Lead from the front with a powerful Captain in Gravis Armour wielding a boltstorm gauntlet and a choice of fearsome melee weapons – ideal for contesting the confines of an enemy vessel. That will give you a bit of wiggle room for wargear (although not by much — we’re talking 50 points). I was always a little saddened that personalised, elite ranged troops never made it over the Rubicon Primaris.

The Shield Dome on the Impulsor should help in getting the squad where they need to be for maximum carnage. Once the defenders of humanity, the Heretic Astartes long ago pledged themselves to the Dark Gods they now lead vicious raids against Imperial spacecraft and drifting space hulks alike, seeking glory and plunder. The Black Legion are the most feared of all these Traitor Legions, guided as they are by the dark will of Warmaster Abaddon himself. Making every model special to me is important, because they spend the majority of their time on my display shelf.

The Balefleet Battleforce is a contingent of corrupted warriors comprised of 10 Possessed , five Chaos Space Marine Terminators , and a Heldrake , all led by an infernal Daemon Prince. I’ve omitted the word Winter from the challenge’s name because I reside in the Southern Hemisphere and I’m writing this in a record heatwave. I’m bouncing lots of ideas about melta charges, grenade launchers, grenades, and ammo packs around in my head. He’s joined by a bodyguard of three Deathshroud Terminators, as well as 10 versatile Plague Marines – three of which are taken from the much-sought-after Plague Marine Reinforcements set.

Three Ophydian Destroyers add a lightning-fast melee threat to the mix, accompanied by their Canoptek Plasmacyte. Created by the Emperor himself from the genetic material of his demigod Primarch sons, the Adeptus Astartes are the ultimate soldiers for a cruel and terrible age – unrivalled in storming the claustrophic corridors of a space hulk, or seizing control of hostile ships in frenetic boarding actions. Snikrot has three head options – mask off, mask up, or mask down – and you’ll be able to get him first in the upcoming Boarding Patrol: Orks.Not everything was needed though – I sold the Captain in Gravis Armour, for example, as I felt he did not quite have the right ‘robe count’ for a senior Dark Angel (and I am hoping for more Dark Angels officers in the range refresh later this year). To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Since I haven’t done 40K stuff in a long time, I volunteered to be the tour guide for people starting their Boarding Patrol and joining our challenge.

You’ll be able to face any foe with a highly customisable Primaris Captain in Gravis armour, five Heavy Intercessors, and 10 Assault Intercessors. The set captures the essence of these renegades through meticulously crafted miniatures, each embodying the dark history and formidable abilities of the Astartes.Also, I wanted my Assault Intercessors in an Impulsor, so I picked up one of those and sold five of the Intercessors, leaving me with a squad of five that would fit inside the transport.