8th edition has done a good job at killing the iconic 3+ power armor save. If you want you Space Marines to feel like they have a fighting chance, try 30k!
AP mechanics in 8th edition have completely ruined a Space Marine’s survivability and GW puts too much value in a 3+ save to begin with. Horus Heresy is always ready to accept you into its loving arms! You just have to be willing to learn.
Horus Heresy: The Better Way To Play Space Marines
We’ll admit, Horus Heresy isn’t for everyone. But then again, no game is. If you’re a Space Marine player tired of seeing cheesy screens and watching your over-costed models getting swept off the board, Horus Heresy might be perfect for you.
Of course, if you play Xenos, then you may have already lost your interest and we highly doubt they’ll ever add Xenos races into 30k. At that point, it would just be a reskinned game of 40k 7th edition.
For the players that love Space Marines (Chaos or Loyal) they can use most of their models from 40k in Horus Heresy. Another positive thing is that the playing fields are usually even because 90% of the other factions in the game are Space Marines as well. If there’s an FAQ affecting a certain unit, it’s usually for ALL Legions. This may sound like there’s no flavor to the game at first, but you’d be mistaken.
Which Legion is Right for You?
You have to remember that in Horus Heresy, there aren’t any Chapters. There are Legions that are all lead by their Primarch. These Legions have fluffy rules that are completely exclusive to their Primarch and themselves.
Another bright side to the game is that almost every single Primarch has a model and you can field them on the tabletop. There’s no waiting and hoping for your Primarch to get a model like 40k. (This was one of the main reasons I got into the game).
The Biggest Complaint of the Game is 7th Edition Rules
One of the instant comebacks to “hey you should play heresy” is “I HATE 7th, NO THANKS. 8th EDITION OR DIE”.
Even though the game may run on 7th edition rules, it’s NOT 7th edition. Forge World essentially trimmed all the unnecessary fat from 7th edition and moved what was left into 30k.
However, as someone who plays both 40k and 30k, I can say that 30k’s rules are WAY more thought out and the games are always turning around. In 8th edition 40k, we’re in a meta where we have a pretty good idea of who’s going to win by turn two, maybe three. You can expect games of Horus Heresy to draw out as both sides will have a fighting chance to win until the final round ends.
AP Mechanics Make Marines Feel Accurate Lore-Wise
When you get hit with something in 40k, your save gets modified by whatever the AP is. For example, if a Space Marine gets hit with a -2 AP weapon, his 3+ goes to a 5+. That’s DRASTICALLY reducing your unit’s survival.
In 7th edition, AP works totally different. As long as a weapon’s AP characteristic doesn’t meet or exceed your unit’s armor, they get their full, unmodified 3+ save. That is HUGE because your Marines are able to shrug off a lot more punishment.
An AP-2 weapon in 40k would be along the range of AP4(ish) in 30k. Since it didn’t match your armor, you still get to roll a fat 3+ and watch your Marines shrug off shells left and right.
Forge World Prices Aren’t Killing 30k
With the recent skyrocket of Forge World prices, you might think that Horus Heresy is a dying game. The reality is no one in their right mind would blow that much money on a tiny bit of resin. There are still Betrayal at Calth boxes floating around that serve as a FANTASTIC building block for your army. If you’ve already got some Marines from 40k, you can use them just as easily as well too.
There are plenty of other companies that throw their own twist onto 30k(esque) models that are sometimes even better quality than the Forge World castings. It just takes a little bit of research.
The next time someone offers to show you a game of 30k, don’t back down from it. Test out the game for yourself and give it a genuine shot. You may like it more than you’d expect.
What do you think about 30k? What Legion do you want to start? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
