Alpha Legion: Rules 4 - Warlord Trait

The idea of singling out one model as the leader of my band of ruthless infiltrators, saboteurs, and assassins makes me slightly uncomfortable. They are supposed to be faceless and nameless, acting as a single unit, with no ability to break the line of command. In 8th edition however, as in editions before it, one model must be nominated to be the warlord since there are objectives opponents can score for such things. Plus, they get extra abilities, so a warlord I will choose.

CODEX: HERETIC ASTARTES

The logical place to start is in Codex: Heretic Astartes since it has the best Alpha Legion warlord trait: I Am Alpharius. I may not be very enthusiastic about the AL relic, but this warlord trait that passes itself on when your Warlord dies (and prevents opponents from getting the victory point for it) until all your characters are dead is just gold. I'm not sure it's the most effective thing, but theme-wise it is perfect!

In terms of effectiveness, I Am Alpharius mostly relies on having a bunch of characters in your army, and the generic Heretic Astartes warlord traits. Flames of Spite seems to be decent, especially with the Blade of the Hydra relic since it will generate more attacks, though not that many more. Hatred Incarnate and Lord of Terror also seem ok just in terms of effectiveness. Bring a high-strength melee weapon for Hatred Incarnate, and pair Lord of Terror with Raptors.

The two Warlord Traits that go with the Legion Traits I am considering for my army don't seem very good to me at all. First Among Traitors only makes the very situational Death to the False Emperor ability better, and the Night Haunter's Curse gives only one of the listed re-rolls per round. I'd rather just have the Salamanders Chapter Tactic, though fluff-wise this could represent the Alpha Legion warlord's pre-planning and prediction acumen.

CODEX: ADEPTUS ASTARTES

The Raven Guard trait, Silent Stalker, is neat since it can represent an assassin's stalking skills, or even the use of cameleoline or a falsehood. The Adept of the Codex seems useful, especially for the armies I am building since they are typically low on CP, though this warlord trait provides no extra help. Fluff-wise, the Ultramarines aren't the only masters of tactics and strategy! The final trait for a Chapter Tactic I may use is Anvil of Strength. Though the Salamander's Chapter Tactic has grown on me, increasing my warlord's strength in a primarily shooting army doesn't appear. Plus, not very Alpha Legion.

Storm of Fire seems like the frontrunner among the generic Space Marines traits. Even though the increase is only on a roll of 6+, getting better AP is generally great and only less effective against armies that have invulnerable saves everywhere like Thousand Sons. Could represent the warlord feeding targeting data to nearby troops, acting as an extension of their senses. Champion of Humanity is a very fitting trait to my mind, the Alpha Legion character acting as an assassin and hunting down enemy characters. In a shooting-focused army though, and in general, less useful than other traits. Finally, Rites of War seems like a good choice for a small, elite army where losing a single model hurts. However, most of the time morale checks won't be an issue since I will run multiple small units. Honorable mention goes to Angel of Death, which could be stacked with Reivers' Terror Troops ability, but isn't as good as having your whole army able to stack up -1 to Ld light Night Lords.

I Am Alpharius obviously comes out on top, with Flames of Spite being the normal Warlord Trait choice used with IAA. For Space Marine lists, Storm of Fire looks like a good option, and Adept of the Codex and Silent Stalker being good backups for when extra AP won't matter much.