We come to the Solar Auxilia infantry last in our series looking at the Legions Imperialis boxed set, mainly because they were the last image on Games Workshop's website, but also because these are the elements I'm honestly least familiar with. So bear with my efforts to approximately capture their quality on the tabletop.
Aethon Heavy Sentinel
Element | P | M | F | A | D | Traits & Upgrades | Cost |
Aethon | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Rapid(4), Missile | 27 |
The Aethon is pretty much the epitome of a light mech. But seeing as it comes with a prominent missile pod on one shoulder, I've added the Missile upgrade
Solar Auxilia Squads
Element | P | M | F | A | D | Traits & Upgrades | Cost |
Lasrifle Section | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | Dig In(3), Vigilant | 9 |
The lasrifle squad is very much a typical light infantry element.
Element | P | M | F | A | D | Traits & Upgrades | Cost |
Flamer Section | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | Dig In(3), Vigilant, Gatling | 12 |
The flamer section is much harder to rate, as Midnight Dark doesn't include flamethrowers as an option. I've gone for the Gatling upgrade, as this will make them much better at very close ranger. Assume, if shooting beyond this, that they are using secondary weapons.
Element | P | M | F | A | D | Traits & Upgrades | Cost |
Velataris Section | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | Vigilant, Dig In(3), Guidance | 27 |
I was torn on whether to make the Velataris Elite Light Infantry or Special Forces and, in the end, I went with the latter because they look like they're equipped with big axes, which makes them look like they belong in CQB, which is where Special Forces, with P3, tend to shine. You could choose to add Reinforced Frontage to represent their heavier armour but I decided it wasn't enough to really count.
Element | P | M | F | A | D | Traits & Upgrades | Cost |
Command Squad | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | Vigilant, Dig In(3), Command** | 16 |
Like most of the others, the Command Squad is clearly light infantry. Naturally, we add a Command Upgrade, and I went for a 2* command, although you could easily go with a mix of 1* or 3*. To buff them a little, I also added a +1 D basic upgrade
Ogryn Charonites
Element | P | M | F | A | D | Traits & Upgrades | Cost |
Ogryn Charonites | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Dig In(1), Veteran | 31 |
The Charonites, like the flamer squad, aren't an easy fit in Midnight Dark, simply because it's not a rule-set written for a grimdark gothic space fantasy universe. However, I've started by making them Veteran Heavy Infantry. I then agonised between Combat Drugs and Synthetic as an upgrade. In the end, I settled on Synthetic partly because it's not yet appeared in this series of articles. But also because it fits their cyberengineered backstory and the ability to ignore the effects of exhausted is appropriate to their battlefield role.
If you wanted to embed them a bit more in the Dark Millennium, you might add a hero with Heroic Rage and -2 F, +2 D to make them less shooty (given that they don't, actually, have any guns to speak of) and more resilient.
And so we reach the end of the Legions Imperialis boxed set. But watch this space. Once I've had a chance to review the feedback and suggestions I've received both here and from my Patreon, I'll write up a couple of balanced(ish) army lists using minis from the box - one for the Astartes and one for the Solar Auxilia.