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So, I’ve been hoarding Sons of Horus models for a couple of years now, but have mainly been painting 40k and Specialist Game stuff, and I’ve finally decided to make one final Forgeworld purchase and buckle down to paint the 16th in that lovely green… as it is described in one of the novels “the green of a distant sea.” Just wondering if I can get some advice --- I’m not looking to make a specific list right now, just a good core of units and characters I can use to build 1.5k, 2.5k, or even larger lists (for ‘mega-battles’ and the such). Fluff is important to me, but so is battlefield effectiveness, especially since I’ve heard that SoH aren’t viewed as the top legion in terms of winning games (I’ll likely be playing with people who don’t have an official house rule against phosphex, though I hesitate to buy a bunch of quad launchers because that’s kind of lame). Below, I list what I have so far, looking for advice on what is needed to round this collection off (btw, I’m open to getting another LoW choice; I’m not married to using a primarch in every game I play).
Super-Heavy:
- Horus the Warmaster
HQ:
- Legion Praetor in Tartaros Terminator Armor (Promo)
- Legion Primus Medicae Consul (Promo)
- Legion Champion Consul
- Legion Master of Signal Consul
Troops:
- 60x Mark IV Marines (2 BaC boxes worth, plus SoH heads, torsos, and shoulder pads for all)
- SoH Doors for 2x Deimos Rhinos (though I don’t have the rhinos)
Elites:
- 10x Justaerin Terminators (with tons of weapon options packs)
- Contemptor Mortis Dreadnought (2x Twin Lascannons; Missile Pod)
- Contemptor Mortis Dreadnought (2x Twin Lascannons)
- 2x Apothecaries
Fast Attack:
- 2x Javelin Attack Speeder (Missile Launcher)
- 1x Javelin Attack Speeder (Lascannons)
- 1x Voss Pattern/ Primaris Lighting Strike Fighter
Heavy Support:
- 1x Spartan Assault Tank
Some Emperor’s Children as Alllies:
- Lord Commander Eidolon
- 10x Mark IV Assault Marines (Jump Packs; These could be made into SoH if I need them)
- 5x Phoenix Guard Terminators
- 1x Phobos Patter Land Raider (This could me made into SoH if I need it)
- Emperor’s Children Contemptor Dreadnought (Conversion Beamer, Assault Cannon, Power Fist – not sure which two to put on it)

A good way to start will be with 2 squads of 20 tactical marines as your compulsory. If you load them up with combat blades as well, they can make good use of their legion trait that gives them bonuses to attacks when they outnumber the enemy. That'll also eat up a chunk of points.

Add on your Praetor, 2 Contemptors, and your 10 Justaerin and the Spartan and you're pretty much at 2000 points (if not a little over). Add upgrades and extra apothecaries and characters to your taste.

What you'll have at that point is a really solid troop selection for holding points and taking points from the enemy, as well as a very solid firebase in the contemptors and a close combat hammer with the spartan and terminators.

From there, you can add whatever you like. It's always good to have a couple Rhinos. You could throw in the other 20 tacticals in squads of 10 into the Rhinos for fast-moving point-capping squads, then throw in the Lightning Strike Fighter, Master of Signal (attached to one of the 20 man tac squads) and the Champion (attached to the Justaerin) as well as Horus and I'd be surprised if you weren't over 3000 points by then.

For Vehicles:

Sicarian tanks are totally worth it (regular, Venerator, and Arcus, avoid the plasma and gatling cannon variants).

Leviathan Dreads are beast mode, but cost as much as a Land Raider.

If you run a lot of Terminators, a Deredeo with a pavise (adds +1 to Invulnerable saves) can push your Justarians over the top.

A Fire Raptor is an excellent gunship, but a bit on the expensive side. You can also look at the Imperial Lightning (if Forge World ever brings it back) or the Xiphon for a cheaper alternative.

The Storm Eagle is like a mini-Thunderhawk and is a great transport, but the SoH have access to...

Anvillus pattern Dreadclaw Drop Pods. Totally worth it. Might not look like much on paper, but watch your opponent squirm when your drop pod takes off and starts to flame units it flies over...

For Units:

Legion Consul Moritat with bolt pistols and jump pack, along with a Destroyer squad with Jump Packs and a Missile Launcher and suspension harness with Rad Missiles is a fearsome combination.

With the huge nerf to Veterans, the SoH Reaver Squads are now very attractive. I like to take mine with chain axes for maximum benefit of SoH rules.

A Legion Support Squad with 10 Plasma Rifles is pretty sick and will erase a lot of elite units from the table.

Rapier guns are pretty good (NOT THE RAD VERSIONS. Don't be "That Guy".

Looks like you got pretty much everything covered. It's recommendations for wargear and squad load outs after that. One comment I'd make: Never put your Praetor in Terminator Armor if you can help it. A Praetor already has a 2+/4++ and a ton more wargear options for way cheaper then any of the Terminator variants. The various types of Terminator armors come with too many disadvantages, like no running, no overwatch, no sweeping advance, etc. For the Sons of Horus, I make my squads as big as feasible or possible to maximize the Legion Traits. I start with two 20 model Legion Tactical Squads with attached Apothecaries and walk them up the table. The sergeants have Artificer Armor, melta bombs, and power swords so I can strike before all those guys with power fists. The Apothecaries have nothing besides BP/CCW. They are there for 5+ FNP, nothing more.

As you are sticking with Loyalist SoH, you'll be lacking for a Primarch. Might consider other Lords of War options to deal with them. My #2 rule in 30K: How will I deal with a Primarch and his retinue in a Spartan? My #1 rule: Rule of Cool > All.

Lupercal! Lupercal!