There is something brutally perfect about tiny tanks reenacting one of the Horus Heresy’s nastiest betrayals.
The next Legions Imperialis supplement, Journal Strategia: The Ruin of the Salamanders, dives straight into the killing fields of Isstvan V. You are not getting a gentle campaign book here, you are getting a focused slice of Dropsite Massacre misery. Additionally, it arrives hand in hand with new Saturnine Terminators, Dreadnoughts, and super heavy tanks. If you like Salamanders clinging on by their fingertips while everything burns around them, this is very much your thing.
A Focused Dive Into The Ignis Sector
This is the first Journal Strategia release after Liber Strategia, and the format is very deliberate. Instead of a broad overview, this book zooms into the Ignis Sector of Isstvan V. Here the Salamanders and their surviving allies are trying to claw a way out of Horus’ trap. Additionally, the narrative expands the first part of the Dropsite Massacre story with blow by blow accounts of the fighting. You get exacting force breakdowns for both sides, new maps, and art that locks in the feel of this brutal engagement. So it is part lore book, part scenario pack, and part eye candy for Heresy nerds.
Saturnine Plate, Dreadnoughts, And Super Heavy Friends
Rules wise, the big headline is the arrival of Saturnine units in Legions Imperialis. You get Detachments for Saturnine Command Squads, Saturnine Terminators, and Saturnine Dreadnoughts. These represent Vulkan’s elite retribution troops making their first major deployments. Additionally, even the most basic Saturnine Terminator Detachment is roughly twice as tough as normal Legion Terminators. That extra durability matters because the book also folds in serious firepower on the other side. You see Araknae weapons platforms and a line up of super heavy tanks like Fellblades, Glaives, Falchions, and the new Ascalon. Consequently, you are looking at proper heavy metal slugfests, not polite skirmishes.
The designers clearly knew people would want full “walking bunker” armies. So one of the three new Legiones Astartes Formations lets you field big blocks of Terminators and Dreadnoughts with Deep Strike. Additionally, that means you can drop a wall of Saturnine plate directly into the hottest part of the table. There are also rules for a Super heavy Spearhead that pushes concentrated super heavy armour. Meanwhile, the Aegis Defence Strongpoint formation leans into Araknae platforms and Tarantulas for terrifying static firebases.
Iconic Formations And The Crucible
On top of generic builds, the book adds Iconic Formations tied to specific factions. Saturnine Excubitor Cadres pack Vulkan’s armoured Terminators into Mastodon transports for an almost unstoppable frontal smash. Additionally, Iron Warriors players get Obliteration Centuries, which are heavy and super heavy tank groups designed to wreck both armour and morale. Solar Auxilia fans are not left out either. Their Proximan Sacramentii armour companies form Foehammer formations that ram Leman Russ and Malcador tanks straight into enemy lines. Consequently, when these tanks receive a Charge order, their grinding tracks become even nastier at point blank range.
To tie it all together, there is a new historical mission set in the Urgall Depression in an area named the Crucible. It recreates an Iron Warriors slaughter of Salamander forces on an almost featureless battlefield. Additionally, the attacker deploys between two defender zones, so you get a vicious two front grind. Both sides are simply trying to annihilate as much of the enemy as possible, which perfectly suits the heavy armoured Formations in the book.
Closing Thoughts – Tiny Tanks, Huge Tragedy
The Ruin of the Salamanders feels like a love letter to one of the Heresy’s most tragic loyalist legions, written in tank tracks and plasma fire. You get rich narrative about the Ignis Sector, hardened Saturnine elites, absurdly tough armoured walls, and a mission that encourages brutally direct play. Additionally, it arrives alongside the Saturnine Terminators and a quartet of new super heavy kits, so you can immediately build what you read. If you enjoy Legions Imperialis not just as a rules set but as a way to re stage key Heresy moments, this supplement looks like a very easy pre order.
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