A Legion Rises

The next target I had set myself was to reach 650 points. I wanted to bulk up my regiments and add a bit more punch to each of them with the introduction of more officers. As the first Legionnaires Regiment already had an Optio, I simply added two more legionaries to this unit, bringing them to a total of eight.

The second Legionnaires Regiment gained an additional Legionary along with an Optio, making it identical to the first. This gave me two decent sized units, while the ‘Endless March’ command ability from each of the Optio’s would add manoeuvrability to the army overall. The second Optio was constructed in the same manner as the first, although this time using a standard Praetorian head sporting one of the larger helmet crests.

The Praetorian regiment would be joined by a Profane Reliquary. As with the Optio, a model is available but I was keen to build something unique and so created this hybrid between Athanatoi and Praetorian. I’m going with the idea that the mask and swords are the relics referred to in his title, and will need to paint them accordingly.

I now had an Officer for each of my units and with just 25 points left decided to add some extra protection to my Xiliarch. Aventine Armour seemed the obvious choice as it used up my remaining points and grants the wearer the Hardened special rule, reducing the effectiveness of incoming enemy attacks.

I was aiming to build my force up to 500 points in order to try a few games and get familiar with the rules. With this in mind I ordered another set of Legionnaires as well as the newly released Varangian set. With the arrival of fresh meat (rotten meat?), I had the bodies I needed to bulk up my force, as well as a new set of components to build a few unique characters.

First up I built a second unit of Legionnaires, along with a Standard Bearer. This unit was comprised of five Legionaries and would be led by an Optio.

Although an Optio model is available, I wanted to add a bit of flavour to my force by kit bashing my own. I used one of the bodies from the Legionaries set and the arms from an Athanatoi (With the sword cut from the left hand as a Shield would go here). I also took the fur shoulders from a Varangian guard which fitted pretty snugly after a little trimming and a dip in boiling water! The figure was topped off with the Pretorian unit leader head.

The Praetorians themselves were in need of a Standard and as I had already used both of the Legion ones I had, I instead took the standard from the Athanatoi, giving a unique look to the regiment.

Along with the models I had previously built I now had three units of six, each with a Standard. I also had a single officer in the form of the Optio and my Xiliarch Commander. This brought the list to an even 500, giving me a pretty decent force for my first few games.

We have a little tradition in our gaming group that every time a birthday comes around we pitch in for a gaming or hobby gift. And so it was that my journey into undeath began on my birthday! 

Sent directly to me from the OTT store, courtesy of my gaming buddies, I received the Xiliarch and a set of Legionnaires to get my first blood army underway. Not to mention a little token of love from the crew, thanks guys.

I had worked out that with just these two sets I could build a 350 point force. I started by building the Xiliarch, who would be my Commander. The Xiliarch’s ‘Pentarchoi’ rule entitles Legionnaire and Pretorian units under his command to include a Standard Bearer at six models (rather than the usual 12). With this in mind I built six Legionnaires, along with a regiment standard. 

The remaining six models I built as Praetorians and although they too would be eligible for a standard, the set only came with one, so for now they would have to do without. I left the shields off the models for the moment, as this would make painting a lot easier.

I had plans to increase the size of both regiments in the near future but for the time being I would need to wait for reinforcements. At this stage I had a respectable 350 points and was well on my way to playing my first game.