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.
