Age of Darkness Starter Series Pt 14: Iron Hands

In this ongoing series we present an accessible and thematic starting list for each of the 18 Space Marine Legions. Each list utilizes the Age of Darkness starter set as a foundation from which to build a 2,000 point list using as few additional components as possible from readily available official plastic kits.

To build this force yourself you’ll need:
1 Age of Darkness Starter Set

Do you lose your head over the idea of playing some of the toughest space marines in the game? Then boy are the Iron Hands the legion for you! The indomitable X Legion is one of the most iconic armies to play in the Horus Heresy. The death of their primarch on Istvaan V is one of the pivotal moments that kicked off the civil war and the survivors of that massacre were cast far and wide across the galaxy. All of them sought revenge on their betrayers, a path that led some down the darkest paths of heresy. The Iron Hands are an appealing legion who can be played as staunch loyalists, demented heretics, or anything in between.

The Iron Hands offer one of the easiest armies for a new player. Thanks to the many upgrades available in their Liber Astartes armory it’s simple to buff the units included in the Age of Darkness set to 2,000 points and have a playable army right out of the box! The inherent buff from Medusa’s Scales is one of the strongest in the game, in my opinion. Any ranged attacks against them are reduced by -1 Strength, meaning the most common weapon in the game (the boltgun) goes from a 4+ to wound to a 5+! That may not sound like much but given how hard it already is to kill a basic space marine this makes the Iron Hands just tough as nails. The same buff gives your vehicles an innate (and modifiable!) 6+ It Will Not Die, which means even your vehicles are hard to kill. These kind of passive toughness bonuses are really very strong in this game, no matter what your opponent plays.

The core of this force is two blocks of twenty tactical marines with all the trimmings; vexilia, augury scanners, and voxes who are going to be har to move off objectives. Since the Rite of War here is Pride of the Legion your cataphractii terminators also gain Line making them potent objective holders. Their dedicated transport, the Spartan is upgraded with a flare shield and the Armatus Necrotechnika ability, giving it a chance to heal itself when infantry models within 6″ of it die, whether they be friend of foe. Though the Leadership penalty applied to units nearby does effect friendly troops, so beware of your pet soul eating tank! A dreadnought helps add some heavy hitting ranged attacks to this list, but is can more than hold its own in close combat as necessary.

The praetor has the warlord trait From Hel’s Heart granting him a savage final reprisal if he’s killed and he makes a fine addition to your terminator squad while the Centurion champion will attach nicely to one of your Tactical squads making them surprisingly hard hitting.

This is an army that’s best at shooting it out and decimating an enemy at mid-range before finishing off the survivors with a devastating charge. Building this army out to a full three thousand points can be done in a number of ways but I’d recommend taking a look at the hard-as-nails Medusan Immortals and probably some more heavy hitting vehicles.

++ 1. Crusade Force Organisation Chart (LA – X: Iron Hands) [1,999Pts] ++

Allegiance: Loyalist

X: Iron Hands

Rite of War: Pride Of The Legion

+ HQ: [352Pts] +

Centurion [122Pts]
. Champion [87Pts]: Artificer Armour, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Meltabombs [10Pts], Refractor Field
. . Power Weapon [15Pts]: Power Sword
. . Volkite Serpenta [2Pts]
. Champion [35Pts]: Paragon Blade

Praetor [230Pts]: From Hel’s Heart (Loyalist only), Warlord
. Iron-Father [230Pts]: Artificer Armour, Frag Grenades, Iron Halo, Krak Grenades, Master of the Legion, Master-craft one weapon [10Pts]
. . Disintegrator Pistol [20Pts]
. . Iron-Father [65Pts]: Cyber-Familiar
. . . Machinator Array: Flamer, Meltagun
. . Power Weapon [15Pts]: Power Axe

+ Elites: [210Pts] +

Contemptor Dreadnought Talon [210Pts]
. Contemptor Dreadnought [210Pts]: Atomantic Deflector, Gravis Lascannon [20Pts], Gravis Power Fist with in-built ranged weapon, Havoc Launcher [10Pts], Heavy Flamer [5Pts]

+ Troops: [1,437Pts] +

Tactical Squad [251Pts]: Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Power Armour
. Legion Tactical Sergeant [15Pts]: Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Power Armour, Power Fist [15Pts]
. 16x Legionary [160Pts]: 16x Bolt Pistol, 16x Bolter
. Legionary w/ Options: [22Pts]: Augury Scanner [10Pts], Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Chain Bayonet [2Pts]
. Legionary w/ Options: [22Pts]: Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Chain Bayonet [2Pts], Legion Vexilla [10Pts]
. Legionary w/ Options: [22Pts]: Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Chain Bayonet [2Pts], Nuncio-Vox [10Pts]

Terminator Cataphractii Squad [935Pts]: Augury Scanner [10Pts], Cataphractii Terminator Armour, Pride of the Legion Compulsory Troops
. Cataphractii [40Pts]: Combi-Bolter, Power Fist [10Pts]
. Cataphractii [45Pts]: Chainfist [15Pts], Combi-Bolter
. Cataphractii [40Pts]: Combi-Bolter, Power Fist [10Pts]
. Cataphractii [45Pts]: Chainfist [15Pts], Combi-Bolter
. Cataphractii [30Pts]: Combi-Bolter
. . Power Weapon: Power Sword
. Cataphractii [30Pts]: Combi-Bolter
. . Power Weapon: Power Sword
. Cataphractii [30Pts]: Combi-Bolter
. . Power Weapon: Power Sword
. Cataphractii Sergeant [20Pts]: Chainfist [15Pts], Combi-Bolter, Grenade Harness [5Pts]
. Cataphractii w/Heavy Weapon (1 in 5) [50Pts]: Chainfist [15Pts], Heavy Flamer [5Pts]
. Cataphractii w/Heavy Weapon (1 in 5) [45Pts]: Heavy Flamer [5Pts], Power Fist [10Pts]
. Land Raider Spartan [495Pts]
. . Land Raider Spartan [495Pts]: 2x Lascannon Destroyer, Armatus Necrotechnika [50Pts], Blessed Auto-simulacra [10Pts], Flare Shield [50Pts], Hull (Front) Mounted Hunter-Killer Missile [5Pts], Hull (Front) Mounted Twin-linked Lascannon [25Pts], Legiones Astartes (X), Searchlights [5Pts], Smoke Launchers

++ Total: [1,999Pts] ++