Goonhammer’s Guide to the Horus Heresy – Background, Hobby, and Tactics

The Horus Heresy is a time of great conflict in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, pitting brother against brother and the legions of space marines against each other as the Emperor’s dream of a unified human empire are brought crashing down by Horus’ ambitions. The second edition of the Horus Heresy is here, and we’re refreshing all our content to reflect the new rules. Check back regularly as we explore this edition.

General Articles

• Goonhammer Approved: Horus Heresy Mission Pack 2023
• Horus Heresy: Finding your Loyalist Background
• Horus Heresy: Building and Expanding Your Age of Darkness Boxset (Loyalist Version)
• Horus Heresy: Building and Expanding Your Age of Darkness Boxset (Traitors Version)
• Horus Heresy: Building Militia and Cults
• Horus Heresy: Zone Mortalis
• Hammer of Math: The basics of Horus Heresy
• Ruleshammer Horus Heresy: Q&A Aug 2022
• Ruleshammer Horus Heresy: Shooting Reactions
• Lore Explainer: The Emperor
• Whose Legion is it Anyways?
• Fury of the Ancients in Narrative Play

Tactica

• Horus Heresy Tactica: Deployment
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Core Reactions
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Advanced Reactions
• Horus Heresy Tactica: List Building part one
• Horus Heresy Tactica: List Building part two
• Horus Heresy Tactica: List Building part three
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Pinning
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Core Psychic Disciplines
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Assaults part one – Charges
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Assaults part two – Fight
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Assaults part three – Challenges
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Legion Dreadnoughts
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Transports
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Hidden Gems
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Volkite
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Allies
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Legiones Decurion
• Fix Bayonets! Tactical Marine Melee Weapons Analysis
• Horus Heresy Tactica: Tackling Legion Dreadnoughts Redux

Content Reviews

• The Horus Heresy Second Edition – Core Rules Review
• Liber Astartes: The Goonhammer Review
• Liber Hereticus: The Goonhammer Review
• Liber Mechanicum: The Goonhammer Review
• Liber Imperium Review: Legio Custodes
• Liber Imperium Review: Sisters of Silence
• Liber Imperium Review: Solar Auxilia
• Liber Imperium Review: Divisio Assassinorum
• The Imperialis Militia: the Goonhammer Hot Take
• The Siege of Cthonia Supplement Review
• Horus Heresy Exemplary Battles: The Battle of Trisolian
• Horus Heresy Exemplary Battles: The Scouring of Gilden’s Star
• Horus Heresy Exemplary Battles: The Axandria IV Incident
• Horus Heresy Exemplary Battles: Visions in the Flames
• Horus Heresy Exemplary Battles: Death of Canopus
• Horus Heresy Hot Take: Legacy and Exemplary Unit PDFs Jul 2022
• Horus Heresy Hot Take: FAQs and Legacy Update Sept 2022
• Horus Heresy Hot Take: FAQs Dec 2022
• Exemplary Battles of the Age of Darkness: Volume One
• Horus Heresy Hot Take: FAQs Dec 2023
• End and the Death, Part one
• End and the Death, Part two
• End and the Death, Part three
• The End the Death (of End and the Death Reviews)
• Hot Take: Aethon Heavy Sentinel
• Campaigns in the Age of Darkness: The Battle for Beta-Garmon

Units of the Adeptus Astartes

• Rites of War
• Rites of War (superceded by the above)
• HQ
• Elites
• Troops
• Fast Attack
• Heavy Support
• Lords of War
• Space Marine Inductii

Faction Overviews

The below articles are deep dives on each Space Marine legion and other factions – their lore, their strengths and their weaknesses. We’re still in the process of updating some of these from 1.0, which are marked in Italics – for now we’re keeping them here, as their fluff and flavour may interest new players looking to choose a legion.

• Faction Focus – Ruinstorm Demons
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview: The Dark Angels
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Emperor’s Children
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Iron Warriors
• The Horus Heresy Legion Overview – The White Scars
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Space Wolves
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Imperial Fists
• The Horus Heresy Legion Overview – the Night Lords
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Blood Angels
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Iron Hands
• The Horus Heresy Legion Overview: The World Eaters
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Word Bearers
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Ultramarines
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Death Guard
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Sons of Horus
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Raven Guard
• The Horus Heresy – Legion Overview – The Thousand Sons
• The Horus Heresy Legion Overview – The Salamanders
• The Horus Heresy Legion Overview – The Alpha Legion

Hobby Content

• Hobby Heresy: Kitbashing Axe Praetors
• How to Paint Everything: Infantry Legion Heraldry of the Horus Heresy
• How to Paint Everything, Video Edition: Sons of Horus and Imperial Fists
• How to Paint Everything: Iron Warriors
• How to Paint Everything: White Scars
• How to Paint Everything: Ultramarines
• How To Paint Everything: Thousand Sons
  • Rob’s method
  • Colin’s method
• How to Paint Everything: Salamanders
• How to Paint Everything: Raven Guard
• How to Paint Everything: Imperial Fists
• How to Paint Everything: Blood Angels
• How to Paint Everything: Perturabo
• How to Paint Everything: Lion’El Johnson
• How to Paint Everything: Horus Lupercal
• How to Paint Everything: Roboute Guilliman
• How to Build Everything: Deimos Rhino

Model Reviews

• Model Review: Dominion Zephon
• Model Review: Fafnir Rann
• Model Review Round Table: MKVI “Corvus” Marines
• Model Review Round Table: Horus Heresy Armor
• Model Review: Horus Heresy Characters
• Model Review: Deimos Pattern Predator
• Model Review: Proteus Pattern Land Raider
• Model Review: Scorpius Missile Tank
• Model Review: Horus Ascended
• Model Review: Sky Hunter Jetbikes
• Model Review: Cerebus Tank Destroyer
• Model Review: Sicaran Venator
• Model Review: Vindicator Siege Tank
• Model Review: Cerastus Knight Lancer
• Model Review: Cerastus Knight Acheron and Castigator
• Model Review: Plastic Mk3 Space Marines
• Model Review: Aethon Heavy Sentinel
• Model Review: Plastic Solar Auxilia
• Model Review: Solar Auxilia Leman Russ
• Model Review: Solar Auxilia Dracosan
• Model Review: Solar Auxilia Malcador

Events and trip reports

• Goonhammer Open 2022: The Siege of Vandia part one
• Goonhammer Open 2022: The Siege of Vandia part two
• Horus Heresy No Retreat III Trip Report
• Soggy’s Heresy trip report of Warhammerfest 2023
• Bair’s Heresy trip report of Warhammerfest 2023
• Lenoon’s Goonhammer Open Trip Report: Friendship is Heresy

Comedy Articles

• Your Legion Sucks, Part 1
• Your Legion Sucks, Part 2
• Your Legion Sucks, Part 3
• Your Legion Sucks, Part 4