Woehammer Take ‘Tale of Four Gamers’ into the world of Legion Imperialis with a special guest star!
We’re joined by Mattie from LItbashing for our new series of Tale of Four Gamers. Mattie is an incredibly talented hobbyist and I urge you to check out and subscribe to their YouTube channel, especially if you’re a fan of Legions Imperialis.
Rules
The rules of this ‘Tale’ are fairly simple, we all start with half of the starter set and build it up by 250pts every couple of months.
Legion Imperialis
Legion Imperialis is a small scale (ie tiny models) where you can: “Play out huge, cinematic games set in the Horus Heresy, where the full might of the Space Marine Legions clashed in world-shattering internecine conflict.”
it is the spiritual successor to Titan Legions, Space Marine and Epic 40k.
Solar Auxilia
When Peter told us he wanted to do a Tale of Four Gamers for Woehammer, I was happy to jump on board but the first decision was what to play. I love tiny models played over vast terrain (hence Warmaster), and so I suggested something under 10mm. Peter was kind enough to oblige and noted that he, Dave & I have unpainted starter sets for Legions Imperialis … which perfectly fit the bill. And when Mattie agreed to join us as our fourth gamer we were ready to go.
But what to paint. The starter set gave 2 options: Legions (Space Marines) or Solar Auxilia. I know Peter was going to do Space Marines, and I had already painted up mine as Blood Angels… but I needed something to spur me to start the Solar Auxilia. So here was that opportunity, and I volunteered to take the Solar Auxilia and paint them up.
Starter Set
The Legions Imperialis Starter Set comes crammed full of lots of toys.
And having decided to paint the Solar Auxilia I needed to decide on what colours to use.
Colour Scheme
With small models, I knew I wanted something simple, so I plan to use a very limited pallate for the models. The bases will be painted in the same way as my Blood Angels (Mechanicus Standard Grey, Balthasar Gold, Administratum Grey)… but how to paint the models?
The soldiers need to be painted on sprue to make it easier, so undercoat black (to hide any errors), and then heavy drybrush of Leadbelcher (to get the silver down). Colours would be provided by Balthasar Gold, Mephiston Red, and Game Colour White (because the Games Workshop whites are very chalky).
White and Red would be a challenge, but I want the army to stand out and be clearly visible when playing amongst terrain and so this fitted the bill perfectly.
Starting List
Solar Auxilia Sub-Cohort (580 Pts)
Formation Strength: 33
Break Point: 17
HQ: Legate Commander – 1 Base (16 Pts)
Core: Auxilia Lasrifle Tercio – 4 Bases (30 Pts)
– 4 Auxilia with Flamers (24 Pts)
Core: Auxilia Lasrifle Tercio – 6 Bases (65 Pts)
– 4 Ogryn Charonites (30 Pts)
Support: Veletaris Storm Section – 4 Bases (40 Pts)
Vanguard: Aethon Heavy Sentinels – 4 Bases (35 Pts)
Battle Tank: Leman Russ Strike Squadron – 4 Tanks (175 Pts)
Battle Tank: Malcador Tank Squadron – 2 Tanks (165 Pts)
Unlike the Space Marines, the Solar Auxilia portion of the box can fit into 1 Sub Cohort – with a Command model spare.
Buying a Box?
This is a permanent fixture in the Games Workshop catalogue now, but it can be a bit difficult to get at FLGS. But do ask at your local FLGS or buy the models you want with our affiliate link with Element Games.
Next Month
Army chosen, colour scheme ready, army list written, and box set bought – a good first month for Tale of Four Gamers. Next month I aim to have all this painted and be planning my next addition to the army.
— Declan and Eeyore
Imperial Fists
It took me quite a while to settle on an army I was happy with (as the others will attest to!) as I wanted an army that was aesthetically pleasing to me. I thought about a number of options, a homebrew Solar Auxilia group, Mechanicum, Alpha Legion, Iron Warriors… but eventually plumped for the Imperial Fists. I wanted something to stand out on the tabletop and painting yellow really appealed to me at this scale (yeah, I’m weird I know!).
It wouldn’t be the standard Imperial Fist scheme as I decided to have a little more black in there to break the scheme up a little more. So each marine would have a black backpack and their left pauldron in black as well. I’ve not decided on a battalion or company number yet, but I’m sure that’ll come to me in time.
Starting List
Imperial Fists Demi-Company (337 Pts)
Formation Strength: 24
Break Point: 12
HQ: Legion Command – 1 Base (25 Pts)
Core: Legion Tactical Detachment – 4 Bases (62 Pts)
– Assault Marines (12 Pts)
– Legion Terminators (15 Pts)
Core: Legion Tactical Detachment – 6 Bases (65 Pts)
– Plasma Gun Squads (15 Pts)
– Missile Launcher Squads (15 Pts)
Support: Legion Dreadnought Talon – 4 Bases (70 Pts)
Light Armour: Predator Tanks – 3 Tanks (115 Pts)
Battle Tank Detachment
Legion Sicaran Squadron – 2 Tanks (105 Pts)
Buying a Box
This is the Space Marine half of the Legions Imperialis Starter Set. It’s great value for money when you’re starting out, especially if you can split the box with a friend as there’s two roughly equal sized forces in the box. Ask at your local FLGS or our affiliate links with Element Games (£106.25), or Frontline Gaming ($178.50 USA). This is £125.00 RRP.
I’m a complete noob to Imperialis, though I did play Epic Space Marine, long, long ago. Back in those days, I had a Salamanders army, not because I had some great love for them. It was just the spray paint we had in the garage! Later, I expanded into Chaos, and they were all red for similar reasons.
Starting out in LI seems a bit daunting to me. The miniatures are very tiny for my ancient eyes, and I am pretty unfamiliar with the rules, too. I decided to start with Space Marines because I thought they had quite a fun looking range and just seemed quite cool.
I sold off the Solar Auxilia half to help fund more marines for later in the project, I realise I could have allies, but I fancy focusing on the Space Marines to start with.
What I have really struggled with is deciding which Space Marine faction to go for. Pete has chosen loyalists, so I decided I would go traitors to have some fun themed games in the future. Initially, I liked the idea of Alpha Legion, but it seemed that they might be a bit strong, and I wasn’t sure that they fit the way I wanted to play. I painted up some test models for Night Lords…… but found it hard to tell what they were at the small scale. I then thought about Iron Warriors, great adversaries for Pete’s Imperial Fists, but I baulked at the idea of painting teeny tiny hazard stripes.
So, looking back into the dim and distant past…. in third edition Warhammer 40000, I had a Word Bearer army (some pictured here rebased for Kill Team), and I have decided to recreate them in their Horus Heresy glory in LI scale.
Say what you like but the Word Bearers have some great character and great characters, and they are fantastic bad guys! All of my Word Bearers from that army were painted in the red associated with the Gal Vorbak in Horus Heresy, this recreation would be in the charcoal(ish?) grey but I intend to paint up some assault units in red and potentially do some minor conversions if I am feeling brave.
I have a lot to do for next month, I have ummed and aahed for quite some time, but now I have settled on a faction. I am feeling quite fired up for them !.
So, look out Pete, my Word Bearers are coming to save your soul!
