This is something FW has played with in 40k too, and I really like the feel of it. Sure, Support Squads (think a tactical squad where everyone has traded their boltgun for a special weapon) and their ilk are troops, but they aren't valid compulsory troops. The only compulsory troop choices available to Legions are the Tactical Squad and the Assault Squad. Why the boltgun though? Don't squads get special weapons? Interestingly enough, no.
SENTINELS OF TERRA CAPTAIN FULL
Unless you're playing your legion specific rite, expect that many of your models will be equipped with boltguns, and that victory may very likely be decided by which player can take more full advantage of their bolters. This is reinforced by the costs and availability of those units which move more than 12" in the movement phase. The Horus Heresy does accommodate armored company playstyles (the rhino is still invaluable), but ultimately a significant amount of your points will end up tied up in power armor and terminator armor, making the boots on the ground much more of a focal point in this game than it feels in 40k at present. To this end, most legions have some amount of rules, wargear, or special units which are designed to mulch infantry. Furthermore, they typically pair well with our unique units (though not always) to try to give us an edge over rival legions. There's both advantages and disadvantages to these: they have built in balance mechanisms. Rites available to all armies cover everything from armored spearheads to drop insertion forces, so there's a lot of diversity even if you don't like your legion's unique Rite.Ĭircling back, there's those legion specifics again.
There's no formations, but these rites let different people play different facets and strengths of different legions and help make the game more interesting without encountering some of the damaging elements that we've encountered with formations and formation detachments in the last year or so, as they come loaded with both advantages and drawbacks. They offer you special rules or options, but at the cost of requiring certain elements, not the least of which is a model with the Master of the Legion special rule which is found on the Primarchs and Praetors (captains). Rites are akin to the variant detachments that were included in codices from 7th edition up until the Necron Codex release. We'll sidestep from our choice of legion only momentarily to break down rites of war. Your choice of legion also grants you access to two or more special units, a handful of characters (including a primarch), unique wargear for your characters and units, and finally, a legion specific Rite of War. Not just that, but our Legions' special rules are a bit more complex than those offered to Space Marines, though at the cost of ATSKNF (And They Shall Know No Fear) being replaced with the Legiones Astartes special rule (which behaves like Tau's Bonding Knife Ritual). It's quite easy to draw parallels between choosing a legion and taking pick of Space Marine chapter tactics, but let's remember, FW had published 30k before marines got their change in 6th edition.
SENTINELS OF TERRA CAPTAIN FREE
There's a few that aren't out yet, but there are provisions for them (your choice of free Furious Charge or Stubborn as a USR).