Cadia fell, and the Cadian Gate went from miserable to catastrophic fast. Life was already a grind against renegade raids.
Now the Traitors can move real fleets through the Eye of Terror whenever they feel like it. So somebody has to reinforce the line, especially with Forge World Agripinaa in Kravek Morne’s sights. That job lands on Thulia Ghuld, Archmagos Terminus of Mars. And if you wanted a subtle diplomat, you are in the wrong forge.
Thulia Ghuld: Ordo Reductor zealot and anti Cawl hardliner
Dominus level Tech Priests specialize, and Ghuld specializes in war. She is a veteran of the Ordo Reductor, the Adeptus Mechanicus subcult that venerates the Omnissiah as destruction made holy. Over centuries, she rebuilt herself into a towering engine of blessed steel and aging flesh. Moreover, she believes the Machine God made her the perfect instrument for efficient warfare.
Because of that, she openly scorns figures like Belisarius Cawl. In her eyes, diplomacy and experimentation are wasteful when heretics are still standing. Meanwhile, Cawl’s camp accuses her of valuing knowledge only when it helps explode more enemies. However, Ghuld would basically nod and call that optimization. If the Omnissiah did not want her slaughtering traitors and xenos, why make them so easy to kill?
Hastarii: heavy Skitarii gun platforms with a real price tag
Ghuld may be unpleasant company for her peers, yet the Skitarii love her. They treat her like Vox Dei, a living mouthpiece of the Machine God. And fittingly, her victories come backed by armoured legions crowned by heavy Hastarii infantry.
Hastarii sit inside Skitarii macro clades as frontline heavy firepower. They combine cyborg durability with weapons you would expect on bigger machines. Their right arms are replaced with gyroscopically stabilized gun mounts wired into their cortical circuits. Therefore, accuracy gets scary good. However, the tradeoff is brutal logistics, since they require advanced backpack generators that are heavy and hard to manufacture.
There are two variants. Hastarii Exterminators carry eradication casters that spray expanding cones of atomizing energy at close range. Hastarii Fusiliers wield neutron fusils that punch vehicles and scramble systems with precise shots. Both are lethal at their job, yet they are expensive and complex. So they are not thrown away casually.
Summary
This reveal sets up Thulia Ghuld as Mars’ no nonsense war priest for the post Cadia nightmare, with Agripinaa under threat. Moreover, it introduces the Hastarii as rare, costly Skitarii heavies built for precision brutality. So, expect aggressive, elite firepower paired with a commander who treats annihilation like sacred duty. Finally, Ghuld and her Hastarii are arriving in 40k alongside a new Defiler, Mutilators, and Iron Warriors, with more still teased for the next big expansion.
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