Let the galaxy burn with the Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector Black Legion DLC.
It’s time for yet another DLC for Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector! I don’t think Slitherine will be satisfied until all the factions are accounted for, and I’m fine with that. I’m less fine about the fact that fans will have to pay for each individual faction, but I suppose being able to pick out your favourites without having to pay for factions you don’t want. Anyway, it’s the turn of the Chaos Space Marines with the Black Legion.
There’s a solid list of units once again, with a couple of exceptions as seems to be the case every time. As ever, there aren’t any major characters here, so don’t expect Abaddon or Huron here. You have plenty of infantry to choose from, ranging from Cultists to Obliterators, including my favourite Raptors for fast moving attack and scoring opportunities. Vehicles are leaning far more into the demon engine category, giving you access to Helbrutes, Forgefiends, and Venomcrawlers. No actual tanks though beyond a Rhino for transportation. Four characters round out the crew, much like with other factions.
Once you factor in different weapon options, you’ve got a pretty great array of units to choose from here, allowing you to make a pretty effective army. Unlike the rather frustrating T’au DLC, The Black Legion favour mid-to-close range combat which is more useful in Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector. In fact, there are great ways to get around quickly and be very dangerous early on, with your Terminators and Obliterators being able to teleport around as well as the Raptor’s jump pack giving you a boost to movement. They’re a faster moving army than I was expecting, getting units into optimal range much faster.
Characters feel a little less useful this time around, with their buffs being somewhat situational, although the Chaos Lord being able to mark a target to increase everyone’s damage into it was often a good choice. I found them lacking the survivability of other factions, so unless you find a way to keep them far out of harm’s way, you’ll likely get more utility out of including more fighting units.
In spite of this being an aging engine, the models still look really quite solid. The demon engines in particular look good. I particularly liked the Venomcrawler and the little idle animations with its tongue flicking out. Sounds are solid as ever, with plenty of praise for the dark gods when ordering units around. They lack the comedy of the Orks, but that’s quite fitting for the forces of Chaos.
I’ll make the same comment I make with all the DLCs so far, which is that it would be nice for there to be a mini campaign with the new faction. Yes there’s the planetary supremacy mode, and the upcoming crusade, which acts like an endless mode of sorts, but a short narrative for each army would be fun. I like the Deeds of the Fallen narrative campaign that came out last year, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming one in summer though, so there’s an option there. It’s another DLC that you have to pay for though, and it does increasingly feel like you’re pouring money into the game.
Ultramarines are coming next apparently, then who knows? With the arrival of the Dark Gods in the game, maybe we’ll see other Chaos factions represented. Bring on the Thousand Sons for some magical shenanigans!
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector’s Black Legion DLC is available now.
