Legions Imperialis: Solar Auxilia Rules Preview – The Mighty Army Of Mankind
The Legions of Space Marines weren’t the only ones fighting in the Horus Heresy. Time to take a closer look at the Solar Auxilia!
While the Space Marines were off taking new territory during the Great Crusade they weren’t alone in their conquest. The Solar Auxilia was there to help along with the rest of the massive armies of the Excertus Imperialis. When the Horus Heresy broke out they also had to make a choice as to which side they would fight on. Today, we’re getting a look at the rules for their army during this era in Legions Imperialis!
“Sent to the battlefront as mighty formations known as Cohorts, a Solar Auxilia force is a mighty military behemoth consisting of everything needed to wage war from gigantic fleet voidships to mobile crew-served infantry support weapons. Each Cohort is further divided into Sub-Cohorts which are assigned to particular battles, and in Legions Imperialis this is often the force at your command.”
Solar Auxilia Special Rules
The first thing to know about the Solar Auxilia (other than the fact they aren’t all genetically modified superhumans) is that they rely on a strict Chain of Command. You’ll need to keep your Command Units in range to dish out orders to your other units if you want them to do anything besides advance!
That said, the Solar Auxilia do benefit from fighting close together as evidenced by Close Formation Fighting:
That bonus CAF might not seem like much but it really will add up. Weight of numbers is on their side — use them!
Cohorts of the Solar Auxilia
The Solar Auxilia has a few different options for their Formation Organization. First up we have the infantry heavy Solar Auxilia Sub-Cohort:
This one really focuses on the core of “elite yet alarmingly expendable Lasrifle Tercios” in the force. They are great for holding objectives which is paramount for winning games. This Sub-Cohort allows you to fill out those ranks with lots of supporting units to add some specialization to the line.
The Solar Auxilia Armoured Company is another option and it’s the one to choose if you’re looking for a wall of metal.
Send in the tanks with this option and make sure you get those Malcadors and Leman Russ Squadrons on the board.
“You’ll fill your Battle Tank Detachment slots with either Malcador or Leman Russ Squadrons, the latter of which can contain up to 10 vehicles. Take the Vanquisher variant of the Leman Russ and you’ll get the Armourbane trait on its shooting attacks, which forces rerolls for successful saving throws made by Vehicles, Super heavies, Knights, and Titans. “
Tank Stats
Speaking of tanks, we’ve also got a closer look at some of the tank stats for the Leman Russ:
The different variants do have their own roles to fill. Keep that in mind when choosing loadouts as Detachments generally have to fire at the same targets.
Here’s a look at the Super-Heavy Tank Squadron as well. I’m wondering why this doesn’t just say “Baneblade” Super-Heavy Tank Squadron. Probably because this covers both the Baneblade and the Hellhammers. In either case, the Super-Heavy Tank Squadrons bring a lot of pain and armor to the tabletop. I also like that you do get a slight discount for adding more tanks to the Detachment, too.
We’re looking forward to seeing more from the might of the Solar Auxilia army. It’s going to need to bring the combined arms of all it’s unit options to ensure victory on the tabletop.
What do you think of the Solar Auxilia’s rules so far?
