rear-facing and the flyer rules make it fairly unlikely there’ll be anyone in your rear arc. These are still great though. Consider having a lasrifle squad or two waiting to embark on these as a second wave to grab objectives later on.

Heavy Transport Units

Dracosan Armored Transport: The Dracosan has had a significant glow up from its previous iteration. A points drop relative to the last edition, and an additional point of side armor, along with two more Hull Points, means that any units it transports will get where they are going safe and sound. A flare shield will make it even tougher – being able to negate Armourbane with this piece of kit means your Dracosans will be extremely tough to kill before they get to their destination. The biggest change is its Demolisher Cannon upgrade – in addition to being cheaper than before, it also no longer reduces the Dracosan’s transport capacity! Now you can move full-sized Lasrifle and Veletaris sections across the board and still blow stuff up as well. Note: Despite its size, it does have the Light Transport rule, so no transporting Charonite Ogryns inside!

Recon Units

Hermes Light Sentinel Squadron: Lighter and faster than their Veletaris counterparts, the standard Hermes are solid skirmishers and harassers. Pairing them with the Firestorm rule granted by Hermes Command Sections will also make them pretty effective charge bait! Don’t sleep on the Hermes Grenade Launcher for these – they provide some great versatility, and with being able to take up to six Hermes in a single squadron, you put out a lot of firepower! And the stock multilasers have Suppresive(1), meaning these light units will be great for board control and shutting down enemy infantry.

Fast Attack Units

Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighter: Simplified from last edition, the Lightning now comes with Hellstrike missiles standard, but otherwise has no other optional upgrades. Lightnings will have some great use for Strike Mission combat assignments, and will also be great for Combat Air Patrol reactions since they come with Interceptor.

Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter: The old standby of the Aeronautica Imperialis, the Thunderbolt has not changed much from its previous iteration, other than losing the option to take missiles. However, with its heavier armor and fully centreline mounted weapons, it is purpose-built for the Strike Mission and Strafing Run Combat Assignments for Flyers, and is tough enough to survive return fire or the attentions of enemy interceptors.

Armour Units

Malcador Heavy Tank: The cavalry tank of the Solar Auxilia army list. The Malcador has also had an upgrade from last edition. It has had a significant points drop, and also now has a whopping seven hull points. Slightly faster than a Leman Russ, and coupled with its Independent Fire special rule, the Malcador will work as an excellent linebreaker, able to get where it needs to go and fire at multiple targets as needed while doing so. Note however, that Independent Fire is not Stable – you can fire all your weapons at multiple targets at full BS, but you do not gain any stationary bonuses while doing it! Unless you are playing a Mechanized Cohort, at least. And take the Flare Shield – with its faster speed and Independent Fire, it will likely be a target for your opponent.

Leman Russ Strike Tank: The workhorse tank of the army. Slightly slower than it previously was, the Strike Tank is a lot sturdier, with a 50% increase in HP. It keeps the same turret weapon loadout, with one notable change – the Vanquisher cannon now has a coaxial heavy stubber instead of an autocannon. All the weapons did have a refresh – the Vanquisher cannon is now a dedicated tank and monster killer, dealing 3 damage per shot, at Strength 10, 11 if the Leman Russ does not move. And the stock battlecannon has also been buffed, inflicting 2 Damage on any hit. The other weapons also have uses – the gravis autocannons deliver a flurry of breaching Damage 2 shots, and the dual lascannon trades the extra high strength of the Vanquisher cannon for increased anti-tank output. One notable omission is the Outflank rule; the Strike Tank no longer has that special rule. The most impressive change to me for the Strike Tank this edition is its weapons – there are no longer must-take and never-take turret weapon options; each has a specific role it is made for, and each has a totally viable use case for it to be taken!

Leman Russ Assault Tank: The Assault Tank has had some major upgrades this edition as well. Its price has been brought in line with the Strike Tank, avoiding the overpricing pitfall it had previously. Coming stock with a volkite macro-saker, which can absolutely drown an infantry unit in D2 Deflagrate shots, it is a solid bruiser. It can also take either a plasma destroyer or demolisher cannon, both of which have significantly increased utility with the new edition’s Blast rules. Like the Strike Tank, all three weapons options for the Assault tank have a use case, so a player can be comfortable taking whichever option they prefer most without feeling like they will be at a disadvantage. And with the fix to points pricing, taking these tanks wont feel like a handicap!

Malcador Infernus Special Weapons Tank: For when you just need to set everything on the battlefield on fire. The Infernus has had some big changes, getting a nearly 30% price drop and also being moved out of the Lord of War slot into Armour. Along with increased Hull Points, it can still take a flare shield to buff its survivability, but be aware, it hilariously explodes on a 3+! The Infernus cannon is still absolutely terrifying, using the giant Hellstorm template, and with Panic(2), it will roast anything in front of it. And with Heavy(AP) it will absolutely melt power armored marines!

Valdor Tank Destroyer: The Valdor has also had a price drop and a hull point increase in the new edition. With the new Ordnance rules, the Neutron Beam Laser can put out some horrendous firepower – if stationary, a shot from a Valdor will take out four hull points on an enemy vehicle. And with the Shock rule, it will cripple any target it doesn’t kill outright!

Lord of War Units

Stormhammer Super-Heavy Assault Tank: Not many changes for the Stormhammer, and thats not a bad thing. Still costing the same as it did in the previous edition, the Solar Auxilia-exclusive superheavy is still an absolute beast. Its Stormhammer cannon now only uses a 5 inch blast template, but it does a whopping 3 damage per hit! Combined with the Superheavy rules that always consider shooting as stationary, the amount of AP3 firepower this puts out will put some primordial fear in any power armored unit it faces. Another sleeper perk of the Stormhammer is the sheer amount of multi-lasers it packs; you can shut down enemy infantry all around the tank while its main guns go after hard targets and vehicles.

Solar Auxilia List Building with Lenoon

Lenoon: The biggest change to the Solar Auxilia, and the one that will likely take a little while to get your head around, is list construction. The Primary Detachment in the core rulebook is your basic unit list, but you’ll be working mainly with Auxiliary detachments where you can really get to work building your army as you’d like it.

Your Primary detachment is there for two things: High Command and Command slots. Each High Command gets you an Apex detachment, but these are less useful than in Marine armies. Command slots are where your army shines – for each Command slot taken (Veletaris, Line, Artillery, Hermes and Armoured), you can unlock a corresponding detachment with themed units. For example, taking a Line Command Section as a Command slot gets you the Infantry Tercio Auxiliary Detachment:

• Two Troops choices that may only be filled with Lasrifle Sections.
• One Recon Slot that may only be a Hermes Light Sentinel Squad.
• Two Heavy Transport Slots (Dracosans).
• One Prime Advantage.

If you’ve taken the Ultramar Cohort Doctrine, you’ll then also unlock another Infantry Tercio detachment. If you’d like a bit more flexibility to take things like Hermes Sentinels without buying a Command Squad, Aircraft, Ogryns, or you’d like to Air-mount all your infantry in Arvuses, you still have access to the rulebook Auxiliary detachments and the Tactical Command Section has Officer of the Line (2), allowing you to pick up a few more non-Tercio detachments for a single (pretty good!) Command unit.

What you must be aware of though is that taking units outside of the Tercio detachments does not grant them the Tercio trait. The Command section buffs only work on units with the relevant trait, and these are not baked into the army list – they’re granted by the Solar Auxilia specific detachments.

Let’s give an example:

Primary Detachment:
Command – Armoured Command Section

Command – Tactical Command Section

Auxiliary Sections:
Armoured Tercio – Unlocked by Armoured Command Section. Three Leman Russes

Armoured Support Auxiliary Detachment – Unlocked by Tactical Command Section. Four Leman Russes

Even though all the Russ units are the same, only the three in the Armour Tercio gain the Armour Tercio trait, giving them a 4+ auto repair when within 18 inches of the Armoured Command Section. The other four Russes get nothing!

The Command trait rules for each command section are restrictive enough that there’s no way to get those buffs on other units, even if you bring them in to Infantry and Veletaris detachments with Prime advantages. I’ll be honest here, I don’t like this – it’s easy to build around, and if you want to skew so badly into Leman Russes the example above is very simple to deal with, but it can leads to some feels bad moments. Getting mixed up between units that have the tercio rule and other, identical, units that don’t could in certain circumstances lead to game wins – or losses – and it could be a nightmare to keep track of. You can design this out with your own listbuilding, but it shouldn’t be an option in the first place.

Andrew_N’s Example 3000 Point List

The new list building mechanics provide a ton of opportunity to craft an army list that truly reflects the force you want to bring to the table. However, you are constrained by the tercio system – I could see the High Command Apex Detachment getting used a lot, and the army list can run out of command slots to unlock new detachments before running out of points. I knew I wanted to bring as much as I could from my current collection – plenty of my models are coming soon in Legacies, and we havent seen those rules at the time of this writing. So I used what I could to build a list the way I like to play the army; a bunch of mechanized Veletarii, backed up by a solid foot infantry base, and supported by heavy weapons and an armored squadron. First off, I picked a Solar Cohort, as I always have preferred to represent a more Veletaris-heavy force, and wanted to make it easier for me to take multiple Veletaris Sections. Then I got creative with the detachment selections.

In my Primary Detachment, I took a Legatine Command Section for the additional reaction per turn, and one each of Veletaris, Line, and Armoured Command Sections. I then took three Lasrifle Sections in the Troops slots; since they come with the Infantry Tercio trait as part of their base profile, they still could use the Line Command Section benefit without being in the specialist detachment. I used the Command Prime Slot to unlock Logistical Benefits, and take a Rapier Section as well in this detachment, for extra punch. I gave the Lasrifle Section in the Prime Slot the Combat Veterans trait, to represent the veterans of the Tercio. This also gave me the benefit of reducing the demand on my vox network and command sections, since this section would have characteristics equal to the command sections in most cases.

Since this is a Solar Cohort force, my Veletaris Command Section unlocked two Veletaris Tercios instead of the usual one. In the first, I took a large mixed Veletaris Storm Section (10 with volkite, 10 with axes) with the Combat Veterans Prime trait. I also took a Veletaris Vanguard section, and two Dracosans to be their rides. In the second Veletaris Tercio, I took two 10 man Storm Sections with Volkite Chargers, with the squad in the Prime Slot taking the Logistical Benefits trait so I could take a second Rapier Battery. These Storm Sections would be on foot; they will eventually get their Auroxes back once we get rules for them in the (at the time of writing) upcoming Legacies PDF.

My Armoured Command Section unlocked an Armoured Tercio. This was pretty straightforward – two Leman Russ Strike Tanks with Battle Cannons, and a Battle Cannon-equipped Malcador with all the trimmings. I then used my Line Infantry Command Section not to unlock an Infantry Tercio detachment, but a Heavy Support detachment instead. In here, I took a squadron of two Aethon Heavy Sentinels to round out the list.

Andrew_N’s Solar Auxilia List (2992 points)

Cohort Doctrine: Solar Cohort

PRIMARY DETACHMENT: Crusade Detachment

• High Command:
  • Legatine Command Section (255 pts)
    • Legate Marshal w/ Paragon Blade and Archaeotech Pistol, 9 Lifewards with Blast Chargers, Command Vox, Augury Scanner, and Cohort Vexilla, meltabombs

• Command:
  • Veletaris Command Section (140 pts)
    • First Prime and 9 Veletaris with Volkite Chargers, Command Vox, Augury Scanner, Auxilia Vexilla
      • Prime Benefit: Logistical Benefit (Support)

• • Line Command Section (135 pts)
    • Troops Master, 9 Veterans with Blast Chargers, Command Vox, Augury Scanner, Auxilia Vexilla
  • Armoured Command Section (205 pts)
    • Leman Russ with Vanquisher Cannon and coaxial heavy stubber, hull lascannon, pintle multilaser, searchlights, flare shield

• Troops:
  • Lasrifle Section (119 pts)
    • Auxilia Sergeant with laspistol and charnabal sabre, 19 Auxiliaries with Blast Chargers, Vox Interlock,Auxilia Vexilla
      • Prime Benefit: Combat Veterans: +1 Ld, Cl, Int, WP

• • Lasrifle Section (119 pts)
    • Auxilia Sergeant with laspistol and charnabal sabre, 19 Auxiliaries with Blast Chargers, Vox Interlock,Auxilia Vexilla
  • Lasrifle Section (129 pts)
    • Auxilia Sergeant with laspistol and power fist, 19 Auxiliaries with Blast Chargers, Vox Interlock,Auxilia Vexilla

• Support (Unlocked from Logistical Benefits):
  • Rapier Battery (165 pts)
    • 3 Rapiers with Laser Destroyers

AUXILIARY DETACHMENT: Veletaris Tercio

• Vanguard:
  • Veletaris Storm Section (210 pts): 
    • • Prime and 9 Veletaris with Storm Axes, 10 Veletarii with Volkite Chargers, Vox Interlock, Auxilia Vexilla
        • Prime Benefit: Combat Veterans: +1 Ld, Cl, Int, WP
  • Veletaris Storm Section (115 pts)
    • • Prime with hand flamer and charnabal tabar, 9 Veletaris with Heavy Flamers, Vox Interlock, Auxilia Vexilla

• Heavy Transport:
  • Dracosan Armoured Transport (200 pts)
    • 1 Dracosan with Demolisher Cannon, pintle multilaser, Searchlights, Flare Shield
  • Dracosan Armoured Transport (165 pts)
    • 1 Dracosan with Twin Lascannon, pintle multilaser. Searchlights, Flare Shield

AUXILIARY DETACHMENT: Veletaris Tercio

• Vanguard:
  • Veletaris Storm Section (100 pts)
    • Prime and 9 Veletaris with Volkite Chargers, Vox Interlock, Auxilia Vexilla
      • Prime Benefit: Logistical Benefits (Support)
  • Veletaris Storm Section (100 pts)
    • Prime and 9 Veletaris with Volkite Chargers, Vox Interlock, Auxilia Vexilla
• Support (Unlocked from Logistical Benefits):
  • Rapier Battery (100 pts)
    • 2 Rapiers with Quad Launchers

AUXILIARY DETACHMENT: Armoured Tercio

• Armour:
  • Leman Russ Strike Tank (155 pts)
    • Leman Russ Strike Tank with Battle Cannon, hull heavy bolter, pintle multilaser, searchlights
  • Leman Russ Strike Tank (155 pts)
    • Leman Russ Strike Tank with Battle Cannon, hull heavy bolter, pintle multilaser, searchlights
  • Malcador Heavy Tank (265)
    • Malcador Heavy Tank with Battle Cannon, Hull Demolisher Cannon, pintle multilaser, searchlights, flare shield

AUXILIARY DETACHMENT: Heavy Support

• War Engine:
  • Aethon Heavy Sentinel Squadron (160 pts)
    • 2 Aethon Heavy Sentinels with Melta Lances

TOTAL: 2992 points

Final Thoughts

If you have read this far, you A) Must like Solar Auxilia as much as I do, and B) You have excellent taste. Playing the “puny mortals” in a game meant to represent a civil war between both literal and figurative demigods takes a certain kind of crazy. The kind of crazy that believes in the weight of numbers, whether foot slogging infantry or tanks, but also wants a balance of both quality and quantity between the extremes of the Astartes legions and the Imperialis Militia. The army list presented in Liber Solar Auxilia is overall very well balanced, allowing a player to take the force they want to take on the table, only constrained by its rather restrictive Tercio structure and the amount of models a player needs to build and paint to play it. But you wont regret it!