30K: Burning of Prospero vs. Betrayal at Calth

We've already talked about what you need to start playing 30K. Here's a tl;dr: 2x Betrayal at Calth. But now GW has released another boxed set based on the Horus Heresy, or, more precisely, the Burning of Prospero.

So how does Burning of Prospero compare to Betrayal at Calth? Which one should you get, and why?

Let's contrast and compare.

30K: Black Books vs Red Books

One of the issues new players have is wrapping their head around the different types of books. Forge World publishes the big and expensive Black Books, and the smaller Red Books.

So let's talk about the differences, or rather the purpose of each type of book.

But be warned: I'll be praising the Black Books quite a bit, because they are (no hyperbole) the best books I've ever seen in the Grim Darkness™.

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.

30K: GW Horus Heresy

Miniature gaming is expensive, GW more so, and Forge World most of all (unless you live in Australia, but I digress). If you want to build a sizable army for The Horus Heresy, costs will add up fast. The Betrayal at Calth box will only get you started, and sooner or later you'll want to diversify your collection.

As expensive as GW is, everything you could get from them instead of their subsidiary Forge World is a cheaper alternative (and plastic is way easier to work with than resin). And indeed, some of GW's 40K range is quite suited for 30K – to varying degree, as we'll soon see.

So let's dive right in: all the stuff from GW you could use for your Legion army.

30K: A Shopping Guide to Forge World's Horus Heresy Miniatures

Starting or expanding an army for The Horus Heresy can get awfully expensive, and there are a few traps we'd better avoid.

We've previously talked about army building, so this post expands upon that. It's not just about what to get, though, but also when, with a little bit of why.

Remember that it all ultimately depends on your chosen Legion as well as your preferred Rite(s) of War (RoW).

I'll assume that the core of your army will be a box or three of Betrayal at Calth (BaC). Therefore, the main focus of this post will be the Space Marine Legions – but some information may still be relevant for other factions.

30K: Space Marine Legion Vehicle Units

We've previously talked about Space Marine infantry in the 31st millenium, so that leaves the vehicles of the Astartes Legions: transports, tanks, skimmers, and so on.

As Forge World (FW) is known for its (sometimes quite large) vehicle models, it's no wonder that the Legions have access to quite a lot of different vehicles, so there's quite a lot to cover.

Note that some of the vehicles are available from Games Workshop proper (GW), either exclusively or alternatively. The following entries detail when a vehicle is (also) available from GW. If nothing is noted, it's FW exclusive.

News: 4th Horus Heresy Red Book announced

Well, that was fast ... just three days after I talked about the three Horus Heresy Red Books and pointing out that some armies (for instance the Solar Auxilia) don't have a Red Book yet, Forge World went ahead and announced just that: The Horus Heresy Crusade Imperialis Army Lists Red Book, featuring "the Solar Auxilia, Questoris Knights, the Imperial Militia, and Warp Cults."

This is great for many reasons: First, Forge World can properly fix some of the errors (the Imperial Militia and Cults in particular feature some glaring errors in the Black Books) and update the stats and rules if necessary. Second, it might entice more people to the non-Astartes factions (even if only as allies).

[Quick reminder in case you forgot or don't know: the "Black Books" are the huge, expensive tomes that lead us step-by-step through the history and background of the Horus Heresy, adding rules where thematically appropriate; the "Red Books" are the collected Army Lists from said Black Books, updated and corrected where necessary.]

30K: Space Marine Legion Infantry Units

The Horus Heresy Space Marine armies sport some similarities to their 40K brethren, but make no mistake, they are their own beast entirely.

All 20 (or rather: 18) Legions are based on the same template detailed in the Crusade Army List. They all have access to the same basic infantry and vehicle choices – but note that this doesn't mean that they all fielded the same amounts of each type. Some unit types are less favored by certain Legions, while other Legions over-emphasized other unit types. As always, it all depends on your chosen Legion.

We've talked about some infantry units when we looked at the Betrayal at Calth Space Marines. But let's take a look at all of them.

30K: Betrayal at Calth Space Marine Legion Squads

If you took the advice on getting two sets of Betrayal at Calth (BAC), you now have plenty of Space Marines in (MK IV) Power Armour – 60, to be exact (or 62, if you count the special character, but let's ignore that guy for the moment). So what to do with them?

In 40K, we wouldn't have many options. Tactical Marines, sure, and maybe Devastator Squads, thanks to the heavy weapons in BaC (Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters). In 30K, however, there are many things we could kit them out for. Let's take a look.

30K: Army Building in the 31st Millenium

We previously talked about what you need to get into 30K. Our upcoming series about the Space Marine Legions and the Mechanicum might help you with your decision about what faction to play. But there's still some groundwork to be layed before we can dive into the details. The Horus Heresy is a different beast entirely, and some stuff you know from 40K is not applicable. Let's take a look at how to build your 30K army, and how to customize your list (or, in other words, how to differentiate one Space Marine army from the next).

30K: What You Need

As 30K, also known as The Horus Heresy, gained a lot of popularity in the last few months, I thought it might be a good idea to give people a few pointers as to where to start, etc. – and seeing that I'm only interested in painting 30K miniatures right now, this might be a good time to start expanding this blog into the 31st millenium. So yeah, you can expect to see more articles like this one in the future.

Say you want to start with 30K. What would you need?

Updates and changes

Just a quick note, because there hasn't been that much new content:

There are many new characters and units ready, they just need proper photos. Among those are: the rest of the Imperial Fists and Ork armies (including a Stompa), and the foundation of an AdMech army (including an allied Imperial Knight).

Furthermore, we've recently started collecting and painting 30K Legions: Space Wolves (of course), White Scars, and Death Guard, the latter of which already has three Contemptor Dreadnoughts and roughly 40 Marines ready.

With that, we'll also talk about the Audacia Sector in the 31st Millenium – and a way to bring at least some Legions to the 41st Millenium ...

So stay tuned, we're on it.