If you’ve been following the blog, you know how much I love the XIXth Legion. We’ve covered our long-range dominance, our shift into a high-lethality phantom playstyle, and the core rules of Horus Heresy 3rd Edition. But today, I want to talk about single combat—specifically, our Legion Gambit: Decapitation Strike.
On paper, the Decapitation Strike Gambit sounds absolutely broken:
- You skip the standard Focus Roll.
- You make 1 single opening attack.
- If that attack hits and lands a Wound (it doesn’t even matter if they make their save—as long as you successfully resolve a Wound test), you instantly unlock all of your remaining attacks before your opponent even has a chance to hit back.
Sounds like an free ticket to wiping out enemy commanders before they can blink, right?
Well… only if you aren’t falling into the Raven’s Talon trap.
The Illusion of the Raven’s Talons
Raven’s Talons are our unique Legion wargear for Centurions and Praetors. They’re essentially paired lightning claws that grant Impact Initiative. They look incredible, they thematic as hell, and they throw out a terrifying bucket load of attacks.
Normally, the go-to play is slapping Raven’s Talons on a Praetor. On the charge, you’re looking at 7 attacks at Initiative 7. Even putting them on a basic Centurion with the Paragon of Battle Prime Advantage is a great idea—it gives him a stat line that mimics a mini-Corax, turning him into a proper blender unit when attached to a squad of Dark Furies or Assault Marines.
Both of these options are great and definitely have their place when you want raw anti-infantry volume.
However, what happens when an enemy Champion steps out and challenges you and you pick Decapitation Strike?
You whiff. Almost every single time.
Here’s why: Decapitation Strike relies entirely on that single opening strike succeeding. While hitting at WS 6 is easy enough, Raven’s Talons leave you relying on a 4+ to wound. A 50/50 coin flip to see if your hero gets to swing or spends the rest of the round doing nothing!
Worse still, Raven’s Talons are only Damage 1. Even if that opening strike lands, you aren’t reliably deleting multi-wound enemy Champions in one swoop.
Enter the Beatstick: The Power Fist Centurion
Allow me to introduce the ultimate arch-enemy of our local gaming club’s playground: My Paragon of Battle Centurion equipped with a Corvid Jump Pack and a massive Power Fist.
Instead of fishing for a 4+ to wound with claws, I roll to hit on a 3+ and wound on a 2+.
The math is infinitely more reliable. The moment that single Power Fist strike connects and wounds, the floodgates open. I immediately unleash 4 more Power Fist attacks before my opponent gets to look at me funny.
Oh, and did I mention each failed save deals 3 Damage?
This single model has slain Eidolon in a single challenge, crushed high-tier Praetors, and smashed through opposing Centurions. His kill list grows literally every single game we play.
The One Caveat
There is one important rule to keep in mind: you can only declare Decapitation Strike once per challenge.
If you get stuck in a multi-round heavyweight title match against an exceptionally tanky Warlord with crazy invulnerable saves, you’ll have to mix up your tactics for the subsequent rounds. But honestly? With a Power Fist dealing 3 damage per pop before they can hit back, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to round two!
Ditch the claws when you’re hunting characters, grab a fist and start cracking skulls!
Happy punching!
Tom
