Appearing from nowhere as if summoned from a rogue Archmagos' teleporter, Games Workshop has revealed a new special character and a new infantry unit for the Warhammer 40k Adeptus Mechanicus range. The upcoming Cadian Gate narrative expansion will see Archmagos Terminus Thulia Ghuld take to the field accompanied by heavily up-gunned Hastarii infantry. And, look… they're still not as good as the Mechanicum models from the Horus Heresy. But they're getting close!
One thing I really do appreciate about these designs is the effort to create more narrative connections between the Adeptus Mechanicus Warhammer 40k faction and the Mechanicum of the Horus Heresy era. Take the Hastarii.
These are a heavier kind of Skitarii, with massive guns permanently mounted in place of their right arms, more armor plating, and back-jointed, recoil-absorbing legs. Their whole body plan is like a budget, under-resourced version of the Thallax that were the mainstay shock-troops of the Ordo Reductor during the Horus Heresy.
Narratively that's excellent: they demonstrate how the technology of the current Mechanicus is less refined than the technology used by its ancient forebear. But it also makes for an awkward comparison between the two sets of models. The Thallax are just sleek; they're the cyborgs that the Archmagos told the Hastarii not to worry about.
I will say this in favor of the 40k miniatures: even though I haven't seen the sprues for the Hastarii models yet, I am willing to bet folding money that they will be easier to construct than the Thallax. So many of the iconic Horus Heresy Mechanicum designs were sculpted to be cast in resin, and resin is very forgiving for pieces with undercuts. Plastic is ruthless about undercuts, and converting those designs into the current plastic kits has resulted in models that come in so, so many pieces that they're legitimately exhausting to construct.
It's harder to directly compare Thulia Ghuld against the Heresy era characters for the Mechanicum, as there's only one plastic character kit for the Heresy era - a banger, admittedly - and then a small range of resin miniatures. So while Anacharis Scoria is, arguably, a more impressive take on the concept of "insane scientist with robot claw legs" in, he's a $170 kit 100% composed of fiddly resin components with tiny contact points. Saying that Scoria is "better" would need a lot of qualifications.
And being absolutely fair, Ghuld is extremely cool. She's a cyber-centaur-crab-priestess with a colossal conversion beamer cannon and the biggest Ominissian Axe I've ever seen. She's casually holding a Hellraiser cube in one hand, which is a definite power move. And look at the size of that tactical rock!
Okay, I'm sold. I'm giving her the highest grade I can give to a Warhammer 40k Adeptus Mechanicus model: worth converting into a character for Horus Heresy.
What do you think of the new Ad Mech minis? Am I being too harsh? Not harsh enough? Are you an Ork player who only sees bits you plan to stick on the side of your trukk? Share your thoughts in the friendly Wargamer Discord community. For a weekly roundup of all the best stories on Wargamer, make sure you sign up to our regular newsletter.