Howdy fellow wargamers, Mr.MoreTanks here again after LVO and the rough transition back into reality to talk about one of the most underrated and most entertaining events at the Las Vegas Open, the 30k event. More specifically, why you should give 30k a swing.
“More Space Marines!? Who the hell wants to play with more Space Marines? Why would you only want to play with Space Marines!?!” Because the Horus Heresy is some of the greatest sci-fi lore ever-fucking-written, that’s why, and it feels and plays very differently from 40k. Which is refreshing yet still uses the rules book so you don’t have to worry about learning a whole new rules system from scratch. Plus, nearly everyone has an extra Astartes army or two lying around somewhere that could easily be put to use in the 30k verse. While the Forgeworld models are jaw dropping, they don’t come cheap, so you may want to look at some alternative options; the point is, you likely don’t have to invest in any models to give the rules a shot, which we all know is a plus on the wallet and saved time on the paint bench. Guys, Forgeworld really did a good job with this one. Stop laughing man, I’m serious! Though there are, as usual, legions that have much better rules than the others, the units as a whole are pretty well done. Units cost more points and wargear can really jack up the price of your squads, so the game does tend to lend itself to larger point values in terms of battles. Still though, a 2,500pts game of 30k plays about roughly as quickly as an 1,850pts. game of 40k.
We all know and love the lore of this game, its part of what makes Warhammer 40,000 stand out from other games and nerd-verses that we all embrace. The rise and fall of the Imperium of Man and the lasting 10,000 year war born from it is more epic than this picture. 
And that picture is epic! So where does that put us in the way of actually making the game worth a damn? For me and many other gamers, we can’t help but feel and embrace the lore of what we’re doing at some level. While some of us may care more about the fluff more than others, we all can appreciate it and its pull into the game. The Black Library has dramatically expanded the 30k story and fleshed out all sorts of great characters and bloody details of the fall of the Warmaster to give us an invested feeling in the outcome of this war. And that is what is so awesome! I know how the Horus Heresy ends, we all do, and yet I am still hooked on the game and lore, imagining what stage of the war my personal tabletop battle is in. Do the traitors realize that they really are traitors, or are they being manipulated by Horus? Each unique experience for each legion and the scope of the story lends itself for enough possibilities to indulge your wildest wargaming fantasies. (Maybe even a few others, I don’t judge.) I have no problem saying that I think that FW has put out the greatest models for wargaming ever with this game. The detail and different armor designs along with the vehicles are fresh and can clearly been seen as the building blocks for the iconic Space Marine armor we’re all familiar with on the table tops. The Adpetus Mechanicus have great rules backing up some of the coolest models out there. We all know though what models the game is really about though, the Primarchs. 
And we’re only going to get more! Seriously, they haven’t even done all of the legions and there is already way more than I could ever hope to collect. Each one feels unique and badass, though I will admit, Angaron is a bit of a let down in terms of rules. Despite some minor bumps, they really nailed it with nearly every character. Loken is in there along with Abbadon, and many other iconic characters from the series; Sigismund is easily my favorite, and comes with a statline and rules that could give him more than a shot against a few of the less “fighty” Primarchs even. Everywhere there is a feeling of a rich and encompassing universe. 
Even if you swear to never play Marines, I really encourage you to give the Horus Heresy games a shot. The Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Army, and hopefully upcoming Sisters of Silence should offer you some alternatives. If you’re a die hard Chaos fan who’s tired of having weak and crummy books and want to know the feel of a unique and sexy traitor legion with rules to back it up, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Hop on now, cause no matter how much you pray, you’re never getting the 3.5 codex back.
I’ll stop because I’m really starting to ramble now, I hope this game continues to grow and expand and more events run 30k events. I’ve only played a handful of games and I’m already hooked, give it a shot and I’m willing to bet that you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how fresh and exciting the game feels.
Everyone should give 30k a go, its a great system. It does cost a lot but that is part of the challenge, and you can get great results converting up old models.
One thing I would beg is please dont just take your 40k space marine army and say “this is 30k now”. If you dont make the effort to convert a force that looks appropriate to the period, then what is the point.
The point is to actually play the game and not be the only one with a heresy era army and no one to play against.
Which I think is the biggest hurdle to the game. Finding opponents who have access to the rules and the models to play.
Well, depending on when in the heresy you build your theme around and what legion you are doing, the models may lend themselves to 40k era marines. It should be easy to forgive a raven guard army that uses mark 6 armor, or a scouring era army that is completely mixed and matched to look scavenged. A traitor legion, according to most canon sources would wear a lot of mark 4, and indominus terminator armor was issued to imperial fists even pre- heresy.
there is quite a bit of wiggle room for justifying model choices (I built my force with the scouring in mind, due to the Templar’s role in it mixing mk 2, 4, 5 and 6 with a focus on 2)
Playing Marines allied with Marines vs other Marines allied with Marines seems utterly boring. On the other hand having the opportunity of playing pre-heresy Imperium against Xenos like Orks and Eldar would be a dream come true. Imagine Horus , Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus together against throngs of Orcs. But until we get extended 30k allies matrix with access to some Xeno factions, I’m not going into the HH.
Build a Mechanicum Army?
Mechancum and Solar Auxilla, despite having gorgeous models like the new Ogryn Charonite Squads, are still parts of the same Imperial puzzle. It’s borning when you don’t havy any Xenos to shoot at. Nevertheless when FW finaly releases Leman Russ model I will be forced to start playing HH, because I love The Great Wolf so much.
I too, am excited for Leman Russ.
I was thinking of trying 30k, I play Raven Guard as my chapter and I did see they have rules for corax and the RG legion, so all I’d really have to do is buy some more tacs and maybe some VVs and assault, and kitbash me a corax (maybe even have you guys paint him up if I do 😉 and i should be set)
Preach it, Mr.Tanks! 30K is a great set of rules, great models, and great atmosphere. Some really fun games to be had.
The only problem is that not enough people play it, but that can be fixed!
We have a decent group of players in Houston and have developed some successful campaigns. it has been an amazingly fun experience and have made a great amount of memories terrorizing the loyalist with my Night Lords
I can’t remember where I read it (it may have been here!) but there is a rumor that the upcoming Age of Darkness box set is going to have more rules for playing Xenos in Horus Heresy games. While some like Tau obviously wouldn’t make sense outside of a “what-if” kind of game there’s plenty of room for Eldar, Dark Eldar, Orks (the largest Xenos opponent of the Great Crusade), and even small numbers of Necrons.
I’ve been chomping at the bit to start up a 30k Iron Hands army, but I’m pretty sure they don’t play 30k at my local store and I’m too far in the boonies to travel around just to get games. I’m hoping the new starter set brings more people around!
Don’t forget everyone’s favorite bugs. Too bad they fall under the Tau “what if” category as well. Unless there is some pre-Tyran fluff I’m unaware of.
When whitescars have rules will I play
They have a relic in the newest book (and it is awesome… crazy power bow!)
I would play. But unfortunately the local 30k community are kind of total elitist arseholes.
“Oh you don’t play heresy. Go back to your shitty game” and “If it’s not forgeworld then kick him out the club” are two comments I have heard from these players.
If it means playing them. I’ll stick to regular 40k cheers.
That stinks. Elitist nerdery is always something that totally went over my head. We’re all nerds, for crying out loud, haha, we should embrace one another as we’re already a niche segment. Trying to stratify ourselves based on which toys we use is just so silly.
Been reading all the HH books.. love this era. 30k armies look amazing too. To me the setback is it is just another game that falls a bit short of 40k… less armies, less rules and not as much focus from the community means (to some degree) less prestige/competition. 40k is so expensive and time consuming and if you are competitive it is a elusive beast to tackle so I find my time, energy and interest completely absorbed there.
That said I don’t understand people that would “hate” on 30k or any game really.. let people enjoy what they do for different reasons!
Thanks for the article <3
I’ve heard lots of good things, but astartes on astartes action just doesn’t interest me that much. I’d love to play as Orks though.
Take away ATSKNF and add in a bunch more units and it plays pretty different.