Beginners Army Lists

When starting out in the Horus Heresy, it's often good to build towards a basic list as your first milestone. This page contains example starter lists for each major faction in the Horus Heresy. The following lists don't have any specific points value attributed to them, but would be able to sit within the 1000-1500pts bracket.

## Cults & Militia

A good starter list for Cults & Militia should focus on large numbers of infantry supported by vehicles.

* Force Commander
* 2 Infantry Squads
* 0-2 Grenadier Squads
* 1-2 Ogryn Brute Squads
* 0-1 Sentinel Squadrons
* 1-2 Leman Russ Squadrons

The Force Commander is a solid HQ choice, and is the primary one you will be running as Cults & Militia. Able to take up to two Provenances of War, these let you specialise your army with additional rules or wargear options and is what allows you to really customize your force to your own tastes and needs.

Infantry and Grenadier Squads are the reliable backbone of the army, and allow you to hold objectives and neutralise more specialised targets respectively. Grenadiers have much more flexibility in terms of wargear loadouts than standard Infantry Squads, but at a greater points cost and smaller maximum unit size, so they can be built to whatever style and role you need them to perform.

Ogryn Brutes are a great anvil unit, and can be very hard to take down if you have the right Provenances of War selected. This gives you a solid core of advancing bodies, whilst your more mobile elements flank around them and try to pick off the enemy at their own pace.

Sentinels are a fast, mobile light walker that excel at harassment duties. Their accuracy isn't great, but their cost and speed is what makes them very attractive to field, as they can flank enemy forces and deliver heavy weapons fire from unexpected angles.

The Leman Russ is a reliable Heavy Support tank, and can deliver punishing salvos of Battle Cannon fire, or withering hails of Autocannon fire. Durable and able to hold down positions very easily, the Leman Russ is an incredibly effective battle tank.

## Daemons of the Ruinstorm

A good starter list for Daemons of the Ruinstorm should focus on the wide array of units they can field, and should take advantage of their aggressive playstyle.

* Daemon Lord or Greater Daemon
* 2-3 Lesser Daemon Squads
* 0-2 Possessed Squads
* 1-2 Daemon Brute Squads
* 0-1 Daemon Cavalry Squads
* 1-2 Greater Daemon Beasts

The Daemon Lord or Greater Daemon is one of the most effective HQ choices available to the Daemon player, and can be built as a close combat powerhouse or a psychic support monster. Include wings on the Daemon Lord and you have the flexibility of a flying monstrous creature at your fingertips.

The Lesser Daemons are excellent for holding units in position whilst the rest of your army moves into position. Durable and surprisingly effective at killing weaker units, these basic infantry are at their most effective when taken in maximum sized units.

Possessed Squads are the only Daemon unit that doesn't deploy via their portal rule, and as such are great for holding objectives in the backfield or drawing enemy fire, as they are 100% expendable and confer no victory points when killed.

the Daemon Brutes and Cavalry are excellent specialised units, focusing on durability and speed respectively. Brutes can be equipped as close combat bruisers, able to soak up vast amounts of damage whilst cavalry can be fitted to prey on weaker units thanks to their incredible mobility.

The Greater Daemon Beasts are pocket Behemoths, and can give you a flavour of how effective they can be at breaking through enemy lines and allowing the rest of your forces to flood through their lines.

## Legiones Astartes

A good starter list for the Legiones Astartes should focus on variety and flexibility; the main strengths that the faction has.

* Delegatus or Praetor
* 2 Tactical Squads
* 0-2 Rhinos
* 0-1 Veteran Squad
* 1 Terminator Squad
* 1 Contemptor Dreadnought
* 0-1 Predator Strike Tank

The Delegatus or Praetor are a good starting point for an HQ choice, as it allows you to take a Rite of War whilst also serving as your compulsory choice, and can be equipped for combat if you wish.

The Tactical Squads and their optional Rhinos are great for holding objectives, and they have the mobility and durability to be able to reliably achieve this.

The Veterans and Terminators are there to give you an indicator of how the elite units of the army function, as you can give the Veterans a wide array of wargear options, as well as their specialised tactics that they can select. Terminators are somewhat slow, but if you take a Dreadclaw for them or give them the ability to deep strike with the Orbital Assault Rite of War or a Warmonger, then they can get where they need to go very quickly.

***Please Note:** The Terminators can be swapped out for a Legion-specific unit if you want to specialise for your chosen Legion.*

The Contemptor Dreadnought is a solid choice, and can give you some very good anti-infantry or anti-armour, as well as demonstrate how walkers work.

The Predator is a very reliable Heavy Support choice, and can be fitted with a huge variety of weapons based on the purpose you want it to serve. Need armour removing, take a Magna Melta. If you need to clear hordes of elite infantry, take a Plasma Executioner. This makes the Predator a very versatile and effective beast to bring in a lot of games.

## Mechanicum

A good starter list for the Mechanicum should allow you to field a wide array of strange, esoteric units to truly capitalise on the crazy technology they can bring to bear.

* Archmagos
* 2 Tech Thrall Covenants
* 1-2 Thallax Cohorts
* 1 Castellax Maniple
* 0-1 Ursurax Cohort
* 0-1 Krios Venator

The Archmagos is a reliable HQ choice for the Mechanicum, and can be given a wide array of wargear upgrades as well as being specialised to perform a particular role. Depending on what Legio you are running, you can equip him as either a melee powerhouse, close-range support buff unit or a ranged oppressor.

Tech Thralls are one of the most effective troops choices in the Horus Heresy, as they are an absolute bargain at 100pts, bringing fearless 4+ save objective holding units to the table. For good objective play, look no further!

Thallax are a super flexible unit, and can show off the mobility that Jet Pack Infantry bring with them, as well as providing some decent ranged support and anti-armour capabilities. Essential for playing Ordo Reductor (as your only compulsory Troops choice) but incredibly useful for any other Legio.

Castellax are an absolute brick tank of a unit, and can take insane levels of punishment. Short of weapons with Instant Death, you'll need to invest a lot of anti-armour firepower to bring down a unit of 3 of these. Excellent choices in melee and ranged weapons make these guys a superb anvil unit for your army.

Ursurax are the melee equivalent of Thallax, and are excellent at the role; give them power fists and let them run straight through enemy units or armour. Superbly mobile and surprisingly durable, these guys rarely disappoint.

The Krios Venator is a really potent anti-armour tank, and can obliterate any armoured target it comes across without sacrificing mobility or durability.

## Questoris Knights

A good starter list for the Questoris Knights should focus on variety in terms of knight armour brought to bear, as well as knightly ranks given to them.

* 1 Lord Scion: Knight Lancer
* 2 Martials: Knight Paladin
* 0-1 Aucteller: Knight Acheron

The Lord Scion is a "cheap" yet effective HQ choice, and the Knight Lancer is a superb armour to take advantage of the rules and bonuses it gains. The increase Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill won't go amiss on this unit.

The Martials are your standard Troops choice, and the Knight Paladin is the most reliable "all-rounder" armour you can bring. Armed with a Rapid-Fire Battlecannon and optional carapace weaponry, the Paladin is an effective infantry and light armour killer, and an absolute monster in melee.

The Aucteller lets you bring a real feel of knightly honour to the table, and gives a melee-focused knight such as the Acheron the chance to shine by hunting down the enemy Warlord or other super heavies if they have them for additional victory points.

## Solar Auxilia

A good starting list for the Solar Auxilia should focus on powerful blocks of infantry and armour supported by high-strength artillery fire.

* 1 Marshal
* 2 Lasrifle Sections/Velataris Storm Sections
* 0-2 Dracosan Armoured Transports
* 1-2 Charonite Ogryn Squads
* 1-2 Leman Russ Squadrons
* 0-1 Artillery Tank Squadrons

The Marshal is the standard HQ choice for Solar Auxilia, and can be equipped (albeit expensively) with wargear and weaponry that will make even a Legiones Astartes Praetor have a moments pause before willingly engaging them.

The Lasrifle Sections are the bulk of the force, and are essential for taking Tercios; these function in a similar way to Infantry Platoons in the old Imperial Guard codex, where you need 1-3 units per Tercio, and the compulsory squad in these must be Lasrifles or Velataris Storm Sections. Both are effective, just depending on whether you want cheaper Lasrifles, or Volkite Chargers (or even Power Axes).

Dracosan Armoured Transports are perfect for ferrying your infantry around the battlefield, and can even be fitted with Demolisher Cannons for close-in fire support (at the cost of halving its transport capacity).

Charonite Ogryns are a brutal unit, capable of taking a lot of punishment and absolutely eviscerating infantry units in return. Even elite melee units need to be careful when engaging these brutes in combat.

Leman Russ Squadrons are the mainstay of the Solar Auxilia, and can be fielded with a huge array of weapon choices, affecting whether they are a Fast Attack choice with Outflank or a Heavy Support choice instead. Lots of flexibility and choices to be made with these units.

Artillery Tank Squadrons can be fitted with a wide arsenal or artillery weapons, which can be tailored to fight infantry, armour or a bit of both. You absolutely want at least one unit of these in every army, as they are the hammer that will drop down on your opponent whilst your other infantry and armour manoeuvre them into position.

1. ↑ Credit: Tyrant of Badab