Alpha Legion: Rules 2 - Units

As I hinted last week, this week is about what units to use. Specifically, I'll be talking about units that strike me as fitting well with the overall infiltration/assassination theme of the army in terms of rules. These will all end up being modeled like Headhunters and other Alpha Legion marines, of course, but may use rules discussed below. 

Alpha Legion: Models 1 - Headhunters

Alpha Legion Headhunters are just the coolest. During the Great Crusade, the Alpha Legion pioneered the use of Seeker Squads, whose role was close-in assassination and that would pop up in the middle of a battle to kill enemy leadership targets. They were equipped with specialist ammunition and were chosen based on their skill as marksmen, not rank. The Alpha Legion took this concept a step further, naturally, and developed Headhunters who used even more extreme infiltration methods and whose targets were not limited to leadership, but included just about any actions that would cause chaotic conditions (or whatever furthered the Alpha Legion's goals), and who attempted all this without the enemy even knowing of their presence (at least not until it was too late). 

Alpha Legion Seeker Marines go to work.

Alpha Legion: Painting 1 - Legion Indigo

Let's talk Alpha Legion armor color. 

This old Index Astartes article shows two different ones: the purple and green scheme and the blue and green scheme. Seems like GW has gone for the blue and green scheme as the official Alpha Legion scheme in the CSM Codex. The old purple one doesn't seem to be very popular in general, but I see the blue and green around all the time.

Index Astartes figure showing pre- and post-Heresy schemes.

Alpha Legion: Background 1 - History

If you've heard of the Alpha Legion, you've no doubt heard they are secretive, duplicitous, and contradictory to the extreme. The Horus Heresy (HH) book series has done much to improve and expand on previous background material that merely stated, not showed, the tactics and methods the Alpha Legion use to achieve their goals. The HH books have also provided some inkling for the basis of the Alpha Legion's goals, while steering clear of stating anything explicitly (as well they should!). And as much as I like having the answers, keeping the Alpha Legion's goals a mystery fulfills the very practical purpose of letting fans of the game and story, like me, make up their own reasons, and therefore decide on the motivations and goals of their own cells of Alpha Legionnaires.

Alpha Legion: Rules 1 - Traits and Tactics

I started seriously planning for this Alpha Legion army during 7th edition, and I wanted an army that represented a group of Alpha Legion Headhunters, not a handful of marines and loads of cultists. I particularly like the rules in the Horus Heresy-era version of the game (commonly called "30k"), and I take my inspiration from one of the special Alpha Legion Rites of War, the "Headhunter Leviathal". This set of rules represents a small group of Alpha Legion elites conducting a false flag operation, and makes Headhunters troops. Headhunters have special ammunition, can infiltrate, and are decent in melee with their Rending power knives. This is the type of army I want to replicate in 40k: elite troops (though not strictly restricted to Headhunter-surrogates) that can deploy wherever they need to be. Their missions, infiltration, false flags, sabotage, and assassination, are conducted deep behind enemy lines.

Forge World Alpha Legion Headhunters models.

New Project

And that new project is: The Alpha Legion! 

When I started playing Warhammer 40k, I was immediately pulled into the story, the "fluff". Even when I started (~ mid 3rd edition), the stories about each faction, and the Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) especially, were many, mysterious, tragic, grim, and dark. Though I started playing the loyalist Blood Angels, I quickly learned about all of the original legions and their primarchs. One that didn't seem very well fleshed out or interesting, though, was the Alpha Legion. Sure, they were described as stealthy, unorthodox, and secretive, but it always seemed to boil down to "they were upset that all the other legions said they weren't good enough, so they joined Horus to prove they were the best" in the fluff, and "they have some marines and mostly cultists and Imperial Guard that they swayed to their side" in their rules. It seemed so simplistic and petty, and thus they never held much interest for me.

Then the Horus Heresy book series started, and the seventh book, "Legion", changed my opinion.

Copyright belongs to Games-Workshop.

OFCC Wrapup and Looking Ahead

It's been over a month now since I should have put up another post. To start, I have pictures of the completed Corvus Blackstar! I did manage to get this up to my painted and washed (though not highlighted) stage as the rest of the army for OFCC.

I also continued the lens technique and continued using blue for it for two reasons. First, blue was a shade not used prominently on other parts of the model, so I feel like it makes the lenses stand out. Second, it's a (very) subtle tie-in to the Adeptus Mechanicus parts of the army, which also have blue lenses.

Another visual tie-in to the Mechanicus part of the army is the same deep Khorne Red used for the stripes on the Blackstar tail and missile pods as well as the base color for the Robots and the Dunecrawlers.