So with the announcement of the Saturnine box set GW have confirmed a new edition of Horus Heresy is coming. I loved HH 2.0 (for awhile before Old World released it was my go-to favorite system). I loved the crunchy mechanics, the blast templates, the vehicle facings, the huge degree of character personalization and the lore and flavor of all the armies. Was it perfect? Heck no - the game obviously had balance problems (cough dreds cough) but as long as you played “in the spirit of your opponent” it was great fun. I’ve got posts on here reminiscing about the best games of heresy played this last edition.

So…how am I feeling about the new edition? Well….mixed. First off - the models - the new box set looks pretty good. I like the YUGE pads on the Saturnine terminators (very over the top - in the best way) and the Mk II dudes look excellent. The giant massive huge dred is also quite cool - hopefully he’s fairly poseable (want to model him stepping on something). The Praetor in the Saturnine armor has divided some folks - but I think he looks quite cool. I’m whatever about the turret (those things dont really appeal to me). So overall - a winner that does make me want the box.

Now…new rules. So I am in the camp that did not feel that HH needed a radical redesign. 2.0 was good - just had some rough around the edges spots that needed polish (mostly - dreds were wayyyyyy too powerful). Also - I do not want to buy all the books again. Its annoying. Its expensive. The old books were pretty good. So they had better make the new rules worth it.

So far…cautiously leaning towards optimistic? I do quite like the extra complexity on the leadership profile (will help differentiate legions without needing to rely on special rules). Yeah its a bit more complexity but this is the kind of game where I want more crunch so I’m not too worried about it (this isnt a tournament ruleset),

Tactical Statuses I do really like - HH 2.0 sort of experimented with this with “pinning”. This sort of thing is common in historical games and HH has always felt like “future history”. I would prefer acrylic counters for these so they are less obtrusive on the table - I’m sure folks like Litko will have them made shortly after this comes out.

The new weapon profiles I think are the big winner and this DOES necessitate the annoying/expensive/groan-inducing new book requirement. The addition of a damage stat in particular is the big winner here and resolved the “wow my crazy antitank weapon only does 1 would to your contemptor but can easily blow up a Land Raider….”. I also like the initiative modifier on melee weapons.

The new challenge rules are certainly…something. Dont get me wrong, its very cool and oozes theme (challenges are after all the highlight of most of the heresy novels). I’m a tad concerned this will be a bit rough to learn but maybe just playing it several times will be enough - the gambits are a cool mechanic.

So far…I am cautiously optimistic. Buying new books sucks. No way around it. Hopefully though the new rules will make it worth it. I am probably going to use the new edition to start a traitor legion (I currently have Mechanicum and Ultramarines). Maybe Thousand Sons. We will see….