30K: Lords of War and the 25% Rule

A cursory glance at The Horus Heresy might give the impression that not only are Lords of War (LoW) available aplenty, they're also much, much more powerful than anything in 40K – just look at that Warlord Titan! Sure, they're also available in 40K, but Forge World first and foremost develops for 30K, right?

Well, here's the thing: while 40K nowadays has a certain "anything goes" vibe, thanks to unbound armies and an unlimited slot for a LoW even in "bound" armies, that's not the case for 30K. So let's take a look at how 30K handles LoWs, and what you can expect to go up against.


First and foremost, you may only bring LoWs in games of 2000 points or more. And you may never spend more than 25% of your points on them. So no Thunderhawk in 1850 points games. This means that you could field a Fellblade in games of 2250+ points, for instance, or a Thunderhawk Gunship in games of 2750+ points. The Warlord Titan, however, will be relegated to Apocalypse games, because the adviced point sizes for 30K are between 1750 and 3500 points, so the maximum of points to spend on LoWs in regular 30K games is 875.

You may bring more than a single LoW, however: if your LoWs have 8 Hull Points (or Wounds, in the case of Gargantuan Creatures), you may bring two. Their points are still added up for the 25% rule, however, so you can't start spamming small LoWs in smaller games, either.

A Primarch is a LoW, too, and you'll be able to field (nearly?) any of them in a 2000 point game as your single LoW choice. Some Primarchs may take another LoW as a "transport", yet still you have to abide to the 25% rule.

All in all, it's not too bad, really. 30K armies are usually quite capable in dealing with armoured units, so even if your opponent brings a LoW and you don't, you've still got a fighting chance. Some of the not quite so heavy stuff is very good at taking care of super-heavies – the Sicaran Venator is a prime example. This middle class tank has a main weapon that can not only harm super-heavy tanks, it also has a chance to seriously weaken them for a turn, too.

All in all, if you like to field a LoW (or two), go ahead, most people won't mind that much. And if you don't: just think about how to deal with opposing LoWs, and you should be fine.