Which System is Better, 30k or 40k?

By Steve Turner | April 26th, 2016 | Categories: Editorials, Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40k

What if I were to tell you there is an amazing game out that blows 40k out of the water?

We all know the many problems with 40k in general… you constantly read about people complaining about the game. What if I were to tell you there is an amazing game out that blows 40k out of the water ? What if I were to tell you this game has been around for five years now. You may have guessed it – I am talking about 30k and the Horus Heresy !!! Let’s focus on being positive because if you’re receptive to the Horus Heresy or sometime better known as 30k there’s lots of things to be happy about if you play a Legion.

Oh wow this looks really cool !!!

Alan Bligh is the chief developer for 30k and this man has an innate ability to write balanced absolutely fantastic rules for the legions that are also rich in background. I’d go so far to say if you like to play Space Marines or Chaos Space Marines then why waste your time playing 40k and deal with the cheese that is Eldar and Tau? I remember back in the days of third and fourth edition… You mostly saw Space Marines and CSM – the world of 40k was at a plateau that has long since been eclipsed. I’m sad to say and I’m sure many of you feel the same: 30k brings back the old aura plus more. The thing is it is not all about the power armor – you can play Admech, Astra Militarum, Chaos Daemons and other armies as well besides the Astartes.

Seriously It is Not All Marines, All the time !!!

One of the best attributes of 30k is that the game is built upon a foundation of a balanced system and EVERY legion is competitive! That’s right there are no bad or sub-optimal armies like 40K’s Blood Angels and Dark Eldar. Another great thing about 30k is these armies can be integrated into 40k but of course you’ll have to deal with Eldar and Tau if you do so. I have pretty much lost my desire to put lots of effort into building new 40k armies knowing how much more fun I’m having playing 30k now. I still have an army to play in 40k tournaments but that’s the only time I touch them now.

What is Wrong with 40k

40k as we know has been around for a while and is still ever expanding as Games Workshop continues to release new supplements. As of right now we do have 14 armies released. One thing wrong with what is missing is the variability of game play. 40k is known for net lists and spam – how boring in my opinion!!! On the other hand sure, 14 armies, but there are actually more. The Space Marine codex alone gives more variety. Supplements such as Militarum Tempestus and Legion of the Damned also gives more variability. Even Forge World with their IA books give even more chapters! If you include it all there are over 40 different published rule set armies and play styles – which in its own way is also part of the problem. That’s not even including the induction of formations into the fray.

The armies are as follows:

Adepta Sororitas
Astra Militarum (Death Korps of Kreig, Elysian Drop Troops)
Blood Angels (Lamenters)
Chaos Space Marines (Black Legion, Crimson Slaughter)
Chaos Daemons
Dark Eldar
Eldar (Iyanden)
Grey Knights
Imperial Knights
Inquisition
Militarum Tempestus
Officio Assassinorum
Necrons
Orks (Ghazghukull)
Space Marines (Iron Hands, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, White Scars, Raven Guard, Salamanders, The Red Scorpions, The Carcharodons, The Howling Griffons, Marines Errant, The Raptors, The Exorcists, The Mantis Warriors, The Executioners, The Angels Revenant, The Red Hunters, The Star Phantoms, The Minotaurs, The Sons of Medusa, The Novamarines, The Fire Hawks, The Astral Claws)
Space Wolves (Champions of Fenris)
Tau Empire (Farsight Enclave)
Tyranids

However everyone does know that there are balancing issues within the game itself and to play fluffy these days there just is not that much hope for some armies to make a fun and enjoyable environment. A good friend of mine who was an avid Tau player (his first army he picked up back in 4th edition) was recently telling me how they killed 40k for him. I won’t even touch on the eldar …

Now to 30k !!!

One word – PRIMARCHS !

No really, The Horus Heresy, or 30k as it has been dubbed, was just released over five years ago. And already we have a rich system that is bringing itself to par with Warhammer 40k. Again, rich background, more amazing stories and probably the best models I’ve ever seen. Only two Legions left to go !!! This is what we have so far:

Emperor’s Children
Death Guard
World Eaters
Sons of Horus
Iron Warriors
Iron Hands
Raven Guard
Night Lords
Salamanders
Alpha Legion
Word Bearers
Imperial Fists
Adeptus Mechanicus
Solar Auxilla
Titan Legio

That’s just it for now. You can include these 40k armies into your gaming as they existed during the Heresy:

Orks (always fun to beat up on !!! )
Eldar
Dark Eldar

But we still have Thousand Sons and Space Wolves to look forward to probably later this year. Not only that but the possibility of assassins coming in and maybe Adeptus Custodes. There’s so much room for them to expand upon now. The books for the Horus Heresy are amazing and I cannot recommend them enough.

So what separates 30k from 40k? Everything. This game literally has the perfect balance internally. The units are all the same, but guaranteed you will probably never see an all win list. I like to call this game rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock from the variety of lists you can see on the table. Sure it might seem some units are over-costed, but they’re not. Besides, what’s better than power armor on power armor action? Blood and treachery? 30k provides, what I think, one of the most unique environments that ForgeWorld has to offer to gamers and hobbyists alike. Although it is more expensive than regular 40k to a point, it is broad. Every legion has its own Rite of War (as well as book Rite Of Wars for generic legions), much like that of Chapter Tactics for Space Marines, but way more in depth and adds so much to your list building. And, each legion also has its own special rules that bring its own uniqueness to the table. But what else is there? A brand new campaign system that we’ll be seeing in Book IV conquest is something we’ve all been dying for from GW for regular 40k, the difference is ForgeWorld is beating them to the punch. Force Organization Charts are also what makes this game what it is. There are multiple FoC’s to play from, each taking, removing, and playing around with the slots allotted to the gamer. One example is the Leviathan FoC that lets you bring 3 Lords of war and an allied detachment! Pretty strong and looks like it’d be fun to play with one day (When I get the money for a Reaver and two Warhounds).

In Closure

Honestly it’s up to the gamer in which system they choose, but I do support 30k to its fullest. The model’s are amazing, you can dual use the army if you decide to go for a legion and use it in regular 40k as counts as Space Marines (Or whatever army you want to use). Almost all the vehicles are also in IA2, and soon IA13 if you wish to go the power armored chaos route. If you have a local gaming group, I would definitely begin a whisper or two about it and see what everyone thinks. Even start up a group fund for house armies!

~Are you ready to step into Horus Heresy gaming?