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Forge World Models Point Costs are Too High

sn battle reports dreadnought

Are Forge World units the best option for your hobby? The reality is that in a lot of cases they may not always have good rules for the tabletop.

Jstove here, and today I’m thinking about Forgeworld. Let’s take a look at the actual value you get with some Forge World models.

Driving a Toyota and Paying for a Lexus

bad car Forge World's Unit Point Costs are Too High

Forge World units have a massively undeserved reputation for being extremely powerful, but the truth is that there are basically 1 or 2 very good units for each faction. (If a faction has any good Forge World units at all, that is.)

The rest are overpriced garbage.

Perennial favorites are the bipedal Dreadnoughts and Dread-like units like Leviathans and the Decimator. These are easy money because they cram a supreme amount of firepower onto a single model. This is especially attractive in the case of the Leviathan and all the Dreadnoughts in the 30k family.  Dreadnoughts also benefit from chapter tactics.

Fire Raptor low rez

The Fire Raptor is another favorite for its ability to fly around and dump bullets on everything. However, once you leave the Space Marine 30k arsenal with oddball exceptions like the Artemia Hellhound, there are very few winners.

Most Forge World units are just underperforming luxury cars in 40k. You pay a lot for them, but they don’t do anything for you.

A lot of them are borderline good or could be good if they knocked down the sticker price to a competitive rate.

knight castellan Does The Knight Really Need a FAQ? Deep Thoughts

The biggest sticker shock of all for Forge World models comes in the heavyweight bracket. Pretty much the entire Cerastus Knight family is garbage when compared to the firepower coming out of regular plastic Knights. The cheapest Knight, a Gallant, is in the ballpark of 350 to sub-400, depending on loadout.

Shooty Knights push the cost well through the 400’s. The big daddy Castellan pushes 600. The Cerastus Knights tend to ride in the middle 500’s range. Theoretically, that should mean there’s a niche for them.

However, the firepower disparity between that last 100 points between a Castellan and Cerastus doesn’t even rationalize the cost difference. The Dominus class has so much more firepower on it, you’ll always pony up the extra 100 and take the Dominus.

Space Marine super heavies are lesser offenders, with 30k favorites like the Spartan, Typhon, and Cerberus paying too many points for not enough guns. These tanks are supposed to be extremely survivable, but without FNP or a very hefty invulnerable save, there is very little that stops a well-built list from killing any model it wants in 8E. These tanks pay a premium for survivability they don’t have.

Hummers on the Used Car Lot

drop pod 30k Big Changes as Forge World Drops FAQ For Horus Heresy!

Forge World’s Unit Point Costs are Too High

Point for point and dollar for dollar, most Forge World units are giant SUVs sitting on a used car lot that nobody wants to buy. There are basically two options to make these models playable.

  • Play 30k instead where they’re still fun and useful.
  • Slash points costs for them in the next Chapter Approved.

What do you think about Forge World units? Which ones have you got to work on the tabletop lately?

oh yeah

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About the Author: Jack Stover