Alpha Legion: Models 2 - Devastators/Havocs

I've written a lot about Headhunters since they are the inspiration for my Alpha Legion army. However, much as I would like it not to be true, in 40k an army of only "Headhunters", in the form of Sternguard, Noise Marines, and/or Chosen, will not do well. However, there were other units used by the Alpha Legion as infiltrators, saboteurs and assassins. Units tasked with such activities were all referred to as "Effrit", though this term most often referred to Headhunters. The term effrit comes from a kind of jinn, an ifrit, in Middle Eastern stories known for being intelligent, cunning, and ruthless.

Example depiction of an ifrit, or "effrit" in 40k (source).

One example of a unit specifically called out as Effrit in book 3 of the Forge World Horus Heresy are Destroyers. Destroyers were equipped with weaponry that only they and certain Mechanicum factions were allowed to use, forbidden to all others. This included radiological, biological, and alchemical weapons, such as rad missiles and phosphex bombs. Destroyers typically suffered the effects of the weapons they wielded, including cancers, pale skin, and lesions. They were often seen as dishonorable and disgraceful but a sometimes necessary evil in many legions. In the Alpha Legion, however, Destroyers were not shunned or looked down upon given the philosophy of the 20th that the ends justify the means. Since Destroyers are not a unit in the Space Marine or Chaos Space Marine books, they will be represented by Devastators or Havocs, or perhaps Deathwatch with suspensor-equipped heavy weapons when they get a real codex.

Alpha Legion: Painting 2 - Highlighting

In the past, the final stage of painting a model has been highlighting. It is a step that has necessarily come after all other layers are done. In the past, I have gotten out my finest detail brush and slowly put thin lines on the edges of my minis. It has worked with varying degrees of success.

Sometimes my highlighting has been good, like the stormraven (which I didn't actually finish highlighting) with nice thin lines. It helps that the model has lots of edges. The Deathwatch Space Wolf I consider decent, where the lines are clean, but thick, which doesn't really have the same enhancing effect I see with professional highlights but rather stands out on its own. Sometimes the lines are so thick that on the Kastelan I didn't even highlight all the edges as otherwise the highlight color would almost completely obscure the true color layer underneath.

With the Alpha Legion, I am trying something different.

Alpha Legion: Background 2 - Rumors, Lies, and Deception

+++ ACCESS: Heretic Astartes Legions
+++ //: CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT: VERMILLION
+++ <CREDENTIALS ENTERED> - Welcome Inquisitor...
+++ File: XX_Legion // Report: Covert Cell XX-71-HYDRA
+++ Author: Inquisitor Joruus Malkin
+++ Date: 997.M41

+++ FOR THE EYES OF LORD INQUISITOR ALLEUS VINKOR, IXANIAD SECTOR HIGH INQUISITOR, ORDO HERETICUS, ONLY +++

Imperial Alias designation: The Mobius Cadre
> Other aliases: The Abyssal Set, The Mandelbrot Host, The Omega Iteration

Operational area: Ultima Segmentum - 45% sightings
> When percent sightings adjusted against number of systems per segmentum, distribution is nearly uniform across the Imperium. Random attacks? Misdirection? More disturbing implications if this is just one group: multiple sub-cells with distributed bases of operation? Ultra-stable, ultra-reliable Warp travel?

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.