Commander Leonid of the 12th Company

Commander Leonid, overall commander of the 591^st Expedition and all of the Astartes, Imperial Army regiments and elements of the fleet it contains. For the purposes of the game, Leonid ‘counts as’ Commander Dante of the Blood Angels.

Leonid was one of the Legions longest serving members, and as a Veteran of Terra he fought as a captain of the War Hounds for over a century before the discovery of the Legion’s Primarch Angron. Fighting alongside the Blood Angels during the early days of the Crusade Leonid became a close comrade of Furioso, a Captain of the 9^th Legion, and as part of the fledgling 21^st expedition the two Captains egged on their troops to outperform their fellow legion brothers. But despite placing an emphasis on assault and delivering the killing blow, the War Hound Captain understood the importance of mixed unit tactics. Against the barbaric empires of Korsicaa, a fearsome offshoot of humanity who’s mutations and corruption gave them unrivalled ferocity in melee combat, Leonid organised scouting fire-teams to draw the frenzied charges of the natives. As they were lead into narrow defiles or valleys, surrounding devastator and artillery units would open fire and annihilate the enraged Korsicaans. Finally previously hidden assault troops of the two Legions, often with both Leonid and Furioso at the forefront, would charge in and finish off the enemy formations, a mountain of heads marking the humbling defeat of the natives in their own custom.

When the Crusade finally discovered their Primarch, Leonid was overjoyed despite being too far away to witness it personally. Finally the 12^th Legion had found its progenitor, and Leonid was among the Legion when they knelt before him among the fiery remains of a world brought newly into compliance. The Commander of the now renamed World Eaters welcomed the changes which Angron brought, and understood the value of the berserker implants which had created perhaps the most devastating assault units yet seen in the Crusade. Yet, he also understood they had their place as part of a greater whole, and as such the World Eaters of the 591^st expedition portrayed a far more balanced approach to the compliance of Konos III than might have been displayed by other elements of the Legion.

Leonid closely orchestrated the compliance of Konos III with Commander of the Fleet Borya, from the early days of the initial assaults and the massive logistical effort involved, through to the overseeing of recon units which were attempting to stymie the disturbingly effective attacks by guerrilla units once the armies of Konos had been destroyed. Leonid often led these rapid reaction forces himself, indicative of his own continuing zeal for combat but also a sign of frustration at their elusive foe.

Special Rules

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	SAVE
6	5	4	4	3	5	4	10	2+

Commander of the 12^th Legion

Leonid has been there since the beginning; he has trod the soil of a hundred worlds and has fought and slain the worst the galaxy has to offer. To the veterans of the Legion he is a respected and trusted commander, to the new recruits a figure of awe and the personification of the Legion.

Leonid has the Fearless and Rites of Battle special rules (allowing any unit on the tabletop to use his LD value). His presence in a force inspires nearby troops to immense of valour, giving all units within 12” the preferred enemy special rule.

Wargear

Articifer Armour, Iron Halo, Jump Pack, Frag & Krak Grenades

Chainaxe – Created by Angron’s personal artificers, one of these was handed to each commander within the legion to commemorate his taking command. Its blades are crafted from an unknown material, thought to be so tough that it required the entire energy lattice of a mechanicum forge to cut it to the required shape. Its edge will never dull, and powered by a prototype plasma cooled engine it will never tire. It counts as a master-crafted power weapon.

Terror of the Legion – To many foes the snarling facemask and countenance of Leonid’s respirator is a representation of the Legion, of sharpened teeth closing around their world. The site of Leonid and his Veterans launching themselves from above with the roar of their jet-turbines and chain-weapons spinning is enough to unnerve the staunchest of foes. All enemy models within 6” of Leonid suffer -1 to their WS and BS.

Prototype Plasma Weapon – Furioso of the Blood Angels personally presented this weapon to Leonid on completion of the Korsicaa campaign, after the two Captains fought back to back during the final action of the expedition, and as a mark of their comradeship. It features a level of technology and power which would never be matched by other, later productions. Its firing effects count as a melta gun.

Final Notes

I wanted the Commander of the Expedition to really stand out from the crowd, both in terms of representing him on the tabletop, and in terms of modelling. Leonid is made from a combination of the Jump Pack Chaplain model, and a Forge World Khorne Terminator Head. I removed many of the embellishments found on Chaplain armour, and added greenstuff to the scrolls to make them look like chainmail (which I think sits well with the other Veteran units in the force.)

Finally, I felt that the rules for Dante could easily be applied to Leonid – the power of the Commander of the Blood Angels in close combat a great match to how I imagine a Commander of the 12^th Legion during the Great Crusade must have been!